From my point of view she was definitely not in the mood to welcome us. It's like she got annoyed the moment we walked into the card shop, even including Kuran and Chain blast! Not the finest first impression if you ask me. But this is our chance to change that.

'Okay Itou, you got this. It's just a simple introduction. That can't be hard, right? Just you wait, I'll definitely change her thoughts about us! I mean, what's the worst that can happen? She could just see us as threats, and blow us up to kingdom come... Oh, shit.'

"HELLO! MY NAME'S ORACLE ITOU! I'M THE PIONEER OF THE AKASAKA THINK TANK!..."

"...?"

"...Yeah, and I'm Chihiri, Kinoshita. Itou or..pff... acle's.. kuku... friend..."

I fucked up. I fucked up big time. During that, Chihiri's shoulders trembled while covering her mouth with her hand, dying not to burst out of laughter. Ah, It's good to have best friends, so that they can laugh at you at the most embarrassing moment in your life. God if you do even exist, please strike me with the strongest stuff you got. I'm a believer now so take mercy and make it quick.

So, I guess this is my name now, Oracle freaking Itou. It took me 4 seconds to have a name so stupid, that it was reason enough to get an ass whooping. I was waiting for the pretty onee san that had every right to kick my ass. But she just took one good look at me and shrugged her shoulders.

"Hm, okay."

Two words. That's all she said. After that she returned to reading her magazine again. I stood there with my eyes wide open like a deer in the headlights. This wasn't her glossing over my mistake with a big understanding heart. No, this was her not even CARING what I just did right now. I'm glad that she forgot that stupid mistake, but

I think my soul just died a bit by onee san's cold hard apathy.

"I can kick your ass if you DO want me to."

"Nope! Dear god, NO!"

She took my thoughts right out of my head, as if her ability was mind reading. The gesture of onee san readying her foot was frightening. I shook my head repeatedly and quickly denied her kind(?) offer. Apathy hurts but it was better than someone else's foot kicking you.

"Hm, too bad."

"'Too bad'?... Y, You didn't mean to actually kick me, right? RIGHT?..."

Onee san kept maintaining her poker face, but I'm certain I saw her sigh for a second for not getting to kick my ass, and that scared me to my bones. Luckily I wasn't the only one who noticed onee san's horror, as Chihiri patted my shivering shoulders to comfort me.

"I'm scared Chihiri..."

"It's okay. You've done well, there's nothing that can hurt you now."

"So, are you a pioneer as well?"

"M, me?! I, I thought you were only gonna ask Itou, but I guess you're still going, huh!"

Since we didn't want to disturb onee san from reading her magazine(more like didn't want to risk our lives), we were going to ask Kuran for more information. But I guess life isn't life without hardships because onee san wasn't done with us just yet. She did keep reading her magazine, only this time her target was Chihiri as she asked her some questions.

I begged my best friend good luck, and god speed that she doesn't screw up like I did.

"Just answer the question."

"Um, I'm not a pioneer. My buddy over here, is though."

"Oh yeah. What clan was it?"

Damn, I thought Chihiri would buy me some time but instead she already put me back in the spotlight! I had no choice, onee san's eyes were already staring right at me for answers, so I quickly replied.

"It's Oracle think tank. Uh, can I ask you a question, Onee-"

[So, you're the pioneer of Oracle think tank?]

"Hm? Did any of you hear someone-"

[Let's find out what you're made of.]

Suddenly a deep manly voice that didn't belong to any of us, asked me out of nowhere. And before I could freak out, or try to find where this voice was coming from, an unknown pressure had froze my legs as if a giant tiger was standing in front of me.

"Uh!...ah!..."

"Wh, what is... this?!..."

It wasn't just me. Chihiri seemed to be feeling this pressure too, as she was also unable to move like I am.

We didn't know who, or what was causing this. The only people who didn't react to this was Kuran, Chain blast and onee san. Speaking of Kuran, when she realized that the two of us couldn't move she clapped her hands while saying in a bright tone.

"Is this one of those welcome ceremony?~ Yay!~ We're finally getting to have these~"

"Kuran, a, little, help?!"

"What did, you do, to us?!"

"Oh! Don't be afraid guys, we're not trying to hurt you~ It's just a little 'recreation' for pioneers that's all~ Trust me, you guys have nothing to be scared about~"

"How can we NOT be scared?! We can't freaking move!"

"If your idea of fun is this, then you guys have the worst taste of entertainment! Like, ever!"

We kept yelling, demanding to the three of them to free us from whatever this was. But what didn't make sense to me was Kuran. It's not like I fully know her, like how I can't believe she's totally okay with this. Yet her eyes, her words, she didn't seem to be lying at all. She really meant it, that whatever this pressure is, was not going to hurt us.

"Chihiri, are you hurt?"

"What? What kind of question is that?"

"Chihiri just relax, okay? Do you feel hurt, or any pain at all?"

"Umm... No, actually. I just can't move my legs, that's all. What about you?"

"...Same here."

After calming down, we soon realized Kuran was really telling the truth. We couldn't move but that was it. And it's not even that we can't move our whole body, anything above my waist I was able to move like usual, and so did Chihiri.

I'm still not sure but I think Kuran, Chain blast, or onee san wasn't the ones who did this to us. It was probably the fourth voice of someone, or something that was in this shop with us. But strangely enough, this voice wasn't an enemy. If it was, Kuran or Chain blast would've known by now. Was it possible Kuran and Chain blast just walked us into a trap? That they were lying about being friends?

...No. They weren't lying. Those two might have made fun or pulled some pranks on us, but every word that they said from when we first met and until now was true, at least that's what I still believe in. Then I started thinking about the meaning of this act.

'Why are they doing this? Is there actually a reason to this? Is this really a simple prank? Or... a test?...'

A number of thoughts passed through my mind, and then I realized it's actually the 'second' time this happened to me. This was just like Master beetle's pressure, however this was different in some ways. The feeling of an invisible force crushing my body was still there, but at the same time this one didn't have the raw hatred and killer instinct like Master beetle's. Instead, this pressure held great pride, so big that I seemed so tiny compared to it. This was like a proud and powerful beast observing us. Vigilant, and yet curious.

And most importantly, I think I figured out who the unknown voice is. I turned my head toward's onee san and asked her.

"Excuse me, but can you tell your unit to stop this? I can take the hint that it's testing us."

"Huh? Itou, what are you talking about? What unit?"

Chihiri didn't seem to have a clue of what's happening. I guess she wasn't able to hear the voice in the first place. Meanwhile onee san kept reading her magazine as if she doesn't know anything about it. But I knew she was, because her eyes were looking at me and not her book.

"...Well, you heard the man. Do what he says."

[Impressive. I thought he'd faint before figuring out what I was doing. I guess the fight with Megacolony did teach them a few things.]

"Uh FYI, the girl's not a pioneer, so cut the crap before I do it myself."

[OH. Well, my apologies. I'll get right to it.]

And just like that, the heavy pressure crushing our bodies were gone and the two of us were finally able to stand up straight. It seems that we weren't even breathing well, because the moment we were freed, me and Chihiri immediately gasped for air as if the pressure was really squeezing our windpipes. I heard that you forget to breath in tense moments, but I never imagined it to be this bad. Whatever the reason was, it was good to be free from the pressure.

"Hah!... Whoa!... Holy moly! What the hell WAS that?!"

"You all right, Chihiri?"

"If you're not mentioning a life time worth of therapy, I guess not?! Jeez, that felt like I was surrounded by a shit load of wolves!"

"Wolves? I thought I was surrounded by a pack of lions."

Now that we were properly breathing air, our heads became clearer and we quickly felt better. When we finally started to breath in a normal pace, the deep voice was talking to me again.

Whoever this unit was, it's pressure was equal to Master beetle's without even trying. If this unit truly meant it, we would've passed out the second we were crushed by it's pressure. Knowing that it was safe to say that onee san's unit was definitely way more stronger than Master beetle.

Or maybe, even stronger than Amaterasu.

[Hmh! Not bad! With proper training, both of your willpower will be able to withstand even the toughest pressure!]

"Yeah, before you say that, can you stop hiding and just come out now? I don't want to talk to someone who I can't see."

[Hahaha! If you wish to see me, then you'll have to find me! I'm inside this shop, so there's no need for you to look outside. I bet you know how to sense spiritual energy by now, hm?]

"Oh come on, give me a break. Thanks to your little trick, I'm tired to the bone right now."

[Nonsense! That was just a love tap! Don't just give up and be more like Kuran! Fire your energy! Now do your best to find me!]

"Fir!... N, Never mind~"

Kuran, who was hearing all of this was dying to yell 'Fire your energy!' just like the voice did as loud as she could. But she didn't and stayed quiet when she realized that I had enough troubles. I appreciated her sign of respect for me, that I almost wept a tear.

I let out a groaning sigh. My mind was exhausted because of the pressure. It was the same as Master beetle, and it's the same now. I wanted to talk my way out of this, but I had the feeling that the voice wasn't going to bend it's will no matter what I say. And besides, in my current condition I wouldn't be able to convince anyone even if I try. This is a losing battle no matter what I do.

"Hah... Okay, fine. I'll give it a shot."

[Now that's more like it! Good luck!]

"Oh, man! I wish I can hear what you're hearing! Getting left out like this sucks!"

"Trust me, Chihiri! I WISH I was YOU right now!"

After wiping away the sweat off my forehead, I took a deep breath and focused everything on my eyes, remembering Amaterasu's words of picturing my spirit flowing like water. I was able to see mine, waves of bright golden light that surrounded my hands and every part of my body. Then I looked over to Kuran, and to my surprise I was able to see her's too. Her spiritual energy radiated a deep red light and was flowing in and out of her body in a rapid flow similar to a strong water current. The color and even the speed and flow was so different from mine, that it made me wonder if every pioneer's energy was different from one another. The speed and power of Kuran's energy current was overwhelming. And seeing how her whole body was filled with spiritual energy to the point it was overflowing, I could already tell that she was leagues stronger than me.

It was interesting to see Chain blast had the exact same spiritual energy as Kuran's running inside his body. I thought it would be different since he and Kuran were a completely different species.

"Wow. If you two stay close together I'm gonna see a big red ball. Is it normal for a pioneer and a unit having the same energy?"

"Well, duh. Pioneers use their spiritual energy to materialize us, remember? So why wouldn't we share the same energy?"

"Then does a pioneer's energy somehow affect units in any way?"

"What do you mean, Itou san?~"

"Well, we all have a Psyqualia ability which exists because of our spiritual energy, right? Mine is seeing the future, so does that mean my units can see it too?"

"Hmm~ That might be very cool, but unfortunately that's not the case~ Spiritual energy is just that, pure energy~ It may take other forms, which in this case is our individual Psyqualia ability, but besides that it's not really different from someone else's spiritual energy~"

"Long story short, spiritual energy isn't an attribute or something. What did you think this is, some kind of a game?"

"...I, did?..."

When both Kuran and Chain blast heard me quietly whisper my answer, they both giggled like they were saying 'Oh, I KNOW that feeling', which made my face blush and regret for even thinking about it.

'Curse me and my gamer mind! I just HAD to think like that, didn't I?! No, wait. What's wrong with a high schooler thinking about games? Yeah! This is perfectly normal! Especially for someone who spent two days straight playing online with Chihiri!'

Speaking of, out of curiosity I checked out Chihiri. But to no surprise her spiritual energy was the same as any normal person, not shining nearly as bright as Kuran and mine. When Chihiri figured out what I was doing and asked if I could see her energy, I looked at her dead in the eye and simply shook my head. I guess she had high hopes since after hearing my answer she was visibly disappointed. Right after that she walked to the corner to crawl up into a ball and cry. Well, not exactly crying, more like mumbling to herself like a madman while she rocked her body back and forth. I was glad to see her coping just fine. Although, maybe it's best if I buy her something sweet on the way back, to make her feel a little better.

Anyways, mine and Kuran's energy were visible as bright as day. And yet, I couldn't sense any energy inside this shop other than us. Yes, even onee san who was sitting at the counter right now. Her energy was no different then Chihiri's, but she was a pioneer since she was able to talk with her unit. Then that could only mean one thing.

'I guess you can hide your spiritual energy as well...'

The unit that's hiding meant more than one thing when it asked us to find him. It wanted me to use my new senses instead of relying on my old ones. Still, I'm just getting used to sensing spiritual energy and this unit was hiding too well that I couldn't find a single trace of him.

During that, Chihiri had left her corner moping and found me searching around aimlessly. Since she was unable to hear the unit's voice or even sense spiritual energy, to Chihiri's eyes I was an idiot who was looking desperately for nothing.

"You lost something, man? Cause you're moving your head around like you did."

"Apparently Chihiri, the unit I was just talking to wants me to find him in this shop. But I can't see or sense anything!"

"Hmm, why don't you close your eyes or something? You know, heightening your senses by removing another, that sort of thing."

"...That's a good point. Thanks."

I took Chihiri's advice and closed my eyes hoping for at least something to appear. I took deep breaths, slowly gulping and exhaling air to help concentrate everything to my senses. But after all of that, I found nothing. This wasn't as simple as just changing my point of view. I want to find this unit. I want to pass this test, or whatever this is supposed to be. I wanted to make an impression to this mysterious unit and onee san, that me and Chihiri were worthy allies. But no matter what I do right now, I was unable to find onee san's unit.

"Any luck?"

"Unfortunately, no. God, it feels like my head's gonna split open..."

[Are you going to call quits? This really isn't difficult, you know. Perhaps I expected too much from a newcomer.]

As much as I didn't want to give up, I really had no options left. I looked at the floor, ceiling, under every card table, chair, and furniture I had the permission to search. If I go the other mile like say break something down maybe I might find a clue. But the chilling gazes onee san gives whenever I even think about doing exactly that, made me realize that I'll be murdered at the spot the second I try it. So with that option blocked out, there really isn't a single place left that a person could hide. With nowhere left to look for, I had no choice but to give up.

Flap-

"Damn, I skipped a few pages."

Onee san clicked her tongue while flipping the pages of her magazine one by one. The sound of the pages being turned back sounded especially loud, as I was at a loss of words right now. It's almost uncanny of how little Onee san cared about this whole thing. Chihiri gave me some useful tips and even Kuran who's supposed to not help me was quietly cheering for me. I don't really care about this in different circumstances, but this was not just about me but her unit as well. I'd expect that she'd care or at least react to her unit's action. Instead she was too busy reading a magazine as if that was her biggest concern right now. Was it her way of saying that she didn't want us? Was that magazine so important that it's worth ignoring all of us to just read it?

'Wait... What was that?...'

My thoughts of giving up came to a halt when I saw something weird about that magazine. I hadn't realized it before but now that I'm seeing it thoroughly, the magazine had some kind of a bookmark stuck between the pages. It was barely visible and it's just pure luck that I was able to see it in time. I had a hunch and tried focusing my senses on the magazine, and just like finding a needle in a haystack there was the faint, but sure sign of spiritual energy. With no time to waste, I pointed the magazine with my finger while screaming out of joy.

"The bookmark that's in the magazine! That's where you are!"

"Huh? Itou, what bookmark? I mean, who uses bookmarks when they read magazines?"

"Oh!~"

"Oh?"

Kuran and Chain blast's reactions were a good sign. Still, I'm not completely sure if they're actually surprised that I'm on to something, or they're just acting to be. That's why I looked straight to the one who could solve that.

"Hmm..."

The only one who could confirm my guess was onee san. At the moment, she didn't say anything, only to stare at me for a couple of seconds as if checking if I was confident with my answer. After that she turned her eyes to the magazine and started flipping the pages. The flipping pages felt like a spinning roulette that was either going to land on a jackpot or a bust. And then, onee san's hand finally stopped on a single page. She reached out her hand, grabbing whatever it was between the magazine and showed it to all the rest of us.

"Correct."

There it was. The one thing that I wanted to see so much. Between onee san's middle and index finger was a vanguard card with the same golden edges as Amaterasu's card. At that moment I felt like I could fly to the sky. I was so happy to see onee san's card, the sweet proof that I was right, that I couldn't help but to yell out of joy and thrust my arms in the air.

"Yeah! Ugh! One point for Itou!"

[Hahahaha! Nicely done! I knew it you had it in you!]

"Wait, is this for real? Did you get it, Itou?!"

Onee san's unit laughed out heroically and congratulated me for finally finding him. Chihiri was still dumbfounded that out of all the hiding places I could point out, I picked the book that was right in front of us and got it right. Of course a person won't be able to hide inside a book. But that's the mistake I made in the first place. I wasn't supposed to find a 'person'. This was a unit. Which meant I was supposed to look for, a card.

"That's so awesome, Itou san!~ You got it on your first try!~ And 'De-' san was hiding rea-lly well, too!"

With a big smile blooming on her face, Kuran was happy for me as if it was her own and clapped her hands together in celebration. I had a feeling that Kuran mentioned someone's name just now, but I was too busy admiring her cheerful smile. Chihiri seemed to have heard it, and for whatever reason she was very excited.

[Tell me about it! I had second thoughts if I was being unfair, but then you knocked the ball outta the park! I mean to be fair, I wasn't giving a hundred percent from hiding my energy...]

"Really? You're going THERE? Just admit it. You're making your fellow unit look bad."

[If you're saying I'm salty right now, you're badly mistaken Chain blast! Alright, what the hell! You officially bested me, Itou Akasaka!]

Though a bit upset that I found him in my first try, the hiding unit was overall happy for what I accomplished and kept showering me with praises. Although it felt odd being praised by someone I can't see. And it seems I missed the timing to tell everyone that I didn't find him all by myself.

My eye's bumped into onee san's and I bowed my head a little to thank her for the little hint she gave me. It's like Chihiri said, people don't use bookmarks when they read magazines, and they definitely don't keep their book marks in the pages when they DO read it. Onee san deliberately turned the pages more louder than usual to tell me where I was supposed to find. Of course onee san didn't admit it, as she turned her head the other way as if she was clueless of what I was thanking her about. Seeing she was acting all oblivious about it seemed even cute.

"Okay. Now that we're finished with our little hide and seek, can you show yourself please? Or in this case, materialize from your card, please."

This was the most trouble I've went through in my life to just see someone else's face. Stalking an idol seemed more easier than this since it doesn't require you to see energy that's not visible to the naked eye. Of course there's no way I'd go stalking an idol or something...

[Of course! I'm more than happy to appear in front of someone who've earned their rights! Now Ryuichi, do the honors!]

'Ryuichi?'

The name the unit called onee san seemed odd. It's not like the name itself was odd, but a little strange for a beautiful girl like onee san to have a guyish name like Ryuichi. But the world is wide and a lot of people in it, it really wasn't that unusual to me.

"Just so you know, I'm gonna call you in human form, all right? I don't want your head bursting out of the ceiling, AGAIN."

[No complaints here!]

Onee san sighed as if she couldn't trust those words. And then right in front of my eyes, a surge of spiritual energy flowed from onee san's body. A second ago her body had showed almost to no spiritual energy, the same as Chihiri. But now, strong waves of energy was coursing through onee san's entire body, almost matching to Kuran's level. There was no mistaking it, onee san was undoubtedly a pioneer.

She took the card between her fingers, and injected her own energy, that glowed deep yellow inside it. However, the amount of energy she used seemed a little low. It wasn't even close to the amount I've used to call Amaterasu. Even Chain blast had a lot more spiritual energy inside his body. I mean, I literally didn't know much but even for me I thought you needed a little more than that to call a unit.

Nevertheless after being done she called out a name. The unit who was hiding from us all along. And that name was...

"Come on out, Descendant."

"Descendant?... What kind of card was... Wait, THE Descendant?!"

"Woohoo! TWO dragon clans in a single day! I get to finally see Narukami in action!"

Descendant. The full name was 'Eradicator, dragonic Descendant'. A card that was a part of a clan called 'Narukami'. But if I recall, that card was a grade 3. Then that meant!

"Wait!"

Flash!

An explosion of bright light filled the shop. However the light's pattern was chaotic, irregular and crooked unlike the light that I saw when Amaterasu first materialized. And yet it was fitting. Because if Kagero was about fire, Narukami was all about lightning, and that's what the light resembled.

Once the light died down I removed my arm from my eyes and saw a tall figure standing in front of us. There he was, onee san's unit himself. If I remember correctly based on Descendant's card, he wore a gigantic full on armor that covered him from head to toe, and the red color of the armor with the gold engravings surrounding the edges looked so cool when I first saw it that I still vividly remember the details. I've only dreamed of what a dragon this cool would look like if it was a human, and now I finally got to witness it with my own eyes. So there I was, looking at the man that was battle hardened with countless years of combat, radiating pure awesomeness from his heavy red armor, a warrior, a legend incarnate!

...Is what I would think if this was the case.

"Hah?..."

Nothing. There was nothing at all of what I'd expected. The voices that I've kept hearing was of a grizzly middle aged man, making me imagine beards, muscles, scars, smelly pits, everything of what makes a manly man. That was the image I've kept thinking when I first heard Descendant's voice.

"It's nice to see you face to face, pioneer of Oracle think tank! No, I guess that's rude to call you that. Nice to see you, Itou Akasaka!"

My jaws dropped for more reasons than one. My image of an awesome warrior with a deep manly voice,

Is now someone who speaks in a cheery, high pitched voice, wearing a red t-shirt with a lightning logo on the top and deliberately torn blue jeans on the bottom.

The outfit and voice alone wasn't the biggest reason for the pure shock I was in right now. No, it was the matter of 'who' exactly descendant was.

Why. Oh god why,

Is Descendant a luxuriant blonde, playfully smiling, megaton grade bombshell of a WOMAN?!

"Allow me to formally introduce myself! I am Dragonic Descendant of the Narukami clan! And in case you two might not know, I am also a general of an elite legion called 'Eradicators'!"

"Time out. Just... Just time out..."

Huh? What? Excuse me? Was this a prank? A dragon who calls itself a general of an army, is actually a bombshell onee san who seems to have never skipped leg day? What was with the tone shift from the cheerful girly voice now, and the manliest of man's voice that I've kept hearing which sounds like it can only be achieved by smoking a pack every hour? Is it common for sexy woman to change voices like that in a whim?

Oh wait, she's an alien after all~ God knows what she's capable of~ I'm glad that makes so much sense~ Ahahahahahaha~

...Like hell it does!

"What's the matter? Something wrong with my human form?"

"Yes! I mean, no! Umm, kinda?! It's just that I'm having a hard time understanding how, instead of a bearded, badass, fully armored action hero, I'm looking at a busty gravure model!"

"Busty? Well yes, my breasts do have some size to them, but what does that have to do with anything? There's nothing wrong with it, although it does get in the way of fighting sometimes. But you know what they say! Bigger is better!"

"...There's no chance that you're pretending to be female, right? You know, for particular reasons?... Maybe hobby wise?..."

"Ugh! Who in their right mind has a hobby like that?!"

"Y, You're right! Forget I said that!"

Descendant didn't seem to understand why I was so shocked. Let's get this straight, it's not like I have a problem with Descendant being a woman. I'm happy for her being proud of what she was. But ever since I first lay my eyes on Descendant's card when I was young, I loved everything about it's design, and had always imagined Descendant to be a guy if he was human. And now, seeing Descendant's true self it felt like the image of my childhood hero being changed forever. So yes, I know that I'm overreacting right now, but it's all because I want to protect the last shred of innocence I've been keeping back when I was a kid!

Moreover, I didn't know where to put my eyes on her. Because no matter where I look at her my heart felt like skipping a beat! Her face alone was beautiful, and even if she wasn't wearing clothes that were not revealing, her dynamite of a body that was in and out in all the right places, made even the most common clothes look like it came from those magazines that transform boys into men.

"A, am I the only one who thinks it's kinda weird?!"

"Weird?~ Hmm, I don't think it's weird~ What about you, Chain blast?~"

"Me neither. What's so weird about it? If you can fight and pull your own weight, gender is simply just a word to me!"

Kuran and Chain blast both nodded their heads as if they already accepted Descendant being female. Make sense since they knew her way more than us. So was I really the only me who felt like this?

'No, wait! there's one more person who've seen Descendant for the first time! Chihiri!'

"UHHYOOOO! That bust! The waist! Those hips! And my god, that beauty! I, It's too much! A card shop with two beauties! I knew it! This is heaven! I've finally reached fucking Nirvana!"

Chihiri had already lost her voice of reason, as she was having a nosebleed from whatever R rated imagination that was happening inside her head. Her eyes were already consumed by the flames of the pervert, and I can't imagine what form she might take if she dives more than this.

"Hmm?~ Chihiri san, why are your nose bleeding?~ Are you okay?~"

"I'm perfectly fine Kuran! My happiness level is so freaking HIGH!~ right now!"

said Chihiri while making a bizarre pose.

"Really?~ I'm glad~"

"Chihiri! Don't you dare drag that innocent girl into your web of horrors!"

It was too late. Chihiri had already began to talk with Kuran. I don't know, maybe Kuran's innocence was strong enough to withstand Chihiri's grasp. But unfortunately I knew Chihiri possessed the tongue of a devil. It was only a matter of time before Chihiri's influence cracked into Kuran. Chain blast knew nothing of Chihiri's true horrors and only saw them as two friends getting along together. His parent like smile won't last long once Kuran starts to say things just like Chihiri, oh no it won't.

"Hey, Chain blast! I think my breasts got a little bigger!"

"Really? If you want to be sure try jumping."

"Alright! Haha! Look at my babies jiggle!"

I want to be the voice of reason here. I really do. But, I can't stop myself from looking at Descendant! Sure, as a man I admit I'm into certain 'stuff'. And Descendant was certainly attractive...

'No! No! No matter how hot she looks she's a dragon! A big ass lightning spewing dragon! I forbid! Forbid to have lewd thoughts about another species!'

When it seemed like I was the only person who was remotely normal, onee san suddenly talked to me.

"Calm down. It's not like it's that weird."

"I know. I don't even understand myself why I'm taking this so seriously. Still, I'll eventually get used to it after I see her a few times, I think."

"...How about I ask you a question."

"Okay? What is it?"

"How do you define a dragon's gender?"

"A dragon's gender? Why it's... umm... ah..."

I had no answers to that. The obvious answer would mostly be their... 'different parts', but I'm not sure if it's the same for them as us humans do. The only dragons I've seen are from fiction, so I was absolutely clueless about dragons in real life.

"See? It's easy to tell since Descendant is in human form, but you can't tell them apart once they're in their original form, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Okay then, a follow up question. Since it's obvious it's hard to tell apart a dragon's gender, then that means it doesn't matter if they're male or female. I mean, you've only seen Descendant through a card, so really there's no reason for you to freak out. If they're male then you guessed right, good for you. If they're female well it's already hard to figure out, so don't worry about it, simple as that."

"...Wow. I never thought it that way. You know what, I actually feel better now that you mention that. Oh, and can I ask you a question? How are you fine after calling Descendant? She's a grade three, and yet you seem fine."

Onee san seemed a little annoyed about my question, but nevertheless she answered it without complaint.

"Yeah, if you call a unit in their original form that is. Calling them in human form in considered the same as calling a grade zero unit. But keep in mind, only when they don't use their powers. If your unit do use their power or do something that reaches superhuman feats, than it immediately counts as a grade three, and well, you know the rest."

"Yeah, I do. That's everything I wanted to know."

"Glad to help. Now can you please stop going nuts about Descendant."

"Oh, sorry."

This was the second time onee san helped me out. It's not like she gets anything or asks me something in return, and yet she helps me whenever I need it. Despite her cold demeanor she was really a good person. Now I can see why she's Kuran's friend. I couldn't thank her enough for accepting us as allies.

"Thank you, Ryuichi onee san."

Now in life, people make countless mistakes through their entire lifetime. And some of them are the results of not knowing the real consequences of their actions. Many people will give almost anything to change those mistakes.

This was certainly one of mine.

"Ah!..."

"Oh!..."

Descendant and Kuran suddenly flinched. The smile on their faces had disappeared and soon turned pale in as if something went very wrong. I felt the sudden shift in tone. I had no clue what the reason was, but I knew that it had to do something with me.

"W, What's the matter? Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

"...*sigh*."

WHAM!

Onee san closed the magazine she was reading. Yes, something that's made from paper. But when she closed it, the sound it made was similar to a shot from a rifle. Onee san stood up from her seat behind the counter and slowly walked towards me. And that moment, a murderous intent far greater than Descendant's pressure overflowed from onee san.

If Descendant was a lion, right now onee san was... the supreme king of the apocalypse that rules them all!

"Hic!..."

I slowly stepped back. That was all I could do. Running wasn't an option. The second I do, onee san's fang would devour me.

"R, Ryuichi! H, He's a rookie, right? I, I'm sure he doesn't know any better! S, So let's talk this out peacefully! Harmless words that can't hurt anyone! W, What do you say!"

Even in dire times there was always a hero. Descendant confronted onee san with a smile, to try and reason with her. But the killing intent that flowed out of onee san overwhelmed Descendant, and the smile of the great dragon warrior quickly began to fade.

"Are you stopping me, Descendant?"

"Hic!..."

The cold and polite smile of onee san finally broke Descendant, forcing her to step aside without even touching. Even after moving aside, Descendant's body was trembling uncontrollably by the sheer fear.

When all hope seemed lost, like an angel Kuran bravely stepped into onee san's way.

"R, Ryuichi san?~ Itou san just became a pioneer today~ So he's basically a normal person~ S, So why don't you forgive him, please?~ I, I'm sure you don't want to hurt him, s, since Ryuichi san is a good person~ R, Right?~"

Kuran's words were shaking but her smile was still bright and unyielding to onee san's fear. But that did not take long.

"Why would I do such a thing? Do YOU think I'm that kind of person?"

"H, Hic!..."

Kuran couldn't hold her smile, quickly following Descendant's footsteps and soon ran away next to her. I kept stepping backwards but then was forcibly stopped by something behind me. I was touching something sturdy, only to find out that one of the playing tables were blocking my escape route. The end of the road.

"I, If I did anything wrong, please tell me what I did, Ryuichi onee san!"

"Hmm?~ You didn't do anything wrong?~ Why are you apologizing, Itou kun?~ Fufufufu..."

Confronting onee san's smile with no way to run was bone chilling to my very core. It seemed better to be stuck with an actual lion than onee san herself. Even in complete fear, the unanswered reason that started this was all I could think of.

'Why IS onee san's name Ryuichi?! What's wrong with a girl having a guy's name like Ryuichi?! I don't! Then why is she reacting like this?! I, It's not like Ryuichi san is a GUY or anything!'

Oh. OH.

The buzzer in my mind kept ringing like it was screaming 'jackpot!' The truth hit me like a drill to the face.

'W, What have I done? Sweet mother of god! And I've kept calling her!...'

"Itou kun?~"

"Hic!... Y, Y, Yes?!"

The smiling supreme king had already stood right in front of me. With my life flashing before my eyes, I looked everywhere for Chihiri. My friend who didn't run away even when confronting Master beetle, had already joined the rest of the two that failed to stop the king. Chain blast was nowhere to be seen, probably returned back to his card form.

'T, Take me with you!'

I desperately called for help, but at this point I was just yelling to thin air.

The angel or the devil was not there for me, only the hand of the supreme king that advanced closer and closer. The hand that would crush me whole like a watermelon!

"I never got to introduce myself."

"H, Huh?..."

"My name's Ryuichi Akai. I'm seventeen years old, and currently a second year in Fukuhara high. Pleased to meet you."

Unlike all of my dreaded imagination, Ryuichi onee, I mean san, gently smiled and proposed a handshake to me.

'D, Did she forgive me? Is this what they call a senior's generosity?'

Whatever the reason was, I got to live another day. I thanked Ryuichi san a hundred times over in my head for forgiving this pitiful soul of mine.

"L, Likewise..."

I reached out to shake the hand of the angel that granted me forgiveness. And soon Ryuichi san's soft, yet firm hand enveloped mine.

"Heave-ho."

It seems that I was still foolish to trust a handshake from someone who had a grudge against me. With no time to react, Ryuichi san immediately lifted my entire body with just her hand. It happened so fast it took me a few seconds to realize I was off the ground. Despite her slender appearance Ryuichi san was incredibly strong.

'Oh, and there I go thinking Ryuichi san is a 'she' again. You know what, at this point I think I deserve my fate. If I ever live through this, I will never. EVER!'

"Do remember from now on, that I'm a 'guy'. Would you kindly?~"

With that friendly death threat from Ryuichi san, he then grabbed my foot and kindly folded my back.

CRACK

"Auuggghhh! OH MY BACK!"

'Judge a person by it's facccceeeeeee!'

P.S: I mean, come on. Am I the only one who thought Descendant was a chick?

No? Well alright.

Current Pioneers:

Itou Akasaka- Oracle think tank

Kuran Shiina- Kagero

Ryuichi Akai- Narukami