Cardfight Vanguard: TimeXross - Ride 2: Geaross comes at last! Superior Ride!

Kirito stared at the dauntingly tall vanguard: Battle Deity of the Night, Artemis (Grade 3, Marker: Force). Five cards remained in his hand; the assailant had four. Currently, it was the assailant's turn. "Call! Perseus of Moral Right (Grade 3, Marker: Force), and Prometheus of Dancing Lights (Grade 2)!" The two rear-guards appeared from a windy vortex. Perseus pointed his scythe at Kirito and Prometheus pointed his fans. "Prometheus' skill also works on a rear-guard circle! Checking the top two cards of my deck…" The man took the top two cards of his deck and held them. Like before, he placed one in the soul, and the other on the top of his deck. As he did so, he wasn't hiding his discomforting smile. (What's he so happy about?) "I will give my Force 1 marker to my vanguard!" The man slid the Force 1 gift under his vanguard. "Raising her up to 23000 power! Now, to my Battle Phase. Artemis! Attack his vanguard!" The man tapped his vanguard. Kirito stared at his hand cards again, seeing that he could block all three attacks with the shield values in his disposal. (The question is, though, do I guard…? I only have two damage, so I can rest easy knowing that even if he gets a critical trigger here, that will only be four damage.) "...No guard." He concluded. "What? No guard? Why not?" Clockwork asked. Kirito had a confident smile on his face as he answered: "Because I'm sure we can make it through this turn alive. We're still ahead of him in terms of damage. I'm comfortable knowing that." Seeing his reasoning as sound, Clockwork hummed in agreement. Artemis aimed her bow and a readied energized arrow, then her body and the weapon emitted a red glow, a similar one to the glow the man had before the cardfight started, and Kirito spotted that in him again. "That glow…" Kirito muttered. (Is that Link Joker's influence taking effect again?) "Twin Drive!" The man announced, making Kirito gasp softly. "T-Twin Drive…?"

"It's a grade 3 ability. It's the icon below the grade but above the Imaginary Gift symbol. Grade 1's have the 'boost' ability, allowing them to boost front-row units. Grade 2's have the 'intercept' ability, allowing them to block attacks with their shield value by moving them from the front-row rear-guard circle to the guardian circle. And grade 3's have the 'twin drive' ability, which, unlike the other grades on the vanguard circle, twin drive allows a player to drive check two cards instead of one." Clockwork explained. Kirito nodded in understanding, then looked to his rear-guards. (So you two can guard from on the field. If I understand right by how Clockwork Dracokid explained: you can only intercept from the front-row with a grade 2.) Artemis' aimed bow had shot the arrow. "First check; oh, lookie. A critical trigger." The man said with mock amusement. Kirito was visibly becoming ticked off by it. "Power to Perseus; critical to Artemis! Second check; a draw trigger. Power to Prometheus." The arrow pierced through Kirito, making him cringe in pain. "...Damage check." The cards were: Steamvisor, Dracosword (Grade 2) and Steamvisor, Dracowrench (Grade 0, Trigger: Draw). "Draw trigger! Power to the vanguard, and I'll draw." He placed the top two in the damage zone and drew the third: Steamvisor, Dracobouncer (Grade 1). "Prometheus attacks the vanguard next!" The man tapped his rear-guard on the right, and in response to his action, Prometheus, now glowing red, too, waved his fans, creating a gust of wind aimed at Kirito. Surprising the man and the attacking rear-guard, Steamvisor, Dracolancet moved in front of Kirito. "Intercept with Dracolancet!"

"You won't be hitting master this time! Argh!" Dracolancet cried as it vanished from the wind. 15000 power to 20000 power. Kirito sent the intercepting card to the drop zone. "Well, there is still one final attack. Perseus, attack the vanguard!" The man tapped his left rear-guard. Perseus' scythe rose high, appearing like a crescent moon in broad daylight. The scythe emitted a red glow, a similar one to the glow Artemis' bow and Prometheus' fans had. It swung the scythe, sending a red energy stream at Kirito. "And when it attacks, I pay with a single counter blast to draw two cards and put one card from my hand into the soul." The man turned over a card in his damage zone, drew his two cards, and put one into the soul. "Guarding with Steamvisor, Dracofix-it (Grade 1)!" Like with the last attack, he placed the card from his hand to the guardian circle, then sent it to the drop zone. 13000 power to 20000 power. "That will end my turn..." The man grunted, his face held a visibly disgusted look. Kirito was too busy untapping his units to notice. (I survived that, just as I thought. However, my hand doesn't look good. A lot of the units in this deck relies on a card with "Geaross" in its name, but I haven't seen anything with that name.) He looked down at his deck, the worry he previously had resurfacing again. "I see a scared little kitty, looking desperately at his deck, again." The man teased. "If you think you can't win, then you can always quit. You can hand over the deck and we can pretend this never happened."

"I'm sticking to what I said. If you want the deck so bad, then beat me for it!"

"I may just do so; you're a newbie. And newbies never win on the first try."

"Stop picking on him!" Yelled the voice of Clockwork Dracokid, now reverting to its physical form. "He's going out of his way to protect me and my comrades from you jerks, and all you continue to do is put down and belittle him! He may be new to cardfighting, but he's doing a much better job than you give him credit for, and he's certainly going to beat you and remove the Link Joker curse from you!" (Clockwork...) "Ah, shut it, you little runt! I will belittle! I will beat down! And I will pick on whoever and whatever Parallel commands!"

"There's that name again. Just who is 'Parallel'?" Kirito inquired, but he got a huff in response. (This guy...) "Hey." An unfamiliar voice called, its origin unseen. "Huh? Who said that?"

"Kid, look at your deck." Kirito directed his gaze to where the voice ordered. There, the deck was glowing a faint white hue. "It's glowing…" He spoke quietly. "Are you afraid?" The voice asked. Kirito shook his head, but that made the voice hum. "Hmm… Are you being honest?"

"Well… Well…" Looking away, Kirito knew it himself that he wasn't being completely honest. "Maybe a little."

"Do you believe you can win?" It asked. This Kirito responded enthusiastically too. "Yes. I do."

"Then protect that belief and seize the possibility for a future victory!" (Seize the possibility for a future victory?) The glow the deck emitted brightened slightly, almost beckoning him to make his move. At that moment, Kirito's eyes widened. (I understand.) Then his expression changed into one more serious. "Seize the possibility for a future victory!" He said aloud, getting Clockwork and the man's attention. "Hold onto my desire for victory and seize the possibility that it can happen!" He placed his hand on the deck and drew the top card "DRAW!" His voice echoed as he yanked his arm back, a streak of white light followed the path of his arm for a brief time. Clockwork looked mystified and even the man was admittedly surprised by it. When he revealed the card to himself, he smiled. "So, it's here. You're the one everyone relies on, huh?" Kirito muttered, closing his eyes but the smile remained. "What are you babbling about over there?" The man asked, not hiding his discomfort. "This." Kirito opened his eyes and raised his arm holding the newly drawn card. "With the future possibility to win in my grasp, I am counting on you to make that future a reality! I ride! Steamvisor, Geaross, the Interdimensional Dragon Knight (Grade 3, Marker: Force)!" Dracorocket glowed white and the glow morphed and grew into the new unit. With a terrifying roar, the glow vanished, revealing Geaross. "Acquire! Force 1!" Kirito took his Force 1 Gift and placed it under his rear-guard circle that was occupied by Dracosword. "Call! Steamvisor, Dracobouncer (Grade 1) under the open front-row circle!"

"Why there? Do you have a plan?" Clockwork asked. Kirito nodded. "And with its skill, if a unit with "Geaross" in its name is the vanguard or is in the soul, I bind two normal units with "Steamvisor" in their names from my drop zone." He picked Dracorazor and Dracolancet from his drop zone to bind. "Then I choose any one card from my bind zone, put it at the bottom of my deck, and draw a card." Choosing Dracowarp from the bind zone, he placed it at the bottom of the deck and drew a card: Steamvisor, Dracoaxe (Grade 2). "What a lucky pull. I'll call Steamvisor, Dracoaxe (Grade 2) to the rear-guard circle above Bouncer." Dracoaxe came out of its own vortex, landing with a earth-shattering crash as the axe it held hit the surface of Cray hard. "Now, for Geaross! Open the gateway to victory! Travel to the future and bring back a being of fearsome power!" Kirito slammed one of the Dracostead's from his hand into the drop zone. "By discarding one or more cards with the total number in their grades being 3 or more, I can ride a grade 4 unit from my deck!" Geaross vanished in a bright light the way Dracorocket did, this time becoming an even larger being. The shape of the being was a dragon, but it wasn't known what it would be until the light subsided. "Arise! Interdimensional Dragon, Mystery-Flare Dragon (Grade 4)!" Kirito introduced it as the dragon descended. Just as Artemis was daunting to Kirito earlier, Mystery-Flare was daunting to the man; actually more so. "Uh… A 'Superior Ride'?" The man nearly whimpered. "That was a 'Superior Ride'? Neat. But now, Geaross' skill will come first! When rode upon, I can bind a card from my hand face-up, and until the end of this turn, the vanguard gets the power of the card bound by this effect!" Taking the remaining Steamvisor, Dracostead (Grade 3) in his hand, he bound it. "And if there are four or more cards in my bind zone, and there are currently five, the vanguard gets an additional drive check!"

"WHAT!? You're kidding!" The man exclaimed. "But that's not all. With Mystery-Flare's skill, depending on the total number of grades in my bind zone, it gets certain effects. My total number is 11, so it gets another drive check and an additional critical!"

"Fo-four drive checks?!" The man and Clockwork gasped together. "Yes. And now, to the Battle Phase! Mystery-Flare! Attack the vanguard!" Kirito tapped his vanguard, and in doing so, Mystery-Flare released a loud roar. From the back and the wings launched hundreds of missiles, all directed towards Artemis. 28000 power to 13000 power. Panicked, the man looked at his hand; relieved, he revealed the source of it. "Pure White Witch, Solty! A perfect guard!" He placed the guardian on the circle and discarded a card. "By discarding a card, I can protect one of my attacked units. In this case, my vanguard is safe."

"Right, but, Kid-"

"Hey. Stop calling me 'Kid'. It's Kirito." Kirito interrupted Clockwork. It looked perplexed by it but quickly responded with a nod. "Okay. Kirito, you can still do your drive checks. If you can pull some triggers, you might just pull this off with your rear-guards' attacks."

"I see. Then first check!" He pulled: Steamvisor, Dracofix-it (Grade 1). "No. Second check…" He pulled: Steamvisor, Geaross, the Interdimensional Dragon Knight (Grade 3, Marker: Force). "Come on…" Clockwork clasped his claws, gulping. Kirito had that nervousness building up in him as well as he placed his index and middle fingers on the deck. As his hand laid there, the voices of the cards filled his head. It was filling him with the determination to push forward and he finally pulled. "Third check!" He pulled: Steamvisor, Dracosaw (Grade 0, Trigger: Critical). "It's a critical trigger!" He announced, hovering the card above Dracosword. "All effects to him. And for the last card. Fourth check!" A powerful wind blew in his direction as he swung his arm behind him, only Kirito was not fazed by it. He raised his arm holding the remaining card and revealed it as: Steamvisor, Dracohammer (Grade 0, Trigger: Critical). "Critical trigger! All effects to Dracoaxe!" The rear-guard gaining the effects raised his axe, then pointed it at Artemis. At this point, the man was frightened. Catching on to it, Kirito remarked "Oh. Are you scared, little kitty? I thought you were supposed to win, see as I'm only a newbie!" (Admittedly, that was a little mean, but I can't let this opportunity escape me. Not after how he treated us.) The man was trembling at this point. He looked at his hand, shaking his head. "Oh no…I gotta pull a heal trigger here."

"You're almost there, Kirito! Push for the win!" Clockwork cheered. "Dracoaxe, supported by Dracobouncer, attacks your vanguard. And when Dracoaxe attacks a vanguard, I can bind a unit from my drop zone to give him +3000 power, and if you intercept with your rear-guards, they get sent to the bottom of the deck instead of to the drop zone." Kirito bound Dracohammer from the drop zone, making Dracoaxe's power increase. It raised its enlarged axe at Artemis and threw it down. 31000 power to 13000 power. "Intercept with Prometheus, and guard with Cyber Tiger (Grade 0, Trigger: Critical)!" Moving his left rear-guard and placing a card from hand to the guardian circle, the man managed to block the attack. 11000 power to 13000 power. "Last attack! Steamvisor, Dracosword (Grade 2)! Attack the vanguard, and with your skill" Kirito bound the other Dracostead from his drop zone. "By binding a card from the drop zone, he gets that unit's power!" Dracosword, with its power being at 43000, frightened the man. It dashed forward, its mechanical sword pointing at Artemis, ready to impale her. "...I… I can't...guard that…" With that, the attack landed. "And now for the damage checks." Kirito pointed out, his arms folded across his chest almost cockily. The man hesitantly turned the first card. A critical trigger was revealed: Battle Maiden, Kukurihime (Grade o, Trigger: Critical). "No…" He pulled the second; it was a draw trigger: Talisman Angel (Grade 0, Trigger: Draw). "Gah…" The man dropped the card, falling on his back as the game concluded in his defeat. "Six damage! You won, Kirito!" Clockwork Dracokid jumped joyously while Kirito stared blankly ahead, but had a smile on his face. "I… I won…?" He spoke dumbfoundedly.

Half of the units from the deck took a physical form, rejoicing to their victory. Kirito felt a strong sense of pride in himself, and admiration in vanguard. "Way to go, kid!" The physical form of Dracorocket congratulated, putting a scaly arm behind Kirito in a hug. "Thanks, uh… Wait…Wait a second!" Kirito pushed himself away upon his revelation. "I felt that! You can touch me?! I can touch you?!"

"Well, yeah. You are our Kirito, right? Our human companion?" Dracorocket asked with concern as the human boy slowly backed away from her. "'Your' Kirito? I'm not… Anybody's…"

"Kirito, it may be hard to take in, but-"

"Hey, look." Clockwork drew everyone's attention to show them that the red aura from the man disappeared and the deckbox had shattered. Clockwork carefully walked up to the man and inspected the deckbox. "I knew it." He said. "Knew what?"

"The Link Joker crest. It's on the box. The aura was a giveaway that he was with them, but…" Clockwork picked up the deckbox, having a saddened look as he observed it. "Who knows how many more have been changed by Parallel."

"You still have yet to explain to me who that is, but at this point I get that this 'Parallel' is a bad person."

"He is! Or she? We don't know what Parallel looks like inside of the suit." Dracolancet replied, dramatically holding his scaly face. "Suit? What, is this person wearing some goofy costume?" Kirito jokingly said, getting a small laugh from more than half the present dragons. "You're funny, Kirito, but, no, the suit Parallel wears is terrifying. At least, I think it is. Silver armor with a metal helmet, completely obscuring his or her face. And it's voice! It's like (Imitating Parallel) I will change you all into possessed slaves. (Imitating mechanical sounds). That is my best impersonation of them. Sorry if it's not enough." (So, like an edge-lord with a modified voice?) "Don't beat yourself up. You did well enough. But what I do want is a full explanation on how all of you know me. You say you're from 'Cray' or wherever, but until today, I've never even played Vanguard." The dragons silently listened to Kirito's ramblings, some with saddened looks. The largest, Geaross, cleared his throat. Everyone looked up at him, but only Kirito and Clockwork fidgeted when he did. "I will fill you in. Listen carefully, for your decision, if you decide to help us, could change the fate of our worlds; yours and ours."

Cardfight Vanguard: TimeXross

"As you now know, our homeland is on the planet Cray. A world inhabited by those you humans call 'units'. There is the United Sanctuary Nation, the Dragon Empire Nation, the Dark Zone Nation, (Clockwork)-Where we come from! (Geaross)-Yes, Clockwork. Our home is in the Dark Zone. Anyway, the Stargate Nation, the Zoo Nation, and the Magellanica Nation. In these six nations were the home to various clans, how we lived our lives and operated our societies were specific to us. But one day, a new clan showed up. They were powerful as they were evil. More than half of the clans suffered major casualties, and lost a great deal of their people. They came in various troops, different factions, each having different degrees of power; Some were easier to deal with than others. The relentless invaders called themselves 'Link Joker', but the faction we fought against were 'The Possession-Vaders'. They were and still are, as far as we know, led by a humanoid that calls itself 'Parallel' and a dastardly vile unit named 'Paralleros'. For what felt like years trying to fend them off, it never felt like we were gaining an advantage on them; not until a human appeared. He could see the units when others from his world could not. He was skilled in cardfighting, and was able to utilize us in a way that pushed us closer and closer to a winning edge. He quickly grew to be like a brother to us, we were indebted to him for all of his help, but his winning streaks and luck drew to a halt as Parallel grew stronger. In one final confrontation, we figured we might have gotten the blessings we needed to stop them once for all… But the human lost. As Parallel came to acquire us as their newest pawns, the human opened a time rift and had us sent through, but he stayed behind. His name was Kirito.

"It feels like a coincidence that we found someone that bears the same name and the same ability as he, but the more I think about it, the more I think it might be more than that."

"W-What? You think this is fate? I'm betting on this being a dream rather than a coincidence OR fate. I am pretty sure I'm just a normal guy who just so happens to see spirits or something. I'm not special." Kirito argued, holding his shaking head as if he was having an aneurysm. "Kirito, did you not hear my voice when I asked if you were afraid? And did you not see your deck glow as a response to your fear?" Geaross inquired. Instead of answering, Kirito turned away. "This all just sounds crazy. I was just trying to familiarize myself with this city. Maybe I hit my head on something or that flash when I touched the deck knocked me out. Huh?" Kirito cast his eyes downward as he felt someone tugging on his pants; it was Clockwork Dracokid. "Are you not going to help us, Kirito?" He asked, coming across as a pleading child. "We understand that this is much to take in, but we are desperate." Dracorocket said. "We lost many of our friends to Link Joker." Dracoaxe added. "They have caused us and all of the other clans so many problems." Dracolancet further added. "We only want our home to return to its peacefulness." Dracoguard added last. The remaining three: Geaross, Dracosword, and Dracoguantlet, silently watched the pleading dragons and Kirito. "I… I don't…" (What do they expect me to do about it? I don't even know who Parallel is, more so, Link Joker. There are quite possibly many Kirito's out there, maybe one of them has the same gift as I do. What makes them think I in particular am the one they are looking for?) "I mean… I've only started playing Vanguard today and I'm not sure if I will continue. This is weird, confusing, baffling, other-worldly. How can any of you be sure I'm the one you want?" Geaross hummed quietly, closing his eyes, taking to his thoughts. Everyone fell silent once more, anticipating him to respond soon. "Hey, Clockwork. What do you think he's thinking of?" Kirito asked the shortest dragon in a whisper. "I don't know. But I'm certain he will come up with something that can convince you to help us."

"Are you in agreement that I'm the same Kirito as the one who helped you guys?"

"Well, yes. You share a similar personality to him; courageous, but a little too much so."

"Kirito." Geaross finally spoke. "Y-Yes?"

"I will give you this: if you wish not to help us, then we will give you the freedom to leave, but before you do, give yourself a couple of days before you share your answer with us." Geaross proposed to which the other dragons, for the most part, nodded. "That... sounds fair." Kirito replied. "As for your cardfighting skills, if you wish to hone it further, you are allowed to use us as your deck of choice."

"Okay, but I don't know of any hobby shops around the city, near or far."

"Actually, I think I saw one not too far from here when I was fleeing from that man. There should still be enough time before it closes for the day for us to visit." Clockwork suggested. "Honing one's strength is always a good idea when preparing for anything. I say we make our way there." Dracosword said. "Well…" Kirito was close to declining, but in the end, shook his head. "What the heck. I haven't got much else to do. Let's go over there." The dragons, except Geaross, cheered to his compliance; the largest dragon merely nodded. Changing back into cards, they flew into the deckbox in Kirito's hands. "I thank you for your decision, Kirito. I expect good results from your experiences." Geaross told him before joining the other dragons. Once he was in, Kirito closed the box. He sighed but there was still one dragon left. "Ready to go?" Clockwork spoke, making Kirito jump. "What? But… You…"

"I'm leading you to the 'hobby shop', remember?" He reminded Kirito. He nodded. "Right. You are."

"Well, we gotta go this way!" Clockwork immediately took off, unknowingly leaving Kirito behind. "Wait! Let me keep up, though! And what about that guy?!" Kirito sprinted, huffing and puffing as he gave chase after Clockwork. The man who had lost woke up shortly after they departed. He held his head, shaking it. "What happened?" He looked up, inspecting his surroundings. He held an expression of complete confusion. "Where am I? Wasn't I in a cafe? Maybe I had too much to drink."

(Later...)

It had been nearly half an hour since leaving the alleyway. With Clockwork's sense of directions, Kirito wasn't sure if they were ever going to find the place; they passed the train station he found Clockwork at, an elementary school, a small neighborhood, a mall, a couple fast-food restaurants, and clothes shops. "Are you sure you know where you're going, Clockwork?" Kirito groaned like an impatient child. "I'm sure it was around here, somewhere…" Clockwork hovered over the crowding people, looking over the area. "Are you certain we didn't just go in circles?"

"Yes. Why would you think we did?"

"Because we're back at the train station." Kirito glanced up at the screen he had now become familiar with, the same screen that had the commercial about the Cardfight Vanguard Circus. He looked back to Clockwork Dracokid who was turning its head frantically, repeating "I know it was here! I saw it!" (I have a feeling Clockwork is bad with directions.) Kirito looked to his right, and just a few buildings to the right of the station was a hobby shop. "Is that it?" He said wandering over to it. He read the sign, stating the name of the shop as 'Cardshop Honzo'. "Hey! Clockwork! You were right, it's here!"

"I was?" Clockwork turned to Kirito; a proud smile formed on him. "I mean yes. I was." Kirito walked in front of the sliding door, Clockwork hovered next to him. Once the doors opened, they entered the noisy building; a large crowd of young people chattering and screaming over in the back end of the shop. The shop itself was neatly organized and clean, the tables polished, making them seem newly bought, the windows waxed, a vast assortment of card games and board games, a vending machine. At the counter was a young girl with cocoa-brown hair into two ponytails on the sides of her head, reading a book, not noticing Kirito had walked in. "I wonder what has them riled up."

"Kagamine Shinichi." Kirito looked to the girl at the counter who had spoken. "The circus performer is coming to town today. Everyone is preparing for the circus at the Dark Zone branch in the Vanguard Association Center. Or did you not see the ad?" She finally looked back at him. Her expression changed to a more inquisitive one. "Are you new here?"

"To the shop or to town?"

"Pick one."

"Both."

"Oh. Dad!' The girl yelled. From the door in the far back emerged a cocoa-brown messy-haired man, seemingly in his 30's, holding a large box. "Here! I'm here-Whoa!" He stumbled forward, nearly dropping the box when Kirito took the initiative and held the box up from the bottom. "I got'cha!"

"Whew! Thanks, sir. Just move this to the counter, if you can." Nodding, Kirito assisted the man in taking the heavy cardboard box to the front of the shop where the girl sat. Carefully they placed it down on an unoccupied table. "Is that the shipment of new booster boxes?" She asked. "Yep They just arrived, and right on time, too. I was about to sort the booster boxes and structure decks in order of release dates." The man stretched his back, and then he faced Kirito, sharing a grateful smile. "And who do I have to thank for helping me?" He asked; a warm, inviting aura filled Kirito was some comfort. "I'm Kirito. Senjou Kirito. I just moved into this city today." He introduced himself with a bow. The man laughed. "I appreciate the formalities, but it is not needed. Anyway, welcome to the city and Cardshop Honzo. I'm the owner: Honzo Megumi, and this is my daughter: Kari." Kari waved. "Tell me: do you play Vanguard?"

"Well, yes, but I only started today. And I only had one cardfight. I came to further hone my skill." Kirito explained, which brought a twinkle in Honzo's eyes. "Ah! The birth of a new cardfighter! Always a wonderful sight!" Honzo, with a sparkle in his eyes, spoke seemingly to himself. As for Kari… "Wait. You only started today? I figured you were a hardcore Gear Chronicle fan with hair like that."

"And what's wrong with my hair?"

"Not 'wrong', per say, but it looks exactly like the head of 'Timepiece Dracokid'. Even the colors match." Kari pointed out to which Honzo hummed. He and even Clockwork saying "Now that you mention it…"

"Okay, enough about the hair, already! It's always been like that!" Kirito exclaimed, waving his arms. "R-Right. You must be looking for an opponent, now. Let's see…" All of the other customers present were already in their own games and cardfights from what they could see. Before Honzo could complain, though, Kari stood up. "Don't sweat it. Leave him to me." She waved a Vanguard deck over her head. "You sure? You don't do a lot of cardfighting-"

"I watch others, dad. And I play by myself with two different decks from time to time. If you are worrying about my skill, then stop." (She's uh… Pretty outspoken.) Kari wandered around the desk, to a staircase to Kirito's right where at the bottom had four strange tables. She beckoned him to come down. "Come down here. I want to use these tables." Kirito traversed down the staircase, mesmerized by the tables.

They were tall, reaching just above where his rib cage is. The surface looked as if it was a screen of some sort, and the length matched the table he fought the assailant on; both being wider than the tables up the stairs. Kari fidgeted with something under one of the tables, and in seconds the screen-like surface turned on. "What?!" Kirito and Clockwork stared in awe. Kari giggled to Kirito's reaction. "Have you not seen one of these before? These are Fight Tables specifically for cardfighting. Now, which location should we play in?" She asked, swiping through images on the screen. Kirito continued to stare, saying "Uh… you pick". "You sure, kid? You're the new guy, so we'll let you choose. Choose any one that is to your liking." Honzo said, giving a nice, hard pat on Kirito's back. "Okay, uh…" Kirito started swiping through images, doing so until Clockwork stopped him. "Wait! Go back!" Confused, Kirito swiped slowly until Clockwork halted him on an image of ruins. From what Kirito could tell, in the image, there was a statue Clockwork appeared to be staring at. (Does Clockwork know this place? He's staring intently at it, so I have to assume he does.) "Pick here, Kirito."

"Okay…" Kirito tapped on the ruins' image, causing it to expand, covering the entire screen. On both ends of the screen, the vanguard circle, rear-guard circles, deck zone, drop zone, bind zone, guardian circle and damage zone appeared. "Wow…" Kirito did not hide his amazement. Kari, meanwhile, had pulled out a rectangular device and inserted it into the table. "What's that?"

"A 'Fica'; short for 'Fighter's Card'. Serves as a communication device and deckbox in one. They're distributed to cardfighters by the 'FIVA', short for 'Federation of International Vanguard Association', specifically by the VPA, the 'Vanguard Promotion Association'. Don't have one yet?" Kirito shook his head. "Heard about it in that commercial earlier, but not about the thing itself." Honzo hummed quietly, then departed up the stairs. "Don't start until I come back." He said. Opening a cardboard box under the counter, he rummaged through it for a moment. He came back down presenting Kirito with a Fica and a pair of fingerless gloves. "Here. Consider these gifts from your new neighbors. You'll need the gloves for the table." Honzo said. Kirito gratefully bowed, thanking Honzo before taking them. "Wow… That is nice of him to give us." Clockwork commented. "Now, insert the Fica here." Honzo showed Kirito an opening big enough for the Fica, but before he could place it. "Hold on." Another voice said. The four looked up the staircase at a blonde-haired boy. Upon spotting him, Kirito's eyes slightly widened. (It's that boy…) Thinking back to earlier, Kirito remembered seeing the boy on the bridge over the river. (What's he doing here?) "He a regular?" Kirito asked, watching the boy climb down the steps. Honzo shook his head. "Nope. Never seen him before, but he was waiting by the door when I was getting your Fica and VF Gloves."

"If you don't mind, I heard that you started cardfighting today and couldn't help myself. Walking into your first cardshop, getting your new Fica. It brings me back, I tell you." The boy rambled, but Kirito groaned, finding it sappy. "Glad you got something out of that, but we're about to start a cardfight." He replied. "So I heard. I wish to spectate."

"Do as you l-"

"Actually, you can take my place." Kari interrupted Kirito, removing her Fica. "I was only agreeing to it because he had nobody to play against, but if you're a cardfighter yourself, by all means, replace me." Kirito and Clockwork stammered on a response, while the blonde-haired boy moved to Kari's side. "I would be happy to. Thanks." He took out his Fica, it's lining being ruby red. "You wouldn't mind me playing you, right? I'll have you know; I am quite experienced in cardfighting myself, so you need me to take a simple approach..."

"You mean take it easy on me? No need." Kirito retorted. He inserted his Fica into the hole between the bars, as did the blonde-haired boy. Clockwork, worriedly so, asked "Are you sure about this, Kirito? 'Quite Experienced' can be any range of skill."

"Don't worry so much. I may be new, but I understand the game enough to be confident that I can pull though." Kirito replied optimistically. "Oh~ I like your optimism. Well then, put down your starting vanguard." The blonde-haired boy requested as he put his on the table face-down. "You don't need to tell me." Kirito replied in annoyance, placing the Clockwork Dracokid card face-down on the table.

They passed each other their deck and proceeded to shuffle them. "Sorry for aching, but aren't these the same tables used by 'Team Asteroid' to make cardfighters harm themselves to get stronger?" The boy asked Honzo. (Hold up! These tables HARM people?!) "Not exactly. You see, when the Vanguard Association President, Mamoru Anjou, got a hold of the tables, he had them modified, taking those harmful features taken out, and shipped them to hobby shops around the city, including this old place. It was very nice of him to do as they have brought in more customers from around the neighborhood." Honzo explained; Kirito sighed to it. "That is nice of him. Well, I guess there is nothing for us to worry about." After giving each other back their decks, they drew their starting five. Kirito inspected his hand: Steamvisor, Dracowarp (Grade 1), Steamvisor, Dracodriver (Grade 0, Trigger: Heal), Steamvisor, Dracodriver (Grade 0, Trigger: Heal), Steamvisor, Dracoaxe (Grade 2), Steamvisor, Dracolancet (Grade 2). "I'll send back two." Kirito said, placing two cards from his hand to the bottom of his deck. "I'll be sending three." The boy sent three to the bottom of his. The boy drew three cards, and Kirito drew his two: Steamvisor, Geaross, the Interdimensional Dragon Knight (Grade 3, Marker: Force) and Steamvisor, Dracowrench (Grade 0, Trigger: Draw), and they shuffled their decks. They decided on doing a coin flip. "Heads." Kirito chose. The boy chose tails. Kirito flipped it, caught it, and observed it: Heads. "Nice! I'm first." The two boys held their starting vanguards, glared at each other, and announced to each other "Stand up, my vanguard!", flipping the cards face-up. "Steamvisor, Clockwork Dracokid (Grade 0)." Kirito introduced the unit as he took its form. "Underworld Tamer, Starting Goblin (Grade 0)." The boy introduced, taking its form. "Underworld Tamer?" Kari inquired. "Isn't that one of Shinichi's Pale Moon cards?"

"Of course, but is it surprising for other people to use these cards, too?" The boy asked. Kari replied with shaking her head. "I guess not…"

"Good. Well, then, you are the starting player, if I remember."

"I know. I know. Draw." He drew a card to start his turn: Steamvisor, Dracorazor (Grade 1). "Ride! Steamvisor, Dracorazor (Grade 1)!" He placed the newly drawn card on the vanguard circle, changing Clockwork into the new unit. "Upon riding on Clockwork Dracokid, I draw: Steamvisor, Dracoguantlet (Grade 2). And when Dracorazor is placed on the vanguard or a rear-guard circle, I bind a grade 2 or higher from my hand," He took the Dracoguantlet in his hand and bound it. "look at the top six cards from the top of my deck, and add one grade 2 or greater card with "Steamvisor" in its card name to my hand," The six cards were; Steamvisor, Dracostead (Grade 3), Steamvisor, Dracoaxe (Grade 2), Steamvisor, Dracodriver (Grade 0, Trigger: Heal), Steamvisor, Dracosaw (Grade 0, Trigger: Critical), Steamvisor, Dracosword (Grade 2), and Steamvisor, Dracosword (Grade 2). (No Dracorocket this time, but I have Geaross in my hand, already. Maybe I can go for an early push.) "I will choose one of the Dracosword's from among them and add it to my hand." He said as he took the card into his hand, then shuffled away the rest. "That will conclude my turn."

"Hmm…" The boy hummed. Kirito felt put-off by it. "What's the hold up?"

"Steamvisors… I am familiar with the Gear Chronicle clan, but of all the times I have cardfought, I have never seen those cards in my life. You say you only started cardfighting today, but where did you get your deck?" The boy asked, making Kirito flinch, not expecting to be asked that. "W-Well…" (How am I even supposed to answer that? Saying that someone gave it to me would be too suspicious, and finding it would be the same. I can't say that I made the cards, either. That would mean that I WOULD be familiar with vanguard and-) "Well, however you got those cards, I would be honored to be one of the first to play against it." The boy interrupted Kirito's thinking, wearing a smile that, again, felt off-putting to him. "You don't say…" (Why is he so happy? Or is he overconfident that he can beat me? Everything about this guy is rubbing me the wrong way.)

(End of Ride 2)