Chapter 1: Alone

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardfight! Vanguard.

VANGUARD

How long had it been since that day? The day when… he left. He simply got up and left me and I wasn't sure that I could ever forgive him for it… and yet I still searched for him. I'm still not sure why…

Why? Why did I search? Aichi abandoned me! He said we were friends! That he was going to help me! To support me! Why did he lie?! Why did he leave me?! I vowed to get back on the right path and he vowed to help me!

Yet… it didn't happen… He left over a year ago with absolutely no explanation… Where did he go? I made a vow to find that out… To find out why he abandoned his friends so easily… Why he abandoned me…

I still held one hope within my very soul. That Aichi had left for some good reason. That he had no other choice. Yet, some fear within me keeps rising every time I think about it. What if he was just sick of us? What if I was being too dependent on him and he got sick of it? What if we were never friends at all?

… What if he hated me…?

Ugh…! What happened to me and when did I get so desperate and whiny?!

My name is Kai Toshiki. My goal: to search for my friend. It doesn't matter how long it takes me. I need to find him. I need to ask him why he took his deck and left so long ago. Why he didn't ask for help if he needed it. Why he didn't even tell me that he was leaving.

I took a look at my surroundings and pulled my coat and scarf closer around me. Why was I even up in these mountains? Would Aichi really be up here? I doubted it. Yet… I would search the Earth three times over if that's what it took to find him. I'd go to the edges of the universe, because that was what my precious friend meant to me.

It didn't matter. Once I got down from here, I would spend the night in the little town at the base of the mountain. It was a nice little place. I'd been there once before when I was up this mountain. I think this was the area where I fought that kid with the white hair that used to be on one of Ren's teams. The Foo Fighters. What was his name again…? Oh, well… His name doesn't matter…

It took me a few hours of walking through a blizzard to get to the inn in the town. I sighed and brushed some snow off me before walking inside, gladly seeking the warmth that was being promised to me. I checked in, went to my room, dropped my bag and flopped down on my warm, soft bed, falling asleep the very moment that my head touched the pillow.

I had that dream again.

It was dark. Pitch black. I sat up slightly, propping myself up on my elbow, and looked around myself. Sitting up further, I became horribly aware of another presence right behind me. Without standing, I turned to face them.

He stood there, towering over me, wearing a long, white coat, black trousers and black trainers, all stained with red. He face and hair were streaked with crimson and even more of the liquid dripped slowly from the long sword that he held tightly in one hand. The ground rippled with every drop and the drip echoed in the space around us.

I found myself asking the same question that I did every time I had this dream, mainly because I just couldn't comprehend the answer that I was always given. As the man stared at me with those cold, emotionless eyes, my voice shook as I asked the question.

"… Who are you…?"

"You know well enough, Kai-kun," was the blunt answer. I flinched at the coldness in his voice. It couldn't be him, but yet it could. The thought that it could was why I continued to ask.

"Why do you keep coming here like this?! Where are you?!" I pressed frantically.

"You know well enough, Kai-kun."

"Stop repeating yourself! I want to find you and I don't know where you are! Tell me! Please!" I half begged him.

"I can't, Kai-kun. You have to find it out for yourself."

"You promised!" I blurted. He seemed to hesitate, as he always did, his eyes narrowing slightly – almost invisible unless you looked hard. It only served to make him look sterner. "You promised to help me! If you meant that, then why don't you help me?!"

"… There are things that one must do on their own, Kai-kun. Think of this as a test. How far have you come on your own and, if you find me, can you help?" he told me after getting over his slight hesitation.

"Help?" I asked. "Why do you need help?"

"I don't need it. You'll see if you get here. Until then, Kai-kun…"

My eyes widened. He was fading quickly. I jumped to my feet and reached for him and quickly as I possibly could… Yet… I slipped right through him, falling to the wet floor and, for the first time, the water from the floor began to seep into my clothes. This had never happened before. Suddenly, the floor beneath me lost its solidity and I plunged into the icy depths below me…

… Only to wake with a start.

I was covered with a cold sweat and my head was banging. I attempted to sit up to reach for my phone in my bag so I could check the time, but a wave of dizziness struck me and I was forced to lie back down. I grunted in annoyance and made the move to lean over and search through my bag rather than sit up. It worked and I soon checked the time.

5:00AM…

… I was not amused…

I poked around more in my bag. I remembered that I'd taken a thermometer with me. I eventually pulled it out and shakily lay back down in bed, removing the electronic thermometer from its box, turning it on and placing it in my mouth. I heard it beep after a few seconds and removed it.

38.9°C…

I wasn't getting out of that bed anytime soon. Not even bothering to put the thermometer away, I fell into a deep, uncomfortable slumber, plagued by dreams of my past… The past that I was always trying to run from… To forget…

… To sleep, perchance to dream… Aye, there's the rub... For in that sleep, what dreams may come…?

Meanwhile…

I sat up, rubbing my head slightly as I tried to remember exactly what had just happened. It was that dream again. Why was Kai always there? I didn't have time for that! There was a war going on! I couldn't show any kind of weakness!

Sorry. My name is Sendō Aichi. I'm originally from a planet called Earth, but at that moment, I wasn't on Earth anymore. I hadn't been on Earth for a year now. This place was not Earth. This was a planet known as Cray.

Why was I on Cray, you ask? Well –

BOOM!

I paused at the loud noise before quickly jumping out of bed and beginning to pull my clothes on. The door to my room was flung open a few minutes later and a rather panicked Emerald Witch, LaLa ran in at full speed just as I was pulling on my white and blue trench coat.

"My Vanguard!" she cried out as the door hit the wall with a loud bang. "The enemy is attacking! Blaster Blade and Blaster Dark are already outside fighting!"

"Very well, LaLa. Take the other weaker units and take refuge elsewhere," I told her calmly as I picked up my large sword.

"Yes, sir! Right away!" she saluted. "Good luck!" With that, she was gone.

I rested my sword on my right shoulder and walked out the door. Another explosion rocked the building and I broke into a run along the long red carpet, making my way through the network of well-lit, white-walled halls and passing by the many wooden doors on my way to the large main foyer with the two large doors that led outside.

To be quite honest, the base was larger than was strictly necessary so it took about 5 minutes or more to get to the door. I called to the several guards on either side (all sorts of different units from different Clans) and each one of them grabbed a length of rope that was attached to the large, round, iron door handles and heaved.

A crack opened up between the two heavy doors and light streamed in. As it opened further, I watched as Blaster Blade Seeker—a tall, humanoid unit with green eyes and white and blue armour that was adorned here and there with red gems and covered with glowing lines of energy—and Blaster Dark— a unit that was identical to Blaster Blade in appearance, the only differences being his black armour came and red cape—into view in front of me. They turned as they heard the creaking of the giant doors.

"You kept us waiting, Aichi-kun!" Blaster Dark yelled over the sound of another explosion.

"Don't treat our Vanguard with such disrespect, Dark!" Blade berated him.

"Ah, shut up, Blade! Stop trying to act like you own everything!"

"What made you think I thought like that?!"

"Guys! Guys! Don't argue!" I laughed nervously. "We have bigger things to worry about!"

You might be wondering about the attitudes of Blade and Dark. You see, back when I had PSY Qualia, we didn't know each other very well and, better yet, we never really spoke. When we finally did speak on just a few occasions, we ended up behaving rather formally. Now that I've gotten to know them better, it's like they're completely different people… Wait… No… Um… Units…? Yes. Units.

Blade sighed. "Our Vanguard is right," he agreed.

"Ooh! Sucking up to, 'our Vanguard,' now, are we?"

"You don't need to be so formal, guys -" I was cut off as they continued to argue.

"Are you questioning the might of our beloved Vanguard?!"

"Beloved?!" I half squeaked. Didn't expect that one…

"Stop being such a pet!"

"Pet?! I'll have you know that I am a trained and accomplished warrior!"

"Yeah, right! Trained and accomplished?! Does anyone hear this guy?!"

I sighed in frustration as I heard footsteps coming towards me. Turning, I was greeted with a familiar face who kneeled down in front of me, his large sword in front of him, its tip buried into the ground and both hands on the hilt of the giant blade, his head bowed in respect. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. Was something happening to the troops…?

"Nehalem. What's wrong?"

"My Vanguard. The enemy is attacking in large waves. We have no idea how they found us. The 6th, 7th and 12th companies have all been taken out." His voice and expression were serious.

I cursed inwardly and stared at the ground. "So many units…" I was silent for a few seconds before looking back at Nehalem. I could feel that Blade and Dark were listening intently, especially because their arguing had ceased. "Where are they?"

"Coming through the valley, sir."

This time, I cursed outwardly. The units surrounding me looked at me like I had gone mad. I suppose that the amount of times that I've ever cursed can be counted on one hand, but I couldn't hold it in this time. The army was too close…

"Ready more troops. We can't wait a moment longer. Where's Alfred?"

"The battlefield, sir."

"Was he the one who authorised the troops to move out?"

"Yes, sir."

"Blade. Dark. We haven't got another moment to waste," I stated, turning to them. It was serious, now. Both sensed the situation and saluted.

"Sir, yes sir!"

Meanwhile…

A few hours later, I opened my eyes slowly. The sunlight blinded me and I squeezed my eyes closed, cursing myself for not shutting the curtains the night before. My head felt better, though, so I supposed that it was OK to sit up.

The wave of dizziness didn't hit me when I moved. Lifting my hand up to my forehead, I noticed that my fever had definitely gone down in the few hours that I'd been asleep, but it wasn't gone yet and would probably come back. I decided that now was the best time to appease my newfound appetite and got up to go to the small bar downstairs. They sold good pea soup the last time I was there.

Getting up and walking downstairs, I sat down at the counter in the small restaurant downstairs. A young man around my age noticed me and walked over with a smile on his face. I didn't bother to return it, nor did I even really register it until he was right in front of me and speaking to me. Even then, I still don't really remember what he looked like.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked me.

"Can I have some pea soup, please?" I asked, tiredly rubbing my eyes.

"Certainly, sir," he responded with his sickening grin—the only part of him that I can really remember anymore—before walking away.

The next 10 minutes or so that I sat there for quickly became a blur, my tired mind registering little more than the thoughts that I allowed it to as I took out my deck, my eyes falling on Dragonic Overlord as I did so. Dragonic Overlord... I used that card when I fought Aichi...

I remembered every moment of that fight and every moment of it was one that I desperately wanted to forget. Why didn't I forget? Was it because I accepted Link Joker? I made so many mistakes that day... The biggest of all was deciding that I needed a power that wasn't my own to fight Aichi with...

I admit it... I was jealous and I was a hypocrite. Aichi was becoming too powerful for me... It wasn't just Aichi, though... It was Ren... My best friend was still more powerful that me even without the power of PSY Qualia. I felt as though I was alone. As if the power that I'd worked so hard to obtain wasn't enough anymore. What were Ren and Aichi doing that I wasn't? I still need Aichi to tell me that!

"Here's your soup, sir! Would you like anything else?"

The voice of the man behind the counter snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked up as he placed the soup and a spoon in front of me with a grin. The bowl and spoon clinked against the mahogany counter and the smell hit me, reminding me of my own hunger.

"Uh... No... No, thank you..." I responded dumbly as he nodded.

"Very well, sir." With that, he walked away and began to chat to a female colleague.

I shovelled a spoonful of the great-tasting soup into my mouth, sliding my deck into its case as I did so. I stopped for a few seconds to wonder what the others were doing back at home. I had graduated, as had Miwa. The rest were still going through their last year of school and Miwa had gone to university. Still, my graduation allowed me to roam the world to look for Aichi. I had lost a few months of education, only returning for my final exams, but I was now able to search freely. Miwa had stayed at home, having his own obligations to his family to think about first. I understood that.

I hadn't seen Ren in a while. Not since I had graduated. Since he had graduated, I just presumed that he'd moved to go to university. Come to think of it, Leon and Chris, who would both ring every so often, were unusually quiet as well. In fact, I hadn't heard from all three of them in a year and, whenever I had tried to call one of them to see what the problem was, their phone was turned off.

I narrowed my eyes as a thought finally hit me. They all had something in common. They all had PSY Qualia. Maybe they had all got up and left, too. If they did, something big was going on. It still brought be no closer to my goal, though. I still wonder how it took me so long to see it.

I heard my phone buzz and pulled it out of my trouser pocket. Miwa's name came up on the caller ID. I wasn't surprised. He called me every so often to see how I was doing. As much as I really hated to admit it, I liked hearing his voice every now and then. I pressed the 'receive call' button and lifted the phone up to my ear.

"Hey, Kai! How's the search going? Found anything yet?" Miwa's cheerful voice asked me.

"Not yet. I think that Ren, Leon and Chris might be in on this, but it still doesn't help me..." I responded sadly.

"Hm..." Miwa mused. "I suppose that they've been unusually silent for quite a while... So... Where are you?"

"I'm at the bottom of a mountain in an inn," I informed him, reluctant to give him any information lest he attempt to show up or give me his disastrous brand of what he called "help."

Miwa chuckled at my lack of responsiveness. "Same old Kai..."

"So, how is everyone?" I inquired.

"Well, Naoki is really improving. Shingo and Kamui are helping him. He's still failing, though..." he laughed as I shovelled another spoonful of soup into my mouth. "Misaki-san's still taking care of the shop with Shin-san and Kamui's plucked up some courage and he's waiting for Aichi's approval to go out with Emi. The moment he gets it, he's gonna try to ask her out!" Miwa laughed.

"I don't think he actually needs it," I stated, pushing my food around on my plate, watching as the thick soup slid past my spoon.

"I know. Aichi probably wouldn't care," Miwa admitted, his voice sounding sheepish from the other end of the phone.

"What about the shop?" I asked, trying to turn the subject away from Aichi.

"It's the same as always. Gouki and his crew often come around for a match or two. That Kyou guy keeps coming around every so often to challenge you, but he's always going away disappointed," Miwa chuckled.

"Huh…" I mumbled, something finally dawning on me. "That's what his name was…"

"… Um… What…?" Miwa asked after a few seconds of silence. He obviously hadn't heard me.

"Never mind. It isn't important," I told him.

There was a moment of silence. "… Uh-huh…" Miwa responded slowly, almost as if he didn't believe me. I heard a sigh coming from the other end of the phone. "I'm gonna have to go, Kai. I have classes soon."

I found myself nodding to thin air, continuing to push my soup around on my plate. "That's alright," I told him, my response perhaps rather too blunt.

"I'll talk to you later," Miwa stated, his voice cheerful. Perhaps rather too cheerful. "Bye!"

"Hn," I grunted abruptly, listening to a click sounding from my phone.

Pulling it away from my ear, I put it back in my pocket, the realisation sinking in. Aichi wasn't here. Miwa wasn't here. I was completely and utterly alone. Why was that bothering me so much? I'd never been bothered by it before.

Rapidly shaking my head to clear it of those unneeded thoughts, I took another spoonful of the soup, even though I barely registered its flavour. The thoughts wouldn't cease. I was more alone than ever…