It was after school.

When Chabashira-sensei dismissed us for the day, nearly everyone left in a flash.

It's not surprising though. There were club activities to go to and studying to be done. No one could afford to waste the little time they had on meandering around.

However, I stayed behind today so I could watch the war between B Class and C Class. I felt like my academic abilities were good enough, so I could afford to skip studying today.

That, and I kind of needed to hand the tests to Suzune. She won't be out of school until after the war, which was going to last until 5pm.

"Who do you think is going to win?"

Moving her seat next to my desk was Yukina, who was joining me in watching the war as she held her study group sessions in the evening like Nora.

"Hard to say. I don't know how skilled either class is at Vanguard, but in all likelihood, B Class is probably better."

The most I knew was about Suzune, since we played Vanguard together when we were young, but that was ages ago. I'm sure her deck is vastly different now and she's become much more skilled at the game since.

"Yeah. Personally, I'm rooting for B Class to win!"

"Even after what Machida-san did to us?"

"He and his goons are just a small part of that class. Ichinose-san and the others are the real B Class."

"That's true."

"I won't let one rotten apple spoil my faith in them. Plus, aside from that sneaky deal you made with Kinoshita-san, we're not that close to C Class."

"I don't think C Class is close to any class in general, actually. They're pretty isolated when it comes to allies or rivalries."

While we had D Class and B Class had A Class, C Class kind of just existed and did nothing during April and May. They coasted by on the fact they weren't instigating fights and went completely unnoticed.

"Hm, it seems like a double edged blade. The fact they haven't made enemies out of B Class is good for them, but at the same time, B Class has completely ignored them, meaning they don't even see them as a threat."

"I think that's the real issue here. Aside from Su... Kinoshita-san and Ikeda-san, there's no other real stand out students in C Class."

I nearly called Suzune by her first name again in public... one of these days I'm going to slip up and she's going to kill me.

While I did name the two class representatives, my mind also wondered to Oshita Saori, the girl I met at night. Seeing as she's also from <that>, I wouldn't be surprised if she had some hidden talents too.

"Even in our class we have some impressive people. Nora-san and Alice-san to name a few."

Yukina raised an eyebrow.

"When did you get so close to Alice-chan?"

"Hm? Oh..."

She must've noticed that I used her first name rather than her last name.

"We were in the same study group once and became closer during that. She was surprisingly pleasant to talk to."

"Ah... it's kind of ironic that you became friends with someone you're planning to take down, Yuu."

"Like they say, keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."

I took out my phone and went on the school app to watch the war live.

Peculiarly, their war was being held in the gymnasium, with the two classes standing on complete opposite sides of the court like in dodgeball.

In a capture the flag type of war, this could get chaotic... it was such an enclosed space, plenty of fights were bound to happen from the get go.

Unlike in our war against D Class, where the chance to hide and ambush was present, this war stripped that ability away from them entirely and forced them to confront each other.

"Wow... the school really did choose a random place this time."

"It's almost as if they're testing them purely on their Vanguard skills this time. There's very little room for strategy aside from aggression."

It's ironic that Ichinose handled the war for B Class, since she was a defensive person at heart. Someone like Machida was much better suited for a war like this.

"It's going to be interesting to watch play out."

The siren blared, signalling the start of the war.

Immediately, all the B Class students turned around and faced the wall of the gymnasium.

Meanwhile, five boys from C Class (Ikeda included) made a mad dash towards the flag that was sitting defenceless in the middle.

"What's B Class doing?!"

Yukina was shocked to see Ichinose and the others take such a passive strategy during this war.

They weren't even bothering to sprint for the flag. They simply stood in their starting positions, not making eye contact with the C Class students whatsoever.

"Surely Ichinose-san must have a strategy in mind... right?"

The camera panned over to Ichinose, who had a calm and stoic face on. It reminded me of Kaido a little bit.

This lack of movement from B Class made some of the C Class boys cautious and began to slow down their movements, but Katsumi's gym buddy, Shibata Harutaka, kept pelting forward and ended up snatching the flag.

"Hurry back!"

Ikeda called out to Shibata immediately, telling him to fall back. Shibata nodded silently, not using his voice to hide who had the flag, and ran back over to the rest of C Class, who had yet to advance either.

"Hide it behind your arms."

Suzune instructed, making Shibata conceal their flag.

She probably did this because ownership of the flag couldn't be transferred. Shibata couldn't give the flag to someone who was good at cardfighting, so he had to defend it as the one who grabbed it.

It was probably one of the few downsides of having an athletic person rush for the flag. If they had waited a little longer and realised B Class wasn't rushing in for the flag, they could've sent in someone else to grab it.

"What's their game...?"

Moving Shibata to the back of the group, Suzune stepped forward and scrutinised B Class with conspicuous eyes.

It was at that moment one man spoke up.

"You've got the flag, right?"

It was Machida.

Suzune was startled to see him speak. In fact, the entire class seemed unnerved by his deep voice echoing unexpectedly in the gymnasium.

Everyone thought Machida would have no interest in the war due to his obsession with crushing A Class. However, in this situation, he was the one taking the lead, rather than Ichinose.

"Yeah... we have it."

It was Ikeda who managed to find the courage to speak up.

"Who has it?"

Without hesitating, Machida demanded to know more. Still, the entirety of B Class had yet to turn around.

C Class looked at each other silently, holding their breath. That's when Suzune nodded at Ikeda.

"I do."

"Give me a name. Do you really think I care enough about your class to know what you pipsqueaks sound like?"

"Ikeda... Ikeda Arata." He gulped.

Machida clicked his tongue and sighed. Then, a thin smile appeared on his face.

"Ho, so you have it?"

Then, he glanced at Ichinose briefly before looking back at the wall.

"Kirishima, go."

Kirishima Katsu, one of the five people who helped out E Class in our war, gritted his teeth and begrudgingly turned around.

It seemed like he didn't want to take orders from Machida, but for some reason, he had no choice but to follow.

"You don't have to tell me twice..."

The moment Kirishima turned around, his visor locked on with Ikeda's.

"...false. Ikeda-san doesn't have it."

"Wait, h-huh—"

Before Ikeda could say anything else, he was pulled into a cardfight against Kirishima.

It seems that B Class's strategy was slowly revealing itself.

Instead of fighting to keep the flag, they were going to slowly smoke out the flag by taking down C Class systematically.

Even if they tried to hide who had it, B Class would just keep sending people out to check if it was true or not.

Unless two people's visors connected, no battles would happen. That's why B Class was facing away from C Class.

They were taking advantage of how the visors worked to avoid fighting, creating a uniquely defensive strategy in what should've been a highly aggressive war.

Suzune must've realised this, as she put a finger on her lips to signal everyone to stay quiet.

This was the fatal flaw of B Class's plan: they were relying on sound.

If C Class said nothing, they could do nothing. It would end up as a stalemate, with neither side budging an inch.

"Who's the female class rep? I'd like to speak with her."

Machida spoke up once more. No response came from Suzune's sealed lips.

"Huh, I'll say it again. Who's the female class rep?"

Once more, no response. The entire class stayed silent in solidarity.

"Are you lot deaf or something?"

Seeing their futile attempt at resistance, Machida began snickering.

"Oi, oi, you do realise that this war is two hours, right? Can you seriously stay dead silent for that long?"

He began taunting them, trying to provoke a reaction.

"Our class can do this all day. We don't mind waiting one bit. Ain't that right, Ichinose?"

Machida then tossed the baton over to Ichinose, who continued to hold her stoic face.

It was completely different to how she was normally. Usually, she had a cheery smile, but right now, she looked deadly serious.

Ichinose raised her head slightly, determination glimmering in her eyes.

"Yes, that's right. Unless you want a blitz of bloodshed, then we recommend you tell us who has the flag."

Suzune narrowed her eyes, provoked by the usually kind Ichinose's threatening words.

Biting her tongue to not say anything, Suzune shuffled backwards into the crowd.

"You heard her. It's better for all of us if you tell us, yeah? If not..."

Machida looked over his shoulder.

"Ikeda Arata is Dead."

A pop up appeared on my phone screen.

"...then we'll resort to drastic measures."

Ikeda collapsed to his knees, his face pale with shock.

"...sorry." Kirishima muttered, before running back to his side.

He couldn't bare to face Ikeda any longer after mercilessly crushing him.

"We have the advantage in numbers now. What are you gonna do?"

Even though B Class had 24 students compared to C Class's 26, they actually only had 23 students on the battlefield left. This is because Houki was Commander, Satou was Dead from our war, and Kirishima killed Ikeda.

"If you have our strategy figured out, why not come and break it apart?"

Unlike C Class, B Class opted not to have a Commander. This meant all 24 members of their class were currently on the battlefield.

"It's really simple, you know? All you have to do is force us to look at you."

Machida continued to taunt them as Ikeda got up, slowly trudging over to C Class.

"Guys... I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry..."

With defeat smeared all over his face, Ikeda began to apologise for his loss despite being the class representative.

"It's okay Ikeda-kun, it's not your fault!"

"You tried your best! Kirishima-san is a strong opponent, you know?"

"B Class played dirty, you don't have to apologise!"

Immediately, girls began surrounding Ikeda and tried consoling him. He simply shook his head at them.

"No, I screwed up big time... I was unprepared and caught off-guard. The responsibility of this loss is on me..."

Ikeda looked up at Suzune with pleading eyes.

"Kinoshita-san... please be careful out there."

Suzune crossed her arms and nodded.

"You don't have to tell me twice. I'll figure out something."

Ikeda thinly smiled and nodded at Suzune's hardheaded response.

"If the situation becomes too dire... it might be best to give up."

Worried whispers began floating between the C Class students as Ikeda took his leave with those ominous words.

While shocking to hear, Ikeda was also thinking longterm. If the majority of their classmates died here, they'd have even less people to work with when the next official war to happens.

In a war that was unwinnable, the better option might've been to surrender so you could conserve your troops and attempt to get a victory next time. However, Suzune seemed to reject his serious words, as her eyebrows were lifted in disbelief.

"You heard him."

Preying on their newfound fear, Machida's cold voice shut them up instantly.

"Even if you have the flag now, it doesn't matter until the last twenty minutes."

He was right about that. The winner of this war was the one who held the flag at the end of the allotted time.

There was no reason to waste resources trying to defend it during the early and mid game. You'd just be putting yourself at a disadvantage.

Even so, this was the type of play that Ichinose would do. There was no way Machida would ever come up with this sort of plan. He'd rush in without a second thought and begin to kill C Class students mercilessly to retrieve the flag.

So why was Machida cooperating with Ichinose? What happened to their class?

"If we can snatch it off you before the war ends, then it's game over."

Suzune squeezed her fists tightly, narrowing her eyes as she had to try and decide her next action.

"So? You wanna keep playing this farce, or do you really wanna face B Class at it's full strength?"

There was a serious weight behind Machida's threat this time.

If only for this war, B Class wasn't split between two factions anymore.

Ichinose and Machida managed to work together for once, achieving the impossible by cooperating together. C Class could no longer exploit B Class's obvious weakness. They were now a legitimate threat.

Suzune had to make a decision. If she didn't, B Class would pounce and forcibly take the flag from them in an aggressive blitz.

That's when one girl quietly approached her from behind and tapped Suzune on the shoulder.

It was Ginga Meguko, the girl who exposed the truth behind the incident at Minanohara for us.

"Ginga... san?"

Suzune was surprised to see such a quiet girl be so forward. Ginga must've gotten tired of B Class's taunts, as the look on her face resembled the anger of her cousin Taira.

"We can't let B Class continue to take control of this war any longer, Kinoshita-san. We have to fight back and break through their strategy by force!"

When faced with such harsh and reckless words, Suzune shook her head in disagreement.

"Are you out of your mind? This is exactly what they want! It's better if we stay quiet and—"

"With all due respect, I don't think being sitting ducks will get us anywhere. When they said they'd resort to drastic measures, they mean it."

Suzune flinched as Ginga quickly interjected her strong opinion smoothly.

"Machida-san is right about the last 20 minutes being the most vital part of this war. But that's only if they have an advantage in numbers. If we won't give up the flag holder, then they'll turn around and charge at all of us at once to force everybody into a fight. The only way we can avoid this is to chip away at their numbers first."

"Are you sure we can even do that? B Class have lined up their students extremely strategically. They've put all their weakest fighters at the back and at the forefront are their heavy hitters, like Kirishima-san and Amanda-san."

"I understand that worry, but... I realised that we'll have to fight them no matter what. This is war after all. If we do nothing, they'll be able to get the pounce on us when we're idle."

Ginga recognised that B Class might switch to a surprise strategy, where they take advantage of C Class's indecisiveness to get the upper hand on them out of nowhere.

"I don't want to lose, Kinoshita-san. None of us do. But the fact of the matter is... if we let things continue like this, we'll be the ones who'll drop down to E Class eventually!"

Kinoshita fell silent as Ginga slapped her with reality.

If C Class continued to be passive and do nothing, the other classes would get ahead. The class directly under them, D Class, was quickly on their way to overtaking them. Even our class, E Class, was fighting against the wave to reach the top.

"We have to unite the class, like B Class did... or else, we'll lose. Not in just this battle, but future ones too. If Taira-kun were here, he'd be screaming at us to go and get them!"

Suzune was genuinely impressed with Ginga's resolve. She turned to the rest of the class, who began raising their hands in support of Ginga's thoughts.

"Me too... I share Ginga-chan's feelings!"

"I'm willing to put my life on the line and fight!"

"Exactly! We can't fall behind anymore!"

Inspired by Ginga's words, C Class began to quietly cheer with determination. Even Oshita, who didn't want to stand out, raised her hand in support.

For the first time since April, C Class had managed to unite over a common cause.

If it was to beat B Class, they would stop hesitating and take action.

"You guys..."

Suzune looked at all of her classmates, moved by their newfound resolve.

"I'm hearing a lot of whispering but not a lot of talking. What the hell are you guys up to?"

Machida asked defiantly, his booming voice cutting through the huddled murmurs of C Class.

Suzune looked back at the rest of her classmates and nodded. Without anymore hesitation, she stepped forward with gritted teeth.

Understanding what had to be done, the rest of C Class also marched forward alongside her, except Shibata, who stayed behind with a small group as protection.

The sounds of her angry footsteps echoing made Machida smirk.

"Machida-san!"

"Finally... someone with the balls to speak up."

Machida looked over his shoulder and recognised Suzune, smiling at her fearlessly.

"Let's do this, class representative against class representative!"

"You want to play with me? I'm flattered."

Without either of them hesitating, Suzune and Machida locked visors, sending them into a fight.

"You wish. I'm only fighting you to avenge Ikeda-san!"

"How cute. Your honour and pride are noble, but they're also annoying as hell."

Machida looked at his starting hand and tossed them on the holographic board.

"Me personally? That kind of stuff bores me to tears."

Suzune's eyes widened.

"Wha... what are you doing?!"

"Winning."

Machida ripped his visor off, committing suicide.

"Machida Kouta is Dead."

"Winning...? Don't screw with me! You just killed yourself!"

Their fight ended as soon as it started.

"The secret is they don't need me."

Machida looked behind him, at the rest of his class.

"Oi, listen up! Shibata has the flag!"

C Class was shocked by what had happened. From a few glances at their class, Machida immediately knew who held the flag.

"How did they..."

Suzune was in complete shock at what had happened. That's when she looked over at Shibata and understood what happened.

By leaving him and a few others behind, Machida was able to correctly identify who the flag bearer was from those five.

"Was that... their strategy? To bait us out and separate our class...?"

Whether accidental or intentional, Suzune will never know. However, by leaving behind Shibata, their class made it obvious to anyone who looked.

As Machida left the gymnasium, he passed Ichinose, who put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. He grunted, looking at the frowning Ichinose.

"What?"

"Machida-kun..."

"Don't give me those puppy eyes. Worry about winning the war, not the choices that I make."

"You didn't need to sacrifice yourself, though... you could've told us after you beat her."

"I can't stand being with you or your faction. That's why I removed myself as soon as possible."

Even when Ichinose was being compassionate, Machida rejected it.

"Even so, thank you for doing this for me, nya."

"Only because I wanted to hold up my end of the bargain. Now you hold up yours."

"Of course!"

Ichinose smiled. They had some kind of deal set up in the background, huh? That'd explain their cooperation this war.

"Everyone, I know our relationship with Machida-kun has been rough, but please have faith in his words! Because of his scouting, we now know Shibata-kun has the flag! Let's win this war by going after him!"

Machida clicked his tongue and left the gymnasium. As he did, Ichinose turned around and led her crusade against C Class.

Finally, the war was starting to heat up.

As they were now facing each other, the visors of B Class and C Class began connecting, starting more fights than ever before.

"Kinoshita-chan!"

Ichinose proudly stepped forward with an ambitious grin.

"I'll be your opponent, nya ha ha!"

Suzune swallowed a lump in her throat as their visors locked onto each other.

"Bring it, Ichinose-san. I won't let you anywhere near Shibata-san!"

They mutually understood that, as the representative of their classes, this clash was inevitable. From their initial interaction, I could tell that Suzune was more on edge than Ichinose was.

"Stand up, (the!) Vanguard!"

"Evil Stealth Dragon, Ushimitsumaru!"

"Wyvernkid Ragla!"

I expected Kagero from Suzune, but seeing Ichinose use Nubatama was unexpected. Despite being girls, they weren't really using girly decks, were they?

"First Turn: Ichinose Natsumi."

"Yosh, I get to go first! Stand and draw! I discard a card to ride Stealth Rogue of Ophiomancy, Ujihime from my ride deck! Ushitsumaru lets me draw a card and I end my turn."

Ichinose:
Hand: 6
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

Suzune:
Hand: 5
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

"Stand and draw. I discard to ride Dragon Knight, Hishat! Ragla's skill, I draw a card and get a Quick Shield ticket. Hishat attacks! (8000)"

"No guard!"

"Drive check! (Embodiment of Spear, Tahr) Critical. All to Hishat! (8000 > 18000/1 > 2)"

"Nya, lucky! Damage check! (Tempest Stealth Rogue, Fuuki, Hoodlum Stealth Rogue, Tagamaru)"

"Turn end."

Ichinose:
Hand: 6
Damage: 2
OXO
OOO

Suzune:
Hand: 7
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

"Stand and draw! I discard a card to ride Stealth Dragon, Fuurai from my ride deck! Fuurai's skill, you discard then draw a card!"

"I discard my Quick Shield and draw."

"Since you dropped a grade 0, I draw a card! Ujihime's skill, when rode upon, I call her to rear-guard! When she's called, I give Fuurai +5k! (9000 > 14000) I call Stealth Dragon, Magatsu Gale and Stealth Rogue of the Night, Sakurafubuki! Gale's skill, I counterblast and soulblast to draw and get +6k! (9000 > 15000) Sakurafubuki's skill, I discard a card to give him +3k! (8000 > 11000) And since I have one or less face up damage, I draw and countercharge! Finally, I call Evil Stealth Dragon, Yamishibuki! With a boost from Sakurafubuki, Gale attacks! (15000 > 26000)"

"No guard. (Wyvern Strike, Doha)"

"Gale's skill, I put him into soul to bounce Sakurafubuki! Yamishibuki attacks next! (9000) His skill, I counterblast and return Ujihime to hand to call two Evil Decoy tokens to rear-guard! This powers up Yamishibuki, since he gets 5k for each of my grade 0 rear-guards! (9000 > 19000)"

"No guard as well. (Flame of Hope, Aermo)"

"Fuurai attacks! (14000) His skill, I counterblast and return Yamishibuki to hand to get +6k! (14000 > 20000) And since he's on vanguard circle, I draw a card!"

"No guard!"

"Drive check! (Stealth Rogue of the Night, Sakurafubuki)"

"Damage check! (Dragon Dancer, Nastasha) Heal trigger. Healing a damage!"

"Nya ha ha! Turn end."

At the sight of Suzune healing, Ichinose laughed boldly. She really had an upbeat attitude about this fight.

Ichinose:
Hand: 9
Damage: 2
OXO
XXO

Suzune:
Hand: 7
Damage: 2
OXO
OOO

"Stand and draw. I discard to ride Dragon Dancer, Farja! When Hishat's rode upon, I scry 5 and add Souen to hand. Farja's skill, I scry 5 again and this time add a Doha to hand. I call Aermo, Lava Flow, and Doha to rear-guard! Lava Flow's effect to scry 5 for a grade 3.... whiff. Doha's effect, I counterblast to call a Garan from deck! Boosted by Aermo, Farja attacks! (9000)"

"Heal Guardian, Shura Stealth Dragon, Mumyocongo! (9000 > 24000) I choose to add +10k power! (24000 > 34000)"

"No pass, huh? Drive check! (Wyvern Guard, Barri) Draw trigger. I draw and give power to Doha! (9000 > 19000) Boosted by Garan, Doha attacks! (19000 > 27000)"

"Both Evil Decoy tokens intercept! (19000 > 29000)"

By guarding in this order, Ichinose managed to dodge Lava Flow's attack, since by the time her board became empty, his power wouldn't be high enough to hit her vanguard that's been pumped by the H Guard. However, at the same time...

"Since you have no rear-guards anymore, Garan gets +5k! (27000 > 32000)"

By intercepting now, she'd also turn on Garan's effect, giving Suzune just enough power to break through the double intercept. Ichinose was forced to use another card from hand to stop it.

"Yamishibuki, guard! (29000 > 34000)"

"Turn end."

Ichinose:
Hand: 7
Damage: 2
OXO
OOO

Suzune:
Hand: 8
Damage: 2
XXX
OXX

"Stand and draw. Descend from the pockets of darkness to ride on the wind of fate, demon dragon of tribulations! I discard a card to ride my avatar, Shura Stealth Dragon, Jamyocongo, from the ride deck!"

Suzune's eyes widened as she saw Ichinose ride this hand warping card. She must've thought Ichinose was using Hanzo due to her usage of Evil Decoy tokens and didn't prepare for this. All the advantage she farmed in the early game was about to be blown away.

"This is my Imaginary Gift, nya! Protect I! It'd usually be Protect II, but it seems you're using Blademaster. There's no point going Protect II if my field is going to get burned away methinks."

That small decision would make the world of difference against Suzune. Since she called Doha and Garan early, Ichinose caught onto which Kagero deck she was using and adapted her strategy accordingly.

"Jamyocongo's skill! Discard cards until you have six in hand!"

Luckily for Suzune, since she rushed to get back against Ichinose, a majority of her hand ended up on the field. From her eight card hand, she only had to discard two cards.

"Eh, Kinoshita-san discarded a PG? Wouldn't that be important to keep in hand?"

While watching, Yukina expressed her surprise through the form of a question.

"Not really. Keeping draw sentinels against Jamyocongo is actually a detriment, especially once your hand shrinks to four. You'd be discarding two cards just to guard, leaving you with even less hand than before."

Suzune made the right play pitching Barri early.

"I call Sakurafubuki and use his skill to draw a card, countercharge, and give him +3k! (8000 > 11000) I call Fuurai and Fuuki to rear-guard! Boosted by Sakurafubuki, Jamyocongo attacks! (12000 > 23000) Astatine Whirlwind!"

"No guard!"

"Twin Drive!! (Stealth Dragon, Tobihiko) Nya, a critical! Power to Fuurai, critical to Jamyocongo! (9000 > 19000) (23000/1 > 2) (Evil Stealth Dragon, Yamishibuki)"

"Tch... damage checks! (Wyvern Strike, Membuas, Dragon Dancer, Frema)"

"Boosted by Fuuki, Fuurai attacks! (19000 > 27000) Fuurai's skill, I counterblast and return Sakurafubuki to hand to get +6k! (27000 > 33000) Fuuki's skill, if a card was bounced, he gets +6k! (33000 > 39000)"

"Heal Guardian, Dragon Dancer, Nastasha! (9000 > 24000) +10k! (24000 > 34000) Garan too! (34000 > 44000)"

"That's all from me. Turn end!"

Ichinose:
Hand: 8
Damage: 2
OXX
OOX

Suzune:
Hand: 4
Damage: 4
XXX
OXX

"Stand and draw. The dragon decorated in gold cries out as the world becomes scorched under an infinite firestorm of pride! I discard to ride my avatar, Dragonic Blademaster "Souen"!"

It seems even Suzune's upgraded. When we were kids, she used the regular Dragonic Blademaster, rather than this evolved version.

"Imaginary Gift: Force II! On the vanguard circle! (13000/1 > 2) I move Lava Flow back and use Souen's skill! By discarding two cards, I call a Vision token!"

"Furthermore, since I have Doha and Garan on the field, I retire all of your rear-guards! And since you have none, Souen and the Vision token get +10k (13000 > 23000/2) (13000 > 23000) while Garan and Lava Flow get +5k! (8000 > 13000) Aermo's skill, I retire him to draw and countercharge! I call Membuas in his place. Boosted by Membuas, Souen attacks! (23000 > 31000/2) Membuas' skill, since you have no rear-guards, Souen gets Battledore! Flare Engrave!"

"Noroi and Fuuki guards! (12000 > 52000) No pass!"

"Twin Drive!! (Wyvern Strike, Doha, Lava Flow Dragon) Boosted by Lava Flow, Vision attacks! (13000 > 26000) Vision's skill, he can drive check for this attack! Flare Engrave for the Future!"

Since Vision tokens are grade 3, she'll be able to perform a Twin Drive.

"Protect I, perfect guard!"

"Twin Drive!! (Dragon Dancer, Farja, Angry Horn Dragon) Critical trigger. All effects to Doha! (9000 > 19000/1 > 2) Boosted by Garan, Doha attacks! (19000 > 32000/2) Doha's skill, you can't guard with normal units!"

"No guard! (Stealth Rogue of the Night, Sakurafubuki, Stealth Dragon, Genkai)"

"Turn end! The Vision token retires."

Ichinose:
Hand: 4
Damage: 4
OXO
OOO

Suzune:
Hand: 6
Damage: 4
OXX
XXX

OST: SUSANOOH

With exactly six cards cards in hand, Suzune would dodge Jamyocongo's hand reducing effect... that is, if Ichinose doesn't have another Jamyocongo ready to ride into.

"Stand and draw! Nya, this fight is making my heart race!"

Even though it was an exciting cardfight for Ichinose, it was the difference between life and death for Suzune. She was clutching her cards tightly as sweat dropped from her brow.

Both girls knew that, if they were to die, their class would lose leadership in this war. However, Ichinose could rest easy knowing one of her subordinates, such as Amanda, could take over for her. For Suzune, this wasn't the case.

All the progress C Class made would crumble if she died. Without anyone leading them, they wouldn't know what to do. There was nothing like a backup leader in their arsenal. It was only mere moments ago they managed to become a cohesive unit.

"Take the wind of fate and make it your own, demon dragon of tribulations! Ascend into the silver skies to take control of the whirlwind that alters destiny, my avatar! Persona ride, Shura Stealth Dragon, Jamyocongo!"

"This is my Imaginary Gift, nya! Protect I! Jamyocongo's skill! Since there's a grade 3 in my soul, you discard until you have four cards in hand instead of six now!"

Dreading this outcome, Suzune gritted her teeth as she discarded two cards. Things would only get increasingly harder for her from here on out. Now bound to only four cards in hand, her options were extremely limited.

"I call Magatsu Gale and use his skill! Counterblast, soulblast, draw a card and get +6k! (9000 > 15000) I call Sakurafubuki and use his skill! Discard a card to draw, countercharge, and get +3k! (8000 > 11000) Then I call Tagamaru and Genkai! Genkai's skill, I give Tagamaru boost and I soulcharge 1! Boosted by Sakurafubuki, Jamyocongo attacks! (12000 > 23000) Astatine Whirlwind!"

"Angry Horn Dragon guards! (13000 > 28000) One to pass!"

There were a lot of different ways Suzune could've approached this situation, but I think she made the right play here.

While it would be easy to stop Gale's attack, since she only needed 5k shield, the other two were more problematic, especially Genkai's column. Ichinose was set to make Tagamaru get +10k by using Gale's skill, making it a troublesome 31k swing.

Judging by her drive checks last turn, it's very likely she doesn't have the guard for it, since it'd require 20k shield. So she was better off letting the attack hit, since she could then invest her hand to guard the other two attacks.

However, what would throw a wrench in that plan is a critical trigger. If Ichinose got a critical, she would pass it onto Genkai and it'd be game over for Suzune. That's why making it a one to pass here is fine.

Either way, if Ichinose drive checks that trigger, Suzune loses. By gambling on that fact, she could keep an extra card in hand for next turn to discard it for Souen's effect.

"Twin Drive!!"

Suzune held her breath, praying Ichinose wouldn't pull that trigger.

"First check! (Shura Stealth Dragon, Jamyocongo)"

Ichinose flipped the next card over.

"Second check!"

Suzune closed her eyes, bracing herself.

"Nya... no trigger. (Stealth Dragon, Genkai)"

Releasing her tension, Suzune breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Ichinose's blank drive check.

"I-I made it out..."

"You're not out of hot water yet! Magatsu Gale attacks! (15000)"

"Farja guards! (18000)"

"Gale's skill, I put him into soul to bounce Sakurafubuki! Tagamaru's skill, he gets +10k! (12000 > 22000) Boosted by Tagamaru, Genkai attacks! (9000 > 31000)"

"No guard! (Wyvern Strike, Membuas)"

"So close...! Nya, turn end!"

Ichinose:
Hand: 5
Damage: 4
OXX
OOX

Suzune:
Hand: 2
Damage: 5
OXX
XXX

"Stand and draw! Cut open the firestorm of hazy visions you encountered while holding those twin golden blades! Unleash a burning cry of infinite pride and glory, my avatar! Persona ride, Dragonic Blademaster "Souen"!"

"Imaginary Gift: Force II! On the open rear-guard circle! I discard two cards to summon a Vision token (13000/1 > 2) and burn down your entire field!"

Genkai and Tagamaru hit the drop zone.

"Souen gives himself and the token +10k (13000 > 23000/2) (13000 > 23000/2) while Lava Flow and Garan get +5k! (8000 > 13000) (8000 > 13000) Skill, activate!"

For the first time in this fight, a Skill had been activated. Suzune's visor began glowing royal blue.

"Ruby Foresight! I choose an Order card from my drop zone and add it to my hand! I add Ingenious Tactics, Book of Strong-arming to my hand and play it! I counterblast 3 and soulblast 3 to draw three cards and give my front row +10k! (23000 > 33000/2) (23000 > 33000/2) (9000 > 19000)"

"Wow, it's that order! I've never seen anyone use it before!" Yukina said.

"It's quite a popular tech in Blademaster, since the deck barely uses any resources. It seems Kinoshita-san's trying to go for the kill here."

By playing that order, Suzune was betting everything she had on winning this turn.

"Boosted by Membuas, Souen attacks! (33000 > 41000/2) Membuas' skill, Souen gets Battledore! Burn everything to ash, Blaze Engrave!"

"Noroi and Sakurafubuki guards! (12000 > 52000) Two to pass!"

"Twin Drive!! (Flame of Hope, Aermo, Wyvern Strike, Garan) Nothing... boosted by Lava Flow, my Vision attacks! (33000 > 46000/2)" Blaze Engrave for the Future!!"

"Protect I, perfect guard!"

"Twin Drive!! (Ingenious Tactics, Book of Strong-arming, Dragon Dancer, Frema)"

Her face dropped when she saw this. In four drive checks, Suzune had gotten nothing.

"Don't worry about it, you were just unlucky!"

Despite encouraging words from her opponent, Suzune still felt frustrated. She gritted her teeth and launched her last attack.

"Boosted by Garan, Doha attacks! (19000 > 32000) No normal units!"

"No guard! (Evil Stealth Dragon, Yamishibuki)"

"Turn end... Vision retires."

"Jamyocongo's skill, your hand is reduced down to four cards!"

Suzune discarded three cards bitterly.

Ichinose:
Hand: 1
Damage: 5
OXO
OOO

Suzune:
Hand: 4
Damage: 5
OXX
XXX

"Stand and draw! I call Genkai and Yamishibuki! Genkai's skill, he gives himself boost! Skill, activate!"

Ichinose's visor began glowing dark purple.

"Afterimage Artillery! You discard a card from hand!"

Suzune gasped as her hand size was whittled down to a measly three cards. As if repaying the favour, Ichinose was now going all out this turn.

"Boosted by Genkai, Jamyocongo attacks! (12000 > 21000)"

"Tahr and Frema guard! (13000 > 33000) Two to pass!"

Just like before, everything rode on a single trigger. If Ichinose drew it here, Suzune wouldn't be able to guard Yamishibuki's attack.

"Twin Drive!!"

Once more, Suzune closed her eyes.

"First check! (Hoodlum Stealth Rogue, Tagamaru)"

Nervously, she bit the bottom of her lip.

"Second check!"

There was a faint green glow.

"Nya! (Shura Stealth Dragon, Mumyocongo) Get, Heal trigger!"

Suzune opened her eyes to a nightmare.

"I heal a damage and give all effects to Yamishibuki! (9000 > 19000)"

"What...?"

"Now Yamishibuki attacks! (19000) His skill, I counterblast and bounce Genkai to call two Evil Decoy tokens! And now that I have two grade 0s on field, Yamishibuki gets another 10k! (19000 > 29000) Sink into the abyss, Kinoshita-san!"

The singular trigger in Suzune's hand wouldn't be enough to stop this attack anymore.

"No... I can't let it end here... not when C Class finally has something to fight for!"

Suzune screamed, flipping over the top card of her deck.

"Please... damage check! Give me a heal trigger...!"

She stared at her sixth damage with defeated eyes.

"N... no... trigger... (Dragonic Blademaster "Souen")"

A pop-up appeared on my screen.

"Kinoshita Suzune is Dead."

Ichinose had won.

"Nya... phew."

Judging by the look on Ichinose's face, that fight was too close for comfort.

Indeed, Suzune had proved herself to be a formidable threat on the battlefield during it. Everyone's preconceived notions about C Class were about to shift just from this display of power.

The fact that the momentum of their fight was completely dictated by triggers showed how small the skill gap was between Ichinose and Suzune.

If either girl pulled their triggers a turn earlier, or even a turn later, the outcome of that fight would've played out very differently, especially on Suzune's last turn.

If she got a single critical in those four checks, then Ichinose would be the one dead. Even so, Suzune left the gymnasium thinking she had made a grave mistake by failing.

"Poor Kinoshita-san... she looks so upset."

Yukina frowned, sympathising with Suzune's loss.

"Yeah. She probably feels like she let the entire class down."

"I find it hard to imagine how C Class will function without her or Ikeda-san. Do you think their class even have a chance at wining anymore?"

"Unless someone steps up to the plate to lead them, probably not. Considering how fragmented their class is, they'd be hard pressed to find someone like that immediately."

In some ways, this set up would be perfect for someone like me. If the class had no idea what to do if Matsushita and Sakigamiya were out of the picture, I could assert myself in that leader position to prove my worth.

"Yeah... just scrolling through their class on the app, it seems like they don't have anyone similar at their disposal."

Satou could've potentially fulfilled that role, as he has experience as Zyriot's second in command, but due to dying against Yukina in our war, he wasn't allowed to participate in this one.

"B Class is probably going to win then."

It was a simple conclusion anyone could make, now that the circumstances had come to this. Not only did B Class have a form of leadership, but they also had a higher quality of cardfighters and stronger unity, even if that was split between two factions.

There was no way C Class stood a chance anymore. They were probably better off following Ikeda's advice from earlier and quitting while they were still ahead.

Otherwise, death is the only thing waiting for them at the end of this treacherous war.