I entered the music shop at the same time Kishou played the last note of the song.

It trailed faintly as the violin came to a slow and graceful halt, tying the melody together in a beautiful yet tragic falling crescendo.

"Seems like we've attracted some visitors, Kishou."

"...indeed we have, Kurosaki-san."

Standing besides the King was a woman who had long sangria purple hair and wore a pair of claret red sunglasses.

Words couldn't even begin to describe the insurmountable amount of pressure I felt coming from these two at this very moment.

Even though today was a blazing hot day, the moment I entered their vicinity, the atmosphere suddenly became ice cold.

Kishou got up from the piano stool and crossed his arms.

Not only was I meeting the King in the flesh for the first time, but I had also seemed to have accidentally run into the person Ken praised as his shishou.

This woman was none other than Kurosaki Ginko, the untouchable flower.

She put down her violin and stood beside the man nicknamed the "Storm King" fearlessly, almost equalling his incredible height despite being a 2nd Year.

If I had to hazard a guess on how tall they were, Kishou was around 190cm, while Kurosaki was around 175cm.

Regardless, I had to tilt my head upwards just to meet eye to eye with them, if I could even manage to do that.

I was awestruck as two legends of GEN Academy were standing right before me.

"So, you gonna purchase that piano or what?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"You've been unsure for about six months now. I know you can afford it, I've seen your monthly salary at this school."

"Please refrain from calling it a "salary". You might give the wrong impression to those two."

Breaking my awe was Kishou, who pointed in mine and Yukina's general direction. Kurosaki laughed slightly.

"Fu fu, and here I thought you didn't care what other people think about you."

"As a face of this school, of course I take a good deal of pride in my appearance. Isn't that statement more true for you?"

"Well, it's true that other people's evaluations don't matter to me. Even so, you're surprisingly lax with how you present yourself."

"You think so?"

"You let me tag along on this weird escapade of yours, so you tell me."

Kurosaki casually poked fun at the most powerful student at this school like it was nothing. I didn't know who to fear more between her and Kishou.

"You didn't have to come along. I already told you that I was simply checking out the music shop."

"More like checking out that piano. If you love it so much, why don't you get married to it already?"

"There's no law that allows people to marry musical instruments unfortunately."

"Pft— fu fu fu! I can't tell if you're being serious or sarcastic right now, it's hilarious!"

Kurosaki laughed strangely at Kishou's completely straightforward response.

"It's not a joke."

"Keep your piano fetish to yourself, I think you're the one giving strange ideas to those two over there."

Kurosaki glanced at me and Yukina, who were standing awkwardly at the entrance.

"Huh, hang on a second."

"Did you notice something?"

"Hmm... sort of."

As Kurosaki examined us up and down, Yukina backed off slightly and whispered to me.

"Yuu, I think we should go now..."

Even though Yukina wanted to withdraw from the situation, I knew I couldn't let this golden chance to properly meet the King slip by me.

"I'm staying. You can leave if you want."

I might've been a bit too loud with my voice, as Kurosaki quickly used this opportunity to involve herself in our conversation.

"Hey, don't feel like you need to leave just because the big scary King is here. The dude's surprisingly docile once you get to know him."

"Me? Docile...?"

Kishou began muttering to himself with a mildly concerned look on his face. I guess he was more fragile than I first imagined...

Rather than be concerned by the fact Kurosaki was indirectly blaming him for the reason we were so reluctant to step forward, Kishou was more preoccupied with how she described him.

"Mhm, like a cute little dove!"

Kurosaki crossed her hands together and fluttered them, mimicking the motion of a bird taking flight and zooming her hands over Kishou's head. Kishou ducked while nodding sagely.

"Doves are my favourite animal, so that's a fitting comparison."

Even though it was meant to be somewhat insulting, Kishou actually liked what Kurosaki said about him.

"Well, are you two just gonna stand there? Especially you, blondie in the grey shirt."

"Eh? Me...?"

I pointed to myself in confusion. I had no idea why Kurosaki called me out in specific.

"Yes, come closer, so I can see your face better."

"Why do you want to see my face?"

"Just come closer, blondie."

Rather than give me an explanation, Kurosaki leaned her body forward and squinted, ordering me with an authoritative tone.

"I thought your sunglasses were prescription?"

"They are, but I broke my pair last week, remember?"

"I don't."

"You have the worst memory. Anyways, I ordered a new pair, but they don't arrive until next week, which is a pain in the ass. That's why I'm using these regular ones with no prescription."

From the sounds of it, it seems Kurosaki had poor eyesight. Kishou took off his glasses and offered them to her.

"Do you want to borrow my pair then?"

"Please, your eyesight is ten times worse than mine. We might both be short-sighted, but I can actually still see things without glasses on. You're blind as a bat without them."

Kishou unfortunately nodded in agreement.

"The moment I took these off, I think I stopped seeing those two altogether."

I felt kind of bad that Kurosaki was straining her eyes trying to decipher my appearance, so I reluctantly stepped forward and closed the distance between us. Meanwhile, Yukina stayed back, not wanting to get closer to the imminent danger in front of us.

"Closer."

We were less than 40cm apart, and yet Kurosaki wanted me to close the gap even more. I took one large step forward and stopped, making the space between us roughly 30cm.

"Closer!"

This was starting to get a little unreasonable. I took a small step forward, bringing our distance closer to 25cm.

"Do you know what the meaning of closer is, blondie?"

"Isn't this too close...?"

"There's no such thing as too close."

As if to prove that to me, Kurosaki grabbed me by the arm and dragged me towards her. The distance between our faces was now less than 10cm apart. We were so close to each other, I could smell her sweet nectary perfume.

"Ah, I know now. You're Ken's little brother, Yuuto, right?"

Kurosaki happily let go of me, satisfied with what she found out. Kishou however seemed to raise an eyebrow.

I could start to see what she meant by Kishou being "docile". Though, rather than call him that, I think calling him "passive" would be more fitting. Kurosaki was far more proactive and talkative, while Kishou kept to himself and stayed observant.

"Yeah... I'm Takanori Yuuto, 1st Year E Class."

"Oh, guess I should've called you Takanori then. Sorry."

Kurosaki casually apologised before taking a seat on one of the stools in the shop and crossing her legs in a relaxed manner.

"It's fine. You must be Ken-nii's shishou then?"

"Fu fu, he's still calling me that? I've long stopped being his shishou ever since he became Joker."

"He attributes it to you, though. He says that, without your help, he doubts he'd be in that position today."

"Either he's being too humble or he's trying too hard to flatter me. Hm, I guess I could come out of retirement to teach that rascal one last lesson on how to tell the difference."

A sadistic grin emerged on Kurosaki's face.

"Please spare Ken-nii the trouble, he's actually a very sensitive person..."

"Oh, I know. Shiori was always chewing me out whenever I pushed him too hard. Tough love, I say."

Kurosaki shrugged. Then, she flicked her head towards Yukina.

"So, Takanori, who's boobzilla over there? Your girlfriend?"

"No, just a classmate. Wait, what do you even mean by...?"

"You know what I'm talking about. Oi Kishou, stop gawking at her tits!"

Kishou blinked, making Kurosaki laugh strangely again.

"Huh? I wasn't looking at anything."

"Please, all you guys are interested in are butts and boobs. Even Takanori's taking a sneaky peek at my cleavage."

Immediately, I shook my head no and looked away, making Kurosaki laugh. Kishou continued.

"I was admiring the piano."

"Oh right, forgot you're a piano-sexual. My bad."

"It's all good. Also, Takanori-san, stop doing that, that's gross."

Somehow, Kishou thought I was being lecherous towards Kurosaki and chided me for it.

"I wasn't looking."

I plainly denied the accusation, but Kishou didn't seem to believe me.

"Ah, it's fine, he's a growing boy, this is healthy for him. He can't help it if he's allured by the attractiveness of an older woman."

"Shouldn't you take some responsibility and wear less revealing clothing, then?"

"Eh? This is perfectly acceptable. I'm dressing lightly since it's so hot. I can't believe you're not sweating buckets underneath that thick trench coat."

"Actually, I feel quite cold. I'm even wearing a turtleneck underneath this."

"Fu fu fu fu fu! You're hilarious, Kishou!"

Kurosaki burst into her strange laughter once more.

I had to admit, these two had a very unusual chemistry with each other. Even though Kurosaki was making fun out of him, Kishou genuinely didn't seem to understand that, meaning he always replied to her with complete seriousness all the time.

"I am?"

Kurosaki coughed a little, recomposing herself after her laughing fit.

"Okay, maybe not that funny. But you're funny, yes."

"I'm not trying to be though..."

Kishou muttered to himself with a mildly concerned face again, revealing yet another one of his insecurities.

I guess he doesn't like being the butt of jokes, but considering he couldn't even understand Kurosaki's jokes, I doubt this will ever actually affect him in the long run.

"So, is she just gonna stand there, or?"

Kurosaki, fed up with Yukina's indecisiveness, turned to me to see if I could gage whether or not she'd join us.

"I'm not sure... I said that she could go home if she wanted to, but I guess she wants to stay."

"Maybe we came off a little too strong. Hey, boobzilla!"

Kurosaki called out to Yukina once more to encourage her to come over.

"We don't bite, y'know! Kishou's an air head, he won't hurt you! Maybe he'll steal a look at your tits, but you'll be fine!"

Yukina seemed more hesitant to come over than before after Kurosaki's bold invitation.

"I think she's reluctant to come over because of you..."

"Oh. Huh, I'm used to being hated by others, but I don't remember doing anything to piss her off, though..."

It seems Kurosaki had made a lot of enemies at her time in this school.

"Isn't "boobzilla" kind of insulting?"

"It's a compliment. All girls secretly want to have huge tits. It's like how all guys want to have big d—"

"Kurosaki-san, we're in public. Let's refrain from using that sort of language."

"Y'know what? You have a point for once, Kishou."

Before Kurosaki could say something vulgar, Kishou thankfully stopped her.

"All this dirty talk is making me thirsty. Either of you lads have a drink?"

"There's a vending machine not too far from here."

"That requires me getting up and walking over to it... and I'm melting like a popsicle over here!"

It was true, you could see Kurosaki visibly sweating as the summer heat got to her.

"So in other words, you're lazy?"

"Always have been."

Kurosaki also brazenly admitted she just couldn't be bothered to spare the effort.

"If you want to cool down, you should probably take off your cardigan."

"I would, but I know I'd probably end up forgetting it here if I do."

Kurosaki turned to me.

"Takanori, what about you? Got a drink?"

"All I have is this leftover coffee... it's lukewarm, though."

I showed her my cup of coffee that I failed to finish at the cafe.

"Good enough."

Without hesitation, Kurosaki snatched the cup from my hand and drank the rest of my coffee. As if it were a basketball, she chucked the empty cup into a bin that wasn't too far from where she was sitting.

"She shoots, and she scores! Also, yuck, why was that coffee so sweet? I'm going to need another drink after that just to wash it down."

"I put in three packets of sugar when there was about three fifths of the coffee left."

"Huh? You hate bitter things or something?"

"I think you need to be an adult to appreciate the bitter taste. As you put it, I'm still just a "growing boy", after all."

"Fu fu fu! At least you're self aware. Kishou, you could learn a thing or two from this kid."

Kurosaki laughed at my attempt of self deprecating humour.

"The only thing I've learnt from him is you dislike sweet coffee."

"Isn't that useful information, though? Next time, when you make everyone coffee in the council room, you can put less sugar in mine."

The moment Kurosaki mentioned the student council, Yukina shuffled a little closer to hear better. I was also interested, since I had no idea Kurosaki had ties to the student council.

"You've never once complained about the coffee I made before though."

"I mean, I'll eat or drink just about anything. Doesn't mean I don't have preferences, though."

"I see... in that case, what's your preferred way of drinking coffee?"

"Ah? I'm not telling. Figure it out for yourself."

"...sorry?"

Kurosaki smugly crossed her arms while Kishou looked confused.

"You heard what I said. Besides, knowing you, you'd end up losing hairs over it. I don't want to see you go bald before you graduate."

"What do you mean by that? Also, hair loss isn't common in my family, I'll be fine."

"As in, you'd stress out over it, even though it's not important? You try to be sneaky with it, but I know that you make coffee for everyone according to their tastes. For example, you make Ichinose's with three parts milk, since she prefers diluted coffee."

"When did you...?"

"You're pretty bad at sneaking around a kitchenette, so I've seen you do some janky stuff by the coffee machine. Anyways, it seems like a pain in the ass remembering how everyone likes their bean water, so I don't want to add to that burden."

"I'm just trying to be hospitable, that's all. I appreciate everyone's input on the council, so I thought it's the least I could do."

"I'm also trying to be hospitable by saving your hair. It's already turning white around the tips."

Kurosaki got up and played with the ends of Kishou's bangs. Certainly, getting up close, you could see his black hair was starting to turn white.

"You take really bad care of your hair, damn... we're gonna have to visit a saloon after this and get you proper treatment."

"Please cut that out. You're starting to act like my mom."

"Fu fu fu fu fu!"

Kurosaki laughed strangely at Kishou's blunt comparison.

"And that's a bad thing?"

"Yes, I can take care of myself. I don't like overbearing people."

"Ah, stop trying to look cool in front of the kouhai. They obviously couldn't care less."

She says that, but Yukina had naturally moved closer to us as their talk about the student council continued.

"It's not about that. It's just, there's no need to visit a saloon, since things like my hair aren't of concern to me."

"You sound embarrassed. Do you want me to get rid of those two so you can tell me how you really feel?"

Kurosaki quickly whispered to Kishou.

"Please, my hair is on the line here, I don't want to start buying dye at the age of eighteen."

Kishou whispered back a ridiculous sounding statement.

However, hearing this made me realise something. Even though he was regarded as the legendary Storm King, past all that mystique and status, he just was a regular person deep down.

He had his own worries and his own troubles, even if it was something as mundane as his hair turning white from stress. When I looked at it this way, I suddenly felt a lot less scared of him.

"Oi, Takanori, boobzilla! Can you two do me a favour and pop to the vending machine outside and get me a drink? I'll pay you back!"

To get rid of us, Kurosaki made me and Yukina run an errand. Since I wanted to hear Yukina's opinion on these two, I agreed to her request.

"Sure thing. What do you want?"

"Coke."

Without hesitation, Kurosaki answered. I guess she preferred soda to tea.

"C'mon Yukina, let's go."

"Oh... alright."

We left the music shop and headed towards the vending machine. Once there, I scanned my phone and ordered a bottle of coke for Kurosaki.

"What do you think about those two, then?"

"They're surprisingly eccentric. I honestly didn't expect either them to be like this."

"Neither did I."

"To think that's the sort of people Itteki-nii are running against..."

Yukina laughed a little.

"Well, I guess he's a bit crazy too, so I should've expected it."

"I noticed that you seemed more inclined to join when they talked about the student council."

"Ah, well... if Itteki-nii won the election, I thought of maybe joining it. That, and..."

Yukina pulled out her phone and showed me Kurosaki's account on the school app.

"She's... the Vice President."

I took out the coke from the vending machine.

"...that'd explain why she was with him."

I found it strange that Kurosaki, who seemingly had no ties with the King, was casually hanging out with him. This connection, that I hadn't seen before, succinctly explained their relationship to one another, as Kishou was also the student council president.

"To be honest, that entire time, I just wanted to run away... the pressure they exerted was suffocating. It felt like my chest was being crushed..."

Yukina expressed her feeling of discomfort being around two of the most powerful students in GEN. Frankly, I don't blame her. Even now, I was trembling slightly after this chance encounter with Kishou and Kurosaki.

"I have no idea how you even managed to stand there and talk with them... wasn't it scary?"

"Of course it was."

"Then why did you stay? We should've left and gotten out of their hair after they finished playing that song."

"It's not everyday you meet the King. I just... wanted to see what kind of man he was for myself. Like I said before, if you want to leave, that's fine with me. I don't want to drag you into something you're uncomfortable with."

"But... what if something bad happens? There's no telling what those two could do to you... and I..."

I scanned my phone on the vending machine and bought a can of tomato juice. Taking it out, I handed it to Yukina.

"I know that you're worried from the last time I went alone into D Class, but this time, I can guarantee that I'll come out unscathed."

Yukina accepted the tomato juice with wide eyes.

"Yuu... you remembered what my favourite drink was."

"We're partners, of course I would. Put a little more faith in me."

"I have! I just didn't expect this..."

Yukina pouted slightly.

"But... thank you."

"If you're thinking of going home now, you should probably hurry. It's going to rain soon."

I pointed up to the clouds that were starting to turn grey.

"Ah... right, I should get going. I'll see you at school then. Please stay safe."

"I will, don't worry. See you."

And with that, me and Yukina went our separate ways. I went back to the music shop while she went to the station.

"Welcome back, Takanori! I see you got my drink. Just toss it over here."

Kurosaki greeted my return by beckoning me over with her free hand.

"Are you sure? This is a glass bottle and I'm not a good pitcher."

"I'm an outstanding catcher, so it'll be fine."

It felt really unsafe to do this, but since it was at her request...

"Here."

I gently threw the bottle over to Kurosaki. She leaned forward and caught it with ease. I guess she was also the athletic type, considering how fast her reflexes were.

"Sweet! Thanks."

Kurosaki casually popped open the bottle and started to chug the coke. Taking out her phone, she made a point transfer to me as payment.

"That should cover it, yeah?"

I checked my phone for the transaction. Kurosaki had given me 5,000 Pr, more than ten times the amount the drink actually costed me to buy.

"...this is way too much. You know how much one coke costs, right?"

"I'm also paying for labour costs. I'm no slave driver."

"I don't think labour costs are this expensive..."

"Then think of it as a tip."

"We're not in America."

"Seriously, I've never seen someone complain about free money before."

Kurosaki sighed, before burping loudly.

"Fu fu, excuse me. That really hit the spot!"

"...ah, whatever."

I was going to argue back and try to give back the excess points she gave me, but Kurosaki was right. Free money was free money. I shouldn't be making such a fuss over it. Plus, she was in A Class, so I guess she can afford to splurge a little.

"And earlier you were accusing me of trying to look cool in front of the kouhai."

Now it was Kishou's turn to poke fun at her.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"5k is a generous amount to give away for someone supposedly tight on points this month."

Even though Kurosaki was usually snappy with her comebacks, she stiffened up a little when Kishou brought up her financial situation.

"Fu fu. I guess even sticks in the mud can be cheeky once in awhile."

However, Kurosaki wasn't mad at all. She simply laughed, seemingly impressed by Kishou's dry attempt at humour. Since I had a confused look on my face, Kurosaki decided to explain to me what Kishou meant.

"Basically, I'm the type to spend whatever I have, so I'm always short of money."

"Or maybe it's because you're too much of carefree person."

"Fu fu, that's also true."

Kurosaki nodded in agreement with Kishou's take on the matter.

"Carefree? Really?"

Since I was interested in Kishou's opinion of Kurosaki, I pretended not to understand to get him to elaborate.

"Yeah. That's the kind of person Kurosaki-san is. She does things for her own amusement. If you take all her words and actions seriously, you'd be wasting your time."

"Awww, don't praise me like that, I'm getting embarrassed!"

Hearing this blunt opinion about her, Kurosaki laughed boldly, like she was being complimented.

"It's true, isn't it? I don't think it's a necessarily bad thing to be so easygoing, but others might disagree."

"Fu fu, plenty of people hate me for it. It's very entertaining, which is great, since I hate being bored."

"This is why you don't have a single friend."

"Being a loner has it's perks."

I guess that was one thing me and Kurosaki have in common.

"I'm just being myself no matter what. It sounds easy, but it's surprisingly hard to do. But that's enough about me."

Kurosaki sharply turned her attention towards me.

"Takanori, what are you still doing here anyways? I noticed that your friend boobzilla didn't come back with you."

"She went home. Of course, I came back to give you your drink."

"Right, but after doing that, you don't have any obligation to stick around. You could've left and gone home with her. That must mean you want something from us, right?"

As if giving me a peek into her ability, Kurosaki correctly deduced the reason why I was still here.

"Yeah. I didn't know when it would be a good time to bring it up, so I was waiting for a chance to ask."

"Well aren't you patient? If it were me, I'd barge in loudly and declare what I want, even if it meant interrupting the flow of things. Now I feel kind of bad for talking so much."

"I think you've said more words than me and him combined."

Even though Kishou meant it seriously, Kurosaki took it as a joke per usual and laughed strangely.

"Well, here's your chance Takanori. What do you want?"

Suddenly, an immense amount of pressure fell on top of me to say three words. It was a simple request, but I couldn't spit it out easily. It was like the gravity of the situation only hit me now.

Before, I wasn't involved in their conversation, so I was merely an outsider looking in, and could distance myself from their shenanigans. Now that I was being dragged in, I finally understood what Yukina meant by the pressure they exuded.

It really did feel like my chest was being crushed by them. It felt like my lungs were being choked, and that I was being suffocated from the inside.

I genuinely didn't know what to do now.

However, I instinctively knew that I couldn't let this chance Kurosaki gave me go to waste. My surroundings became a white blur as I took a step forward.

"Kishou-sama."

The only person I could see in front of me right now was him.

"Can we fight?"

Kishou nodded.

"Sure thing."

He also stepped forward, fully closing the space between us.

"Woah, you two are gonna throw hands?! Let me record!"

Immediately, Kurosaki got the wrong idea and took out her phone. While this is pretty irrelevant, she tried to record us in landscape mode, rather than portrait mode, which I appreciated as someone who disliked vertical videos.

"No, we're going to—"

And to my surprise, Kishou misunderstood me as well. He unfastened the straps on his trench coat, unbuttoned the clips holding the hems together, and took off his jacket, revealing that he really was wearing a black turtleneck jumper underneath that massive coat.

"Which of the arts are you trained in?"

Kishou asked me that while getting into a guts fighting stance.

Now that he wasn't held back by his trench coat anymore, his movements became significantly more nimble. It was like when a character in a shounen anime gets serious by removing the weights they put on themselves to arbitrarily hold them back.

Of course, I was confused by his actions, since this wasn't the type of fight I meant. Though, at this rate, I honestly couldn't tell whether or not he and Kurosaki were trolling me right now, or if he was taking everything at face value, as usual.

"Uh... when I said fight, I meant... in Vanguard."

I took out my deck and showed him it. Kishou had a look of disappointment in his face.

"...this makes a lot more sense now."

"Fu fu, you were actually excited at the thought of beating an underclassmen two years younger than you up, that's hilarious!"

"It's not everyday I get someone requesting to fight me in hand to hand combat, so I thought it'd be a nice change of pace as I'd get to show off my skills a little. In comparison, I get a request to cardfight nearly everyday however."

Kishou started to put on his jacket again. It looked very complicated to put back together, as he needed to fasten up a lot of loose and moving parts, but I guess that was the fashion of the elite for you.

"The downside of being a King. Everyone wants to beat you to improve their rep."

It made me wonder if Kurosaki had beaten the King in a cardfight before.

"What can you do but accept though? It'd be rude of me to decline, since I have no reason to turn down someone earnestly asking for a duel. As a sign of respect towards the resolve needed to even ask me this daunting question in the first place, the least I can do is follow through with that request."

"You're as courteous as ever. Well, if you two are fighting it out with cards, in that case..."

Kurosaki got up and plugged in one of the display microphones into a display speaker. She tapped on the mic a few times to check if it was working.

"Testing, testing, one, two, three..."

After confirming it was working, Kurosaki smirked.

"Alright! I'll be your commentator then!"

She cheerfully yelled into the microphone, deafening both me and Kishou.

"Is that really necessary?"

Kishou cleaned his ear out with his pinky finger before taking out his deck from his trench coat pocket.

"It's either that or recording the fight, and I think I know where this is headed."

"True. There's no point in recording something you already know the outcome of."

These two lines from Kishou and Kurosaki gently reminded me that, while they could be friendly, they were ultimately also my enemies at this school. Kurosaki waived me off entirely, while Kishou arrogantly predicted he'd win.

Although, what he said also reminded me that the gap in our status was more than enough to justify their predictions. I was the deemed as the worst student, while he was deemed as the best student. So in that aspect, I wanted to prove them wrong.

Either because the rain was approaching, or because I was about to fight the King of GEN Academy, the atmosphere in this room became the coldest it's ever been.

"Before we begin, I'd like to ask you a question, Takanori-san."

Kishou closed the top of the piano, running his finger along the smooth jet black surface.

"What is it?"

"Why do you want to fight me?"

I raised an eyebrow.

Why was Kishou asking me about this? Surely this was a no brainer. I wanted to fight him because—

Just as I was about to answer, I suddenly stopped.

There was no singular reason as to why I wanted to fight the King of GEN. In fact, there were multiple reasons.

From something as selfish as "I want to see if I can beat the King", to something as humble as "I want to see how my strength is compared to yours", there were lots of different ways I could've answered him.

But I didn't want to give him a half-hearted answer. That would leave a poor impression of me as a person.

I wanted to give Kishou an answer that would satisfy both him and me. I had to tell him the number one reason why I wanted to fight him.

My mouth started to move again.

"With my strongest, I want to beat your strongest."

"That's a good reason."

Kishou shook my hand firmly, maintaining eye contact with me the entire time.

I flinched, not expecting his hand to be this freezing cold. He wasn't joking when he said he didn't feel hot while wearing that trench coat and turtleneck. If anything, he needed gloves as well. I was almost convinced that his internal body temperature was somehow absolute zero, just from his touch alone.

Not only that, but his grip on my hand was much stronger than I anticipated. I had expected him to have a firm handshake, but I never once imagined it would be at this strength. He only squeezed down a little bit, but it felt like he was crushing all the bones in my hand at once. In all honesty, this handshake hurt me.

As the shock of Kishou's handshake settled in my body, all I could think about was one thing.

How could one man be so cool?

"Just so you're aware, since you're fighting the King, you only have to deal him five damage to win."

Bringing me back to my senses was Kurosaki, who explained that Kishou had a handicap in this fight because of his status as Royalty.

"Can I object to it?"

"You can, but I wouldn't recommend it."

Even Kurosaki thought I needed all the help I could get. I knew the gap between our abilities was wide, but I didn't think it was that wide. That's why my first instinct was to reject it, but before I could, my mind cast me back to my entrance exam where I fought Mikazuchi-sensei.

Back then, I said something similar thing to him about not needing a handicap, only to embarrassingly lose the fight. And because I did, I ended up in the position I was currently in right now. Remembering that, I decided it was better to accept it begrudgingly than make a fool out of myself.

I wasn't happy with it, but I learnt my lesson from last time. I felt a bit of self-satisfaction knowing I had improved a little bit since then.

"If it's alright with you, we can play on the piano."

"That's fine with me."

We both put our decks down on the piano top. Kishou sat down on the piano stool. Kurosaki, noticing I didn't have a place to sit down on, got up from her stool and offered it to me.

"Here, you're gonna need this."

"Oh... thanks."

I gratefully accepted her seat and sat down on it. It was a little warm still, but that was to be expected, since Kurosaki was sitting on it only moments earlier.

"Are you ready?"

I blinked, and Kishou was all set up. Taking a look at my opening hand, a sense of dread slowly grew over me.

Maybe this was a mistake after all...

"...I'm ready as I'll ever be, I think."

"Alright, alright, alright!"

Before we could start the fight, Kurosaki barged in and started shouting into the microphone.

"The fight of the century is about to begin! In the blue corner, we have the man who has conquered the school, the man who takes almost everything literally, and the man who can't decide on whether or not he wants to buy that piano, it's Kishou Arashiiiiiiii!"

Kurosaki dramatically pointed at Kishou, who simply clapped (albeit dryly) to go along with her performance.

"And in the red corner, we have the challenger, the rookie, the fresh faced new kid on the block who's looking to take down the King at his own game, it's Takanori Yuutoooooooo!"

No... challenging him wasn't a mistake. This was the right decision.

For some reason, I was sucked into clapping as well. It was like her words had power over me.

"I'm your host, judge, and referee for tonight, Kurosaki Ginko, and I'll be providing occasional commentary! And maybe rulings, if one of you two cheat! I want a clean, fair fight, okay?! Swear on your dignity as cardfighters right now that you won't play dirty!"

"I swear on my dignity as a cardfighter that I won't play dirty."

Even though she was making fun out of us, Kishou actually swore an oath without hesitation or questioning it. Kurosaki, who looked like she was about to burst with laughter, kept her composure and turned to me.

"C'mon Takanori, you too!"

"Is this really necessary...?"

"Are you thinking about cheating? I won't scold you if you were, fighting the King on fair grounds sounds like a bad idea."

"No, I want a fair fight with him as well. It's just... saying those words is a bit... embarrassing, don't you think?"

"Nonsense. You can't feel embarrassed if you throw away your care for what other people think about you. I mean, that's what I did, and look at me, I turned out just fine."

Even though she was joking around earlier, Kurosaki actually offered me some legitimately good advice as someone who had more life experience than me.

"So go on, say it! We won't start the match until we do."

"We won't?"

"You don't get a say in this Kishou. Let me, the organiser, handle it."

"But I thought you were the announcer, judge, and referee?"

"I can multi-task another role no problem!"

I sighed, eventually giving in to Kurosaki's whims.

"I swear... on my dignity as a cardfighter... that I won't play dirty..."

While it was painful to say without cringing, I did get claps of approval from both Kishou and Kurosaki. I wasn't sure if they were mocking me or congratulating me.

"Alright, now that both players have pledged, we can start the fight for real! This is Kishou versus Takanori, the real life underdog versus the nightmare, and the modern day David versus Goliath! This is a once-in-a-blue-moon-chance-encounter fight that you definitely don't want to miss! Now everybody, shout it out loud with me—!"

"Stand up, (the!) Vanguard!"

Kurosaki tossed the microphone into the air and caught it swiftly, before powerfully yelling into it.

"Fight!"

At that moment, both me and Kishou flipped our starters face up.

"Harbinger Dracokid."

"Promising Knight, David!"

I don't feel like I can lose this battle.

"What's this?! I didn't actually expect one of you to have a unit named David when I made that comparison! Based on the information Ken told me, I was expecting a Narukami mirror match, but instead, it's a fight between Narukami and Shadow Paladin! Going live to Takanori for comment! Tell me, when did you change clans?"

Kurosaki put the microphone in front of me.

"When an important senpai in my life gave me a card that I didn't know I needed, but don't deserve. Not yet at least."

"How edgy! Going live to Kishou for comment! What's your opinion on this change? Are you surprised?"

"No. I'll still be giving it my all in this fight, regardless of what deck my opponent uses."

I felt the same way.

That's why I chose to debut my brand new deck that I created out of the fragments of all my failures here.

"What a cool response! I can't wait to see how this plays out, fu fu!"

I wanted to have no regrets fighting the King, which meant that I was going to have to go all out.

This was my revolt.

"Good luck and have fun, Takanori-san."

"You too, Kishou-sama."

"Since Takanori's the one challenging the King, he gets to go first!"

As one third judge of this fight, Kurosaki also decided on our behalf who would start the game.

"With pleasure. Stand and draw!"

The moment I picked up that card, I felt a rush of adrenaline spike my body, numbing my fears, and letting me go all in without hesitation.

Standing before me was a foe unlike any other that I've faced before. When up against a man of authority like Kishou, I couldn't underestimate his power for even a second.

If I did, it'd be game over.

"I ride, Cherishing Knight, Branwen! Branwen's skill, I look at the top five cards of my deck and add a grade 3 from among them to hand. I add Claret Sword Dragon!"

I revealed to Kishou my true avatar.

"I discard a card since I added."

Since Claret's skill needed to bind seven grade 1 cards in my drop zone as part of his cost, I pitched Rimmon as she was a grade 1.

"David's skill, I draw a card!"

Luckily, I top-decked the card I was missing. I immediately slammed down the card I just drew from David's skill onto the field.

"I call Skull Witch, Nemain! Nemain's skill, I rest her and search my deck for a card with 5000 Power and call it to rear-guard! I call Dumphood Dragon!"

Without Nemain, I couldn't call Dumphood, since he was a grade 2. That's why she was so important to get on turn 1.

"Dumphood's skill, I soulblast and retire him to add a Blaster Dark from my deck to my hand!"

And the reason I needed to call Dumphood was to secure my grade 2 ride for next turn. This was because, in this deck, I only ran two grade 2 cards in total.

1 copy of Dumphood Dragon and 1 copy of Blaster Dark.

The remaining cards of my deck, except for Claret and the triggers, were all grade 1s. By filtering out the unwanted grades, I could guarantee that all my mills would be useful in working towards getting seven grade 1 cards in the drop zone.

"Turn end!"

Yuuto:
Hand: 6
Damage: 0
Ritual: 1
OXO
OOX

Kishou:
Hand: 5
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

"After a very eventful first turn from Takanori, where he managed to secure both his grade 2 and grade 3 rides for the rest of the game, how will Kishou respond to the young challenger's tenacity?!"

"Stand and draw. I ride Chain-bolt. Chain-bolt's skill, I check top seven and add Vanquisher from among them to my hand."

As if mirroring me, Kishou revealed his avatar as well.

"I draw and get a Quick Shield. I call Phoenix."

Knowing this was the King, I expected him to call down at least two rear-guards to turn off Blaster Dark's skill, but to my surprise, he only called one. That must mean he's planning to damage deny me so I can't retire it.

"Boosted by Phoenix, Chain-bolt attacks. (8000 > 16000)"

Then, even more puzzlingly, he attacked me. I didn't understand the purpose of these plays, since they were just goading me into retiring his rear-guard to get Blaster Dark's Twin Drive.

Not to mention, as a former Narukami player, I knew there were more efficient ways of getting copies of Phoenix into the drop zone. If that was the end goal of this play, then it was an extremely convoluted way of doing so.

"No guard!"

"Drive check. (Rockclimb Dragoon)"

"Damage check! (Blue Espada Dragon)"

When I put that card into the damage zone, it felt like I was being zapped by a tiny spark.

Then, an ethereal feeling enveloped my body, like I had left this world.

For a split second, or even less than that, I saw something.

It was brief, but I could faintly make out a figure of a man in white.

"And there it is, first blood has been drawn! Kishou lands the first hit in this fight!"

Kurosaki's running commentary brought me back to my senses.

I looked at Kishou to see if he experienced the same thing I did.

"Turn end."

However, considering how calm he looked right now, I doubted it.

What was that feeling?

Yuuto:
Hand: 6
Damage: 1
Ritual: 1
OXO
OOX

Kishou:
Hand: 8
Damage: 0
OXO
OXO

I shook off what I just saw and started my turn.

"Stand and draw! Glorification is only fitting for those in the light. Arise from the abyss, and ride! Blaster Dark!"

"Blaster Dark's skill! I counterblast, and you choose one of your rear-guards, and retire it!"

"I retire Phoenix."

"Now, since you have no rear-guards, I discard a card to give Blaster Dark drive +1! And since I discarded Awalgin, his skill activates! When he's discarded, I look at the top three cards of my deck and put one card from among them to the drop zone! I put Nemain into my drop zone, and the rest go on the bottom of my deck in any order! Nemain's skill, I rest her and superior call—"

Just as I was about to call Abyssal Owl, I realised something. I had used my only counterblast on Blaster Dark's skill, and since I was a grade higher than his vanguard, I couldn't pay for Owl's skill using the alternative cost of soulblast 1.

So the reason Kishou had played so awkwardly last turn was because he predicted this line of play from me. He wanted to see which I valued more: the filter from the Twin Drive or the raw card advantage, based on where I used the counterblast. It was a test to gain further insight into my character.

His poker face was unbelievably good. I couldn't get a read on him at all.

"I superior call, Strict Order Knight, Lluails!"

Luckily, I played multiple 5000 Power targets, so I pivoted accordingly. Even though I chose the path that was opened up to me by Kaido, I still managed to take inspiration for this deck from the path Itteki opened up to me.

In our fight, he showed me the strength of Lluails and what multiple of them could do. That's why I wanted to rush Kishou, in the spirit of Luard, but I was also wary of the fact Narukami could easily bind my board, so I decided it was better to conserve my units and save them for later.

"Boosted by Lluails, Blaster Dark attacks! (10000 > 15000/2d) Crossing Diablo!"

"No guard."

"Twin Drive! (Belial Owl) Critical trigger! All to Dark! (15000 > 25000/1 > 2/2d) (Darkside Trumpeter) Critical trigger! All to Dark! (25000 > 35000/2 > 3/2d)"

"Woah, woah, woah! What's this?! Takanori uses his rookie luck and sacks two crits out of nowhere!"

Thanks to all my aggressive filtering, my chances of getting triggers were significantly increased. This, combined with Blaster Dark's Twin Drive, paid off massively in the form of a double critical.

"Damage checks. (Mighty Bolt Dragoon, Demonic Dragon Berserker, Chatura, Dragonic Vanquisher)"

"Ouch, no triggers in three damage checks, you hate to see it! Thanks to this brutal hit from Blaster Dark, Takanori now only needs to deal two more damage to win now! How will Kishou respond?!"

Even though he was sent from zero to three damage in a single strike, Kishou remained calm. It looked like this didn't bother him in the slightest. In fact, it looked like he's been through this situation a thousand times before.

"Turn end!"

Yuuto:
Hand: 7
Damage: 1
Ritual: 3
OXO
OXX

Kishou:
Hand: 8
Damage: 3
OXO
OOO

"Following Takanori's super high impact turn, it's now Kishou's chance for a comeback! You're in a big pinch, Kishou! What will you do?!"

"Stand and draw. I ride Chatura and call Chain-bolt. Boosted by Chain-bolt, Chatura attacks. (8000 > 16000)"

"And he chooses to have the most vanilla turn ever! How fitting for a boring person like him! Are you even taking this game seriously?!"

Even as an unbiased commentator, Kurosaki still found ways to poke fun at him.

"This is just the most optimal play, that's all."

"Optimal or not, how will Takanori respond?!"

For some reason, I was hesitating to guard because of what happened last time. However, I needed the damage to use Claret's skill, since this deck didn't have any counterchargers.

"No guard!"

"Drive check. (Jaggy Shot Dragoon)"

"Damage check! (Mage of Entwined Roots, Awalgin)"

Once again, I felt the same sensation of a spark zapping me. However, this time, the spark was a tiny bit bigger.

Then, like before, the same ethereal feeling of my body leaving this world enveloped me, and I was presented with the same vision as before.

While it still lasted a split second, it had grown a little clearer. I could see the man in white was standing in a field of pincushion flowers.

His head was lowered. Like he was looking down at something.

"Turn end."

Kishou's voice brought me back.

However, unlike before, I started to feel dizzy.

"After a very conservative turn from Kishou, Takanori now has a massive opportunity to steal the game on his grade 3 turn!"

Why was this happening?

Yuuto:
Hand: 7
Damage: 2
Ritual: 3
OXO
OXX

Kishou:
Hand: 8
Damage: 3
OXO
OXO

I put my hand to my throbbing head, covering my right eye.

"Are you okay?"

No, I'm not.

"...yeah."

Fighting the King had put more stress on my mind than I originally anticipated.

Even though we were playing with cards, the physical strain of being in his presence was starting to take its toll on me.

I really am weak.

I put down my cards.

"Before we continue, Kishou-sama... can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?"

"This might sound pretentious of me, but... I was wondering if you knew about the circumstances of my entrance exam."

Kishou put down his cards.

"Of course I do. You're a special case, so I knew who you were from the moment we met. You're the student ranked at the very bottom of this school - The Worst One, Takanori Yuuto."

Out of everyone to call me "The Worst One", hearing him say it hurt the most.

"Then... did you know about the conditions of it beforehand?"

"Yes. I met with your father beforehand to discuss the details of the exam. During that meeting, I agreed to relinquish my position as King to you if you won."

Huh?

Kishou and him overlapped.

Why did he mention him?

No.

Why did he meet him?

Kishou disappeared.

Shouldn't he have discussed this with the Headmaster?

He replaced him.

Get out of my head...!

"This is all your fault."

The line between reality and fiction became a blur to me.

My mind started to block everything out until I couldn't see, hear, smell, taste, or touch anything.

I was trapped in my own little world.

A world dyed in pitch black.

All my senses were hyper concentrated on him.

"Yuuto. You need to win."

Before I knew it, my mind broke.

Don't tell me that, you bastard!

I had lost sense of my identity.

I already know that!

I wanted to continue being the emotionless person I've always been.

If I don't win, I'll die!

But these emotions I didn't want to feel started leaking out suddenly.

I don't want to die!

The memories of those days came flooding back to me.

Not in a place like this!

The reason why I couldn't forgive.

Not before I can see mom again!

The reason why I couldn't forget.

I want to see the light!

The reason why I was a monster.

Don't keep me locked up in this darkness!

I went through <that> to "become a better person".

I never wanted this!

But instead, I came out as an even worse person than before.

You forced this upon me!

I wanted to live.

No matter what... I'm going to live.

That meant winning was everything.

"I think it was some sort of fate that brought us together. So, as a senpai in life, I'll give you some wonderful advice."

On that day, she saved me.

"It's okay to break out of this small world."

And today, she's saving me again.

I nearly lost myself.

I slowly let go of the past.

To once again bury it.

To once again forget it ever happened.

I'll keep suppressing those fragmented memories until they can't hurt me anymore.

Until that day comes, I'll continue.

But first, I have to beat him.

The King of GEN Academy.

OST: Dark Crow

"Stand and draw."

I knew from the beginning that he's the strongest. I knew from the beginning that I'm the weakest.

"Only the strong have the right to wield this sword. A true dictator overcomes adversity with strength, and strength alone."

But because I'm inferior, I need to gather and scrape together whatever I can to beat him. And if that's not enough, then I'll squeeze everything that I have out!

"I ride my avatar!"

Every last drop of power, every last ounce of strength, every last fibre of my being, all in order to win!

"Claret Sword Dragon!"

Even if I end up nearly dying in the process, I don't care! I'll just get back up even stronger than before with what remains of me!

I'm the one who makes my final call! I won't let anyone else touch my identity!

"Imaginary Gift: Force II, on the vanguard circle! (13000/1 > 2) Claret Sword Dragon's on place skill! I look at the top three cards of my deck and put any grade 1s from among them into my drop zone!"

I flipped the cards to reveal all of them were grade 1s.

"I put all three cards into the drop zone, and Claret gets +10k for each one put! (13000 > 43000/2) Nemain's skill, I rest her and superior call Lluails from deck! I call another Lluails and a Branwen from hand!"

Right now, I had six grade 1s in drop zone. If I could hit a grade 3 with Branwen's skill, I could discard a grade 1 from my hand to fulfil the seven grade 1 requirement.

"Branwen's skill, I look at the top five cards of my deck and add a grade 3 from among them into my hand!"

It's all coming together.

"I add Claret Sword to my hand! Since I added, I discard a card!"

I discarded Abyssal Owl, hitting seven grade 1s in the drop zone.

"Since I have five grade 1 rear-guards, all three of my Lluails get +15k! (5000 > 20000) (5000 > 20000) (5000 > 20000) Since I have three or more grade 1s in drop zone, Branwen gets +5k! (8000 > 13000) Boosted by Lluails, Branwen attacks! (13000 > 33000)"

While I would've preferred to attack with my vanguard first, I had to start with Branwen, since her +5k buff was only active if I had three grade 1s in drop zone. Using Claret's skill, which activated at the end of his attack, would bind all seven of them, turning it off, and making her column weaker.

"No guard. (Dragonic Vanquisher "FULLBRONTO")"

"Takanori has finally pushed Kishou to the very brink! He only needs to deal him one more damage to win! Can Kishou stop the remainder of Takanori's ruthless assault?!"

Now it was our turn. Let's wreck havoc, Claret!

"Claret Sword Dragon attacks! (43000/2)"

I jumped off Claret's shoulder, descending towards Kishou (who was wielding Chatura's spear) while raising the Claret Sword over my head.

"Come."

Beckoning me with a wave of his hand, Kishou invited me to strike.

"Septimum Eraser!"

I swung down with all my might.

"Kishou-samaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Then—

"Guld."

My path was blocked off by Kishou's sentinel, who swooped in and created a hexagonal shield in front of him. Regardless, my attack followed through, and the sword violently clashed against Guld.

Kishou was only centimetres behind his guardian, so I kept pushing the Claret Sword forward with my arms, using it's razor sharp edge to create a crack in his defence.

"Twin Drive!! (Perennial Knight, Rimmon, Death Feather Eagle) Critical trigger! All to Lluails! (20000 > 30000/1 > 2)"

Using the heavy weight of the sword to my advantage, I dug the hook of the blade into the crack, shattering the shield and tearing through Guld. Expecting me to be exhausted from that attack, Kishou jumped back, putting some distance between us.

However, I wasn't done just yet. There was no way I'd be done after such a pathetic attempt to attack from me. I wouldn't be satisfied until I properly stabbed the King myself, with my own two hands!

"Claret Sword Dragon's skill! I counterblast and bind seven grade 1 cards from my drop zone!"

I bound Rimmon, Awalgin, Nemain, Branwen, Espada, Lluails, and Owl for the cost.

"Claret gets drive -1... (43000/2/2d > 1d)"

The ground beneath us erupted in an aural geyser of auspicious blue flames.

"AND I RESTAND THE VANGUARD!"

I got up from the floor, tightened my grip on the Claret Sword, and lifted it above my head with both my hands. It overflowed with so much power, cuts started appearing on my body, as I didn't have complete control over it's strength, making me bleed all over.

I only have one decent swing left. If that's the case, then I'll put everything I have into this one swing!

"Boosted by Lluails, Claret Sword Dragon attacks! (43000 > 63000/2/1d)"

I don't even need a trigger. All I need is to hit!

Claret Sword Dragon stood behind me proudly, taunting Kishou with that damned smile, as I swung down even harder than before, pouring all the might in my body into this one attack.

In this moment... I'll breakthrough!

"NIHIL BLOODRIVER!"

I'm going to fucking kill you, Kishou!

Instead of running away, Kishou faced me head on, charging in with his spear. Our weapons collided, creating red hot sparks that flew everywhere. Black ash swept up around us like stardust.

As the tips of our blades clashed each other, Kishou used the length of his spear's handle to his advantage, gently sliding himself back while using its long reach to put some distance between us. I pushed forward, trying to make up for the space he was creating.

"Guld."

However, that was pointless, as Guld swooped in and crashed in between us, forcibly separating our sword and spear from each other. Even though I was flung back, I managed to clip the curve of my blade onto Guld's fur.

While still hooked to Guld, I thrusted my arm forward to skewer him, but I also used the momentum of me falling back and the sword going forward to throw it like a projectile, letting go, and sending it flying at Kishou in his blind spot.

"Drive check! (Claret Sword Dragon)"

Unfortunately, Kishou's senses were sharp, and his reflexes were quicker, as he immediately parried the incoming sword and knocked it away from hitting him with the back of his his spear.

However, the edge of the Claret Sword had grazed the side of his face, cutting open his skin. A drop of blood ran down his cheek like a tear.

Kishou, with slightly widened eyes, touched the wound I had successfully inflicted on him. Looking at his bloodstained fingertips, he smiled.

"You're the first person to ever cut me."

Even though I was complimented, I stiffened up slightly.

Everything I saw happening in our fight was simply my imagination. How did the real life Kishou know he'd been cut in my head?

Surely, we didn't imagine the same things? The chances of that happening was close to impossible. There was no way...

Despite that, Kishou acted as if he really had been cut on the cheek in real life. Even more creepier, he touched the exact spot where I had cut him in my imagination several times, as if he was checking for blood.

I shook it off and continued with my last attack.

"...Lluails attacks next! (30000/2)"

"Jirina and Catharina. (9000 > 29000 > 44000)"

Damn it...

"Turn end..."

My mind was exhausted. I don't know if I can keep up anymore.

"Oh, and that's unfortunate! Takanori ran out of firepower and couldn't finish it there! However, while Kishou successfully guarded against all of his attacks, his position is looking extremely fragile! How will he make a huge comeback from this losing position?!"

While I may have been in the lead now, my follow up to this turn wasn't looking great. I needed to somehow procure another seven grade 1s or an Awalgin into drop zone to use Claret's skill again, which was easier said than done.

Yuuto:
Hand: 8
Damage: 2
Ritual: 0
XXX
XXX

Kishou:
Hand: 2
Damage: 4
OXO
OXO

The clouds outside rumbled.

"Stand and draw. I ride Dragonic Vanquisher."

I could see lighting strike and hear thunder crackle as Kishou rode his avatar.

"Accel II. Draw. I call Rockclimb (9000 > 14000) and two Jaggy Shot."

"Talk about getting desperate! Or rather, how brave! Kishou's gone full jazz hands in order to fill out his front row! With zero cards in hand, he'll be relying on what he draws off his unit's skills and drive checks to do any form of multi-attack this turn!"

"Vanquisher's skill, I counterblast and bind Lluails. Rockclimb attacks. (14000)"

Since Vanquisher would be giving his front row +10k later, it was better to stop these small, early attacks now.

"Death Feather Eagle guards! (28000)"

Even though I should've imagined Rockclimb being stopped by Death Feather, instead, I could only imagine Kishou, wielding Rockclimb's scimitar, slashing through Death Feather, who was protecting me, and not Claret.

It was like my mind was forcing me to continue imagining me and Kishou fighting, rather than our units, even if I didn't want to.

"Rockclimb's skill, I retire him to draw. Then I bind Chatura from my hand to bind Branwen."

"Unfortunately for Takanori, Kishou top-decked a card that can be called! Things are looking down for the rookie challenger!"

"Chatura's skill when bound, I call him to rear-guard with +10k. (8000 > 18000 > 23000) Since a rear-guard was bound, both of my Phoenix revive from drop zone with +3k. (8000 > 11000) (8000 > 11000) Vanquisher's skill, since three cards have been bound this turn, my front row gets +10k. (23000 > 33000) (12000 > 22000) (12000 > 22000) (12000 > 22000) Boosted by Chain-bolt, Vanquisher attacks. (22000 > 30000)"

I tried my hardest to imagine Kishou as Vanquisher coming at Claret, but all I could see was Kishou himself conducting balls of lightning in his hands and discharging them at me in a sweeping row.

"Belial Owl and Darkside Trumpeter guards! (58000) No pass!"

Both Belial and Trumpeter swooped in, creating together a wide and thin hexagonal shield that acted as a barrier between me and Kishou's bombardment of lightning.

"Twin Drive. (Chain-bolt Dragoon, Dragonic Vanquisher "FULLBRONTO")"

"And that drive check spells bad, bad news for Takanori! If Kishou can bind FULLBRONTO from hand, he too can restand his vanguard for a second attack this turn!"

That wasn't good.

"Boosted by Phoenix, Jaggy attacks. (22000 > 33000) Jaggy's skill, I bind a card from my hand to draw. FULLBRONTO's skill when bound, I discard a card and ride him with drive -1. (12000/2d > 1d)"

"Accel II. Draw. FULLBRONTO's on place, he gives my front row +10k, so their current power stays the same as before."

Since Jaggy's attack would take two cards to guard, I decided it was best to let it hit.

Switching weapons instantaneously, Kishou traded in his lightning manipulation for Jaggy's rifle. Pointing the nuzzle at me and charging it up, a round of lightning bullets fired from the barrel rapidly.

"No guard! (Abyssal Owl)"

I couldn't dodge, so the precise and accurate whirling shots sprayed holes into my limping body.

When I put the card into the damage zone, I expected the same things that happened last time to repeat, but with slightly more strength than before, and I was right. I was zapped by a slightly bigger spark.

However... this time, there was an exception. Rather than envelop me, like before, the ethereal feeling of leaving world grabbed me suddenly and unexpectedly, dragging me - both mind and body - to somewhere far, far away.

Instead of seeing the vision, I was now in the vision.

I was thrown headfirst into the same field of pincushions that the man in white was standing in.

"Jaggy's skill, I put him into soul and draw. FULLBRONTO attacks. (22000/1d)"

That's when I realised the man in white was Kishou.

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Trading in his gun for Vanquisher's lightning manipulation once more, Kishou grabbed my face and started channeling lightning into his hand, forming a sphere of lightning around my head.

His eyes, once colourless, were glowing like a rainbow.

"Welcome to my kingdom."

This is... the King's... true abilities...?

"Do you know what the 「V」in V22 stands for?"

Mom once told me it stood for 「Vanguard」.

"It stands for 「vernal」- which means "relating to or happening in the spring", but I'm sure you already knew that, since it's an English word."

I wanted to laugh in fear, but my body was shaking too much to do so.

"Spring is my favourite season. That's why I don't want it to ever end."

Kishou entered The Zone.

"Eternal Landscape - Vernal Palace."

The scenery expanded.

"N-no... guard...?"

I heard a dove flutter its wings and fly above us.

"Others call me the Storm King. But I prefer my other title. Reaper."

Kishou blasted me with lightning.

"IYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—"

I fell onto my back, unable to move.

I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die!

"Twin Drive. (Mighty Bolt Dragoon, Rockclimb Dragoon)"

That single attack lasted for less than a second, yet it was the most painful thing I'd ever experienced in my life.

He's going to kill me for real, he's going to kill me for real!

"Damage check... (Skull Witch, Nemain)"

Even though there were no cards in front of me, I still uttered those words and could sense which ones were being sent to my damage zone.

I don't want to fight, I don't want to fight...!

"It's nothing personal, kid. I have a job to do, so I'll carry it out to the best of my abilities."

I'm scared...

My entire body was paralysed as the lightning lingered in my body.

I could see wisps of smoke rise in the air besides me.

That's when I realised that Kishou's attack had also burnt the flowers we were standing on.

I wanted to cry, but even my tears glands were paralysed, and I couldn't do that.

I couldn't move, get up, or run away.

I was stuck here, on this wilting field, unable to defend myself against him.

I was going to die.

I want to live...

"Boosted by Phoenix, Jaggy attacks. (22000 > 33000) Jaggy's skill, I bind a card from my hand to draw. Chatura's skill when bound, I call him to rear-guard with +10k. (8000 > 18000 > 23000)."

While I was incapacitated, Kishou switched weapons back to Jaggy's rifle, and took a cheap shot to both of my legs, crippling me to ensure I couldn't escape.

No scream came from my paralysed throat, but the pain rattled through my body.

In my head, I recited "no guard" and took the damage. (Cherishing Knight, Branwen)

I tried to utter it, but nothing but a wheezy breath came out.

The only way left to escape was to crawl away from him, but that required functioning arms, which I didn't have anymore.

I was trapped.

Not in my own world, but in somebody else's.

It was no different from back then.

I was being forced to fight against my will.

"Jaggy's skill, I put him into soul to draw. Chatura attacks. (23000)"

Hatred started to swell in my heart as memories of that time cropped up again.

It was the same feeling that fuelled me to fight back then.

I started screaming at myself to get up as Kishou changed weapons from Jaggy's rifle to Chatura's spear.

I said I was going to live!

If only to survive just for a little bit longer, I couldn't tell the difference between him and Kishou.

And now that very hatred would become my last bastion of hope against him.

As he towered me, all my complicated and unknown feelings towards him manifested as a single wish.

I won't forgive you!

To one day get revenge.

I can't die until I kill you!

My fingers twitched.

That much was enough.

As he was about to plunge the spear into my heart, I used my hatred for him to force my arm to move.

I broke the paralysis in my right arm, and grabbed the spear before it could stab me.

The tip had just barely pierced my chest as I held the spear in place desperately and uglily.

My entire hand was being cut and blood was pouring everywhere, but it was worth it.

"I... I guard... with Grim... Revenger... (28000)"

My throat loosened up, and I managed to choke out those words.

However, my illusion didn't last forever.

I came back to sanity when I heard his voice.

It wasn't his voice, the one that I hated so much.

But rather, it was Kishou's voice.

"Chatura attacks. (33000)"

And I came to that realisation far too late.

No other words needed to be said.

Kishou pulled his spear from my grip and hovered it above my head.

The last sight I saw before being swallowed by the storm was his blank face.

There were facial features there, but they were insignificant.

It was no different from staring at a blank sheet of white paper.

He simply showed no emotions.

Despite that, I couldn't help but feel like I was looking into a mirror.

While I acknowledged the overwhelming gap in our abilities, this was also the closest I'd ever related to another person.

We were both boring people that felt nothing to this world.

However, that thought crumpled away the moment I felt the spear stab my brain.

"...d...da...d...?"

It too, was paralysed.