Chapter 3 – Ride the Big Move - Part 1.
A month and a half later...
Time passed on. The family worked non-stop trying to get things accordingly to plan for their move. All of the packing, calling, and registrations was officially done. The time was now 9PM on a Friday and the family is getting ready for last minute preparations.. The nighttime sky was dark and the outside was a little cool. The coolest they've ever had during this Summer season. Inside the household of the Kurakawa family, the place was empty and deserted. All of the furniture, electronics and clothes were all packed up and were shipped to their new home. Everything was gone until they get their destination. Kio was sitting down on one of the steps, waiting on his mom and dad to get ready upstairs, while playing on his DS. He spots a van parked on edge of their driveway followed by the loud horn.
"Mom, Dad! It's Marcus' mom! Are you two about done over there!?" Kio shouted.
"We'll be down in a minute! In the meantime, why don't you help pack our luggage in the trunk!" Kio's Dad replied loudly.
"OK!" He answered back.
He stood up and walked towards the door and opened it. He propped it wide open so that it would not get him in the way of moving all of his parents stuff. He ran all the way to the van to open the back side door to tell Marcus to help him move all of their suitcases into the trunk. He agrees and it only took a mere few minutes to get the job done. They were both lifting luggage and moving at a very fast pace. Once then, Kio closed the front door and decided to wait in the van until their parents get here. Just as soon as he got in the back seat beside Marcus, Kio's parents finally came out with their carry-on bags. They both locked the doors behind and will give it to Marcus' mom when they get in. Kio's Mom had her purse and her mini makeup bag, as well as here traditional pink sleeveless shirt and white neckerchief. In case she gets cold on the plane, she carries a light pink jacket. Kio's father however was wearing his favorite white shirt with the blue long sleeves along with blue jeans and white tennis shoes to complete his outfit. His only carry-on bag was his messenger bag that contained his laptop and his iPad. He soulfully uses his iPad to only watch movies. They both get inside the van. Dad gets in the front beside Maria and Mom gets the first back row behind Dad, while the boys were sitting in the second back row.
As soon as the side door closed, Maria accelerates her van, driving the entire family all the way to the LAX airport which took over 45 minutes. Their flight doesn't leave until 12:00 A.M, so they had plenty of time for to grab something before they go or just look over some things when they get there. They all finally arrive at a Delta Air terminal to checked in all of the bags and fortunately they were the first in line to arrive. Kio's dad had business class seats for him, Akira, and his son. Maria and Marcus however had to get guest passes in order to access through security and be with the Kurakawa family one last time before their flight departs. They all arrived to the designated gate and waited for their call by one of the gate attendants. While they were waiting both Kio and Marcus was looking at his laptop at Vanguard videos on the official website and the team members that were in this year's VF Circuit.
"So, the kid with the blue hair that won the Japanese VF Circuit? That's Aichi Sendou?" Kio said
"Yep, that's Aichi Sendou." Marcus replied "He was the one who led his team to first place in the Japan stage.
"Japan stage? Wait, there were other stages?"
First it was S.I.T Genius that won Singapore, then Team Asteroid in Seoul, followed by Team Dreadnought in the Hong Kong stage, and lastly his team, Team Q4. That's the team Aichi Sendou was in that won the last stage."
"What about the other two members? The one with the light lavender hair and the short one." He wondered.
"The one on the right is Misaki Tokura and the left I believe is Kamui Katsuragi."
"Hmm..." Kio started to question." Why'd they called Q4 if there are only had three members?"
"Because there was a rule stating that only three members of a team could participate in the Circuit. That and I think from what I've heard from watching the matchups, the other member was a former leader in Q4, but went on to be with the new Team Asteroid. It had something to do about one of the older members losing his mind and decided to make his old stable from his old buddies. Who knows? So if you want, you can count the coach being the member four, right?"
They both laughed hysterically and continued to look through the team roster. They started to look though most of the teams. Some were decent, some looked very powerful, and some just looked plain silly, until they reached the last team, Team Dreadnought.
"So, this team dreadnought. Is this the type of team you're more in favor of?"
"Yep, that's the team that you don't even want to mess with. From what info i've heard, this team carries the legendary clan known as Aqua Force, an exclusive clan only to members of team dreadnought themselves, part of a prestigious family known as the family of Soryu. That family name has been carried out from generations to come."
"The guy with blonde hair and purple eyes, that must be the leader of the team or the trait of his tribe."
"Right. That's Leon Soryu"
"And those two blue haired girls must be his teammates or girlfriends should I say?"
"You're right on target with the teammate thing, but the girlfriend scenario, I'm not so sure. Those two are Jillian and Sharlene. They always stick by their leader Leon by any means necessary. Listen, if you ever make it in any cardfight tournaments and if you ever happen to run into those two, I'd be very careful if I were you."
"Why's that?" Kio laughed slightly
"These two are specially skilled and trained in martial arts, kung fu, jujitsu, taekwondo, etc, etc. They will do anything to protect their leader. One of my friends told me coming from a guy that was in the national tournament, that there was one dude that tried to assault Leon during the tourney. He was alone walking back to his hotel, when out of nowhere his teammates came through and started to beat the crap out of them! They were hit so hard that they were unable to compete and the entire team had to forfeit for the rest of the matches, giving them a "bye" in the tournament and the judges gave the win to dreadnought. I'm telling you now Kio, they may look cute on the outside, but on the inside those two are the ones you don't want to squabble with, especially Leon."
"Don't worry, I'll take your word for it. I'll be very careful. Who know's, maybe I might not run into them, if I'm lucky. But I doubt any of that stuff's going to happen." Kio said.
"NOW BOARDING DELTA FLIGHT 741 NON-STOP FROM LOS ANGELES TO TOKYO. AT THIS TIME, WE WOULD LIKE TO BOARD PASSENGERS ON STARTING WITH HANDICAP AND BUSINESS CLASS PASSENGERS!" The announcer lady said over the microphone.
"Well, that's our cue to go. This is it. I'm really going to miss you a lot Marcus."
"Me too. But I'll still be in touch online. So, if you need anything or just want to talk to somebody personal. You know who to Skype right?"
"Believe that."
"Kio! Honey, hurry up and get in line with us!" Kio's mom shouted.
"I gotta go man, I'll call you later."
"KIO WAIT! There's something I want to give you before you get on that plane."
Marcus reached into his red backpack and pulled out a golden yellow colored deck case with a new Vanguard deck that Marcus modified from the previous budget deck that Kio used to beat him as a goodbye present.
"This is the Gold Paladin deck you used to beat me in your first game of Vanguard. It was a budget deck first, but I modified it so that it's new and improved, even all of the grade three units. I want you to have it. But don't fight with it yet until you arrive, I want you to be surprised."
They both hugged, knowing that those two will be missing each other for quite some time.
"Thanks buddy." Kio smiled extending his arm and shaping his hand in shape of a fist.
"Yeah, you know me." Marcus smiled and he too extended his arm and shaped his hand into a fist and gave him a fist bump. "Now get on that plane, you got a whole new life just waiting ahead of you and when you're playing that deck think about me and all of the awesome times we spent playing Vanguard"
Kio took his laptop and his new deck and put both of them his case for safe keeping. He joined in with his mom and dad in line waiting to move along forward through the gate. Kio's mom spoke to her son.
"So, did you say your goodbyes to Marcus?" Kio's mom spoke.
"Yeah, he even gave me a new deck before he left. He told me to wait until we arrive."
"Oh, that must be that new Cardfighting game you two are into."
"Uh-huh, I'm just excited to know what's inside."
"That's very thoughtful of him son. You know, this reminds of something that happened to me when I was flying out for the first time when I was your age." Kio's dad says.
"Oh, no. Not another one of his stories." Kio sighed and thought to himself with his eyes shut.
"One time, when I made it to the airport, my mom wouldn't let me go. Seeing her son fly out by with his brother for the first time..."
NOW BOARDING FOR BUSINESS CLASS!" Said the announcer lady.
Kio's mom gave him a peck on the lips. "We don't have time Oliver. You can tell it when we get on the plane. Come on Kio. We got a plane to catch."
"But this isn't a long story!" He shouted.
"Oh please, all of your stories are long stories, now come on." She smiled.
The family started to move along forward. They scanned their tickets in along with their passports, giving them granted access to welcome aboard. When they arrived on the plane, they went towards the right to entered first class area. Upon entering, they noticed the seats looked very comfortable and can convert into a recliner and to a bed. Also, a remote on the sides of the seats that can be a TV remote for on-demand movies and a video game controller. The seats came complete with free cold bottles of water, warm blankets, pillows, and a reading light on the side. There were three aisles of seats with each row of two.
"Dad, is this where we'll be sitting through this flight?" Kio questioned
"Yep, this is what you'll be experiencing the same way I've been with my overseas business trips." He answered
"It looks astonishing, Oliver. I've never been more surprised to fly in this type of class before. So, classy." Kio's mom said.
"OK, so our seats should be on the right aisle. Let's see, I'm in 8B and Akira it looks you're in 8A, which means you get the window seat sweetheart. Kio's dad says kissing his wife.
"Ooohh I love the window seat." She said as she sat down.
"And Kio it looks like you're in row 9A son, right behind us. That means you get the window seat too."
He went over to his designated seat and sat down to what he thinks was the most comfortable thing he ever sat upon in any airplane. Kio felt even more relaxed than sitting in any chair he had ever sat in his life. He looked at most of the extraordinary features the airline has to offer.
"This is so cool! I love having the entire row by myself." Kio happily said.
Around twenty minutes later, Kio was on his phone looking at more things about Vanguard before he had to turn it off for takeoff. Doing more research about Vanguard could probably improve his skills and knowledge of the game. He went on to a new tab on his browser and did a quick google search on the teams. On the main site, he looked at pictures and highlights of the teams during past tournaments. He then took his interest into looking this Team Dreadnought. His finger touched on a picture of both Jillian and Sharlene with the leader Leon for more info. Suddenly, he got a notification text message from Marcus. Kio pressed on the message and it reads…
"Kio, one more thing. Don't forget to find a card shop named Card Capital. I got more info from Japanese cardfighters saying that Aichi Sendou from Team Q4 plays at that exact shop."
Kio nodded to understood his friend's text message. If there was any time left, he could try and find that card shop when he arrived. He also received another message from Marcus. The message was in multimedia format with an image of what the card shop looked like. He then hears voices coming from his way from the entry of cabin aisle.
"Master Leon, wait for us, and speed it up will you!" the mysterious voice said.
"I'm coming, I'm coming! At least we made it before the flight took off." Another voice said.
"Well, we would've been on time much earlier if you hadn't wandered off for a decaf and slice of cake at a Starbucks for the last minute. You just HAD to fall asleep."
"Well, excuse me if the layover was over two hours. Besides, you and Leon had coffee and I wanted some too!" She bragged
"Girls, please! All this bickering and arguing is not going anywhere. The point is, we made it to our flight in time and that's what matters. Understood?" said Leon.
"Yes, sir." said both the girls.
As the girls were heading towards their seats, Kio was looking up and taking a glance at the two.
They both had the same sailor outfit with their navel showing in the front, similar hairstyle, and eye color. He now knows without a doubt that they are twins. He also sees a blonde haired guy with purple eyes and wearing a navy blue uniform walking in front of them with a blue carrying bag with an Aqua Force emblem on the front as a snap. Without them noticing, he went back at his phone and made sure that he wasn't seeing things. Both of the girls looked pretty identical compared to the picture he was looking at on his phone. He denies that the fact that they are the girls that were on that picture boarding first class and thinks that they're a bunch of cosplayers who are fans of the game.
"Where do we sit by the way?" one of the girls questioned.
"Let's see." said Leon looking at the tickets. "I'm in 9D in the middle seat aisle, Jillian you're in 9C beside me and Sharlene you're in..."
Kio overhears them talking. He really wanted the front row all to himself. Closing his eyes and crossing his fingers, he repeated to himself in his thoughts, "Please not 9B! Please not 9B! Please not 9B!"
"You're in 9B at the end." said Leon.
"Gee, thanks a lot" Kio said sarcastically in his mind while rolling his eyes.
"No fair! I wanna sit by you Master Leon. Aren't there any other spots where I can sit beside or even behind you?" Sharlene cried.
"Sharlene, I'm sorry. There aren't other spots open and besides the rest of the spots are already taken anyway. So, why don't you go sit down on your seat ." Jillian pointed and explained as she sat down beside Leon.
"But...But..." stammered Sharlene
"It's OK Sharlene. I'll be fine. Just take your seat." said Leon patting Sharlene on the shoulder.
"Alright" she pouted.
Sharlene was disappointed that there were no other seats to set beside or behind Leon. So, there was no other choice but to sit to the designated seat. Kio moved his laptop bag out of the way and under his seat for Sharlene to sit down.
"Thanks for moving your bag." She spoke.
"No problem." He replied.
"Did you wanted the seat vacant all to yourself."
"How did she know?" Uhhhh..How did you know?"
"I noticed your bag was on the seat. It's OK. I always have the entire row all to myself too when I'm flying . You're not the only one here." She giggled.
As soon as Kio was about to say something, he was cut off by the flight attendant making announcements about the flight safety rules and the estimated arrival time. After that was done, the plane was getting ready to be taking off out of the runway. The plane was speeding up and was now taking off. He was very nervous. Sharlene was a little concerned about him being felt this way. She was thinking that it was his first time flying.
"Are you OK? Is this your first time flying?"
"Nah. It's just when planes are already in mid flight, I'm all calm and collective, but when they start to take off, my body starts to shake and I get a tend to freak out get a little nervous." Kio explained to her.
"Don't worry, there's nothing to be afraid of. Here, if you don't mind, let me hold your hand for a sec. When I was first flying, I was nervous just like you." Sharlene said placing her hand on the top of his.
She placed her hand on top of his hand during take off and Kio started to feel calm very quickly before the plane reached its altitude. In fact, his face started to blush a little. He could feel the cool, soft, and smooth skin from the blue haired girl.
"Feeling any better?"
"Y-Yeah, much better. Thank you. Uhhmmm, what's your name?"
"Sharlene and my sister sitting beside me is Jillian" she introduced. "You are?"
The name Jillian and Sharlene runged his bell in his mind. He recalled the name back at the airport when him and Marcus were talking about them moments back.
"I'm K-K-Kio Kurakawa, please to meet you." He introduced back in a nervous way.
When the flight reached its altitude, the flight attendant announced that passengers can now use their electronic devices in the cabin, provided with the free wi-fi service that was built in on the plane. The first thing Kio did was pull out his bag and reached for his laptop to connect to the internet. Meanwhile, Sharlene watches him connect while sipping on her coffee she brought from the LAX Starbucks.
"So what are you doing now?" She inquired.
"I'm gonna connect the wifi on my laptop. I'm finding out more about this new game I'm learning more about. It's called Vanguard." He said.
"Did you say Vanguard? I love Vanguard! Our team won a title in the VF Circuit in the Hong Kong stage not too long ago."
"Yeah?" He answered.
When Sharlene said Hong Kong stage, it reminded of him hours ago about what Marcus told him about the VF Circuit. Kio then decides to take a wild guess and pops the question.
"Sharlene, by any chance, are you in a stable called Team Dreadnought?"
Yep! You're right!" Sharlene said in a sing-song tone.
"So I was right, and for a minute I thought you and sister were just cosplayers being huge fanatics of the card game."
Sharlene giggled once more from what Kio responded.
"Tell me, how did you qualify?" He questioned.
"We didn't really qualify. We were actually invited to participate. Our team was on top in multiple Vanguard tournaments from our region and we had all of the skills to prove that we were the ones that were eligible for that special event.
Kio nodded and understood a little of what Sharlene was saying
"Afterwards, we got an invitation from the Cardfighting committee and the Tatsunagi Corporation for the right to compete in the VF Circuit against many of the fiercest competitors all throughout Asia. When we were near the end of the circuit, well...let's just say things got REALLY messy."
Kio was a little weirded out by what she meant by "messy". What did it mean by what she said? Did something serious happen?
Hours later, roughly all of the passengers have already received their food and drinks. Kio's mom was nuzzling next her husband, while oliver was his iPad watching a movie. Meanwhile, Sharlene and Kio were having fun playing video games on his laptop. They were playing a fighting game from an old console emulator. They game was a beat em up that had a variety of video game characters from different franchises. They've been playing for nearly four hours until it came down to the last game. Both were tied with two wins and over 100 percent of damage. Next hit would be an automatic game. Sharlene was standing back getting ready to charge her final blast until Kio's character charges fourth and knocks it her character giving him the win.
"Aww come on!" Yelled Sharlene.
"Hey, you were wide open for an attack, giving me the upper hand." Kio said. "But it was a good game though. A close one to say the least."
"Yeah, it was pretty close. Great game." she said shaking his hand.
"Yeah, you too."
"Speaking of games, don't you have a deck with you by any chance? Since you've been learning quite a bit, you must have a deck on you." Sharlene asked.
"Yeah, but I'm not opening my deck or taking it out the bag until I get settled in my new home." He answered.
"Awwwwww, why not opening it now?"
"Because, my best friend told me that I should wait until I get to my new house to fight this deck and I'm gonna keep his word."
"Oh, you're moving to Japan?"
"Yeah, me and family are moving because of my Dad. He got a new job offer from his bank firm. I was pretty ecstatic when he first told me."
Shortly after, most of the people on the flight are already asleep including Jillian and Leon. The interior of the plane's lights were dimmed down giving a calming sleeping aid for all the passengers. Kio was starting to to feel tired as well. He was expecting this to happen to himself considering he stayed up a little late. Sharlene was feeling the same way he was feeling. They were both tired and decided to drift to sleep.
"I think it's time for me to sleep." Kio yawned as he stretched his arms behind.
"Yeah, I think so for me too. That coffee I had may be great but it's not keeping me up any longer" Sharlene yawned also.
"It was nice talking and playing along with you Sharlene, even if it wasn't a cardfight." Kio chuckled setting his seat to a bedding mode.
"Hey, Kio." Said from a tired Sharlene doing the same.
"Yeah?"
"I hope we do cardfight one day." She said resting already with a blanket over herself.
"I hope so to. But, who knows? We might just bump into each other during a tournament or just fight for fun. But, the bottom line is that I'm a cardfighter now and I'm going to be facing other cardfighters from all across the nation now that I'm moving to a new country. I'm gonna enjoy this experience so much." Kio affirmed with his fist balled up in his face showing his expression of determination.
As kio finished his long winded sentence, he heard a loud snore. The tired Sharlene was knocked out to sleep by that recent conversation. He chuckled lightly and proceeded to rest on his back to sleep and begin a new day for the rookie cardfighter.
"Good Night, Sharlene." Kio laughed and sighed as he turned off his side of the light. He then turned it back on to find his bag. Ruffling through his bag, he found the deck that his friend Marcus gave. Kio knew that he was told that wouldn't supposed to open it until he made it.
"He said don't fight with it until I arrive. He didn't say anything about taking a sneak peak. It's not like I'll be using this to cardfight on a plane. Oooone peek wouldn't hurt."
He opened the deck box to take a little peek at the cards. Within seconds, he took the cards out of the box to look at all the cards Marcus had made for him. Inside, there was the one card that he recognized like, Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth, and Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains. But, the were cards that he did not recognize from the budget deck he played. There was his new starting vanguard, it was now Crimson Lion Cub, Kryph and others like Player of the Holy Bow, Viviane and Knight of Passion, Bagdemagus. Kio looked through and through until he saw four copies of the Vanguard he was going to play when he arrives to Japan.
"Oh...my...god!" He said to himself. The four copies glistened in gold right in front, as if he was staring at solid gold bricks that were shining right in front of his eyes.
"This is going to be sweet! Thanks, Marc"
