Disclaimer: I don't owe anything Vanguard related except for my own shit, or else I'd be making Chrono x Tokoha Canon
It was a nice day, a quiet day. The sun was shining, the breeze was just right, the sound of traffic was not unbearable.
So why did all the cats decide to go to the park?
This was the thought process of anyone who was unfortunate enough to walk past the army of cats surrounding a bench in the middle of the park. Laying down on it was Chrono Shindou, a red-haired, pink swirl, anti-social, 14-year-old middle schooler with no friends to speak of.
And why was he okay with an army of cats surrounding him?
Because he was a red-haired, pink swirl, anti-social, 14-year-old middle schooler with no friends to speak of...to him. Everyone else on the other hand...
"Chrono, what are you doing!?" A voice yelled out, starling any bystanders unfortunate enough to be nearby.
A bright green hair girl walked up to her...friend? This is Tokoha Anjou, the longtime friend yet not friend of Chrono Shindou, depending on who you're asking.
Chrono opened one eye to spare a look at his (not) friend, "What does it look like Tokoha, napping."
Years of being (not) friends with Chrono should have made her numb to his infuriating answers.
Keyword, should.
"...Why?" she asked in disbelief, head in her palm, a headache beginning to form within her skull.
"Because I have nothing else to do after school and I like cats," he explained, immediately regretting his words afterward.
Unfortunately for him, Tokoha was an observant girl and recognized the opening he gave.
"If you have nothing to do, then why not play Vanguard with me," she said with a smile, picking up one of the cats and petting it gently.
"Nope," he declared, "Tokoha, this is like the 10th time this week you tried to make me play Vanguard, just stop."
"Nope," she mirrored, "Besides, you need, one, a hobby, and two, more friends."
He scoffed at her, twisting to his side and closed his eyes, "One, cats are a hobby, two, I don't need friends."
Used to his position about her, she was about to respond before a question wiggled into her head.
"Well, if you don't have any friends...then what am I?" she asked.
He paused, "...I don't know what you are to be honest, but certainly not a friend."
Staring at him silently, an idea popped up within her head. Setting the cat in her arms down, she began to walk away, a sly smile resting on her face.
"Where are you going?" he asked, opening an eye.
She kept walking without a pause in her step. As if she never heard him in the first place.
Alarmed, Chrono stood up, "Hey, I said where are you going?"
Pausing, Tokoha stood in place.
"Your right, we're not friends," controlling her voice, she explained, "I mean, we don't even have anything in common, so why should I answer you?" before continuing to walk away.
Unable to respond due to shock, it took a cat rubbing against his leg for Chrono to break out of the trance he was in.
Sitting back down, he picked up the cat and began to pet him, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small item.
A jade necklace in the shape of a diamond.
It was too small for him now, only able to wrap around his fingers, but he still kept it on him as a memento for the first gift he ever got outside of his aunt.
He stared at the necklace while the cats continued to lay around him, before sighing.
"I'm going to regret this."
Turn 1-Z First Shift
The next day, the entire school was in a frenzy.
Tokoha Anjou was ignoring Chrono Shindou.
While not a cause of concern if it was anyone else, the pair was infamous in their 6+ years, tsundere-like relationship.
Which meant everyone latched onto it when they finally reached puberty.
So rumors began to flow out like a tsunami as soon as first period ended. All of them were basically saying the same thing
What did Chrono do to piss Tokoha off this time? (Because it was always Chrono)
Some thought this was their chance to ask either of the two out, the rest thought they would be back regular routine of Chrono denying his friendship and Tokoha denying her crush within the week.
She was not fooling anyone about her crush, except for Chrono.
They continued to be like this until lunch, were the school prepared for an argument that would tear the school apart. Instead, they got awkward silence, really awkward silence. This kept going on for the rest of the day, until their last class. Where, Tokoha immediately left, passing by Chrono without a second glance.
It was said the school dropped 5°C that day.
As the week progressed, Chrono's expression looked like a mix of anger, regret, and, oddly enough, acceptance. Freaking out all of his classmates.
Tokoha's had a weird mix of sadness, regret, and...happiness?
On the last day of the week, as the bell rang for the end of the day, Chrono looked out the window in quiet acceptance and his classmates left. Standing up, he walked down the stairs and stood in front of his locker. Breathing in deeply, he opened it, preparing to grab his shoes and leave. What he found was a deck, more specifically a Vanguard deck along with a map, resting on his shoes. Wondering who opened his locker, he immediately dismissed Tokoha, she wouldn't ignore him and then give him a gift (She should but let the boy delude himself). Unable to come up with an answer, he decided to not look at a gift horse in the mouth and grabbed the deck before leaving.
It helped with his plans anyway.
It took a while, but he finally reached where the map guided him. Looking up, he read the name that was above the place.
"Card Capital 2?" he wondered out loud.
Standing in front of the door, all his nerves were tingling with nervousness. Breathing in deeply, he forced his nerves to settle before walking forward, doors automatically opening.
'I'm going to regret this.'
When he walked inside, whatever expectations he had of the place were all blown away. Children, students, and even high schoolers crowded the place in each and every corner, with a huge group crowding a single table. Those who weren't in the crowd looked at him when he entered before quickly going back to whatever they were doing. Not seeing an employee, he took this time to look around.
A quick glance immediately told him it was a store, a Vanguard store to be specific, with packs, trial decks, and posters of release dates on the wall.
His body's natural response told him to leave this unfamiliar place full of strangers, but he forced himself to stay still yet no more than that.
Sudden cheering broke him from both his concentration and urge to leave. He looked towards the cheering crowd and caught a glimpse of a handshake between two people. When the group parted he saw the two people, a black-haired man and a cya-oh.
He's fucked.
Mamoru Anjou, the overprotective brother of Tokoha Anjou was here.
In this store.
With him.
The boy who Tokoha was (probably) angry at.
Both Chrono's body and mind agreed on his next action.
GET THE HELL OUT!
Unfortunately for him, Mamoru made eye contact with Chrono and his body promptly froze in terror. Trying to focus on anything else in order to escape Mamoru was proving very inefficient as Mamoru's rage only grew by the second with no-one in the crowd any wiser.
Thankfully the black-haired man seemed to notice and turned towards him, then quickly approached him.
"Hey there, I haven't seen you before, is this your first visit?" He asked as the spectators swarmed Mamoru, forcing him to confront his fans.
Thanking the man in his heart, he decided to try and give a good first impression.
"Maybe, do you work here or something?" He wasn't good at it ok!? So sue him.
Pointing at himself the black-haired man explained, "Yep, Part-time! The name's Kamui Katsuragi! What can I help you with?"
Looking past the man towards Mamoru, he saw the crowd quickly getting smaller.
Body filling with terror, he sorted through his pocket, grabbing the deck.
"Here," he placed it down quickly onto the table.
Kamui shuffled behind the counter to gain a better view.
"Huh...Gear Chronicle? Wait, they released a new clan!?" Kamui cried out.
"I...don't know?" Chrono answered helpfully.
Quickly raising his head from the table, Kamui asked, "Where did you get these!?"
Blinking in shock over the intensity in Kamui's voice, Chrono hastily responded, "I-I found it in my locker?"
Hearing his response, Kamui paused before looking down, eyes now serious, "A random clan that appeared out of nowhere..."
Silence quickly took over Kamui, leaving Chrono just standing there awkwardly, hoping Kamui would hurry up before Mamoru was done.
Kamui raised his head, seemingly reaching a conclusion, asking, "What'd you want to do with it?"
He was about to answer before pausing.
He could still leave right now, escape Mamoru's rage and survive another day.
But he needs to try, to try and understand why Tokoha loves this game so much.
Why she never stopped asking him to play with him after 6 years.
Why she stood by his side for so long.
He wanted to understand her.
So he made his decision.
"Teach me the game," he asked.
Kamui blinked rapidly, "Huh, of course! Let me do something real quickly and I'll call you over when I get a table ready, browse in the meantime if you want."
"Thank you!" He bowed to Kamui before trying to not look at Mamoru, who was still being crowded by fans, but he could still feel his rage pouring from him.
After browsing and almost knocking over a kid, Kamui finally got ready, good thing too. Mamoru was almost done with his fans.
Walking over to the standing table Kamui took a deck from a basket with for free testing written on it.
"Come on, let's get you started."
"In order to set up the game state, set down a grade 0 as your starting Vanguard and draw 5 cards,"
Shifting through his deck, he saw multiply grade 0s but only with a single copy
'Is this my starting vanguard? Gunnergear Dracokid?'
Going with his gut instinct, he set down it as his starting Vanguard, and drew 5 cards.
After drawing his cards, Kamui explained to him that "If you don't like the cards you draw, you can send as many of them back to your deck and draw from the top the amount you put back, like so," as he put back 2 of his own, before shuffling.
Glancing at his cards, Chrono was confused on which ones would be best to put back.
Seeing his look, Kamui explained that "You want to have at least one grade 1, 2, and 3 in your hand, any cards with a grade 0 isn't too helpful in the long run so try to obtain your next three grades in your starting hand."
Nodding his head for the advice, Chrono looked back at his cards before putting back 3. Leaving Masergear Dragon and Smokegear Dragon in his hand, and drew his next three, obtaining some more grade 1's and Chronojet Dragon.
Satisfied, he told Kamui "I'm ready."
Kamui grinned and placed his hand on his starting vanguard, with Chrono following suit. "Now, say it with me, STAND UP, VANGUARD!"
"Stand up, Vanguard."
"Extreme Battler, Hajimai! (G0/4000)"
"Gunnergear Dracokid. (G0/5000)"
"Let me explain on how a turn works, first you draw, then chose a unit a grade equal or higher than your current vanguard and place it on top, that's riding."
Following Kamui's explanation, he drew his card, then "Ride, Masergear Dragon. (G1/8000)
Kamui pointed to Chrono's Vanguard, "You see Gunnergear Dracokid? He has the Skill Forerunner, which allows it to be moved on another circle after being rode upon."
"Oh, ok. Then I'll move it to behind my Vanguard, I guess?" Chrono explained, a bit of hesitant.
"Good move," Kamui complimented, "now you move onto the main phase, in it, you can place down cards with grades equal or less than your Vanguard, wouldn't recommend it going first though."
"Ok then, I'll end my turn."
Now it's my turn," Kamui complimented Chrono while drawing, "Now! The great Kamui rides, Extreme Battler, Kendhol! (G1/8000) moving Hajimai to my bottom left, I Attack your Vanguard!"
"What?!" Chrono questioned, shocked.
"After your done riding and calling, you can move onto the battle phase which allows one's unit to fight, this can't be done by the person going first though." Kamui explained to Chrono, seeing his shock look."
"I guess that's why I shouldn't call going first then, so what happens now?" Chrono wondered.
"Now I take the top card of the deck and place it into the trigger zone face up, that's called a drive check! Drive check! Nothing (Final Wrench)...unfortunate, but you still take a damage," he sighed as he added it to his hand, "When you take a damage, you do the same as a drive check, but it goes into your damage zone instead of your hand, first one to six loses!"
"Ok, Damage Check, I also pulled nothing (Steam Fighter, Amber) ([ ])," Chrono said in disappointment.
"That's it for me. Now, show me what you got!" Kamui grinned
Game State
Chrono: (Deck/42) (Hand/5) (Soul/0) ([ ])
Kamui: (Deck/42) (Hand/6) (Soul/0)
"It's my turn, draw. Ride, Smokegear Dragon. (G2/10000) Calling Great Carapace, Gear Turtle (G2/8000) to rear-guard," Chrono placed down his cards and was about to attack but, "Wait!" Kamui interrupted him.
"What now?" Chrono asked, slightly ticked off for being interrupted.
"When you attack your units in your back row can boost, which is adding their power to the attacking unit's power," He grabbed his Vanguard, pointing to a white arrow on the left corner under the grade with boost written under that, "Only if they have this symbol though."
Board State
GT(G2/8000) - SG (G2/10000) - (Empty Circle)
(Empty Circle) - GG (G0/5000) - (Empty Circle)
"Then with Gunnergear's (G0/5000) Boost, My Vanguard Attacks. (10000+5000=15000)"
"Go ahead! No guard!"
"Drive check. What's that?" Chrono wondered as he pulled a unit with a yellow symbol on its right corner, it was Steam Battler, Dadasig (G0/5000)
"Ah, that's a trigger. Triggers can only go off from going into the trigger zone through drive checks or damage checks, that one specifically adds +5000 Power to any unit, then an extra Critical, which deals one extra damage when it hits."
"Then I'll add the Power to Gear Turtle (8000+5000=13000) and the Critical to my Vanguard (Crit 1+1=2)," he explained while tapping the card against Gear Turtle, then Smokegear.
"I'll take two damage then, Damage check! First one, nothing (Aura Baller). Second check, I pulled a Draw Trigger! (Drone Baron) I add +5000 to my Vanguard and draw! (8000+5000=13000) ([ ] [ ])"
"Then I'll Attack you with Gear Turtle."
"I guard with Final Wrench! (Shield/5000) I should explain guarding now, whenever an opponent's unit attacks you can choose the option to guard it by placing down a card onto the Guardian Circle, There's a small value on the side of most cards, that's known as a shield value, that value is added to the defended unit for that attack only. So it doesn't go through. (8000+5000=13000)" Kamui grinned.
"Tch, that's it for my turn," Chrono said in annoyance.
"Don't be mad, you pulled a trigger on your drive check and made me waste a card," Kamui tried to counsel Chrono, "but now it's my turn!"
Game State
Chrono: (Deck/40) (Hand/5) (Soul/1) ([ ])
Kamui: (Deck/39) (Hand/6) (Soul/0) ([ ] [ ])
"Stand and draw, The great Kamui rides, Extreme Battler, Kenbeam! (G2/10000) And I call Cool Hank and Kendhol to my left and right! (G2/9000) (G1/8000)"
Board State
CH (G2/9000) - EBK (G2/10000) - EBK (G1/8000)
EBH (G0/4000) - (Empty Circle) - (Empty Circle)
"Now I Attack with Cool hank Boosted by Hajimai! (9000+5000=14000)"
"No guard. Damage check. (Brasswing Dragon) ([ ] [ ])"
"Kendhol, Attack Gear Turtle!"
"Tch, no guard."
"Gear Turtle is now retired and is moved into your drop zone."
Chrono picked up Gear Turtle before putting him in the drop zone, "You done?"
"Nope! Kenbeam Attacks your Vanguard!"
"I guard with Dadasig. (10000+10000=20000) So now, even with a trigger you can't break through."
Kamui grinned, "Well, let's see. Drive check! Stand Trigger! (Energy Girl) with this, I get to stand a rear-guard unit and add power to a unit too!"
"What!?"
"Standing Kendhol with the power! (8000+5000=13000) And he attacks your Vanguard!"
"No guard. Damage Check. (Steam Soldier, Tauge) ([ ] [ ] [ ])"
"That's it for me," Kamui grinned somehow wider, "over to you!"
Game State
Chrono: (Deck/38) (Hand/4) (Soul/1) ([ ] [ ] [ ])
Kamui: (Deck/37) (Hand/5) (Soul/1) ([ ] [ ])
"Stand and draw," glancing over his cards, Chrono stopped on Chronojet Dragon and let out a small smile.
Seeing his soft smile, Kamui was amazed that 'He's smiling!" before growing concerned, 'Wait, why is he smiling?'
"I ride, Chronojet Dragon! (G3/11000)"
"Chrono-jet?" Kamui questioned.
Hearing the card's name, the people around them started to murmur about this strange coincidence.
"Chrono?"
"Is his name based on the card?"
"Egotistical much?"
"How can I get my name on a card?"
Being too focused on the game though, he tuned out the comments subconsciously before continuing on with his turn. He grabbed three cards from his hand before rapidly calling them, "I call Twinmaser Dragon, Masergear Dragon, and Steam Fighter, Amber. (G2/9000) (G1/8000) (G2/9000)
Board State
TMD (G2/9000) - CJD (G3/11000) - SFA (G2/9000)
MGD (G1/8000) - GG (G0/5000) - (Empty Circle)
"Now I Attack you with Twinmaser boosted by Masergear. (9000+8000=17000)"
"No guard! Damage check (Extreme Battler, Gunzork) ([ ] [ ] [ ])."
"Good. Then I'll Attack you with my Vanguard. (11000+5000=16000)"
"No chance, Complete Guard, Lady Cyclone! (Shield/0) By dropping a card from my hand, the attack is nullified." he explained as he discarded a card.
"Then I'll do my Twin Drive-" reaching for his deck, he was once again, cut off by Kamui.
"Wait, how do you know it's twin drive?" Kamui questioned.
Feeling the tick slowly become a headache, he explained quickly that, "this unit has a symbol with twin drive written under it, so I assumed that it would be doing a regular drive check but this time with 2 cards, am I wrong?"
Letting the shock fade away, Kamui shook his head, impressed "no, you're right, it's drive check but with two cards."
"Then I Twin Drive. First check. Second check. Nothing… (Chronojet Dragon) (Steam Rider, Burnham)."
'Amber can't hit his Vanguard, so...' "Amber Attacks your Cool Hank. (9000)"
"No guard," taking Cool Hank off the board, "then it's my turn?"
Feeling concerned over Chrono's first fight, he decided to look into his eyes, to see how he was feeling, only to be surprised at the fire burning brightly within them.
"Go ahead," Chrono said with as much determination as he could.
Smiling softly, Kamui grinned and began his turn.
Game State
Chrono: (Deck/35) (Hand/3) (Soul/2) ([ ] [ ] [ ])
Kamui: (Deck/36) (Hand/3) (Soul/1) ([ ] [ ] [ ])
"Stand and draw, The great Kamui rides, Exxtreme Battler, Victor! (G3/11000) Hey, pay attention, this is super important," Kamui said trying to focus Chrono onto him.
Chrono twitched in surprise, "Ok, what now?"
"After the ride step, if both player's vanguard is grade 3 or higher, you can drop cards with the total grades adding up to three to Stride a grade 4, like so! Dropping Exxtreme Battler, Victor, I Liberate the Generation Zone!"
"Show it to me, the future that I've worked so hard to reach! Generation...STRIDE!"
"Meteokaiser, Vic-Ten! (G4/26000) First, Victor's base of 11000 is added to Vic-Ten, for a total of 26000!"
"2-26 thousand!?" Chrono looked on in shock.
"But we're not done yet, in addition to that, it has triple drive! And thanks to Victor's Stride Skill, when a unit is striden over Victor, it has an additional Skill!"
Chrono extended his hand and ask "...May I read the cards?"
Shrugging, Kamui handed over both Vic-Ten and Victor to Chrono who then examined the card's effect, try to find a way to live through the turn.
'I'm at three damage and can only take two more, he already gets a stand with a power boost, and if I let Vic-Ten hit, another rearguard stands so I'll lose no matter what, the other three cards in his hand can probably do something, so I have to block Vic-Ten and hope he doesn't pull a trigger.' "Alright, here you go," handing both cards back, Chrono prepared for the onslaught that would be Kamui's turn.
"Calling Starlight Hedgehog and Aura Baller to the rear-guard! (G2/8000) (G1/7000) Starlight's Skill, giving Aura Baller a Skill, then using Hajimai's Skill, I put it into my soul and give Aura Baller +3000 until end of turn!"
Board State
SH (G2/8000) - MKVT (G4/26000) - AB (G1/10000)
(Empty Circle) - (Empty Circle) - (Empty Circle)
"Aura Baller Attacks your Vanguard! Skill, it gains +3000 until the end of battle! (13000)"
'Hope for a trigger.' "No guard. Damage check. Nothing…(Masergear Dragon) ([ ] [ ] [ ] [ ])"
"Vic-Tec Attacks your Vanguard! Skill Counter Blast! ([x] [ ] [ ] [ ]) I stand Aura Baller and it gains +5000! And with the Skill gained from Starlight, I Counter Charge and Draw ([ ] [ ] [ ] [ ])."
Dropping the Chronojet in his hand, "I nullify it with Withdraw Gear Raven! (Shield/0)"
"Not bad," Kamui smirked complimenting, "but let's see what the Triple Drive has to say! First check, (Exxtreme Battler, Victor). Second check, it's a Critical Trigger! (Extreme Battler, Zanbhara) Power to Starlight Hedgehog and Critical to Aura Baller. Third check, (Aura Baller)."
Chrono's shoulders relaxed a bit, 'I can deal with this'
Kamui responded by just grinning, "It's not over yet, I still got two attacks to go!"
"Starlight Hedgehog Attacks Steam Fighter, Amber! (13000)"
'Damn, can't waste any cards.' "No guard." Picking up Amber, he moved it into his drop zone.
"Now, Aura Baller, Attack the Vanguard! (18000)"
"I guard with Burnham and intercept with Twinmaser! (11000+5000+5000=21000)" 'That's just barely enough...'
"How do yo- oh, right, the symbols, duh!" Kamui put his hand on his face and shook it left and right, "anyway, it's your turn."
Game State
Chrono: (Deck/34) (Hand/0) (Soul/2) ([ ] [ ] [ ] [ ])
Kamui: (Deck/31) (Hand/4) (Soul/3) ([ ] [ ] [ ])
'I lived, but I have no cards in hand, only two rear-guards, and my only hope is to pull a grade 3 from the top of my deck…If I'm remembering correctly, I have 7 or 8 grade three's in my deck, I've seen 2 so that means my best odds are 15% to 20% of drawing it…I don't have a snowball chance in hell to win this..."
'I was right, I'm regretting this, and yet...'
'I'm having so much fun!'
Placing his hand on the top card of his deck. Silence filled the room, the tensions rising over, possibly, the last draw of the game.
It was all on this.
Closing his eyes he breathed in deeply began opening his eyes, "I stand and Draw." He started calmly, drawing his card up to his face.
A smile, then a grin, he flipped it over, Chronojet Dragon.
"Liberating the Generation Zone!"
"Appear before me, the future which I desire, Generation...STRIDE!"
"Interdimensional Dragon, Mystery-flare Dragon! (G4/26000)"
"A Gear Chronicle G-unit…" Kamui grinned, "Now show me what you got!"
Board State
(Empty Circle) - IDMFD (G4/26000) - (Empty Circle)
MGD (G1/8000) - GG (G0/5000) - (Empty Circle)
"Turn my future into reality! Mystery-flare Attacks your Vanguard! (26000+5000=31000)"
'I should be fine even if it does hits unless he can pull 4 cards of different grades or 2 criticals, I'll lose in both scenarios even if I dropped my hand.' "No guard!"
"Checking the Triple Drive! First check! (Great Carapace, Gear Turtle) Second check! Draw Trigger! (Steam Knight, Shu Sin) Power to Mystery-flare, draw. Third check! Critical Trigger! (Steam Battler, Dadasig) Adding Both to my Vanguard! (Crit 1-2)"
"Damage checks! (Exxtreme Battler, Victor) (Starlight Hedgehog) ([ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ])"
"Now for Mystery-flare's Skill! I reveal the top four cards of my deck, and if they're all different grades, I gain an extra turn!"
"Well?! Come on then! Show it to me, your new reality!" Grinned Kamui.
Chrono let out a true smile, "Ok then! First one, Masergear; Second one, Twinmaser; Third…Luckypot; and Fourth! 'Don't fail me now' Smithereen Colossus... I got it!"
The store erupted into a chaos of voices. Yet in the center of the storm, Kamui and Chrono grinned.
"You pulled it off."
"Yes, I did. Now Counter Blast! ([x] [x] [x] [x]) I begin my turn once again! Stand and draw, Moving Masergear up, I call Gear Turtle, Shu Sin, and Dadasig! (G2/8000) (G0/5000) (G0/5000)"
Board State
MGD (G1/8000) - CJD (G3/11000) - GT (G2/8000)
SKSS (G0/5000) - GG (G0/5000) - SBD (G0/5000)
"Gear Turtle Attacks your Vanguard! (8000+5000=13000)"
"Intercept with Starlight Hedgehog (11000+5000=16000)"
"Go Chronojet! (11000+5000=16000)"
"I guard with Extreme Battler, Zanbhara and Aura Baller! (11000+10000+5000=26000)"
"Twin Drive! First check! (Smokegear Dragon) Second check! Critical Trigger! (Steam Battler, Dadasig) I give both effects to Masergear Dragon! (8000+5000=13000) (Crit 1-2)"
'A last-minute trigger, not bad kid.'
"Now go! Masergear Dragon! Attack!"
'I don't have enough shield to guard this, so...' "No guard!"
"Damage check..." Kamui drew his top card, filling the room with silence as they all anticipated the results.
Kamui smiled at Chrono, before putting it into his damage zone, "Muscle Shriek, that makes six kid, you win. ([ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ])"
The store stood in absolute silence as Kamui placed down his last damage.
And like a volcano, the silence broke with an eruption of voices.
The crowd cheered and applauded Chrono, with some individuals even hugging him.
Thankfully Chrono was still in shock to notice them hugging him, or else he may have punched them in the face.
'I...did it.'
The result of the game finally sunk into Chrono, breaking him out of shock.
The first thing he noticed was the extra weight of bodies swaying him as random strangers hugged him.
Yet his body didn't repel whoever was hugging him. In fact, his body didn't react much as all.
Accepting his fate, he let out a small smile as his body continued to be moved around by the crowd.
While the crowd celebrated, Kamui slipped out and walked towards the shell-shocked Mamoru.
"You ok?" he asked with a grin.
"I-I...how?" Mamoru stuttered out.
"The same way brother Aichi beat Kai when they first fought, sheer dumb luck, kind of fitting actually."
Leaning on a table next to the dumbfounded Mamoru, he looked towards the crowd continuing to congratulate before a question popped into his head.
"Hey, what are you going to do to the kid?"
The question to seem to break the trance Mamoru was in. He sighed.
"Nothing."
Kamui turned to his friend in shock.
Did he hear that right?
"Nothing?" he repeated.
"Nothing."
"A-are you sure, you're not sick or anything right!?"
Annoyed at his friend's lack of hearing, Mamoru decided to clarify his thoughts to Kamui.
"I'm not going to do anything, no matter how badly I want to break his skull in with a sledgehammer."
Ignoring his friend's threats of violence, he asked, "Why?"
"Because he deserves at least a chance to redeem himself," Mamoru explained to him.
"So you're sister told you not to get near him or else, got it," Kamui translated.
Grumbling off to the side about heart breaker and bastards. Kamui wisely ignored Mamoru's ramblings and focused on the crowd in front of him.
'Good luck kid, you're gonna need it.'
He watched the sun slowly set on the horizon, taking in the soothing sound of wind and cars blowing behind him. (It's Japan, this is as about as quiet as you get.)
He let out a tired sigh, how could Tokoha deal with people for so long? Just an hour or two already wore him out.
He looked down towards his deck, resting in his hand.
At least coming good came out of it.
'That was...fun.'
His lips turned into a soft smile.
'I...I think I'm getting it, I think I'm understanding you a bit more now Tokoha.'
He turned and sprinted down the road, smile still resting on his face.
'It may not be today or tomorrow, but I'll see you again...in the future that I create.'
Omake: The Three By the Lake
Talking with his companion, he almost didn't notice a red-headed boy run past him.
His eye pulsed in pain.
He stopped at looked back to the boy, wondering if he was the reason why his eye was acting up.
His companion stopped and asked if he was ok, noticing his pain.
He shook his head and assured his companion that he was fine, before continuing down the road with his blond companion.
Tokoha wandered throughout the city with no goal in mind.
She had completed her homework and her brother wasn't home, so she began to wander.
Stopping in place, she looked across the road, past the cars, and towards the evening sun reflecting off the lake.
She forgot how beautiful the sun setting could be.
Mesmerized by the sunlight, she almost missed the figure of Chrono sprinting past her view.
Blinking in surprise, she snapped her head towards Chrono.
He was smiling.
Eyes widening, she looked on as Chrono ran past her vision into the dense city.
She let out a soft smile, before continuing to walk the other way.
It was working.
AN:
Lots of changes to the first chapter compared to the old one, the fight still stays mostly the same.
Most of the character actions are a bit more realistic I like to think.
Chrono's personality is a bit different from his anime counterpart, much less expressive early in the story.
Tokoha's motive for her actions are completely different, anyone hazard a guess?
The deck Chrono uses during this match is the G Trial Deck with 4 copies of Chronojet, so that's why there's no Chronoscommand Dragon.