Kai had just found a replacement card for Blaster Blade. It was just Gallatin, nothing big. However the Gancelots and Wingals were useless as well as the hard to find Alfred Early, but Kai didn't mind. It was for a good reason. He would properly fix up the deck later.

But for now, his best friend Miwa was over and they were going to play a game.
"Stand up"
"The Vanguard"

The extra article had been a slip of the tongue. Naturally, Miwa picked up on it.
"'The'?"
"It was a mistake 'sall"
"It sounds so cool!"
"You think so?"

Stand up the vanguard.
Stand up THE vanguard.
Stand up, the, vanguard.

Kai paced the altered phrase in his mind, rolling over it slowly in different styles.
Well, if Miwa liked it, it HAD to sound cool.

The game continued
"Kuraudia!"
"Lionet Heat!"

"Alfred Early boosted by Flogal attacks Cup Bowler!"
"I guard with Oasis Girl and intercept with NGM Prototype!"

The game continued despite the slip up. During Miwa's turn, Kai glanced at the clock repeatedly. His parents were late. They usually came home by the time he rode to grade 2. What made it worse was that Kai had lost the coin toss, so he went second and the first card he drew was a heal trigger! It was a doubly unlucky day!
"They did say they had an important meeting today. They'll be home soon."
His mother had promised to make his favorite curry today and he was looking forward to it. But mostly he just wanted to see their smiling faces when he welcomed them home.
"Toshiki? Toshiki! I'm attacking now!"
"Right! Ummmm No guar—"

Ding dong.

Kai looked up. His parents never rang the doorbell. How strange.
…maybe they needed Kai to open the door for some odd reason?

Kai jumped up and dropped his cards. He ran open to the door, yanked it open and gave his father a huge hug…
…or at least he had thought the policeman was his father.
"Is this the Kai residence?"
"Y-yes sir" Kai backed off, his face burning in embarrassment.
"Do you have any older siblings or?"
"I'm an only child, sir."
By this time, Miwa crept up behind Kai, curious as to who the mysterious stranger was. The policeman swallowed. Kai saw beads of sweat swell up on the adult's forehead.
"Your parents… they're dead."

Kai slammed the door shut.

"YOU HAVE THE WRONG HOUSE!" he screamed repeatedly, and locked the door. Miwa jumped back. He had never seen the optimistic, confident Kai crying. Ever. Kai crouched in front of the door, head between his knees. Through the small window of his legs, he could see the remnants of his Royal Paladin deck. The cards, like himself, were now without a leader.
Wingal and Alfred and Gancelot without Blaster Blade.
Toshiki without his mother and father.

He cried even harder.
Never again would he feel his mother's arms around him. Never again would they go to the park.

Perhaps it was his fault? Kai had selfishly asked for them to bring something back for him. Perhaps they did, making a detour, and then…

The policeman was banging on the door.
Miwa was calling his parents.

"Taishi talks about you all the time."

Dinner at Miwa's house was awkward to say the least. Kai refused to speak a word, no matter how much anyone tried to start a conversation with him.
The food tasted bland.
At night, Miwa offered his best friend his bed. He was hoping he could cheer Kai up by sleeping next to each other. That's what Kai did when Miwa's beloved dog died. It was comforting to the blond, knowing that the brunet was beside him. Kai refused, sleeping on the hardwood floor. A kind of self-punishment.

The day of the funeral.
Kai closed himself off from everyone in only a few long, excruciatingly painful days. He refused to cry anymore, but Miwa could swear that there was a permanent dark stain on his floor where Kai's head would lay.

Miwa tried to take his hand as Kai approached his parents. Kai pulled away. It was the last time they would see each other since the only relatives who would take Kai in lived farther away.
The whole time, Kai just stared at the family portrait next to all the flowers. They were so happy so why… why did it all have to end so soon? No one else had died in the accident. So why HIS parents?
When no one was looking, Kai took out the remains of his Royal Paladin deck and slipped it under his father's hands. It was only right since the deck was a gift from him. He stepped away.
"I'm sorry, Mom. Dad."
Everything else was a blur.
The burial.
Miwa's desperate good-byes.
The move.
Kai's only reminder of the day was the Alfred Early that had somehow seperated himself from his deck… like Kai was separated from his parents.

"Kourin, was it?"
"What is it."
Kai reached out his hand.
"I need to borrow Aichi's Royal Paladin deck. You have it, right?"
"What… what are you going to do with it?"
"I'm going to bring Aichi back."
Kai reached into his bag and took out a pocket sized binder. It only had one page—a family portrait. Kai slipped his hand behind the picture as Kourin's curious eyes watched. What was the brunet planning and how would it rescue the psyqualia-dependent Aichi?

"This card."

He placed Alfred Early on the small round fight table.

"That's— that's even rarer than Blaster Blade! How did you—"
"This card will save Aichi. My final gift to him."