Cardfight Vanguard: Setsuzoku Sensō
Chapter 10
Hungry Dragon & Hidden Seafood Specialist
At the end of school on Saturday as high school freshmen all over the academy are celebrating the end of Hell Week, Kokuo decided to be a gentleman and escort the child like Suzuran partway home in place of Ryuga who was preoccupied. It was supposed to be a simple affair; however a casual comment from Suzuran only served to fill Kokuo with dread.
"Does she know or only suspect? Or am I overthinking an innocent comment again? Damn…. what should I do?" Kokuo fearfully thought.
"What's wrong Ko-chi?" Suzuran asked in a concerned yet cute tone of voice once she noticed the color drained from Kokuo's face.
After having some deep personal secret his potentially being exposed, Kokuo can't help but think that there's a capable chess master hiding behind Suzuran's innocent expression. Yet due to how innocent her expression seems, Kokuo can't help but wonder at the same time whether or not he's overthinking the whole issue.
"I'll need to be more careful from here on when it comes to dealing with this girl." Kokuo thought as he stares into Suzuran's concerned eyes, "If she's really hiding her true nature like Umi….. then I don't want to risk my peaceful life my asking why. Then…. if I'm truly overthinking this and that Suzuran is just a teenaged girl with a child-like innocence….. I don't want to do anything to hurt her feelings or mother would kill me."
"Hello….. Earth to Ko-chi, are you there?" Suzuran asked in an innocent manner as she tilts her head to one side, "It's not like Suzu thinks the king's missing child was you, so why did you freak out like that?"
"Ah sorry." Kokuo declared as he forced himself to calm down, "I uhh.. realized that I forgot to do something my mom really needed me to do for her work that had to be done before class ended today. I freaked out when I started imagining how much she'd yell at me because of it."
"Oh okay….. still…. Suzu wants to know what you think of the news story she mentioned." Suzuran asked.
"My father abandoned my mother and me when we were young, so sorry….. because of that I have mixed feelings on the notion of family reunions." Kokuo honestly answered.
"Oh I'm so sorry…. Suzu didn't want to bring up any bad feelings for you." Suzuran said with a guilty expression.
"It's alright." Kokuo retorts.
"Hey! Hold up!" a familiar young man yelled.
Kokuo and Suzuran turned around towards the direction of that voice and saw Ryuga jogging towards them at a fast pace.
"Ryu-chi!" Suzuran yelled as she excitedly grabbed Ryuga's arms, "What happened? Suzu thought that you weren't going to be able to walk with her home today."
"The thing I wanted to get was sold out, so I left." Ryuga explained as he hurriedly attempted to catch his breath, "I was hoping to catch you around the store you mentioned you were going to, and…. I guess I got lucky."
From here on Ryuga, Suzuran, and Kokuo walk together (with the former two counting for most of the talking going on) right until they had to part for the bus station and train station respectively. Ryuga quickly took the only open seat at the bench next to the bus station, of which there wasn't much of considering the size of the gentleman he's next to. Then the larger gentleman suddenly sat up just as Kokuo sat down in order for the former to stretch his legs, and much to the latter's surprise he finds his best friend Umi sitting on the opposite end of the bench. How strange….. she should have been home by now considering the bus schedule.
"What are you still doing here Umi?" Kokuo couldn't help but ask.
"Ah Kokuo, please come sit next to me as it's refreshing to see you again even though it hasn't been that long." Umi said in a polite tone, of which Kokuo knows to be translated into her sailor tongue as, "For the love of f***ing Jesus Christ sit down next to me Kokuo…. That fat f*** smelled like he's trying to get home from the gym."
Kokuo wishing to relieve his best friend of her burden willingly complies to her request by sitting down next to her.
"As for your other question…. I had forgotten something at school so I went back to get it, and… by the time I got back the bus was already leaving." Umi politely explained, "I know what you're thinking…. before you ask.. the next bus is late."
"Then would you like to take the slightly longer route home via train?" Kokuo asked.
"That's not necessary as the next bus should show up in a few more minutes, but…. we'll go with your suggestion on the tiny chance that this one is late as well." Umi answered.
"Alright then….. is there anything you want to talk about while we wait?" Kokuo asked, "And before you ask my girlfriend's identity is off limits."
"Then….. are you going to go to the little get together amongst freshmen this Friday?" Umi inquired.
"Get together?" Kokuo asked as he tilted his head in confusion.
"Remember….. what the principal talked about after I won my match." Umi said in a tone as though she were asking a question in an attempt to trigger her friend's memory.
Now imagine… as a student of Setsuzoku you recall sitting in the stands as you watch Umi and Suzuran's classmates go at each other one after the other. Several matches later you become witness to Umi triumphantly (though still narrowly) defeating the 3rd ranked Suzuran, and the roaring applause that followed. You are even treated to the sight of Umi's classmates picking her off the ground and repeatedly chucking the air.
"Put me down…. Put me down…. I'm afraid of heights!" Umi yelled as she held down her skirt for fear of generating a bit of fan service.
"Well done!" Yuuske said in a loud booming voice such that a few people in the audience had to cover their ears.
Everyone in this stadium starts to look around in order to find where their young principal was speaking from, however it doesn't take anyone long to realize that the principal's voice was coming from the various "big screen" monitors placed around the arenas. The people in this arena could see on the screens themselves that Yuuske was sitting at the desk in his office.
"I apologize if I had hurt anyones ears, however what you are seeing before you is a pre-recorded message I had prepared in anticipation for this day set to start playing at the end of the first inter-class matches in each of the arenas. To those who won their fights, how was the sweet taste of victory? To those who lost, do you like the stain of defeat on your mind?" the recording of Yuuske asked.
Naturally those who won felt relief and many of those who lost felt they would have won if it wasn't for (Factor X) occurring.
"Regardless of the results….. did any of you feel like you had overlooked a detail about your opponent, make a stupid mistake, feel that your deck couldn't match your skills, that your skills couldn't match your deck, and several other possible factors?" the recording of Yuuske once again asked.
Indeed such thoughts went through the minds of the freshmen in Umi and Suzuran's class. If only that card was played instead, if only I knew my opponent could do that, if only my deck didn't feel like putting on a heavy suit of armor for the first time, and if only I wasn't metaphorically forced to drive a Formula One racecar. The freshmen who fought felt if they had taken these factors into consideration….. they would have won with greater ease, won at all instead of losing, and wouldn't have lost nearly as bad even if they still didn't win in the end.
"If you've had these thoughts…. then you know what you need to fix, and thus you yet have hope to survive in the Vanguard world, Those who have tasted victory must grow in order to continue tasting it, and those who have lost must grow to know such a sensation is like. In short….. throw everything you have into training in order to become strong!" the recording of Yuuske declared as his stern expression softened quite a bit, "But don't forget that you're all still young, so take the time to enjoy life when you can as well. Thus I say again….. those who have won I congratulate you, and I wish luck to those who have yet to fight for victory. Still…. in the end… to victor goes the spoils, of which brings me to my next announcement."
Here at Setsuzoku…. a word from the principal is like an imperial edict from the emperor, so naturally none of the people here would dare to turn their eyes or ears away from the various monitors.
"The freshmen amongst the winning class of this and the remaining inter-class matches who have also won their own fights are here by cordially invited to a celebratory party with your other victorious freshmen next Friday at 6pm local time. The details will be messaged to you later and we've prepared some special entertainment for you all, but the smartest amongst you should figure out what that is later today." the recording of Yuuske said as his stern expression reappeared, "If the rest of you find this unfair… then win this fight or the next one if you believe yourself to be worth such treatment. This is your principal… singing off."
The various screens in the arena turn off as that line is spoken, and now you yourself imagining back in the present as Umi and Kokuo recall this very series of events.
"Oh yeah… the details were sent right after the commercial announcing the surprise match between the academy's 5 strongest fighters and the 5 strongest of Harvard's 18 & Under Vanguard club premiered." Kokuo mumbled as he finally recalled what his best friend was referring to, "A few of the gymnasiums across campus are being turned into fully catered banquet halls with TVs being setup at each table."
"Yup…. I'm planning to go to the gymnasium closest to where we enter the school from. What about you?" Umi asked.
"I was planning the same thing." Kokuo answered.
"And as you should recall from the invites that were sent to our phones…. we're even allowed to bring guests." Umi said in an excited fashion.
"I'm not planning to bring my girlfriend so don't even ask." Kokuo said in a blunt fashion before Umi could say another word.
"Well s**t… that answers that f***ing question." Umi thought before saying, "I wasn't going to even ask about your mysterious lady that you didn't bother to ever tell your BEST friend about. I was thinking of inviting Suzu… he he… since she's my brand new little sister I should show her a good time."
"I haven't decided on who I'd invite if I'd ask someone at all, and…. you shouldn't try getting too close to that girl." Kokuo said after careful consideration.
"Suzu is a nice girl. Why would it be a problem?" Umi retorts.
"You've only known her for slightly over a day… or a few hours if you want to get picky about it. If you two do end up becoming as close as real sisters then I'm happy for you, however it doesn't change the fact that you two are practically strangers. I'm just saying that you shouldn't try so hard to get close to her until you know her better or you risk getting hurt." Kokuo explained with a concerned tone in his voice.
"Okay mom….. I promise to not take things too far too fast with my new boyfriend that I would most certainly TELL you about. Rest assured I'll do my best to move on if we really do break up." Umi said in a tone that was both sarcastic and indicating of her continued annoyance at her best friend keeping a secret about his new romance.
"Alright fine….. I'll ask her to see if she's interested in going with me this Friday, but I can't promise anything." Kokuo sighed in defeat as he hoped his best friend would at least temporarily stop bringing this lest he fear his food getting stepped on again.
Umi and Kokuo talk more openly about their experiences at Setsuzoku now that the pressure of Hell Week has been lifted, however they still didn't get so into their conversation that they failed to notice the next bus that was supposed to come was late as well. After a quick internet search….. it turned out the road their bus takes was completely closed off due to police investigating a robbery. Umi and Kokuo continue their conversation now that their curiosity was, but if they read that particular article further they'd read that it was orchestrated by a mysterious crimson-eyed figure not that they know what it means anyway. Regardless…. It takes another hour for a bus to show up to take Umi and Kokuo home, and another 30 minutes for Umi to actually get home after she and Kokuo go their separate ways.
"I'm home!" Umi declared while thing, "And you f***ing stupid old man…. I'm going to smack you with one of these chairs when I see you."
"PERFECT!" Umi's overtly doting father yelled.
While Umi knew that her father would say something that towards her, his words were actually being directed towards someone else this time. Umi turns towards the direction her father's voice came from and sees him talking to a teenaged boy.
"Is that someone from my school?" Umi thought as she noticed that this teenager was wearing the Setsuzoku Academy uniform.
Umi couldn't tell whether or not she knew this particular student at this moment due to the fact that his back was to her face.
"What's going on father?" Umi asks as her expression clearly shows that she's wondering why a student from her school was here.
The ears of that particular student perks up as if he had recognized Umi's voice, and after he turned around to face her the Setsuzoku student turned out to be Ryuga.
"What are you doing here?" Ryuga curiously asked.
Before answering Ryuga's question, Umi looks around her family diner wondering whether or not Suzuran had come with him. It turns out Suzuran had indeed come with Ryuga, but she's joyfully enjoying a parfait off of the desert menu…. to the point where one sees the anime cliché of lightly blushing cheeks, a colored backdrop, and a bunch of fluttering sparkles.
"Srhoow dericous." Suzuran mumble seemingly having not noticed Umi's presence as her cheeks were stuffed with food.
"I…. live here. My parents own this diner." Umi explained as she wishes there was a hole she could jump into.
"You live here?" Ryuga asked as he constantly glanced back and forth between Umi and her father.
When Ryuga recalls the several embarrassing pictures Umi's father had shown him the day he met Suzuran, it dons on him why Umi seemed to look weird as she asked him about it.
"Ohhhh... she must have been really embarrassed when she realized her dad was showing off pictures like that." Ryuga thought.
Umi was indeed embarrassed yes; however that emotion was replaced by an immense amount of murderous rage.
"Ah my darling greatest daughter in the world, are these two friends of yours?" Umi's father asked as he was obviously referring to Ryuga and Suzuran, of whom just now noticed Umi's presence but didn't want to interrupt.
"Yes." Umi answered.
"Does Ryuga seem like a responsible young man to you?" Umi's father asked, "It's just that he came here answering the Wanted adds that I've put out, so I want to know."
"Truthfully we don't know each other that well since we've only just met, but he seems perfectly responsible from what I've seen and heard." Umi honestly answered.
"Good… it seems your papa won't have to worry about your future after all." Umi's father said as a relieved expression appears on her face.
"I'm sorry?" Umi mumbled with a confused look on her face.
Umi's father turns his gaze back towards Ryuga instead of answering his daughter's confusion.
"I'm satisfied with the answers you gave to the interview questions, not to mention your results when I tested your skills working in the kitchen as well as with the customers, and my daughter seems to approve of your character as well." Umi's father said as he placed his hands over both of Ryuga's shoulders, "If you give me your class schedule as well as the schedule for any other major obligations you have…. I'll come up with a work schedule and you can start a week from next Monday."
"Umm… thank you sir." Ryuga said.
"Also given how much talent you've shown with kitchen-work…. I've decided to teach you as much of my skills as possible, and if you want…. I have pull with the headmaster of that famous cooking school with a 10% graduation rate… it'll be easy for me to arrange a transfer." Umi's father offered.
"I've no desire to transfer schools sir as I have to rise to the top of Setsuzoku's student rating as fast as possible, but…. I'd still be happy to learn what you have to teach." Ryuga said thinking it wouldn't be a bad idea to learn a trade in case he doesn't make it to his third year at Setsuzoku.
"It warms my heart to see such an honest young man. With your talent…. After you've learned everything…. I'll have you marry my daughter and take over the diner when the time comes." Umi's father declared as though he was confident that his decision was set in stone.
"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Umi, Ryuga, and even Suzuran simultaneously yelled due to the tremendous shock generated by this bombshell.
Umi and Ryuga's jaws dropped to the floor from shock while Suzuran looked as though she was going to choke on the fruit in the parfait.
"The f*** is wrong with you for suggesting something this idiotic you stupid old man?" Umi thought as she started looking for the lighter chairs amongst the diner.
"No absolutely not… Suzu won't allow it!" Suzuran yelled as she marched between Ryuga and Umi's father whilst grabbing Ryuga's arms, "Suzu might have acknowledged Umi-chi as her onee-chan, but she absolutely won't share Ryu-chi with her."
"Older sister huh? Now that you mention it…. if you put hair and eye color aside, you do look enough like my daughter to actually be sisters." Umi's father thought, "Then if you're worried about your big sister stealing a march on you… why not work for me as well? As good as Ryuga might be… one person isn't going to be enough part-timers for me while he and my daughter are going to school."
"Fine….. Suzu will be such a good employee that you'll completely forget about wanting to marry off Ryu-chi and instead you'll want to put Suzu's name on your family register as Umi-chi onee-chan's official little sister." Suzuran declared with a determined glint in her eye, but then she thinks "Oh god why did I say something like that? Just what was wrong with me?" once she realizes what she said.
"Two-in-One employee get…. He he he… you shouldn't underestimate adults little girl. It's obvious you like this Ryuga guy and with your looks along with my amazing daughters…. we'll easily attract a new market of customers from your school. As if I'd really marry off daddy's little girl to someone I just met…. she obviously deserves a real prince at the very least. Still…. this girl seems a lot smarter than she looks, so I had better keep up with the act." Umi's father thought revealing that he actually planned this emotional debacle from the start.
"I'm…. flattered sir, but….. I have no intention of getting hitched just yet." Ryuga said after a while as he felt as though he had to use up his entire life's good luck to come up with something to say.
"Ha ha… no need to be shy…. back in the day it was common for we men of Asian cultures to take more than one wife, so if this other girl wants to marry you as well let her." Umi's father said as he pats Ryuga on the back with a little extra force behind each pat, "Just promise me that you'll make my super amazing daughter the first wi…rhgmpphh."
Umi's father suddenly fell to the ground as wooden fragments from one of the diner's chairs spread across its floor. Umi's mother…. a woman with strawberry pink hair looking as though she were in her early 20s rather than mid to late 30s was revealed to be standing behind Umi's father holding a leg that came from the broken chair.
"Oh dear….. I'm so sorry darling… I meant to grab an extra chair from storage, but I didn't mean to slip and hurt you like that." Umi's mother said with a concerned tone as she covered her mouth with her free hand, "Still…. you shouldn't be embarrassing our daughter in front of her friends like that, so you can consider this karmic justice."
Umi's mother removed her hand from her mouth revealing a smile expected of a concerned and doting mother, but for some reason that in itself still had the effect of scaring Umi and her friends somewhat.
"I think he's unconscious mom." Umi said as she was the first amongst her friends to recover.
"He's fine… he's just playing honey." Umi's mother, "Trust me honey, I know very well how durable your father's body can be."
Let the obvious 18+ implications of that statement go through your mind.
"But…. Suzu clearly saw you lift the chair over your head." Suzu mumbled in shock as she couldn't take her eyes away from Umi's mom.
"I only slipped, and…. I heard what you said about acknowledging my daughter as your big sister. When you get comfortable with the thought…. Feel free to call me aunty or mama yourself." Umi's mom said as she maintained her kindhearted smile while blatantly trying to redirect the flow of the conversation.
"The chair clearly swung overhead like an axe to some firewood." Ryuga pointed out.
"Really… honestly all I did was lose my balance for a bit. Still…. since my darling seems to think well of your talent enough to teach you…. be sure to learn as well from him as you do your lessons at school." Umi's mom said, "Ah… I forgot to bring a broom."
"Umm…. hello sir… I came here….. for the….. usual." Sekai said in his nervously mumbling mode as he opened the front door of the diner.
At that moment Sekai clearly sees Umi's father on the floor unconscious (but thankfully not bleeding), Umi's mom giving out a kindhearted yet still somehow scary smile, and Umi herself along with her friends staring in shock.
"I'll…. just…. come back….. later for dinner." Sekai mumbled as he slowly walked backwards through the door and gently closed in behind him.
But due to the low volume Sekai was speaking at….. no one actually noticed his entrance or exit into the diner what so ever. After cleaning up the mess from the broken chair, waiting for Umi's father to regain consciousness, and subsequently get Ryuga and Suzu's contact information….. the remainder of the day continues on as normal…. or at least as normal a day can get after witnessing their father getting whacked with a chair. At any rate…. Umi walks back into her room after having taken a bath with her pajamas on and a towel wrapped around her hair.
"Finally I can relax." Umi mumbled to herself as she practically slumps into the chair next to her desk.
Umi tries to relax, but she suddenly decides to turn on her computer and load up the contents of Aadyn's flash drive once more before she could even start getting comfortable in her chair.
"No…. I've relaxed enough today. If I'm going to make my declaration of becoming a pro fighter a reality…. I have to work hard and catch up the geniuses of the academy." Umi mumbled to herself.
It was at this moment that Umi recalled the information pamphlet about Club Recruitment Week that the academy sent to all of the students as well as the teachers. Deciding to treat it as a warm-up to studying, Umi takes the time to seriously read the information on her school phone rather than skimp over the contents like how she had done so when first receiving it.
"Wow…. this digital pamphlet is way bigger than I was expecting it to be." Umi mumbled to herself as she starts reading the page regarding student conduct in the pamphlet, "Let's see…. from Monday to Friday all students who aren't a member of a club or aren't taking an active role in preparation of their club's booths are to attend homeroom as normal. Afterwards students are free to examine any booth they wish, however they're required to stay on academy grounds until the end of normal school hours."
Umi finds herself being marveled by the number of clubs at Setsuzoku Academy, however such a thing is only possible due to the sheer size of the campus. Umi stops reading through the list of clubs at the academy after a while due to the aforementioned huge number of them, but she quickly notices that the digital pamphlet has an advanced search function built in to help students find a club that actually interests them. It doesn't take her long to decide what to search for, however Umi decides to enter details regarding the interests of an entirely different person.
"Kokuo's mom was heavily against him taking classes for it for fear of hurting himself, but let's try "Swordsmanship" and see what happens." Umi their dryad skills, so it might not hurt for me to learn more about the martial art."
After entering the necessary information, Umi finds that Setsuzoku has a comprehensive Swordsmanship club with several divisions. There are divisions with well-known competitions such as kendo or fencing, divisions as fanciful as learning the lightsaber forms from Star Wars, and as strange as learning how to wield a double-bladed sword.
"Yeah okay…. I'll look up clubs that might interest me after I study for a bit." Umi mumbled as she turned her attention back to Aadyn's flash drive.
Umi spends the next couple of hours to continue studying Aadyn's flashdrive. For the first hour she continues to soak up the content related to the Neo Nectar's "Maiden of" series, and for the second hour she reads through a sub-folder titled "Training Guides for Transitioning to Different Clans". In other words it's a training guide for when a fighter that normally uses one build of a clan wants to learn one build of another clan. When a fighter is learning a completely new clan, due to muscle memory they might for example play the offensive retiring Narukami like the defensive retiring Kagero. By following the listed guides you'd be able to quickly eliminate that problem.
"Let's see…. yes… found it!" Umi mumbled as she started reading through "Maiden of" transitional guides.
Due to how heavily Umi was reading and re-reading a particular transitional guide, she decides to go to sleep when she's done rather then look up clubs that suit her own interests. Speaking of sleeping….. the one thing that can be guaranteed using the "Word of God" trope is that regardless of what all the high school division freshmen did on Saturday, they had most certainly slept in on Sunday due to left-over pent-up stress and exhaustion. They all spend the rest of the day relaxing in their own ways when they wake up. Umi helps arounds her family diner once she gets up, Kokuo goes back to sleep right after using the bathroom, Ryuga blows off steam by focusing on training, and what Kisaki as well as Suzuran were doing remains a mystery given their personalities. Then the day ends, and once students arrive at the academy and go through homeroom they find that the rest of the campus is a hustle & bustle of activity. Such is the case made apparent to Umi and Kokuo as they walk around campus.
"Get your takoyaki here! Get your fresh takoyaki here!" an older gentleman yelled at the top of his lungs.
"We have grilled skewers here! Steak, chicken, shrimp, or whatever else you want we have here!" another older gentleman yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Wow….. this place seems like a bigger version of the festivals we had back in our middle school days." Umi said as she took note of all the people running all over the place.
"The food stalls were set up so the various clubs (that weren't directly related to food) could focus completely on their recruitment efforts, and I think I saw a few reporters around the place as well." Kokuo explained, "To the rest of the freshmen…. I guess you could say club recruitment week was a way to get rid of any leftover stress they have."
"Food huh? I think I remember seeing something about a f***ing cooking club while I was skimming through that massive a** list of clubs." Umi thought, "Maybe I'll check it out next when we're done here.
"So where's your new little sister and her boyfriend?" Kokuo curiously asks.
"I don't know…. where's my best friend and his new girlfriend?" Umi retorts as she continues to show how annoyed she is about this issue, "I promise that will be the last time, but to answer your question Suzu texted me how she and Ryuga are still miffed about their defeats so they're going to take advantage of the Academy's training facilities while they're empty up until right before the club presentations they're interested in start in the afternoon."
"Oh…. speaking of presentations, how far is the swordsmanship club's stall from here?" Kokuo shrugged as he immediately decided to change the subject, "Depending on their requirements, I can get around my mom's concern about me taking lessons by pretending to be a member of another club."
"Wow….. you really want to learn how to use a sword don't you?" Umi asked in a clearly faked tone of amazement.
"Ha ha….. growing up watching anime and sentai shows like Power Rangers or Kamen Riders…. what kind of kid wouldn't' have the desire to learn how to use a sword." Kokuo lightly chuckled, "That being said it's not as though I want to become a master swordsman. I want to learn in order to achieve that childhood dream, and…. to have greater understanding of Alfred II's character for the sake of my own skills as a Vanguard Fighter."
"Ha ha ha… yeah well it is cute how we a pair of childhood friends uses units who are in turn childhood friends according to lore." Umi lightly chuckled as well, "And as I recall isn't your mother still trying to ship us together?"
"As if I'm going to listen to my old bat about something like that." Kokuo said adamantly.
Umi and Kokuo burst out into laughter as they recall that the words "Old bat" was used in the lore short stories regarding Alfred II and Polyantha Rose, however after putting laughter aside this pair of childhood friends arrive at where the Swordsmanship Club will be giving their presentation. The aforementioned location was surrounded by a few layers of students like an onion, and each layer of students was trying to make their way to the front to observe the action. Umi and Kokuo were still able to quickly make their way to the front thanks to the fact that the layers of students surrounding the Swordsmanship Club's area from the direction they were coming from by pure coincidence consisted mostly of the freshmen assigned to the same arena as them last Friday, and naturally all these freshmen felt compelled to make way once they recognized this pair of friends.
"….. Garen Regnitz-san, and Ichigo Yakushiki-san have shown an impressive performance fight!" a master of ceremonies yelled through a small temporary PA system set up around the area.
"The Swordsmanship Club is showing off through a Vanguard fight? I mean it wouldn't be out of place here, but still…" Umi and Kokuo thought.
Umi and Kokuo saw a large open area a little bigger than the various fighting stages set up in the freshly renovated arenas filled with various objects that wouldn't be out of place in a gymnasium specialized for gymnastics training like a jungle gym, three tightrope walks right next to each other, and a balance beam as well as many others. This pair of friends then noticed three figures wearing compact form-fitting protective gear in the academy's colors locked in conflict, but not in the form of a card game as one would expect of this place. The three figures (one of whom was clearly a girl) held a different kind of sword in their hands. The girl was using a rapier meant for competition, one guy was using a traditional kendo shinai, and last guy was holding a bokken as he continuously deflected strikes from the former two.
"For those of you just joining us, you're witnessing the endgame of our Swordsmanship Club's free-for-all match between the strongest swordsman of each division. Regnitz-senpai of the fencing division and Ichigo-senpai of the kendo division are top class geniuses in their respective sport both of them even winning against countless adults and getting a bronze medal in last year's Olympic Games, but even so the ace of our club's practical division is holding their own against their two-in-one assault."
"Practical division?" Umi mumbled aloud.
"I'm not experienced in such matters so this is just a guess, but Regnitz-senpai and Yakushiki-senpai are fighting like they're in a normal competitive match…. yet this other guy is clearly taking advantage of the field as well as making strikes that would considered to be illegal in either a fencing or kendo competition. In other words this third party is going at this is though it were a real fight…. hence the use of the word practical." Kokuo deduced.
"As a reminder: The protective gear of the remaining competitors have special sensors built in designed to measure the force of each blow. A competitor that takes a blow that would otherwise dismember or crimple a limb if they were using real swords will no longer be able to use that part thanks to tiny vibrating devices in the protective gear locking up the muscles. In other words this whole affair is like a realistic version of the Soul Calibur video game series!" the announcer for this event explained.
The female rapier user Ichigo launched a trio of quick of successive jabs towards the bokken user's face from his right side, however he easily dodges this attack by tilting his head from left to right and back again as necessary. Seeing an opening, the shinai wielding Garen went for a straight forward overhead swing directed towards the bokken user's left side as the latter appeared to be distracted by Ichigo's attacks. Once Garen reached the point of no return with his attack the bokken user took a step back with his right food while keeping his left firmly planted on the same place before bending his back forward as far as it could go, then he switched to holding the bokken in a reverse grip, and then he moved his bokken with a twist of his wrist behind his back to block Garen's attack.
"Damn!" Garen mentally cursed as he felt annoyed at his failed attack.
The bokken user miraculously does a front forward from that awkward position the moment he blocked Garen's attack somewhat rubbing bokken in the dirt (but thankfully not breaking it) in the process, and a good thing too as Garen and Ichigo's weapons were driven into the ground rather than into him. The bokken user stands back up after finishing his front flip without breaking his stride in the slightest, turns around to face his opponents, and then drives his bokken into the ground.
"Game over." the bokken user declared.
"And now our Swordsmanship Club's free-for-all demonstration now has a final winner!" the announcer for this event declared.
"What?!" Garen and Ichigo yelled aloud as they don't understand how they were just defeated.
"To those just joining us: like an actual fighting game there must be a health bar. Even though these two senpai were lucky enough to avoid having their limbs disabled, they only had a few points of HP left, so even a casual strike would be enough to finish them off." The announcer for this event explained, "If your eyes still doubt the results then please observe this 3-dimensional recording created from the cameras we have spread around our club's area."
This 3D view video shows the bokken user performing his front flip in slow motion, and after his weapon ends up rubbing against the ground he jabs the bokken backwards striking Garen in the leg. Then as the bokken user's legs rise into the air from his flip, his bokken immediately changes direction and seems only to lightly rub against Ichigo's protective chest gear such that she likely only thought it was the wind she felt. After looking, Garen and Ichigo find that a little bit of dirt have rubbed off on where they were struck convincing them that they had indeed lost this battle.
"Do you two understand why you lost even though you two are very strong in terms of swordsmanship?" the bokken user inquired.
"Even though each swing of our swords have been well refined….. we're too used to fighting like it's a competition, and as such we couldn't adjust to the constantly changing variables of a real fight." Garen deduced.
"Applying that to our dream of reaching the top of our own version of the vanguard world…. even if we master the combos of our decks to perfection… we'll only be defeated if we lack the flexibility to adjust when these combos are disrupted." Ichigo deduced.
"Good." the bokken user said.
"Now students in the audience and potential future members of our club….. allow me to introduce the winner of this demonstration… the strongest swordsman of our club, the student council president, and our academy's #1 fighter… Sekai Akira!"
"WHAT?!" Umi and Kokuo thought as they were completely caught off guard by hearing this name.
The bokken user or rather Sekai Akira removes his protective helmet revealing his white hair and face drenched in sweat as it glistens in the sunlight, and of course the small band of students surrounding the area roar in excitement.
"That's our Akira-senpai! To think he could be so talented in something outside of Vanguard." an excited student yelled.
"Talented doesn't even begin to describe it….. to strike both of his opponents at close range without either of them noticing takes well refined technique and control of one's body. Even someone like me who has never learned to swing a sword can tell that much. Damn it… even if it's only a little… I thought I closed the gap with Sekai, but it now only just got bigger once again.
The crowd sees a student run on this improvised arena, pass Sekai a wireless microphone, and then he quickly runs off stage.
"To reach the pinnacle of your own form of the Vanguard world you must be as decisive as you are flexible. By joining one of the branches of the Swordsmanship Club and facing the members of other branches in battle that….. is exactly what will be carved into your bodies so you'll be able to easily apply it to your skills as Vanguard fighters! If you believe yourself capable of surviving our training then sign up today, and even if you can't…. we accept new members any time!" Sekai declared.
"I have to admit…. Akira senpai looks really cool when he can speak in straight sentences." Umi thought as she recalls the few times he's dropped by her family's diner in the evening over the past week.
"That's my best friend… truly a catch for any lady!" Aadyn yelled as he breaks out into a hearty laughter.
Kokuo and Umi looked around since it clearly sounded like Aadyn was speaking right next to them, but rather than a familiar figure all they see is a large bush resting next to Umi. Wait….. a bush?"
"This thing wasn't here before was it?" Kokuo asked as he points at the bush.
"No… definitely not." Umi answered.
"Phew… didn't scratch my phone when I dropped it." the bush said in a relived tone as it spoke an exact duplicate of Aadyn's voice.
The bush then stands up on two legs and stretches its arms, of which scares Umi and Kokuo a little. Once the slight bought of fear passes, the pair of best friends realizes that the bush was actually Aadyn himself dressed in a ghillie suit with camo painted on him.
"What's up?" Aadyn asks of Umi and Kokuo only to realize why they're giving him odd looks a second later, "Oh sorry if I scared you… I'm wearing this to help out the Wilderness Survival Club after I lost a bet to their president, but I wanted to see my old friend's performance so I blew them off."
"Umm… wouldn't he or she get mad once they realize you're gone senpai?" Kokuo couldn't help but ask.
"Ah don't worry." Aadyn said as he once against busts out into laughter, "They carefully set up their stall to match the local greenery of the school and we're supposed to be hiding in plain view as part of our presentation. The bush they think is me in the middle of their stall is actually just a bush."
"I see…. but wow… from the way Akira-senpai normally acts… I didn't think he could handle a high-octane situation." Umi said out of admiration.
"Ha… it helps that like me… Sekai comes from a military family (whose roots date back to the Sengoku era and are even suspected by historians to have originally been a clan of ninjas) only way richer…. like anime levels of ludicrously rich, but that's thanks to the fact that his family owns the biggest weapons manufacturing company in Japan." Aadyn explained, "And since his family didn't want to forget their roots…. men of the family are expected to learn as much as they can of the family's fighting techniques, marksmanship, military logistics, and tactics in anticipation of joining the military for a few years before they're allowed to do anything else."
"If he has to go through such training I guess that would explain why he eats so much." Umi thought.
"That must be a lot to handle." Kokuo pointed out.
"Oh it is, and he hates it incredibly. That's why he..." Aadyn was saying only to suddenly stopped as he realized mid-sentence where he'd lead this conversation, "Never mind… that's very personal for him so forget I said anything."
Umi and Kokuo only nod their head in agreement as they wouldn't dare to say no to a request from one of the academy's strongest fighters.
"Say… have you two decided what clubs to join?" Aadyn asked as he decided to change the subject.
"Not yet." Umi and Kokuo honestly answer at the same time.
"Then if you haven't made any plans with your other friends for the time being… go to room 3-D of the Dragon Star building." Aadyn suggested, "Those two shouldn't mind too much, and you'll get treated to a good show at our academy's Cooking Club if you do."
"RODGERS!" a man screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Ah damn gotta go… looks like the club president realized that bush was just a bush." Aadyn explained before immediately running off.
Deciding to follow Aadyn's advice considering that they had nothing better to do, Umi and Kokuo head straight towards room 3-D of the Dragon Star building where the Academy's hard-to-find Cooking Club is located. They take the time to inquire about any alternate clubs that interest them as well as enjoy any skits they've prepared along the way, but overall the trip to the building itself only takes around an hour. Umi and Kokuo spend an additional 30 minutes checking out clubs located between the 1st and 3rd floor in the building itself.
"Finally we've arrived without being stopped by fliers, a surprise skit, and clubs looking for people to join a flash mob." Kokuo mumbled in annoyance as he and Umi each carry a bag of souvenirs from today's festiv….. club recruitment week events.
"Aww… it wasn't so bad." Umi retorts as she takes out one of the souvenirs from her bag.
That particular souvenir happened to be of a blue-eyes white drag…. I mean rabbit holding a bow in one hand and an arrow piercing a pink colored heart in the other.
"I mean look at this…. It's sooo cute." Umi said as she squealed like a little girl up until she noticed Kokuo starting at her in a strange fashion, "What is it?"
"Just that the notion of you actually acting cute must mean that hell has froz…ergrmmph." Kokuo was saying as he tried to hold in the intense pain from Umi suddenly stepping on his foot.
"I'm sorry, but what was that? I didn't quite hear you." Umi said as she tilts her head in confusion as if to pretend she didn't hear her best friend's statement.
"I was wondering why the archery club has a shooting gallery with toy rifles." Kokuo said in an exacerbated fashion as he mentally screams from the pain he's experiencing.
"Who knows... anyways… this is for you and your mysterious girlfriend, so consider this a relationship-warming present." Umi said with a conniving grin on her face as she tossed the stuffed rabbit to Kokuo, "Speaking of which, when will I get to meet her?"
"That reminds me…. she said she won't be available next Friday." Kokuo said with a straight face, "It's nothing against you, but it's just that our relationship is fairly new and…. let's just say there is some bad blood between our families."
"Who could possibly hate your mom? She's like the nicest person ever." Umi asked with a legitimately surprised expression.
"I never said it was my mom's side of the family that was the problem." Kokuo said as his eyes flashes with momentary anger.
"Ah I see… sorry I brought it up then." Umi said in an apologetic matter as she instantly realized that her best friend was referring to his bastard father, "Then could you show your gentlemanly talents by opening up this door for a charming young lady."
"A charming young lady would l-" Kokuo was saying as he noticed Umi's raised leg aiming for somewhere a little higher than the knee, "Would like such a thing, so of course I'll be happy to open the door for you."
As Kokuo mentally lost his breakfast from having to say such garbage, he quickly noticed that the door handle to the Cooking Club's room wouldn't open indicating that it was locked. Not sure what to do next, he turns his head towards Umi while keeping his hand on the door to see what she wants to do next.
"Maybe the Cooking Club isn't ready to cast a fishing line for members yet. Or it could be that they weren't planning to do so until later in the day." Umi suggested, "Try knocking on the door. Maybe someone is inside and that we could get some information from them."
"Alright." Kokuo nodded as he pulled his hand away from the door handle.
"Stop…. you don't need to do that." a young man with a heavy Chinese accent said just as Kokuo's knuckles were about to come into contact with the door.
The door slid open right after the person spoke revealing onto Umi and Kokuo a young man with obvious Chinese facial features to match his voice, black hair, light brown eyes, stands a few inches taller than Kokuo around 5'9" tall, has a fair bit of muscle on his body (though not as much as Aadyn), no sign of the academy's blazer though he is wearing the formal shirt underneath unbuttoned, and under the formal shirt itself he's wearing a plain crimson red t-shirt.
"Oh…. you're the guy who got his ass kicked by Sekai during the opening ceremonies aren't you?" the Chinese teen asked as his gaze was drawn to Kokuo.
"Yes senpai." Kokuo answered seeing s how it was obvious that this man was older than him and Umi.
"Ha ha ha…. good good. You have a lot of balls considering how much of a monstrous freak Sekai is." the Chinese teen said as he started laughing loudly as he pated Kokuo on the back with nearly enough force to knock him over, "Oh shoot sorry… sometimes I forget to control my own strength."
"It's alright senpai." Kokuo retorts.
"Why the heck is Kokuo being so respectful? Just who is this guy?" Umi that as she glances between the face of her best friend and this Chinese teen.
"If you need a little help trying to find the way forward…. go ahead and give me a call. If Buddha gets in your way…. kill Buddha, and if god gets in your way kill god…. That's the kind of resolve you'll need if you want to hold the title of "strongest" here." the Chinese teen said as he passed Kokuo a business card he pulled from his shirt pocket.
"Thank you senpai." Kokuo said in an excited fashion after reading the name on the business card.
The reason Kokuo reacted this way was because he already suspected who this teen was, and receiving the business card only confirmed that suspicion.
"Then as for you… oh your pretty cute." the Chinese teen said in a low tone of voice as his gaze was drawn towards Umi.
"In my eyes….. Umi will still only be cute when hell freezes over." Kokuo thought as he didn't say that out loud for fear of Umi attempting to crack the family jewels.
"Thank you very much senpai." Umi said in a reserved fashion; however she's still flattered by the notion of a guy she doesn't know complimenting her appearance.
"Let's see…. you're the girl in Kisaki's class right? Umi Kitagawa, the one who won their class the match-up on the real life Motion Figure system right?" the Chinese teen inquired.
"That's correct senpai. I am indeed Umi Kitagawa." Umi said in confirmation.
"Stop staring down her shirt you pervert, and get back in here so we can finish our match!" a young man said in a loud yet emotionlessly monotone voice before the Chinese teen could say anything in response.
"I am not a pervert you a**hole! The only reason I'm looking down her shir…. I mean down at her is because I'm taller than her. Arghh… god damn it, now you got me doing it again!" the Chinese teen yelled as his cheeks momentarily turned red from embarrassment while he looked over his shoulder, "I'm really sorry about that, but please come in."
The Chinese teen moved out of the doorway to let Umi in first (as it's the gentlemanly thing to do) and Kokuo in second. The inside of the Cooking Club's room looks exactly what one might expect of a classroom at a serious cooking school. There are several work stations with a stove, oven, pots, pants, and etc….. then in the back of the room there are rows upon rows of seasonings, spices, and other things that can't be refrigerated along with a pair of giant refrigerators in the back as well.
"You lose the bet man…. you said that no one would figure out all of the clues and come here until noon at the earliest." The Chinese teen said to a young man sitting in the back of the class.
The young man was sitting on one side of the section of a work station meant for chopping vegetables among other things. The young man himself was of a slimmer build than his Chinese compatriot, he had straight yet messy dark blue hair that always seems to grow in the opposite direction he was facing, black eyes, was wearing a plain white t-shirt, and the pants portion of the Academy uniform. Once the Chinese teen takes a seat across from this other person, Umi and Kokuo can see that there's a Vanguard match going on between them as they approach the work station. The strange thing about this newcomer is that he's sitting on the stool almost completely in the fetal position with his toes curled around the edge of the seat like hooks.
"Give this guy paler skin and bags under his eyes….. he'd look like L from Death Note." Kokuo and Umi coincidentally thought at the same time before turning their gaze towards the Chinese teen, "Then if this guy were Japanese….. with a slight change in hairstyle… he'd be Light Yagami."
"Excuse me, but sitting like that on such a small seat can't be comfortable can it?" Umi couldn't help but ask of the L double.
"I don't want to sit like this…. I have to sit like this. You see if I were to sit normally, my deductive skills would immediately be reduced by 40 percent. Thus affecting my fighting skills." The L double explained in a monotone voice as he turned to face Umi while biting his right thumb nail, "Still… how did you two figure out all the clues this quickly? I set things up so that only the most determined could find this place."
"Just like the legacies left behind the ancient experts in the fantasy novels of my people." The Chinese teen said in a sarcastic fashion, "But seriously though, translated in the language of normal people he means that he doesn't like dealing with people. School policy prevents him from creating a club with him as the only member to hog a room, so in order to compensate; he makes the tests you have to pass almost as hard as the ones at that famous cooking school with only a 10% graduation rate."
"The f*** really? Seems like this guy is trying to be as hard to find and as socially inept as the real L. Still though… I feel like I've seen him and this Chinese guy before, however I can't seem to remember where." Umi thought.
"But…. you two didn't come here by following the clues did you?" the L double asked as he easily noticed the obvious confusion on Umi and Kokuo's face after the Chinese teen's explanation.
"Truthfully senpai, no we didn't. We also didn't know that we were supposed to follow any clues at all." Umi answered as the L double like the Chinese teen clearly looks older than her, "Rodgers-senpai ju-"
"Bastard!" the L double and the Chinese teen cursed simultaneously.
"Wow… now that I think about it…. I don't really know much about that cake thief….. I wonder what kind of reputation he has around the academy?" Umi thought.
"Sorry…. it's just that I don't know how well you know that American dick, but he likes to get a kick out of tossing a wrench in someone's plans and seeing what happens." The Chinese teen sighed as he scratched the back of his head.
"Believe me…. I've seen it." Umi thought.
"They've seen it…. or rather she's seen that tendency of Aadyn's." the L double said as he pointed his finger at Umi once again upon seeing her reaction to the Chinese teen's statement, "Now if you two don't have any other questions…. Can we please get back to our fight?"
"Of course senpai…. I'm sorry to bother you.
Since no further questions are necessary, Umi and Kokuo focus their attention on the match going on between these unnamed individuals. The first thing they imagine when they do so is that the camera of their mind's eye is taken to a large planetoid deep in the sea of stars. There are no planets, asteroids, and or nebulas nearby…. but there are a near countless numbers of stars out there that coincidentally resemble the constellations of Earth. Then on the planetoid itself….. there is an intense battle going on between the navy that patrols the seas of Cray and the forces of the laughing dragon long since exiled from her surface in defeat.
Chinese Teen – L Double
6 – Hand – 6
2 – Soul – 2
2 – Damage – 2
0 – Counterblast – 0
F(1) U(15) – G-Zone – F(0) U(16)
Empty / Empty – Tidal Assault / Empty
Black Ring Chain, Pleiades / Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Crisis – Supreme Ruler of the Storm, Thavas / Kelpie Rider, Mitros
Empty / Empty – Empty / Empty
"Now then…. whose turn was it again?" the Chinese teen asked with a confused expression on his face.
"It was your turn, so hurry it up." The L double said in a monotone yet annoyed tone of voice.
"Right right….. and don't get snippy with me mister…. If I didn't drag your lazy a** out of bed, you'd take your time doing puzzles or cooking instead of training for what the five of us have arranged on Friday." The Chinese teen retorts in an equally annoyed tone.
"Whatever…. just make your move so I can finish testing my alternate deck already." The L double countered as he focused his gaze on the cards in his hand.
To Kokuo, he felt as though there was a powerful gust of a hot wind originating from the center of the play mat spreading outwards and he can even feel his face burn as his hair is forced back because of this wind. There's only one way to describe it…. and it is…..
"Strong….. there's no other way to describe these two. It's like I'm feeling almost double the pressure from when Sekai used his true strength against me." Aadyn thought as he clenched his fists, "Since the person using Crisis is him….. then would that mean he's the user of Thavas?"
To Umi, the sudden change in pressure felt as though her heart was being chained down by a heavy weight that only became heavier with the greater difference in strength.
"F***…. these two are really freaking strong that it makes my declaration seem nearly impossible, but since I made my declaration to become a professional fighter I won't be giving up either. I'll just make up the bigger difference in talent with even more hard work." Umi thought as she too clenched her fists.
Though Umi's interpretation of this pressure isn't as vivid as Kokuo's, the very fact that she can "see" it on an instinctual level rather than an objectively analytical one is already a sign of her improvement as a fighter despite the semester having gone on for slightly more than a week.
"Let the heavens who reject the future your will desires be destroyed in an almighty blast! Stride generation…. Death Star-vader, Glueball Dragon [Power: 26000]!"
"Given the fact that he already has a face up card in his G-Zone as a result of using a G-Guardian during my last turn… the chances of him activating the skill of Chaos Breaker Crisis is clearly 0%. If that's the case….. how does he intend to get to me first?" the L double thought as his teen bare down on his thumbnail with greater force.
"I activate Glueball Dragon's skill: You're forced to choose two of your units to lock away in the empty void since I have two face up units in my G-Zone." The Chinese teen explained.
Several particles of black light appear around Tidal Assault and Mitros before suddenly being drawn to the center of their bodies as though they were attracted by a super magnet. Then suddenly find yourself blinded by a flash of light only to discover when you regain your vision that they've been replaced by see-through black circles, with rotating rings around them, and inside these circles themselves are grayed out.
"I use the skill of Pleiades, and move her into my soul." The Chinese teen declared as he picked up the top 5 cards of his deck, "From amongst these cards I choose to add a copy of Chaos Breaker Crisis to my hand."
"In a philosophical sense….. you cannot win on defense alone. To win, you must attack. Now show me how you will do just that." The L double thought as he pulls away the hand of the thumb that was being bitten by his teeth.
The reason he did so was so that he could move that hand next to the cards in his other hand in order to be ready to play defensively at a moment's notice.
"I call two copies of Star-vader, Strange Dragon [Power: 9000] to the front row and don't forget about Glueball Dragon's GB3 skill, of which gives my front row an additional +6000 power." The Chinese teen explained as he placed his hand on the Strange Dragon to the left, "I'll attack your vanguard, and since you don't have a unit to lock… Strange Dragon gets another +5000 power for the fight [Power: 20000]!"
"Generation guard…. Blue Wave Armor General, Galfilia [Total Shield: 15000]." The L double said in a calm monotone fashion.
"Then let's see if a shot from the canon can get a reaction from you….. Glueball Dragon attacks [Total Power: 32000]!" the Chinese teen declared.
"I won't waste my defense, so I'll take this attack." the L double said as it was impossible to tell what he was thinking by doing so between his monotone voice and neutral facial expression.
[Drive Check – Flowers in Vacuum, Cosmo Wreath – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Fierce Attack Star-Vader, Dubnium – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Star-Vader, Magnetor Hedgehog – Critical Trigger]
"And so the heavens have blessed me with good fortune once again." The Chinese teen said in an excited fashion. "I give the critical to my vanguard [New Total: 32000 2 Crit], and the power to my other Strange Dragon.
Glueball Dragon takes a firing posture by putting his body weight on his right leg in the back while positioning his left leg in the front as an additional means of correcting his aim, but that's only a minor detail when compared to the purple sphere with arcs of energy coming off of it like electricity forming and growing bigger in front of Glueball's Cannon. Once fired, this sphere collides with Thavas like a truck creating a new river channel (if there was actually water on this space rock) as it pushes Thavas back.
[Damage Check – One Who Surpasses the Storm, Thavas – No Trigger]
[Damage Check – Blue Wave Engineer, Refit Sailor – Heal Trigger]
"I'll give the power to my vanguard, and I'll move the Ocean Keeper, Plato in my damage zone to the drop zone." The L double said calmly.
"Then I'll attack with my second Strange Dragon [Total Power: 25000]!" the Chinese teen declared.
"I guard with Officer Cadet, Alekbors [Total Shield: 10000]." The L double countered.
"Then I guess that's it for now." the Chinese teen sighed.
Chinese Teen – L Double
8 – Hand – 4
2 – Soul – 2
2 – Damage – 3
0 – Counterblast – 0
F(3) U(13) – G-Zone – F(1) U(15)
Empty / Star-vader, Strange Dragon – Tidal Assault(L) / Empty
Empty / Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Crisis – Supreme Ruler of the Storm, Thavas / Kelpie Rider, Mitros(L)
Empty / Star-vader, Strange Dragon – Empty / Empty
"Wow…. such a big difference already." Umi mumbled as she went through the fight statistics in her head
"Not really." Kokuo, the Chinese Teen, and the L double coincidentally say at the same time.
"Ah…. Forgive my rudeness for speaking out of place senpai and to you as well." Umi said in a somewhat guilt-filled fashion as she acknowledges that her earlier statement was a mistake made from her inexperience.
An understandable one as well considering how before coming to the academy, Umi rarely watched high level matches and even those were only in passing.
"It's fine, and the reason we all said that was because that one can easily deal with the current difference." the Chinese teen said in an understanding manner as he momentarily turned to face Umi whilst he nods his head towards his opponent slightly.
"Any notion otherwise would be completely ridiculous." the L double said as he drew for the turn only to immediately discard a card, "Generation zone release….. stride generation….. Marine General of Heavenly Silk, Lambros [Power: 26000]
The pristine white uniform, the long aqua blue neckerchief, and those sharp facial features only show that Lambros would actually be quite the handsome man in reality. Or at least that would be the case were the L double's big round eyes and neutral facial expressions to the point of being emotionless not imposed upon the face of this hero of the clan.
"Stride skill of Thavas: I superior call Supreme Ruler of the Storm, Thavas [Power: 11000] to the back, and for the turn he gains the resist ability along with the ability to attack from the backrow." The L double explained, "Call…. Battle Siren, Melania [Power: 7000]….. and now my rearguard Thavas will attack your vanguard [Total Power: 11000]!"
"I'll intercept with the Strange Dragon on my right [Total Shield: 5000]!" the Chinese teen countered, "Stars are dense existences, so you'll have to try harder than that to pierce your way towards the core."
"Then I'll simply put out that flame with a never ending flood." The L double retorts, "Skill of rearguard Thavas: He gets to stand back up after paying the cost thanks to it being the first battle of the turn. Now he'll immediately attack Chaos Breaker Crisis once again [Total Power: 11000]!"
[Damage Check – Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Hydra – No Trigger]
"That's a version of Chaos Breaker I haven't seen before." Umi and Kokuo thought.
"He he.. it's a new little toy I got." The Chinese teen explained as if knowing what Umi and Kokuo were thinking without even looking at them, "You'll get to see what it does this Friday…. along with some unique toys the others might decide to use… on both sides of the board I might add."
"Then I'll look forward to it senpai." Kokuo said in a respectful fashion.
"It's good to be patient… your future abilities will depend heavily on how firm you make your foundation today." the Chinese teen said referring to both Umi and Kokuo before suddenly pointing his finger towards his opponent, "He's got something new as well, but unfortunately for him he can't use it in this deck."
"It's my business whether or not to use….. at any rate….. Melania will attack your vanguard, and her wave ability will activate as well." The L double said as though he were starting to get annoyed with the unnecessary side conversation, "I get to draw and she gets a +5000 power bonus [Total Power: 12000]!"
"Hehe… just cause I want to see if these freshmen will have a chance at a sneak peak of some of my new stuff….. I won't be guarding." the Chinese Teen lightly chuckled.
Damage Check – Star-vader, Magellanic Stream – Heal Trigger]
"And so the clown prince of chaos will get a +5000 power bonus while I heal 1 point of damage." The Chinese teen said in a casual fashion.
"Clown prince of chaos?" Umi and Kokuo coincidentally mumble simultaneously while also coincidentally simultaneously thinking, "As I recall he has a bad reputation among the player base because of the anime doesn't he?"
"Chaos Breaker is certainly a horrible being that deserves a thousand deaths for the stuff he's done in the anime and likely to have done outside of it, and if such a person would appear before me I'd cut them down with my own hands." The Chinese teen said as if once again knowing what Umi and Kokuo were thinking, "There is one such trait about him however that many of my people admire though few would dare admit to….. and that is the fact that he uses his strength to live as he wishes no matter what others might think."
"It is because Chaos Breaker Dragon possesses power….. ultimately it is those with power that rule, and from there it's just a matter of what kind of power you need in the area that you're in." Kokuo thought.
"Lambros will attack your vanguard [Total Power: 26000]!" the L double declared, "Then his skill activates: By turning a face down copy of him in my G-zone face up, I re-stand Melania and my rearguard Thavas along with giving them a +10000 power bonus."
"I'll nullify that with Cosmo Wreath [Perfect Defense]." The Chinese teen countered.
"I see…. he's expecting a situation where most if not all of his rearguard circles are going to be filled with locked units, and because of that he'll want to increase his hand size as much as possible in order to wade through the storm." Kokuo thought as his eyes quickly glanced at the L double before returning his attention to the field.
[Drive Check – Kelpie Rider, Nikki – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Battle Siren, Adelaide – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Battle Siren, Cipla – No Trigger]
As Lambros drives one of his glowing twin swords into the ground of this planetoid and then as that blade glows several geysers of water burst forth from the ground and then they all combine into one single stream with the water at the very forefront forming into the head of a dragon. The moment this force of nature collided with the energy barrier created from Cosmo Wreath's shield, the sheer force from all of that pressure created a sharp hole in the ground as though a buzz saw were applied to it.
"Rearguard Thavas will attack [Total Power: 21000]." The L double declared.
[Damage Check – Star-Vader, Paradigm Shift Dragon – Critical Trigger]
"All effects to Chaos Breaker Crisis." The Chinese teen said.
"Melania's skill: Draw…. And +5000 power once more as she attacks your vanguard [Total Power: 22000]." The L double declared.
"I'll intercept with my other Strange Dragon [Total Shield: 5000]." The Chinese teen countered.
"I end my turn…. Tidal Assault and Mitros unlocks." The L double said as he suddenly moves Mitros into his drop zone without any provocation or warning.
"Aren't you going to wait for me to make my choice? If there was a judge here…. he'd give you an official warning you know." The Chinese teen pointed out in a snarky tone of voice.
"As if you weren't going to select Mitros as the target for the skill of Chaos Breaker Crisis, and if I really am wrong then just say so already." the L double said in a monotone yet annoyed voice, "Besides…. this isn't an official tournament match."
"I really hate how you know me so well." The Chinese teen sighed as a somewhat defeated expression appeared on his face, "But yeah you're right…. still for the sake of formality….. the skill of my vanguard Chaos Breaker Crisis activates: Mitros retires and I draw a card."
Chinese Teen – L Double
7 – Hand – 7
2 – Soul – 2
4 – Damage – 3
0 – Counterblast – 3
F(3) U(13) – G-Zone – F(3) U(13)
Empty / Empty – Tidal Assault / Empty
Empty / Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Crisis – Supreme Ruler of the Storm, Thavas / Empty
Empty / Empty – Battle Siren, Melania / Supreme Ruler of the Storm, Thavas
"Hey Kokuo, how could there be so much tension in the room and yet these two seem to be acting as though it were a casual match?" Umi whispered into her best friend's ears.
"Can't you tell from their facial expressions and vocal tones? This really is just a casual match to them….. it's just that our abilities aren't enough to properly comprehend what the strong consider as sparring." Kokuo explained.
"Comprehend?" Umi asked as she tilted her head in confusion.
"Well think of those anime with super powered characters that must keep their abilities a secret from normal people having a bit of a spar against each other… you sometimes see a few buildings get damaged or a hole in the ground the size of a car. If an ordinary or a weak fighter saw that…. they'd certainly feel the pressure long after the pair of sparring partners walk off with a smile on their face. The feeling I'm talking about is kind of like that." Kokuo explained.
"I see… so I guess it would be like the face Goku makes after some light training." Umi thought as the image of one of the most hilariously stupid anime fathers appears within her mind.
"You know this isn't like the anime… where the fight pauses just so people watching can have side conversations." The L double pointed out.
"Now... now let the freshmen have their fun…. but as for my own entertainment….. liberating the generation zone!" the Chinese teen declared as the expression on his face is replaced by that of a wild animal locking onto its pray, "Let the heavens at last cut off all paths of retreat for in the future your will has overturned it! Stride generation….. "Death Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Deluge [Power: 26000]!"
Though no sound should be able to reverberate through the vacuum of space, this fact is turned on its head as the sound of a heartbeat fills the empty void of space. You see the shadow of the body of Chaos Breaker Crisis rest upon the various Aqua Force units, however you don't see the chaotic dragon himself, so you turn to face him but your eyes are drawn back to his shadow as it begins to rapidly change shape. Your eyes finally turn around only to see this legendary clown grown to roughly 10x its normal size, and that it's lower legs have transformed into practically an entirely separate creature with multiple legs and a glowing red horn attached to its head.
"Chaos Breaker Crisis stride skill: Supreme Ruler of the Storm, Thavas….. lock!" the Chinese teen said with an almost maniacal expression, "Now taste the first step towards despair… Chaos Breaker Deluge's power forces you to call two of your trusted allies to the field only for them to be immediately be banished to the deepest abyss of the void as locked cards."
"If that's the choice of words you want to use…. then I'll banish Kelpie Rider, Nikki [Power: 7000] and Battle Siren, Cipla [Power: 9000] to the void as locked cards." The L double said, "So what's next?"
"Since you have yet to be brought to the brink of despair…. let the fact that Cipla is destroyed in her own prison weigh down and restrict your vanguard as she's forced into your damage zone face down. Then….. in case your desire to cling to hope made you blind…. The card I discarded to pay the cost for Deluge's skill was Chaos Breaker Close." The Chinese teen said as a crazed look appeared in his eyes, "How I look forward to the fun we'll have once your last light of hope is at last snuffed out."
"Okay… that's enough." The L double thought as he pulled out a small walnut from his pocket.
"How…. Hammy is this guy?" Umi and Kokuo thought.
Before the Chinese teen could get too far into his speech about hope and despair, the L double flicks the small walnut out of his hand and hits his opponent in the center of his forehead as though a target was painted there.
"Oww… what the hell man?! That seriously hurts… you know falling walnuts have actually killed people before!" the Chinese teen yelled as he attempts to alleviate the pain in his forehead by rubbing it with his fingers.
"But it didn't fall because I threw it at you, and you were doing it again you chuuni idiot." The L double retorts in a blunt tone, of which is only made worse by his monotone expression.
"I... see… I started acting as though I were Chaos Breaker Dragon himself again wasn't I?" the Chinese teen asked.
"Yup/yeah/yes." Umi, Kokuo, and the L double say simultaneously in that order.
"….. sorry." the Chinese teen said a few moments after having turned red from embarrassment.
"Just continue to play your game NORMALLY so you don't scare off my potential applicants." The L double interjects.
"Shut up… like you're really going to let them in anyway, but…. fine whatever." the Chinese teen retorts, "Since I discarded Chaos Breaker Close from my hand while I have a heart card with "Chaos" in the name…. you're forced to place down another unit as locked."
"Then I'll just play Supersonic Sailor [Power: 4000] as a locked card." The L double said.
"Why bother saying the names of the cards at all?" Umi asked as she whispered into her best friend's ears, "I mean it's not like any of those cards technically require him to reveal what cards he places face down."
"Technically it doesn't as you say, but anywhere other than the deck and the G-Zone is open to public inquiry and in a professional match your opponent will for certain check what cards you place when it comes to these kinds of effects… so you may as well save your opponent the trouble of asking what cards you placed by saying their names outright." Kokuo explained.
"I'll call Iron [Power: 9000] to lock Tidal Assault. Then I'll call Dubnium [Power: 9000], Metonaxe [Power: 7000], and Americium [Power: 7000]. Americium's skill givers herself +10000 power since you have three locked units." the Chinese teen explained.
"Look at that…. he's going for the win….. typical of someone who talks too much." The L double thought as his body leans more forward on the stool, however to Umi and Kokuo that only leaves him with the appearance of taking a more complete fetal position.
"With Americium's boost….. Disorder Star-vader, Iron will attack your vanguard [Total Power: 28000]!" the Chinese teen declared.
"No guard." the L double said.
[Damage Check – Battle Siren, Mallika – Draw Trigger]
"Power to Thavas…. and draw." The L double said in a blunt fashion.
"Death Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Deluge…. show them the pleasure that comes with the desp….. sorry… let it slip again." The Chinese teen said as he realized that he let his inner-chuuni slip again mid-sentence, "Anyways….. Chaos Breaker Deluge will attack your vanguard [Total Power: 26000]!"
"I'll nullify that attack with Ocean Keeper, Plato [Perfect Defense]." The L double countered, "Since I already have a copy of Plato in my drop-zone, I get to counter charge 1."
[Drive Check – Star-vader, Strange Dragon – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Star-vader, Penrose Gate – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Flowers in Vacuum, Cosmo Wreath – No Trigger]
Chaos Breaker Deluge quickly spins around his new gigantic double-bladed scythe within his hands as if trying to get used to the balance of his weapon as well as its power and the power of his new humungous body. Chaos Breaker Deluge then swings his new weapon in a simple over-the-shoulder slash that was quickly blocked by the shield produced by Plato; however don't be stupid enough to think that attack was lacking power simply because it was done in a simple manner. The shockwave from the aforementioned impact was powerful enough to turn a third of this planetoid into a very fine power.
"Then I'll have Dubnium bring this round of playdates to a close by attacking your vanguard along with activating his skill, of which forces you to choose whether or not to place down another unit as locked." The Chinese teen explained.
"I won't be doing that." the L double said bluntly.
"I draw a card through Dubnium's skill, then the man himself will gain a +10000 power bonus, and finally Metonaxe Dragon's skill will add another +4000 power to this attack [Total Power: 30000]!"
"Generation guard…. Blue Wave Armor General, Galfilia [Total Shield: 15000]." The L double countered.
"Looks like my attack won't be going through." The Chinese teen said as he shrugged his shoulders, "So I'll be ending my turn for now."
"But before you do, I'll activate the skill of Refit Sailor: By binding the two copies of herself in my drop zone I can counter charge once again this turn." The L double interjected.
Chinese Teen – L Double
6 – Hand – 2
0 – Soul – 2
4 – Damage – 5
3 – Counterblast – 2
F(5) U(11) – G-Zone – F(4) U(12)
Empty / Disorder Star-vader, Iron – Tidal Assault(L) / Kelpie Rider, Nikki(L)
Empty / Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Crisis – Supreme Ruler of the Storm, Thavas / Supersonic Sailor(L)
Empty / Empty – Battle Siren, Melania / Supreme Ruler of the Storm, Thavas(L)
"Stand and draw." The L double said.
This mysterious L double once again starts biting his thumb due to the intensity of the situation, but then a small grin begins to firm around his thumbnail. It was the kind of grin that only forms when one is absolutely confident of their next move
"Final turn." The L double declared.
"That's a bit of a cliché thing to say. You do realize how embarrassing it would be if you failed right?" Umi thought as even her suppressed sailor mouth self didn't have the guts to say that outloud.
"That's a bit of a cliché thing to say. You do realize how embarrassing it would be if you failed right?" the Chinese teen asked.
"Took the words right out of my mouth." Umi thought.
"I didn't say that out of some misconstrued sense of arrogance. I said it because I'm confident in being able to pull it off, but if you think you can stop me then do so instead of talking about unnecessary things." The L double said in a monotone yet annoyed manner.
"Then bring it on oh water clan using buddy of mine." The Chinese teen said in a snarky tone with an expression to match.
"You've put up with me this long, so it's only fair to answer a few of your own requests." The L double smirked as he discarded a grade unit from his hand, "Stride generation….. Marshal General of Surging Seas, Alexandros [Power: 26000]!"
"Why would he….. I see…. he has him in a trap. No matter what he'll have to use the skill of Chaos Breaker Crisis." Kokuo thought as the L double's plan of attack dons on him.
"Stride skill: Melania gains an extra layer of resist and the ability to attack from the back row." The L double said as he took out a card from his soul, "Galfilia's skill: By flipping her face down and paying a single soul blast…. Supreme Ruler of the Storm, Thavas…. unlock."
"The skill of Chaos Breaker Crisis forces Thavas to be retired." The Chinese teen declared as he placed his hand on the top of his deck, "And now I get to draw another card.
"Gaflia's skill…. unlock Tidal Assault. Call… Battle Siren, Mallika [Power: 4000], then I'll move Mallika into the soul, and then give +3000 power to Tidal Assault for the turn." The L double explained as he placed his hand on the staple of Aqua Force decks, "Call…. Battle Siren, Adelaide [Power: 9000]… then after paying the cost +2000 power and a skill goes to Adelaide… and nowTidal Assaultwill attack Dubnium [Total Power: 12000]!"
The lack of water might be a bit disconcerting, however thanks to the reduced gravity on this planetoid floating through stars….. Tidal Assault was able to cover the distance between himself and Dubnium in a single leap slashing twice with his two swords before the latter could even react.
"Adelaide will attack Iron [Total Power: 11000]!" the L double declared.
"I'll take that." the Chinese teen said as he put Dubnium in the drop zone.
"Alexandros will attack your vanguard [Total Power: 26000]!" the L double declared, "After paying the cost, Adelaide as well as Tidal Assault will stand back up.
"Be deflected by the petals within the void… Cosmo Wreath will nullify your attack [Perfect Defense]" the Chiense teen countered, "Like your Plato, I get to counter charge since I have a copy of Cosmo Wreath in my damage zone.
[Drive Check – Kelpie Rider, Petros – Critical Trigger]
"I give all of the effects to Tidal Assault." the L double declared.
[Drive Check – One Who Surpasses the Storm, Thavas – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Supersonic Sailor – Critical Trigger]
"I give all of the effects to Adelaide, and since my vanguard's attack failed….." the L double said as he took a deep breath, "Tidal Assault will attack your vanguard [Total Power: 32000 Crit]!"
"Ah well… c**p… I don't have enough to block all that, so no guard since I have no other options."
[Damage Check – Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Hydra – No Trigger]
[Damage Check – Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Close – No Trigger]
Final Results
Chinese Teen – L Double
4 – Hand – 3
0 – Soul – 0
6 – Damage – 5
3 – Counterblast – 4
F(5) U(11) – G-Zone – F(4) U(12)
Empty / Empty – Tidal Assault / Kelpie Rider, Nikki(L)
Empty / Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Crisis – Supreme Ruler of the Storm, Thavas / Supersonic Sailor(L)
Empty / Empty – Battle Siren, Adelaide / Battle Siren, Melania
"And the last cookie has crumbled." The Chinese teen mumbled aloud.
"I'm not giving you another one of my cookies." The L double retorts, "Besides…. you've always had the bad habit of looking over minor details in casual matches…. costing you the victory you could have had"
"Shut up…. the point of a casual match is to play how you want in order to have fun, and besides….. last I checked I'm still ranked higher than you." the Chinese said as he collected his deck, "Welp… it's almost time for the Mechanical Engineering club's demonstration to start, so I had better get back before they do something stupid."
"You mean before you do something stupid again." The L double said as he became somewhat more angry as if due to recalling a past incident.
"Okay… how many times do I have to say I'm sorry… I underestimated the recoil and should have put more restraints." The Chinese teen said in an exacerbated fashion
"Recoil/Restraints?" Kokuo and Umi said simultaneously with a confused expression carved onto their faces.
"That one tried recreating the weapon of the main character of some American animated series. It was some red-headed girl that used a gun capable of transforming into a scythe." the L double explained.
"I don't think it's that unusual to want to recreate an anime characters weapon senpai… so it can't be that big of a deal can it?" Umi inquired.
"Normally no, but the Crescent Rose (the name of the weapon that I tried recreating) is built to shoot rounds with enough recoil that it can actually propel the wielder across a good small distance." The Chinese teen explained.
"And he recreated it to the letter, so when he tested it out….. the force of the recoil was strong enough for his recreation to break restraints…. go through the engineering club's window, then across the road, up a story, through the wall of the room where the Cooking Club used to be destroying 3 ovens, and a turkey I had in the oven." The L double said as he becomes even further aggravated after recalling the incident.
"I already dealt with the principal yelling at me and I'm footing the bill out of my monthly stipend for the repairs, so what else do you want me to do?" the Chinese teen asked.
"Yo…. anyone home?" Aadyn asked as he appeared at the doorway to the Cooking Club's room after having long since removed the weird outfit he had on earlier.
"Shut up you a**hole!" the L double and the Chinese teen yelled simultaneously.
"It's so good to feel loved by my fellow classmen." Aadyn said in a snarky manner before turning to face Umi and Kokuo, "So how'd you two enjoy my little recommendation to come here? It must have been a nice change of pace seeing some high level fighting in between clubs fighting for freshmen."
"High level fighting? Do you no these two you cake th… excuse me… I mean Rodgers-senpai?" Umi asked.
"Ah so these two got so into their fight that they forgot to introduce themselves didn't they? Aadyn asked as the embarrassed look on the Chinese teen and the L double's face only confirms his suspicion, "Well wonder know longer…. these guys are-"
"Wait… I can introduce myself….. if I let you do it you'll just say something to make me look stupid" The Chinese teen said as he waved his hands to interrupt Aadyn, "I'm Phang Ze Dong…. a foreign exchange student from China, 3rd year, and next to Sekai Akira I'm officially recognized as the Academy's 2nd strongest fighter."
"Ehhhhhhh!" Umi internally screamed.
Umi glanced at her best friend to see what his reaction was, but since he looked so unfazed it didn't take her long to realize that Kokuo had already recognized who Phang was.
"Oh I almost forgot….. Phang, I need your help with something really quick right now. Don't worry… you'll get back in plenty of time for your club's presentation." Aadyn said.
"Fine…. what is it?" Phang asked as he followed Aadyn out of the room and down the hallway.
Umi, Kokuo, and this L double could still hear the conversation going on between Aadyn and Phang for a little bit thanks to the Cooking Club's door still being wide open.
"I seem to recall that you lost a bet to little old me. Now what was it that I told you to say in times like this because of it?" Aadyn asked in a snarky tone.
"Senior…. apprentice brother Rodgers…. I…. Phang Ze Dong would be happy to do this for you…. the most…. amazing dragon amongst men." Phang said as he spent a tremendous amount of effort to suppress the rage he was feeling.
"Good good… like I said it really won't take you long though." Aadyn retorts.
It doesn't take genius right now to realize that Phang is thinking something like "I'm going to f***ing stab you in your sleep you a**hle!" with a seething amount of hatred and rage.
"Well….. since you two are here… no matter the method I'll put you through the trial to join the Cooking Club." the L double said as he got off of the stool after getting back to his monotone manner of speaking, "Oh….. but I guess I should introduce myself as well shouldn't I?"
The L double's legs were standing up straight, but for some strange reason he's slightly hunched over as if that posture is easier and more comfortable to maintain.
"It's not like this guy's a member of the Academy's 10 strongest fighters…. there's just no way… this guy's too weird for that." Umi thought.
"I'm the cooking club's president and 3rd year student…. Rei Yukinoshita." Rei said, "And next to Sekai Akira… I'm officially ranked as the academy's 3rd strongest fighter."
"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Umi thought as she was once again shocked at being proven wrong within the grounds of this strict academy.
"I'll be your opponent for this trial." Rei declared.
To Be Continued
Kokuo: Amazing…. so this is what the academy's other monsters are like? Just how powerful are the other hidden experts here?
Phang: You'll find out soon enough kid
Rei: Let's hope he does so before you destroy my kitchen again.
Phang: I said I was sorry.
Rei: Still…. what's taking her so long to get here?
Umi: Next time on Cardfight Vanguard: Setsuzoku Sensō "Future King VS The Sword's Past Chosen"
Kokuo: So the king of the future VS the past wielder of that legendary weapon huh? How interesting… L… I mean Rei, I accept your challenge.
A/N: Since it was so well received, all of you loving fans of mine will get to see the next Unit Lore Short Story at the end of the next chapter.
OC Card List
Link Joker
Grade 3
Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Hydra
Power: 11000 Race: Cyber Dragon
Flavor: Three heads are better than one at causing chaos.
[Auto](VC/RC): Secret
[Auto](VC): Secret
Lore: Several centuries into the future of the alternate timeline created by Blaster Blade's disappearance, the clown dragon has led the remnants of the Star-vader army unable to return to the main force under a single purpose….. To create a body capable of inflicting ultimate despair on all things that exists. Using the data gathered from his many clones like Crisis and Close as well as the machines like Universe and Anlathi from all the fun they had in various worlds with sentient life near Cray….. it resulted in the creation of this new body that the clown dragon transferred his soul to. Based on the Crisis line of clones and specially designed to synergize with the Close line of clones, Hydra enjoys the same kind overwhelming power/defense as the former and increased processing power thanks to the two robotic heads that were surgically attached to his new body. The result was a more cunning Chaos Breaker that understands the necessity of keeping his toys in working order to properly enjoy inflicting despair; however he still doesn't care whether or not they're destroyed regardless.
After being contacted by a representative of a mysterious guild of thieves…. a certain Rogue Lord of theirs, Chaos Breaker relished the chance at testing how much chaos and despair his new body can generate in the timeline where he sacrificed his soul to revive an ancient god of destruction. In fact his exact words were in that moment "To be capable of defeating another me…. why wouldn't I want to play with such wonderful toys like that?"