The Tech Demo (Hideyoshi, Rin and Hikari)

Boy did the branch director know the best place to fight in the Star Gate branch. The smirk on his face at the eagerness of the two girls said it all. "Follow me, I have just the place." he said, trying hard to contain his own excitement. He proceeded to escort Rin and Hikari to an elevator that took them to a floor they could access the main spherical section of the building from. Staff were toiling away, setting up equipment still.

"Thank you everyone for your hard work." he said warmly as he passed by, even offering to assist workers at points. They seemed almost alarmed to see him there as some told the Branch Director he should go about his business while others told Sasaki-san that they could take care of the work without making him any busier than he was. The man hadn't introduced himself yet to either Hikari or Rin and thus these passing comments were left to help them realize they were in the company of the Star Gate Branch Director.

They came to a large entry way. Large double doors with an elaborate frame work and a design on the front of the doors that seemed to be a wormhole. "Welcome ladies, to the Star Gate." he said as he swung the doors wide open. They stepped into a room that at first glance seemed odd. It was well light with normal lighting and inside there were several floors. The weird part about it all is all of the floors were made of some clear material, like they were walking on big sheet of glass. Yet it was far sturdier than that. The walls of the sphere were all white. There were workers inside as well, continuing the seemingly endless process of setting up different electronic devices. Whatever could it all be for.

"Excuse me everyone, I know you're working very hard but I think you've earned a break while my guests have a fight." he said. Why would he dismiss all the workers? The three got to one of the many fight tables tables on this current floor with several others above and below them. Once they did so Hideyoshi raised a hand and with a dramatic snap the room went pitch black. But it was only for a moment, for not long after the walls lit up showing the night sky like none in the city had ever seen it, clear of smog and light pollution, illuminating every wondrous feature of the Milky Way. But that wasn't all, the cardfight tables seemed to spring to life as the edges began glowing a soft red color that then slowly shifted in a gradient into all shades of the rainbow as it went on. The surface of the table lit up as well to clearly outline the various zones and circles. When they set their decks down those too would light up a bright blue as if all sorts of lasers were either shining on them or from them.

"This is how we do it in Star Gate. Granted not everything's set up so you're missing the light shows that'll be going on later and we can't do much more than give you the static night sky for a backdrop. But I think it'll do nicely for now. But you'll be needing these." he said as he handed the girls each a clear fingerless glove. "Be sure to put it on whatever hand you hold your hand with or it might be a bit tricky." he informed them. While they were loose to put on they would find the gloves would tighten to a comfortable snug fit around their hands and whatever cards they held in it would light up both on the back so the opponent could see clearly how many cards were in their opponents hand and on the front so the player could see what they're doing.

"Whenever you're ready!" he called, excited to see the set-up in action and with at least one Nova Grappler player no less.

Hikari eagerly followed as Hideyoshi led them through the halls of Star Gate, excitedly glancing around at everything she saw. All the cool looking technology and statues of Nova Grappler and Dimension Police units had her completely in awe. "This place is so cool!" Hikari thought as she soaked everything in. The intense heat of the Dragon Empire was great for the hot-blooded battles Hikari loved, but this place was something else entirely. She felt that she could spend forever here just standing in awe of all the awesome designs. It was only a stray comment that reached her ears from one of the workers that took her attention away from her surroundings when she realized that the man they were following was the branch director here. She knew he looked familiar! He was another one of those guys on TV! And not only that, he was the Nova Grappler clan leader, too! "This is so cool!"

The director led them into a great, white dome, the sheer size of which struck Hikari. Once again, she'd never seen anything like it. She made her way over to the fight table, barely able to contain her excitement. When the lights went out, she was surprised for just a moment before the dome seemed to transform before her very eyes into a beautiful starry sky, more bright and clear than Hikari had ever witnessed before. Her eyes widened as she gazed around the dome, "So... cool!" she thought, pure amazement overcoming her as the fight table began to glow as well. Every little light and laser amazed Hikari more than the last, and she was utterly shocked to find out that this wasn't even the finished product. She could only hope to experience everything this place had in store once it was finished.

She eagerly slipped the fingerless glove over her left hand, surprised at how snug it actually was, then placed her deck on the table, to another shower of a light. She was almost giddy with excitement for this fight, but at the last moment, she remembered something. "Oh! Oh, oh, oh!" she fished her cellphone out of her pocket and handed it to Hideyoshi, "Can you try to get some really cool shots of this fight?" she requested, just barely managing to remember that she was technically here to do a quest. She then turned back to Rin and locked eyes with her, "You ready?"

As the man guided Hikari and Rin through the Star Gate Branch, with the heat of the moment now passed, Rin began to realize that their tour guide looked rather familiar.  The comments he made to the workers made it even clearer, this man was the Branch Director of Star Gate!  Rin wanted to say something but all she could do as she made this realization was panic and become even more embarrassed.  Her first in-person Cardfight was going to be in front of the Branch Director himself!  This really was a battle for the title of protagonist!  

When they reached the fight arena, the shut-in found herself more than a little overwhelmed at the spectacle of it all.  They even had the gloves!  As she placed her deck down on one of the tables and put on the glove, watching the system come to life filled Rin with glee.   Even if it wasn't completed yet, it was already an incredible spectacle.  Now, it was finally time for the fight to begin!

[i]"Protagonists are supposed to take initiative, right?"[/i] Rin thought to herself, resolving to take the first turn.  The battle opened fiercely, both fighters attacking with all the force they had and each healing in the early game.  From Hikari's first Stride turn, Rin felt she was being pushed to the edge.  But, she retaliated with everything she had and managed to just barely scrape through two Viktplasma turns in a row.  With only a few cards left in hand, Rin gambled everything on one last turn.  She called the last cards in her hand for a field of one Grade 2 and three triggers, and pushed with everything she had, and miraculously managed to pull out a victory.

"HWAAAAAA!"  Rin cheered as she won.  As the adrenaline left her system, Rin found herself completely and utterly exhausted, and fell backwards onto the floor, her eyes swirling.  "H-heh....  Is cardfighting supposed to be this exhausting?"

It was a close and intense battle from the start to the finish. Hikari's opening hand forced her to make suboptimal rides of Clay-Doll Mechanic and White Hank at Grade 1 and Grade 2, cards she'd much rather have put onto her read circles, but she had no other options. On turn 3, she rode Victor, and immediately started applying pressure with her first stride. She secured a strong lead early on, but Rin made a strong effort in pushing back against her. Hikari found her hand constantly depleting in order to keep up with Rin's constantly filling Rear-Guards, and she was never able to fully establish a board full of Rear-Guards to take advantage of Nova Grappler's restanding abilities.

The deciding moment for Hikari came when Viktplasma's second attack was blocked with a great wall that would require Hikari to check two triggers to surpass it. Her first check revealed a trigger, and she knew what she had to do. She gave the power to her Vanguard, putting all her faith in her ability to draw a second trigger, even though giving it to a rear-guard would have been safer. However, her second check revealed only disappointment, and both her Vanguard and her Rear Guard's attacks failed to go through.

With her shot at victory dashed, the remainder of a fight was a brutal back-and-forth as both fighters traded blows and blocked with everything they had, until Rin's final desperate assault finally overwhelmed Hikari's measly defenses.

Hikari was somewhat embarrassed to have lost after she showed of such bravado earlier, and especially since it was in front of the Nova Grappler clan leader himself. But she tried not to let it show, and instead went over and extended a hand to Rin to help her up. "That was an awesome game, Rin! You're really strong!" she said, grinning. Even though she was a bit embarrassed by her loss, she was happy to have had such an intense and exciting game. That was was Vanguard was about, she thought.

The Branch Director enthusiastically applauded at the conclusion of the girl's fight. He always enjoyed watching Nova Grappler games, but more generally he lived for the passion the two displayed during the fight. He had anxiously watched as Hikari bet the game on getting two triggers with the second Viktplasma attack, hoping the girl's spirit would be rewarded. He was admittedly sad to see it not come to pass but was still ultimately happy with the girl's efforts and with Rin's victory. With another dramatic snap the building returned to its formerly lighted state.

"Very well done, both of you!" he said, praising the game. He walked over to Rin to offer a hand to aid the girl to her feet again. "This is what the game's supposed to be all about. Two players putting their whole souls into the match. It was truly invigorating to watch and an excellent test of the room to boot." he said while nodding his head as if this had some greater purpose than to watch two of his young fighters.

"I hope the rest of the branch will share your enthusiasm. If you're this dedicated from the get go then I'm sure you'll do well in the upcoming Branch Events. I'll be watching your progress closely." he said while giving the room a quick look around. He waved the workers back in to resume their work with the rest of the installation before focusing back at the girls. While the fight had been great it was clear to him they were both young and inexperienced. That only made things all the more interesting as it meant they had more room to grow.

"And if either of you ever need anything, know that I'm always here for my fighters... well maybe not always here. I might be in one of the other branches fixing something or other from time to time but the point stands!" he declared.

Hideyoshi's praise in spite of Hikari's loss invigorated her. She was worried her loss with Nova Grappler would have disappointed the Clan Leader, but she could tell he understood her spirit and passion that was at the core of Nova Grappler. She nodded vigorously at his words, balling her fists up excitedly in front of her chest, "Yeah, you bet I'll be coming here a lot," she said, "This place is super awesome!" Hikari had a lot to be excited about. The upcoming Branch Events that Hideyoshi had mentioned particularly interested her. Her track record thus far hadn't been great, but she knew if she put in just a little more effort, she could make a great showing, and those events would be the perfect place to do so. And with Hideyoshi watching her progress, she knew she had to put on an extra good show, for the sake of Nova Grappler.

That was when something struck Hikari. An idea that was so obvious, but didn't occur to her until that very moment. She looked at Hideyoshi with a fierce determination, "Wait, wait, wait!" she said, "I'm inexperienced. A newbie. I need guidance. I need someone to help me to understand my deck, to connect with my units. You're the best Nova Grappler play there is, right? That's a title I one day want to claim for myself. And the only way that that would be possible is by learning from the best! Please, Hideyoshi-sama! Teach me the ways of Nova Grappler!" Hikari knew she was asking a lot. A branch director and a clan leader like him must be busy. Was it even possible for him to have time to tutor (read: babysit) a newbie like herself? But all she could do was hope that her passion got through to him. After her fight with Karin in the Dragon Empire, she felt she needed a mentor to point out her mistakes, and teach her what was important about Vanguard and about her clan.

Rin gave a weak thumbs-up from the floor in response to the compliments she received from Hikari and Yoshi along with a weak "Y-you too...  I think I need a nap..."  After dragging herself to her feet, Rin turned to start walking out of the room, satisfied she had managed to claim the title of protagonist in her mind.  However, as she neared the exit, she overheard the conversation going on between Hikari and the Director.  With a sudden burst of energy, Rin turned herself around and ran up to Hikari, pulled out a pen and post-it note, wrote down her cellphone number, and smacked it in to Hikari's forehead with a force so incredibly weak it didn't even have the potential to cause pain.

"D-d-d-don't think I'm going to fall behind you!" she forced herself to shout.  Rin absolutely wasn't going to let her spot of protagonist go, and getting overtaken.  "I'm definitely not going to lose to you!  Yeah!  Definitely!" she continued, mostly for her own budding self-confidence.  The first step in the NEET's new life had already been taken, and now she only had up to go.

"But first...  I...  really need a nap..."  And with that, she turned away again to return home and sleep for 12 hours.

Any other Branch Director might have been concerned at the amounts of energy these two girls were capable of putting out. But Hideyoshi loved every bit of it. He smiled warmly as the girl made her plea for him to teach her and almost laughed as Rin returned to give Hikari her phone number, declaring her intent to get stronger too.

"So you want a teacher..." he said, seemingly deep in thought. "Well we have to settle one thing from the get go. None of this Hideyoshi-sama business. It's Yoshi-sensei to you and everyone else here at Star Gate." he declared while a fire seemed to ignite inside him at the title.

"I don't know that I'll be super available until partway into the first wave of events but if you're serious about this then far be it from me to hold you back. I'll teach you everything I know and then some!" he said. He handed the girl a business card that had his information: name, office addresses and phones and email. It was worth nothing the man had two offices, one here in Star Gate as he was the Branch Director but another for his position in the Grand Sanctuary. Between the two locations one was bound to find him, probably punching someone silly in a cardfight.

Upon having a stick note lightly pasted to her forehead, Hikari could only stand there and blink, momentarily confused by what had just happened. After a moment, however, she recovered. "Yeah!" she shouted back, "That's the spirit! I'm not gonna lose to you either, Rin! Let's both give it our all!" It was only after Rin had already gone off that Hikari realized she hadn't given Rin her number in exchange. Oh well. She'd just text her later. Hikari was just happy that she seemed to have made a new friend.

She then turned back to Yoshi as he addressed her request for a teacher. Her eyes widened and her mouth spread into a huge grin at his agreement, "Yes, Yoshi-sensei!" she said, happily accepting his business card, "Thank you so much for accepting me! From now on, I promise I'll be the best student you've ever had!" With that, she left the branch, waving goodbye to Yoshi-sensei as she left.