City Streets
After the battle that had unfolded without their earlier knowledge, Kamui and Kiyoi were walking together to their earlier intended destination after they had left Card Shop PSY. The two of them didn't know what to expect with what Kai had told them about in regards to Akira's behaviour during the fight and how she desperately wanted to settle things fairly even when Urith had tried to intervene with her own intentions. However, with her having disappeared to parts unknown after they had found the Kagero user and spoke with them, no one could know for sure about her current fate and where she even was at this point.
"Hey Kiyoi," Kamui spoke as she turned to him "You know more about Akira than any of us, right?"
"I was her Selector at one point up to the night of Kai's arrival," Kiyoi answered calmly "I can only assume you believe I can shed some more light about who she is."
"Well yeah..." he said "I mean, we know she is... eh, was cranky at Kai for beating her before and had it out for all of us, even Aichi onii-san. Other than that, there's no way she would've suddenly wanted to fight Kai fairly that badly. She'd always use every trick in her book like the time she stole Tama along with his deck."
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Akira)
The former blue LRIG then began to recollect memories of her time with the Selector then, sensing that her friend was interested in the background of the now absent girl with what little information he didn't already know about. She held a hand to her chin to ponder on this as she began to think about the time she had spent around Akira when they had not been in the Selector Battles.
"I'm sure Kai has already told you that Akira had not been living under the greatest conditions even before becoming a Selector," she began "That was what I had found out when I met her for the first time. She hated every second of it, being trapped in a closed reality she seemingly couldn't escape from with her lone mother whom she always seemed to get on poorly with."
Okaaaaay... Kamui pondered puzzingly Is it just me or are a few of the girls from that other world we run into have some kind of family issues? That's a scary trend if I've ever thought of one.
"From what I found out as Piruluk then, it was her wilely charms as 'Aki-lovely' that had led to her getting a job within her modelling career and a sizable fanbase," Kiyoi went on "But she had to share the spotlight with Iona then, or rather Yuki, and she couldn't stand that, not helped by the fact her popularity was a threat to the one thing that was keeping a roof above her head. She believed in order to do that, she would have to use every trick in the book for the sake of staying alive, even if it meant stomping on the happiness and wishes of others without a care."
"So what do you think made her act the way she did when she fought Kai just now?" he asked curiously.
"For that, I don't know," she replied "She was always prideful and never forgot a face that she could not stand seeing as an equal. But maybe after experiencing the risk of her life using Dragonic Dark Overlord, even whilst still in the dark to Urith's intentions, she could understand what she believed a serious heated fight was all about."
The Nova Grappler user remained silent, not expecting to have believed that this was the possible reason Akira could have changed her ways when she decided to fight Kai on her terms with her wish of it being a fair fight to the very end. Sensing that he had heard all he needed to, Kiyoi said no more on the matter and followed him to their destination.
(End Music)
Eventually, they came across the entrance to a large garage where a giant metal door was closed to prevent vehicles from rolling in or out of the premises. Kamui smiled as he led Kiyoi towards the regular doorway that was to the left of the giant closed door, leaving her curious as to why he had brought her to here of all places.
"Welcome to home sweet home Kiyoi!" he announced as he stretched his arms, before opening the small door to allow them in.
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Itsumo no Nichijou)
Inside of the garage entrance was a small office space that the two of them walked through with Kamui a little puzzled, as if he was expecting someone to be here waiting for him. Kiyoi looked around, noticing the grimy atmosphere from the walls with rusted gears and other small pieces of metal in a corner of the room whilst the front desk at the far end was littered with various loose papers and books. She didn't imagine this was the kind of place that her friend would have grown up in.
"Hey dad!" the Nova Grappler user called out "You here?!"
Recieving no answer, he continued deeper into the garage through a door to the side of the front desk, with Kiyoi following after him into the heart of the building. Inside of the giant room before them, the two of them were within the presence of the workshop with shelves across the walls littered with various tools and manuals and to the other end away from the large garage door was a large elevator with a car lifted several feet up from the ground. Kamui noticed a figure laying on a wheeled trolley beneath the heavy vehicle, busy working at whatever it was he was doing with a large wrench in hand.
"Hi dad!" he called out, waving to him.
"Ow!" a voice groaned out as a clank echoed through the room, the figure dropping his wrench as he did so "Kamui, how many times have I told you to wait until I'm not under a car to yell hello..."
"Ah, sorry!" he apologized in embarassment "I didn't think you'd be that busy today."
A sigh was huffed from his father in response before he pulled himself out from underneath the car using the trolley he was laying down under, allowing Kiyoi to see what he was like for the first time. He was taller than them with a small bit of muscle and had some spiked dark brown hair in addition to a pair of dark green eyes. His dark blue overalls were covered in soot and patches of oil with some of it having landed on his face as a result of working this hard into the afternoon. Although he was intially annoyed with Kamui for causing him to hit his head, he seemed to have gotten over the issue rather quickly and heaved himself back onto his feet.
"In any case, this is rather unusual for you being home this early," he said, a gruffness to his tone, but not to an unfriendly extent "Who's this you've brought here?"
"Oh, this is Kiyoi," he said, motioning to her "Y'know, one of the girls I befriended whilst I was gone from here because of those meaner gals."
"So I see..." he murmured before giving a gentle smile "A pleasure to finally meet you at last. My little tyke here's been going on all about you since Kai brought him back here."
"In any case..." Kiyoi replied as she extended a hand in greeting "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Katsuragi."
"Think nothing of it," he chuckled before he glanced back to Kamui "I wouldn't be surprised if you finally decided to move on from your goddess to someone more reasonable."
That comment had only served to make Kamui blush in response as he wanted to respond, knowing that his father liked to tease him on occasion about his crush on Emi. He only wished Kiyoi had not been seen as merely a 'secondary' option like Nagisa had assumed the previous day during her fight with the former blue LRIG, not helped by Remember's own comment earlier the last time the two of them saw her.
"Hardly," she muttered, although it had come out as more of a pout than her usual straightfoward response.
"In any case," Kamui's father continued "Those cards you had me order are in you room when you want them. Be careful not to lose them like the last time you did."
"I got it," the Nova Grappler user replied with a smile "You two can chat for a bit whilst I sort out my Raizer deck."
And with that, Kamui went up the nearby staircase that led to the top of the garage and went through the doorway to his room to sort out his deck for the upcoming battles against Mayu's forces that he was likely to face soon. Kiyoi was not one to make coversations with newer people so soon, but she felt more comfortable being within her friend's home and that she was meeting his own family for the first time. That was when she realized however that someone or something seemed to be absent from the picture.
(End Music)
"Does he have any other family?" she asked out of curiosity.
"Just me," Mr. Katsuragi replied, his tone going a little somber "I took in Kamui when I found him on the streets as a baby in a nasty storm with no clue how he ended up like that. The local hospital I took him to helped him back to health, but neither we nor other services were able to find any trace of where he originally came from."
"So you adopted him as your own then," Kiyoi murmured "Does he know?"
"He found out a little sooner than intended years ago," he continued, sitting down on the trolley he previously worked from "He even ran out on me for hiding the truth until he ran into Gouki for the first time. It wasn't until they fought in their usual game did he come to an understanding that even if how he came to be raised wasn't the way it normally was, he still had a home and someone to care for him to come back to."
The former blue LRIG then suddenly realized that this was no coincidence that she had witnessed Kamui exhibit some signs of some kind of loneliness during the day the two had become firm friends in the other world.
I see now, that would explain why he was acting strange when he showed me the way to Sakaguchi's grave she pondered to herself He still doesn't know if any of his real family is out there, dead or alive.
"Kamui still has the occasional worry about the subject," the Nova Grappler user's father finished before his frown turned to a warm smile "But he's always made sure now to not be afraid to talk to me or any of his closer friends about it now." He then looked back at the girl. "Tell me something Kiyoi, what has my son meant to you as a friend?"
Kiyoi pondered for a moment and looked up at the door that had led to Kamui's room. It was true the two of them had not got along well the first time they had met under the circumstances present and that he still found her usual quietness to be a nusiance when trying to converse with her on occasion. But lately in part through the many trials and tribulations both through the Selector Battles in her world and her recent cardfights, she felt that the two of them had understood one another a lot better compared to before and that maybe in spite of his excitable and sometimes impatient nature, there was something she gained from being friends with him.
"I suppose in a way..." she replied "He actually helped to save me from myself and the life of Amika's mother from a nasty end. Even if he can be overbearing, I appreciate him for what he believes in."
As she finished her sentence, the door at the top of the garage opened and Kamui hurried down the stairs to join her and his father with an excited grin on his face.
"There we go!" he cheered in success "Mayu and her lackeys won't know what hit 'em if we run into them again today!"
"You finished tinkering with that deck of yours again?" Mr. Katsuragi asked curiously "At this rate, you sound more excited to pick a fight than watching yourself out there."
"Dad..." Kamui sighed, knowing he was being warned about his carefulness for the umpteenth time since he returned back to this world.
Deciding not to stay mad at his father for being worried about him, he embraced him tightly as did he in return, happy to be in each other's presence regardless of the mood. Kiyoi watched on with seemingly a lack of interest in the matter, but she did note that adopted or not, her friend was lucky to be in the care of this mechanic and that he had some kind of family to return to.
"Family..." she pondered quietly to herself, looking away from the pair for a few minutes as they were chatting with one another.
?
Akira still lay motionless within her new surroundings, this time outside of the desert heat and into a rocky manmade shelter of sorts. She was wrapped in a blanket and laid down on a sheet as the smaller of two beings that had found her was observing for any sign of movement. He had managed to slip Dragonic Dark Overlord's card out of her hoodie's pocket and had been curious as to why such a thing was in her possession.
"I sense a dark power emitting from this card," he murmured quietly "Perhaps if I..."
Moving his small hand to the card, a bright glow emitted from it as he focused what little power he was using to see what the dark presence he sensed was all about. The figure soon got his answer as a familiar dark red and black coloured aura from Dragonic Dark Overlord began enshrouding the card much to their suprise before hearing a noise from beside them.
It was Akira who was writhing in pain from the sudden trigger of her only remaining card's power, clenching her teeth as she did so. The figure then hurried over to her, clutching the card in one hand.
"Hey, are you alright?" he asked worriedly, but he recieved no answer.
Then upon realizing that his curiosity had gotten him the answers he sought and was only making things worse for the Selector, he focused more power into the card with just enough to cancel out the aura from Dragonic Dark Overlord. Akira breathed heavily for a few moments before falling unconscious once more, much to the figure's concern. At this moment, his human accomplice still wrapped from head to toe in white robes entered the building, his green eyes noting the scene before him.
"What happened Dran?" he asked.
"There's no doubt about it," Dran replied, handing the card to him "This Dragonic Dark Overlord is the cause of the poison that has afflicted this girl."
The cloaked man took ahold of the card and noted both is appearance and the malicious aura enveloping it, despite not being able to see the latter for himself. He then coughed loudly, holdly his other arm to his head.
"I'm sorry Rive!" Dran cried out "Even if it was just a little bit of my power..."
"It's not your fault," Rive replied, regaining his composure "Has the girl regained complete consciousness?"
His companion shook his cloaked head, confirming his suspicions as he walked into the shelter, handing back the card as he did so. He then glanced down at Akira, with many questions on his mind about who she was and how she happened to come into the possession of a card that was damaging her body every now and again, even when she wasn't using it in a cardfight.
"Keep an eye on her Dran," he said "There's much we'll need to ask her if she does awaken. I'm heading out to find some water for her."
"Yes Rive," Dran replied and Rive left the shelter to attend to his errand.
Now that he was alone, the mysterious figure put the card down on the large empty portion of the floor sheet and then sat beside the unconscious Selector. He did not know what to expect when she would eventually wake up, if at all, but he couldn't help but ponder what she was like if she was to accept a dangerous card like the one she had.
"If she knew about the risks of using something like this if it poisoned her..." he pondered "I wonder if she's like..."
He then shook his head, refusing to jump to such a conclusion that soon because a reminiscense from several years ago.
"No, this Dragonic Dark Overlord isn't a Depend Card," Dran corrected himself "It's something else that not even I'm fully sure of."
The figure then decided to do nothing more but to observe Akira and the card beside her for any further changes, pondering if he and Rive made the right decision to try and get her back to health.
Leaving the garage to return to Card Capital, Kamui and Kiyoi were by themselves once again as the contemplated on the events of the day and the Nova Grappler user was pleased that the former blue LRIG's introduction to his father had went along rather nicely in spite of their inprompt timing. He knew the mechanic was a busy man and didn't have a lot of time to be spent outside of his work, but he had always been friendly enough to be introduced to his friends in the past and wasn't afraid to at least give him some practice in Vanguard in the evenings despite his lack of experience. He looked back to the girl and noticed she had been lost in thought.
"Hey, something bothering you Kiyoi?" he asked.
Still she remained silent, much to his slight dismay. He then coughed slightly and tried to speak to her again.
"Lemme guess," Kamui pondered "You found out I'm amounted."
"Firstly, that's adopted," she corrected bluntly "And secondly..." She then huffed softly. "I mean no offense Katsuragi, but doesn't it bother you that your real relatives might still be somewhere in this world?"
"Who knows?" he pondered "I know it might be frustrating, not knowing about any of your real folks... but I don't see why that's got you in a fit."
Kiyoi knew that he had indeed raised a good point, but she knew that her frustration was not directed entirely at him. Sensing that she felt uncomfortable from realizing her mistake, the Nova Grappler user tried to cheer her up.
"Look, just because I'm adopted and all doesn't mean it gets all lonely," he said "It's like my dad said, you gotta have people you can trust to talk out your problems with. You're not homesick, right?"
(Cardfight! Vanguard Shinemon Unreleased Soundtrack: Kanzaki Fight)
Before Kiyoi could respond to his question, a loud roar was heard in the direction they were travelling in as a large violet coloured beam erupted in the distance as the shape of a giant dragon was cloaked in shadow, descending from above until it disappeared behind the buildings.
"What in the world is that?!" gasped Kamui.
"Another of Mayu's forces must be here!" muttered Kiyoi.
The two of them hurried towards the source of the commotion which no doubt was bound to be another cardfight unfolding at the area. What had concerned both of them greatly was that it seemed to be right near to the shop Card Capital and with how many people visting it often, it was easy prey for Mayu's troupe to target players of the store as well as its manager for units.
Card Capital
Outside of Card Capital, a non circular shaped boundary of flames enveloped the road and the alley to the side of the store as the fight was drawing to its conclusion. Futase was battling against Shin himself with the two of them tied at five damage and a series of familiar units gathered on his board, those being from the Oracle Think Tank clan. CEO Amaterasu and a mirage duplicate of herself were present on the field along with two Silent Toms along with Luck Bird and an Oracle Guardian, Gemini. He panted heavily as he stared at the mysterious unit that was cloaked in the darkness that was obscuring it, having struggled through much to keep his looming defeat at bay.
"So that's your trump card Futase!" he growled.
"And you still believe you can win with Tokura's old deck?" she muttered "It would seem she is truly all alone in that world, once I take those units from you."
Shin clenched the eight cards he held in his hand, refusing to let his guard down against the Dominate ability that had defeated both his niece and Ratie along with all of his customers that were present, now on the sidelines marked and frightened for his safety. The Assistant Manager cat who was staying out of harm's way hissed occasionally at Futase for her hostility, only for her to temporarily blind it in retaliation with a flash of light from her cybernetic lens. The shop manager then looked down at his board, taking notice of the cards present.
With Ohirume and Amaterasu's skills, my hand's got enough cards to last through Dominate attacks he mentally reminded himself The Silent Toms have also managed to limit what she can call this turn since her hand is stuck with Grade 0 units. Watch me Misaki-chan...! I won't let your last fight be in vain!
"That hopeful linger is meaningless!" Futase called out as she put out a hand out in front of her "Schwarzschild and Anne's skill activates! When I ride them, I Lock all of your front or back row rear-guards at the cost of a Grade 3 Schwarzschild Soul Blast!"
"What?!" he exclaimed.
As soon as that had happened, a roar from the silhouetted Schwarzschild echoed loudly as all of Shin's Silent Toms were suddenly sealed in black rings as their respective cards turned face down on his table.
"Niobium and Lanthanums gain 4000 power!" she continued as her three rear-guards powered up from the reversal "I will annihilate you for refusing to accept fate as it is! Ultimate Break!"
A giant dark red Vanguard circle flashed in front of the darkened aura that enveloped Schwarzschild and Anne's appearance from everyone else present on the battlefield other than the card holder.
"Bind ALL Anne or Schwarzschild named cards from the drop zone!" Futase as she took every single Anne named card from her drop zone and placed them face up to the right of her deck "For each one, put the top card of your deck into your Trigger Zone and apply all Trigger Effects to units of my choice!"
Shin could only clench his teeth as he saw that his opponent had bound seven cards as a result of them being used to pay for the costs of skills earlier on and to defend Schwarzschild from both of his Silent Tom attacks.
"Dominate Check..." he groaned as he put the first card face up sideways in front of the deck, revealing Luck Bird "No trigger." He then moved the second card to reveal Oracle Guardian, Nike. "Critical Trigger..."
"I will give the effects to my Vanguard," Futase confirmed before she motioned for him to continue.
He then continued to put one after the other from the top of his deck, more cards for his Dominate Check as a result of Schwarzschild's unpleasant skill as Oracle Guardian, Wiseman, Oracle Guardian, Gemini, Battle Sister, Chocolat and CEO Amaterasu entered the trigger zone. Shortly after a string of no triggers, he turned to the next card and nervously turned it over. To his frustration though, it was Dream Eater.
"Draw Trigger..." he muttered.
"The power goes to Niobium."
Furious Claw Star-vader, Niobium/POW: 13000 - 18000
The final card was then revealed to be Lozenge Magus as it was more than apparent that despite managing to only score three triggers, Futase had reclaimed her advantage over Shin. He growled as he put all seven cards into the drop zone now that the Dominate Check skill of Schwarzschild and Anne had finally ended. After moving a card from her damage zone to her drop zone, the Selector then turned over a card face up as a result of a skill that was unknown to all.
"Now this the end," she announced as she placed down an unfamiliar card to the empty circle that was in her front row.
Appearing in that empty space was a Cyber Fairy with blue hair and a visor obscuring her face whilst she hovered in place via her green wings. Two white armor pieces, each floating behind her had a black ring surrounding them.
"Mulepton's skill activates! Counter Blast!" Futase announced "Lock a card from your hand and put it into that open space in your back row!"
"What?!" Shin gasped as he looked at his hand, reluctantly placing a card face down onto the final space that was present.
A scream was heard from seemingly nowhere as a pair of black rings along with an encasing opaque sphere appeared on the battlefield, leaving Luck Bird and Gemini as the only two rear-guards spared from this spell. Quark Shoebill appeared on Futase's rear-guard before vanishing in a red aura to power up Mulepton. Then in that space appeared an unfamiliar Cyber Fairy that strangly seemed to resemble the body of the real Fumio in appearance, only her face was covered by an opaque black sheet of glass.
"This is the end, Shinemon Nitta!" the Selector declared "Niobium attacks your Vanguards!"
"Tsk!" he hissed "Nike and Sayorihime guard!"
The Cyberoid approached the two guardians and igniting its claws with flames, it slashed right through the pair as they screamed in pain before vanishing from the battlefield.
"Mulepton with one of my Lanthanum's boost!" she continued.
"Guard!" Shin responded as Lozenge Magus and Wiseman appeared in front of Ohirume and Amaterasu to shield them from the attack.
"Schwarzschild and Anne attack with a boost!"
At this moment, the silhouetted Schwarzschild opened its jaw as purple coloured energy began to crackle within whilst a deathly sounding melody, presumably from the hidden Anne, sounded out from the darkness.
"36000 power...!" the manager gasped as he took Lanthanum's boost and the earlier triggers into account before clenching his teeth and throwing out the last three cards on his hand onto the guardian circle of his table "Guard!"
Battle Sister, Ginger, a third Oracle Guardian, Nike and finally Psychic Bird all took to the desperate defense, hoping their efforts would be enough to shield Amaterasu and Ohirume from any further harm so Shin would have a chance to counterattack on the following turn.
"The manager's used the last of his hand!" a young boy cried out from the sidelines.
"If she gets another trigger..." a teenage girl murmured.
"Triple drive!" the Selector called out, revealing Schwarzschild Instrumental Dragon, Rejection Dragon and Weiss Soldat, the final card being enough to seal her opponent's fate "Critical Trigger!"
The energy in Schwarzschild's jaw gathered into an orb that grew in size before it cracked apart and the energies within burst towards Amaterasu and Ohirume in a giant devastating beam. It struck the pair, causing them to scream in pain as both they, Gemini, Luck Bird and the Locked units vanished from the battlefield in a series of black sparks along with Futase's rear-guards. Shin could only gaze in horror at his damage zone, with a second copy of Amaterasu now gracing the five cards that were already there to signal his defeat.
"I'm sorry... Misaki-chan..." he groaned.
(End Music)
A dark chuckle sounded out from the darkness as everyone gazed at Schwarzschild's silhouette, unnerved by the Cyber Dragon's utter glee in being instrumental to this victory.
"Wonderful," he cackled "Anne has certainly been of much use to me and Chaos Breaker as this world is cloaked once more in eternal suffering. And to think you believed that you could avenge Misaki with her own cards. How pitiful."
Futase then raised up her fist into the air before slamming it down onto the silhouetted card, causing it to emit a bright blinding purple glow that forced everyone but herself to shield their eyes.
"Fall weakling!" she announced "Judgement!"
Then a column of violet coloured flames erupted beneath Shin and engulfed him in an instant, causing everyone on the sidelines to gasp in horror as he too suffered the same fate as most of them already had prior. He screamed loudly as the inferno burned away at him, struggling to endure the pain as his torture lasted for at least another half of a minute before it subsided at last, the boundary walls fading away along with Schwarzschild's silhouette.
"Manager!"
Shin fell to one knee as Kamui's voice sounded out to him, the Nova Grappler user along with Kiyoi appearing into view as he struggled to turn around to face them, the blank cards falling to the ground and scattering as he did so.
"Hey, what happened here?" he asked before noticing the newly adorned Mark of Penalty on the manager's right hand.
"I believe she's what has happened," the former blue LRIG noted before the three of them glanced towards Futase.
She merely huffed in response, sensing that these weren't the opponents she had in mind to face, but because she believed they weren't even worth fighting if they were aiming to just avenge Misaki's defeat to her.
"No matter," she muttered "Units are still units. So then, which of you will offer yourselves to Mayu?"
"If it's a fight you want, you got it!" Kamui replied as he brought out his deck "I've been looking to get back at more of your lot in a fight sooner or later!"
As the red tables reappeared to signal the beginning of the fight, he walked over to his own only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder from Kiyoi. He looked back at her, noting her rather stern gaze directed at him.
"Katsuragi, you've only recovered from the ice for at least 2 hours," she said "I'm not certain that challenging Futase this soon is a wise idea."
"You don't need to worry about me," the Nova Grappler user replied "It's gonna take more than dirty tricks from Remember to keep me down from a fight that easily. And besides, Nova Grapplers fight best when they charge together so it's not like I'm fighting alone without them physically beside them."
Sensing that her concern wasn't about to deter him from his challenge to Futase, Kiyoi sighed and stepped back, allowing to him to continue towards the table. As he got closer to it, he looked towards the locked entrance to the shop and saw all of the marked fighters looking nervously at him, confusing him slightly before he eventually arrived at his small destination. As the two combatants prepared themselves, the former blue LRIG came alongside Shin and helped him to pick up the scattered blank cards before helping him onto his feet.
"You used Tokura's cards?" she inquired.
"Yes..." he muttered "After I found several marked fighters outside Card Capital, I saw Futase had broken into Misaki's room and picked open the chest containing her Oracle Think Tank deck. I challenged her to get them back and she insisted I used the deck and put every one of her other units from that clan on the line as well. I believe you know the rest..."
Kiyoi said nothing back as the two of them looked around them to see that instead of the usual circular boundary that was created, a strange shaped one went around the outside of the roads until they reached the far end. The other marked fighters on the sidelines whimpered nervously as all eyes turned to Kamui and Futase as they reached out for their starting Vanguards.
"Stand up, Vanguard!" they called out as they flipped the cards face up at the same time, summoning their starting Vanguards.
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Link Joker Theme)
"Star-vader, Robin Knight!" the former LRIG announced as the familiar armoured fox-like Cyber Beast appeared in front of her table.
"Turboraizer Custom!" Kamui replied as a large blue Battleroid with red accents and a pair of wrist cannons joined his side of the battlefield.
"Kamui's changed up his Raizer deck a little..." Shin murmured.
Kiyoi remained quiet as she too noted the new starting Vanguard for her friend, pondering if the cards his father had given him would help him prevail in this fight. Futase's deck was enveloped in the familiar black and red aura of Link Joker as a card pulled itself out of it and placed itself face down to the right of the pile near the edge of her table. Kamui tensed a little upon recognizing this ability from other fights he had watched and he knew time was now off the essence if he wanted to beat his opponent before she got to Grade 5.
"Nervous?" she muttered, causing him to look at her "And it's Nova Grappler. I expected more, especially since you're more than aware of Link Joker's capabilities."
"Hey, I'm not nervous!" he snapped back "You stole Misaki from my home world with the rest of her units and you're aiming to destroy our worlds with Mayu! Of course I'd feel peeved about that!"
"Hmph. Typical primitiveness," Futuse scoffed calmly as she gestured towards him "I leave the first turn to you."
"I got it, draw!" the Nova Grappler user huffed before he placed down a card and Turboraizer moved to the back right position on his side of the battlefield "The great Kamui rides Cannonraizer!"
The violet armoured Battleroid appeared in front of his table with its shoulder cannons primed as it took up a defensive stance. Upon completing his turn, his opponent drew her first card and immediately placed it onto her Vanguard circle.
"Ride, Demon-claw Star-vader, Lanthanum!" she announced as the Cyberoid with blazing red claws appeared in her center line as Robin Knight moved back "Call, Mana-shot Star-vader, Neon!"
One of the many mass produced soldiers that patrolled the boundaries between the White Room and Photon's Lab within Mayu's domain appeared in front of the Cyber Beast, staring blankly at Cannonraizer. Lanthanum ignited its claws and charged towards the large Battleroid before leaping into the air and scratching down the sides, creating huge gashes in the armor. Neon then raised its right arm and shot boomerang shaped bullets at the Raizer, knocking it down onto its feet as Raizer Crew landed in Kamui's damage zone to join Ultimate Raizer, Mega-flare in his damage zone. He tensed a little before shaking his head and beginning his turn. Before he picked out a card to ride, he stopped and looked towards his opponent.
"Hey Futase, were you on Mayu's side from the beginning?!" he demanded "If that's the case, why did you even come to warn me and the others about what she was planning for all fighters here?!"
"To give you false hope and drive you into defeat," she replied coldly, causing him to grit his teeth "Even if Remember has played dirty in the past, I don't see how someone as primitive as you could overcome her once before. You believe your feelings are your strength, well then I'm afraid to say they're your weakness."
"I would have to disagree."
Futase blinked as she turned to Kiyoi, a little surprised that she of all Selectors and LRIGs would end up deciding to defend a cardfighter such as him.
"Even if Katsuragi is as primitive as you believe, he's not strong or weak because of his passionate feelings," she said "Unlike you who abandoned everything just to save yourself, his belief in his sense of justice and the people around him is what I think makes him a respected fighter."
"And that's why you chose to abandon the front of the LRIG of despair?" the former LRIG muttered "How pathetic. I expected more from your opposition, but I see you're still someone who uses everything as a pawn, else you would have jumped at the chance to fight me first."
"Leave Kiyoi outta this! She's already been through enough today!" Kamui snapped back, resuming the fight as he placed down a card from his hand "Ride! Transraizer!"
As Cannonraizer vanished from in front of his table, a large green Battleroid with militaristic looking large boxes on its back and limbs appeared onto the battlefield, its yellow eyes shining brightly as it finished manifesting.
Transraizer/Intercept/SLD: 5000/POW: 7000/Nova Grappler/Battleroid/Star Gate
"With it's skill, I'm looking at the top of my deck and seeing if it's a Grade 1 or 2!" the Nova Grappler user declared, before flipping over the top card. To his relief, it was Ultimate Raizer, Dual-flare. "Got it! I superior call Dual-flare!"
The familiar dark blue Battleroid that was normally paired with Mega-flare reappeared for the first time in a while onto his rear-guard in front of Turboraizer Custom, ready to do battle with the units that it had previously been a prisoner to. Kamui then glanced down at his board and the cards in his damage zone, thinking hard on how to proceed with what little information he had learned from Ratie's fight after she told his group of Misaki's disappearance.
I should be doing it for later, but...
"Turboraizer Custom's skill!" he announced "Counter Blast and retiring itself to give a skill to Dual-flare. When the Vanguard attacks, Stand it for one time only!"
"Rushing me to drop my cards and reducing the rear-guards you have to prepare for Dominate," Futase murmured "Useless effort."
"Dual-flare, go!" Kamui commanded.
Dual-flare took aim at Lanthanum and fired a large blast from its cannon at the Cyberoid, knocking it back and engulfing it in a medium sized explosion. The former LRIG then turned over the top card of her deck and revealed it to be Star-vader, Pixie Powder.
"Heal Trigger," she murmured "I give the power to Lanthanum."
Demon Claw Star-vader, Lanthanum/POW: 7000 - 14000
"Tsk! Without a Trigger, my Vanguard won't hit..." Kamui muttered "In that case... Transraizer goes after Neon! With Turboraizer Custom's skill, stand Dual-flare and add 5000 power!"
"No guard," his opponent replied calmly.
The Nova Grappler user then moved onto his Drive Check, turning over the top card to reveal Cat Butler, a Grade 0 unit without a trigger marking, much to the curiosity of Kiyoi and several of the marked fighters watching from the sidelines. Transraizer rammed itself into Neon, knocking over the footsoldier and retiring it from the battlefield as Dual-flare took aim at Lanthanum again. The cannon fired and the same result happened as before, this time putting Star-vader, Mulepton into the damage zone. Seeing that his turn was complete, Futase began hers as she drew her card, gazing down to see that it was Schwarzschild's. Deciding to keep her opponent in suspense, she put it into her hand and took out another one to place onto the Vanguard circle.
"Stained soul, rise up again and again and instill hopelessness into those who do not believe treachery!" she announed "Ride the LRIG!"
Lanthanum vanished in a heap of black and red smoke to obscure its disappearance before the staff of the new unit pierced through the smog and waved it away to reveal the companion that had been at her side since she left the real Fumio to her fate at Mayu's White Room.
"Despairing Melody Star-vader, Anne!"
Despairing Melody Star-vader, Anne/Grade 2/Intercept/SLD: 5000/POW: 9000/Link Joker/Human;LRIG/Star Gate
Anne then gazed intently and quietly towards Kamui, unnerving him a little that this was the same LRIG he saw when he met Fumio for the first time after Remember had banished him to the other world.
"What the hell did those guys do to her..." he breathed.
"Call!" Futase continued, snapping him out of his daze as a second Anne appeared on the rear-guard "My rear-guard Anne attacks your Vanguard with a boost!"
"Not happening!" the Nova Grappler user replied "Minimum Raizer guards!"
A smaller red Battleroid that seemed to resemble Battleraizer in a similar fashion appeared in front of Transraizer, taking the blow from the energy attack unleashed by the rear-guard Anne's staff before vanishing.
"Next!" the former LRIG announced.
Kamui gritted his teeth, not wanting to waste too much shield early on in the fight despite being at odds with how much damage he would like when Schwarzschild would eventually come into play. Futase moved on to her drive check, revealing Star-vader, Rejection Dragon with no trigger marking to affect things any further this turn. Anne leaped up into the air and whacked down the tip of her staff across the front of Transraizer, leaving a massive score across the front of the Battleroid. Shieldraizer then ended up in Kamui's damage zone, annoying him that his opponent acquired a Quintet Wall whilst he lost one of his own to that attack.
(End Music)
"Katsuragi's kept the damage count to three," Kiyoi murmured "He's doing well to manage his resources and prepare for Futase's speciality."
"No..." Shin muttered weakly "Futase even when I had Oracle Think Tank's speciality to increase my hand, had ways to force out my rear-guards. If Kamui-san isn't careful..."
The former blue LRIG grew puzzled, uncertain of what the shop managed meant when he thought that Kamui seemingly had little chance to break through Dominate with the cards he was using. A nervous meow caught the pair's attention as they saw the Assistacat watching nervously from outside of the barrier, unable to reunite with its owner for the present as a result of the barrier.
"Stay calm..." Shin murmured in as kind of a tone he could muster up "The fight will be over soon."
"The great Kamui stands and draws!"
(Cardfight Vanguard OST: Ore Sama Saikyou! Nova Grappler!)
Kamui then began his turn and was about to ride when he suddenly paused and noticed half of the Legion symbol on Anne's cards, gazing at them closely.
If I stay at Grade 2, Futase won't be able to perform Legion when she rides Schwarzschild he pondered But if I do that, she'll still be able to Lock my rear-guards and if she can Omega Lock, that'll make things worse. No more hesistating Kamui, we're going in from here!
He then held up the card of his choice into the air, bringing everyone's attention onto him, even from that of the imaged Anne that was in the center of Futase's formation.
"Dashing across the universe from the depths of space above Cray, the great Kamui's newest addition to the Raizer arsenal is right here!" he announced "Ride!"
A blinding white light enveloped Transraizer as it disappeared from the battlefield before a larger shadow rose up in its place, revealing the newest addition to the Nova Grappler user's deck. As the glow faded, the unit's features became more prevelant in appearance as it gleamed brightly in the sunlight. It was black with several neon light blue lights littered around the battleroid's body and equipment and a set of large booster rockets attached to a semi-circle rack on its back made it known that it was not to be trifled with as the cardfighter announced the unit's name.
"Ultimate Raizer... Glory-hand!"
Ultimate Raizer, Glory-hand/Grade 3/Twin Drive!/POW: 11000/Nova Grappler/Battleroid/Star Gate
"A new Raizer ace?" Shin murmured, having been unfamiliar with this card.
"It must be one of the cards his father gave him," Kiyoi interjected "But if he's only just changed his deck before fighting Futase, he must use it as effectively as possible."
"Here I come Futase!" Kamui announced "Dual-flare attacks your Vanguard Anne!"
"The other Anne intercepts!" his opponent responded as one of the Annes took to the defence of the other, being incinerated by Dual-flare's cannon fire.
"In that case, Glory-hand attacks!" he continued.
Futase glanced down at the cards in her hand, particuarly at the Quintet Wall she held. She wanted to use it immediately, but felt that she would be limiting her options for later in the fight.
"No guard," she murmured calmly.
"Twin Drive!" The Nova Grappler user turned over the first card to reveal Minimum Raizer. "Critical Trigger!" He then turned over the second card to unveil Raizer Girl, Kate. "Heal Trigger!"
The aura around Glory-hand's cannons gleamed brightly in a multitude of colours before two large white beams erupted from the armaments and struck Anne directly, causing her to cry out in pain as Nebula Captor and Schwarzschild Instrumental Dragon entered Futase's damage zone.
"How do you like that?!" Kamui called out with a smile "Now the result is 2 to 4!"
"You call that a reversal?" the former LRIG muttered "You were just lucky. Luck never lasts long, especially with a primitive being like yourself!"
"Alright, enough with this primitive thing, I guess that means you think I'm just dumb because of how I roll!" he huffed "I end my turn!"
(End Music)
End of Turn 5
Kamui vs Futase
Hand - 8 : 5
Damage - 2 : 4
Soul - 2 : 2
Kamui's Formation:
Ultimate Raizer, Dual-flare : Ultimate Raizer, Glory-hand : EMPTY
EMPTY : EMPTY : EMPTY
Futase's Formation:
EMPTY : Despairing Melody Star-vader, Anne : EMPTY
EMPTY : EMPTY : Star-vader, Robin Knight
At this moment, the cybernetic lens on her left eye began to shine brightly as the sky around the city began to darken, much to the surprise of everyone as they watched her draw her next card. It radiated a bright dark red as she lifted it into the air.
"Dragon of darkness, reborn from the dark fires of nothingness... revive now with your masters and revive the unending nightmare!" she announced before slamming it down on top of Anne's card "Ride the Vanguard!"
Dark flames surrounded Anne before completely engulfing her and allowing the new presence to manifest itself amongst the inferno. Schwarzschild's features became more apparent as it rose through the fire, roaring once and chuckling darkly to itself before a shockwave emitted from the black ring on its back extinguished the blaze, making its presence known to all once again.
"Engimatic Star-vader, Schwarzschild Instrumental Dragon!"
Enigmatic Star-vader, Schwarzschild Instrumental Dragon/Grade 3/Twin Drive!/POW: 11000/Link Joker/Cyber Dragon/Star Gate
The crowd on the sidelines of the battlefield began whimpering nervously, much to the surprise of Kamui and Kiyoi. They were more than aware of what the commanding Cyber Dragon was capable of from Ratie's warning beforehand, but even they couldn't help but ponder what is was that was making them more nervous than usual. The glow from Futase's cybernetic lens began to shine even more brightly as Niobium appeared onto her rear-guard. Schwarzschild began to cackling madly, making the Nova Grappler user feel uneasy.
(Cardfight! Vanguard G NEXT OST: Dominate)
"This is where the real show begins," it laughed "Futase, the time has come."
"Indeed," she replied, glancing to her opponent as she did so "You think I had any concern for Anne as I did for Fumio in the first place? Well then, I originally planned to fight with just Schwarzschild on my own terms, but I will admit that her potential has surpassed my initial concerns."
"So you're not even worried about what Mayu and those freaks did to her?!" he snapped back.
"If I were you, I would be more concerned with this fight and how it will evolve," Futase muttered "Now then... experience what that really means!"
She then reached out into her pocket and brought out her blank card, both it and the cybernetic lens glowed in a blinding white light, just as Schwarzschild Dragon roared loudly in response. The strangely shaped piece of chest armour began illuminating as well, much to the shock of all those present. Then suddenly, Futase glowed brightly and left the body of Fumio in an astral like projection, leaving it standing motionlessly without a host and throwing up the blank card into the air.
"WHA?!" Kamui exclaimed "What in the world?!"
The panels of Schwarzschild's giant black ring began unfolding and emitting sparks of electricity, just as the leftover blank card began spinning wildly until it entered the center of the ring. As it sparked and began unleashing a black coloured orb, Futase yelled loudly as her etheral self was pulled into the sphere as sparks raged across it, leaving all to wonder what was happening. Then it died down to reveal a doll like cybernetic body, similar to the one that Remember had forced Cocytus to imprison Sakaguchi's spirit within. The head features did not begin to change until Futase's voice yelled through its lips, her arms and legs outstretched as her blue hair and eyes as well as her head's skin regained their colour from her time as an LRIG, almost to a completely perfect degree save for two small plates on each cheek.
Suddenly, several jolts of electricity from the outstretched points of Schwarzschild's giant black ring sprouted and wrapped themselves across the lower portions of Futase's new body, lowering her until she was suspended in the middle view of the ring just a few inches from above Schwarzschild's head. Eventually, the motions for the sight came to a stop as a smile graced her lips, glancing down upon the units before her as well as a startled and utterly bewildered Kamui whose jaw had dropped in horror and disbelief at what he was now faced with.
"The... the hell is that?!" he gasped.
"Futase... just what in the world...?!" Kiyoi interjected.
"She left Fumio's body and combined with Schwarzschild?!" Shin exclaimed.
"YEEEEEEESSSSSS!" Schwarzschild cheered as a black aura began enveloping it and Futase "This is what it means for fighter and unit to fight as one! The power from our new union is unrivalled!"
"Katsuragi Kamui, prepare yourself!" the former LRIG announced as she pointed a finger down at him "I will teach you the full meaning of despair with my own hands!"
The Nova Grappler user could only grit his teeth upon seeing the new predicament he was now trapped within. He believed he had merely Dominate and the countdown to a Grade 5 unit to worry about, but seeing Futase leave Fumio's body for a newly created one and combine with Schwarzschild to take him down with her own hands had only made him feel even more concerned.
(End Music)
Elsewhere in the city, Ruko was wandering the streets on her own with the darkened clouds above her only beginning to worry her even more than they did before. She had always glanced back to Yuki and Tama as often as she could to try and dispell her concerns, but that had little effect and as a result of that, she wasn't watching carefully of where she was going until she bumped into the back of someone. It was Tetsu who turned around to meet the younger girl, pondering about why she had been so careless.
"Um... sorry about that sir...!" she cried out, not realizing her hands still held the two cards containing her LRIGs in plain sight.
"Those cards..." he pondered, looking down at the two LRIGs who in turn looked back at him "What exactly are you?"
"Tama!" the girl of white cheered in response "Tama says hello!"
"I am Yuki," the girl of black said calmly "Who are you?"
Tetsu then glanced over Ruko as if he was making a mental note of her appearance with him soon noticing the resemblance to the woman that had marked him several nights ago when Mayu's troupe had attacked Foo Fighter.
"Are you the Selector Kominato Ruko?" he asked.
"I... I am," she replied, a little bewildered that he already knew her name "How did you know?"
"Kai told me about you when he arrived back in Japan," Tetsu answered "I understand you do not hold similar beliefs to the woman that fought and marked me, that being a relative of yours."
"Mother..." the Selector breathed, causing him to raise an eyebrow at her response "You fought mother... and lost your units?"
The temporary Foo Fighter head could only nod grimly, confirming her suspicions as she felt even more guilt creep into her stomach. He then put a hand on her should and looked down at her.
"Do not worry, I'm already said that I'm aware of how different the two of you are," Tetsu said calmly "I'm currently allowing Chris to make some modifications to the gateway, but I'll need something of yours that is unique from your world to help him."
"Well, all my SIGNI and LRIG cards are now units..." she pondered "But my ARTS and Spells haven't changed... I could give you a spare Jetting Knowledge I have to see what happens."
"That will be good news," he replied "If Chris' theory is successful, we may be able to get you and Kiyoi home very soon."
Ruko then felt much better upon hearing the news, realizing that if all went well, she could finally return to her home world to reunite with her family and friends as well as bringing the two seperated groups back together.
"You hear that Tama?" she said "We might be going home soon!"
"Tama's excited!" Tama replied.
"I must admit, I'm impressed if Chris has managed to find a solution in just 4 days," Yuki interjected "But there is still the matter of the broken keystone you brought up."
"We've transported some of Foo Fighter's hardware to try and simulate the keystone," Tetsu answered "Hopefully, they can take the power strain of whatever the gateway will emit. Follow me."
The Selector happily obliged, following him to the mall where Christopher Lo would be waiting for the two of them. Little did they know however, the possessed Tokoha had been overhearing every word of their conversation and began to slowly follow them.
And there we go! As Ruko discovers news that one of her unchanged cards may be the key to getting her group back to her home world sooner, in parts unknown, the motionless Akira has remained in the care of Chrono Dran and Shindou Rive, only reacting to the dark aura of Dragonic Dark Overlord if someone intends to tamper with the card. Meanwhile after recieving new cards via an order his father had made, Kamui challenges Futase to a fight to avenge the loss of Misaki's remaining units and all of the marked fighters including Shin, but the fight takes a turn for the weird when the former LRIG summons a cybernetic body using her blank card and cybernetic lens to transfer her essence to and combines with Schwarzschild to take out her opponent by her own hands.
What will happen next? Can Kamui overcome one of the strangest scenarios of any cardfight he's been in and will Christopher Lo's theory pay off to get the gateway working again? Find out next time on Stand Up, the LRIG! Please share your thoughts and criticisms in the reviews, I would very much like to hear about your thoughts on my take tackling a subject that has never been brought up in the anime or the manga of any continuity, that being what kind of family Kamui has. Other than that, feel free to favourite and/or follow if you're a first time reader and I'll see you next time!
