Chapter 3: Darkness of a new force

Kourin walked to Takuto's home, which was a large corporation as some would recall it. It was surely a fancy building with luxurious looks inside it. Kourin stepped inside and was met by Suiko, as she was having a day-off on Takuto's place.

"Hey, Suiko. Do you know where Takuto is? I have something important to talk about with him."

"Hey, Kourin! I will take you to Takuto directly. He's been actually waiting for you." Suiko replied, but before she took her to him she continued. "...By the way, how was your date with Aichi? Did you two do anything…fun?" She teased and Kourin got upset of it. She didn't take it lightly.

"W-We weren't having a date! And even if we did it wouldn't be your business!" Kourin defended, because of the fact Suiko loved to annoy her a lot if there was something Kourin was interested in.

"Oh well, maybe someday I'll hear the love-story from you." Suiko smirked and she now took Kourin to Takuto, who was waiting for her. Kourin, still upset from Suiko's teasing, followed her to Takuto. Suiko kept still bugging her, trying to get atleast some kind of hints from Kourin's date, but without any success. After a short time they were now greeted by Takuto himself, standing near the entrance to the library- like room.

"Oh, hey Kourin! It's been a long time you visited here." Takuto greeted Kourin.

"It sure has been, Takuto." Kourin replied and came towards him. Surely the time has passed a lot since she last visited Takuto after the VF Circuit. But Kourin wasn't here to just chat with Takuto. She was here to ask him about Aichi's weird dream.

"Takuto, there is something I would like to talk about."

"What is it?"

"It is about Aichi." Kourin took a deep breath. "He had seen a dream where I had somekind of cold, dark aura around me. This sounded like what had happened Souryu Leon back then, had Aichi not saved him from the grasps of Void and the other clans of the Cray. I was hoping if you would know what would have caused Aichi to see that dream."

Takuto thought about Kourin's words as he soon figured what she was talking about.

"I see." Takuto answered to Kourin. Kourin, puzzled but wanted to know what had happened on Aichi's dream.

"It is the void who on Aichi's dream had made you reversed, indicating the cold aura around you on his dream. It is something you should avoid getting into. The way reverse works is if there is an opponent who's reversed and he fights a normal player. If the reversed player wins the match, the other player, who had lost the game will become reversed as well. You also lose your memory when you get reversed and your own soul to Void itself." Kourin, now realizing the threat of the reverse, wanted to go tell about Takuto's information to Aichi, but…

"...Where are you going, Kourin?"

"I have to tell Aichi about his dream that he saw. " She didn't realize why Takuto wanted her to be still here.

"Kourin, I wasn't done explaining yet." Takuto said and continued. His eyes were covered within a low shadow, but when he lifted his head a bit he had a sinister look on his face:

"I knew that you would come here to ask about Aichi's dream. It was after all, very convenient for you to come here." Takuto, now showed a red mark on his forehead, indicating a Reverse sign as well on his eyes. Kourin, now realizing what she was caught on, tried to escape but the doors to the entrance were locked by Takuto.

"Y-Y-you are reversed?!" Kourin, scared of Takuto now as she had no idea how she could deal the situation she was caught on.

"I… I have been reborn as a new, stronger person!" Takuto said, laughing maniacly as Kourin got even more scared of the thought of being reversed.

"I will make you a reversed fighter along with other ones that have been reversed before. Then you will have no choice but to fight your friend. Or should I say, your love, Aichi?" Takuto said, looking Kourin with a cold, scary face. Kourin realized that he wanted to Reverse Aichi as well but he needed a close friend to do that for him. She didn't want to get reversed. She put her hands to the chest, praying when he suddenly noticed the necklace that Aichi had given her. She quickly remembered the day when Aichi gave that necklace to her.

FLASHBACK:

"K-Kourin, I got something for you."

"What is it?" Kourin asked, curious to what Aichi had for her as she did not expect him to give anything.

"I had this necklace that my mother had given to me from my last birthday. She called it Necklace of Love. I already wear a new one but I think you should have this necklace." Aichi said, taking Kourin's hand and giving her the necklace. Kourin looked at the necklace for a while and looked back at Aichi. He was now smiling to her and he closed Kourin's hand that held the necklace."

"Promise me that you will keep it no matter what happens to you or between us."

As Aichi now turned away since he was blushing, Kourin thought that the necklace Aichi had given to him looked very beautiful. She put the necklace on and looked towards Aichi now, giving him a smile and Aichi, now looking to Kourin as well, smiled back. Aichi was confident that if he was with Kourin he wouldn't have any trouble at all of having fun or be lonely.

"Thank you, Aichi."

END OF FLASHBACK:

As Kourin now gathered her strength, he faced Takuto. Takuto took out his deck to challenge Kourin to Cardfight. Kourin, having no other choice, accepted the challenge. They were fighting on a reverse- like table, putting their decks on the table. They now were going to stand their battle.

"Aichi, I will not fall for you. I will be with you despite the odds." Kourin thought on her mind.

"Stand up, Vanguard!"

"Stand up, Vanguard"

The whirl of wind now flew around, two powers of the players twirling around the field. After the wind cleared up they progressed.

"Dreaming Jewel Knight, Tiffany."

"Star-Vader, Dust Tail Unicorn."

Kourin was now shocked, because she had never seen that kind of deck nor the unit.

"W-what is that unit?" She asked.

"You don't know? Well, I wouldn't blame you. This unit is from a deck that has never been seen before. The deck itself is the avatar of the Void. It is called…" Takuto paused a bit. "…Link Joker!"

"Link Joker?!" Kourin exclaimed, unsure what to expect from that deck.

"Link Joker is the greatest deck that Void had created. The nothingness's power has destroyed many worlds. Cray and Earth will be the next target!" Takuto said, giving a scary smile that made Kourin feel more uncomfortable.

Takuto went first:

"I ride Hollow Twin Blades, Binary Stars. I move Dust Tail Unicorn to rear guard." With that he ends his turn. It was now Kourin's turn.

"I ride Stinging Jewel Knight, SherrieI. I move Tiffany to rear guard."

"I call Regret Jewel Knight, Ulien to Front Rear guard row and Blazing Jewel Knight, Rachelle to the back row."

"With the boost from Rachelle, Sherrie attacks your Vanguard!" Kourin said, pointing her target to Takuto's Vanguard.

"No guard." Takuto replied as he took the first damage. Kourin charged another attack with Ulien with the boost from Tiffany and Takuto didn't guard her second attack either.

"Turn end." Kourin finished her turn and it was now Takuto's turn.

"You know Kourin, I didn't expect that you would really fall in love with Aichi." Takuto said, laughing a bit to Kourin and he tried to taunt Kourin. She however ignored his taunts. She believed that Aichi would trust her and save her if she was to be in trouble. That is why she held the necklace Aichi had given to her, so she felt happy. She remembered the times he had with Aichi and the moments they shared together. The date on a park, Aichi saving her from the possible car incident and giving her the necklace. She didn't want to let Aichi down and she was now preparing herself.

She however, had to figure out what kind of abilities Link Joker has and then find a way to beat it.

"I can see what you're thinking Kourin." Takuto said, confusing Kourin. "You were thinking about the abilities and how to defeat Link Joker, weren't you?" Kourin, afraid of Takuto even more, but she realized that he wasn't just any regular reverse.

"I ride Star-Vader, Mobius Breath Dragon. I also call Destruction Star-vader, Tungsten."

"With the boost from Dust Tail Unicorn, Mobius Breath Dragon attacks your Vanguard!"

Kourin didn't guard his attack and she took 1 damage.

"Tungsten will attack your Vanguard!" Takuto said and pointed towards Kourin's Vanguard. She didn't protect herself this time either, so he was dealt 2 damage. "I will show you the power of Link Joker! Mobius Breath Dragon's skill is activated! If the attack hits the vanguard, I can use his ability to lock my opponent's rear guard."

As Takuto explained, he locked Kourin's rear guard, Rachelle. Kourin was now shocked as she had never seen this kind of ability.

"W-What kind of ability is t-this?!" She quickly said, afraid of the ability and Link Joker deck.

"Lock is an ability that completely binds the opponents unit, disabling the boosting and interception. It will be locked until your own turn ends. You are going to be completely helpless!" Takuto explained, laughing like a maniac. Kourin couldn't find a way to defeat the deck as she had no knowledge of the Link Joker. With that ability, Takuto ended his turn.

"I ride Fellowship Jewel Knight, Tracie. I call Dedicated Jewel Knight, Tabitha and Dogmatize Jewel Knight, Sybill to rear guard."

"With the boost from Rachel-" As she was about to continue she was interrupted by Takuto.

"Did you forget? You can't boost with Rachelle, since it is locked." Takuto looked at Kourin, smiling with a devil look on his face. Kourin realized and continued. "Tracie attacks your Vanguard! Drive check." As she draws the card from her deck, she gets a critical trigger. "I got critical trigger! Giving the power to Ulien and the extra critical to Tracie. She dealt now 2 damage to Takuto and continued. "With the boost from Tiffany, Ulien attacks your Vanguard!"

"I guard with Stellar Garage." Takuto said as he called Stellar to guard Kourin's attack.

"I am not finished yet!" Kourin continued her attack.

"With the boost from Tabitha, Sybill will attack your Vanguard!"

"I guard with Nebula Captor and intercept with Tungsten."

"…Turn end." Kourin said as she was a bit disappointed as she only got two damage again to Takuto. Takuto however was confident since he knew that she wouldn't be able to defeat Link Joker.

"Kourin, you shouldn't fight anymore. Link Joker is the greatest power that makes you even a stronger cardfighter than Aichi or other known fighters like Suzugamori Ren or Toshiki Kai." Takuto taunted her.

"That is not for you to decide! I will not lose this game!" Kourin said, avoiding Takuto's taunt and tried to stay calm.

"But even Aichi wouldn't know if you're going to be reversed. He would think you as the same person still. Untill you would have a cardfight with him." Takuto continued to taunt her.

"S-Stop it…!" Kourin couldn't take Takuto's taunting anymore and she was even more scared than ever.

"I will show you how Link Joker really looks." Takuto said. There's now an image showing that was showing up in Kourin's mind. She saw a red circle spinning around, until it locked towards her. As it locked down, Kourin saw another image; She was fighting Aichi with his newly updated Jewel Knights –deck. They were on 4-4 damage as it was now Kourin's turn to stand and draw. Aichi was keeping his eyes focused on her as Kourin took a card from her deck.

"That unit will be your key to defeat Aichi… Yes! Use the power of Link Joker to defeat Aichi. He will become reversed as well and you will prove that you're better than him and he'll love your newfound skills!" Takuto said on the image inside Kourin's mind, taunting her to use the Link Joker even more.

As Kourin's eyes started to turn to red with the red stripes including on the image she was on, she rode…

...

Kourin now saw the power of Link Joker but she didn't still want the power to herself. She didn't want to make Aichi reversed. But her thoughts were soon destroyed when the image had ended. Takuto had succeeded what he was trying to do. Kourin, now killed her own soul that was her original self.

"D-Don't believe the l-lies he said." Kourin said to her other half who had the sword that destroyed the soul of Kourin's.

"W-Why did I take this power?! How am I going to be with Aichi from now on!?" Kourin shouted, as she felt the despair of the Link Joker still and tried to deny herself the incident that happened to her.

"It is over, Kourin. You are now without a soul and it belongs to Void now, but that doesn't mean the end of your life. Since you are Reversed now that means you have been… Reborn!" Takuto laughed to Kourin, who was now turned to Reverse as her eyes had the red stripes.

"But from now on, you are still going to be normal but your mind is under our control. We will watch everything that you'll do." Takuto continued, making Kourin feel uncomfortable considering she was allowed to keep her emotions for Aichi. But she would be a terrifying opponent to Aichi when they would start the cardfight battle. The thought of battling Aichi made Reversed Kourin feel uneasy.

"Welcome to the world of Reverse once again, Kourin." Takuto greeted Kourin, who was looking down, hoping that Aichi would save her from the Reverse.

"You are now free to go, Kourin. I wish that you would meet Aichi someday so you can talk to him." Takuto said, letting Kourin go out of the building and let her go to home.

Kourin, now depressed that she was reversed, but she still had her emotions. She didn't look like a reversed fighter from the outside but when the time came for her, she would turn reversed and annihilate Aichi on the cardfight match.

Kourin got to home and went to her bed. She was tired of this days event. She checked her cell phone and noticed that she got a new message. She opened the message and saw that it was from Aichi:

Hey Kourin.

I wanted to ask from you if you've got any news about my dream from Takuto. If you've got something, w-would you come to park tomorrow? I will be there at afternoon. W-We could also go to movies if you would like. I think it could be fun! Please send a message back to me if you're willing to come!

Aichi

Kourin decided to reply to his message, saying that she'll be there at afternoon as well and she agreed to go to movies as well. She clicked the "send" button and sent the message, put her cell phone back to the table and went to sleep. While sleeping she remembered how she and Aichi had good times together. She still wanted that same feeling but as she was reversed it could've complicated things for her. Surely her emotions and feelings were allowed to be kept but if she would be fighting Aichi she would turn at some point, Reversed and possibly defeat Aichi and make him Reversed as well. The thought gave Kourin a small cold feeling but she couldn't help it.

"Aichi..." She said.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough. But now I got the power to be able to defeat you...! Our fate will be then decided by my new ace card." Kourin, being reversed, said that as she showed the signs of her Reversed state. The red stripes appeared around her eyes and her eyes glow turned to slightly red.

"...But I wish you could save me..." Her emotional side came to play. With that she fell asleep.

At Aichi's home

"Aichi, it is time to go sleep!" Shizuka said.

"In a second! I will wash my teeths and then go to bed!" Aichi replied back.

As Aichi was washing his teeths he was thinking what kind of day he would be having with Kourin tomorrow. He, after all wanted to go to movies with her. He wanted to meet her at the park first so they could talk about the dream he had seen. The dream has bugged Aichi since he saw it and wanted to know what it was about. When Aichi finished washing his teeths he went upstairs and to his room to lay down on his bed. He took his cell phone and checked a new message. Kourin had replied to his message, saying that she agreed to come.

Aichi now smiled and put the phone back to table and fell asleep as well.

...What kind of day tomorrow could bring to Aichi and Kourin as they were a couple? Or was it all that?

Me:

..With this I might have to slow down the pace of writing because I will be having exam week next week so I have to read to upcoming exams I will be having in before hand. Don't worry though, I will continue to write as best as I can when I get the time for it.

I will also keep re-checking my chapters if I have to update some of the phrases or something. I wish you stay tuned for the upcoming chapters and the development of the story as well! :)

Owaizake