It was morning, Kouichi had just woken up from his sleep. Though he couldn't really say it was a good one, he was dreaming of something unusual and eerie.

"Use the power and defeat him..."

He could hear those words from his dream, and he was just standing in a void. Everything was dark and cold, and Kouichi felt fear due to that. The next thing he saw was that there was a pair of hands touching him from behind, and those hands went to touch his face and body. Those hands were shadow-like figures, and the anxiety filled him up.

"Become powerful... Sendou... Kouichi..."

Right after those words, he woke up with a start. He didn't even bother thinking about it too much as he thought it might just be one of his weird dreams, though he kept on dreaming about such things ever since he heard the voices from his deck a few years ago.

Kouichi glanced at his room and stood from his bed to stretch his body. He went to his study table and took his phone, he then saw his group chat and read the messages.

Haruka: Sorry, guys! I'm sick so I can't come to school today. Teehee~ >u<

Kaoru: Sounds like you're just skipping.

Haruka: I really am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ayame: Get well soon.

Watanuki: yikes.

Haruka: yikes my ass. >:T

Kouichi could only chuckle as he typed in a message to Haruka.

Kouichi: Get well soon, Haruka!

He then put his phone down and went to take a bath, after that he wore his uniform and went downstairs. "Good morning," he said as he let out a yawn.

"Good morning, brother." There was a familiar voice that Kouichi heard, he opened his eyes and saw his twin brother Eiichi sitting on the chair of the dining table.

"N-Nii-san?!"

-

OP Sequence

-

"Y-you came home?!" Kouichi exclaimed in shock, he couldn't believe that he would see his twin brother coming back so early.

Eiichi Sendou is Kouichi's older twin brother, he has the same exact features as Kouichi: blue eyes and blonde yellow hair. He wears thick-rimmed glasses, and he's wearing casual clothing; a red formal shirt with sleeves folded to arm length. He is wearing black jeans and shoes.

"Hey there, otouto-kun." Eiichi gave a smile and he adjusted his glasses. "I just came home earlier at 3 am."

"Sit down now, Kouichi. You're going to be late for school if you keep on staring at your brother dumb-founded." Kourin said, she put a bowl of rice and Ai came out from the kitchen and helped put the dishes on the table.

Kouichi gave a nod and he sat down next to Eiichi, and he looked around. "Where's dad?"

"He woke up earlier than usual and picked up Eiichi from the airport, he went to work afterwards." Kourin said, "Now go eat, kids. Time is gold."

"Aw come on, mom. I didn't come back here just to hear you being strict on us~!" Eiichi tried to tease yet Kourin let out a frown and lightly hit Eiichi's head with her hand.

"Mind your manners, Eiichi. Now go eat." The blonde haired mother told her son off.

"T-Time to eat!" Eiichi said as he started eating.

Kouichi and Ai both giggled at the sight, then Eiichi and Kourin smiled at each other and laughed as well. Kourin then sat next to Ai and ate.

"So... nii-san, how long are you going to stay here?" Kouichi asked.

"Just a month, after that I'll go back to Hong Kong. I might come back a few months later though." Eiichi replied and took a bite on his fish. "So how's your school?"

"Miyaji is good, I got into a Cardfight Club with Ayame and I play Vanguard again." Kouichi explained with a shy smile on his face.

"Eh, that's a good thing. And you didn't even tell me about it." Eiichi said with a chuckle. Kouichi just smiled at his twin.

"Ahaha, that was the secret I was talking about in our chat." Kouichi told Eiichi.

"Kouichi-nii, you're not wearing your contacts." Ai commented, noticing that Kouichi's heterochromia is present. Her brother just blinked and was confused at first, then he remembered about it and he stood up.

"Ah! I-I forgot!" Kouichi was about to run up back to his room, but Eiichi pulled the cloth of his uniform and stopped Kouichi. "Nii-san?"

"Instead of hiding your true self, wouldn't it be better to show it? I mean, you seem confident about yourself now unlike back then." Eiichi told him, yet Kouichi pushed himself away from his brother and looked down.

"I-I just fear that they'll..." Kouichi spoke, shrugging his shoulders. "You know what happened, I was bullied."

"I see." Eiichi crossed his arms and let out a sigh. "It would be nice to see you being confident in yourself though, little bro."

The younger twin just laughed awkwardly, "I'll be right back." He said and left to go to his room.

Kourin watched as Kouichi walked upstairs before she glanced back at Eiichi who continued to eat his breakfast. She spoke to him, "Why did you do that, Eiichi?"

The older twin let out a smile, glancing back at his own mother. "I just wanted him to be confident about himself, I always see him as a reluctant person. As a brother, I'd love to help him get back on his usual, happy self... before that incident happened in middle school before."

"I see, so that's why." Kourin smiled back at him. "I'm just happy that he finally is playing Vanguard again, and I'm able to see him genuinely happy."

"Kouichi-nii should always smile like you, Eiichi-nii!" Ai blurted out and she giggled, both Kourin and Eiichi laughed as well.

"I agree, he really should." Eiichi fixed his glasses and as he went back to eat, Kouichi went downstairs again, sitting down on the chair next to him and ate as well.

-

[Miyaji Academy Cardfight Club High School Division]

"Practice for... what again?" Kouichi asked, looking at Watanuki. The white-haired teenager let out a sigh and sat down on the chair.

"The live show for the festival, Sendou-kun. Don't tell me you forgot about it again." Watanuki told him and crossed his arms. Kouichi quickly remembered and he let out a small "oh" sound.

"S-sorry, I was just busy with our homework." Kouichi apologized, scratching the back of his head with an awkward smile.

Watanuki fixed his glasses before speaking, "We must think of a song to sing and another guitarist if we're going to be serious about it. And then we need more time to practice, good thing that we still have lots of time. What song do you have in mind?"

"Hm... let me think..."

A few moments later, other club members arrived and they all started their daily club activities that afternoon.

As Kouichi was glancing around the club room, he heard Watanuki let out a sigh. Kouichi glanced back at him and noticed him pouting.

"What's wrong, Watanuki-kun?" The blonde boy asked.

"For some reason, without Haruka is just no fun at all..." Watanuki mumbled under his breath and rested his face on the table's surface. "It's nothing, Sendou-kun. Just think of the performance or have some cardfight."

"Are you sure..?"

"Don't worry about him, Kouichi! He probably got depressed because Haruka ain't here." Kaoru appears behind him, and puts his arm over Kouichi's shoulders.

"Ah, Kaoru..." Kouichi smiled and nodded, before looking back at Watanuki. Kouichi then just let Watanuki do his own thing, and he went to see Ayame come in.

"Ayame, there you are!" Kaoru went to Ayame and let out an excited smile, Kouichi watched this and somehow felt uneasy as Ayame gave a smile back at the redhead. Normally, Kouichi wouldn't feel anything but then... he's confused. "Hey, I've been wanting to fight you. Wanna do it with me today?"

"Oh sure, it'd be great." Ayame nodded and looked at Kouichi who was pouting. "What's with that look, Kouichi?"

"Ah-" Kouichi quickly realized what he was doing and just let out a nervous chuckle. "N-nothing! Probably just tired."

"I'm gonna borrow Ayame for a while, alright? Sorry 'bout that, Kouichi!" Kaoru teased, causing both Ayame and Kouichi to blush.

"What are you even saying, Ishida?!" Ayame frowned at Kaoru, with her face still reddened. Kaoru just grinned and brought her to a fighting table, while Kouichi just sighed.

Suddenly, Kouichi got an idea about the song that he thought of. He quickly went to Watanuki and tapped the white haired guy's back. "Hey, I thought of a song."

"What is it, Sendou-kun?" Watanuki asked, glancing at the blonde haired student. Kouichi smiled and whispered the song to Watanuki, and Watanuki's eyes widened in excitement. His usual self had reappeared. "That's great!" He exclaimed, earning the attention of the other members of the club.

"What's that, Watanuki? You got something in my mind?" Kaoru said as he looked.

"Sendou-kun has decided for a song, and it is a good one as well!"

"That's great, Kouichi." Ayame complimented Kouichi, the latter let out a blush and a smile.

-

[Card Capital]

"Welcome!" Shin Nitta, the manager of Card Capital greeted as he was observing the Vanguard players in the shop. He glanced at the entrance and saw a girl with long straight brown hair and straight bangs, she had amber eyes. The teenager was wearing Hitsue High's uniform, and she was holding her bag over her shoulder. The girl had a mischievous smile painted on her face and she looked around the shop.

"Hey there, welcome! Are you interested in any of our products or did you come here to play?" Shin spoke as he kindly approached the teenager.

The teenaged Hitsue High student looked at him and spoke. "I'm interested in fighting your current strong Vanguard fighter in this shop!"

"E-eh? The current... oh, if you're talking about the latest shop tournament's winner, she's still at school!" Shin replied. "My grand-niece is currently busy with her Club activities so..."

"Then let me fight someone strong here!"

"Um..."

The entrance door opened once again and Kouichi appeared by himself, he saw Shin and the girl. Kouichi was confused as he saw the scene, and Shin looked back at him with a panicked face.

"H-hey there, Shin-san... it's been a while." Kouichi spoke.

"Hello Kouichi-kun, is Ayame-chan with you?" Shin asked.

Kouichi only blinked and scratched his head, "Uh... she had to go home after club activities since Misaki-san needed her help. I just came here to give this to you, Shin-san." He spoke as he gave a paper bag to Shin. "Ayame made that cookie for you, she said."

Shin took the paper bag and put it on the counter. "Thank you so much, Kouichi-kun! Um..." Shin looked at the teenaged girl who, all of a sudden, glanced at Kouichi and approached him.

Kouichi felt nervousness when the girl went close to him and leaned up to his face. "Uh... h-hey?"

"Hey there!" The girl greeted. "Say, you look very familiar. Have I seen you before?"

"I-I don't... really..." Kouichi looked around in nervousness. "W-who are you..."

"That doesn't matter! You really look like someone that I've seen from the TV or something... could it be... you're a cardfighter's child or something?"

"Huh?"

Shin suddenly cleared his throat and went to them with a smile, he put his hand on Kouichi's shoulder and spoke. "Kouichi-kun right here is the son of Team Q4's Aichi Sendou!"

"S-Shin-san!" Kouichi glanced at the older man with a flushed face. "Y-you didn't have to say that!"

"Eh?! Aichi Sendou's son?!" The teenage girl looked with a very surprised expression, she then gave a smile before continuing. "So this means that you might be a strong cardfighter as well, huh?"

"N-not really... I-"

"Fight me!" The girl exclaimed and she showed her Vanguard deck. She gave a toothy smile and giggled. "I can sense your Cardfighting spirit through your eyes, Sendou Kouichi!"

"Uh... thanks... but I really-"

"Come on, it's just one cardfight. I'm pretty sure we're gonna have a good time together, plus it doesn't matter if you win or lose!" The girl said, "Vanguard is fun, right?"

When the girl said those words, Kouichi's eyes widened. He had to agree with her, Vanguard really is fun no matter if he wins or loses the fight. But why is he afraid of fighting? Why is he-

'Show your true power, my Vanguard.'

He suddenly heard another voice, the same one he heard from his dream and from his childhood. Kouichi blinked and all of a sudden he saw the brunette girl's face close to him, he jolted.

"Ah!"

"Oh you finally came back to earth! Did you hear what I said though?" The girl asked.

"Um.." Kouichi scratched his head. "Cardfight...?"

"Yes, fight me!" The girl said and she held Kouichi's hand, the blonde boy let out a blush and nodded reluctantly.

"Y-yeah... sure." Kouichi replied and they both went to one of the Standing Fight Tables. They faced each other and shuffled both of their decks.

At the counter, Shin was watching them. His eyeglasses that usually cover his eyes became transparent, and he looked at the two teenagers with seriousness. 'I haven't seen Kouichi-kun fight since he was younger, and back then he was already strong.' Shin thought to himself. 'Maybe he can show his strength once again in Card Capital, we'll have to see about that.'

===

To Be Continued

A/N: Sorry for not being active again, I was so having writer's block for this fanfiction! But I'd like to say that I'm currently writing my Aichi x Kourin fanfic called "Travelers" and the Kai x Misaki and Aichi x Kourin fanfic called "The Marriage". Please read them if you want shipping times~!

-yms/Jet