The Angel and the Dragon

For once in his life, Aichi didn't wake up late. However, that was because he didn't get any sleep last night. He tried to. Oh, how he tried. But after spending two hours laying on his bed with his eyes shut tightly, he figured he may as well do something productive. He promptly got up and out of bed, grabbed his deck, and laid it out in front of him.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. 'I have to concentrate... I have to control this...' He chanted to himself. He opened his eyes, glowing with the power of Psyqualia. He then looked down at his assembled deck... and he could hear them. 'I'm Here.' They were saying. 'I will bring you to victory.' 'Call me next, lord!' 'Together, we won't lose' It was like a symphony of voices all saying the same thing: 'Use us'

He blinked, and he was on a rocky wasteland that he often visited when he had visions of Cray. There was a battle in progress. His Own clan, the Gold Paladins, were fighting amongst themselves. On one side was Blond Ezel, Beaumains, and Lop Ear Shooter in the front, with 3 Knight of Elegant Skills, Garet. On the other side was Spectral Duke Dragon... the fighting was getting fierce, and neither seemed to be giving an inch. Spectral Duke Dragon began to flash as he transformed into... a card he had never seen before.

'What, who IS that?" Aichi called out, his confusion matching Ezel's fear of the thing. With a loud, piercing sound the dragon roared. 2 Spectral Duke Dragons appeared and, without mercy, they rushed at Ezel and-

Aichi gasped, clutching his chest like he had just had a heart attack. Was that a vision of a defeat? He wondered this as he looked down on his cards... just who was that dragon, and who was controlling it? The only other Gold Paladin user he knew was Ren... and yes, he DID use Spectral Duke Dragon. He'd have to keep an eye out for Ren. He wasn't going to lose, he vowed in his heart, his eyes flaring as he did.

He looked at the clock. Hours had passed... did his vision really take that long? He didn't really care, he decided. He got up, and sat to himself. 'This... IS a date, right? Or is Kourin just wanting a companion... should I dress my best... but no, if Kourin dresses casual that will make me look silly... oh what to do?' He thought. Finally the idea came to him, and he dressed up with a blue jacket and jeans. He looked casual, but dressed well, or so he told himself.

Once he was satisfied that he was prepared, he walked out of his room and headed downstairs to meet Kourin

….

The Fallen Angel slept, but it was not a peaceful one. Takuto Tatsunagi haunted her dreams. 'Why did you leave?' 'Won't you come back?' 'Your sisters will miss you.' 'Don't you want to be happy with them?'

Of course she did. If she could spend a happy life with her family, she'd take it in a heartbeat. But, she knew that wasn't going to happen. Her sisters were helping train people in a power that could and would corrupt anything in a second. One of her very good friends had fallen to this ability, and it took her everything she had to drag him out of it. No, she would defiantly not lay down. They had the best intentions, but the wrong methods. This is what she shouted to the dream image of the one haunting her.'

"Oh, is that so?" The white haired boy said, looking down on her, for he was floating in the air. "So you reject Psyqualia? What other methods would you use, then? You're already training Aichi to use this power, aren't you?'

Kourin had no answer. She knew she was being hypocritical, but she currently saw no other way.

The Image of Takuto smiled, knowing she didn't have an answer for him. "I AM curious to see how you plan to accomplish this... so what do you say we play a little game?"

Kourin blinked, raising her guard up even higher. "What manner of game?"

Takuto smiled, and disappeared. Before Kourin could react, he reappeared directly in front of her. placed his hand on her head, the mark on his own forehead glowing slightly. Then-

She woke up, gasping for air, sweat hanging off her head... so that was the way he wanted to play things, was it?

She got up, showered, and dressed herself. She didn't forget she was going shopping with Aichi, but she didn't bother to dress up nicely. A white shirt, and a black blazer and pants were all she needed. "I wonder where all we should go today... do I even have time to do this now, with all that's going to happen?" She asked herself... but she shrugged it way. Even she needed a break every now and then.

She was the first downstairs, deciding to pass on break feast. Aichi came down soon afterword, doing his best not to look completely nervous. "Good Morning, Kourin-san!"

"Good Morning, Aichi-kun." She said, doing her best to smile at the blue haired boy, who was hurriedly making his way down to meet her.

"I didn't keep you waiting, did I?"

She gave a slight smile, "Not at all. Are you ready to head out?"

Aichi nodded. "Where would you like to go first, Kourin-san?"

"Well, since I didn't go yesterday, I'd like to go shopping for some souveniers. Maybe after that we grab something to eat. What do you have in mind, Aichi-kun?"

"Well... I was thinking we could go to the movies... the theater here is supposed to be really amazing!"

"Sounds like a plan."

Aichi nodded enthusiastically, as they begin their walk down the sidewalk.

….

If Aichi made one mistake, he was a dead man... at least, thats what he was afraid of as he walked down the sidewalk with the beautiful blonde next to him. He was nervous, incredibly so. Here he was, going out with a good friend of his, an idol at that. With Kourin being an idol, she attracted a lot of attention/ Those stares... is this what murderous intent felt like?

Kourin, on the other hand, was completely used to it. What Aichi wouldn't give to have her nerves of steel. He took a breath, trying to relax as they entered a nearby mall. Once the glares died down, he was able to compose himself... it was Kourin doing most of the leading, however. She had apparently been here before, so she knew where to go. He was kind of embarassed when he took her into a clothing store for women, but he did his absolute best to not turn red... a feat harder than he imagined.

It turned out Kourin had more woman in her than Aichi had first thought. He hadn't expected Kourin to try on a bunch of clothes, but he was happyh that she wast serious twenty-four hours a day, so he was happy to wait. After about an hour, they left the mall with a few bags

Nearby was a small cafe, so that's where they chose to have lunch. "What'll it be?" Came the voice of a waitress.

Kourin grabbed the menu, carefully peering over the contents. " I'll have... a Chicken Caesar salad, and a strawberry milkshake."

"Hmmm Kamui said the cheeseburgers are really good... I'll have a cheeseburger... and a Coke. Thank you."

A few minutes later, they were rewarded with they're meals, which they ate in silence. Of course, that made Aichi even more nervous... was he doing something wrong? Weren't meals supposed to be all happy and cheery like on T.V,? Then he noticed her face... her mind wasn't with them. "Kourin-san? Is something wrong?"

Kourin looked up from her salad. "Oh, Aichi... sorry, I'm just thinking about something that happened earlier."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Aichi offered

Kourin gave a slight smile at that. "No, not yet. But thanks for worrying about me."

Once their respective meals were finished (cheeseburgers in America really ARE the best!), They got up to pay the bills. Aichi was moving to pay, but was beaten out by Kourin, who swiped the card before he could so much as blink... wasn't HE the one supposed to pay? Was this all not really a date?

The walk to a nearby movie theater was uneventful, and they stood before it, it was REALLY large. " So what do you want to watch, Kourin-san?"

"It was your idea. I'll let you pick."

With that one phrase, the pressure was on. 'think Aichi... nothing childish, obviously... Kourin-san doesn't seem the type to like something to romantic... 'Night of the Zombie Apocalypse'... a horror! That's perfect!' He thought to himself.

"Two for 'Night of the Zombie Apocalypse." He said, making sure he was the one who paid up this time, and even managed to get some popcorn for the both of them.

…

Kourin walked out of the theater an hour and a half later. "That wasn't too bad of a movie. I liked the ending especially. You, Aichi?"

The blue haired boy was still slightly jumpy, although glad he had picked the right movie. Kourin ealy DID have nerves of steel! Aichi was jumping constantly, but Kourin had just sat back and ate her popcorn... Aichi was completely impressed.

As they began to head home, something flashed in Aichi's head. He was slowing beginning to recognize this power... someone nearby was using Psyqualia. "Kourin-san... I sense Psyqualia..."

Kourin nodded, "Lead the way."

Aichi nodded, and began to take a back alley route. He was unsure of where exactly he was going. Only the pull of this power was telling him that he was heading in the right direction.

They came out in a back alley way, where an underground card-fight was going on.

"With a boost from knight of Elegant Skills Gareth, Spectral Duke Dragon attacks your vanguard..." Came the voice of someone really familiar... whho did it belong to again? The area was crowed, so a bit of the tone was drowned out.

"No... no guard..." Came the increasingly weak sounding opponent.

"First check... critical trigger. I give all effects to my vanguard. Second Check... critical trigger. Enter the void..."

The dragon roared and atacking the losers vanguards, 3 damage stacking up quickly. The opponent fell back, completely terrified.

The crowd dispersed, and Aichi gasped. Ren-san!"

The red haired man looked at Aichi, who stopped as he caught Ren's glare... something was off. ",,,Ren-san?"

"Ah, Aichi-kun. Good Afternoon." Ren said, emanating power... this reminded Aichi of back when Ren was still being controlled by Psyqualia. It was dark... and Ren's eyes were clouded over. "Why don't you come have a fight with me, Aichi-kun?

"R... Ren-san?" Aichi asked. He then nodded, preparing his deck.

"No. I'll fight you instead." Kourin said, stepping in front of Aichi.

"K... Kourin-san?" He asked now he was even more confused.

"I can't explain right now, Aichi-kun... but I can't let you fight someone with Psyqualia until your ready."

She paused for a moment, seemingly staring into space. "Lend me your deck, Aichi."

Aichi nodded, not asking questions. The blond accepted his deck, then turned to face Ren.

"You sure you want to do this, Kourin-san?" Aichi asked, and the blonde nodded.

Ren smiled. "Ver well, either of you will do just fine. Let's begin."

"STAND UP, VANGUARD!"

and the blot moves on. What happened to Kourin? Why is she not letting Aichi fight Ren? Why is Ren suddenly going darkside? Stay tuned! Leave comments and tell me what you think