Chapter 3: Understanding the Stakes

"Aichi-kun, a word." Kourin said, noticing he was the only customer in Cardfight Capital when she entered. The blue haired boy looked a bit surprised. "Sure, what do you need?"

"come." She said, walking out the store. Aichi looked at Misaki and shrugged, following the blonde haired lady.

They had reached the park when Kourin decided that they could speak freely, and she sat sat down on the grass, Aichi sitting next to her. "Now then, You've been feeling Psyqualia tugging at you as of late, have you not?" She asked, looking into his eyes.

"Direct sand too the point. That's what I like about you, Kourin-san." Aichi said with a slight smile. At that, Kourin blinked in surprised, looking away. "That was completely uncalled for... just answer me, alright?"

"Yes, I have lately." Aichi admitted, looking at the grass. "It's reacting the more I progress through the tournament. What I find weird is that it can suddenly awaken within a person. Like with Christopher Lo, and how Ren just started using it all of a sudden. To be honest, I find it kind of scary. I remember when I got addicted to that power, and it wasn't pretty."

"During any of those times, did you happen to see or notice anything right before they started using it?" Kourin asked, though she already knew he had.

Aichi nodded. "It was that boy, Takato Tatsunagi. He showed up and spoke to us... and then the next moment, Christopher and Ren were suddenly taken in by Psyqualia. There's more about him, too. He came to Cardfight Capital and we had a fight. You probably won't believe me, but I had never used a Gold Paladin deck until after that. I used a deck mixed with Royal Paladin and Shadow paladin... but after we fought, my deck got replaced with this one."

"So you're saying your deck just vanished... not just the deck, but it is as if nobody knows id that deck exists."

"I'm surprised you don't remember them, Kourin-san, or at least had the feeling that something was off. You used the Royal Paladins too."

Truth be told, Kourin had already guessed it was something along those lines. Aichi had once asked if she knew of a Royal Paladin Deck. Kourin knew that Leaders from the Planet Cray had been kidnapped, and she supposed that the Royal Paladin Deck had been affected by it. She didn't mention this to Aichi though, and simply said "Interesting,"

"I thought I would never get my answers when we lost the Japan circuit, but they started another one almost immediately I seems as if he WANTS me to win and go talk to him." Aichi said

"Tatsunagi gathers the strongest fighters from all over the world. He does this to increase the chances of Psyqualia appearing within those people. The more fiercely one battle with heart and soul, the more chance one has of awakening latent abilities. He gives them a push by activating his own ability, much like how you felt when Ren first used Psyqualia." Kourin explained

"THATS why he started the VF circuit?" Aichi asked incredulously. "But why? What's the point in giving more people this power?"

"To look for warriors strong enough to lead Cray in battle." Kourin said. "The more you become connected to Psyqualia, the stronger you synch with the inhabitants on Cray. If you completely master Psyqualia, you send your energy to your vanguard and fight along side them and rule with them. I've heard of one sharing thoughts. The job of Ultra Rare is to ascertain people's potential with Psyqualia, and if they had traces of it to aid them in strengthening it. "

"So you knew of this the entire time!" Aichi said, more than a little surprised. "But... I don't get it, Cray is in trouble, right? Wouldn't us helping them give them the strength they need to fight back?"

"Your forgetting the negative effects." Kourin stopped him. "Psyqualia tends to lead people to the darker sides of their personality. Even if those with Psyqualia help the Planet Cray recover... I can't say I have much faith in the aftermath. I think that If us humans are losing their personality and becoming a shadow of our former selves, what will happen to the Vanguards on Cray? It will lead to chaos, or so I believe. That's why I left Ultra Rare, I wanted nothing to do with helping the chances of that move along. Rekka and Suiko don't hold the same concerns as I have, but I just know nothing good will come from it. That's why I came to you, Aichi-kun'

"Me? Why?" Aichi asked, a little taken aback.

"You are the only person I have ever seen that's not only snapped out of psyqualia, but continues to resist it's pull. In other words, you may be able to use psyqualia and not get corrupted, at least with a lot of practice and moderation. I believe that if you were to defeat all of the opponents with Psyqualia and win as many of the next circuits as you can, the less people will be affected, or it may even die out eventually. Strange things happen when two users who possess Psyqualia fight each other. If you can eventually learn to use Psyqualia while still resisting it's pull, then all the better, as Cray will still get the energy it needs."

"In other words... I have to try using the power eventually..." Aichi said, looking a little crestfallen. Since fighting Leon at the Hong Kong tournament, he had been feeling the urge to use this power, and was using all of his will to fight against it. But now...

"I have faith in yo, Aichi-kun." Kourin said with a slight smile. Aichi looked away, blushing slightly. "Let's start by having a mock cardfight, Aichi-kun. I want you to use Psyqualia against me."

"Are you sure1 I don't... I don't want to hurt your feelings, or anyone's for that matter."

"If you start losing your personality, I'll slap you out of it." Kourin promised. "Now that you under stand the stakes of the VF circuit, we can't afford to lose, so holding back isn't an option."

Aichi took a deep breath and nodded. Kourin produced a paper mat, and the sat across from each other, shuffling their respective decks. With another breath, Aichi looked at his deck, his eyes beginning to shimmer. "I see it..." He said, nodding to himself.

"Stand up, Vanguard!"

…..

Kourin slapped Aichi as hard as she could, the sound echoing throughout the park.

"OWWWW!" Aichi said, rubbing the red mark on his face. "I didn't think you meant LITTERALY slap it out of me." He said

"I have to, or you won't snap out of it." Kourin said. "That's why we''re sitting so close and not on a vanguard table. Are you starting to feel when you're going into that abyss?"

"I feel it, but I can't stop myself from going into it. It's like I'm being dragged into a really dark room." Aichi said.

"I'm sure you'll learn." Kourin said. "Let's continue our match when you believe your ready." She said, staring at Aichi with her emerald green eyes. The blue hair boy nodded, his eyes beginning to shine. Some hesitance must have been in them, for they did not shine as brightly as before.

"On second thought, we'll stop for right no." Kourin said, picking up her deck and mat. "Doubtless if we keep going at this pace we'll only make you sick."

"...sorry." Aichi said, bowing his head a little bit.

"It's quite alright." Kourin reassured him. "Your fighting a power capable of altering ones personality and trying to come out unscathed. We'll practice whenever we can. For now, how about we go grab something to eat? You are more than likely starving."

In response, Aichi's stomach growled. "You're right, I am pretty hungry."

"Then let's go." She said, standing up and stretching her back a little. They walked to a small cafe and sat down. Both of them ordered hamburgers, while Kourin ordered a strawberry shake to drink, and they sat there, eating their food.

"I'm, sorry I sprung all of that on you so quickly." Kourin said, taking a sip of her drink.

"Uh, no, it's alright." Aichi said, waving his hands and shaking his head. "I just wasn't expecting so much info at once. Won't your sisters be mad since you told me all this?"

"I honestly don't care about that at this moment. I left with them well understanding that I intended to interfere." Kourin said. "I just couldn't take the horrible changes it brought in people. If I could have it my way, I would never let you touch psyqualia ever again, but I know if you can fight off the temptation and defeat other users with this mindset, we'll be saving not only those people, but the entire population of Cray. I'll be honest, Psyqualia scares me a little."

"I understand." Aichi said with a nod. "I promise I won't betray the faith you've placed in me. I'll control Psyqualia and win. I can no longer afford to lose after hearing all that you've told me."

"...Good." Kourin approved.

"Aichi, you betrayed me!" Came a shout from outside the cafe: Moriwaka had been walking by and saw him sitting with Kourin. "Not only do you go on a date with my Kourin-chan, you do it without telling me or asking me for permission!" He shouted. They both jumped a little. Who said anything about this being a date?"

He bulldozed is way into the came, collapsing in front of Kourin and started crying. "How... how could you, Kourin-chan? I thought we had something!:

Kourin took a deep breath... and slapped Morikawa. "Let me make it perfectly clear to you. I. Will. Never, Go. Out. With. You." She said, getting up and walking out the cafe. Aichi blinked, shrugged, and followed Kourin outside.

-Well, thanks for all the reviews so far, as well as correcting the little mistakes I made, you guys. I hope I explained Kourin's plan well enough. If nobody understood, I'll re-do this chapter and try again. Any questions can be asked. Reviews are encouraged

Now for another part, I'm currently accepting names and decks to be used in the next circuit in America, so drop me a line with a name and decklist and ill put the best in as a team for one or two of the matches

Now that Aichi has been convinced to dive into the the depths of Psyqualia, what will await them in the America circuit? Find out on the next chapter!