After War... Part 2...
Hiro: " it's a great idea!"
Hiro cheered as almost all of them gathered in the cafe the next day. Ran was the only one who didn't show up because she had stuff to take care of.
Jessica: " sounds like a good idea, I think I can get a week off and join you there."
She spoke through Mirai's laptop.
Yuuya: " I think I can join too."
Ami turned to Kazu.
Ami: " we will be able to pass some of our experiences and knowledge to those kids."
Kazu: " though most of us have been in hiatus for a while."
Mirai: " to be honest I didn't think Ban of all people will go into hiatus."
Asuka: " that's true."
Ban rubbed his head sheepishly.
Ban: " well, you know, I've been given a chance to attend this LBX facility in A Nation and I have to work hard to pass my exams with high grades to get there. So I had to take a break from LBXs to focus on studying."
Ami: " Ban being the type to work hard is something new."
She pointed out with a bewildered look.
Kazu: " why are you surprised? As long as it's a thing with the word LBX in it he will surely do."
Ban inclined his head to the side with a defeated smile.
Ban: " I have no retort to that."
Everyone chuckled at him.
Evangeline: " so, back to the main topic here, is everyone going?"
Elie: " seems so, but I really don't think I can handle something like that, so maybe I should consider passing."
Ban: " don't say that."
She gazed back at him with a known look.
Elie: " though, Onii-chan, are you sure you will still work there? I mean, it's a few weeks before taking the entrance exam."
Ban rubbed the back of his head.
Ban: " don't worry, I will be fine, I will study there too, I promise."
She narrowed her eyes.
Elie: " you?... Study?... In an LBX school? I hardly doubt that."
Ban sweat dropped and laughed it awkwardly.
Elie: " I will have to go to keep an eye on you so you would study properly."
Asuka: " the so ever caring sister."
The blonde chuckled.
Ami: " what about you, Elie? Don't you have school as well?"
Elie: " actually I will be enrolling in a school in A Nation and I need to sit for an acceptance exam."
Evangeline : " A Nation ?"
Elie: " yeah, I will be leaving with Onii-chan and Dad. And as you all know, I was held back a year because the school determined I wasn't yet ready to enroll in a high school after I got discharged of the hospital. Despite already being through online courses for the whole time in there."
She rolled her eyes in exasperation upon recalling that.
Elie: " anyway, if I do well during the year there I may be able to catch up with Onii-chan."
Jessica: " right, if you're able to skip grades, then you won't have to worry about that lost year."
Kazu: " though it seems like a lot of work."
Elie: " I will be fine. Unlike Onii-chan, I manage my studies pretty well so no worries there."
Ban gave a sheepish chuckle.
Mirai: " then, I may wish you good luck."
Hiro: " eh! You won't come?"
His eyes flicked back at her in shock.
Mirai: " I'm not well experienced with LBXs like all of you. Plus, I have to go back to Paris."
Hiro's face fell down in disappointment at that, but a pat from his sister changed that.
Mirai: " do your best for me too."
His face beamed slightly upon seeing her cheering face and he was again in the spirit.
Ban: " then Jin and I will head there first, the others will be catching up a few days after, right?"
They all nodded...
A day after Ban and Jin reached there, the others followed them. Arata decided to stay there for a while, not wanting to miss on the chance of meeting them all...
Hiro: " eh!"
Everyone blinked twice as Ran patted the boy's head while he had a sheepish smile.
Ran: " yep, Sena Arata is in reality my cousin. He has a black belt too so don't make him angry."
She announced proudly while Arata became more and more red.
Arata: " Ran-nee, you're embarrassing me..."
Sakuya: " I see, that's why he used those moves back when you enrolled."
Sakuya stated recalling back Arata's ever first fight in the second world.
Haruki: " makes sense now."
Arata: " I'm not that good! Really guys I can't even be compared to Ran-nee..."
Hiro sweat dropped.
Hiro: " no one can be compared to her..."
Ran: " the truth is, we had been pretty close when we were kids but because of his parents' work, they had to move away. I consider him as my younger brother though."
She hugged him tightly as he struggled for breath, his face ever so red.
Arata: " Ran-nee... Air... Need air..."
Everyone sweat dropped at how strong the red head could be.
Ban: " heh, so Arata and Ran are relative. Who could have known."
He seemed amazed by the news.
" A-Asuka... Sama..."
The blonde lady looked back when she was called and was met with a short blonde. The girl who walked to her shyly held up a photo of her.
Catherin: " can I... Ask for your sign..."
The blonde smiled as she inclined the brim of her hat back.
Asuka: " ok! But only if you beat me in a battle!"
Catherine's eyes sparkled in excitement. It was more than she could ask for.
Catherin: " H- Hai!"
" Gouda-kun!"
The man looked at the brunette girl who called out to him and stared up with sparkling eyes.
Hinako: " Gouda-kun, can we have a battle too?"
Sendou: " seems like someone got a fan here."
Sendou teased yet Gouda paid his remark no mind.
Gouda: " alright, come at me!"
He threw a D-cube in between them before both challengers took their spots.
Seeing everyone making their moves, Tadashi too walked to Kazu while holding up his DC Offenser.
Tadashi: " Aoshima Kazuya-san, I've always wanted to battle you. Can you grant me the honor?"
Kazu: " you don't need to ask that way. Come."
Kazu smirked as he thrust Achilles Deed in front of him.
" Kawamora-san too."
Ami looked at the Yuno who approached her.
Yuno: " can I have a battle against you?"
Ami: " I don't mind but, I have to warn you. I'm very strong."
Hikaru: " Oozora Hiro-san. I ask you to battle my Val Diver."
He said holding his LBX at Hiro and the blunette held up his Perseus at him.
Hiro: " with pleasure."
Muraku walked to Jin.
Muraku: " Jin-san, if you don't mind."
Jin looked at him and nodded curtly.
The rest watched as they all engaged in their battles. Gouda and Asuka were the first to finish with both of them triumphants.
Hinako: " Gouda-kun, you're as strong as ever! You're the best! Unlike what other people think."
Her eyes shot back at Catherine teasingly and the blonde ran off to her.
Catherine: " Asuka-sama is the best!"
Hinako: "Gouda-kun!"
Their heads clashed.
" Neither of them."
The two girls snapped and looked at the light purple haired girl standing behind them, she was staring at Jin as he finished Magna Orthus off. She smiled widely with a slight taint of pink covering her face.
Otohime: " Jin-sensei is the best."
Jessica: " hoo! It seems even Jin has fans now!"
She said nudging Elie and giving her a teasing smirk, to which the brunette merely rolled her eyes and answered frostily.
Elie: " I don't care."
Evangeline: " Jin is really popular. Not just as LBX player I see..."
She couldn't hold back a chuckle when her eyes fell on Otohime.
Catherine: " Asuka-sama!"
Hinako: " Gouda-kun!"
Otohime: " Jin-sensei!"
They kept arguing, Gouda and Asuka merely sweat dropped while Jin couldn't care less, he didn't pay any attention to this.
Catherine: " fine! We will decide who is the best with an LBX battle!"
Otohime: " I was just about suggesting the same thing!"
Hinako: " Gouda-kun will defeat both of them and then defeat you two after that! Right, Gouda-kun!"
Catherine: " you will defeat them all easily, right, Asuka-sama!"
Asuka turned to Gouda worriedly.
Asuka: " I want to have a battle with you guys but..."
Gouda: " ... for that reason?..."
Asuka: " Jin too you should say something... Huh!?... Where is he?!..."
The man wasn't no where to be found, much to her astonishment. Ran shouted out when she realized the man had vanished in thin air.
Ran: " he ran away!"
Jessica giggled.
Jessica: " it's Jin for you."
Hiro: " could it be, he is some kind of secret agent!"
His eyes were sparkling as his imagination went wild and the rest giggled.
Arata: " Ban-san!"
Arata called out, almost making the rest in there jolt at his loud voice.
Arata: " I want to have a battle too, I'm still not satisfied with the last time's battle!"
Ban's smile grew wide as he nodded his head.
Ban: " same here! I'm not satisfied too with that tie! Then shall we-"
Elie: " wait! Onii-chan!"
He looked at the young woman when she stepped in between them.
Elie: " Onii-chan, time to study."
She reminded him while her finger pointed towards the clock hanged on the wall.
Ban: " eh! Can't I have one more battle? Only one."
He begged her.
Elie: " nope! Now go and study!"
She said pushing him out of the dinning hall.
Ami: " the caring sister, as usual."
She chuckled...
The whole week had been a lot of fun for Ban and the others as well as the students, most of the time, they had to do some battles with them and teach them a lot of stuff about customize and maintenance.
More than once, some of the students would ask them for a battle, which they would gladly accept. When it was time for them to leave, Ban and Elie were the first to leave the island for they needed to get ready for their exams.
Elie had already gotten on the boat and never showed up while Ban was talking to Jin on the the dock before he would leave.
Ban: " it seems she really is angry."
He sighed wistfully as he looked at the boat anchored by his side.
Jin: " I can't blame her. She is right after all."
Ban: " anyway, think your stay here will be a bit longer than expected."
Jin: " until Arata gets the permission to leave, which seems to take a long time, we will leave together."
Ban: " I see, take care of him, he is a strong LBX player, he may have a promising future."
Jin nodded.
Jin: " you too, good luck with your exams. Tell Elie that I wish her good luck too."
Ban smiled brightly.
Ban: " the next time we meet, it will be in A Nation. I will be waiting for you there to have a battle."
He said and got on the boat that sooner left the port...
A month later, Jin and Arata returned to the main island. They ended up agreeing to stay longer there to help with rebuilding the school after imploring from all of their friends.
Ban and Elie passed their exams successfully and left with their father to A Nation long before that.
The others were walking down their own paths, trying to realize their dreams and ambitions...
The day both of them had returned, an old man was waiting for them on the port. As soon as he saw them, he bowed politely.
Old man: " welcome back, young master."
The younger man had a small smile at his caretaker.
Jin: " I'm back, Jiiya."
Jiiya's face was beaming joyfully.
Jiiya: " well, I bet you're tired. Shall we head back then."
Jin nodded before that his butler led them to the car. He took the seat next to Jiiya while Arata sat in the back. The older man drove away, a few short conversations would start between him and the black and white haired man from time to time.
Eventually the car stopped in front of a huge house. It wasn't the fortress he used to live in when with Kaidou, but a smaller house that belonged originally to his grandfather.
Arata: " so huge! Jin-san you live in here!"
Jin: " kind of, I only stay here when I'm back in Japan."
After all, he had his own place in A Nation.
Jiiya: " young master, Arata-san, you may go ahead and have some rest."
He said as he unlocked the door and they all went inside.
Arata had his eyes sparkling at how huge the house was.
Arata: " it's really spacious here! Even ours isn't near it..."
He murmured the last part to himself. Jin on the other hand looked around.
Jin: " where's Eva?"
Jiiya: " she said she will be around helping Kirito today."
When seeing Jin's raised eyebrow, Jiiya spoke.
Jiiya: " she didn't feed me on what she is doing. But from what I get, it seems very important."
Jin: " she is really gotten closer to both Kousuke and Kirito."
Jiiya: " she said as long as she can help then why not. Don't worry about her."
Jin: " if you say so..."
Jiiya: " so, what do you want for dinner?"
He said walking to the kitchen.
Jin: " Jiiya, I'll take care of the dinner."
Jiiya: " no you're not, you just came back."
Jin: " it's alright..."
And the chat continued on, a peaceful air lingered over the house.
What they didn't know was that fate had planned for them a fateful fight. A battle in which they have to face off their friend...
" So finally Seredy Krisler is down..."
In the dark room, the man looked back towards the huge screen behind him that was showing a red L mark that was shaped like a dragon.
Some words appeared on the screen as an artificial voice read them.
" He had played his part, now his role is over..."
" He didn't know that for this whole time, he was helping his own enemies."
" He wouldn't have known about it. We were careful to not leave any traces behind."
" Phantom, that LBX should be remembered for what it had done for you."
" It's just a problem of time before we move D Ezeldee."
" Is the data we've gathered not enough for you?"
" The more the better."
" I see. Then, what about the others?"
" We will play along with them for a while. In the end, I still need them to believe I'm on their side."
" Right, that way, they will provide us with every help we need. But I'm worried that the world Savers who had lost their leader will actually make a move."
" Let them be. Their acts may prove beneficial for us when time comes."
" As you want."
The man smirked widely at that and turned his chair so that he was facing the desk and leaning his elbows on it.
" I'm looking forward to the world you will create, Leviathan..."
He merely gave a sinister laugh while the L mark behind him glowed...
