Chapter 5.

Enter Kari

It was a late night hour, when the eldest man in the Kimoshita Family, Tenma arrived after 3 days of being away and not letting anyone know about his whereabouts. And the moment he arrived, he immediately got into and argument with his mother and sas he went around the house, he pushed over everything and yelled at his mother furiously.

"Leave me alone!"
"But Tenma!"

Tenma had his stuff packed, all that he held for useful, and in a bag hanging from his shoulder. His mother grabbed his hand to try and hold him back, but it was no use.

"I said, leave me alone!"

Suddenly one of the bedroom doors opened and 4 year old Kari stepped out with her blanket in her hands and still sleepy, rubbing her eyes.

"What's going on? Why are you guys yelling?"

As soon as she saw Tenma in the situation at hand, she immediately realised what was going on, as she had just as sharp of a little mind, even back then.

"Tenma-nii-chan! What are you doing with tha bag?"
"Non of your business!"

Tenma wanted to walk out, but Kari grabbed onto his pants.

"No, Nii-chan don't go!"
"Leave me alone!"

Tenma harshly shook Kari off, but the little girl just didn't give up, to which the most ruthless response came: Tenma Slapped her brutally and basically tossed her back to her mother. At First Kari was silent, but soon her tears started dropping onto the floor and she started crying.

"Kari!"

This desperate call came from Matsui, who came out to see what was going on, but the sight he saw was more than just infuriating.

"Tenma... You... !"

He yelled with horrid rage and rushed at his brother to knock him off his feet. He then proceeded to punch him with all the might he had, and wherever he found him, but Tenma withstood it all, and at one point, he grabbed his hands, rolled Matsui off of himself and when he was trying to get up, even gave him a kick to the guts, yelling:

"Don't ever dare to do that again!"

Tenma's nose and lips were bleeding and he was outrageous. He then took a box out of his pocket and threw it at Matsui. His Vanguard deck rolled out of the box and while he turned away to walk out, he still added:

"You can have them if you like! I have no use of these junk cards! I found my own clan to achieve my ultimate Goal with!"

With that, he walked out, completely ignoring Kari's crying and her calls to try and get him to come back.

"Kiyaaaagh!"

Kari awoke in terror, trembling and sweating, her tears flowing down her cheeks like streams and her yellow Pikachu Pajamas getting all wet. She also followed her awakening with a scream, and that attracted attention for sure.

"Kari! Kari, what's wrong?"

Matsui now literally broke the door down to see what frightened his sister. He took a quick look around, making sure noone broke in. Everything was in place, the wall basically covered in posters and drawings she herself drew, and one that was done by Matsui himself, featuring Kari, Setsuna and himself together. The posters were all about movies and animes she loved and basically the whole room was no better than that of Matsui, just more child friendly. When Matsui noticed his sister sitting on her bed, crying her eyes out, he rushed to him, went on his knees and patted her head.

"Hey, Kari, what's wrong?"

At first Kari came to no words, but when she did, she immediately scolded her brother.

"Your nonsense even got to me now nii-chan! I hate you for that!"

She punched her brother in the chest a couple times, but that wasn't with force, only out of frustration. Matsui now hugged her close and they stayed like that for a while, Matsui patting her back for a bit, which seemed to calm her, and she finally started explaining her problems, slowly but surely.

"There now, it's okay, it was just a dream, and no more!"

Shizuka now came by, who wasn't in the situation of rushing to Kari's aid immediately, but when she saw the two siblings the way they were, she just smiled and returned to her daily work. This sight of Matsui and Kari sharing a hug was truely touching.

"Morning Mom!"

Kari came downstairs a couple minutes later, and sat down to eat her favourite cereal as always, but she still had her eyes full of sorrow and tears still, even after all the caring she recieved from her brother.

"What's wrong Kari? What's gotten into you back there?"
"I just had a bad dream... A Horrible one even..."

Shizuka shok her head in disbelief, and sat down to join her and try to comfort her.

"Not you too! When Matsui said, his dreams were over, I never thought you'd get started at this too!"
"It's not really a dream, but rather a horrible Memory... One I have since I was little."

Shizuka opened wide eyes at that.

"One with Tenma?"

Kari silently nodded and sank back into her breakfast. She suddenly spoke up however.

"I'm just sorry Matsui broke the door down for me..."
"It's okay, you know he can fix that!"
"I know, but... I'm just a burden for him lately!"
"Oh, don't be like that now!"

Kari pondered for a bit, but slowly she carried on.

"Mom! Do you think Matsui would take me with him today?"

Shizuka just thought of it for a second, and smiled at this question when she realised the truth behind it.

"Ah, so you want to go with him to PlayCorner, right? Aching to see Setsuna?"

Kari nodded, as she was longing to see her favourite person in the world, but she had other plans on her mind aswell.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll gladly take you!"

Shizuka was more than willing to let her daughter wherever she wanted, as she was way more intelligent and much more reliable than any other kid of her age. Kari finally started smiling, and nodded happily.

"Great! I'll ask him right away!"

She now turned to her bowl:

"Ittadakimasu!"

With that, she proceeded to eating and for a bit everything was quiet, since her mother went to move on with her day. Matsui came down only a few seconds afterwards, and he was already in his most comfortable clothes, which included a black T-Shirt, with a huge golden V on it, which, according to him was an insignia of the greatest heroes of the universe, though he never explained which ones those are.

"Good appetite!"
"Thanks!"

Kari was also sportily dressed, unlike her usual, she had jeans and a a comfy blouse on, with her hair in a pony tail, which was unusual for her. But this time she want by the philosophy of her looking a lot more mature than with her hair down.

"Ittadikmasu!"

With that, Matsui joined into the breakfast, and stuffed his head full. He was unusually calm and ate nice and slowly. Kari now stopped for a second, and put her spoon down but pondered for a second before speaking.

"Say nii-chan?"
"Hmm?"

Kari fiddled around a bit before carrying on:

"Do you mind, if I join you today? To wherever you're going..."

Matsui sopped for a second, but with his mouth full, he answered:

"Why wouldn't I?"

As Kari looked up, she saw Matsui's wide smile, and his mouth was still full, which made him look really silly, and made Kari laugh.

"What?"

When Matsui realised what was going on, he started laughing too, and finally added.

"Sure! If you really want to come so much, I'll gladly take you!"

Matsui was pondering about when Kari woul finally ask him anyway, so it was okay by him. After they were done with the Breakfast the took off:

"We're off!"
"Just make sure you guys get home in time!"
"Haaai!"

With that they joined hands and Matsui lead on. At least two turns left and ne right, before they took a final turn left after a while. What Kari noticed was, was that they were heading almost the same way as her school, except they turned left instead of right on the last corner. Finally they stopped at a glass door.

"So, this is it?"
"Yep! Just look up!"

As Kari lifted her head up, she saw the sign: "PlayCorner - Card and Boardgames"

"Come on in then!"

They entered as the door opened up in front of them automatically, and were greeted by Chris as they entered:

"Welcome! Oh... A new customer maybe?"

Matsui nodded slowly, and as he joined Chiaki to start the usual daily routine, Kari now took her time to take a look around. The shop wasn't really too big, but it was large enough to have 8 entire playing tables.

"Destroy your Sealed Cage and Descend into the Battlefield! Embodiment of Thunder! Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion!"

That was a familiar voice Kari heard and as she looked that way, she saw Setsuna in one of the corners. She walked over there and watched the end game. Chiaki looked up and saw Kari, as she was an unfamiliar face.

"Hey, is that your sister maybe?"
"Yeah!"
"Wow, she really is cute... What's she doing here anyway?"
"She just wanted to come along that's all!"

Setsuna now notied what the two boys were talking about, as she looked to her left.

"Kari! You here?"
"Mhm! I came to look after my brother, so he doesn't get into trouble!"
"Nice of you!"

Kari now looked over the playing field and raised the question:

"So, this is vanguard?"
"Yep! I'm on my way to winning! Come on Limit Break!"

Kari watched in awe as Setsuna put out the final touches on her finishing move, and yelled out loud:

"Finish him! Vermillion Thunderbolt!"

The game was quickly over and of course Setsuna won with ease. Kari now picked Vermillion up from the table and just observed it for a bit.

"Wow... So cool!"

She liked the design, the art, the whole thing in total, and deep inside something yelled out in her to take an even closer look into this game if she's allowed to. Setsuna obviously noticed this on her and waved at the two boys to join them. Chiaki put a hand on Kari's shoulder to get her attention:

"Well little girl, you interrested in playing maybe?"
"I'm not really sure..."

Kari was a bit hesitant, but Chiaki didn't want to give up yet.

"Oh come now! It'll be fun, right guys?"

Matsui and Setsuna nodded, and that finally convinced Kari too.

"Alright, I guess I can try!"
"Great, I'll be your opponent then!"

Chiaki's confidence was kind of broken down when Kari announced:

"I don't even know you..."
"Oh that... I'm Chiaki, Setsuna's brother... Didn't she tell you about me?"

Kari shook her head, which caused Chiaki's jaws to drop.

"You didn't tell her about me?!"

Setsuna just folded her shoulders and shook her head.

"I didn't see any reason to tell her, unless it was a necessity."
"You could've at least mentioned me!"

It was unusual for Chiaki to Crack up like that, and that brought everyone to a laugh. Kari finally stated:

"Thank you anyway Chiaki, but I'd rather like to play against someone I know."
"Like who?"

Kari now up and pointed at her brother:

"Nii-chan, would you?"
"Whaaaaa?!"

Chiaki's shock was at no end, and infuriated he yelled:

"What? He doesn't even have a deck!"

At that Matsui just responded with reaching into his pocket and taking out his deck he recieved from Setsuna and carried with him eversince.

"I have my deck right here!"
"Oh yeah, that! Well..."

Chiaki was disappointed, no doubt, but he just folded his shoulders and nodded.

"Fine, have it your way! Though I'll tell you you'd have had fun with me too!"
"I have no doubt!"

Kari now smiled to calm Chiaki a bit, and this cheerful smile of hers was enough to lighten Chiaki's mood too, and get him to return the smile.

"So, would you like to use my deck, Kari?"

Kari shook her head at Setsuna's question.

"No, I'd rather like something like that of Matsui!"

Setsuna nodded, as she probably understood, that Kari may never have played before, but isn't exactly unclear of what a deck looks like. Obviously she liked Matsui's deck as a matter of fact.

"Alright, but who could lend you a deck like that?"
"How about me, Kari-chan?"

As Kari turned around, he saw a familiar face: About her age, blondish hair, grey eyes. It was one of her classmates, Tokihira Yamato, who now held his deck out to her, which was the ne Matsui had fixed up a couple days earlier.

"Here, you can use this!"
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's all yours!"

Kari slowly took the box of cards and slightly blushed. Yamato was one of the most handsome kids in her school, and for his age he was sporty and pretty good at studying too. He was also a well disciplined Cardfighter, though still not a semi-pro.

"T-thanks..."

Everyone, who gathered around to see their favourite brains playing now gave place for the siblings to take one of the tables in the center, so they could all see it from start to end. Setsuna and Chris even turned the speakers in the shop on, and held a Microphone in front of Matsui, so that everyone could hear him loud and clearly.

"Alright then! We both begin by placing a Grade 0 card on the Vanguard Circle facedown. Knowing Yamato, the top card of the deck is just what you need, right?"

Yamato nodded, and so Kari just set the card in its place, following Matsui's lead.

"Alright! Now, shuffle your deck, and place it into the Deck Zone!"

Well, Kari wanted to shuffle her deck, but it kept constantly slipping out of her hands. Setsuna wanted to help her, but she pushed her hand away.

"I can do this myself!"

And she kept trying until she finally did whisper to her, that she'd help if she needed, to which Kari nodded, but she mostly wanted to rely on help from Yamato, to whom the deck actually belonged.

"Alright, so now you draw your first five cards. If you happen to have any you don't like, just throw them back, shuffle, and draw new ones!"

Kari did redraw 2 cards, only to practice shuffling.

"If everything goes well, you should have a mixture of Grade 1, 2 and 3 cards in your hand."
"M-Hm I sure do!"
"Good, let's start then! Now Close your eyes and imagine as following!"

Kari nodded and closed her eyes, carefully listening to what Matsui had to say.

"As you awaken, your soul has been transported to a distant planet known as Cray! This planet is very much like ours, and its lash beauty is beyond any imagination, with the incredible wildlife and natural habitats surrounding you!"

Kari's eyes popped open and what she saw was awe inspiring: Lush Flower fields, mountains in the distance, the sky filled with all kinds of birds and othe undefined animals, that could fly, and even at daylight, the stars were visible, and nearby planets decorated the sky aswell. The wind lightly blew, and Kari's pony tail was waving around like a flag.

"Wow... This place sure is beautiful!"

Suddeny Matsui's image appeared right in front of her, smiling.

"I see you've imagined it quite well!"
"You know it!"

Matsui nodded and carried on.

"So, in this world, an eternal war for power is raging on between the many clans that inhabit its lands."
"Sound pretty bad..."
"Maybe. And as just mere spirits we can not interfere with this at all."

Kari was kind of pondering about this all, but Matsui saw her worries and just raised his finger.

"However, we are given two specific abilities, that allow us to help them. One of which is the Ride, which is a helpful ability, that allows us to take control over fighting units of the planet, and lead the troups as a vanguard."
"Van... guard... Does that mean... ?"
"Yes, it means, that a vanguard is no less than a General among the clan's ranks. A Warlord, powerful enough to lead their people to victory in any battle that awaits them at all."

Kari was smiling brightly at this point, and now that she had a little more insight on it, she wanted to play more and more.

"Alright, so what's the other ability?"
"I was just about getting there! You're just too ipatient."

Kari just smiled at her own silliness, and nodded.

"Alright then. The Second ability is Call, allowing you to summon forth your comrades from your deck and hand to fight for you. These comrades are no less, than your cards in your deck and hand!"

Kari was now totally Hyped, and as Matsui went on and on about a colorful explanation of how the world of Vanguard works, the twins started becoming more and more envious of them.

"Just look at them... How can they be in such synch with eachother?"
"I don't know, but I'm sure we'll never be like them..."
"How do you know?"

Setsuna just shook her head. Chiaki folded his shoulders, as he didn't understand a thing. When Matsui and Kari were done with their little adventures in the imaginary world, the mic was put away and Kari's eyes were glittering.

"I totally Can't wait to play!"
"That's good to hear! To start the game, we need to become vanguards, by flipping the facedown card over, and then it goes..."
"Stand up Vanguard, right?"
"Exactly! Here we go!"

Kari nodded, and as if they were completely in synch, they reached for their first cards.

"Stand up Vanguard!"

The Cards gave off a blue glow and in the imaginary world, Matsui and Kari's starting vanguards took form.

"Wingal Brave! (G0, 5000/10000)"
"Crimson Lion Cub Kyrph! (G0, 5000/10000)"

Matsui now nodded.

"Good, now our vanguards have appeared on Cray's surface and the game has begun! I'll get things started."

Matsui: Cards 6, Vanguard: Wingal Brave, Damage 0

"First is the ride. If I have a card in my hand that is either highr or equal to in level to the current Vanguard, I may place it on top of my current one. That is Riding!"
"Yeah, yeah I know! Just get on with it!"
"Oh you know, huh? Alright then!"

Matsui was really proud of Kari. He kept telling her long stories about vanguard, but he never would've thought she would actually listen to her. Now however she was more than ready to play.

"Alright then! I'll ride Lake Maiden Lien! (G1, 7000/5000) After That, Wingal Brave moves to the rear guard from the soul and I call Little Sage Marron! (G1, 8000/5000)"
"Okay, Anything else?"
"Not this time. Since I started the game, I don't get to attack yet, so it's over to you!"
"Right!"

Kari drew her card, and nodded slowly.

Kari: Cards 6, Vanguard: Crimson Lion Cub Kyrph, Damage 0

"Right then! I ride Knight of Elegant skills Gareth! (G1, 8000/5000) This is okay, right?"
"Yeah, go on!"
"Okey-Doke! Kyrph has the same skill as Wingal, so he moves back, and I call another Gareth!"

Matsui was more than happy with how Kari was playing.

"Okay, now you may attack!"
"And how do I do it?"
"Simple, you turn the attacking unit sideways. You rest him, as we call it, and announce the unit you're attacking."

Kari Nodded, and rest her rear guard Kyprh:

"Like this?"
"Exactly! Since you can only attack front row units, my only target can be my vanguard."
"Right, and I'll attack her right away!"
"And I don't guard. Since you attacked my vanguard, I now take one damage. I do that by flipping over a card from my deck and showing it to you, then putting the card in the damage zone! That is a Damage check!"

The Damage check revealed a Draw Trigger.

"I give the power to my Vanguard and I draw one."
"Wait, what was this card again? A Tri..."
"A trigger. Trigger cards are special Grade 0 cards, that give you +5000 power and a special effect. In Weapons Dealer Govanon's (G0, 5000/5000) case, that ability is to draw a card for free."
"Oh I see! My Vanguard will then attack yours!"
"Your units standing behind your front row may also assist your attacker, by giving him his power!"

Kari nodded.

"Sure! Well then Kyrph, do your job!"

In the imaginary world, Kyrph nodded at Kari and then at Gareth, before the attack began.

"I don't guard! Now, since your Vanguard attacks, you have to flip over the top card of your deck and then add it to your hand. This is a Drive check!"
"Right! Drive Check..."

The card Kari revealed was glowing yellow.

"Wha... What is this... Another Trigger?"
"That's right! And that's a critical trigger, which allows you to deal me one more damage."
"This is great! I think I'm getting the hang of this!"
"Good to know!"

The Damage check revealed another Draw trigger and a heal trigger.

"Over to you then!"
"Thanks!"

Matsui was really proud of Kari by now and the little girl was greatly enjoying herself, already pondering about her next move she'd make.

"Right! It's my turn!"

Matsui: Cards 6, Vanguard: Lake Maiden Lien, Damage 2

"Kari, do you know what card I just drew?"

Kari loked up just now surprised.

"You didn't... !"
"But I did!"

Matsui raised his card at the sky and the famous chant came:

"Arise my Avatar! Comrade born from my very soul! Ride! Blaster Blade!"