Vanguard: Light Speed
Chapter 20
A Dark Idol
There are few things in this world with the power to revolutionize the Vanguard world besides the release of a new game play mechanic, but when I witnessed Isaac defeat Sakura years ago that's exactly what happened. Soon another revolution would follow, but I'm getting ahead of myself. We had all returned to the monotony of our normal lives a few days after the Vanguard Expo came to a close, but for Isaac his definition of normal was vastly different from ours.
"You think you're going to win don't you?" my father said to Isaac as holds only 2 vanguard cards in his hand.
My father and Isaac were having a match with one another using a Motion Figure system located in a facility that's of course not on any map... or at least not in a location I'm willing to discuss at this point. Still... imagine yourself staring at a plainly designed skyscraper that's bearing the brunt of a thunderstorm.
"You only have 2 cards in hand, you're down 2 units on your front row, and I'm fully prepared to use The Rebound's skill on my next turn.
"Hmph... utter foolishness Isaac. Though it seems like this year's Vanguard Expo has been good for your growth as a fighter, you've never beaten me once and that's not about to change today." my father points out.
Father – Isaac
2 – Hand – 6
3 – Soul – 2
5 – Damage – 5
3 – Counterblast – 2
Tonfa Wielding Brawler, Aak / Empty – Demonic Circuit Dragon, Zephyr / Arc Light Dragon
Arc Light Dragon / Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion – Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "The Rebound"/Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "The Blood" / Kaiser Armor Master
Tonfa Wielding Brawler, Aak/ Empty – Demonic Circuit Dragon, Zephyr / Tonfa Wielding Brawler, Aak
"Final turn!" my father declared without even the slightest bit of emotion on his face.
"My losing streak against you will end here!" Isaac declared.
"You'd have to survive this turn and we both know that's not going to happen. In the years I've been training you, not once have you ever made me fight using half my strength. Whenever you've been in this situation you've always had the same defiance... at least until I break you." my father pointed out as if he was about to start on another lecture for Isaac.
"We'll see about that." Isaac retorts though even he realized that the situation was only superficially in his favor.
"Step out from behind the shadows; the right hand of my incarnation of lightning! I ride Dragonic Kaiser Crimson [Power: 11000]!" my father said loudly.
The Kaiser possessed by my father had the same bright red and yellow colors as well as similar weapons to the leader of the Narukami clan, however the biggest difference between them is the fact that Crimson has far more overbearing shoulder armor as well as a realistically impractical extension sticking out of the back.
"Now seek the mate!" my father yelled.
And with that the ever familiar physics defying motion that people seriously need to start questioning, four cards from my father's drop zone go flying back into his deck and shortly thereafter one card comes back out.
"Return from death's exile my incarnation of lighting! Legion [Legion Power: 22000]." my father calmly declared as he placed Crimson's legendary mate next to him on the vanguard circle.
As if to suit the irony of the current weather condition a lightning bolt seemingly pierces the plainly designed building as if to signal that nature itself is marveled by the simulated power of this dragon.
"I call 2 copies Military Brawler, Lisei [Power: 9000], and now... let my incarnation of lightning draw upon your power! Crimson Thunderbolt! For this turn I can use Vermillion's skill simply by declaring my intent to do so." my father said as he nonchalantly explained the effects of his units.
"The only way he'll be able to win is to just drive check two triggers, and given the fact there's only 20 cards left in his deck that leaves a 1:30 odds of it happening. I will beat him today." Isaac thought as he doesn't even realize that he's making himself put on a false bravado.
"I attack your front row with Vermillion and Crimson's combined fury [Power: 33000]! Now Vermillion go forth and unleash your Vermillion thunderbolt!" my father declared.
The lightning bolt that struck the ground near where Isaac and my father were fighting paled in comparison to the one that followed Vermillion's relentless assault. I'd say that if the power of the Vanguard cards were somehow made real in this fight... this overwhelming collection of power would have razed the structure they're fighting in to the ground. Thankfully the light of the lightning is only blinding... blinding to the point where I wouldn't be able to see how the fight ends were I watching it in person.
"Damn... ha... I've gotten a lot closer this time, but I still have to become stronger to beat him at full strength." Isaac quietly mumbled.
I'm sure you can guess how the fight ended, but after it was over Isaac had continued on with whatever training regiment that he had set for himself and after that had ended he was covered in sweat. He had walked into an empty locker room and started to lean his tired body against his locker... or at least the one he was using at the time. After taking a minute to catch his breath, Isaac took his cellphone out of the locker he was leaning against and started to dial a number.
"You normally pick up halfway through the first ring when I call you. Is something a matter?" Isaac said as he started to speak into his cellphone.
"No nothing's wrong Isaac. I just got stopped by one of my fans as you called me, but what can I do for you?" Teresa asks as she reveals herself to be the one on the other side of the call.
Isaac could hear the sound of a lot of foot traffic through his phone, so wherever Teresa is she must be in a rather public place.
"It's just that you're normally here after one of my training sessions, so I suppose that leads me back to the previous question of is something a matter?" Isaac retorts after placing his phone on speaker so he can wipe the sweat off his own body.
"Awww... you're actually worried about me Isaac? I'm more touched than you know." Teresa teases.
"Don't get clever with me woman. A leader has to show concern for those under them after all." Isaac retorts as he hid the irritation he felt in response to Teresa's comment rather well.
"Ha ha fair enough. A card shop in the mall I'm at is selling a collectible Vanguard statue I've been looking for at a discount, and since it happens to coincide with one of my rare days off from my singing career I figured I may as well do some shopping too. Oh... speaking of card shops, this one happens to be the one that sells those little plastic model kits you like. Is there any particular model your looking for right now?" Teresa asks out of the kindness of her own heart.
"One XXXG-00W0CV if they have it, and thank you Teresa. If you'll excuse me I'm going to clean myself up." Isaac reveals as he's essentially seeking permission to end the call without directly asking.
"Sigh... there you go referring to them by their model number instead of their name, but yeah if I see it I'll get it. Oh and remember to use conditioner this time since you know your hair gets frizzy after it rains." Teresa pointed out as she hanged up on Isaac.
Believe it or not that blood knight of a man does indeed have hobbies other than Vanguard, but if you don't believe me look up the model number he mentioned. Getting back on topic, though Teresa spoke the words "after in rains" it was actually raining while they were having this conversation; however, that also links to the passive roll I play in the events you are about to read.
"Thanks for coming along with me today man I really appreciate it." Raphugio says as he one straps a pair of shopping bags over his shoulder.
"No problem." I retort as I was doing the same.
You see our fearless leader had asked Raphugio to pick up a few things from a certain mall while he was out running errands, and despite her personality she is still of the female persuasion of which results in the carrying of a lot of bags. Too many in fact for Raphugio to carry on his own, so he asked me to lend him an extra pair of hands. He would have asked Virgil too, but he had a bit of bad luck with a fish taco.
"Look I know about the attention you've been getting because of your fight with Isaac and how not all of it is good. I just figured some time with your bros would help you get your mind off of it." Raphugio said as he decides to tell me the real reason he invited me along now that we're almost done with his errands.
"Ha ha I appreciate it man, but believe it or not... it hasn't been all bad. Believe it or not among all of the hecklers there have been people that have been giving me props for having the guts to do what I did. I even heard a few Abraxas players are coming out of retirement." I chuckle.
"That's good... oh are you going to use that card your dad gave you?" Raphugio asks as the question seems to have just suddenly donned on him.
"No... my dad never helped me become stronger when I was a kid, so I'm not going to accept his little pity gift now." I retort as I practically snap at Raphugio.
Actually speaking of hecklers and people who had nice words, I could actually see such people among the crowd around Raphugio and I as we were walking through the mall. Thank fully it was an indoor one otherwise the two of us would have been soaked by now.
"Sorry man you didn't deserve to be an outlet for my daddy issues. Anyways... umm... do we have everything you needed to get?" I ask as I apologize to Raphugio for my behavior whilst deciding to change the subject.
"Let's see... checks deposited, parts have been ordered, boss lady's disguise kit refills are taken care of, and we also got all of the personal makeup she asked for..." Raphugio said as he starts to mumble his internal checklist aloud.
"Oh yeah speaking of makeup, why doesn't Dalette just come to the store and pick it out herself?" I ask as I unintentionally interrupt Raphugio.
"Because she said getting into the store would require a disguise, then to decide what makeup to buy in person would require her to take it off to sample the product, and that the chaos that would cause would defeat the purpose of going in the first place." Raphugio explained as he decides to finish the rest of his checklist internally.
"Oh... okay I guess having a Sakura Verde doppelganger would cause problems." I mumble as I start to scratch the back of my head.
"No duh I mean... wait... now I remember... we need to go to the card shop in this mall to get the last thing on my list." Raphugio said as he suddenly recalls that key information mid-sentence.
"What do you need to get?" I ask as I curiously decide to go along with the sudden change of pace.
"Two collectible statues based off of Vanguard units that my boss asked me to get for him as a personal favor. It's for his niece's birthday in two weeks and she only wants one of the statues, but I have to get both since there only sold together as a set." Raphugio explains as he checks his wallet to make sure he has the money to cover this potential purchase.
"That's a bit inconvenient isn't it? Anyways what units?" I retort.
"Ha ha ha... it is, but you can't always do the things you like in life. As for what units... Blaster Dark Revenger... and umm... I think one of the forms of Luquier, but I don't remember which one off the top of my head." Raphugio struggles to remember that information.
"Are they really that valuable?" I ask as I just decide to check my phone for any messages.
"Yeah they are... so I guess my boss can count his lucky stars when he told me about the sale... and I just remembered that I have no idea where the shop is in this mall." Raphugio tells me as he becomes aware of his blunder mid-sentence.
"Seriously... you invited me here without knowing that? Out of the three... or should I say four of us now you're one who takes preparation very seriously." I say to my friend in a rather blatant teasing tone of voice.
"Shut up... and let's just find a directory so we can get this over with." Raphugio retorts as he seems embarrassed by my constant stream of teasing.
It only took the two of us half a second to find a mall directory about a 30 second walk away from where we were standing, and with nothing to stop us we started to walk towards it.
"Excuse me, but you're Kiba Nakashima aren't you?" a young and rather attractive woman asked as she decides to stop Raphugio and I.
Or at least I thought nothing was going to stop our rather short journey, and for the record I could have had her appear right when I talked about the hecklers earlier for the sake of story telling but this is the truth when it came to the order of events all those years ago.
"Can I help you with something?" I ask out of common courtesy.
"My little brother used to used to use Abraxas a lot like you at least until... well you know... anyways for years he always felt uncomfortable and looked sad fighting with any other deck, but after he saw your fight with Isaac and how you went toe to toe with him... he decided to use Abraxas again." the young and rath... oh who am I kidding the hot girl said.
"How did it go?" I ask as I couldn't help but enjoy the fact that I was being used as a source of inspiration.
"He lost, but I haven't seen him smile like that in a while. You know he actually said this morning that if he ever got the chance he'd like to see how he measures up against you and The Spirit." the hot girl said as she twirled her hair around.
"I would enjoy the experience." I retort as I really was intrigued by the idea of fighting another Abraxas user.
"Which is why... I decided to give you this when I saw you walking by." the hot girl said in a flirty tone as she passed me a small torn piece of paper.
What was written on this piece of paper was this girl's name and phone number, of which as I'm sure you can guess was something I didn't expect.
"If you want to fight my brother just call me, and even if you don't call me anyway." the hot girl said as she emphasized every word with a heavy pronunciation.
And then this girl just silently waved to me and walked away leaving Raphugio completely dumbfounded and utterly speechless.
"Do you have any idea what just happened?" Raphugio asked as he was only speechless for all but 20 seconds.
"Yeah... I may have a chance to fight another Abraxas user sooner than I thought." I said as I stuff the piece of paper in my back pocket.
"Oh my freaking god you really do have a manga protagonist's level of ignorance to the feelings of women. I feel bad for Nolan." Raphugio pointed out as he was shocked at my 'manga protagonist's level of ignorance to the feeling of women'
"Hmmm what does that have to do with anything?" I ask with a confused expression on my face.
"Sigh... look... that girl was totally flirting with you... I mean come on man!" Raphugio explained.
"Really? Are you sure?" I ask since the concept of being a source of flirtatious inspiration was something new to me.
"Twirling her hair, emphasizing her vowels in a soft tone, and she said for you to call her... so yes I'm pretty damn sure." Raphugio explained as he was unable to hide how flabbergasted he was.
"Huh... maybe I will call her later, but... we really should find out where this store is if you want to get that statue thing for your boss." I point out as I decide to be the one to get things back on track.
This time Raphugio and I were able to walk to the closest directory without any further disruptions, but sometime after that girl had stopped us; the first of two people we didn't expect to see that day was already standing rather close to it. I suppose the fact that he black hair and was wearing a suit should have been a dead give away.
"Excuse me man, but could you please move? You're kind of blocking the directory." Raphugio asks of the person standing in our way.
"Ah my apologies, but could yo-" the young man said stopping mid-sentence as he turned around to face us.
He stopped mid-sentence because he recognized us just like how we recognized him. It was none other that Nolan's butler/bodyguard/ childhood friend Jacob as I've already so obviously implied. He was holding a bag from one of the jewelry stores in the mall.
"Oh... it's you." Jacob said as he stared at me with blatant animosity.
"So what can I do for you my seriously overbearing and arrogant friend?" I said as I decide to return's Jacob's animosity with a few kind words of my own.
"I don't recall agreeing to the job of being friends with a brute who lacks manners, but I'll answer your question so that hopefully a miracle will occur and you'll change your ways to that of a more respectable member of society." Jacob retorts.
I'm sure I've said it before, but I'll say it again just in case... Jacob and I really didn't like each other when we were younger.
"Lady Nolan had requested that I purchase a specific item from a card shop in this mall for young Sally's birthday this w eekend. I decided to look at the directory because I've only been to this mall twice and don't know where everything is." Jacob explained.
"Ah yes I'll be looking forward to having you serve me a big fruity drink this year as well." I said.
"Rest assured that it only happened because I was asked to fill in for the staff last year." Jacob retorts.
"We'll see... come on Raphugio the store isn't that far from here." I said as I take first step to leave the proximity of this irritating man.
I didn't get very far as Raphugio stopped me by placing his hand my shoulder.
"Hang on Kiba... what exactly are you looking to get from the shop Jacob?" Raphugio asked as he was intrigued by the fact that Jacob's reasons for being here was similar to his own.
"A collectible statue set of Blaster Dark Revenger and Silver Thorn Dragon Empress, Venus Luquier, but though my lady only wants Luquier though I still have to buy both since they're sold as a set." Jacob said as he talks to Raphugio in a vastly more friendly manner than he does to me.
"How about we work together to find it and split the cost? I happen to be after the same thing for my boss, but I only need the statue of Blaster Dark Revenger. This way we can both increase our chances of getting what we want and we both save some money." Raphugio suggests.
"Very well... a temporary alliance it is." Jacob said after he takes a couple of minutes to contemplate the offer.
"Ha... you seriously willing to work together with us?" I ask as I was surprised by Jacob's acceptance of Raphugio's offer.
"My paycheck due for another two weeks so you're friend's offer is very convenient for me, and I didn't agree to work with the both of you... I agreed to work with him for this venture." Jacob pointed out as if I had insulted him just now.
And thus signaled the formation of our seriously messed up temporary variation of the three musketeers. The other people in the mall were actually surprised when they saw the three of us together. Before the Expo I was known as "the childhood friend of Nolan Elchart" in a few interviews she's done, but she still mentioned how he and I don't get along.
"Are all those fancy clothes slowing you down Jacob? If you want to get that thing you want you're going to have to pick up the pace." I say in a challenging tone as I decide to walk a little faster than Jacob.
"There's nothing wrong with wishing to look nice all the time and I'm actually wearing training weights underneath this... but even so I'm still better than you." Jacob pointed out as he starts to walk faster than me in turn.
"If you're that much better than me... why haven't you managed to beat Team Strike Shadow yet?" I said as I decide to return the favor.
"Because I'm not afraid to admit that they're collectively a stronger team, but I'm still stronger than you." Jacob retorts as he starts to outpace me again.
And I'm pretty sure that you can all see where his is going, but after a few more back and forth comments between Jacob and I we stopped walking quickly and just broke out into a blatant foot race towards the card shop.
"I... will... admit you're... a lot faster... then I'd thought you'd be with training weights." I tell Jacob as I struggled to string this sentence while maintaining my current pace.
I was only able to keep up with Jacob for about three minutes as we weaved between the crowd of mall goers before I lost him, but that was because I was forced to slow down in order to avoid crashing into someone and not for a lack of endurance. Anyways I had arrived at the store in question only about 8 minutes later seeing as how it was a rather big mall after all.
"Finally... what the... did I... somehow manage to beat him here?" I mumble as I make the attempt to catch my breath.
"No you didn't, and before you ask it's because it's the gentlemanly thing to do." Jacob interjects as he holds a bottle of water in front of my face.
"I won't say thank you." I point out as I take the bottle from Jacob's hands though I still appreciated the gesture none the less even if it came from him.
"Say... I've been meaning to ask this for a while, but just what is your problem with me? Asides from the obvious stuff anyway." I ask as I take a swig of the bottle.
"I believe you're a person of good morals seeing as how lady Nolan and her younger sister seem to hold her in high regards, but my issue with you is your extraordinary ignorance to certain important factors." Jacob explained as like me he was still trying to catch his breath from our earlier sprint.
"Factors like what?" I couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
"Lady Nolan desires greatly to improve upon the currently poor relationship between you two and has put forth great effort to make it so, but you always have been blind to each of her attempts. This in turn has cast a shadow over her heart that I wish was within my power to help her escape from." Jacob explained as the honest concern he held for Nolan was clear in his tone of voice.
"You know there was actually a time when Nolan and I got along, and... I guess I miss those times a little. Sigh... now I feel like I have to work harder for that to happen... you're not going to tell her I said that are you?" I ask.
"If my lady makes inquiries in this direction then I am bound by duty to answer them truthfully, but... I suppose that doesn't mean I can't take the effort to guide her away from such a line of questioning." Jacob answered.
"Tha...-" I was about to say when I heard Raphugio's ragged breathing less than a few feet away.
"Jesus... Christ... don't... run off like that... and don't dump... all your bags... for me to carry." Raphugio said as he was breathing more raggedly than I was when I got here.
I give Raphugio what's left of the water that Jacob gave me, of which he consumes rather quickly. From there the three of us just stand outside the card shop for a few minutes in order to give Raphugio the time he needed to proverbially dusted himself off.
"There's a problem regarding our temporary alliance to acquire those collectible statues." Jacob reveals.
"Why didn't you say something when I got here?" I ask out of slight annoyance.
"Because I don't wish to have to repeat myself any more times than necessary." Jacob retorts.
Well than what's the problem?" Raphugio interjects.
"It seems that the item we want will be-" Jacob started to say
And for the record if what was about to follow had never occurred Jacob would have willingly explained the current circumstances, but right here was simply a case of perfect timing. You see the manager of this card shop, of which the name of (the store not the manager) escapes me gets the attention of the people inside of this store as well as those just outside the entrance via a speaker and microphone.
"Thank you for coming to our yearly Vanguard Collectible's sale brought to you by our store's gracious owner. We've seen many a rare card and autographed paraphernalia pass through these doors after being purchased by their new owners, but now it's time to get to our main event." the store manager announced in a charismatic tone of voice via the microphone in his hand.
"What the hell is he talking about Jacob?" I whisper as loud as I can to the teen-aged butler.
"If he doesn't explain it I will, but for now just listen." Jacob whispers back.
"Every year we select among our stock something really special... a piece of Vanguard history if you will, and every year a lucky someone gets the chance to take it home with them... but though it'll be a part of the process it won't be as simple as having your name drawn out of a raffle." the manager explained as the crowd of customers cheered in response.
"Before you two say anything I had already signed up the three of us... though it irritates me that there's still a chance we might fail miserably." Jacob explained as he pointed his thumb at Raphugio and I.
"That lucky someone would normally have to beat our owner in a card fight otherwise we'd keep drawing names until we found someone who could, but unfortunately he couldn't be here today." the manager announced in a saddened tone of voice.
"So then how will this all work exactly?" I mumble to myself.
"A gracious soul has volunteered her time to fight in place of the manager, but before we introduce her let me show you all the prize you'll be fighting for!" the manager announced as he pointed his free hand at an employee.
That employee was holding something in her arms that was being covered by a small dark cloth, but then she took off the cloth and revealed the prize underneath to be none other than the Blaster Dark Revenger/Luquier statue set that Raphugio and Jacob were after.
"Now than my gracious employee, tell the people what they might have a chance to win." the manager announced as he passed his microphone to the employee.
"Well Bob, if that lucky someone manages to beat me then he or she will get to go home with this Blaster Dark Revenger and Luquier statue set autographed by none other than Ren Suzugamori and Narumi Asuka themselves. Your potential prize is valued at a total of five thousand dollars" the employee announced as she passed the microphone back to the manager.
"Hang on... what did she mean by 'beat me' exactly? And... that voice it sounds like..." Jacob thought as he was one of the few in the store who took notice of this choice of words.
"With out further adieu let me introduce you all to our celebrity volunteer." the manager said as he once again points at the employee that was formerly holding the grand prize for today's events.
The crowd went into a state of silent confusion, and quiet frankly who could blame them. I mean how would you react if someone pointed at a clearly plain person and called them a celebrity?
"Just what the heck is going on?" Raphugio and I thought.
I had those thoughts for all of five seconds before they were tossed straight out the window, but that was because this employee started taking off her clothes and not in the way you're thinking so take your mind out of the gutter. She started with the apron wrapped around her waist, then she took off the pair of glasses she was wearing, then shockingly enough a pair of contacts, and then the icing on the cake was when she took off her wig allowing her real flaming red hair underneath to fall to shoulder length.
"Oh here it comes." Raphugio mumbled as he and I quickly covered our ears.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" nearly all the people inside the store screamed once they finally realized who this 'employee' really was.
"It's Teresa Weaver!" somebody in this crowd yelled at the top of their lungs, but among all of these people it was still barely audible to me.
In this moment all of the crowd goers wanted to rush the stage so to speak and if they did the wall consisting of the store's other employees would be able to do little to get in their way, but I suppose this gives Teresa the perfect chance to show off her oratory skills.
"Awwwww... it makes little old me so happy that so many of my fans happen to be here today, but a lot of the people who work here depend on that weekly check. Could you please keep things orderly for little old idol me?" Teresa said as she spoke into the microphone in the most cutesy tone possible.
"Teresa, will you go with me?!" one of and I kid you not the store's female customers yelled.
If this scene in this manuscript of mine were to be made into an actual anime there would be bishie sparkles and translucent fluttering hearts flying all over the place... hell as you just heard Teresa is or was so popular that it makes people enact the "Even girls want her" trope.
"Now that introductions are out of the way you should all know that I happen to want the prize this establishment is offering. Which is why we agreed that if I can stay undefeated from now until closing I'll get to go home with it instead, but if one of you really wants to go home with those adorable little statues than show me what you got." Teresa announced as this time she switched over to playing role of a concert's hype-man or hype-woman as the case may be.
"Holy shit... who would have thought she would be here." I mumble as the shock of the situation finally starts to hit me.
"Yeah no kidding... I feel sorry for the dude who gets unlucky enough to be picked... cause you know if he wins the fans will murder him." Raphugio retorts as the surprise starts to hit him as well.
"So then everyone, don't give up because even if I beat the first person that goes up... the second one might be able to make me submit." Teresa announces, but this time in a sensuous tone as she purposely licks her lips.
The word that Teresa was here had spread throughout the mall and caused a crowd to form. This had pushed Jacob, Raphugio, and I into the store lest we be willing to risked getting trampled.
"Talk about a questionable thing to say." I point out.
"It goes to show what little you know... like a good performer she's playing to the current state of the crowd. Most of the people here are essentially horny teen-aged boys, so it's to be expected that Teresa takes advantage of that by bearing her midriff a little. Still..." Jacob said as he was able to calmly explain his analysis of the situation.
"Still... what?" I ask as I was curious about what seemed to be bothering him.
"It's nothing that's any of your business." Jacob said as he suddenly snaps at me.
"I apologize for that... for some reason I'm reminded of my past when I see Teresa, but that's no reason to express undue anger to someone." Jacob said as he seems to be regretting his earlier actions.
"Now let's see who the lucky man or woman is people!" the manager announced as he took the microphone back from Teresa with one hand and stuck his other hand in a hat full of names.
The manager mixed his arm around in the hat and a few seconds later he pulled out a single name for Teresa to read.
"It seems that my opponent will... be... oh I wasn't expecting him." Teresa mumbled as she seemed to be visibly shocked by the name that was written on the raffle ticket in her hand.
"Come on and read it!" I thought.
"Please let it be one of us." Raphugio mumbled as he was worried about the thought of disappointing his boss.
Though I may have actually thought that... given my reputation at the time... I was kind of hoping it wouldn't be me. I honestly didn't think I could have dealt with the attention back then. Still for all the surprises that have occurred already today or will occur later in it... I'd have to say that this one was my favorite.
"Ahem... would a Will Kanbara... please step up to the stage?" Teresa said as loud as she could within reason.
To Be Continued
Kiba: The way he's playing...
Teresa: It blows his performance during the Expo out of the water.
Raphugio: But will it be enough to win?
Kiba: Next time on Vanguard: Light Speed "A Dark Idol's Shadow"