Coming into school today, I could feel a heavy atmosphere linger in the classroom. Dread hung thick in the air as the war drew closer and closer.

We used break and lunch time to do our final training sessions before the war. As leader, I poured over everyone's decks to make sure they were perfect as could be, and honestly... I was extremely impressed with how much my classmates had grown over these past few days.

Nora, Katsumi, Akari, Kawaguchi, Mitsuba, Akihiro... somehow, in less than a week, they've become cardfighters I could both respect and fear. Their improvement was visible, as they could now even beat Taiga, someone who was much stronger than them in the beginning,

The school day ended and the war was now up next for us. For Yukimura, he went to take his final make up midterm exam, but wished us good luck before he left. Chabashira-sensei briefly entered class and instructed us to follow her to the war preparation room.

When we arrived at the war preparation room, the five B Class students that were helping us (Ichinose, Chikuji, Mato, Amanda, and Kirishima) were already there. We took our seats and Chabashira-sensei began summarising the information of the war to us.

"For those who've forgotten, today between 3pm and 5pm, you will all be participating in an official war against D Class in Higashi Mall. The objective of the war is to kill as many opponents as possible. The winner of the war is the class with the most number of kills and will receive 100 class points as a reward. Since it's an official war, it will be broadcasted and streamed live to everyone else on campus."

However, just as we thought she was done, Chabashira-sensei continued.

"Furthermore, you will be allowed to use the War Time exclusive features "Ride Deck" and "Fighter's Skill" in this war. These features are only used in official wars, which is why they weren't available to you in your friendly war against 3-A, and are meant to make the battles between cardfighters more exciting for the audience watching."

Even now, the school was finding ways to screw us over because we were the defects of the school. They had deliberately withheld this important information from E Class until the very last second to force us to adapt in the short time we had before the war.

"The Ride Deck is self-explanatory. Before the war starts, you set aside a grade 0, 1, 2, and 3 card from your deck and register that as your Ride Deck. At the start of the game, the grade 0 you choose becomes your starting vanguard. During your ride phase, you can discard a card from your hand to ride a card from the Ride Deck that is one grade higher than your current vanguard. Be careful when choosing the units you'll put into your Ride Deck, because you won't be able to change it between matches during the war."

This was an incredibly powerful consistency tool that prevented us from getting grade stuck or mis-riding the wrong unit. This also let us get away with more whacky ratios in our main deck.

If we knew about this beforehand, we could've built our decks with that in mind and created even stronger decks, since the need for balanced ratios or practicing for what to do when you don't hit your ideal ride target wouldn't be necessary.

"The Fighter's Skill is a unique and randomised skill given to all students based on the deck they submit or use. No two students can have the same skill within a year group. You can check what your Fighter's Skill is on your Player War Card, which is a log of your performance during War Time that you can find on the school app, under your account's settings. The Skill costs nothing to activate and lasts until the end of turn, but you can only activate it once per game, so time your usage wisely. These skills can change and evolve over time, so don't worry if you're unhappy with your current Skill."

In a sense, these were basically abilities for us, the player, a bit like an Order card. I opened my Player War Card and checked what it said on there. It gave details on my status, win to loss ratio, and obviously, my skill. The skill I was given was called "Third Fist".

Third Fist: When you bind a card, your vanguard gets drive +1.

Too bad I won't be able to try it out.

"What's your guy's Skills?"

Yukina took the initiative to ask everyone in the Takanori Group what their Skills were in advance. Most of these were basic buffs or small bumps in consistency. There was nothing game breaking about them.

We'd probably have to gain more experience and win more in the wars we participate in to evolve these Skills into something more powerful. What I was most concerned about was the Ride Deck, since it had opened a bunch of options for us.

"Chabashira-sensei, what's the time right now?"

"It's 2:43pm."

We had less than twenty minutes until the war started. If we wanted to make last minute changes, then we'd have to get Mitsuba's toolboxes from E Class and submit the changes into the scanner before 3pm.

"Now that we know about the Ride Deck, do you guys want to make any changes?"

"I do!"

The first to reply without hesitation was Akihiro. Nora and Akari agreed soon after. The rest of them looked unsure whether or not changes needed to be made. They didn't want to mess up the deck they were most familiar with playing, after all.

"Then, I'm going to get Mitsuba-san's collection from our class. Give me... maybe less than ten minutes? I'll try to be quick."

"That sounds risky... are you sure you can make it in time?"

Even though Yukina was concerned, I wasn't worried at all. There was a reason Shiori bragged to Amagi about me being a good sprinter in middle school.

"If it's for you guys, I'll do it."

"Run like the wind, best friend Takanori-san!"

Mitsuba shouted at me words of encouragement. Taiga and Katsumi joined in and cheered too.

"Show me what those legs are made of!"

"Stop standing there and go, go, go!"

"Thanks. I'm heading off."

I left the war preparation room and sprinted down the hallways. I used the smooth linoleum floor to my advantage, letting me slide forward at an even greater speed. After about three minutes, I had made it to E Class.

I entered inside and grabbed the two toolboxes Mitsuba brought to school today. I picked them up and hurried back while being careful as to not drop it. On my way back though, I ran into Satou Ishigami from D Class.

"...oh, you guys are making last minute changes?"

Even though I was in a hurry, Satou caught onto the two large toolboxes I was holding and asked me that question with his lethargic voice.

"Yeah... we only got told about the Ride Deck a few moments ago."

"Really? Mikazuchi-sensei told us about it on Wednesday during our homeroom strategy meeting."

When Satou said that, I got worried a little. Not only did D Class learn about this sooner than us, but they also leveraged their unity to have strategy meetings on what to do in the war. E Class, who was split down the middle, did no such thing.

"Sucks to be E Class."

"It sure does..."

"But you guys seem to have a pretty good shot at winning... having B Class help out must be a boon."

"It is. Did D Class ally with anyone for the war?"

"Nope. We tried reaching out to C Class, but they declined. It's unfortunate we couldn't, since Zenkichi-san can't participate today."

I vaguely remembered that Shigeru had been injured yesterday by Hiyama.

"What happened to him?"

"He injured his leg and now has a limp. Not ideal for a war where you're running around trying to defeat enemies."

This meant D Class only had 24 students they could send in now. With our collective total of 29, we had a decisive advantage in numbers.

"That's pretty bad."

"Bad for us, not for you. Reo-san was right... something bad was gonna happen before the war begun... well, guess it can't be helped."

Satou shrugged his shoulders with a deflated sigh. Even if Shigeru couldn't join in the fight in Higashi Mall, he could take up the role of Commander, since that doesn't require running around. Though, I wondered if Zyriot trusted him enough to give him such an important role.

While it was true Shigeru was the brains of the delinquents, the main reason I thought this was because of the time Shigeru spoke up against Zyriot back when I was attacked by Mikitaka and his friends. They might've had differing views on how to do things, which would make Zyriot less willing to put Shigeru in that high position.

"What are you doing down here, then?"

"Toilet break... my bladder's been acting up since this morning... I think it's the nerves..."

"There's toilets in the special wing, though?"

"Everyone else is using them at the same time... there's way too many people and it's super crowded."

Since Satou was an introverted type, I guess that made sense. I didn't like going to the toilets during break and lunch for the same reason. It was way too cramped and some people were there just to mess around. I'd rather not deal with that crowd.

"You sure you can make it back in time?"

"I'm a tortoise when it comes to walking and I decided to stop and talk to you, so... probably not."

A part of me was kind of hoping Satou would be late so we'd have one less person to deal with.

"Luckily the transport fight happens first... that's gonna give me enough time... I think."

This was also true. While you couldn't make last minute changes to your deck because the war technically begins with the transport fight, you were still waiting in the war preparation room while it occurred, so as long as you returned before it was over, you could be absent from the room between then.

"In any case, I need to hurry back now."

"Yeah... sorry for wasting your time. To make up for it... I'll give you a word of advice."

Satou, who had averted my gaze the entire time, finally mustered the courage to look at me in the eyes.

"D Class isn't as stable as it looks."

...why did he tell me that?

If anything, this supported my baseless theory that Zyriot and Shigeru had conflicting views. Was Satou trying to tell me that his class's unity was a facade, and that they were in a similar situation to us and B Class?

"Ah, I really need to pee... maybe drinking all that soda with Souichirou-san and Gentarou-san during lunch was a bad idea..."

He switched from serious to bumbling in seconds. I was still dazed that Satou, who was Zyriot's right hand man, would tell me (an enemy) such a thing about his class. Was he trying to play mind games on me? Or was he telling the truth?

Regardless, I couldn't press for more of an explanation because time wasn't on my side. I had spent about two minutes talking to Satou. Now that he's gone for the toilet, it was better for me to sprint back to the war preparation room to give everyone else ample time to make their changes.

I reentered the war preparation room and slammed down the toolboxes containing Mitsuba's collection on the desk. Everyone scrambled to open it up and make last minute changes. For better or for worse, the Ride Deck would either greatly enhance our carefully crafted decks or throw them completely off balance.

"You've really built up a sweat."

Making light conversation with me was Katsumi, who grinned despite her visible nervousness for the war.

"Yeah... I haven't sprinted properly in a long time."

"Wipe it off and get rehydrated. We need our leader to be at tip-top shape for this war!"

Katsumi threw a towel and an isotonic energy drink at me. I caught them and nodded as thanks. I wiped the sweat away and cracked open the bottle, chugging half of it. I felt refreshed and ready to go.

"Are you okay, Katsumi-san?"

Since she was looking out for me, I only felt it was right to do the same for her. Katsumi sat down and scratched her cheek.

"Not really..."

"If you're feeling unconfident, I'll make sure that you fight lower ranked D Class students."

"It's not that! I want to fight strong opponents to help E Class win!"

Katsumi boldly showed me her resolve before reverting back to her nervous state.

"What's the matter then?"

"Well... compared to everyone else, I feel like I'm lagging behind. I'm the only one who hasn't been able to beat Taiga-chan... which is super embarrassing."

"I thought you did, though?"

"She... I could tell she wasn't playing seriously. She was holding back and let me have the win to pump my spirits up. While I appreciate it... it made me feel weak."

Katsumi, who prided herself on being strong physically and mentally, felt defeated by the fact that she was the weakest cardfighter from the Takanori group.

"It's okay if you're a bit weaker than the rest. You were newer to Vanguard than anyone else. The fact you've sprinted to their level is proof of your hard work and effort."

"Yeah... I was surprised that I picked it up so quickly, he he. It was thanks to you and everyone else! But... it still wasn't enough. I'm scared that I'll be a handicap in the war. I'm worried that I'll be holding you guys back because of my weakness..."

"If you think your current strength in Vanguard is lacking, think of other ways you can make up for it then. I can already think of two that make you an invaluable asset to our class."

"Um... what are they?"

"Your athleticism and cheerfulness."

Katsumi's eyes perked up as I said that. She smiled a little.

"That's true... those two are my strong points, aren't they?"

"Yeah. Wars don't measure just how good you are at Vanguard. They measure every aspect of you. It's the ultimate meritocratic test. Just because you're weak in one area doesn't mean you can't make up for it elsewhere. Use your speed and stamina to cover more ground than anyone else. Use your cheerfulness to rekindle and rejuvenate everyone else's spirits when they're down. That's your brand of kindness, Katsumi-san."

"Takanori-kun... wow..."

"Wow?"

"It's weird... even now, you're still the only person whose ever praised me before... I'm just... really glad I met you."

"We met in a really weird situation, though..."

I still remember how Katsumi kicked me in the face, thinking I was an intruder when I visited Nora's house.

"Sorry about that... your face is all better though, right?"

"Yeah. All I have left is this ugly scar on my left cheek... I really want to scratch it off, honestly."

Truthfully, I didn't really care I had a scar. I used it being ugly as the fake reason why I didn't like it. In reality, there was another, completely unrelated reason for I hated this scar. A reason I couldn't tell anyone else.

Because it involved him.

"It makes you look kind of cool though! Like... a badass leader!"

"I'm far from badass."

"You're badass in your own way. You're silent and hyper aware of your surroundings. While you don't scare anybody, your bland voice and personality is unsettling enough to make people stay away from you. You don't seem interesting on the surface, but deep down, you're an awesome guy!"

Katsumi's kind words warmed my heart. Hearing this come from someone I had only recently met meant a lot more than from someone I knew for a long time.

"We're just trading nice words at this rate..."

"But I mean it! These things make you cool, Takanori-kun!"

"I don't think so... but thanks anyways, Katsumi-san. I appreciate it."

"Same here! Let's kick some D Class butt in the war! Glory to the loser faction!"

"...ha?"

"Don't you now? "Glory to the loser faction!" is the Takanori group's official chant! Yukimura-san made it up."

You've got to be kidding me...

"Say it with me, Takanori-kun! Glory to the loser faction!"

"G-glory to the loser faction..."

"Say it with more hype! Glory to the loser faction!!"

I can't... it's making me cringe too much...

"Glory to the loser faction... or something..."

"You really aren't all that expressive, huh?"

"...you only just figured that out now?"

In a flash, it was now 3pm. Everyone had thankfully submitted their changes at the last second, and now it was time to decide who we'd send out to fight for transportation. The winner's class would get to ride the train, which was faster than the loser's transport, the bus. As the two leaders of the groups, me and Matsushita discussed this briefly.

"Takanori, who are you planning to send out?"

"Mitsuba-san."

Mitsuba spat out his drink when he heard that. I guess he wasn't expecting me to have that level of confidence in him, huh?

"Interesting choice. Well, I was planning to ask Alice-chan to do it, but I think Mitsuba-san might be a better choice."

If Sakigamiya died in the transportation fight, Matsushita would be severely lacking in good cardfighters. He was willing to let me sacrifice one of my men for this important fight. Unfortunately for him, I actually wanted this outcome.

"Sure thing. It's decided, Mitsuba-san, you're up."

"I-I'm not ready!!"

Mitsuba, who began freaking out now that the insurmountable pressure of winning this fight was placed on him, started tearing the hair out of his head in panic.

"You can do this, Mitsuba!" Akihiro grinned.

"Y-you've become a lot stronger since then... I think Takanori-kun was right picking you!" Nora agreed.

"Go burn 'em to a crisp with your super cool Skill!" Akari cheered.

"If you die in the transportation fight, you can relax here for the rest of the war. However, if you win the transportation fight, you get the glory as the man responsible for giving E Class a major advantage in the war, as we'd be allowed into Higashi Mall first and set up traps for D Class. It's a win-win situation either way."

If his friends encouragement wasn't enough, I decided to convince him by using his scummy side against him.

"Take deep breaths and relax. You've got this." Yukina encouraged.

"You've beaten me, so you can beat anybody!" Taiga gave a thumbs up.

"Jun, you've mastered the art of the turn 3 kill. Now go and beat that D Class punk before they can even ride to grade 3!" Kawaguchi roared.

"You guys... thanks. I needed that."

Mitsuba inhaled and exhaled, striking a pose with his hips thrust forward.

"I am The Blacksmith of E Class, Mitsuba Jun! I can beat anybody with this deck I forged from the trashiest of dirt!"

Declaring who he was dramatically, Mitsuba slipped on his visor and left the war preparation room to meet his opponent in the middle of the special wing hallway, where they'd play the transportation fight.

"Is it just me, or did he seem cool for a moment there?" Yukina asked.

"He's always been super cool from the very beginning." Akihiro snickered.

"The time to commence War Time has concluded. War Time has begun."

A wailing siren, followed by a female announcer, officially signalled the start of the war. In the war preparation room, where the rest of us were, a bunch of screens and panels popped open in front of the platform where Chabashira-sensei was standing on, letting us see what was happening. The camera focused onto Mitsuba, before cutting to his opponent in the transportation fight.

Standing across from Mitsuba was none other than D Class's leader: Zyriot Feirbuster.