Chronicle's Eve Stage

The tournament exploded with sparks skyrocketing and fluttering about, charging the air with power and excitement as the ultra-violent high-speed format this cup was designed for ripped through preliminaries. Matches took place at any moment and continued as soon as two winning participants were matched with one another. Naturally, only the aces and strongest of the Resistance and Drones, among other organizations such as the Kaiser's legion of prepped fighters. More importantly, the Kaiser himself and King of Europe: Cero Kirguis. Other National Champions such as Aoi Undyne and Sakuya Fagan blazed through the tournament. It was made very clear the difference between those with purpose and the common fighters that came expecting to go home with the gold.

Much to many contestants' terrors, the Star-vaders had intruded in the tournament. Fuki and Koga constricted and restrained literally everyone they faced, and the majority of them felt it was an unfair game, as they were unable to ever use their rearguards. Yet, for some reason, that royal blonde allowed it, declaring no discrimination against those who are simply here for the sport.

The Cardfight Association in testing already knew better, but that was beside the point.

Now... The Main Stage is here, and you made it.

One of the matches was between two drones: Gastor and Chrisaline. Now, for the best results in ending the world, a number of the drones decided they would have fun with the tournament, but submit to the stronger ones so they can advance. Chris, the little green cheer of pure evil, was under the impression that the violent blonde had gotten the memo. Gastor, being the most aggressive of the drones, began assaulting his superior with the Spike Brothers without a care in the world. All he wanted to do was fight, their plan was pointless. Silver Blaze, Dudley Mason, and Frozen Ogre took Chris down to four damage before she got to ride to grade two. It was rather... odd to the girl. Was he trying to put on a good show? Or was he just stupid and didn't know how to bow down before his greater? Regardless, she giggled happily as two rearguard Machining Mosquito MkIIs hit the board, stunning Gastor's attackers.

He didn't really care, and continued with Bad End Dragger, ignoring his unusable rearguards entirely.

... Is he really just stupid? Chris was confused. So she had a Legioned Machining Tarantula paralyze his vanguard. "Hey, Gastor, you know you're supposed to let me-"

"Quiet!" The man shouted, hands in his pocket while angrily spitting at the ground. The system of Vanguard Technology left his cards afloat for him, so his gestures did not disturb them. "I don't care about some stinkin' plan!"

Chris was silent.

"I'm here to win, so fuck off!" He roared, slamming down his trump card: Bloody Ogre. With a Break Ride skill, the declaration of "Crush Rush" was made, getting the crowd to cower in fear of the combination between this behemoth of a Legion and its mate. Frozen Ogre was the Most Valuable Player, eyes gleaming madly and insanely. Chris... simply began to frown in response as a consecutive number of attacks commenced with a massive ten thousand powered boost each swing. The Megacolony maiden looked downward to her feet, quietly muttering "guard" each strike.

"... So you really are just stupid." Chris insulted darkly, raising her head with a irritated expression. "Not only do you not know your place, but you were too stupid to take into account my giant hand you couldn't do anything about since I kept stunning your units."

"... Shut up", Gastor snarled. "My vanguard-"

"W̨̧͞͠҉h̴͟y̛͜͟҉ ̴̨͢͞͏a͠r̵e̷͠͝ ̸҉y͞o͏̵̡u̷̢̕͞ ̸̶̨͞ś̶̡̛ǫ͘ ̶̵̨d҉̢u͏͟ḿ̶̛͘b̸̡́͟?̴͜҉́" Reaper garble came out of the green one's mouth, surprising many in the stadium, and getting officials to stand. However, he who is simply the best their is raised his hand, blaming interference with their machines. He knew better, and let it pass... No one bothered to argue with him, as his partner sitting down at a height with him did not disagree. Paralyze Madonna was thrown onto the Guardian Circle. "Gastooooooor... You can't touch me and you blew your hand replacing those units for this turn. You're so, so stupid! Football meathead!" Chris sneered and snickered, getting furious booing from those in the audience that loved the sport. The blonde was annoyed, gritting his teeth, but didn't falter. With his Legion's second skill, he was armed for another attack. A humongous strike with Silver Blaze's Soul Blast to get ten thousand power, ten from Bad End, and five form Bloody Ogre. Satisfied with how it was too strong, Chris simply let it pass... and the damage was a draw trigger.

"Tch."

"Stupid!" Chris repeated, drawing a card, and Machining Scorpion mk II was summoned. In an instant, Chris had already surpassed the huge power up Gastor's rearguard had with her own skill. Even better, the fool threw away his intercepts and hand to go for broke. Defenseless, it was simply a swift beatdown with added Double Critical Triggers to rub salt in the wound. With another jeer that he'll get a heal trigger, he actually got it... and needed two more that he didn't come. The image of the green lass with her skin cloaked in a shadow and eyes of Sovereign burned into his mind, seeing a rather monstrous smirk. "You should have fun and still remember that you're just a pissant."

"And with a brutal finish, Chrisaline Egao is the victor!" An announcer informed as Gastor fell backward, lying in his own sweat. Token fodder at its finest, the jubilant girl thought. Humming innocently, she skipped out of the way, and several officials were called in just to move Gastor out of the way.

--------------------------------------------

"Oh wow... the brat is angry", the cocky lettuce F Chopper Koga stated, looking into the eyes of the destroying avenger that flashed red. The Chosen Sword was more than eager to tear apart one of the three head traitors of the Reapers. Seekers and Star-vaders began to clash with a rather... deathly aura about Yukino. She was introduced as the Resistance commander, a leader of heroes against the monsters that plagued their lives. Yet... looking at her now, people weren't wrong to assume she was a monster herself. Phantom Blaster found it a shame she didn't enter with Revengers, as Seekers would not do her wrath justice. Alfred XIV seemed to differ as the game moved extremely quickly to grade three - the King of Knights versus Infinite Zero Dragon. Koga was another one of those rare players that combined a Legion with a Break Ride, ensuring maximum benefits only if she gets both of the units and hits Limit Break.

And an edgy asshole named Alfred with his fancy Critical Two never let her have four damage.

"Fine, kid." Koga admitted defeat in trying to Break Ride, and instead, went straight to Star-vader, Venom Dancer. Yet again, in her life, Yukino watched her comrades be sealed. Only, in this age, it was far worse. The invaders grew more cunning, consistent, resourceful. Locks were so cheap, if not, free. That malignant Companion Star-vader who appeared in every deck now was a free seal himself, grinning at the woman he distorted by kidnapping her avatar through time and space. It wasn't as horrifying as a Break Ride turn would be, but it made a Break Ride turn with Nebula Lord or Chaos Breaker look like a joke. Stands for each lock, then built-in Legion power?

"Ridiculous..." Yukino mulled over, watching the absurdity of the toxic cyber golem mash apart at the king. She wound up taking way too much damage after holding out well, as Koga's deck didn't function without a lock like all others of its kind. At least it meant more room to guard the restanding swings. ... Then came Royal Paladin's natural weakness. That flaw those control freaks preyed on. A lack of rearguards meant a lack of power and presence, and these holy knights thrived on having each other about. Most importantly, his majesty's Critical Two only existed if he had all of his comrades. With three of them locked, there wasn't much of anything he could do but gain a small amount of power.

"It must suck seeing this over and over again. You can't really protect anyone, you get mad, you can't win even when you get mad, then you spend a couple weeks being sad until you make some dumb speech. Then the process just repeats itself-"

"Forgive me."

"Huh?"

"I don't much care for Harbinger's rats trying to tell me off."

Excuse me? Koga questioned who this kid thought she was. The Chosen Sword didn't bother to answer, summoning the solution to lock in a rather unwanted manner. That Guardian Dragon of the past: Thing Saver Dragon did not rely on rearguards in any way. While it was not the perfect out to a Reaper's Delete, it laughed and mocked the locking of Star-vaders. Ah, yes, the hints of the cackling Phantom Blaster would normally do came from Thing Saver as a jolly chuckle. The cabbage blew so much hand trying to stop Alfred XIV from getting a single Critical check win, she didn't really have much to stop the glorious, white savior attacking three times on top of two rearguard swings.

Yukino turned her back, and Koga choked and coughed as she felt punched.

"And with a resounding victory, the general of our defense: Yukino Espoir is victorious!"

"Hmph", Yukino scoffed.

Koga twitched, "How did that brat...?!"

The tournament had begun and with it a certain chaos that Okuri began feeling naturally uncomfortable around set in. He liked observing people but never in massive numbers like this. They always go so energetic and out of control. Thousands of people all over the stadium were screaming, cheering, and making all sorts of other sounds. Okuri's ears and tails hung low visibly showing his discomfort and he stuck close to Jessie and others of the Resistance he knew.

Eventually the brackets were determined and much to Okuri's surprise he had been paired with Haruka for the first round. He didn't know much of what to make of that. Other than thinking a woman like Hikari wouldn't settle for anything less than a strong mate. Their match eventually approached and the two exchanged pleasantries as the crowd roared. Haruka had all but disappeared after leaving the restaurant and upon asking him about it Okuri was told it was a long story that would be explained after the fight. As things got underway Okuri began feeling more comfortable despite the thousands of eyes on him. Looking at the various screens he could see his illusion was functioning properly though he couldn't shake the feeling someone at least in the stadium was seeing through it.

Both fighters led out with simple offensives but Haruka guarded Okuri's first attack. Most other opponents simply took the first damage as a matter of fact. This was to be no ordinary fight it seemed. As things progressed Haruka checked an early heal trigger and commented on the trust he'd built up with the Blue Storm units. It seemed to Okuri his suspicion that the units were living beings was right and Haruka's answers to questions about it seemed to further confirm it.

Eventually Haruka upped his offensive with a legion that would allow rearguards to re-stand with more power. Okuri held up fairly well despite the assault. Okuri's breakride legion turn came and with a full force on the field was able to do surprisingly little damage. Haruka was not to go down so easily. The battle between legions carried on as Haruka launched multiple attacks while the Great Nature units would power one up, retire it and then replace it with draws.

But then things were getting close. Both fighters were at five damage and hands were running short. Haruka went all in and called the so-called MVP of his deck, Tidal Assault. A new barrage of multiple attacks came through and Okuri thought he was safe. But then Tidal Assault's skill activated, allowing him to re-stand one more time. Without a hand or intercepts all Okuri could do was hope there was a heal trigger on top of his deck. As it turned out there was a critical. With a bit of a sigh and smile he conceded defeat and wished Haruka good luck with the rest of the tournament.

Walking over to Haruka he offered a paw, the illusion to everyone else showing a hand. A simple handshake to show good sportsmanship to the crowd. They'd shook hands once before but under slightly less happy circumstances. As he stood there the focus on the fight began to fade his mind focused back on the sheer number of people looking at him. His ears began slowly drooping along with his tails again but he told himself it was just a few more minutes before he was out of the spotlight.

"So about where you were..." he said with a smile as stretched out his paw. Okuri had wanted to progress a little further into the tournament. But then he probably didn't have to actually be fighting to learn more about this dragon on the posters and from his dream of sorts. And he had friends to cheer on as well. Together they'd figure things out and maybe even have a fun time in the process. This loss to Haruka had certainly been a good experience for him.

Match Results
Okuri Saito vs Haruka Nakahara
Winner: Haruka Nakahara

This is it. The tournament has begun. There's no turning back now. Rosalia's thoughts ran wild in her head, both excited, and absolutely terrified, of her first tournament. She had no idea what kind of fighters she was see here, how many familiar faces she would fight, nor what clans might counter-pick her beloved Angel Feather. As the brackets were announced though, her heart dropped so far into her stomach, she thought it was all but nonexistent.

Her match was against none other than Mirai. According to what little Seifer explained in a previous conversation, Mirai was a Resistance member gone bad because of him, so why was she now? Was there other Reaper Drones in the tournament? The thought made her forget all about the thrills of her first tournament, leaving only frayed nerves. Her hands balled into fists from the overwhelming tension she felt.

But she had to do this. Just take it one step at a time... Rosalia cast her fiancé a quick glance before making her way to the fighting area. Waiting for her was a purple haired woman with deep red eyes, and a wide, menacing grin. Something felt a bit familiar about the woman, but now wasn't the time to focus on it. She had to do her duty... Placing her deck and starting vanguard face down, the pinkette prepared herself mentally for the fight.

"You're my first victim today."

Wait, what? Such a great start for the already nervous pinkette, and the fight hasn't even begun yet!

"Rosalia, I can't believe you're still alive in this time! I'm told I can't really hurt you, but... I'M GONNA HAVE FUN WITH YOU!"

Well... Crap........... First of all, was Mirai from another time? From what she said? Rosalia wasn't really caught up on the whole Seed issue. Actually, did she know anything about it?... But the fight had to begin.

"I hope you're ready."
"I am... Stand up, my Azure Wings! First Aid Celestial, Penuel!"
"Stand up, the Vanguard! Judgebau Revenger!"

From there, the battle had little talk outside of battle, save for a few comments on "how cute" Rosalia's damage zone manipulation was, or the fact she had to over-call a Nursing Celestial, Narell over one already existing on the field so she could have enough for Legion. The only good news was that the pinkette had a copy of her vanguard in her damage zone from previous damage checks, rather than having to search her deck for one through skills. On the other hand, one thing that perhaps saved Rosalia was the fact that, for some reason or another, Mirai chose to not Legion when she had the chance... Rosalia used a Perfect Guard for the vanguard attack anyways in fear of a double critical (which didn't appear), but by the end of Mirai's second Grade Three turn, both Mirai and Rosalia were at five damage.

"I can see your soul shaking... Don't worry. I'll end it soon.

If it wasn't her soul shaking, Rosalia's entire body was trembling. I have to end it this turn... If I don't... I'm doomed...

"Mirai! I heard you were once part of the Resistance... And it's our fault you're against us now... But you're right. This will end soon, because I'm going all out!" Rosalia's final turn involved having her Legioned Malchedael-Asmodel Vanguard, Clumsy Celestial Batreal with Sunny Smile Angel to the right, and Seizing Celestial Hael with Nursing Celestial Narell to the right. She swung first with Batreal boosted by Smiley.

"I want you to come back to us, Mirai! Okay? Then.. Then we can-"

"Damage Check." And that was it. Rosalia didn't even have her drive checks before Mirai took the sixth damage.

"Then we could be friends again..." Rosalia's gaze lowered, gathering her cards as she seemed to be ignored by the other female. Nothing else was said before Mirai left the fight area, leaving the pinkette alone. She found her way to the side to wait for the next round, but she couldn't stop shaking. She won the fight... so why did she feel like she failed?...



Match Results
Rosalia Mooncrest vs Mirai Hashira
Winner: Rosalia Mooncrest

Raiden battled the Aqua Force General Haruka.

The battle began with a fierce exchange of attacks from both sides. Raiden began quickly by calling units and guarding from his hand early on. He wanted the battle to end quickly as his body was still injured from Mirai's assault days ago. Each attack, each damage took a toll on him simply because his physical body was having a hard time handling it all.

Staring down Lambros and his Legion ability, he didn't even need rear guard in order to assault Raiden with multiple attacks, even refreshing his Counter Blasted damage and drawing to make up for the fast pace of the beginning of the match. Raiden's mind could not work to properly counteract the attacks as he was more focused on keeping on his feet.

He finally preformed his Break Ride along with a Legion. It was Autumn Rain Liberator, Coil. His Break Ride skill only provided one unit he chose to call from his top of deck and he lacked the hand to preform the Legion skill as well. Raiden only had two attacks but they were strong attacks. However, Haruka was not without guard. He defended against a 40000 power attack from Raiden as well as a 22000 power rear attack easily.

Haruka's attack pattern did not need to change. Raiden was force to take the first attack, losing a rear. He had to take the second as well, taking a damage. The Legion attack of Lambros and Thavas came and it was guarded, but a critical trigger was given to the rear which now stood at 27000 and 2 critical with two attacks to give. Raiden could not survive. He took his damage and was defeated.

Haruka was a difficult opponent. If Raiden had been at his physical best, he wondered what he could have done differently. That would be for another time. He was glad his body held out through the match, though he felt like he could pass out at any time. I'm sorry... I couldn't do more...

Match Results
Raiden Mujo vs Haruka Nakahara
Winner: Haruka Nakahara

Darren battled against Fubuki. It was already known that the winner would fight Yukino. Darren wanted to win this battle to show Yukino a fun battle within the tournament. Unfortunately, Fubuki needed the battle for different reasons.

Darren's Metalborgs gave him... quite a few Grade 3s. With little defense on hand he did his best to withstand the early onslaught of Fubuki's attacks. Her criticals came with her anger, pushing Darren into what seemed to be a corner early on. Darren made the mistake of referring to Yukino as his sister. She wouldn't like that, and Darren didn't recall why. Malice had known, of course. A Seed would know the fate of the others, especially one with the power and mind of the one who killed her. Seyer's Seed was one of his powers.

Darren used his Legion of Metalborg Sin Buster. Fubuki seemed to know what was coming. She didn't have preparation for it. Darren was able to use its attack to help his hand, but only once. He almost went from 3 to 6 in one attack but Transcore wasn't able to hit hard enough. Darren struck with Metalborg Sin Buster for 36000. Even when it connected, it wasn't enough to end the match, even with one critical trigger.

Darren barely survived because Fubuki could not break ride. He used a new Sin Buster in order to preform another Legion. Hopefully returning Triggers would help him in this critical moment. Unfortunately, it was not. She had saved enough Grade 0 units to defend herself. Fubuki survived, and Darren could not survive the Break Ride.

As the units disappeared, Darren was disappointed but happy that he lost. He wanted to speak to her before she left. Sometimes its hard for people to do what is right, but someone like her would rather die than destroy the world..." He said it, but Fubuki was already leaving. She likely never heard him.

Match Results
Darren Shurensei vs Kaiyo Fubuki
Winer: Kaiyo Fubuki

Fubuki entered the arena, ready to face her first opponent in the main stage. If she won, she'd get a chance to face Yukino, the one person who she hated most. She'd get a chance at vengeance. Her opponent was someone she had never heard of before, and didn't really care to. All that mattered was defeating him and getting to Yukino. She stepped forwards, prepared to fight. . .

And immediately got triggered. Her opponent was a sibling of the woman Fubuki loathed. With even more reason to defeat this person, the fight began. From right out of the gate, Fubuki aimed to rush the Metalborg player to 5 damage. Her plan was to kill him outright before he managed to Legion, but he defended against her attacks as well as healed. He managed to ride his Legion, Sin Buster and Legion with it. The massive power in the center lane was an issue, but the opponent's rear-guards were weak. He continued to swing at Fubuki's own rear-guards, which either got replaced or defended.

Finally, Tetra-Drive Dragon appeared in Fubuki's hand. She had been pushed to 5 damage by the attacks of Sin Buster, but the game was in Fubuki's own hands now. With the power of Trans-core's breakride, Darren was unable to defend against the blizzard of true justice. Fubuki had won. Now. . . . On to the real fight.

Match Results
Kaiyo Fubuki vs Darren Shurensei
Winner: Kaiyo Fubuki
---------------------------------
Cero Kirguis versus Jellal Kisaragi. The Kaiser smirked as he entered the arena, finding irony in meeting Jellal only on the battlefield. Fittingly enough, while the man seemed to have lost his memories, Jellal was using Revengers against the person who had defeated him in their last encounter. A deck Cero had recently discarded his prior ace of.

The battle began with neither player having a clear advantage, but Cero, fully aware of Judgebau's potential, was able to quickly erase it from the field. However, Cero was unable to obtain many boosters or Dragonic Kaiser Crimson, giving Jellal a chance to take the lead. Pushed to the very limit, Cero was on 5 damage with Jellal on only 3.

"It's time for me to stop playing around. Draw!" As if responding to the Kaiser's will, Dragonic Kaiser Crimson appeared in his hand. It appeared on the battlefield to strike against Jellal's Raging Form Dragon and his full front row.

"Vanish before me! Crimson Thunderbolt!" With the power of Legion and Limit Break combined, Jellal's entire front row was hit at once. As if that wasn't enough, Cero checked double criticals, ending Jellal's time in the tournament. The 'Revengers' had failed to take Revenge on the Kaiser.

Match Results
Cero Kirguis vs Jellal Kisaragi
Winner: Cero Kirguis

"Alright, lets do this."

Jellal approached the arena, although very tense, he naturally accepted the scene as he walked step after step to his opponent. To him, he wouldn't be surprised if he got eliminated right away since this would be his second cardfight, despite knowing the rules and how his deck operated. He approached his opponent, Cero Kirguis; fate had matched them up before in Jellal's first tournament when he had Phantom Blaster Dragon by his side up against his Royal Paladins. Only this time, he was up against Narukami, the complete opposite yet very fitting for him. Jellal contained his excitement and let his instincts take over, it was there he knew he belonged here: he belonged to Vanguard.

Jellal stood tall and challenged Cero Kirguis once more. Riding his partner, Blaster Dark: he felt a faint memory from this unit in particular and knew he could be trusted and that Blaster Dark could aid him in his quest. Soon after Cero and Jellal brought out their grade 3s: Revenger, Raging Folm Dragon: a powerful shadowy dragon that had unfathomable strength and Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, dubbed 'ghost of the past' by Kirguis, was a dragon of brillance that struck at the speed of lightning. Jellal held his own but was unable to secure the win, giving Cero a chance to ride his true image: Dragonic Kaiser Crimson and performing a Legion Ability, bringing back Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion from the drop zone and annihilating Jellal's formation and dealing a double dose of critical triggers. Jellal stood silent as he lost, again, like the previous tournament, unsure of what he should do. However, he wasn't upset because a truth did come out of this: That he was a very skilled fighter and appreciates the game. With that revealed, Jellal exited the stage with a smile, hoping to get better and aid his friends and comrades once more.

Match Results
Jellal Kisaragi vs Cero Kirguis
Winer: Cero Kirguis

The matchups were finally set with Haruto going up against.....Seraphim Nakahara. Already from the start there was a dangerous matchup to deal with, considering what Sera is and how Haruto can control blue fire. This could very well turn out bad...

"...Seraphim...Nakahara....isn't that Haruka's family name?..<could it be that guy at the outskirts...>" he thought as he looked at the other matchups. "..Chris...if I get past this Seraphim person then I might be able to get to her if I manage to beat Aoi or Sakuya...I have to get back at her.." Haruto still wanted payback against Chris for what she did to Xat, tempting her to join their side and torturing Haruto in the process.

Without further hesitation the fight between the Haruto and Sera began, with both fighters having standard starts and utilizing skills at the grade 2 phase. While Haruto increased his allies through his avatar, Sera used the 'bind' skill that Nubatama specializes in to remove his allies in response. After Haruto went to grade 3 the damage stood at 2 - 4 with Haruto in the lead, but it did not take long for matters to take a turn for the dark...


"You say you should thank me for honouring your brother but...it's not fair..."
"...What...what do you mean? It's wrong for me not to thank you for doing what you did."
"...I am the reason."
"Huh?..."
"I'm the reason Tsubasa is where he is."
"...W-what do you mean...?"
"You remember Glendios? That would be me, i'm the one that killed your brother."
"...................You......."

Things had taken a turn for the worst for sure, as Haruto's usual blue aura began taking a more black tone and his eyes began to seem all the more lifeless. It was understandable though, having finally come face to face with the person who took away his only family was a bit much for the poor boy, not to mention when that same person was honouring his brother in front of everyone...while all of them knew about what he had done...

"....Sera.....I hate you....I HATE YOU!" Haruto burst into tears when he said that, as he activated his legion skill along with several loop superior calls to make Bruno hit a high enough number on the left column. During his loops Monarch Alfred appeared and tried to talk him out of it but Haruto told him off as he continued his calls. Now Haruto's aura was practically completely black, with a blue hue to it.

"...Prominence Core...BURN HIM! LEGION SKILL AND ATTACK!!!" he shouted, extending the tips of his fingers towards Sera, as Prominence Core dealt the last damage to the opposing Vanguard. At that moment Haruto was about to fire a flame blast at Sera in real life but Percival had moved in to stop him, his eyes covered by his hair.

Haruto was no in a frenzy of confused emotion, so much so that the black aura remained around him as he turned his back to Sera and walked away. With that he made his way to the audience section on the stadium and sat on the floor, eyeing the stadium with his now lifeless eyes.

Match Results
Haruto Hayato vs Seraphim Nakahara
Winner: Haruto Hayato

The sound of the crowd in the stadium was nearly blaring. Sunshine on the platform fight circles. Haruka sat in an empty room where fighters were allowed to stay for a moment of rest or to collect their thoughts before fights. It was a traditional thing for tournaments of this magnitude where stress for fighters of this caliber was an all-time high.

He exited the room after a few quick pep talks and left an empty mug of coffee to the wayside. He entered the stage, seeing his opponent was none other than another Resistance member; Okuri. He shrugged at him, a sign of, 'I wish this fight would happen a bit later down the line.' Nobody wants to be exited, or to exit their companion and friend from a tournament. It leaves a bitter taste in their mouth.

The fight began with a small bit of a chit chat, of which the crowd didn't mind hearing as vague as it was. The friendliness between the two fighters in the ring inspired a fierceness in the crowd. As the battle began to get underway, Okuri was confident in an early swing, but Haruka guarded it out. Generally it was customary to take early damage and to trade off an advantage later down the line. Haruka, however, wasn't going to take an orthodox route this time. He intended to protect his damage at all costs, in order to keep from getting taken under by a wave of critical triggers or a series of unguardable attacks.

He was preparing for the worst, a little early.

On Okuri's Grade 3 turn, Haruka was 1 short of Legion skill being active, meaning he needed to guard another attack, but his hand was depleted as is. Not only that, but he needed more one damage for Lambros' skill to go off. He took a gambit risk on Okuri checking a trigger over his own guard in order to force the offensive.

It paid off.

Okuri checked a critical, all of which went to Chatnoir, and pushed Haruka's damage right where he wanted it, and gave him the 4th card needed for his Legion turn.

The Aqua Force aided Haruka in his offense with restanding tactics and increases in power, as well as returning his depleted resources through draw mechanics and the like. Okuri used a similar tactic, retiring his powered up rear-guards in order to draw ludicrous amounts of advantage and keep himself in a steady pace throughout the game. Both fighters were running low on resources by a few turns after their big explosions of power hit.

Haruka made the final assault, calling a Tidal Assault, the MVP of the deck, and powering it up as much as possible in an attempt to rush Okuri's nearly cardless hand and push him from 5 to 6 damage. To Okuri's surprise, after the Legion Attack and Skill activated, he didn't imagine that not only would Tidal Assault stand from that, but stand again with a power deficit to cling out the last damage on a cardless hand.

Haruka had a promise to tell the story of where he had been with Okuri, so that was in order... soon. He was already being called for the next match, with only a 15 minute intermission, as his next opponent was already seeded up. He nodded to the staff, giving Okuri a wave with the promise to explain himself later.

Match Results
Haruka Nakahara vs Okuri Saito
Winner: Haruka Nakahara

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Sera was the next to the chopping block, and to his chagrin, he had the opponent he wished he would never have to face. Haruto Hayato, younger brother to the man Sera himself ended the life of only a few months ago. His face felt worn and depressed as he entered the stage, but Haruto was as chipper as ever for a majority of the fight. It progressed with small talk about the outskirts, and Haruto praised Sera for how he honored the dead and his only remaining family. Sera wouldn't respond... not normally. His soul was torn at the seams here.

As Sera progressed to Grade 3, he called and bound Haruto's board... finally letting it all loose. His mental health was deteriorating swiftly. Haruto was slowly but surely filling with rage and despair and tearing apart the mental images. The puzzle pieces from hell were clicking in place and the moment nobody wanted to ever share was happening now, live, at a Vanguard tournament. While the weight of it all was lifting from Sera's shoulders, it was now burdening Haruto in unimaginable ways. Vehement anger poured from Haruto's mouth, shouting terrible things at the terrible person in front of him.

Sera rested his head down, playing nearly silently at this point, as the guilt and regret poured in. He couldn't share in the condolences he wished to share because a murderer has no right to give his condolences to the dead he made that way. He wanted to explain the talks he and Tsubasa had, the ones at the Outskirts and about how he's trying his best to do what Tsubasa did best and make people happy. But that never happened. Haruto wouldn't listen to anything he had to say. His mind was bloodlusted with rage.

The battle ended with a critical finish, dishing out 3 damage to Sera and ending the fight abruptly, before Sera could even Breakride. He didn't need to though, now knowing even in the end it wouldn't have made a difference.

He scooped up his cards after Haruto exited with a flagrant expression on his face. Sera simply spoke the quiet, empty wind that was the confused and misunderstanding crowd, "Maybe one day you'll get to hear the good end to the story."

He left the field, with nothing more to do here. His only job now was the cheer on Haruka who was now advancing to Round 2, and watch Seifer's games as well. Gotta be the best cheerleader you can. Mizumi was in the stands too cheering for the 3rd section of the Triad, as well as the 2nd, Satoshi.

Match Results
Haruto Hayato vs Seraphim Nakahara
Winner: Haruto Hayato

------------------------------------

"We give you the first fight of Round 2 in the Chronicle's Eve tournament!"

The crowd was cheering louder than before, as the first fight of Round 2 started. The nature of this tournament was climb fast, because there really was no rest for the wicked in these times. Haruka spent in his 15 minutes of rest in the same room he left for Round 1, chomping on an ice cream bar and greeting Sera who was now just collecting his things.

"Ah, Haruka! Congratulations. I heard you're going up!"

"Thanks, thanks. You?"

"N-No I lost my fight. Haruto is really strong--"

Haruka's face dampened a bit in terms of mood. He could already tell what had happened.

"I see. Just... go wait in the stands okay? I should be knocked out rather soon anyways so we can go home and talk about it maybe?"

"No! You work hard to win, mister. Mizumi didn't leave the comfort of her stupid room for you to pack it up and leave. I mean, she's probably here for that Satoshi guy too though, but still..."

Haruka sighed a glad sigh, giving Sera a few pats on the head for his optimism, despite the depression that overcame him only moments ago.

"Fine, fine. I'll keep fighting."

Sera grinned a childish grin, hopping up and down like a cheerleader already. Haruka and Sera were more like a father and son pair than brothers sometimes. This was one of those times, obviously. With that, Haruka was called by a staff member to head to the fight platform in section 2A for his fight. He nodded, taking his last bite of sea salt ice cream and ditching the remaining stick in a trashcan by the corner of the hallway.

"Lambros, Thavas, on my heels."

"Aye, sir!"

The Aqua Force responded to Haruka's selective command. When you form a bond this tight with your units, they all want a piece of the winning image. Haruka had one in mind for this battle... with Raiden.

Upon entering the stage, he gave a wave to the now somewhat familiar crowd. The day was young and he was ready to roll out the watery carpet for his opponent. Raiden was also a familiar face, but significantly less so than Okuri. He had high hopes for this man in battle. He set his deck down, giving the casual greeting with a shake and a grin. Then....

the icy atmosphere set in. The units of the Aqua Force were at attention as they were ridden and called into battle. Lambros and Thavas came to Haruka's aid several times, hitting the board and being able to Legion twice in battle against the ferocious forces of the Rain Liberators, all archers with power-up effects when used correctly. Haruka prepared his hand with Lambros' ability to draw on-hit, and Milos getting the powers of Bubble Edge Dracokid and drawing a couple that way too. With a large enough defense, the offense would become more potent as he could afford to divulge in resources that way.

And so with a second Legion from Lambros, Milos powered up a second time, and came attached with a critical as he restood with 27000 Power with the aid of the Captain of the Aqua Force. Lambros and Thavas gave their allies hope, pushing them back into battle with even higher power to accelerate into combat.

Satisfied with Milos dishing out the last damage to Raiden, despite the Liberators attempt to superior call off of a Breakride Legion combo, it wasn't enough. The Aqua Force reigned victorious a second time, with Haruka promising a chance to fight again under a less populated pretense.

Match Results
Haruka Nakahara vs Raiden Mujo
Winner: Haruka Nakahara

Mitsuki spectated the amazing and heart throbbing games between every match. Not even for a second, was her eyes so intent staring at the screen and stage simultaneously to collect every information and strategy she can learn from. With national prodigies such as Aoi, Sakuya and Cero, such stage was a rare national phenomena. Unluckily for her brother, his first match was straight up against the Europe Champion, Cero and thus he lost. She was slightly embarassed as deep inside she cheered for her brother with all her might but despite this his opponent this time was exceptional. With Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion striking Jellal's Revenger, Raging Form Dragon and front rear guards constantly, gathering rear guards for offensive pushes was difficult, especially factoring in the natural self retiring ability of Raging Form. Perhaps he would've done better with Aqua Force, but then again front row retires would be even more devastating against it.

Thinking about Aqua Force, this one participant was exceptionally strong with that clan. She recalls Aoi using it proficiently but for someone no-named like him to strike with an array of attacks; Mitsuki took a particular liking to Haruka. Winning several rounds thanks to his MVP, Tidal Assault, he seemed to have known the clan in and out very well. Luckily she noticed his Reality Bangle and realised that he was on the Resistance. With someone great like him and Yukino, no wonder the Resistance could stand up against the mightly force behind this.

Yukino's game was particularly interesting compared to others sheerly due to the background of the tournament matchups. With the Resistance and opposing force blending in this one tournament, there was clearly rivalry going on between some of the members though some of the pairings were friendly sparring, some was serious as to determining the outcome of the world and Yukino's was one. With locks thrown out so cheaply, Yukino's valiant Alfred lost one of its most valuable asset which was the critical. With less than five rearguard, what it did was meer minimalistic powrr gain which combined with front row locks to render the rest of her allies useless. Mitsuki expected and predicted the outcome, believing that Yukino would lose however Thing Saver appeared in a pinch; stealing the outcome and winning her the game. With multiple high powered attacks from the vanguard, this card was the perfect outlet for Yukino. As expected of the Resistance's gallant leader, Mitsuki admires her a lot as her brother use to tell her many stories about this brave woman.

Soon she was getting a bit tired from sitting for an extended period of time so she decided to go to the rest room and buy some drinks which was when she noticed the resting area for the participants. She hastily entered the restricted area, using her last name which was identical to Jellal's to get through the security. At first she tried to find her brother but then a staff approached her. With herself being known as Kisaragi, there was no choice. "I'm looking for Yukino Espoir, do you happen to know where she is?" She questioned the staff member as he lead her to the destination. She was nervous but the staff was clearly as nervous seeing how he got lost a few times. What caught her attention was Haruka munching on ice cream as swiftly as he could, getting ready for the next match and so she approached her whilst dismissing the staff attendant who seemed to be clueless with directions. "Ah Mr. Haruka, your game was splendid and really well played. My name is Mitsuki Kisaragi, you may or may not know of my brother but he's also playing in this tournament although he lost, stupid brother. I'm here to ask if you have any idea where Ms. Yukino is as I have a matter I need to talk to her about. Its related to the Resistance. Is it possible for someone like me to join?" She questioned the mouthful guy and as soon as the word Resistance was mentioned, several people around the room gazed coldly directly at her. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to mention about such thing in shark infested waters but it was something she really needed to tell in order for him to lead the way to Yukino. What she really wanted to do was to ask Yukino about her brother but it is probably wiser to get to her good side moreover approach her so she deceived Haruka about joining just for the sake of pure benefit. She felt a bit bad for lying to her brother's comrade but there is no other way.

Rosalia took a deep breath, getting ready for the second round. She made it at least past one of the supposed drones in the first round, so what awaited for her next? A straight up *sshole. I mean, uh... Cero Kirguis, according to the brackets. A Narukami user. The pinkette already had a bad feeling about it from the start, but she tried to do her best. For having never met the guy though, he did a lot of insulting for no reason. He was obsessed with winning it seemed; victory was his only answer. Most of the game involved Rosalia attempting to manipulate her damage here and there, while guarding to keep up in damage count overall. But with trigger after trigger after trigger, perfect guards, and a front row sweeper every turn once Cero hit Limit Break-Legion, there just wasn't enough guard in the world that could save her.

She even had three perfect guards in hand to try and save herself from ultimate death, but she was just delaying the inevitable. For every perfect guard she had, Cero did as well. He protected his vanguard with ease to the female's feeble attacks before just annihilating her front row again and again. There really was no winning. Rosalia had maybe one or two chances to claim victory if she could pull even a single critical trigger, but none came when she had that opportunity. Her final drive checks were two Clumsy Celestial, Batreals. With only those two Grade Threes in her hand come the start of Cero's next turn, there was absolutely nothing she could do. As if to make it worse, he got a Critical Trigger, and even though Rosalia had all four Heal Triggers left in deck, not a single one appeared.

In the end, Cero merely called her a waste of time before leaving the fight area. Rosalia hesitated a moment longer as she gathered her cards up slowly, her lovely pink hair casting a shadow over her eyes. So was the first round against Mirai just a fluke? Maybe she wasn't a fighter after all. As she took her leave from the fight area, she avoided everyone's gaze as she wiped any tears that rolled down her cheeks...

Match Results
Rosalia Mooncrest vs Cero Kirguis
Winner: Cero Kirguis

Fubuki reached Yukino. Vengeance was in sight. Before the entire audience, Fubuki vowed to defeat the Resistance Leader. It didn't matter that she was a hero to others, to Fubuki, Yukino was no less evil than the monsters plaguing the world. The monsters that had invited her to join them.

Sadly, things did not go as planned. Fubuki lacked both Transcore and a way to rush her opponent to five damage within the first few turns of the game. Before she was ready, she was forced to use Tetra-Drive dragon just to try and keep up with the coming onslaught of Alfred XIV. However, her hand was mostly triggers, forcing her to commit cards that would normally be kept for guarding just to get the Limit Break. Even then, it wasn't enough to break through Yukino's defenses.

On the next turn, Yukino's Thing Saver Dragon appeared. Its power combined with the field she had assembled the previous turn forced almost all of Fubuki's cards out of her hand, just barely hanging on with five damage and two cards in her hand. Fubuki used the last remaining cards she held to try desperately to defeat Yukino that turn, but. . . . Her attacks failed to strike Yukino's weakened hand thanks to a trigger.

With no way to defend against the coming onslaught, Fubuki was defeated by Yukino. She had failed. Failed herself, failed Cyan, failed Aoi. Fubuki fell to her knees in tears, realizing how powerless she was. How little she could do. The object of her hatred said to aim her feelings of revenge against the monsters that plague this world.

"You're just as much of a monster as they are," Fubuki said, leaving the arena. A silent, raging anger was boiling up inside her. It was just about ready to burst.

Match Results
Kaiyo Fubuki vs Yukino Espoir
Winner: Yukino Espoir

Noel was excited. It was probably the fact that she is entering her first tournament that is being held in the city. It's honestly been quite a while since her last tournament. By some miracle, Noel was graced of being one of the lucky Round 1 byes. A free win is a win still right? No effort needed to make it to the second round of the tournament. Noel would of loved to fight Round 1 but oh well, at least she won't be one of the first half that gets knocked out. She gets to live long enough to observe who she will be fighting on her technical first round. "I hope I can win..." Noel said quietly to herself. This tournament is filled with some of the top fighters, including members of the Resistance, making this climb to the top a very hard one.

It was almost time for her fight as she saw the bracket. She was up against someone called Chrisaline Egao. I wonder who that is... not a fighter I seen before... The excited girl thought to herself. What kind of clan did her opponent use? How experienced is her opponent? There was one way to find out. It was time to go. She made her way into the stadium just to be mindblown by the hyped out audience with their loud roar of cheers and the energy they gave off. It honestly gave a reason to be extremely pumped up. Noel placed her starting Vanguard and shuffled her deck and waited for her opponent to do the same. Noel won the coin toss, giving her the first move to start off the round.

"Stand up! Vanguard!" Both fighters yelled and revealed their starting Vanguard. Noel's opponent revealed to be using Megacolony. Jewel Knights vs Megacolony. An interesting match-up. One side, the proud knights gather to do fierce attacks while the other stuns them and crippling their offense.

"This is gonna be a blaaaaaast!" Chrisaline yelled. Excited and pumped up as well. Most likely because of the hyped energy the audience is giving.

"I may have been lucky to make it to round two because of a bye... but... I will make sure that I can win this round to prove that I can do it without it!" Noel declared confident in her ability as well as her deck as she began her turn.

Her opponent replied, "Let's make sure you don't say bye to all your hopes and dreams too~." Noel was a little confused by what she meant but she didn't let it get to her as her opponent had a grin on her face.

"Megacolony... this is gonna be a pain.." Noel said a bit annoyed. "Sorry for.... bugging you" Chrisaline replied which interrupted Noel from riding grade one. "The pun..." Noel said truly annoyed, Chrisaline chuckled giving herself self praise for the pun.

"Sounds like someone I know... anyway, ride! Jewel Knight Sabermy! That's all for now!" After riding her grade one, Noel passed it on to see what Chrisaline will be able to do. After her opponent rode to grade one, Chrisaline drove check a swift critical hit giving Noel two damage. However, it wasn't just two damage, it was a double draw trigger. Even though she took two damage, her hand was ready for a counter. And for some reason, Chrisaline was making... bee noises? What.

The fight went on, Noel riding into a brand new Jewel Knight as well as calling another new addition. "I ride! Pure Wind Jewel Knight, Kymbelinus! And I call Swordmy and with his skill, I counterblast a Jewel Knight to call a grade one knight from my deck to the field! Come on out! Calling Jewel Knight, Christine!" After showing off some of her new allies, Noel countered back with a critical trigger of her own returning the two damage right back and plus one more given by Swordmy. The crowd went wild! This fight was already heating up!

Chrisaline couldn't do much for her grade two ride except for riding into Machining Red Soldier and a rear guard Machining Mosquito MK-II. Noel's opponent was having fun, who wouldn't? The match was already so heated with criticals flying around. Chrisaline's vanguard attack ending up Noel checking a heal trigger which managed to keep the score to two damage each. Now it was time for Noel's grade three ride. "Squash this bug into oblivion! Ride my broken soul! Broken Heart Jewel Knight, Ashlei Reverse!"

Her soul, the unit that represents Noel arrived. Turns passed and the fight kept the intensity and even random arguing about bugs and confusing units and their names ensued. Also, Megacolony slowly but progressively showing their power to stun units and keep them at a rest state. Noel's Jewel Knights weren't about to get hindered by such power, their ability to call new allies and replace the ones stunned revoked the work Megacolony tried to place. Their Machining legion appeared but so did Noel's. Prevail Jewel Knight, Yvain together with Jewel Knight, Swordmy was ready to launch several strong attacks. A legion attack strong enough to gain an extra critical and power which can decide the fight. Chrisaline showed she wasn't a push over though as she was able to hang on two of those attacks and stay in the fight long enough to activate her most powerful ability. The ability to even stun the Vanguard. A strong ability but with another grade three to ride over, it meant very little and that's what Noel did. She rode over the stunned legion pair with another Yvain and performed legion one more time. The proud knight even reformed her attack formation and replaced the stunned units with freshly new ones that were ready to end it.

At this point of the fight though, Chrisaline was at three damage while Noel was at five. Yvain's legion attack wouldn't end it unless Noel checked a critical trigger. And that was exactly what happened. That brought Chrisaline go straight from three to six damage, making this fight end in Noel's victory. The crowed roared as the fight ended, seeing such a power legion attack like Yvain hyped them all up. Both fighters receiving a round of applause for their efforts. But, there was one thing that troubled Noel, something that gave her room to be concerned and it was what Chrisaline said before she left the arena...

"As long as you have that evidence of Reverse, you're just an ant like the rest of us too! I'm expecting greaaat things from you! Buh bye!""

What did she mean by that... As Noel walked out of the arena, she looked at her Ashlei Reverse card. Will having this power lingering end up haunting her in the long run?

Noel Kusanagi vs Chrisaline Egao
Winner: Noel Kusanagi

Sakuya shut her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. Her fight with Aoi hadn't exactly been a long one... She had set up her deck's stack perfectly, even starting off her very first check with four criticals going to the bottom, practically sealing Aoi's fate- Many turns later. But as the hyperactive Chinese Champion would have it, Sakuya's visions of victory were simply too slow to keep up- The restanding power of Aqua Forces' bravest warriors quickly overwhelmed her, and brought the finishing blow faster than Sakuya could have predicted.

But for Sakuya... It was all in good fun. She had wanted to come at Aoi full force, with all of her strength... And Aoi returned those feelings with the same; Aoi was just the stronger of the two. Just as their first fight had ended, Sakuya was left at six damage before her stack came. The loss stung a bit, but Sakuya got over it within moments. She had a fun fight with her rival champion, and friend. It was a good time, something much needed after all the despair and sadness the past two weeks had brought. Even the whispers in her head had silenced entirely during the fight, though they returned once the fight was over. Just, quieter this time.

"I really can't keep up with your energy, Aoi... This game is yours."

---

Carlos... The guy who had sent Kachidoki crashing through a building's wall, way back during Gigaton's Descent. He was using an odd sort of Narukami deck... But a very potent one. Its power would remain sealed behind the gates of Limit Break for the majority of the fight, with Karin laying on the relentless assaults from the start with the Perdition forces, Sharyu leading the charge. Amidst all of Carlos' attempts to try and discern Karin's reasoning for leaving the Resistance and helping the Reapers, fighting against her friends, Karin decided the only way to get the message across was to simply say it straight. "If you aren't Yukino Espoir, you can't help me." Yes, Karin figured, it was definitely how it had to be. Yukino would be the only one capable of helping her... And even if that was possible wasn't certain to her. At the very least, by the end of the fight, she was able to- at least relatively- have fun with it. Carlos slammed down Armor Break Dragon over a Breakride, wiped her frontrow, powered up immensely, and to top it off, piled on TWO extra criticals. And if that wasn't enough, the damn thing even blocked Perfect Guards (which Karin held two of in her hand). If it weren't for the five triggers she had drawn and checked throughout the game, Karin would have lost in that instant, and suffered a brutal thrashing from the two critical triggers that came during Carlos' drive checks.

But, in the end, Karin was able to (just barely) guard against the huge attack, and with the Thunder Dragon having blown out all of its resources in one massive attack, Karin had a clear path to victory. Maybe she had made a friend, maybe she hadn't. At worst, she had gotten a fun time and a chance to be free of the constant war of the Reapers.

Match Results
Sakuya VS Aoi = Aoi wins
Karin VS Carlos = Karin wins

Darren watched the match between Fubuki and Yukino. It had almost been him fighting so he wanted to see the match with his own eyes. More importantly than that, he knew that something was weighing heavily on Fubuki's mind. As he watched the battle unfold, he began to remember more and more what Fubuki had within her heart. The Seeds of the Mad Queen Yukino and the Seeded Hero Seyer were still in his own heart and with the memories of Malice awakened, the memories within the Seeds came to him as well in fragments.

When he heard the name "Jelly" at the end, it came back to him. He remembered enough. She blamed Yukino for what happened, but she was looking to die. She wanted what happened... Did Fubuki know that? He knew that he would have to talk to her some time, but she would never listen. He clapped his hands at the end of the fight, looking at Fubuki. His eyes went purple and her murderous intent was clear. It probably would have been clear as day even without this power.

"Dimensional Robos or not... something's gotta be done there."

So it was finally Neo's turn in the tournament of the first round. He didnt really mind the big crowd and all the yelling of the noise and what not. His mindset was to win the whole thing, and prove to everyone that he can be depended on. Neo was still thinking in the back of his mind all of the letdowns and burdens from the past year when suddenly Bashiro walked up to his side of the fight table.

"Man where are all the girls around here?" He said

Neo then looked up and wasn't really sure of how to reply at first. He could tell Bashiro was relaxed and joking around. Neo drew his cards and the cardfight had began.

Neo had heard stories about Bashiro. Sure he was a goofball but when it came to cardfight he was as top notch as they come. It was a mirror match all the way around with both Bashiro and Neo using both Narukami and both using the Brawler Archtype.

So he uses both Narukami and Brawlers.. This should be interesting

The fight started out as any normal fight with both Neo and Bashiro showing off there strong passion by attacking with nothing but there Vanguards. Then Bashiro rode the ace of his deck which was a card Neo had never seen before but had heard about: Brawler, Big Bang Knuckle Buster!

So thats Knuckle Dragons evolution..

While Neo didnt know what to expect he was still ready for any challenge that came his way. So when his turn started he rode Big Bang Knuckle Dragon and legioned it with Slash Dragon and struck down Bashiro's front row. It would have pushed him to five damage but a heal trigger prevented that from happening. Then on the next turn Bashiro activated the Legion of Knuckle Buster and legioned it with Slash Buster and activated the Legion skill which required him to put Knuckle Dragon into the soul, which gave him a powerful skill and a Crossride for a 13k base. Bashiro then wiped out all of Neo's units and powered up his rearguards and knocked Neo around for 3 damage in one turn. Neo fought back as much as he could but too no avail. He was barely surviving the constant onslaught that is Bashiro's Brawlers. No matter how many times Neo did Knuckle Dragon's skill and powered up his own rears, Bashiro was always one step ahead. Then when Neo lowered Bashiro's hand to nothing, Bashiro was able to draw Knuckle Dragon to use Knuckle Buster's legion skill one last time.

His bond with Narukami and his deck.. its so strong

Neo couldnt guard the final onslaught and took his 6th damage and was Bashiro was moving on to the 2nd round.

"Dont worry kid, you did great and one day you will have this power just like me. Oh and do me a favor, look out for the ladies for me ok?" Bashiro said as he walked off.

Neo took his deck and walked back to the main lobby where he sat to wait for the next match. He looked through his deck and wondered why he couldnt win and seemed frustrated. After all of the "serious world endangering" cardfights he has gone through, it seemed Neo had lost something that is very important in the game of Vanguard..

He forgot how to have fun.. which is what this tournament was about..

Match Results
Neo Isamu vs Bashiro Hakaisha
Winner: Bashiro Hakaisha

Leaning back on a set of benches taking a few bites of ice cream before heading to the Round 3 event, Haruka was approached by an unfamiliar face. Maybe a fan of the tournament? Haruka wasn't particularly famous when it came to the area, nor the expectations of fighters so he assumed she was just looking for somebody else in the area, and he was sure right about that. Yukino, in fact was the target for this lady.

"Mmm...? Ah, thank you very much Mitsuki... Kisaragi? Oh, Jellal! Yeah, it's really been awhile since I've said much to him now that I think about it..."

Haruka scratched his chin at her inquiry.

"Yukino? She's probably relaxing right about now considering the circumstances. What's your name? If I see her I can probably take her to find you if you're interested in the Resistance..."

He turned back to his ice cream groggily, trying to fix his mind out a bit. After the pass couple fights, his brain was definitely fried after so long.

It was almost felt like fate that Seifer would fight Fuki in round one. Last time they'd fought, Seifer was using Kagero, and Fuki had bound his dragon to lure him toward Harbinger. This time however... That wouldn't be the case. Seifer honestly didn't care if he won or lost, just wanted to show that he wasn't someone to brush aside so easily like that. Shadow Paladin against Link Joker... Well, starting it off, Seifer was pushed to four rather quickly, but managed to get the ride into Mordred, and the following turn... into Dragruler Phantom, making mention of what he really looked like as the Elf transformed into the massive Abyss Dragon. Even with his front row locked, Seifer utilized limit break twice, exceeding fifty-one thousand power... But ultimately was perfect guarded. That's fine. He hopefully got his point across.

The fight continued to progress, with Seifer's front row pretty much locked for a majority, until neither player had counterblast to use... It turned into a brawl between Dragruler and Imaginary Plane Dragon. But at the end of it, even Mordred's evolution couldn't last against Imaginary Plane, and the sixth damage was dealt... Ending in Seifer's loss. He didn't sigh, didn't cry. Just smiled. He had a feeling this would be the end result, but that in itself was just fine. Gathering his cards, he gave a respectful nod, turning on his heel to walk away... then stopped. "...It may not matter to you what I say, especially as the loser. ...But you don't belong on that side." he kept his back to her as he spoke, only loud enough to be heard by Fuki, if she hadn't already left... Then proceeded to leave the stadium, his head held high, making his way into the stands to watch the rest of the fights...

Off in a corner, watching the matches was a quiet blackette, his hood pulled up over his head.

Seifer vs Fuki: Fuki Wins.

Beatrice's match with Jessie was one that was more with Lady Luck herself. And she was losing. First was the fact she had to skip a turn to get a turn to draw a Grade 2. Sure she could have used the g assist rule, but she herself felt it was too early to reveal her hand and use it. Fortunately, she drew the Grade 2 the next turn. A victory against Lady Luck. Eventually she was able to finally call her most strongest Vanguard. "Time to get messy! Let us serve the Master with all we got! Ride! Battle Sister, Jelly!!!" Since the start, Beatrice had been watching Jessie's reaction with her words. So far she could tell the 14 year old was heavily affected and unease with any feminine provocation. And with his outburst from before, she could only assume this brother of his was a huge pervert and had heavily impacted the boy with his perversion.

'His reactions makes him not the best candidate to handle my service but he also seem to need assistance with dealing with his brother's perversion.'

Even while she thought things through upon her examination of Jessie, the maid continued to play as if her mind did not stop her from playing strongly. Especially when she performed Legion and combined Jelly with her mate, Pudding. And she seemed to have made Jessie nerved with Jelly's draw power. However it seemed Jessie gained some spirit as he countered with a Break Ride. This caught Beatrice off guard. As far as she knew, Break Riding was, while not obsolete, rare to be used over Legions. At best the Legions were used after a Break Ride. Nevertheless, here was someone that used Break Ride and no Legion in sight. It was extremely powerful too. Not only did it have draw power but unlike Jelly's, he didn't need to use the cards he drew to set up the field as he simply revived the units that were retired for the cost of the Ancient Dragons. The power they unleashed forced her to use her hand. And even when Beatrice had a turn left to turn the tide, she was slightly shocked to know he could re-ride the Break Ride and redo the whole thing. Even when Beatrice tried to get a field out to end, the one downfall for Beatrice began to sink in. Lady Luck was as much a bitch as karma. Even with a Crit trigger, it was not enough compared to the defense Jessie now had in his hand. And to put more salt to her wound, when Jessie attacked, instead of sending the remaining of her units and hand to defend, she simply accepted the final hit. The odds, while not totally in her favor, should have been good enough to survive and gain a boost. Beatrice had realized throughout the battle, she had not seen, neither from Drive Check, Damage Check, or drawing any of her four Heal Triggers. She had only 13 cards left. 4 of them having to be her Heal Triggers. Yet as she damage check, Lady Luck pulled a surprise fuck you to her. She drew a trigger alright...but it was one of her Crit Trigger. It was the maid's loss.

"I congratulate you. It seems this tournament is far advanced for the skills I thought I had."

When Jessie had mentioned about meeting someone who would appreciate her, she already knew who he meant. "I don't serve perverts." And yet, a thought came to Beatrice. While Jessie showed he was not suitable to handle her for the rest of his and her life, she also didn't have a way of finding that person here as she was now out of the tournament....She also needed money and that meant work. Plus she was still mentally bothered by how the 14 year old was affected by his perverted brother based on his reactions to her words in the fight. "However, I wouldn't mind meeting the brother of the one that defeated me. I assume he was the one that taught you to cardfight?" It was only a guess but nevertheless she went with it to see how deep Jessie's bond was to this pervert. And the maid hoped to meet the pervert and see how much of a pervert he was and how much help Jessie needed to not fall in his brother's footstep.


Jessie vs Beatrice: Jessie Wins.

Rosalia spent a solid thirty minutes in one of the public stadium bathrooms, trying not to cry her eyes out. Sorry, but she is sensitive! Well, she never actually fought against anyone as rude at Cero before, even though she knew that the Reapers would be that much worse. Thinking about that always brought the memory of Mirai to the front of her mind. The first round of the tournament, and the pinkette had to fight someone who apparently knew her from another time? The second, she was insulted and never stood a chance of winning. But she would never blame her deck; it would forever be her own fault that she was a failure...

And yet, when Rosalia stared down at her deck, the little light remained. It was so close, but still so far away. Whatever it was, after the fights, she expected it to disappear. In actuality, the warmth she felt from it was that much stronger, even if she still had no idea what the heck it meant.

After collecting her emotions, the pinkette washed her face in the bathroom before heading about into the stadium area. If anything, she was thankful for the fact her eyes were naturally a crimson color to help hide the fact she was crying. Glancing at a board which kept track of the brackets, it seemed Seifer lost his fight, so why not go see him? They were both out of the tournament, and she desperately needed some comfort from her fiancé. It didn't take a terribly long time to find him. If it did, she may have started crying again...

No, bad. She wouldn't cry anymore. Rosalia took a deep breath, walked right up to her fiancé, and latched onto his arm. "G-guess we're both out, huh.." she said softly, eyes shut as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "How're you feeling?...

Seifer was almost knocked completely off balance by the pinkette latching onto his arm, though that she was safe at least brought a smile to his lips. Quietly he lead his fiance to a pair of empty chairs, sitting in one, while trying to skillfully navigate her into the one next to him. "I'm alright. Maybe tournaments aren't my thing. If you remember I failed in the last one I was in as well." he tried to make light of his own loss, joking about it to cheer the female still latched onto his arm about her's. However, he sat quietly with her, leaning his head against the pinkette's shutting his eyes. ...Honestly he was just glad to be back in her presence.

Rosalia really didn't know how to answer, even at the light joking. Truth be told, she just didn't remember the last tournament which Seifer was talking about. She just wanted to sleep for a while. The pinkette could always sleep, but this was different. "I fought Mirai, and won.. I lost to this guy named Cero.." she mumbled, not really sure if Seifer would have been watching her fights when he had his own to worry about.

She took a seat when guided, but didn't dare let go of the brunette's arm. It was like her lifeline, and if she let go, would he disappear like she had been doing? "When we can, can we go to a shop?... I wanna look at some new cards..." Well, that was a first, actively asking to change her deck. What to though? She didn't even know what her options were.

The moment was near... It was Carlos' first time in a real tournament. A big one. And in the land where Cardfight!! Vanguard was born! "Oh boy, this is going to be good!" He thought, preparing himself mentally with music. His opponent was... Karin Ouriel. "Karin! ... No, I don't know, huh, him or her. That name is really confusing". In the end, Karin turned out to be not just a girl but also the girl who helped Kachidoki when the he... 'Accidentally' sent him flying through a building. What a wonderful coincidence.

The cardfight started without problems. "Kagero vs Narukami - Dragon Empire's Finest" He thought. Carlos managed to learn more about the supposedly helper of the invaders - To summarize, she had secret reasons to help the Reapers and only Yukino Espoir could help her. Huh, interesting. He didn't care, anyway. If he could, he was going to help her.

Even though he managed to achieve the seemingly impossible feat of 5 Criticals in one Armor Break Dragon attack, Karin blocked the impressive move with enough Trigger Units to render it useless. The outcome was obvious at that point. Without resources to defend himself, Carlos lost to the Kagero user. He was actually holding his tears when he congratulated her on her victory. But hey, near the end of the fight she called him a friend. "She called me 'friend'... Sweet!" He thought, leaving to the entrance. "I might be able to help them after all!".

Match Results
Carlos Estevez vs Karin Ouriel
Winner - Karin Ouriel

---

To calm down and wait for the other matches, Carlos sat on a nearby table to watch the recordings of the battles he missed. He saw Okuri losing against Haruka, Jessie beating some kind maid, Bashiro beating Neo (Whom he met yesterday) and Cero, the guy who punched a Reaper and apparently the King of Europe, beating that Jellal guy that Haruka knew while using the legendary Narukami Unit 'Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion'. "*Squee*". Cero just got a new fan. "Wow, all of them did great. I'm kinda jealous now that I'm eliminated. I need to get stronger...".

He also saw Rosalia beating a girl that... Looked quite familiar. "Hey! Rosalia won! Long time no see her. I wonder if Seifer won his fight too...". Everything went downhill from there. Seifer faced the beautiful blonde girl. "F-Fuki..." He muttered after learning her name. She played the rumored clan whose unconfirmed existence led him to that country in the first place - Link Joker. He watched in silence how she defeated Seifer and his Shadow Paladin deck with the Lock ability used before by the Reapers. "So that's how Link Joker works... That's not so different from what the Reapers can do, actually. But still, that was...". He was pretty confused. "... I'll better watch other fights".

The next recording he came across was 'Haruto Hayato vs Seraphim Nakahara'. "Hey, Haruto Hayato is here! And he won! Against... Huh, Seraphim. Classic Sera and his classic false names" He could't believe that someone was seriously called 'Seraphim'. In his fight, Sera used Nubatama instead of his Link Joker deck. Both of them seemed to knew each other from before, so Carlos was expecting a normal match between old friends. He has never been so wrong.

He was aware of Sera's particular nature thanks to Haruka, but he wasn't prepared for the revelations that came next. "... I'm the one that killed your brother" Sera said to the young Haruto. Carlos was speechless. His friend, the one that carried him away from danger, the one that gave him money when he was practically homeless, and one of the first people to talk to him since he came to Japan... Killed Haruto's brother, Tsubasa. "... W-What?" He muttered. "This is a joke. This is a sick joke. A fucking sick joke...". That couldn't be real. Sera could be a little weird, make strange jokes at the worst occasions and even cross the boundaries of personal space... But being a killer? Everything was fine, everything but a killer. He couldn't ignore it because... He knew him. He considered him a friend.

Without watching the rest of the fight, Carlos went searching for Haruto. He could tell very well that he wasn't fine even though he managed to get to the second round. He eventually found him in the audience section, watching the current matches. He found his way and sat next to him. "Hey..." He said. "How's it going? Do you... Want to talk?".