Chapter 006: Stand Up! Tournament of Champions

The road to destiny goes through Susaki…

"Attack! Raven-haired Ezel!" a young man says as his front line is ready to fight.

"I won't be guarding that, Joe," a boy, not much older than Makoto, answered.

"Twin Drive!" Joe then responded. He was shocked to see no triggers. The other boy checked a Critical Trigger. Joe's turn was over as quickly as it began. The other boy was ready to finish the game.

"Stand and draw," he then said. He smiled at the card he drew. "Ride! Machining Warsickle!!!"

Makoto and Hanako were watching their fight.

"So that boy is going to win, huh?" Hanako asked Makoto.

"So it seems," Makoto answered, "The other guy doesn't have any cards left to guard with. But he doesn't have much of a strategy."

A voice replied calmly, "That's Ryo for you…" Makoto turned around to see Agrise Attorns, a friend of his from school.

"Agrise?" Makoto asked, shocked, "Since when do you play Vanguard?" She covered Makoto's mouth with her hand, before he could ask more questions.

"Around here, my name is Regina," she answered. "Toyomaru is here to make sure of that," she then said, pointing to a large, burly man in a suit. Toyomaru was her butler, and the guest she invited to the Tournament of Champions. Joe then groaned in agony. He had lost.

Ryo began to laugh. "That's why you don't mess with the Second Vanguard, Ryo Kanzaki!" He then noticed Agrise, who insisted on being called Regina. "Hello, Chōchō-chan."

"Teizoku-san…" she answered with an insult. "What do you want?"

"Sweetie," Ryo said, blushing a little, "I thought we agreed to stop calling me that…"

"I agreed to no such condition," Agrise answered, "You were supposed to stop calling me Chōchō-chan…"

"But that's what you are, Chōchō-chan," Ryo answered back. Agrise said nothing, but she didn't slam her fist into Ryo's stomach. The pain was a bit too much.

"That's Ryo," Agrise told Makoto, as she walked back to her seat, "He bugs me…" Ryo then noticed Makoto as Agrise left the scene. In the background, you could hear another fight going on. Many of the Tournament's fighters needed all the practice they could get before the train reached the end of the line.

"Ride the Vanguard!" a boy around Ryo's age said as he slammed a card onto the table. "The scourged world is yours for the taking! Rise up, Flames of Apocalypse! Dragonic Overlord! The Conquest!" The boy he was facing was too afraid of the card that just entered the field to continue. As the other boy turned The Conquest sideways, his opponent could do nothing but pray for a heal trigger. He didn't get it.

Watching how quickly that fight ended, Ryo got an idea.

"You," Ryo said pointing to Makoto.

"Me?"

"Yeah you. You really thought you could show up to a tournament like this and win it all? Forget it!"

"I mean," Makoto began to answer, "Who knows?"

"You're the one who dishonored Reiji-sama," Ryo snapped back, "And you dishonor him by coming to this tournament. But I'm going to stop that! Right here! Right now!" A small crowd began to form. Agrise was among them.

"You moron!" Agrise tried to say as she made her way to the front, "Reiji isn't even that great. Why are you so madly in love with him?" The others began to let out a big Oooooooooo…

"I… I'm not in love with him!" Ryo defended himself, "But I am his number one fan! The Second Vanguard! He deserves our worship as the greatest Vanguard fighter who ever lived!"

"Okaaaayyy…" Makoto then said, "You're a bit delusional."

"Yeah," Agrise agreed, "He didn't even make it to Top 4 in the National Circuit because he didn't want his precious Reiji-sama to lose… Aww…" Ryo snapped, then grabbed a hold of Makoto's collar.

"We're fighting right here! Right now!" he demanded, before adding, "If you lose, you leave the train at the next stop and don't even bother showing up to the tournament."

"Will I be expecting the same from you?" Makoto asked, his feet barely touching the ground.

"Of course not," Ryo answered quickly, "I earned my way here. You just got lucky… Maybe… You cheated…" That last bit hurt Makoto a little, as he was let down.

"Okay, fine," Makoto then said, "We'll fight. Besides, I faced worse odds when I fought Reiji."

Both fighters put their starting Vanguards on the board.

"Stand Up! (My) Vanguard!" they then said at once. Like Reiji, Ryo adds "My" to the starting phrase.

"Starburst Dracokid!" "Machining Worker Ant!"

"Ride! Starburst Squire!"

"Ride! Machining Hornet! Attack!"

"No guard," Makoto responded. Ryo didn't check a trigger, but…

"Skill online: Look at the top 6, then add a grade 3 among them to the hand cards," Ryo said quickly, almost as quickly as Reiji would. This had Makoto concerned.

"Ride! Silent Archer, Tenma!" Makoto answered, "Call! Silent Tom! Starburst Squire!" He then attacked with Tenma, boosted by Squire. Makoto discarded a card so the attack would hit a little more. Ryo took two damage, Makoto got to draw two cards thanks to Starburst Squire. It was then Silent Tom's turn…

"Guard!" Ryo responded, "You won't get me that easily!"

"My turn is over…"

"Ride! Machining Mantis!" Ryo said proudly, "Skill Online! Counter Blast! Look at the top 6, then add a grade 3 among them to the hand cards, +6000 to Machining Mantis. Call! Machining Hornet! Attack!"

Ryo's near perfect mimicking of Reiji's mannerisms threw Makoto off-guard. He didn't know how to react. "No guard!"

"Drive Check! Critical Trigger!" Makoto couldn't do the same. Ryo repeated Machining Hornet's skill, before ending his turn. The crowd could notice Makoto was nervous.

This is like fighting Reiji all over again… Makoto said to himself. "Ride! Spread your wings and take flight, dragon born of starlight! Starburst Dragon!"

There it is… Ryo thought to himself, This is perfect…

"Call! Battle Sister, Torte! Silent Tom attacks!"

"No guard!" The damage was three for Makoto, three for Ryo.

"Starburst Dragon attacks! Skill activated: Counter Blast, Soul Blast 1 grade 3, look at the top five cards of the deck, add all normal units among them to my hand, and place any triggers on top." Makoto's hand now had nine cards.

"I'll guard that!" Ryo responded, throwing three cards on the guardian circle.

"Twin Drive Check!" Makoto responded back. "The first, Critical Trigger! All the effects to Torte. The second, Critical Trigger! The same with this one. And since I have ten or more cards in my hand, Torte gains an additional 10k and another critical."

"That makes how much?" Hanako asked Agrise, while she was counting with her fingers.

"38,000," Agrise answered, "and a critical of 4…"

"So if this attack hits, Makoto wins. Right?"

"Correct."

"Battle Sister, Torte attacks Machining Mantis!" Makoto then said, aiming for the win.

"Perfect Guard!" Ryo said, slamming a card on the table in desperation. The attack was blocked, but Ryo was down to three cards in hand. Makoto had twelve.

This kid can't possibly be that good… Ryo thought to himself, ''Can he? No…''

"Ride! Machining Warsickle!!!"

"What's that card?" Hanako asked Agrise.

"Depending on what Makoto has in his hand, big trouble," Agrise admitted, "Ryo might not be very good, but that card could ruin Makoto's strategy…"

"Imaginary Gift: Protect II. Call! Two more Warsickle!"

"He has more!?" Hanako was stunned.

"That's not all…" Agrise answered.

"Skill Online: Both my Warsickle rear-guards gain 2000 Power for each of your rear-guards at Rest. However, my Vanguard gains 5000 Power for each instead. So that's 18, 23, and 27. My Vanguard attacks yours!"

What should I do? Makoto thought to himself.

"I'll guard that!" Makoto put two critical triggers on the table.

"Twin Drive! First check: Critical Trigger! The effects go to the Warsickle on the left. Second check: Draw Trigger! Power to the Warsickle on the left. Draw one."

That was close…

"I'm not finished yet! Warsickle's skill on Vanguard online! Counter Blast! Your Vanguard cannot stand on your next turn!"

"What?" Makoto and Hanako said at the same time.

"Machining Warsickle prevents the opponent's vanguard from standing during the next turn," Agrise answered, "Makoto may have ten cards in hand, but if none of them is a grade 3, he may be in serious trouble." Makoto's hand consisted of a Protect Marker, Silent Tom, Starburst Squire, Starburst Knight, a heal trigger, Battle Sister, Torte, two Luck Bird, Weal Crane, and Silent Archer, Tenma. He had plenty to guard with, but if the next card he drew wasn't a grade 3, his next turn would be severely weakened.

"My Warsickle on the left attacks your Vanguard!" Ryo then said.

"Guard!" Makoto responded quickly, throwing down a heal trigger.

"Warsickle on the right attacks!"

"I'll guard that too! Perfect Guard!" Makoto was down to seven cards, but that was still more than what Ryo had. Ryo slammed his fist onto the table.

"I refuse to lose!" Ryo then said angrily, "I've crippled your precious Starburst Dragon. Next turn finishes it."

Makoto looked at his hand to see what he could do.

"Stand and draw!" Makoto said boldly. The crowd waited to see what card he drew. "Looks like you won't get a next turn, Ryo."

"No way!" Ryo was shocked. Much of the crowd was as well. "You actually drew a grade 3?!"

"Not just any grade 3," Makoto replied, "Once again, I ride Starburst Dragon!" Ryo was not pleased. "Starburst Dragon gets 10,000 Power when it rides on top of a grade 3. Call! Luck Bird! Weal Crane! Battle Sister, Torte!" Luck Bird and Weal Crane combined their strength to add a card to Makoto's hand and 10,000 Power to both Tortes.

"Interesting…" a strange figure standing off in the distance said to herself. Her face could not be seen.

"Starburst Pulse!" Makoto declared, adding exactly two cards to his hand, crippling Ryo's Machining Warsickle instead.

"Perfect Guard!!!" Ryo became desperate. However, Makoto checked a Draw Trigger and a Critical Trigger, making Ryo unable to do anything about the next attack. Ryo lost.

As the fight ended, the train reached the end of the line. The passengers had to switch to another line that would take them to Susaki. Waiting for them there was Rex Kido, the man who organized the tournament.

"You managed to defeat Ryo," Agrise said to Makoto, "I'm impressed. Then again, Ryo is easy to defeat."

Makoto got a little nervous. "Is he really?" Agrise nodded

"He gets really lucky sometimes," Agrise added, "But that's all he's got going for him. Reiji will be the real challenge."

"I thought you said he wasn't that great?" Makoto asked her.

"He isn't in terms of being a good person," Agrise clarified, "He is an extremely good Vanguard fighter. Everyone may think you're all that for beating him once, but they still say it's a fluke."

"Say, Regina," Makoto began to ask, remembering her preferred name, "Who else can we expect at the tournament?"

"I'm not sure," Agrise answered, "All we know is who was on the train with us. Many more are expected. Thirty-two in total, all hand-picked by Rex Kido personally."

"That's a smaller crowd than my locals," Makoto replied, "You'd think for a big fancy tournament, he'd invite more people."

"Thirty-two is just a number he likes," Agrise answered back, "It's the brand of his drink and also, this tournament is supposed to be extremely exclusive. Inviting more people would defeat the purpose of holding the tournament. He wants the best of the best of the very best."

"Looks like we are going to have our hands full out there, huh?"

"Yep," Agrise replied, "You especially."

"Why do you say that?"

"Up until the day you met Reiji, you didn't even know he was the National Circuit Champion," Agrise answered, "It's obvious you don't pay attention to the competitive scene. There's going to be fighters out here who you've never heard of, playing with cards you've never seen. If you aren't careful, they will eat you up."

"Well that just adds to the challenge doesn't it?" Makoto then asked. Agrise just smiled. Who knows what would await them next.

In Makoto's imagination, he saw an image of Reiji again. The image seemed to have said, ''Don't lose this, Makoto. I want to be the one to defeat you.''

"You wish, Reiji," Makoto said to the image. Agrise began to laugh, as they boarded the next train. Makoto must have spoken too loudly.