The weekend was here! I was going to spend it going to the card shop at Nishi Mall to practice with my Mirche deck. Even though there's a local card shop in Drachma Red's area, not many people visit it, and the ones who do usually aren't very good at the game.

Going to the more popular shops meant there was more variety in opponents, usually with a higher skill level. Fighting against tough opponents would definitely make me a better cardfighter, so I started going there more often, even if it costed more to travel.

I messaged Mitsuba, who also wanted to come to the card shop. At first, he wasn't very interested, but when I mentioned that my sister and her friend was coming along, he changed his mind and really wanted to go.

I went downstairs to the lounge area of the Drachma Red dorms, and waited for Mitsuba on a couch.

My sister, Ishima Tamaki, is in A Class. Though, we're not related by blood, since I was adopted into her family.

Since birth, I don't know who my biological parents are. My parents gave me away for adoption as soon as they gave birth to me, so I was sent to the Ishima orphanage.

The owners of the orphanage, Zeon-san and Lucine-san, took me and raised me alongside their child, which was Tamaki.

I always felt bad for her, since her parents had to take care of so many children at the same time, but Tamaki never complained once. Instead, she helped them out and was a good friend to all the kids that were there.

We spent a lot of our time together because we were the same age, and the oldest from the kids there. I usually helped out alongside her, which made us closer. Even if we're not related by blood, the bond me and Tamaki share is probably stronger than most actual siblings.

"Yo, Aki-kun! You wake up way too early."

Mitsuba yawned as he made his way over to me.

"It's only 10am, that's pretty late."

"I usually wake up at 1pm..."

I understood sleeping in, but to that extent, it seemed excessive.

"Damn, what time did you sleep yesterday?"

"Uh... probably 2am. I was up late looking at gravure idols."

Mitsuba's a pretty open pervert, which I do admire in some aspects. It makes him a free spirit in a way.

"2am?! I sleep at like 11pm."

"Lame! Try sleeping at 6am!"

We exited the dorms, walking down to the bus stop.

"That's when I normally wake up for school time..."

"I did that once. Let's just say I was satisfied the entire night."

I laughed at the implications of that statement. We sat at the bus stop, and I checked my phone.

"Five more minutes until the bus comes."

"Man, I can't wait to go to the shop and crack open some packs!"

"How many points do you have?"

Mitsuba checked his phone.

"Ehh... about 600 something. I guess I'm only gonna get 1 pack, huh..."

"I'll pitch in."

I transferred 200 points to Mitsuba.

"Aw hell yeah! Two packs, that's the magic number!"

"Magic number?"

"Yeah, it's a superstition I have. Whenever I open two packs at once, I have increased luck. When I open one pack, I usually have no luck. When I open three packs, I usually have even worse luck. Two is the sweet spot."

A superstition based on his own experiences... I couldn't relate, since I buy singles from vendors.

Mitsuba enjoyed opening packs for the thrill of it. I guess I understood it, but it makes me feel like I'm gambling my money.

"I'm still surprised that you managed to waste so many points buying packs."

"It happens when you want to hit that high."

He sounded like an addict, it's scary.

The bus pulled up and we boarded it, with me paying for the fee. Mitsuba brought his bus pass, so he didn't have to pay anything.

I really should've invested in a bus pass, but I usually take the train to school. Though, the bus is a lot less cramped than the train, so I might switch over. It fits better with my early morning schedule as well.

I wake up around 6am because no one else is up at that time. Having that peace of mind is really refreshing, especially when I'm preparing for the day ahead.

"So, why do you play Kagero?"

I decided to make some small talk while we rode the bus.

"Kagero usually gets the best rarity treatments since it's a popular clan. I love things like SVRs, ORs and SPs, and Kagero gets an abundance of them, plus some special rarities on the side. Not to mention, Dragonic Overlord is a super cool unit!"

"You like Dragonic Overlord? He's kind of vanilla in my opinion."

"Sometimes you gotta be mainstream to get the good stuff. Dark Irregulars isn't popular, so it doesn't get as good treatment."

"Eh, I dunno. No Life King's a good card."

"But your avatar's Mirche, who doesn't even have a Protect gift."

"I know, it's annoying, but I make do with it."

"Plus she's more like a Pale Moon card than a Dark Irregulars card... why don't you play Pale Moon? It has more attractive units in it, like Luquier!"

"You into BDSM?"

"I'd be into BDSM if it's Luquier doing it to me."

"You're a freaking degenerate, dude."

"I know."

We laughed at his stupidity. I did appreciate that part about him, that he wasn't afraid of making fun out himself for comedy. I could never be that brave, since I'm self-conscious about my image.

It might not seem like it, but my face brings me a lot of stress. For some reason, it developed into a scary face that wouldn't stop scowling and giving other people dirty looks. It makes others fear me, when I don't want that.

I want to be an approachable and reliable person, but my physical appearance warps other people's perceptions of me. If it weren't for my personality, people would think I'm some sort of thug who commits crimes.

I don't really complain about it though, since I'm sure other people also feel the same way about their own bodies. Mitsuba, for example, is one of the shorter boys in our class. He could be conscious about that, but doesn't bring it up.

"If you don't mind me asking a weird question."

"Sure man, I'm all for the weird."

"How does it feel being shorter than most people?"

"I'm still taller than Nora-chan, so that's a plus."

Even when faced with a question like that, Mitsuba laughs it off like it's nothing.

"Eh, if you want an honest answer, it doesn't affect me that much. It's not like I have anything to prove to other people. The only time size matters is when it comes to—"

"Oh hey, we're at Nishi Mall. Let's get off."

"Don't cut me off mid-sentence!"

We left the bus and made our way to the card shop in Nishi Mall. It had an entrance on the outside area, so we didn't have to go inside the mall to access it.

I sent a quick message to Tamaki to say that we were here, and entered Keyaki Card Shop.

Mitsuba pushed the doors open, and it was really busy. Students, workers and even families that lived on the island, were gathered here opening packs, playing on the tables, and upgrading their decks. It was a really great sight as a cardfighter. It make me happy when other people enjoy the game I love.

"Booster packs, here I come!!"

"Hey, wait for me!"

I followed Mitsuba, who ran off to buy some packs at the counter. While he was purchasing them, I received a message from Tamaki, saying she was already at the shop with her friend.

"Thanks Aki-kun. Your investment will be put into good use when I pull a SP from these packs!"

Mitsuba was drooling over the two booster packs in his hands while I scanned the shop to find Tamaki.

"Oh, there she is."

I navigated my way past the front tables to reach the back, where my sister and her friend, Emica, was sitting. They were looking through Tamaki's Soul Saver deck.

"Hey you guys!"

"Aki! There you are!"

Tamaki leapt from her seat and hugged me.

"It's been a long time, hisashiburi!"

"Yeah, it has been. Hisashiburi."

"Oh, that's where your sister and friend were hiding." Mitsuba said, sitting down and putting his packs on the table.

"We got here early and wanted to get good tables. That's all." Emica said with a smile.

"Ah, you must be Mitsuba-san, right?" Tamaki said. "Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too, Ishima-san!"

Mitsuba held his hand out. Tamaki shook it, which made Mitsuba smile like an idiot.

"I'm Yogen Emica. Though, I recognise you from somewhere." Emica stared at Mitsuba.

"I feel the same way, literally." He held out his hand again. As Emica took it, she had a look of realisation.

"Oh, you're the pervert in E Class. Mitsuba Jun."

"Wait, that's a thing people know me for?"

"Definitely."

"E-Eh? Aki, you're friends with a guy like that?" Tamaki said.

"Mitsuba's a good guy, don't worry. He wouldn't perv on you two. He's into things like... gravure models?"

"Correct."

"He's into gravure models instead."

"The sexier the unit, the better I like them." Mitsuba said in a childish voice.

Even though it was raunchy stuff he was saying, he made the girls giggle.

"Oh, this one's a bold one. Akihiro-san, could you help me and Tamaki-chan out here?" Emica said.

"Sure, what's up?"

I sat beside Tamaki as she picked up four Dia-connect Dragon on the table.

"I finally got my hands on a play-set of this promo. I want to add it, but I don't know which grade 2 to cut..."

These cards looked nice, since PR cards are hard to come by. Having a play-set of this unit would really help her deck since it was good to accelerate soulcharging.

Right now, she had High Dog Breeder, Akane, Knight of Loyalty, Bedivere, and Sage of the Arts, Jauron in her grade 2 slots. All of them were good cards, so it was no wonder she was having difficulties.

"I'd say keep Akane because she can tutor Pongal." I said.

"Yeah, Pongal's soulcharge is a must in a soul-heavy deck like mine. Bedivere's good to combo with Kay for an early rush, but Jauron scales better on a Soul Saver turn since he gains +5k Power."

As we discussed each card, Mitsuba opened his first pack.

"Gacha gods, don't fail me now..."

"If you cut Bedivere, you'd also have to cut Kay too. What would you replace those grade 1 slots with?"

"I suppose more Lucius and Unicorn, as they both add soul."

"Bedivere is probably better because getting damage early so Soul Saver becomes lethal sooner is more useful. The +5k from Jauron becomes win-more at that point." Emica said.

"That's true. I was thinking about saying to cut Jauron since it doesn't mess with the overall synergy of the deck." I said.

"The first pack was a dud..."

Mitsuba groaned, running his fingers through his hair. He had five commons and two rare in front of him. Not a great start.

"Better luck in the second pack buddy."

"Fate, don't screw me over!!!"

"So Jauron should be cut?" Tamaki said.

"Yeah." Me and Emica both agreed on it.

"Alright. Thanks you two!"

"No prob sis."

"Ha ha!"

Mitsuba laughed, showing off his SP Wyvern Strike, Dekat.

"I told you, two is the magic number Aki-kun! See this! This is an SP I can actually use in my deck! Thank you for the points!!"

He looked like he was gonna burst into tears at any moment.

"You gave him points to buy packs? That's reckless, Aki..."

Tamaki gently scolded me. Well, I didn't have that many points myself, but I wanted to be nice.

"Mitsuba-san looks really happy to pull that card, so it was worth it."

As Mitsuba was rejoicing over his pull, one of my other classmates, Masaru, wandered over to us.

"Hey, Akihiro, Jun! Both of you are here too?"

Masaru was grinning from ear to ear to see us.

"Hell yeah, what're you doing here?"

"I was gonna enter the weekend tourney, but that doesn't start until another hour or so. To see you guys here, with these girls no less, what kind of melting pot meeting is this?"

"Oh, that's my sister. Tamaki, this is Kawaguchi Masaru. He's my training buddy."

"Hello Kawaguchi-san. Aki's told me great things about your ability." Tamaki said.

"He's playing me up, I'm not that good." Masaru laughed.

"The girl sitting across Tamaki is Yogen Emica, her friend."

"Yogen-san, nice to meet you."

"Same here, Kawaguchi-san. It must be nice having such a simple name to write."

"They say I'll have bad luck for having so little strokes in my family name."

While Masaru was getting acquainted with the girls, Mitsuba was staring intensely at Emica for some reason. He took out his phone and searched something on it. Looking back and forth between them, his eyes opened wide.

Shuffling over to sit next to me, Mitsuba began to whisper.

"Hey dude... doesn't Yogen-san look like this girl here?"

He showed me an image on his phone of a gravure idol in a candid photo shoot.

"Uh... I guess I can see the resemblance."

They had similar faces, that's for sure. I couldn't comment on the body since I've never seen Emica in a bikini before.

"I can't believe I didn't notice it sooner! Yogen-san looks like my favourite gravure idol, Aozaki Aoko-chan! My luck today is god-like!"

Mitsuba began cheering quietly. At least he could control his volume when it counts, but I have a strange feeling Emica overheard him.

"I've decided. I'm going to make Yogen-san my girlfriend!"

"Dude, I thought you were going after Kazuraba-san?"

"Ah, screw her, Yogen-san's way more my type!"

"Isn't it because she looks like that Aozaki-san gravure idol you like so much..."

"Aozaki-sama to you. Don't disrespect Aoko-chan like that!"

"Sure..."

It was beginning to look sketchy, the way we were communicating, so I tried to change the subject.

"Anyone wanna cardfight?" I asked.

"Me! Who wants to help me test out my Ahsha deck?" Emica said.

Mitsuba looked mind-blown. What was that guy imagining in his head?

"ME!!! I WANT TO FIGHT YOU AS AHSHA!!!" Mitsuba said.

"I'll play." Masaru said.

The two boys looked at each other and laughed. This definitely wasn't awkward.

"Hmm, the winner between you two can fight me." Emica said.

"Damn it, I'm going to crush you, Masaru-kun!" Mitsuba slammed his deck down.

"Not I beat you first, Jun!" Masaru threw his deck down.

"Emica-chan, what did you just start..." Tamaki said, concerned.

"An entertaining battle."

"Stand up, Vanguard!"

"Crimson Lion Cub, Kryph!"

"Lizard Runner, Undeux!"

A Gold Paladin vs Kagero fight, huh? Both can launch a good series of attacks, but Mitsuba can retire Masaru's forces pretty easily.

"Stand and draw! I ride, Crimson Lion Beast, Howell and draw a card with Kryph. Turn end."

Masaru:
Hand: 6
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

Mitsuba:
Hand: 5
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

"Stand and draw! I ride, Sabel Dragonewt! Undeux's skill, I draw a card! I call Nouvelleroman Dragon and use his skill to return a Nouvelle Vague from my hand to add Dragonic Overlord to my hand! Nouvelleroman, attack! (8000)"

I liked that Mitsuba's deck uses the Nouvelle engine. It makes it really unique compared to the usual Overlord deck.

"No guard! (Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains)"

"Sabel Dragonewt, attack! (8000)"

"No guard!"

"Drive check! (Embodiment of Spear, Tahr) Ha ha, a critical! Get blown away! (8000 > 18000/1 > 2)"

Ouch, that's gonna hurt. Being pushed to three on the first turn will be troublesome if Masaru decides to go for his usual rush tactics. He might need to be more conservative to guard the attacks later on.

"Lucky... Damage checks! (Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth, Flame Wind Lion, Wonder Ezel)"

"Since Sabel hit, I draw another card! Turn end!"

Mitsuba had a really strong first turn. It's gonna be interesting to see how Masaru turns the tables around.

Masaru:
Hand: 6
Damage: 3
OXO
OOO

Mitsuba:
Hand: 7
Damage: 0
OXX
OOO

OST: Meijin ~Six times the passion of ordinary flamenco~

"Stand and draw! Jun, no hard feelings, but sorry in advance."

"There's no need to apologise for losing, bro."

"Oh, I'm apologising for something else. You've given me enough resources to pull this off."

Could it be...?!

"I ride, Flame Wind Lion, Wonder Ezel! I call, Crimson Lion Beast, Howell, and use Wonder Ezel's skill! I soulblast and retire Howell to ride from my deck, my avatar! The first ascension of golden pride, I superior ride Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel! I get an Imaginary Gift: Accel II! I draw one, and Ezel gets drive minus one! (2 > 1)"

He said "first ascension"... this means he's going in for another one!

"A superior ride? Well, you'll need the advantage after I whacked you hard that first turn."

Mitsuba didn't know what was going to hit him.

"But that's not all! I call Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains (9000 > 14000) and use his skill! I discard a card to superior call from deck, Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth! Gareth's skill, I counterblast to give him +10k! (8000 > 18000) The second ascension of golden pride, from my hand! I soulblast Kryph and superior persona ride, Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel!"

There it is! Masaru's double ride combo!

Mitsuba looked surprised, but kept his composure somehow. If I was in that position, I'd be worried.

"Imaginary Gift: Accel II! I draw a card, and Ezel gets drive minus one! (2 > 1)"

"So what, this is Ezel in a nutshell. Superior ride until you die." He laughed it off.

"You haven't seen the bet part yet. The third ascension!!"

At that point, Mitsuba's jaw dropped.

"No way, you have a third superior ride?!"

"Seriously?!" I couldn't hold back my surprise either.

"You bet I have! Since my Vanguard's "Blond Ezel", I counterblast and superior ride from my hand! The final ascension of golden pride, avatar next! I ride, Raven-haired Ezel!! Imaginary Gift: Accel II! Draw a card, but this time, Raven-haired keeps his two drives!"

Even Tamaki and Emica was impressed that Masaru had managed to draw into all the pieces to pull off a triple Ezel ride. Mitsuba might've pushed Masaru to three damage the first turn, but Masaru had managed to crack back with a powerful ride combo chain!

"Oh man... I'm screwed!"

"I call, Battlefield Storm, Sagramore! (12000 > 17000) His skill, I soulblast, draw a card and call Wonder Ezel to rear-guard! (9000 > 14000) Wonder Ezel's skill, I call Beaumains to rear-guard! Since he was superior called, +3k! (9000 > 12000) Beaumain's skill, I discard a card and superior call Gareth from deck! Finally, I call Howell from my hand to rear-guard!"

He completely disregarded his defence and emptied his hand for an all out attack! I knew Masaru was ballsy, but I've never seen him blow his entire hand to try and push the opponent this hard before!

"Jun, mark my words. I'm going to win this turn."

"A-are you declaring final turn? There's no way you can win! I can still guard!"

"I've got six attacks coming your way, one of which being a lethal two critical. This is more than enough to beat you! FINAL TURN!"

There it was! Masaru was going to go all in to kill Mitsuba! This match was insane!

"Lead the attack, Beaumains! (14000)"

"All I need a damage trigger to shut you down! No guard! (Wyvern Strike, Dekat)"

"Wonder Ezel, you're up next! (14000)"

"No guard! (Berserk Dragon)"

Was this Mitsuba's strategy? To soak up damage in the hopes he'll hit a defensive?

"Sagramore, beat it into him! (17000)"

"No guard! (Nouvellecritic Dragon)"

He equalised their damage!

"Raven-haired Ezel, attack! (12000) Thanks for the extra damage last turn, since it allows me do this! I counterblast to give Ezel +15k and +1 critical! (12000 > 27000/1 > 2) Not to mention, you can't call sentinels to hand this battle!"

Mitsuba's good luck earlier absolutely backfired now. That critical trigger gave Masaru enough counterblast to use Raven-haired's skill.

"Damn it, guard with Tahr and Rakshasa! (8000 > 38000) You'll need two triggers to get over this!"

"Twin drive!! (Knight of Forceful Fight, Nalnes) Front trigger! Everyone in my front row is getting a boost! (14000 > 24000) (14000 > 24000) (18000 > 28000) (27000 > 37000/2) (12000 > 22000) (17000 > 27000) (Elixir Sommelier) Heal trigger! Power to Raven-haired Ezel, and healing a damage! (37000 > 47000/2) Go forth, Golden Passion - Black Resister!"

Masaru pulled it off, even when all the odds were against him! He broke through Mitsuba's solid defence with a double trigger!

"He's the luckiest man alive!" Tamaki said.

"Grr... damage checks! (Dragonic Overlord the End, Berserk Dragon)"

"And he's the unluckiest man alive." Emica laughed at Mitsuba's trigger empty damage zone.

He's sustained five damage, yet was unable to hit a single trigger. It was really sad.

"Damn it! Masaru-kun, gimme a break!"

"This is Vanguard. There is no breaks! Boosted by Howell, Gareth attacks! (28000 > 36000)"

"I guard with Aermo, Nouvelleroman, Berserk Dragon and Nouvellecritic! (8000 > 18000 > 28000 > 33000 > 38000)"

"Your last card in hand... is Dragonic Overlord."

With those miserable words, Mitsuba dropped his singular hand card. The Dragonic Overlord he searched with Nouvelleroman Dragon's ability on the first turn.

"Boosted by Gareth, cut him down, Beaumains! (22000 > 30000) Bowman Complex!"

"N-no guard... please, gacha gods, give me a heal trigger!"

At this early stage, where he hasn't gone through most of his deck, the chances of getting a heal trigger was exceedingly low. However, if Mitsuba could manage to pull it off, he would be able to retaliate against Masaru's onslaught.

Masaru, with his two card hand, watched in anticipation as Mitsuba flipped the top card of his deck over. As the card was being turned around, everyone stared at the corner of the card to see what it was.

No trigger.

Mitsuba placed the sixth damage, Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague, into the damage zone and hung his head low in shame. Masaru stretched his hand out, and Mitsuba shook it sadly.

"Good game, Jun. You played well."

"I barely played at all..."

Mitsuba sulked as Masaru pat him on the shoulder.

"Alright, looks like I'm gonna be the first one to play against your Ahsha deck, Yogen-san!"

"I'll admit, I'm a little scared now after seeing how badly you defeated Mitsuba-san. However, luck won't always be on your side." Emica said.

"Luck or not, I'm still gonna give it my all with my style of Vanguard!"

"I wanted to play against Yogen-san as Ahsha... it's not fair..."

Mitsuba muttered, sulking in the corner. Tamaki got up and sat down next to him.

"You were unlucky in that fight. Don't put yourself down about it."

"B-But... I wanted to play against Yogen-san..."

"You can still play against her. Just wait until Kawaguchi-san is finished with their game."

"Really...? I can still play?!"

"Of course! I'm sure Emica-chan would love to face against all sorts of opponents to test her deck, including you. C'mon, let's cheer up your spirits. You can play against me instead while we wait."

"Alright! Sure! Let's do it!"

He quickly rebounded from that depression... well, when it comes to Mitsuba and girls, he's obsessed with that kind of stuff. I guess that's why he was sad he wasn't able to fight Emica, but now he's playing against my sister, he seems to be doing better.

I'm glad that Tamaki was able to help him. She's always been a helpful person to everybody. It's no surprise why people love her so much.

I was also itching for a fight too, but with two exciting matches unfolding in front of me, I couldn't take my eyes off either. However, I came to the card shop to practice my skills, so instead, I began looking for new opponents.

There was a lone girl at the table who seemed free to play. I approached and greeted her.

"Hey, do you want to have a Cardfight?"

The girl, who had shoulder-length hair dyed purple, looked at me with little change in her serious expression.

"Sure."

I sat down opposite her and took out my deck box. I introduced myself while shuffling my deck.

"I'm Ishima Akihiro, 1st Year E Class."

"I'm Kai Rikuto, 1st Year D Class."

D Class, huh? Come to think of it, I've never really noticed that many D Class girls stand out. Just the boys for their delinquent behaviour.

"Good luck!"

"Same to you."

"Stand up, Vanguard!"

Our intense battle had begun!