Vanguard: Light Speed
Chapter 15
The True Kaiser
The competitors for the final match of the Expo Tournament have been decided. It would be between me and Isaac, but make no mistake regardless of how I looked back then I was scared beyond belief at the prospect of fighting him. Still as Sade and I arrived home for the evening I knew that my duty now as her big brother was to console her.
"We're home!" I yell since I saw my mother's car in the driveway.
Sade and I heard the clank of dishes in the sing before my mom came running out of the kitchen to greet us.
"Oh Sade poor dear I saw everything that happened. Are you alright?" My mother asks due to the great deal of concern she held for her adopted daughter.
"I'm fine….. big bro said he was impressed with how well I did against such a famous fighter as a beginner, so I'm happy." Sade retorts though she was disappointed with herself.
"Oh that's good. I made your favorite food for dinner tonight. Would you like to have some? Or are you just not in the mood?" my mother asks as she held a spatula covered in cheese sauce in her hand.
"Maybe a little, but I'm not really that hungry right now." Sade answered as she could already feel her tummy grumbling a little.
"Alright…. what about you Kiba? Are you going to eat at all?" My mother asks again.
"No I'm not hungry. I'm just going to go to my room and do a little research." I answer.
Though my mother actually continued to insist that I eat something to the point of annoyance, so I just bent to her will and had a quick meal before rushing to my bedroom. I didn't want to be disturbed so I closed and locked the doors knowing that I'd be up through the night doing research on Isaac. In fact several hours later long after my mom and Sade turned in for the night I came across a recently written article about Isaac's rise to fame.
"Let's see… Isaac Barrett is now one of the most powerful and famous fighters in the country and I dare say the world, but 5 years ago at the age of 13 he was a complete unknown defeating the championship team of the time. A year the only team capable of challenging and I use that word loosely Team Star Ocean appeared, but at best all they've been able to do was make Team Strike Shadow sweat a little which is still in itself impressive given the level they play at." I say to myself as I mumble the summarized contents of this article aloud.
I already knew this much about Isaac from listening to secondhand conversations, and for another reason but it's best I not mention it now.
"Oh this article was just updated today… alright let's see… At first Isaac Barrett was seen keeping 3 decks on his person when he appeared on the national state, but after his recent matches that number has now jumped to 5. In order of appearance the aces of those decks are Armor Break Dragon, Dragonic Descendant, Light Saver Dragon, Sing Saver Dragon, and one final deck that he's never been seen using. This makes me ask 2 questions to the world. Is there any fighter out there in the world capable of defeating him? And just what is in that last deck box of his?" I mumble to myself as I once more summarize the contents of this article.
I do more than just read rise to fame stories on the person who would be my future opponent back then. I watched videos of his various fights from different points of his career, I read countless articles that analyzed those fights, and several videos that did the same hoping to find some kind of weakness. This was something that kept me up rather late that night, but I eventually stopped as it would be rather embarrassing for me to pass out in the middle of a fight.
"Yawwwwwwwn… hmm….. Who would be calling me this late hour?" I thought as I can hear my cell phone on my nightstand start to vibrate the moment I shut down my computer.
"Yes Kiba you're still up. I thought it would be a long shot, but I'm glad you answered." Oli said with relief as he revealed himself to be the one calling me at such a late hour.
"What is it? I was just about to hit the sack man, so it better be important if it couldn't wait until morning." I ask.
"I just thought I'd tell you that the rest of the cards you ordered have just arrived." Oli explained.
"I'll pick them up tomorrow afterschool then, but Oli that could have waited until morning so goodnight." I tell Oli as I move my thump towards the call end button.
"Wait… there's another reason I called!" Oli yelled just before I started to put pressure on the call end button.
"Alright make it quick." I retort as I decide to throw the man a figurative bone.
"An old friend heard about the deck you're trying to build." Oli informed.
"And this is relevant how?" I ask.
"I'm getting to that. He has a few cards that can make the deck even stronger. You'll need to come by the shop tomorrow to pick his cards up as well, and believe me you'll be surprised when you find out who it is." Oli explained.
"Alright…. goodnight." I tell Oli before immediately ending the call.
All of the research I did really tired me out, so it didn't really take me very long to fall asleep though I really didn't get much of it in the end. In fact I only got about 3 hours of sleep that day, and all I had to keep me through school was a morning cup of coffee. Still… even that would run out eventually.
"And if rework this formula like so… solving this kind of problem will be easy for you, but be careful this formula won't work for all of them." My math teacher explained.
"Yawwn….. maybe I should have drunk a second cup of coffee…. or have gotten a couple more hours of sleep." I mumble to myself before passing out right there on the table.
Much to my own relief I was able to sleep the next hour and half in class without getting caught by the teacher, and without having a nightmare thanks to the person I sit next to in this class. Now that my sound all well and good in theory, but you'll never guess who the person I happen to sit next to in this class is. When I say "you'll never guess" I mean "It's freaking obvious who it is."
"Wake you lazy dragon." Nolan says to me as I feel the semi-hard impact of a paperback book on the back of my head.
"Dragon?" I ask as I steadily sit back upright in my chair.
"Yeah you're exactly like those lazy dragons that don't do anything in cartoon shows meant for kids." Nolan explained.
"Hey I thought we agreed to at least try and be a little nicer to each other." I point out.
"I know I know I just wanted to work a little out of my system." Nolan retorts as she stretches her arm a little.
"There's no one here…. what did I fall asleep something?" I ask as I didn't remember falling asleep earlier during class.
"Yup, and you're lucky the math teacher didn't notice. Speaking of which… here." Nolan retorts as she holds out a few pieces of paper towards me.
"What's this?" I curiously ask as I take those papers out of Nolan's hand.
"Notes for class today. Don't get the wrong idea…. It's not like I care if you pass or fail, but I do think that it should at least be either way on your own merit." Nolan explained as for some reason she's unable to look directly at me.
"Thanks…. I owe you one." I gratefully tell Nolan as I quickly put the notes in my backpack.
"Ha ha like I said it's not like I'm doing it for you, but….. thanks." Said a slightly red Nolan.
"This actually reminds me of how we first met, but I believe you were the one who fell asleep in class. In fact I was the one who took notes for you, and I think I said the same thing you did." I point out.
"Shut up… I had trouble sleeping as a kid!" Nolan yelled out of embarrassment.
"Yeah yeah whatever you say, but really I owe you one so let me know what I can do for you." I honestly tell Nolan.
"Then….. by some miracle if you manage to beat Isaac….. would you be willing to go on a…" Nolan was saying so quietly that I couldn't even hear what she said back then.
"Are you going to watch the final match live? Or are you going to watch it at home?" I curiously ask as I unintentionally interrupt Nolan.
"Wha… oh no I'll be watching it at the expo." Nolan answered once she actually realizes what I had asked her.
"How come?" I curiously ask.
"It's not like I'm going because of you. It's just that I have to show I'm gracious in defeat by showing up. I don't want to do anything that has a chance of negatively affecting my team." Nolan explained again unable to look at me straight in the eye for some reason.
"Yeah well… oh shoot I have to go!" I unintentionally yell as I realize what time it is
"What's the rush? Your match isn't until the evening." Nolan asks as she wonders why I'm quickly stuffing my things in my backpack.
"I know, but a few cards I was tracking down specifically for this match are in right now at a card shop I like to hang out at. Plus a friend of the owner has a few other cards." I quickly explain to Nolan.
"Wait hang on I have something to tell you!" Nolan yelled the moment I placed my hand on the classroom door.
"What is it?" I ask as I turn around the moment I have the door halfway open.
"Our school's vanguard club as well as some of the normal students is going to watch your fight in the auditorium. Regardless of if you win or lose, they're also hosting a sort of after party and the club president told me to tell you that you're welcome to come if you can on the off chance he couldn't tell you himself." Nolan quickly explained.
"I'll decide if I go after the fight." I tell Nolan.
"Aww what are you to scared to go alone?" Nolan asks this time teasing me as a friend and not to get on my nerves.
"If I wanted to date I'd ask someone, but really I just haven't decided I want to go." I retort.
"Well if you do decide to go and don't want to go alone I'll go with you." Nolan jokingly suggests not even remotely expecting the response to follow.
"Alright." I retort.
"Ehh?" Nolan said out of shock due to again not expecting the response I'd give.
"Sure I see no reason why we can't go together, but um what's the dress code? Is it casual? Or should I find something a little formal to wear?" I curiously ask.
"Oh the president said casual is fine or you can wear your school uniform if you feel a little formal. I have to say I was joking when I said that, but I won't just let anyone go out with little old me. You'll have to work for your prize." Nolan explained as I thought back then she was joking around.
"Alright what do I have to do?" I curiously ask.
"Win….. it's as simple as that." Nolan answered.
"Alright it looks like I have another reason to want to win. I see no reason why we shouldn't be able to go as friends." I retort.
"Tch…. I should have none it would be something like that." Nolan thought.
Yes I was indeed that ignorant to women's feelings when I was young.
"Anyways didn't you say you had somewhere to be?" Nolan said.
"Oh right I'll see you later." I tell Nolan as I leave the room.
Nolan just stood in our last class of the day not doing anything at all….. at least not until she can no longer hear my footsteps on the hallway's tile floor.
"Arghhh… I can't believe I said something like that. Geez that was so embarrassing, but I guess it was kind of cool when he said he'd try and win for me… but um,….. arghhh what am I saying!" Nolan yelled as she angrily kicked the wall.
"I'm sorry for interrupting your moment of heart swooning." A certain male student said as he tapped on the inner-wall of the classroom.
That certain male student was the president of my and Nolan's school's vanguard club, and he was also well…..
"Quinn I thought you had a club meeting." Nolan said.
"I had to let it out early because my part-time job called me in, but I saw you as I was walking by so I thought I'd say hello." Quinn said in a kind hearted tone of voice.
And I only say kind hearted because this was before I knew how much of an evil douche he was on the inside.
"Well hello then, and I gave him the message you have me." Nolan answered because back then she was one of the few people who could at least feel his true nature despite the facade he put up.
"By the way you know that video of you arguing with Kiba that went on the net a few days ago?" Quinn asks of Nolan.
"Yeah what about it?" Nolan asks in response.
"Well that video has over 1.5 million hits." Quinn answered as he shows Nolan the video on a YouTube app on his phone.
"Whaaat?" Nolan said out of shock.
"Oh and I found at least 6 articles implying a heavy romantic relationship." Quinn said to Nolan as he brings up one such article on his phone.
Now in this moment Nolan made a rather angry face flushed with embarrassment, but that's the last sight you'll see inside this school. By this the time this happened I was already halfway through the school's courtyard on my way to the parking lot.
"No not my phone!" Quinn yelled.
The walls of our school despite being made out of some rather fancy material aren't really soundproof.
"Hmmm was that…." as I partially hear Quinn yelling.
Crash! All of a sudden Quinn's phone came flying through the classroom window and across the courtyard until it hit me square in the back of the head nearly causing me to fall over. After recovering from my near-fall, it doesn't take me very long to realize who the perpetrator was after realizing what classroom the broken window belongs to as well as who the owner of the phone was.
"What the hell Nolan?!" I yell out of extreme irritation.
Now some of you are probably wondering how I knew it was her right? Well believe it or not this wasn't the first time that Nolan threw something through a window out of rage where said object through some universal fluke happens to hit me. Nolan is the only woman I know with the arm strength to do such a thing. At any rate once I give Quinn his phone back, of which somehow was still in one piece I quickly hurry to Oli's card shop. Strangely enough save for the man himself the store was empty. One would think on a day such as today that the store would be packed with people wanting to watch the fight to come.
"Where is everybody Oli?" I curiously ask.
"I just got here myself after getting out of a really bad traffic jam, so that's why you don't see anyone here right now but the regulars should be here soon enough. Anyways what can I do for you?" Oli explained before asking me a question.
"You called me last night saying you got your hands on the cards I've been looking for, and that a friend of yours has something explain as Oli didn't seem to remember the conversation we had last night.
"Oh right…. here you go everything you asked for is in there." Oli said recalling our conversation whilst placing a small brown envelope on the glass countertop.
"What about your friend?" I ask Oli as I check over the contents of the envelope just to make sure whether or not Oli's earlier statement was really true.
"Hey Sora can you come out here for a moment?!" Oli yelled whilst having his head sticking through the door to the storage room.
"Sora… no it couldn't be." I mumble to myself as I recognize the name Oli brought up.
I had a hunch as to who that first named belonged to, but I had to wait until my friend here showed his hand for me to be certain.
"I'm coming. Just hold on a second alright." the man called Sora said from behind the storage room door.
I stared intently at the storage room door as I stood there in anticipation. The name Sora could have only have been linked to one person back then, but for plot sake the answer to that question as well as a few events that happen between now and my fight with Isaac will have to be saved for later. Sometime later as darkness fell and spotlights turned on, I walked towards the field in which Isaac and I would do battle upon.
"You've already caused one underdog upset, so I know you can do it again!" Virgil yelled.
"Good luck my friend. I was going to say the same thing, but Virgil beat me to the punch!" Raphugio yelled.
Dalette only gives me a silent nod, but even though I haven't known her that long I could tell that was her form of wishing me luck.
"I hope you win onii-chan…. If you do onee-chan promises to give you a nice reward!" Sally yelled.
When she said reward….. I couldn't help but have the normal thoughts expected of a normal teenage boy due to the influence of Japanese culture, and the fun part I wasn't the only one who had that thought.
"Hey what do you mean reward? I'm not going to go out of my way to do anything for him." Nolan said with red cheeks as he forces her sister to face her.
Sally didn't realize how lucky she was. As Nolan's little sister she was one of the few people in the world that could push her sister's buttons without having to deal with the fear of bodily harm.
"Besides…. I kind of already promised him something." Nolan whispers to herself.
"Oh silly onee-chan….. if you don't do something to get your hooks into him soon…. That other girl will snatch him out from under you." Sally pointed out in a teasing manner to her older sister.
"Why would I care if he goes for some romantic dalliance? It certaintly doesn't bother me in the least." Nolan declared, but her consistent stuttering throughout her sentence suggests otherwise..
Her ridiculous antics aside…. Sally was despite her youth and inexperience very perceptive when it came to matters of the heart.
"Now say something to show you care Onee-chan….. please for me?" Sally said to her older sister whilst staring at her with puppy dog eyes.
Nolan though she'll never admit and rarely will show… well she actually spoils her little sister quite a bit. She had attempted a silent resistance, but ultimately she gave in.
"If by some miracle you manage to beat him… I'll…. treat…. you to lunch… along with you know the other thing we talked about." Nolan said slowly growing quieter with each word as it already took a great deal of courage for her to speak in the first place.
"It looks like that I have yet another reason to win tonight!" I yell as by freakish coincidence Nolan's vote of confidence from my friends that I happen to hear.
"You…. you better." Nolan whispered as she was very happy that I responded to her.
I only found out what my friends said a while after this fight ended, and speaking of which there were at least two other people who cared enough about Isaac to watch him fight. Teresa having just changed back into her street clothes is relaxing in her dressing room.
"Sigh… I swear that was perfectly timed." Teresa thought as she heard a knock on her dressing room door the moment she sat on the couch in her dressing room.
After Teresa placed a teapot on the plug-in stove, she opened the door to find her fellow Strike Shadow teammate Preston leaning against the wall right next to the door. For some reason he's sweating quite in addition to having some trouble breathing.
"Are you alright Preston? You don't look so good?" Teresa asks as she helps her teammate into her dressing room.
"I caught a bit of the flu, and now that I think about it… my temperature was pretty high too." Preston explained as he sat on the couch in the dressing room.
"Then what are you doing here? You're mother is going to kill you when she finds out you snuck out of the house while sick again." Teresa inquired as she pours a cup of tea for her ill teammate.
"I may not like Isaac as much as you do, but he's still a teammate so of course I'm going to be here for an important match he's fighting in, and don't worry about mother. I'd know by now if she found out that I snuck out. Anyways did I miss the fight?" Preston explained as he savors the taste of Teresa's tea.
"No…. they're just going through the opening motions right now. It should start in a couple of minutes." Teresa answered as she turned the volume up on the TV in her dressing room.
"Alright then… say where's the tech chief? I thought he was stopping by to watch the fight." Preston asks expecting my father to still be here.
"That was his plan, but he got a call from one of the project managers back at the lab so he had to leave… Though… I think he was just saying that. He must have believed that it would have been too hard for him to watch his son lock horns with his greatest student. In any case….. come on let's watch Isaac win." Teresa answered.
My friends have given me their blessing and the deck I wished to defeat Isaac with has been strengthened as much as possible. Now….. all that's left is for us to clash swords and who's blade breaks first. Pay attention you who read this tale of the truth….. my first battle with Isaac is about to begin. We entered from opposite sides of the MF system that would be our battlefield and met in the middle for a typical meet and greet.
"I'll be acting as the judge for this fight, so I expect fair play from the both of you." Sakura ordered.
That's right our judge was none other than Sakura Verde herself, but instead of her usual attire she was wearing the formal blue business blouse you normally see female judges wear for Vanguard tournaments even today.
"Of course." I retort.
"I would never defy the rules of destiny." Isaac interjects.
"Now bring out the decks the both of you want to use for this fight, pass them to each other, and shuffle." Sakura ordered.
"I already know what I'm going to use." I tell Sakura as I held up my deck towards Isaac as if I had a sword pointed at his throat.
As Isaac reached for his deck….. he jerked ever so slightly like he was poked by a needle, but little did I know that there was more to this reaction than meets the eye. Isaac explained a year or 2 after this fight that as he reached for his deck he literally heard the loud roar of a dragon in the back of his mind….. all of which was to get his attention.
"I see…. so you wish to wait no longer for an opponent worthy of you….. or do you consider this person worthy?" Isaac mumbled to himself as he reached for his deck.
"Are you alright?" I ask as I happened to have partially overheard what he said.
"Merely a bit of static shock." Isaac answered, and although his response was lacking emotion even I could still tell that was just a quick excuse.
"Okay…." I mumble as Isaac and I trade decks.
Now I may have said that Isaac was reaching for his deck, but it would be more accurate to say that he was reaching for one of the 4 he has on his person at all times. In fact I believe that I mentioned this earlier, but there's always one deck box Isaac has where no one knows what is in it as he's never fought with it. That was the very deck he passed to me, and I could feel the intense power it held as I shuffled it. The power within this deck felt like it could burn the skin off my hands if I wasn't careful…. It was just very off-putting.
"It seems as though Vermillion wants me to show you your destiny in this fight." Isaac informed.
"Wha….." I tried to say, but before I knew it I found myself travelling through a tunnel of light.
And once I emerged from that tunnel of light I found myself standing upon an apocalyptic landscape. What I saw there was another legendary dragon crushing the ace of my deck with the same overwhelming force I sensed while holding his deck.
"Now that both fighters have done the customary shuffling of each other's decks…. It's time for the Expo Tournament's final match to get underway!" Sara yelled into her microphone as loud as possible.
Sara's voice snapped me out of this illusion and all of a sudden I found myself standing in front of a fight table when just a second ago I was chatting with Isaac in the center of the battlefield.
"Given the small army worth of people I can see trying to get a seat in the bleachers….. it's clearly going to be a popular one." Dr. O said as he made that ever familiar symbol with his fingers.
"To date like Sakura Verde…. Isaac has never lost an official Vanguard match, but his opponent Kiba Nakashima has proven himself to be a competent fighter talented fighter." Sara announced.
"Will we have at least one more underdog upset before the Expo comes to a close for the year? Or will Isaac add to his already incredible winning steak with his near omnipotent level of strength?" Dr. O followed.
"I wouldn't go as far to claim myself omnipotent, but defeat is still your destiny in this fight." Isaac says to me as he noticed I came out of the illusion.
"If I can survive being buried alive for a few days under the rubble of Vermillion Arena 10 years ago and nearly die in the process… I can hold my own against you. I'll show you just how much your belief in destiny is really worth!" I yell as this truly is nothing compared to my nightmares.
"It seems our finalist is a survivor of that disaster 10 years. I wonder how much staring death in the face will help him here." Sara announced.
"For the younger members of our audience…. 10 years ago today during the finals of the North American Vanguard Circuit where the fighters were both using legendary Kaisers….. a massive earthquake struck the arena right as one of the competitors were about to deal the final blow." Dr. O followed.
"Among the tens of thousands of people who failed to evacuate the arena, roughly a thousand people were pulled out of the rubble, and among those thousand 300 good people died in recovery. I count myself among those lucky few, but enough about the past….. It's time for you two to clash in the present." Sakura declared.
"I'm ready to start at any time." I interject as I've already drawn my starting hand.
"As am I." Isaac followed as he's now drawing his starting hand.
"Then let the final match begin!" Sakura ordered.
"Stand up, vanguard!" I yell.
"Stand up the vanguard!" Isaac yelled shortly thereafter.
A ring of light appears in the center of our battlefield and steadily spreads outwards past Isaac, myself, my friends, the bleachers along with the people sitting on top of them, the crowd of people trying to get a good view of our battle to be, and the camera crew in charge of covering it all. Our battlefield… contrary to what I saw in the vision Isaac forced me to see….. it was going to be on a wide grassy plane, with many hills visible in the distance, and hanging around the great blue sky is the sun and moons of Cray.
"That hasn't happened in a while." Isaac thought.
"You're surprised aren't you? I'll just take this as a sign of changing fortune." I say to Isaac as I try to use anything I can to strengthen my confidence.
"Destiny is never wrong….. only extremely difficult to properly interpret, and I'm no exception to that fact." Isaac calmly explained.
"Kaiser Record Keeper [Power: 4000]!" I yell.
You already know what Kaiser Record Keeper looks like as an animated unit so I won't get into it, but instead let me tell you a little about what he represents. Long since the first Kaiser came into this world and left it, the Empire has assigned scribes to record every action a Kaiser takes since receiving that title. This is so the Empire's youth can learn from their accomplishments and their failures in order to become stronger.
"Flag of Raijin, Corpuscant [Power: 4000]!" Isaac yelled.
Appearing now in Isaac's place is a young man with a tanned complexion, with white hair, also the young tanned man is wearing a mostly black outfit save for a few red ribbons here, golden stripes there, and his weapon of choice is a long black lance with a curvy yellow blade.
"That Kiba guy's starter… is that…. the unit I think it is?" one vanguard fan said.
"No it can't be….. is that guy trying to get everyone here killed." another vanguard fan said, but with extreme fear in his voice… the kind of fear that makes you consider the possibility of death.
"Is he really trying to recreate the disaster 10 years ago?!" A third now panic-struck vanguard fan yelled.
And there you have it…. the reason why I can't use Abraxas in a professional capacity. Following this fight I'd be a victom…. no it be better to say that I'd be an outlet for peoples rage and feeling of loss. I can't blame them as a lot of people lost someone close to them in that fight. Though I said it already I was buried alive under fragments of the stadium of which led to nightmares that still effect me to this day, but back then….. I was determined to beat Isaac and redeem Abraxas's honor.
To Be Continued
Kiba: Today I'll show you how much your belief in destiny is worth.
Isaac: If you thing my interpretation of destiny is wrong then I dare you to try it.
Sakura: All of you calm down… this behavior is insulting to the way a vanguard fighter should behave!
Kiba: Next time on Vanguard: Light Speed "The True Kaiser's Redemption"
Isaac: Impossible….. a card not shown to me by destiny!