Exploring PsyQualia (Cardfight!! Vanguard)

[NewName]

After the Card Capital Shop Tournament and the formation of Team Q4, Aichi and Emi were aiming to buy some groceries that their mom ordered him to buy when they return, but as they are returning, Aichi once more feels the presence of a breeze, and finds the location of Card Shop PSY.

---

Plastic bags rustled softly in Aichi's hands as he and Emi made their way down streets that still felt slightly unfamiliar. Carrots, tofu, potatoes— the groceries swayed gently with each step. His mind kept drifting back to the tournament, replaying fragments: the nervous coil in his stomach before each match, the moment Blaster Blade answered his call, the small but genuine cheers rising from the Card Capital crowd.

Then the wind came again.

It wasn't strong — barely more than a breath — but Aichi stopped walking as if someone had put a hand on his shoulder.

His eyes fixed on the sleek sign above the quiet entrance. Card Shop PSY.

Emi took three more steps before she noticed. She turned back, head tilting. "What's wrong, Aichi?"

He blinked, startled back into his body. The grocery bags swayed as he shifted them awkwardly, and he pointed — a gesture that came out more uncertain than he intended.

"Um… well. It's the second card shop I visited."

Emi looked at the shop, then back at him. Something shifted in her expression — a small, quiet recognition.

"I think I've heard of it," she said, stepping closer. "Isn't this the one where the cards actually battle? Like holograms?"

"…Yeah." He nodded slowly. The memories had already begun filling his head, unbidden. The battle he'd faced here. His loss. The way they'd given him Alfred afterward, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Hm." Emi studied his face for a moment. Then she made up her mind with the efficiency of someone who had been making up her mind about her older brother for years.

"Alright, let's go."

"Wait — Emi, where are you going?"

He was already hurrying after her, the bags swinging at his sides.

---

Kourin was in the middle of reorganizing her deck when she noticed them on the security tablet.
"Oh?"

"What is it?" Rekka leaned over her shoulder, and then her eyes went wide. "Isn't that the rookie you fought last time?" She straightened immediately, a grin already spreading across her face.

"What's he doing here — looking for another beating?"

Suiko stepped closer without hurry, studying the feed. Her gaze drifted past Aichi to the smaller figure beside him — pink-haired, bright-eyed, clearly the one setting the pace.

"I don't think he came on his own," she said. "Look at him."

She was right. The stiffness in Aichi's shoulders, the way he kept glancing back at the door — it was obvious he hadn't planned any of this.

Kourin closed the case on her deck with a soft, decisive click and stood.

"Either way," she said, "it's a good opportunity to see how much he's grown."

Rekka was already moving. Suiko followed at her own unhurried pace.

---

"E-Emi, wait." Aichi's voice dropped to a frantic whisper. "We still have to get home. Mom is waiting for the—"

The door slid open, and the quiet atmosphere of the shop folded around them both.
Kourin stood a few steps inside — composed, deck case loose in her hand. Her gaze moved briefly to the plastic bags still dangling from Aichi's arms, then back to his face.

"So you came back," she said. "I didn't expect it to be so soon."

Rekka crossed her arms. "Especially not with groceries."

"Ah — no, we weren't planning to stop by, we were just passing through and I happened to—"

"He's going to regionals soon!" Emi announced brightly.

A brief silence settled over the shop.

Kourin raised an eyebrow. "Is that so." Not quite a question.

"I only placed fourth at Card Capital," Aichi added quickly. "I'm nowhere near your level yet, so—"

"Then let's find out." Kourin's deck was already in her hand.

Aichi fell quiet. The shop hummed softly around him — the faint electrical hum of the hologram cube, the distant sounds of the city outside.

Then, slowly, something in his expression settled. The uncertainty didn't disappear, exactly,
but something beneath it grew steadier.

"…Alright. Let's go."

"Wonderful." Suiko smiled and clasped her hands. "You can leave the groceries at the seats. They'll be fine."

---

"By the way," Rekka asked, jerking her thumb toward Emi as they walked to the battle area, "who's this?"

"Oh — right." Aichi scratched the back of his head. "This is my little sister. Emi!"

Emi stepped forward with a bright smile and gave a neat bow. "Hello, everyone! Nice to meet
you!"

Suiko returned the bow with easy grace. "Hello, Emi. I'm Suiko." She gestured beside her. "The energetic one is Rekka."

Rekka raised a hand, already grinning. "Hey!"

"And the one your brother will be facing," Suiko continued, "is Kourin."

Kourin gave a small, composed nod. "Nice to meet you."

Emi's eyes lingered on her for just a moment — taking in the straight posture, the quiet confidence, the deck case already in hand.

So this is the one who beat Aichi before. Looking at her confidence, I'm starting to wonder if dragging him here was such a good idea.
.
"Do you play Vanguard too?" Rekka asked, tilting her head at Emi.

"Ah — um." Emi blinked. "Not really. I know a little about it, but…"

"But?"

"I just haven't really decided yet." Emi laughed softly, glancing away. "Whether it's something I want to get into, I mean."
Rekka studied her for a moment, then shrugged with a grin. "Well, watch this fight. That should help you make up your mind."

"Vanguard has a way of doing that," Suiko added warmly. "Showing you what it's really about."

Emi didn't answer right away. But she found herself watching her brother's back as he walked ahead — and something about the way he was moving now, straighter, quieter, more focused — made her think she was already starting to understand.

---

"Oh — what's this?"

Emi leaned forward, eyes wide, as she spotted the large glass cube resting at the center of the table. Even unlit, there was something about it that felt like a held breath.

"It's the hologram system," Aichi said quietly, taking his place across from Kourin. "It's not on yet. But once we start — the units we call will appear inside it."

Emi stared at it, her expression caught somewhere between curious and genuinely delighted.
Aichi set his deck on the mat. Kourin was already waiting, her gaze calm and level across the
table.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Five cards each. The mat between them seemed to hum with quiet anticipation.

"Stand up, my Vanguard!"

Their voices rang out in near-unison — and from within the glass, the holograms flickered to life.

"When its bark echoes across the battlefield, heroes rally to its call — Barcgal!"

"A proud dog born with fangs of fire — Brugal!"

Aichi's fierce, golden-eyed Barcgal and Kourin's loyal, sharp-toothed Brugal faced each other across the field suspended inside the cube — vivid and alive, as though the cards themselves had stepped into the world.

Emi's hand came up to her mouth. "Woah, that's amazing!"

"Right?!" Rekka threw her arms wide, clearly delighted to have an audience. "Way better than anything you'd find at a regular shop."

Emi didn't say anything. But her eyes said plenty.

---

Turn 1 — Aichi

"Draw." Aichi looked at his opening hand, then placed a card on Barcgal's circle. Light erupted from the hologram as the new unit rose.

"Knight of Rose — Morgana!"

From the loyal Barcgal, an elegant knight in rose-trimmed armor materialized, her long cape catching an invisible wind. She took the vanguard position with the practiced ease of someone born to it.

"Barcgal's skill!" Aichi said. "When another «Royal Paladin» rides this unit, I can move Barcgal to the rear-guard!"

He slid the card to the rear-left circle. The holographic Barcgal bounded over eagerly, tail high.
"And by resting Barcgal, I can search my deck and superior call — Flogal!"

A small, round-eyed pink dog materialized behind Morgana with a cheerful bark, pressing close to Barcgal's side. Emi made a small, involuntary sound of delight.

"That's all."

---

Turn 1 — Kourin

"Draw." Kourin's movements were unhurried. "I ride — Little Sage, Marron."

Brugal dissolved, replaced by the composed figure of a young scholar with red-rimmed glasses and a worn book tucked under one arm. There was something quietly self-assured about the way the hologram settled into place.

"Brugal's skill — same as your Barcgal. Rear-guard." She placed the card smoothly in the right back row. "And I call Snogal."

A small, fierce-looking dog appeared in the front of the right column.

"Brugal boosts Snogal. Attack the vanguard."
The holographic Snogal surged forward — small and sharp, crackling with Brugal's support — and launched itself at Morgana. With one swift strike, the elegant knight absorbed the blow clean.

A card flipped into Aichi's damage zone. One.

"Marron attacks the vanguard."

Aichi looked at his hand, running the numbers. It's too early to spend resources on defense. He set his cards down.

"I don't guard."

Marron opened their book, pressed two fingers to their brow, and unleashed a crack of lightning. Morgana braced, and took the hit.

"Drive check." Kourin flipped the top card of her deck, and it blazed with golden light. "Bringer of Good Luck, Epona — Critical Trigger."

Aichi's breath caught. "What—?"

Emi shot upright in her chair. "That means he takes extra damage on top of it, right?"

"Mm." Suiko nodded gently. "That brings him to three damage already."

"Three?" Emi's hands found each other in her lap. "But the game only goes to six…"

"That's right," Suiko said, her voice warm and explanatory. "Six damage ends the game. So Aichi is already halfway there — and we've barely started."

Emi looked back at her brother, worrying her lip.

Oh no, Aichi…

---

Turn 2 — Aichi

As Aichi drew, one thought moved through him with quiet urgency: Three damage already. Kourin doesn't give an inch. Time to show her I haven't been standing still.

He looked at the card in his hand.

His expression shifted — resolute and certain, the way it always did with this one card.

"Shine forth — brave sword and guardian of the weak!"
The card blazed with brilliant blue light.

"I ride My Avatar!!"

Inside the cube, Morgana turned. She raised her sword in a final salute, the hilt pressed to her chest, blade skyward, as if passing the field to someone worthy of it.

"Blaster Blade!!!"

Then her image dissolved in a cascade of blue, and from within it, Blaster Blade stepped forward. White armor. Absolute presence. The hologram seemed to breathe differently with him in it.

Across the mat, Kourin watched.

…So it wasn't my imagination, she thought, almost without meaning to. Every time he calls that card — something in him changes. She studied Aichi's face with quiet attention. His avatar huh? I can't think of a better word for it.

She said nothing. But her eyes stayed on him a moment longer than usual.

"I call — two copies of the Knight of Silence, Galatine!"

Twin armored knights materialized on either side of Blaster Blade — still, watchful, ready.

"Galatine on the right — attacks the vanguard!"

The knight surged forward, blade arcing cleanly. Marron held their ground.

"I don't guard," Kourin said.

The blow landed. A card moved to her damage zone.

"Blaster Blade, boosted by Flogal — attacks the vanguard!"

Flogal's cheerful bark rang out as the little dog dashed behind Blaster Blade, lending everything it had. The charge was clean and full of weight, the hologram flaring on impact.

"I guard." Kourin placed her card with smooth efficiency. "Epona — ten thousand shield. Combined with Marron's base power, your attack doesn't reach."

Inside the cube, Blaster's Blade blade carved through Epona's golden image — and halted just short of Marron, momentum spent. Aichi watched the defensive wall hold.


"Drive check—" Aichi flipped the card. "No trigger." He exhaled, then pressed on. "Barcgal boosts the left Galatine , with fourteen thousand total, attacking the vanguard."

"I'll take it."

Another card to Kourin's damage zone.

Only two damage, he thought. Not enough.

---

Turn 2 — Kourin

"My turn. Stand and Draw." Kourin drew without pause, and her voice carried a faint current beneath its usual calm. "I ride—"

She placed the card.

"Beast Knight, Garmore."

The large, battle-hardened figure materialized — broader than Marron, carrying a warrior's weight. The shop felt a little quieter in his presence.

"I discard one card to activate Garmore's skill." Kourin's hand moved precisely. "And Superior call — Snogal."

"What?" Both Sendous reacted at once — Aichi leaning forward in focused concern, Emi blinking in genuine confusion.

"Why would she drop a card from her hand," Emi asked, "just to call a unit she could've played normally?"

"Heh heh heh." Rekka had been waiting for exactly this moment. "Good question. Watch."

"Snogal's skill," Kourin said. "As long as another unit with the same name is on the field, each Snogal gains an additional 1000 power."

Emi's brow furrowed — then her eyes widened as the arithmetic clicked. "That means… with two Snogals out, both of them are sitting at 7000 power each."

"You got it," Rekka said, clearly pleased.

Kourin moved her cards. "I switch Snogal and Brugal's positions." The holograms rearranged — Brugal pressing to the front, Snogal falling in behind. "Snogal boosts Brugal, and attacks Blaster Blade."
The holographic Brugal charged, teeth bared.

Aichi didn't hesitate. "I guard — Little Sage, Marron."

The scholar materialized briefly in front of Blaster Blade, book open. Brugal's assault broke against the pages and dissipated.

"Then Garmore attacks. Snogal's boost brings the total to fifteen thousand."

"I guard with Epona." Aichi placed the card. "Combined with Blaster Blade's base power, that's enough to hold."

As long as there's no trigger here, he thought, watching Kourin reach for the top of her deck.
"Drive check." The card flipped. "No trigger."

Garmore's strike crashed against the defense — and held. The hologram flickered. The damage zone stayed where it was.

"He did it — no damage this turn!" Emi clapped her hands together, relief bright on her face.

---

Turn 3 — Aichi

"Draw."

Aichi looked at the card.

Something in his chest went very still.

"With white wings of noble pride — a solitary knight dances across the battlefield."

He placed the card with fervor.

"I ride!! — Solitary Knight, Gancelot!"

Inside the cube, Blaster Blade raised his sword. It looked less like a farewell and more like a hand-off — an acknowledgment. Then brilliant white light poured through the hologram, and from within it a great winged steed emerged, its broad wings spreading wide. Astride, sat a knight in shining armor, carrying himself with the quiet authority of someone who had never once doubted his purpose.

"Oh—" Rekka straightened. "That's the same grade 3 as last time."

"Huh?" Emi blinked.
"She means," Suiko said, "that the last time your brother fought Kourin, Gancelot was his vanguard as well." She glanced toward the field with a calm smile. It seems Alfred hasn't arrived yet, she thought privately.

"Gancelot's skill." Aichi's voice had found a steadiness that hadn't been there when they'd walked through the door. "As long as Blaster Blade is in the soul, Gancelot can counterblast — at a cost of two."

He flipped two of the three face-down cards in his damage zone.

"Gancelot gains 5000 power. Plus — one additional critical."

The holographic Gancelot sat tall in the saddle as the surge of power moved through him. Beneath him, the winged steed let out a sharp, clear call — as if the battlefield itself had heard the order.

Across the mat, Kourin watched. Then, for the first time since the match began, the corner of her mouth shifted, Not a full smile. Something quieter.

"Alright then," she said, and her voice carried something almost like openness. "Show me your best, Aichi Sendou."

Aichi met her gaze.

"You got it."

---

"Galatine attacks Garmore!"

The silent knight drove forward from the rear-guard, blade raised, and the clean strike landed against the Beast Knight's defense.

"I don't guard."

The blow connected. Kourin's damage zone reached three.

"Then—" Aichi rested his hand on Gancelot's card. "Gancelot attacks. Boosted by Flogal — nineteen thousand total."

The winged steed's wings snapped open. Gancelot came crashing forward across the holographic field — radiant, relentless, the force of the charge filling the cube with white light.
Kourin looked at her hand.

Four cards. Two with zero shield. Two at five thousand each. She ran the numbers quickly. Even both five-thousands only gives me eighteen thousand, it's still not enough. And if I let it through and he checks a Critical Trigger, I lose outright
.
The calculation settled.

Then there's only one real choice.

As Gancelot closed the distance, she placed a single card into the guard circle.

"Flash Shield, Iseult. Guard!"

"Oh no—!" Aichi's breath caught.

"But that card has zero defense power," Emi said, leaning forward, baffled. "Why would she play something that doesn't block anything?"

"Because it doesn't need to block anything." Rekka was already grinning. "Iseult's skill, when she's placed in the guardian circle, you can discard a «Royal Paladin» from your hand. If you do, the attack is completely and perfectly negated. Doesn't matter how powerful it was."

Emi's eyes went wide. "So Gancelot's attack just… fails? All nineteen thousand?"

"Every last point of it," Rekka confirmed.

As if to underline the point, a massive shield blazed into existence in the hologram — immovable, absolute — and Gancelot's full charge broke apart against it like light against stone. Garmore stood untouched.

"Rrgh." Aichi's jaw tightened for just a moment.

Then he reached for his deck.

"Twin Drive — first check."

"Wait," Emi said, turning to Suiko. "If the attack already failed, why does he still get to check?"

"The drive check belongs to the vanguard's attack declaration," Suiko explained gently, "not to whether the attack connects. Whether Gancelot's strike lands or not, he still checks two cards."

She folded her hands. "Even a blocked attack still gives him something."

Emi considered this. Then, slowly, she nodded.

"So even when things don't go your way," she said, "there's still something to gain."

"Exactly." Suiko's smile was warm. "That's very true of Vanguard."

The first check flipped — nothing. Aichi pressed on.

"Barcgal boosts the left Galatine, attacking Garmore."

The knight surged forward one final time, and the clean blow landed. Another card settled into Kourin's damage zone.

"I end my turn."

---

Turn 3 — Kourin

Kourin drew, and something in the way she exhaled the words made them feel like the end of a long breath she'd been holding.

"The fighting spirit is the fang that pierces the enemy."

She placed the card.

"I ride — Fang of Light, Garmore."

The Beast Knight's image dissolved, replaced by something larger and more dangerous — the same warrior, but honed sharper, carrying a ferocity that the earlier form had only suggested.

" And I call, High Dog Breeder, Akane."

A young woman with a whip in hand appeared in the rear-guard, looking completely at home on the field.

"Akane's skill." Kourin placed two cards from her damage zone face-down. "Counterblast two. Superior call — another Snogal."

A third small, fierce figure popped into existence on the field. The two existing Snogals immediately perked up.

Emi was already working through it. "With three Snogals… each one still only gains 1000, as long as another is present. So they're all sitting at—"

"Eight thousand," Suiko confirmed. "And Fang of Light Garmore's skill grants him an additional 1000 power as long as a Snogal or Brugal is on the field."

"Which brings him to fourteen thousand on his own." Emi's voice quickened slightly as the numbers arranged themselves.

Rekka looked at her sideways, impressed and a little delighted. "You're really getting it."

"Snogal boosts Brugal, attacks Gancelot."
The holographic Snogal launched forward with Snogal's elevated power crackling behind it.

Aichi looked at his hand. Considered. Then set his cards face-down.

"I don't guard."

The paw connected with jarring force. Another card fell into his damage zone.

Three to four.

"Then—" Kourin placed her hand on Fang of Light Garmore. "Garmore attacks. With Snogal's boost, the total reaches twenty-two thousand."

Aichi's hand moved quickly. "I guard with Starlight Unicorn. And I intercept with both Galatines."

Fifteen thousand in combined shield, stacked against Gancelot's power, forming a defensive wall of twenty-four thousand.

Kourin reached for the top of her deck. "Twin Drive — first check."

The card caught the light.

"Draw Trigger." Her voice held perfectly steady. "Power to Garmore. And I draw a card." She took her card. "Second check."

"No trigger."

But it was already enough.

Garmore's charge tore through the Galatines, shattered the Unicorn's guard, and crashed into Gancelot with everything behind it. The twin silent knights and the shining unicorn dissolved, their images breaking apart like scattered sparks, and Aichi's damage counter reached five.

One more, and it was over.

"Akane, boosted by Snogal, attacks. Sixteen thousand."

Without hesitation, Aichi placed two cards into the guardian circle. "Morgana and Wingal. I guard."

The shield held. The attack broke apart.

"I end my turn."

The table exhaled.

"He survived that—!" Emi breathed out, hands pressed together.

"Yeah." Rekka's grin had a sharp edge to it now. "But look at his hand."

Emi looked. Aichi stood across the mat — one card left in his hand, five damage behind him, the hologram glowing between him and Kourin like a single lit candle in a dark room.

"…Oh."

"One card," Rekka said quietly. "One more damage —just a single hit— and it's over."

Fang of Light Garmore stood at the center of the cube, broad and unmoving. And Gancelot stood opposite him, wings folded, sword still in hand. Barely.

"Ready to give up, Aichi Sendou?" Kourin's voice was unreadable.

He looked across the mat at her.

"No," he said. "I don't think I will."

The corner of Kourin's mouth moved, the smallest of smiles.

"I Draw."

Aichi Sendou smiled. You answered my call, huh?

And so with a raising of his hands, he chanted.

"Paladins! Lend him your strength! Descend, O King of Knights — I ride!!"

The holographic field erupted.

The great figure descended: immaculate white and blue armor, each plate catching the light like polished ice. Beneath him, an armored steed, broad-shouldered and battle-ready, touched down with the weight of something that had always been destined to arrive. The horse's golden mane blazed like a banner in the cube's simulated wind, and the knight astride him held himself with the bearing of someone who did not command obedience so much as simply warrant it.

"KING OF KNIGHTS, ALFRED!!!"

As the King took the vanguard position, even the hum of the hologram cube felt different beneath him — fuller, as though something that had been building since the beginning of the game had finally arrived.

Kourin's eyes narrowed slightly. But she remained perfectly still.

Aichi's voice surged with everything he had.

"Counterblast with three!" Three damage cards flipped face-down. "Superior call — Galatine!"

A fresh Knight of Silence materialized in the last open circle. Aichi pressed on without pause.

"Starlight Unicorn — called from my hand!"

The beautiful white unicorn appeared beside Flogal, her horn soft with light.

"And Barcgal's skill, I superior call! Future Knight, Leuw!"

A young squire in light armor filled the final rear-guard spot. All five circles. Every space filled.
Alfred's power surged like a tide coming in.

"Alfred's skill: he gains 2000 power for each rear-guard Royal Paladin unit! Five units — that's ten thousand!" Aichi's eyes were shining. "And using Starlight Unicorn's skill, adds another 2000 power. Alfred stands at twenty-two thousand total!"

Emi stared at the cube, at the towering figure surrounded by a field full of knights and companions, and felt something catch in her chest.

"Leuw — boosted by Starlight Unicorn — attacks! Eleven thousand total!"

The young Future Knight charged, the unicorn's light lending its strength. The blow connected clean and true.

"I don't guard."

Kourin's damage zone reached five.

"Then—" Aichi raised his eyes to the hologram. To Alfred. "Alfred attacks the vanguard."
"Weapons Dealer, Govannon guards." Kourin placed the card. "And Stardust Trumpeter, with Wingal."

Thirty thousand defensive shield.

It was every defensive card she had in her hand.

"Twin Drive." Aichi reached for the top of his deck.

Come on. One trigger. Just one — that's all I need.

He held his breath. The shop was completely silent.

He flipped the first card.
No light. No effect.

His heart sank for half a second.

Emi bit her lip. The tension in the air felt thick enough to choke on.

Then — without warning — a gentle breeze stirred inside the sealed shop. It wasn't from any door or vent. It simply appeared, swirling softly around Aichi as if the cards themselves were responding to his desperate wish.

For one brief, dazzling moment, a small rainbow-colored light flickered deep within his eyes. 'Let's go Leuw!"

He flipped the second card.

Golden light blazed across its face.

"Future Knight, Leuw, a Critical Trigger!"

"No way!" Reka exclaimed.

"That means Aichi won!" Emi celebrated.

"ALL EFFECTS TO GALATINE!!"

Kourin looked across the table at Galatine. She looked at her empty hand.

Then she looked at Aichi.

There was nothing left to guard with.

"…I don't guard."

Galatine surged forward — silent as always, but carrying everything now: the weight of the match, the weight of Alfred's presence and the weight of victory.

The strike landed. Galatine's sword slicing through Garmore.

The final card flipped into Kourin's damage zone.

Five became six. And the match was decided.

The hologram faded slowly, the golden light dimming in the glass cube like an exhale. Alfred remained for one final moment — radiant, unmoving, looking out across a field that was no longer a battlefield — before dissolving peacefully into the quiet air of Card Shop PSY.

Silence stretched across the mat.

Then Kourin set her deck down. Her expression was composed. But it was the composure of someone who'd seen something worth seeing.

"…You've grown," she said.

It was a simple thing to say. But from Kourin, Aichi understood it was not a small thing to mean.

He let out a breath that felt like it had been building for the entire match — relief, and exhaustion, and something warm beneath both of them.

"Thank you," he said, bowingg all the while. "For the fight."

Across the table, Rekka broke the silence the way she broke most silences, enthusiastically.

"That was incredible!!"

"She's right," Suiko said, and there was genuine warmth in it. "You gave Kourin a real match, Aichi."

From the sideline, Emi stood with her hands clasped at her chest, cheeks flushed, blinking rapidly. She hadn't realized until this moment that she'd stood up entirely at some point and hadn't sat back down.

She looked at the glass cube — now dark and still, the knights and unicorns and kings returned to the world of cards they'd come from.

Then she looked at her brother.

He wasn't the same person who had hesitated outside the door.

She thought about what Suiko had said: Vanguard has a way of showing you what it's really about.

"Hey." Rekka appeared beside her, arms folded, grinning. "So? Made up your mind?"

Emi blinked. Then, slowly, a small smile worked its way across her face.

"…Maybe," she said. "Ask me again sometime."

Rekka's grin widened. "Oh, I will."

Aichi looked over at his sister — and something in the look on her face made him exhale again, quieter this time. He wasn't sure what he'd expected when she'd pulled him through that door.

But this, he thought, was probably better.

He picked up the grocery bags from beside the seats, miso and carrots still intact.

"We should get home," he said.
"Yeah." Emi fell into step beside him. Then, after a moment: "You were amazing, Aichi."

He didn't say anything. But his ears went pink.

They were nearly at the door when Kourin's voice cut across the quiet shop — not cold, but carrying, the way a thrown gauntlet carries.

"Don't embarrass me at regionals, Aichi Sendou."

Aichi stopped. Looked back. "Hm?"

Kourin stood in the doorway of the battle area, one hand resting on her hip, her deck case at her side. Her expression was composed as ever — but there was something underneath it now, something that might have been, on anyone else, pride.

"The one who defeated me," she said, "should make a wonderful showing." A small, deliberate smile. "So. Show me."

Aichi stared at her for a moment. Then something bright and certain moved across his face.

"Alright!" He lifted his head. "I promise I will!"

"See that you do." She turned away before he could see anything else in her expression.

"See you!"

The door slid shut behind them.

The shop settled back into its quiet hum. Rekka and Suiko stood on either side of Kourin — neither of them speaking, neither of them needing to yet.

It was Kourin who broke the silence.

"You felt it too," she said. Not a question.

Suiko's eyes were already thoughtful, turned toward the door through which the Sendou siblings had disappeared. "I did." A pause. "Psyqualia."

The word landed softly, but with weight.

Then Rekka , unable to contain it a single second longer — grabbed Suiko's arm with both hands, her eyes blazing in excitement.

"That means we found another Vanguard!!"

"Right." Suiko agreed. "Ren Suzugamori, and… Aichi Sendou."

Kourin said nothing. But she looked down at the deck case in her hand, and the small smile that had been threatening the corner of her mouth finally, quietly, won.

 

[NewName]

The bell above the door chimed softly as Aichi and his friends stepped inside Card Capital.

"Hey, everyone," he called out, raising a hand.

Misaki lifted one hand in greeting from behind the counter — a gesture that managed to be both welcoming and entirely unbothered, the way all of Misaki's gestures were. A few regulars echoed it from their tables without looking up from their matches.

But what really took his focus was the sight of his sister, Emi, at one of the standing fight tables.

Aichi made his way over to his sister. "Emi! Are you thinking of playing Vanguard now too?"
"Yeah." She agreed. "I think I am."

"So." Shin, the manager of Card Capital voiced happily from beside her. "Did you think of playing thanks to the shop tournament?"

"Ah. Yes." Emi said.

"I definitely got inspired last time. " She continued. "But the last thing that had me made up my mind was Aichi's fight with Kourin."
The word had barely cleared her lips when a voice came from Aichi's left — low, trembling, vibrating with the particular frequency of a man whose entire world had just shifted on its axis.

"...Did you just say," low and trembling with barely contained emotion, "what I think you just said?"

Aichi closed his eyes briefly. 'Oh no.'

Morikawa's finger came up, wavering in the air like a man pointing at a ghost.

"KOURIN?!"

"Morikawa—"

"My darling — my radiant — my one and only sweetie Kourin—" His voice cracked. "YOU FOUGHT HER AGAIN?!"

"It wasn't planned—"

"WITHOUT. TELLING. ME."

"We were just passing by—"

"PASSING BY," Morikawa repeated, pressing a hand to his heart. "He passes by the shop where Kourin lives and breathes and graces this unworthy earth with her presence, and he just — he just wanders in — unannounced—"

The bell above the door chimed.

"Yo!" Kamui announced himself at volume, the door swinging wide open behind him, his two friends trailing in his wake. He stepped in with the natural confidence of someone who had long ago decided that Card Capital was his second home.. "What'd I miss? Something happening?"

With one glance at the chaos, Kamui grinned. "Yeah… something's definitely happening."

"Aichi fought Kourin again," Izaki supplied helpfully.

Kamui blinked. "Oh nice." He pulled up a chair. "Wait — who's Kourin?"

The question landed in the shop like a stone into still water.

Morikawa turned.

Slowly.

"...Who's Kourin," he repeated. The words came out flat. Hollow. Like a man hearing a language he didn't know existed.

Kamui looked at him. "Yeah. Who is she?"

Something moved behind Morikawa's eyes — a man locating a purpose.

"Sit down," he said.

"I'm already sitting—"

"Sit down and listen." Morikawa straightened to his full height, placed one hand over his heart, and drew a breath like a man about to deliver a eulogy for something beautiful. "Kourin," he began, "is not simply a cardfighter."

He let the pause breathe.

"She is — and I want you to understand the weight of what I am about to say — the single most breathtaking, most luminous, most heartbreakingly perfect—"

"She's really good at Vanguard," Aichi offered.

"She is an ANGEL," Morikawa corrected, with great feeling.

"Her hair — have you seen her hair? Like sunlight given form. And her eyes: cool, and distant, like she's looking just past you into a better world. And when she plays—" He pressed both hands to his cheeks.

"When she plays, Kamui, it is like watching the stars arrange themselves into a deck list—"

"That doesn't make any sense," one of Kamui's friends said.

"LOVE DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!!" Morikawa screamed back at him.

From the counter, Misaki's book closed with a decisive, resonant thump.

"Shut it."

The effect was immediate and total. Morikawa's entire presence collapsed inward. He retreated behind Izaki with the urgency of a much smaller man.

"She beat me the first time we fought," Aichi said, mostly to Kamui. "She's one of the strongest fighters I've faced."

Then — from behind Izaki:

"First time?"

Morikawa emerged, eyes wide and replaying what slipped from that traitorous Sendou's mouth. "First time implies — does that mean—" His voice climbed. "YOU WON?!"

"I—"

"YOU BEAT MY DARLING KOURIN?!"

Aichi opened his mouth.

Morikawa had already set his deck on the table. He straightened. His jaw was set. His eyes carried the particular fire of a man who had discovered both a grievance and a mission in the same ten seconds.

"It's on," he announced, pointing directly at Aichi. "I will avenge her. Right here. Right now." He declared. "Aichi Sendou — I challenge you! For the honor of my darling Kourin, I will not rest until—"

---

Morikawa let out a blood-curdling wail and collapsed across the table as his sixth damage card was placed, one arm dangling limply off the edge.

"My dear Kourin!!! Please forgive me!! I'm so sorry I failed you!!"

He lay there motionless. A monument to defeat.

"How sad. " Kamui snorted. "Big Bro Aichi didn't even have to ride to grade 3 and you already done?"

"Well, what do you expect from Lose-kawa?" one of Kamui's friends laughed.

"Filing his deck with mostly Grade 3s… it's a miracle he even found a Grade 1 to ride as Vanguard, yo."

"Ouch," Izaki commented wryly. "Hear that, Morikawa?"

"I'm sorry, my darling Kourin…" Morikawa whimpered pitifully from the table, too heartbroken to even argue back. "I have failed you…"

While Morikawa was busy mourning his "darling", Emi clapped her hands together excitedly and turned to her brother, eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"Now that that's over with… Aichi! Teach me the rules properly," she said brightly. "I think I understand most of it already from watching, but I'd like to have a real match to see if I really get it."

"Oh, right!" Aichi smiled, clearly relieved to escape the chaos. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Sure, Emi. Let's do it. I'll go easy on you at first so you can learn the basics."

On the outside, Kamui immediately perked up, leaning forward with a big grin. "Hey, can I watch? I wanna see the Sendou siblings' first fight!"

On the inside: Kamui exhaled a long, dreamy internal sigh. Hah~... Miss Emi is finally going to play Vanguard... I would've loved to be her first match, but it should be Aichi first. That's the right call. Yeah. I'll make my move for the second match. Heh heh heh.

Misaki watched the whole scene from the counter, arms crossed, and let out a long sigh. "Try not to scare her off on her very first game, you two."

Emi giggled. "It's okay! I'm ready."

"Alright." Aichi set his deck on the mat, something warm in his expression. "Say it with me?"

Emi nodded, squaring her shoulders with tremendous seriousness for someone who had been playing for approximately thirty seconds.

"Stand up—"

Both their voices rose together.

"—my Vanguard!"

---

"Lozenge Magus! " Emi announced, flipping her card.

Emi's card that she borrowed from Misaki depicted a pink-haired mage with a slender frame, with white and violet bodysuit trimmed with pink diamond motifs. Her card showed a green indicator in the topmost corner.

"Blow the trumpets! StarDust Trumpeter!" Aichi did the same.

Aichi's card showed a small and red-haired figure beneath a tilted white cap, a halo gleaming above her head. She held an oversized brass trumpet in both hands, cheeks puffed mid-blow, white and red herald's uniform bright against the field.

'Stardust Trumpeter huh?' Misaki thought to herself, 'Guess he really is holding back then.'
"I'll explain as we go, Emi," Aichi said with an encouraging smile.

"The very first step of a turn is called the draw phase. At the start of your turn, you draw one card from your deck. I'll go first, bringing my hand from five cards to six."

Emi nodded quickly, her eyes wide with concentration as she watched her brother's movements. "Got it. Draw one card."

"Then, let's go to the next phase: the ride phase," Aichi continued, selecting a card from his hand. "During this step, you may ride a new Vanguard. To do so, choose a unit from your hand whose grade is equal to or one greater than your current Vanguard's grade, and place it face-up on your Vanguard Circle."

Aichi placed the chosen card directly over his little trumpet player. "I ride! Flash Shield, Iseult!"

The image in the card showed A female knight in white and blue armor took the vanguard circle, long silver hair streaming in the air.

Oh wow, a Perfect Guard being used as the Vanguard? Kamui thought to himself, a sweatdrop forming on the back of his head. Aichi's really holding back.
"And since it's the very first turn of the game, the rules say I can't attack yet," Aichi explained, gesturing toward Emi. "So, my turn ends. It's your turn now, Emi!"

"Okay! My turn!" Emi cheered, mimicking her brother's movements with surprising neatness. "First is the draw phase, so I draw one card!" She added it to her hand, her eyes scanning her options. "Next is the ride phase. I can choose a Grade 1 unit, right?"

"That's right," Aichi nodded. "Look for the number 1 in the top left corner."

Emi confidently selected a card and placed it down with a firm tap. "Then I ride Battle Sister, Chocolat! "

Kmaui thought to himself, sweatdropping. 'Did she ride a perfect guard too?'

The card's image showed a sweet-faced young woman in a heavy nun's habit, a machine gun held and carried.

"Then the next step is calling other units, right?" Emi asked. "If I don't want to attack yet?"

"You could," Aichi said. "But I think you might be forgetting something. A skill, maybe?"

Emi tilted her head. "A skill?" She looked down at her cards ont he field, then her eyes went wide. "Ah! Right!"

She straightened up. "Lozenge Magus's skill, when an «Oracle Think Tank» unit rides her, I can move Lozenge Magus to a rear-guard circle!"

She slid the card neatly into one of the empty rear circles.

"Now for the main phase," Aichi said, guiding her through. "You can call other units to the other five Rear-guard Circles to support your Vanguard, or you can also go straight to the battle phase if you want to try attacking."

"Hmmm." Emi deliberated. "Just to check, but I can't call any Grade 2s yet, can I?"

"Nope," Kamui said from the sideline. "When calling units to the rear-guard, the unit must be the same grade or lower than your vanguard."

"Barring any skills, of course," Misaki added from behind the counter.

"Thought so," Emi said. "Then I call — Dark Cat!"

She placed the card beside her vanguard. A small, black cat materialized on the rear-guard circle.

"And I guess I'll attack now—"

"Hold on a moment, Emi," Aichi interrupted gently. "Dark Cat has a skill too."

"She does?" Emi looked down at the card and read it over carefully. "Oh — it looks like we both draw one card."

They both drew.

"Alright! Dark Cat attacks Iseult!"

Aichi continued. "That step we just did — setting up your field, calling units, activating skills — that's called the Main Phase. And now that you've declared an attack, we've moved into the Battle Phase."

Emi nodded. "Draw Phase, Ride Phase, Main Phase, then Battle Phase?"

"Exactly, Miss Emi!" Kamui nodded enthusiastically from the sideline. Smart and beautiful, haaahhh.

"Now, during the Battle Phase," Aichi continued, "after you declare an attack, your opponent has the chance to guard." He reached for his card. "Like so — by placing a unit into the circle between us, called the Guard circle."

He set Wingal down into the designated space. The loyal companion materialized briefly, planting itself firmly in front of Iseult.

"Wingal will guard here. Now—" he gestured to the card, "see this number on the side? That's the unit's shield value. Wingal carries 5000 shield as a Grade 1 unit. We add that to Iseult's base power, and the combined total comes to eleven thousand — which means Dark Cat's 7000 attack doesn't reach."

Emi looked from Dark Cat to the defended circle. "So I needed more power to break through."

"Exactly."

"But what if I attack with Chocolat instead?" Emi asked. "Would that work?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Chocolat only has 6000 power. That's around the same as Iseult's. If I attack with her, will it land?"

"Good catch," Aichi said. "And yes, it will. The condition for an attack to connect is that the attacking power must be equal to or greater than the defense. Meaning your Vanguard will be able to land a hit and cause damage. "

"I see." Emi nodded slowly. "Then, Chocolat attacks the vanguard!"

Before Aichi could say anything, a voice cut across the shop.

"The boost, Emi!! The boost!!" Morikawa shouted, recovered already.

"Keep it down," one of Kamui's friends said flatly, eyeing Morikawa.

"The boost?" Emi looked at Aichi in askance.

"It's a skill all Grade 1s and Grade 0s have," Aichi explained. "They can boost an attacking unit's power. For example, Lozenge Magus has 3000 power — with Chocolat at 6000, the total attack power would become—"

"Nine thousand," Emi finished for him.

"Normally speaking, yes." Misaki's voice came from behind the counter.

Emi blinked. "Hm?"

"Mind if I?" Misaki directed the question at Aichi.

"Go ahead," he nodded at her.

Misaki set her book down and looked at Emi. "Lozenge Magus has another skill. When she boosts a unit, that unit gains an additional 3000 power — turning the total from nine thousand to twelve thousand." A brief pause. "The condition is that she gets shuffled back into your deck afterward."

"I see." Emi considered this for a moment. "I won't use it, then."

Kamui blinked. Then blinked again. ...Did I hear that right?

"Twelve thousand is a good number," he felt compelled to point out. And you get a Heal Trigger back in the deck, he added privately, choosing to keep that part to himself. Big Bro Aichi was in the middle of explaining things. He wasn't going to step on that.

"Miss Emi, why not—"

"It's too cute to send back," Emi said simply, looking down at the pink-haired magus with complete sincerity.

Kamui opened his mouth. Closed it.

She's...

He sat back down slowly, pressing a hand to his chest.

...So cute.

"This time, I won't guard," Aichi said.

"Then the next step is..." Emi thought for a moment. "The drive trigger check?"

"You got it. A special ability of the vanguard, where you reveal the top card of your deck to check for trigger cards that may help increase an attack's power. And even if the attack didnt work, you still get one more card. "

"So — drive check!"

She flipped the card.

A gold icon gleamed in the upper right corner.

"Oracle Guardian, Nikke," Emi read.

"A Critical Trigger!" Aichi said. "That means you get 5000 power added to one of your units, plus one additional critical." He gestured toward his damage zone.

"And unlike the red Draw Trigger, which lets you add a card to your hand, or the blue Stand Trigger, which lets a rested rear-guard attack again, or the green Heal Trigger that lets you recover one point of damage — the Critical Trigger means your attack deals two points of damage instead of one."

He took two cards from the top of his deck and placed them into his damage zone.

Little Sage, Marron. No trigger.

Knight of Silence, Galatine. No trigger.

Emi watched the two cards settle into the zone. "And if you reach six damage, I win right?"

Aichi nodded. "You got it."

"Alright." Emi straightened up, satisfied. "I end my turn."

"You go Emi, beat that brother of yours black and blue! You got this — beat that traitor up!! Whoo!!" Morikawa hollered, pumping his fist.

"Shut up, Lose-kawa," Kamui said flatly. "Your voice is way tooo loud and way too annoying to hear. You're distracting Miss Emi from playing!"

Morikawa didn't respond immediately. A vein surfaced slowly at his temple. Then, with the composure of a man who had just discovered exactly the right card to play, he smirked.

"What's wrong, Kamui? Aren't I allowed to celebrate Emi's win?"

"That's — that's—" Kamui's mouth opened. Closed. Opened again.

"Come on, Kamui." Morikawa's smirk widened. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "Say it with me. Go, Emi! Go, Emi, go, Emi—"

"—Go, Emi!!"

Kamui's fist shot into the air before the rest of him had apparently agreed to it.

A beat of silence.

Morikawa looked at him.

Kamui looked at his own fist. Then…

"...Go Emi!"

---

Ignoring the commotion, Aichi drew.

"I ride — Knight of Harp, Tristan!"

Not Blaster Blade?

The thought passed through the room simultaneously — from Emi, to Morikawa, to Shin watching quietly from the side.

"I call — Knight of Silence, Galatine!"

He placed the silent knight beside his vanguard.

"And I also call, Future Knight, Llew!"

The young squire appeared behind Tristan, falling into position in the back row.

"One thing to note," Aichi said, gesturing to Galatine's position.

"Normally, if a Grade 0 or Grade 1 unit is in the front row, they lose their chance to defend — they can't move to the guardian circle when you need them. But Grade 2 units are different. Even from the front row, Galatine still has the option to step in and guard if needed. That's called Intercept."

Emi looked at the front row, then back at her brother. "So putting him up front doesn't mean giving up his defense?"

"Exactly. He can still protect when it counts." Aichi settled into the battle phase. "Now — Galatine attacks your vanguard."

"Oracle Guardian, Gemini will guard," Emi said, placing her card. "That's eleven thousand defense, just enough to stop Galatine."

"Then, supported by Llew, Tristan attacks Chocolat!"

Emi reached for her hand. "Oracle Guardian, Nikke will guard."

"That's a sixteen thousand shield," Kamui noted from the sideline. "Tristan's attack only hits thirteen thousand. As long as Big Bro doesn't pull a trigger, Emi takes no damage this turn."

Aichi reached for the top of his deck. "Drive check—"

He flipped the card.

"Solitary Knight, Gancelot!"

"GRADE 3!!" Morikawa shot upright, arms wide. "You see that, Emi?! That right there — that is the pinnacle! The peak! The summit of Vanguard! Grade 3 units are the strongest, most powerful, most awe-inspiring—"

"Morikawa," Izaki said.

"—and not only that, but Grade 3 units have Twin Drive!! Meaning when your Grade 3 vanguard attacks, you get to check not one but TWO cards from the top of your deck! Two chances for a trigger! Every! Single! Attack!!"

"Morikawa."

"The raw power combined with the drive advantage is simply—"

Izaki looked at him sideways, and interrupted. "Are you really celebrating that it's a Grade 3? Don't you want Emi to win?"

"I could do both." Morikawa crossed his arms and said proudly.

Emi exhaled quietly. Not a trigger. Great—

"With Tristan's skill," Aichi said, "when the drive check reveals a Grade 3 «Royal Paladin», this attack gains an additional 5000 power."

Emi's relief evaporated. "What?"

"That means…"

"…Tristan's attack goes through."

A card was placed into Emi's damage zone.

"I end my turn "

---

"And Amaterasu attacks your vanguard!" Emi declared confidently.

"I don't guard," Aichi said with a gentle smile.

The attack connected cleanly. Aichi flipped his sixth damage card.

"There it is — six damage. Good job, Emi!" Aichi praised, giving her a proud thumbs-up.

"Alright!" Emi cheered, pumping her little fist in the air with sparkling eyes. "Next time, I'm gonna beat you when you're not holding back!"

The whole shop chuckled warmly at her determination.

Kamui couldn't hold back any longer. He leaned over the table with his signature energetic grin and pointed at himself.

"How about a match with me next, Miss Emi?" he asked, beaming cheerfully.

"No thanks!" Emi replied brightly, carefully gathering the cards. "I think I'm gonna start building my own deck first." She turned and politely returned the Oracle Think Tank deck to Misaki. "Thanks for lending me your deck, Misaki!"

"No problem." Misaki replied.

"Oh… really?" Kamui's smile froze. His heart visibly shattered in real time. The energetic spark in his eyes dimmed as he mumbled, barely above a whisper, "When you build your deck… Can… I be your next match then?"

Emi turned back to him with a sweet, genuine smile. "Sure!"

In that moment, Kamui experienced something he would later be unable to describe with any accuracy. A warmth that started somewhere around his chest and made the entire rest of him irrelevant. His face went red. He clutched the front of his shirt with one hand. He sank sideways in his chair, slowly, with the peaceful expression of someone who had seen something beautiful and been changed by it.

"Great," he managed, in a small, shaky whisper. "See you then."

Misaki, who had been watching the entire exchange from the counter, raised an eyebrow and let out a quiet sigh. "Kamui, you're hopeless."

Aichi scratched the back of his head with an awkward laugh. "Uh… you okay there, Kamui?"

"I'm fine…" Kamui whispered, still half-slumped in his chair, a dreamy, lovesick grin spreading across his face. "Miss Emi smiled at me… and said 'sure'… This is the best day of my life…"

---

Kamui waked back to consciousness at the sound of Aichi buying more Booster Packs.

"Oh? You planning to change up your deck a little big bro?"

"Maybe?" Aichi shrugged. "The Manager just announced there are new kinds of cards coming out, and I want to see what they're like."

Emi leaned over curiously, her eyes sparkling with interest. "New cards? Can I look too, Onii-chan?"

"Sure!" Aichi said warmly, sliding a couple of unopened packs toward her. "You can help me sort them. Who knows — maybe you'll find something perfect for your future deck."

Kamui immediately scooted his chair closer, all traces of his lovesick meltdown gone in an instant, replaced by his usual fiery energy.

"New cards?! Count me in!" He pumped his fist excitedly. "If you're building something stronger, then I have to get even stronger too! No way I'm letting you pull ahead, Bro!"

From behind the counter, Misaki rang up a customer without looking up. "Don't make a mess with the wrappers."

"We won't!"

---

Aichi sorted through the new cards with focused care, separating clans, reading skills, setting aside anything that caught his eye.

Then he felt it.

A shift in the air, like a window had opened somewhere nearby. . A faint, unnatural wind stirred gently through the shop, even though every door and window was closed.

Aichi's fingers stilled on the cards.

For just a moment — barely a breath — a small rainbow gleam flickered deep within his eyes.

And suddenly—

He was no longer at the table.

Standing on an open plain, the sky above was vast and utterly still.

Then he saw it.

He was standing on an open plain. The sky above was vast and absolutely still — the kind of stillness that preceded something, not followed it.

Then he saw it.

A figure, descending from above. Enormous. Growing with each passing second, until it filled his entire field of vision: a great white dragon clad in radiant blue and gold armor, its immense wings spread wide like something that had stood guardian over a sacred place since before memory began. Holy energy crackled and danced along its form. Its golden eyes held ancient weight, and a quiet, immovable certainty that needed no words to communicate.

It looked at him.

Aichi didn't move. Didn't speak. He could feel the weight of its presence bearing down on him — not crushing, but certain. Like a hand placed firmly on his shoulder.

"— Aichi?"

The plain shattered.

He was back.

Card Capital. The table. Cards spread out in front of him, the torn edges of booster pack wrappers pushed to the side

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Aichi blinked. The plain was gone. The dragon was gone

"Nothing's wrong, Emi," Aichi replied softly, though his voice carried a quiet wonder. He shook his head lightly, trying to steady himself.

"Oh?" Kamui leaned across the table, craning his neck at whatever card Aichi was holding. "Is that one of the cards you've chosen Bro? "

"Huh?"

Aichi blinked. Looked down at his hand.

He didn't remember picking it up.

But there it was — held between his fingers as naturally as if it had always been there, as if his hand had known before the rest of him caught up. A Grade 3. Royal Paladin. A dragon in blue armor, wings spread wide, holy energy crackling along its form.

Exactly as he had seen it.

He stared at it for a long, quiet moment.

Soul Saver Dragon.

"...Yeah," he said softly, more to himself than to either of them. His thumb traced the edge of the card. "I think it might be."

---

On the way to Regionals


The team van hummed steadily along the road, carrying Team Q4 toward the regionals. Shin sat in the driver's seat, occasionally glancing at the rearview mirror with a relaxed smile. In the back seats, Aichi, Kamui, and Kai rode in silence — broken only by the occasional rustle of deck cases and the low rumble of the engine.

Aichi fidgeted with his deck box in his lap, staring out the window for a moment before gathering his courage. He turned toward the others, rubbing the back of his neck shyly.

"Um… Kai? Kamui?"

Kamui, who had been energetically tapping his foot, looked over with a grin. "Yeah? What's up, bro?"

Aichi hesitated, cheeks turning a light pink.

"Is it okay… if I play as the first fighter today?"

Kamui blinked in surprise, then tilted his head. "Huh? Really? I mean, I'm totally fine with it, but why, bro?"

Aichi looked at both of them, his voice soft but entirely sincere.

"Um… I think both of you are most likely to win your matches," he said. "So… if it goes well, I may not even get a chance to play." A small pause. "That's why — if it's okay — I want to go first."

Kai, who had been quietly leaning back with his arms crossed and eyes half-closed, slowly opened them. His usual cool expression remained mostly unchanged, but there was a faint glint of acknowledgment in his gaze as he looked at Aichi.

"Do what you want," he said.

Which, from Kai, was practically a speech.

Kamui let out a short laugh and gave Aichi a playful punch on the shoulder.

"Heh! If that's what you want, then go for it! Just don't lose too fast, okay? We're counting on you to get us a good start!"

From the driver's seat, Shin chuckled warmly, eyes still on the road. "Looks like the order is decided. First fighter: Aichi Sendou. Not a bad choice at all."

Aichi gave a small smile, though his grip on the deck case was a little tighter than usual. He was thinking about his fight with Kourin — the pressure of it, the way she'd pushed him to the edge of everything he had. The words she'd said when they left.

The one who defeated me should make a wonderful showing.

So. Show me.

The van continued down the highway. Outside the window, the city was beginning to appear on the horizon — the venue rising among buildings, the day already fully itself.

The three of them rode toward it in their particular silence: Kamui's crackling with anticipation, Kai's deep and still, Aichi's quiet with something that wasn't quite nerves and wasn't quite confidence but lived in the space between the two.

---

What followed was not a single moment but many — one after another, like cards flipped in a drive check.

---

"It's time to end this — Gancelot!! Counterblast — and attack!!"

The winged knight drove forward with everything, the white steed's hooves crashing across the field in a charge that left no room for anything except the outcome.

---

"Swordsman of the Explosive Flame — Palamedes!! Burn them all"

Aichi's call rang out, the warrior materializing in a burst of heat and light, and the match was settled in the same breath it took to declare it.

---

"Finish it — Alfred!!"

The golden king surged forward across the hologram field, every rear-guard unit blazing behind him, and the opponent across the table stared at the incoming wave with wide, helpless eyes as the final damage card landed.

---

"There you have it folks! Another clean win by Aichi Sendou of Team Q-4!" The announcer excitedly announced the victor to the cheers of the audience.

"Woah, Aichi is on a roll today huh?" Izaki said.

"As expected of my student!!" Morikawa proclaimed shamelessly, arms wide.

Miwa turned to look at him with the particular expression of a man reassessing several things. "Right." He let it go with a sigh, turning back to the floor. "But honestly — he's been in incredible form across every single one of these. Going first in every match was the right call."

"Definitely," both of Kamui's friends agreed.

Emi stood very still in the spectator section, watching the table below.

Is this really my brother?

She'd grown up with Aichi — she knew every version of him, the quiet and the uncertain and the way he still flinched sometimes at loud noises. But the boy standing at that table, calling his units with absolute clarity, moving through each match like someone who had always known exactly what they were doing here — she was still finding the edges of that version.

The announcer's voice surged back up. "With Toshiki Kai or Kamui Katsuragi each expected to win their matches as well, Team Q4 could be heading to the finals without a single loss today!! The dark horses of this tournament — charging through undefeated — Team Q4!!"

---

Across the venue, in a quiet section belonging to Ulta Rare, they watched.

Suiko with her hands folded, expression serene. Rekka with her chin resting on one hand, her attention half-hearted.

And Kourin —

Her gaze had been on the match playing out, and hadn't entirely left it.

Below, Aichi rode his Grade 2 unit, his voice carrying even from this distance — quiet but clear, the kind of clarity that came not from volume but from certainty. Blaster Blade stepped into the field, and even across the room, even if it was just a hologram, the quality of his presence was unmistakable.

The corner of Kourin's mouth moved.

Just slightly. Just for a moment.

But it moved.

"Oh~?" Rekka's voice arrived immediately, sweet with mischief. She leaned in without taking her eyes off Kourin. "Are you smiling, Kourin?"

The smile was gone in an instant — composed away with the practiced ease of someone who had long experience maintaining their expression.

"Of course I am," Kourin said evenly. "One of the Vanguard fighters we identified is growing at an unprecedented pace. It's a natural response."

"Riiiight." Rekka drew the word out with great enjoyment. "That's all what you think it is."

"That's what it is." A slight edge. "What exactly are you implying?"

"Nothing." Rekka leaned back, the picture of innocence. "Nothing at all."

"Nothing." Rekka leaned back, the picture of innocence. "Nothing at all."

Suiko said nothing, letting her sisters squabble. She simply watched the floor below — watched Aichi, a holder of Psyqualia, and a Vanguard of Cray settle into his next match with that quiet steadiness that had been developing in him— and smiled to herself.

'When that boy fully develops his Psyqualia, I wonder who the victor between him and Ren Suzugamori will be?'