"Give it to me!" She yelled, "I'm so fucking wet, give it to me now!"

"She could scream all she wanted, I was keeping the umbrella." He thought.

Inu laughed loudly, as he ran down the faded blue cobble streets tinted in an off grey; with his accomplice, Riku, chasing after him while soaking wet due to the rain that veiled over the city. Intentionally or unintentionally, the dark coloured clouds settled the city in an uninvited darkness, with a chilly, ill-spirited breeze circulating the area. The incessant pitter patter of the raindrops hitting the floor was minuscule at first, but slowly ramped up over time as the duo went to their destination: Seigatsu Academy.

(Opening here)

The door of the Shinoa residence opened with a click, as Izanoku entered her apartment space with a heavy sigh, slanted shoulders and defeated face. In her hands were a clear plastic bag with the distinct smell of fried chicken and chips coming from it. Taking off her heels, she put on her deep purple slippers and walked down the main corridor and entered the living room, where Callum was seen napping on the couch.

"Hey, Callum." Izanoku teasingly put the bag in front of his face, letting the smell tickle his nose. "Wake up, or you're not getting any dinner."

"I'm awake, I'm awake." Callum groaned, grabbing the bag and opening his eyes groggily.

"There's a chicken burger for you, a spicy chicken wing box for Zak and a chicken popcorn set for me." Izanoku said, as Callum sat upright from his laying position. Izanoku took a seat next to him, and the two rummaged through the bag together.

"Found my shit." Callum said, yawning. Taking the wrapped up burger and box of chips, he put it on the table, and handed the bag to Izanoku. She took out a large box, and checked what was inside.

"Zak! Dinner!" She shouted. Putting that box onto the table, along with the sachets of sauce, she took off the plastic bag and set the last box inside on her lap. Opening it, she took the packet of salt and pepper inside, tore it open and sprinkled it over the food.

"I swear fried chicken solves everything." Callum grunted, already halfway through his burger.

"Yeah... everything." Izanoku said, taking one of the golden fries and nibbling on it. Zak entered the living room, and sat on the recliner, taking the box on the table and opening it.

"Thanks for getting the food this time, Mistress." Zak said, taking out a chicken wing and eating it.

"Um, no problem." Izanoku said, reaching for a ketchup packet on the table and opening it.

"What's wrong?" Zak asked Izanoku. "You don't usually sound like this."

"Sound like what?" Izanoku asked.

"Upset." Zak said.

"I'm not upset..." Izanoku said quietly, looking away.

"What happened?" Zak asked.

"Nothing happened." Izanoku replied.

"Something happened."

"Nothing happened."

"Tell me the truth."

"I already told you the truth..."

"Then I don't believe it."

"And why's that?"

"Do you want me to go in depth in your psychology?"

"No..."

"Then tell me the root of your problems so I won't use my graduation in psychology on you."

"Wait, Zak's a graduate on psychology?" Callum said. "I thought he'd be one in engineering..."

"I make bombs for fun; plus back in high school I was into the human psyche."

"Weird flex but okay."

"Anyways, Mistress." Zak said, looking at her. "If you're not going to tell me, I'm going to say it for you."

"I'd like to see you try." Izanoku said mildly amused, eating another chip.

"Something embarrassing happened and you lost something." Zak said.

"Too broad, try again." Izanoku closed her eyes and refused to make eye contact with Zak.

"I'm right then, huh..." Zak smirked.

"E-eh?" Izanoku hiccuped. "You're not right-"

"You lost the Zeroth Dragon in a cardfight." Zak announced sternly.

"..." Izanoku gave Zak a half-hearted glare, which only grew Zak's already large smirk.

"Give me your FICA." Zak demanded.

"Here..." Izanoku said, handing him her device with hesitance and uncertainty.

"Thanks." Zak said, taking out the deck inside and looking through it.

Izanoku, frustrated, placed a chip between her lips, took out her emotions on the food, using the biting force of her teeth to tear the slice of potato into a mushy pulp in the back of her mouth while she silently anticipated Zak's response. Callum watched Izanoku's stress build up, and swung his eyes back and forth between her and Zak, who was carefully examining the deck of cards.

"Dust isn't in here." Zak said. Izanoku let out a small hiss.

"Seriously...?" Callum asked, as Zak handed him the deck. As Callum sifted through it, his face turned into riotous anger.

"I'm sorry..." Izanoku said, looking down at her box of food. "I thought I could win..."

"Who... did this...?" Callum asked, snarling with his fangs bared. "I'm going to turn their insides to nothing more than a gooey mush..."

"It was a high school boy... His name was Shika Akia." Izanoku said quietly, looking away from Callum's terrifying face.

"Shika?" Zak raised a brow, and crossing his arms. "I think I know who he is..."

"What high school does he go to? I'll kill him tomorrow when he comes out of the gate!" Callum roared.

"Calm down." Zak said. "Being blind-sighted by anger is a weakness. I'll handle him."

"What? Why?!" Callum retorted.

"You'll end up making a scene in a public place." Zak said. "Unlike a chicken shop, a school contains hundreds of students, and most of which will probably at least notice you. In this situation, you can't do anything. Plus, I've personally seen Shika play."

"Huh? How? What? When?"

"During the summer tournament, he was one of the participants. He used a Spike Brothers deck focused on raw numbers. I'll just use Darkface to stun whatever he calls and Obtirandus to lock him from calling."

"Zak..." Izanoku looked at him. "Shika plays an OTK deck like Callum..."

"Then I'll use Overwhelm to draw lots of cards and rush him early to break his hand." Zak said. "It's not a problem."

"Are you able to block multiple 70k+ attacks mixed with 14k pokes every so often?"

"I'll guard early." Zak said. "Even if I lose, I'll continue fighting him until I win."

"And if Zak fails, I'll just step in and shank the poor fuck on his way home." Callum laughed.

"You guys..." Izanoku sighed, shaking her head. "You shouldn't go through this trouble for my mistake..."

"We'll go through the trouble, because we worked our asses off getting that Zeroth Dragon, and if some numbskull teenager is going to ruin that, then to hell with it being just your mistake! We ride together, die together, and most importantly, share each other's troubles til the bitter fucking end! It's clear that we can't survive by ourselves, but as a group, we cover each other's weaknesses, and strengthen each other's strengths. We become top class predators, and nobody's gonna fucking bring us down! But above all of that, if he's gonna fuck with you, then he's gonna fuck with me and Callum in the process! But most importantly..." Zak yelled. "I'll get your vengeance, mistress."

"And if he doesn't, I will." Callum grinned. "Also, firstly, terrible speech, I'm already a top predator without you two, secondly, ew, power of friendship, thirdly, as much as I hate to admit it, you're damn right, and lastly, Zak, where did this anger come from? I've never seen you so pissed off before..."

"Power of friendship isn't just a good guy thing only, y'know." Zak chuckled. "Pissed off or not, my point still stands. I'll make sure he pays for what he's done."

"I... don't have words to describe how I'm feeling..." Izanoku admitted, closing her eyes.

"Happiness, regret and thankfulness." Zak said. "You're predictable as always."

"You can read me like an open book..." Izanoku nodded. "...thank you..." She added under her breath at the end.

"I'm Lucine Mitzuki." She replied. "And you're Zeon, right?"

"Yeah, that's me." Zeon bowed, staring at his shoes. "Mind if I take a seat?"

"Of course."

"Thanks..." Zeon pulled up a chair, and sat down, looking at Lucine on-off.

"So, what did you want to know?" Lucine asked, looking at Zeon's pale face.

"Well... it's mainly relating to him and vanguard." Zeon said. "You see, back when the Яeverse was still a thing..."

"He got murdered." Lucine finished off the sentence. "You know about it too?"

"I was directly involved." Zeon said. "I was part of the Яeverse myself."

"You... were part of the Яeverse...? Did you become Яeversed by someone else or...?"

"No. I chose to be part of this murder plot... in fact, I killed someone myself."

"Are... are you sure you should be saying this kind of stuff so freely...?"

"I shouldn't... but how else will I make up for what I did wrong... if I don't admit my mistakes, then how will I ever go forward...?"

"Yeah... that's true... Um, if you don't mind me asking, why did you join?"

"Well... do you know who's the leader?"

"No, I don't."

"It was Backlion under the influence of the Void."

"Oh my God... Backlion?!"

"Yeah... he said if I joined he could revive my dead sister. I just wanted to bring her back so badly... so that's why I did what I did."

"Aww... I understand why." Lucine nodded, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Did he ever fulfil that promise...?"

"No... he didn't..." Zeon muttered. "I don't blame him though... it's ridiculous to think you could bring back the dead..."

"There there..." Lucine patted his shoulder gently, sympathising with him.

"Sorry for bringing down the mood." Zeon muttered, covering his right eye and looking away from Lucine.

"No, it's alright." Lucine said, handing Zeon a handkerchief. He took it and quietly wiped his eyes. "You can keep it."

"Thanks..." Zeon said, placing it into his blazer's pocket. "Err... back to the topic...?" He asked, gazing at her.

"Sure." She replied, closing her eyes and smiling.

"Lucine, did you ever get to know who killed Shouri?" Zeon asked.

"No, I didn't. By the time we arrived, he was dead... his assailant was nowhere to be found."

"Would you like to know?"

"...yes, I would."

"...it was Backlion."

"That... bastard..." Lucine gasped, gritting her teeth.

"He killed Shouri as he needed his clan, Forbidden Chains, for the portal to Cray he was creating."

"You mean that time units appeared back in November was because of him as well?"

"Yeah..."

"I'm so confused... why would he do that?"

"The end game of it all wasn't disclosed to us Яeverse members, although apparently it was to bring Cray and Earth into one."

"I don't want to think about if it truly worked out..."

"Neither do I."

"Why did it stop then?"

"Yza fought Backlion and won against him, but the Void had left into it's new vessel, Ayato. Ayato and Yza jumped through the portal and ended up on Cray, and poof, everything ended suddenly."

"Wait, wait... you mean that pervert Yza beat Backlion, then decided to jump into a portal with the Dragon Empire Manager and that was enough to end everything?"

"Yes."

"My head hurts from processing all of this... why is this plot so damn complicated?!"

"It's not from a story, it's from real life! I can't make this shit up!"

"It sounds made up." She pouted. "So, what happened to Yza and Backlion? They haven't come to school since November, thinking about it."

"That, no one has a clue of. Somehow Ayato weaselled his way back to Earth from Cray, so it's a good chance Yza has as well, but so far we haven't found him at all..."

"Thinking about it some more... there were missing posters about Yza I've seen splattered around in Tokyo recently."

"Yeah, that's mine, Rukia's and Shika's doing. We're trying to search for him."

"Ah... good luck, then. He seems somewhat admirable now, despite being a pervert."

"Yeah... he was a real wild card."

"We keep detouring away from Shouri!" Lucine had a pouty fit.

"Ah, yeah, my bad." Zeon laughed.

"You know, if we're speaking of things that sound made up, Shouri had this thing called PSYqualia? I think."

"He... he had what?"

"PSYqualia. Have you not heard of it?"

"No, no, I'm well aware of it's existence; Backlion has it as well."

"Well... Shouri talked about having something called Neo PSYqualia. He not only had the normal powers of PSYqualia, but could also seemingly freeze people in place?"

"Could... could you tell me more?"

"Well, he could activate this effect outside of cardfight. Otherwise, I didn't really know any other details."

"Hmm... I see..." Zeon put a finger to his chin and thought on it.

"Um... anything else?" Lucine asked, watching Zeon space out.

"Ah, sorry... it's just the Neo PSYqualia thing got me thinking..."

"I guess you were looking for that kind of answer, huh." She giggled.

"Uh... kind of, yeah..." Zeon laughed nervously. "Thanks for helping."

"No problem." Lucine smiled. "By the way, I'm guessing I should keep everything you told me a secret?"

"Yeah... if you could, please..."

"Then I promise to keep it a secret."

"Thanks, Lucine."

Feeling the rain run down his face and soak his clothes gradually, Zak smiled at the large academy before him. Standing on the street opposite of the building, he watched intently at the floods of students leaving the premises. The noise of rain was barely audible as the loud chatter of the students drowned out the noise, and cars honking and driving by muffled out the gentle pitter patter.

Inside the classroom, Shika was preparing to go outside in the rain, searching his bag for the red umbrella he brought with him. The erupting ringtone from his bag caught his attention, making him dig through the outer pockets for his phone, and check the device for the persom who was calling. He looked at the number with confusion, and answered. "Inu?"

"Shika, listen closely... don't leave the school premises until I say so." Inu said on the other end. Currently, he was standing a good few metres away from Zak, spying on him while Riku held the umbrella above Inu's and her's heads. Running a hand through his soppy hair, Inu let out a sigh with a weak smile. "Zak is outside. And he's aligned with Izanoku, the girl who you beat yesterday. I think he's after you for revenge..."

With a dramatic entrance and quiet finish, Sin dropped from the grey skies and in front of Zak, with a fierce tenacity radiating off him. Zak wasn't startled, and instead smirked, opening one of his eyes and gazing at Sin with smug curiosity. They stood face to face for a few seconds, before Zak spoke,

"You're with Aina?"

"You can call us acquaintances." Sin said. Even though the rain pelted them relentlessly, Sin's cloak appeared to be dry as a feather.

"If that's the case, I'm guessing you're trying to take my Zeroth Dragon in her steed." Zak said, taking out his FICA.

"That would be correct. I'm surprised you'd comply so easily in a cardfight." Sin said. Zak tilted his head over his shoulder, and smiled.

"I'm afraid my main meal of the day won't be available anytime soon. You'll just have to do as an appetiser." Zak said, raising his FICA to his chest. "Besides, there's a bike shed near this school. Let's cardfight under there."

"Fine with me." Sin said, as Zak guided him to the shed, which was constructed upon steel walls and a durable roof that kept rain out of the area. Inu quietly watched the two leave, before dialling Shika again with a frantic panic. Luckily for Zak and Sin, the shed was relatively empty, a sign that most people had left already.

"You shall pay for your sins." Sin announced.

"We'll see about that." Zak scoffed.

"Stand up, (the!) Vanguard!"

"Fluttering Deletor, Zuiije!" The vanguard circle expanded red.

"Outstanding Mutant, Promularva!" The vanguard circle expanded light green.

"I'll start. Stand and draw. I ride, Farwon! Turn end." Sin exclaimed.

Sin:
Hand: 5
Damage: 0
OXO
OXO

Zak:
Hand: 5
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

"Stand and draw! I ride, Little Dorcas, and Promularva pulls back. With a boost, attack! (7000 > 12000)"

"No guard."

"Drive check! (Machining Treehopper) Critical, all to vanguard. (12000 > 17000/1★ > 2★)"

"Damage checks. (Darkjet Deletor, Greiend, Juxtapose Deletor, Gaele)"

"Turn end."

Sin:
Hand: 5
Damage: 2
OXO
OXO

Zak:
Hand: 6
Damage: 0
OXO
OXO

"Stand and draw. I ride, Gaele, and I call, Evo and Efames! Boosted by Zuiije, Gaele attacks! (9000 > 14000)"

"No guard!"

"Drive check! (Lie-down Deletor, Given)"

"Damage check! (Intimidating Mutant King, Darkface Alicides)"

"Boosted by Efames, Evo attacks! (9000 > 13000)"

"No guard! (Scissor-shot Mutant, Bombscissor) Critical, all to vanguard. (7000 > 12000)"

"Turn end."

Sin:
Hand: 4
Damage: 2
XXO
XXO

Zak:
Hand: 6
Damage: 2
OXO
OXO

"Stand and draw! Skill of Promularva, I'll counterblast and put him into soul to draw a card and rest all your units. I ride, Dangerous Horn! His skill, I'll reveal Gredora in my hand to keep him at 10k power! Call, Aristscythe. Aristscythe attacks Evo! Her Dark Device skill activates! Since you have no standing units in the same column as her, she gets 2k power! (9000 > 11000)"

"Evo retires."

"Dangerous Horn, attack the vanguard! (10000)"

"No guard."

"Drive check! (Vulcan Lafertei)"

"Damage check. (Remove Deletor, Igalga)"

"Turn end."

Sin:
Hand: 4
Damage: 3
OXO
XXO

Zak:
Hand: 7
Damage: 2
OXX
OOO

"Stand and draw. ∂єℓєтє ιт αℓℓ. єνєяу ℓαѕт σиє σf тнєѕє ѕ¢υмѕ, тнιикιиg тнєу ¢αи ℓινє ωιтн тнєιя ѕιиѕ! ι яι∂є му αναтαя, нα¢к ∂єℓєтσя, gяєιgιιℓ!" The vanguard circle expanded blood red. "ѕкιℓℓ σf gяєιgιιℓ, ι ѕσυℓвℓαѕт тωσ ∂єℓєтσяѕ. нє gєтѕ 5000 ρσωєя, (11000 > 16000) αи∂ ι'ℓℓ D̥̝̮͙͈͂̐̇ͮ̏̔̀̚ͅE̮̟͈̣̖̰̩̹͈̾ͨ̑͑L͕͖͉̭̰ͬ̍ͤ͆̊ͨE̮̟͈̣̖̰̩̹͈̾ͨ̑͑T̘̟̼̉̈́͐͋͌̊E̮̟͈̣̖̰̩̹͈̾ͨ̑͑T̘̟̼̉̈́͐͋͌̊H͚̖̜̍̃͐E̮̟͈̣̖̰̩̹͈̾ͨ̑͑V̪̩̜̜̙̜ͨ̽̄A̘̫͈̭͌͛͌̇̇̍N͉̠̙͉̗̺̋̔ͧ̊G͎͚̥͎͔͕ͥ̿U̟͎̲͕̼̲ͮͫͭ̋ͭ͛ͣ̈A̘̫͈̭͌͛͌̇̇̍R̼̯̤̗̲̞̥̈ͭ̃ͨ̆D̥̝̮͙͈͂̐̇ͮ̏̔̀̚ͅ!"

"Dangerous Horn is deleted! (10000 > 0)"

"уσυ ѕнαℓℓ вє gινєи ρυиιѕнмєит! ¢αℓℓ, gινєи, zυιιʝє αи∂ єfαмєѕ! вσσѕтє∂ ву zυιιʝє, єfαмєѕ αттα¢кѕ! (4000 > 9000)"

"The only thing sinful in this match is the fact you're using such a dirty tactic against me! Aristscythe, intercept, Twilight Madder, guard! (10000)"

"∂ιяту тα¢тι¢? ∂σи'т мαкє мє ℓαυgн. ιт'ѕ α яυѕн ∂є¢к, ωнαт ∂σ уσυ єχρє¢т? вσσѕтє∂ ву zυιιʝє, gяєιgιιℓ αттα¢кѕ!! (16000 > 21000)"

"A rather sinful one, you hypocrite. Rebel Mutant, Starshield, perfect guard!"

"ι ∂σи'т ωαит тσ нєαя тαℓк σf вєιиg α "нуρσ¢яιтє" fяσм уσυ. тωιи ∂яινє!! (Hire Deletor, Farwon, Breaking Deletor, Gatario) вσσѕтє∂ ву єfαмєѕ, gινєи αттα¢кѕ! (9000 > 13000)"

"You say that like you know me... Treehopper, Bolg Wasp! (15000)"

"ι'м ωєℓℓ αωαяє σf уσυя ѕιтυαтισи, zαк. gινєи'ѕ ѕкιℓℓ! ι ¢συитєявℓαѕт α ∂єℓєтσя, яєтιяє нιм αи∂ яєтιяє fσυя σf му σтнєя ∂єℓєтσя яєαя-gυαя∂ѕ! ѕιи¢є му ναиgυαя∂ ιѕ α gяα∂є 3 ωιтн "gяєι" ιи ιт'ѕ иαмє, ι R̼̯̤̗̲̞̥̈ͭ̃ͨ̆E̮̟͈̣̖̰̩̹͈̾ͨ̑͑S̪̭̱̼̼̉̈́ͪ͋̽̚T̘̟̼̉̈́͐͋͌̊A̘̫͈̭͌͛͌̇̇̍N͉̠̙͉̗̺̋̔ͧ̊D̥̝̮͙͈͂̐̇ͮ̏̔̀̚ͅT̘̟̼̉̈́͐͋͌̊H͚̖̜̍̃͐E̮̟͈̣̖̰̩̹͈̾ͨ̑͑V̪̩̜̜̙̜ͨ̽̄A̘̫͈̭͌͛͌̇̇̍N͉̠̙͉̗̺̋̔ͧ̊G͎͚̥͎͔͕ͥ̿U̟͎̲͕̼̲ͮͫͭ̋ͭ͛ͣ̈A̘̫͈̭͌͛͌̇̇̍R̼̯̤̗̲̞̥̈ͭ̃ͨ̆D̥̝̮͙͈͂̐̇ͮ̏̔̀̚ͅ!" Sin howled, the vanguard circle expanding blood red and spinning wildly underneath.

"What is my situation then?" Zak asked.

"тнαт уσυ αяє ιи α ℓσѕιиg ρσѕιтισи. тнє ѕкιℓℓ σf му яєтιяє∂ zυιιʝє, zυιιʝє, єfαмєѕ αи∂ єfαмєѕ! zυιιʝє gσєѕ ιитσ ѕσυℓ, αи∂ ι ¢αℓℓ тнє тσρ ¢αя∂ σf му ∂є¢к тσ яєαя-gυαя∂! ι ¢αℓℓ, єνσ! zυιιʝє gσєѕ ιитσ ѕσυℓ αи∂ ¢συитєя¢нαяgє! ѕкιℓℓ σf єνσ, ι ¢συитєявℓαѕт тωσ αи∂ ¢αℓℓ gινєи fяσм ∂є¢к! му ѕє¢σи∂ zυιιʝє'ѕ ѕкιℓℓ! ι ¢αℓℓ fяσм тнє тσρ σf тнє ∂є¢к, gαтαяισ! zυιιʝє gσєѕ ιитσ ѕσυℓ, αи∂ ¢συитєя¢нαяgє! єfαмєѕ' ѕкιℓℓ! ι ¢αℓℓ тнє тσρ ¢αя∂ σf му ∂є¢к тσ яєαя-gυαя∂! ι ¢αℓℓ gяєιgιℓℓ! нє gєтѕ 5к ρσωєя! (11000 > 16000) му ѕє¢σи∂ єfαмєѕ' ѕкιℓℓ! ι ¢αℓℓ fяσм тнє тσρ σf тнє ∂є¢к, gσтнσ! нє gєтѕ 5к ρσωєя! (5000 > 10000) вσσѕтє∂ ву gαтαяισ, єνσ αттα¢кѕ! (9000 > 16000)"

"Not what I meant, but good way to dodge the question. Guard with Snow Wing and Makeup Widow! (20000)"

"ιт ιѕ α мєтαρнσя σи уσυя ℓιfє, α¢тυαℓℓу. яєραу fσя уσυя ѕιиѕ, zαк яємαѕнιтα! му ναиgυαя∂ gяєιgιℓℓ αттα¢кѕ!! (16000)"

"Shut it..." Zak said with gritted teeth. "No guard..."

"ιт ѕєємѕ ℓιкє ι ѕтяυ¢к α иєяνє. тωιи ∂яινє!! (Flutter Deletor, Zuiije, Darkjet Deletor, Greiend)"

"I said be quiet... Damage check... (Black Spear Mutant, Bolg Wasp)"

"вσσѕтє∂ ву gσтнσ, gινєи! (9000 > 19000)"

"No guard... (Flowing Mutant, Twilight Madder)"

"gινєи'ѕ ѕкιℓℓ σи¢є мσяє... ¢συитєявℓαѕт α ∂єℓєтσя, яєтιяιиg нιмѕєℓf, αи∂ fσυя σтнєя ∂єℓєтσя яєαя-gυαя∂ѕ!! тнιѕ ιѕ... A̘̫͈̭͌͛͌̇̇̍ D̥̝̮͙͈͂̐̇ͮ̏̔̀̚ͅO̜̓̇ͫ̉͊ͨU̟͎̲͕̼̲ͮͫͭ̋ͭ͛ͣ̈B͎̣̫͈̥̗͒͌̃͑̔̾ͅL͕͖͉̭̰ͬ̍ͤ͆̊ͨE̮̟͈̣̖̰̩̹͈̾ͨ̑͑ G͎͚̥͎͔͕ͥ̿I̞̟̫̺ͭ̒ͭͣV̪̩̜̜̙̜ͨ̽̄E̮̟͈̣̖̰̩̹͈̾ͨ̑͑N͉̠̙͉̗̺̋̔ͧ̊!! B͎̣̫͈̥̗͒͌̃͑̔̾ͅE̮̟͈̣̖̰̩̹͈̾ͨ̑͑ R̼̯̤̗̲̞̥̈ͭ̃ͨ̆E̮̟͈̣̖̰̩̹͈̾ͨ̑͑B͎̣̫͈̥̗͒͌̃͑̔̾ͅO̜̓̇ͫ̉͊ͨR̼̯̤̗̲̞̥̈ͭ̃ͨ̆N͉̠̙͉̗̺̋̔ͧ̊, M̘͈̺̪͓̺ͩ͂̾ͪ̀̋Y͉̝͖̻̯ͮ̒̂ͮ͋ͫͨ V̪̩̜̜̙̜ͨ̽̄A̘̫͈̭͌͛͌̇̇̍N͉̠̙͉̗̺̋̔ͧ̊G͎͚̥͎͔͕ͥ̿U̟͎̲͕̼̲ͮͫͭ̋ͭ͛ͣ̈A̘̫͈̭͌͛͌̇̇̍R̼̯̤̗̲̞̥̈ͭ̃ͨ̆D̥̝̮͙͈͂̐̇ͮ̏̔̀̚ͅ!" Sin shouted, the vanguard circle expanding blood red once more. "fιиιѕн нιѕ υѕєℓєѕѕ ℓιfє, gяєιgιℓℓ! (16000)"

"No guard..." Zak said.

"тωιи ∂яινє!! (Remove Deletor, Igalga, Taunting Deletor, Gotho) нєαℓ тяιggєя, αℓℓ тσ ναиgυαя∂! (16000 > 21000) 🅳🅴🅻🅴🆃🅴 🅴🅽🅳."

"Damage check... (Evil Governor, Darkface Gredora) You win..."

"αи∂ αѕ ѕυ¢н..." Sin watched a green card float from Zak's G Zone towards him. Gently grasping the card, Sin tucked it away into his inner pocket, and compacted his FICA back to its case form. "Your Zeroth Dragon belongs to me."

As those words rang through Zak's head, he watched Sin disappear through a portal with black flames around the edges; mouth gaping slightly. Narrowing his eyebrows, he slammed the remaining half of the FICA table with shaking hands, and gritted his teeth to the point his face turned pale in colour. Raising his balled hands, he struck the table with rage repeatedly, while releasing a desolate howl from deep within his lungs.

(Ending here)

"ITS YOUR FAULT"

Inu gasped and spluttered, using his nails to claw at the pair of cold, pale hands wrapped tightly around his neck. With his face battered with pink-red scrapes and grey ash, Inu hissed with resilience to Zak, who was towering above him, blotting out the barely visible light entering the alleyway using his body. This sent Inu sinking deeper into the shadows, squeezing his eyes shut to let the darkness take over his eyesight. As the mixture of sweat and rain ran off Inu's pale, choking face, Zak stared down at him with a new-found rage filling his eyes; using his clammy hands to worsen the suffocation put upon the frail teenager. Inu, growing more light headed and dizzy, prayed for a miracle, and tried to fight. Not to escape, but to survive. However, the staggering bear-like grip Zak controlled was too much, and denied Inu a single breath. Giving into the pressure, and collapsing to the lack of oxygen, Inu stopped struggling against his enemy.

Next time on Z World:

#34: Advancement

"Why do I see you..."

"It's most likely he's still on Cray, but due to the circumstances I last saw him... I think he might be dead..."

"Anyways, how are you two? I see Shika didn't make it."

"Said dragon killed a whole village with what it seemed to be any struggle."

"Let me get this out of the way, first..." Ayato said, rubbing his eye. "I've been having visions for the past couple of months. They're some scary stuff, creeping up on you at any moment..."

================================

A/N

Welcome back to A/N! For once, I'm going it use it for it's intended purposes!

Taira: So... replacing it with The Ansei Family?!

What? No...

Taira: *sniff* WHY NOT

Last chapter didn't hit 10 votes the time I'm writing this

Taira: REEEEEEEEEEEE

Anyways... back to the actual thing I was going to say. The ever so lovely Lucine Mitzuki is owned by Little_Cute_Cookie.

I'm surprised there's only 2 chapters left until the end of this volume... time flies when you're having fun~

Now, back to your regularly scheduled Mikazuchi Family.

Taira: ...eh?

Fubuki: Fox, I think you used the wrong surname

Or did I?

Fubuki: ...don't tell me...

Taira: ...we've been cucked...

Fubuki & Taira: ...by them... *stares at Ryuzaki, Payic and Kaido*

The Mikazuchi Family Episode 69

Ryuzaki: What other sexy human being has the last name Mikazuchi?

Payic: *raises hand*

Ryuzaki: *pushes her hand down* THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT! HA!

Kaido: I never agreed to this, can I go back to my yacht being the Yonu to Yuuto's Atsa?

Ryuzaki: Only if we're attacked by bad CGI

Payic: Was that a Persona reference?

Ryuzaki: No, it was a JoJo's reference

Kaido: We have a living JoJo's reference in the form of Taira's middle name

Ryuzaki: SONO CHI NO SADAMEEEEEEEEEEEE JOJOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Payic: I'm surprised we aren't using the off-brand JoJo's for this segment

Ryuzaki: Honey, there can only be 1 JoJos. It would be an insult to have a knock off

*meanwhile*

Shika: *heavy breathing*

Zeon: What's gotten into him?

Rukia: Latest episode of BoBo's Normal Adventure came out yesterday

Shika: OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWO

*meanwhile*

Ryuzaki: I-

Kaido: It was nice being with you guys for Christmas. *leaves*

Ryuzaki: WAIT! IT'S NOT EVEN DECEMBER! COME BACK!

(At the time of filming it was November.)

Payic: I don't know what's worse, we're actually doing this segment or the fact Kaido gets lines in Z World while Yuuto doesn't

Yuuto: I don't even know how I'm alive

Ryuzaki: Simple, some guy named Yza Blade shoved his sausage into Rukia Takanori's oven filled with eggs, and after the sausage exploded into white pieces and mixed with the egg, the final result was something called Yuuto Blade

Yuuto: Firstly, it's Yuuto Takanori, secondly, we're not in school right now, so stop acting like a sex ed teacher, thirdly, I did not mean literally, and finally, MY DAD'S DEAD RIGHT NOW

Ryuzaki: Aha, but you forget Yuuto-shounen... *whips out Sin and takes off his mask* THIS GUY IS ALSO SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD, BUT HE'S ALIVE!

Payic: Have we stopped to consider Yuuto's dad might be Zeon?

Ryuzaki: ... :mindblown:

Yuuto: I'll take the emo over Yza any day

Zeon: I can't even tell if this is a compliment

Yuuto: It's not but at least you end up being with the chick you wanted right?

Zeon: True...

Rukia: Do I not get a say in this?...

Ryuzaki, Payic, Yuuto: No

Zeon: Yes

Rukia: >.>

Ryuzaki: This isn't even the Mikazuchi Family anymore

Payic: What is this then?

Fubuki: US TAKING BACK OUR SHOW! *kicks open the door and fires Nerf guns at everyone* SHI NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Taira: GO GET EM DAD!

Ryuzaki: *hit by bullets* IT HURTS

Payic: *hit by bullets* CHILD-BIRTH IS MORE PAINFUL

Yuuto: *yeets back to Next Gen realm*

Zeon: *hit by bullets* IS THIS WHAT MAXIOS FELT IN THE TOURNAMENT ARC

Maxios: *hit by bullets* HEY THAT'S... TRUE

Rukia: *hit by bullets* WOW FOX SUBVERTED THE READER'S EXPECTATIONS?

*hit by bullets and doesn't feel a thing* Did you just insult my writing...?

Rukia: Yes

HEY KINJUZO-

Rukia: I mean, if Kinjuzo is alive, Yza is as well

Fuck, that's right. *shoves Kinjuzo back to death*

Ryuzaki: So this is how Yuuto was made...

Payic: That Fox is an idiot and doesn't know what forward planning is?

Ryuzaki: *snaps fingers* Correct

Are your boobs real?

Payic: I stand my case

That's all, Fox out!