The lunch time training session went by smoothly with the addition of Taiga. Everyone was stunned by her strength, as she proceeded to crush Nora, Katsumi, and Akari, even when Akihiro and Kawaguchi were supporting them from the sidelines.

Everyone's determination to improve had increased as the gap in their abilities had became more apparent. After school, we held another training session in class. Since outdoor club activities were cancelled for today due to a friendly war, we didn't have to wait for anyone to be done with clubs before beginning.

"Argh! Demiza-san, you're too good!"

Mitsuba's frustrated cries could be heard from a mile away. He had suffered another loss against Taiga.

"I thought Overlord was good... where's your DOTX?"

"The X? I don't run him."

I can't believe I actually heard those words leave his mouth...

"...huh?"

Even Taiga was shocked by Mitsuba's ballsy declaration that he didn't run Dragonic Overlord "The X". It was unfathomable that he didn't use the card that singlehandedly fixed all the flaws of his deck. To make matters worse, he didn't even use the other new cards, Heatshot Dragon and Igniroad Dragon, either.

"You have copies of The X at least, right?"

I approached Mitsuba, who was cleaning up his cards from the table.

"Yeah, but it's just base rarity VR. I don't wanna use that."

...so this was an issue of shiny cards, huh?

"Shouldn't you use it anyways? It makes your deck better."

"It does... but I want the SP version! Same with Igniroad and Heatshot! I refuse to use them unless they're max rarity!"

"Can I check out your deck again, Mitsuba-san?"

Mitsuba handed me his deck to look through. I didn't notice it before, but he really did mean it when he said his deck was completely bling. These weren't base RRR or VR rarity - these were the highest rarity he could get his hands on. SPs, ORs, SVRs... you name it, he had it.

His Dragonic Overlord the End was so shiny, he had a different rarity for each copy: one was SVR, one was XVR, one was the SP version of the XVR, and one was from the Collector's Set.

"So the reason you won't play the new cards is because you don't have the SP versions of them?"

"Damn straight! There's no way I'd dirty my deck with ugly base rarity."

Mitsuba crossed his arms to show how serious he was. I gave him his deck back and thought about what could remedy the situation.

If we had more points or more time, we could've just ordered the SPs online to keep him happy so he'd be at peak performance for the war. Unfortunately, the only reason I asked for Mitsuba's help was because that wasn't option.

Then, I had an insane idea that may or may not work.

"Give me half an hour. I want to test something. Yukina, hold down the fort for me."

"Alright?" She replied.

Mitsuba and Taiga looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"Takanori-san, what are you doing exactly?"

"You'll see."

I left the classroom to go to the library.

At the library, I went on one of the computers and searched for pictures of SP versions of Dragonic Overlord "The X", Igniroad Dragon, and Heatshot Dragon. I copy pasted the images and rescaled them to have the same dimensions as a Vanguard card.

I printed out four copies of these images and used some scissors to cut them out. Taking out my own deck, I slipped the pictures of the SPs between the sleeve and the card to create a proxy.

After this, I left the library and went to the faculty office. I knocked on the door, waiting for someone to let me in. Greeting me was Momiji-sensei, the homeroom teacher of the 2nd Year A Class. She taught history, like Chabashira-sensei.

"Oh, you're from Shizuka's class aren'tcha? You looking for her?"

Momiji-sensei had very casually referred to Chabashira-sensei by her first name. I guess it wasn't strange if they were close since they worked in the same department.

While I've never had her as a teacher before, since Chabashira-sensei teaches us history, the way she conducted herself casually made her very approachable. She's a lot less scary than Chabashira-sensei, that's for sure. Her laidback way of speaking put me at ease.

"Yeah. I needed to talk to her about something."

"You're tough outta luck kid. Shizuka's already gone home for the day."

"Oh... I see."

Well, that was disappointing. Without Chabashira-sensei, I'd have to wait for the war between 3-E and 1-A to be over before testing out my ideas.

"Can I still help ya, by any chance?"

Just before I was going to walk away and give up on my plans, Momiji-sensei had extended a hand of kindness towards me. I guess it wouldn't hurt to try asking her instead.

"I wanted access to the war preparation room to test something, but I know there's a friendly war going on, so I thought if I brought Chabashira-sensei with me, I'd get permission to enter."

"Ah, gotcha, gotcha. In that case, it's fine if I tag along instead, yeah? I might not be Shizuka, but they're prolly more likely to give you access if I'm with you. No offence to her, of course."

It is true that Momiji-sensei was above Chabashira-sensei in status due to being the homeroom teacher to 2-A. Her superiority amongst the 2nd Year homeroom teachers was probably more than enough to convince any teacher to let me inside.

"No, it makes sense. Then... if it's not a bother, would you accompany me to the war preparation room, Momiji-sensei?"

"Sure thing, I was thinking of taking a smoke break anyways. Aight, let's go kiddo!"

Momiji-sensei grinned, ruffling my hair. What a carefree sensei...

We arrived at the special wing of the school. Momiji-sensei asked for permission to enter 3-E's war preparation room, but was denied. When she asked for permission to enter 1-A's war preparation room however, it was accepted.

Momiji-sensei ushered me inside. It seemed 1-A was doing well for themselves, as no students from their class were inside the room. It was just their homeroom teacher, Hiden-sensei, overlooking everything from the command tower.

"Thanks for the entry, Mumei!"

Momiji-sensei also casually greeted Hiden-sensei. She took a seat while waiting for me.

"Not a problem, Sensoukijo-chan. Though, you never told me you were bringing Yuu-kun along."

"What, that's the nickname you gave the kiddo?! Lame!"

"That's the point, you know? He's a lame person, so he gets a lame nickname."

"Ahuh, you don't say."

Momiji-sensei laughed heartily. I wasn't sure what they were talking about, so I left the two teachers to banter amongst themselves, and headed over to the machine that scanned our decks. I took out my deck with the proxies in it and put it inside the machine to scan.

"Whatcha doing specifically, kiddo?"

Turning her attention back to me, Momiji-sensei became curious as to why I was scanning my deck.

"There's some proxies in my deck. I want to see if I can trick the machine into believing it's the real card."

Both Momiji-sensei and Hiden-sensei looked at me with surprised faces. Hiden-sensei smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's certainly an interesting idea. I've never thought about scanning proxies into the machine before."

"Heh, neither have I. I guess when you're desperate, you get creative."

I couldn't help but feel patronised slightly as two A Class homeroom teachers were talking about me, an E Class student, so lowly.

"If it does work, it'll be useful for the upcoming war my class has."

"I can imagine. You could save a buncha points by printing out proxies instead of buying cards. You could proxy the best decks and suddenly everyone has access to them. Imagine an army of Gurguit users, ha ha ha! You shaking in your pants yet, Mumei?"

"Just a little... Percival was a mistake, heh."

Momiji-sensei has the same thoughts I did. If proxies did work, the benefits we could reap from them was massive. Plus, this would let Mitsuba use max rarity cards even if he didn't physically have them.

The scan had finished. I checked the screen to see what the machine had registered for my deck. Unfortunately, instead of scanning the proxies, it scanned the card that I used for the backing.

"Guessing it didn't work, judging by the look on your face."

I nodded at Momiji-sensei. I went over to the table to get rid of the proxies from my deck.

"That was a waste..."

"Hey, at least you know it doesn't work now. That's good enough, right?"

"I suppose. I'm just disappointed it didn't work out."

Momiji-sensei peered over my shoulder with a wide grin.

"Oh, you were proxying DOTX? 'Attaboy!"

She ruffled my hair again.

"Do you like Kagero, Momiji-sensei?"

"Like it? I love it! Kagero's my favourite clan, so I'm biased to your good taste. The SP is super pretty, ain't it?"

"It is. Unfortunately, I was only proxying "The X" because my friend wants to use the SP version in his deck. Otherwise, he won't use it at all."

"Oh, so you're in that sort of dilemma, huh? Sybarite snobs, I call 'em. It's a more common sickness than you think, kiddo. One kid in my class was insufferable with it, the li'l brat wouldn't play anything unless it had textured foiling and weighed more than a peanut. It's ridiculous!"

"What happened to them?"

"I whipped 'em into shape, obviously. Poor fella, when I forced him to use an all common deck, he nearly broke down crying. I seriously don't get the appeal. Just use good cards for Christ's sake!"

Momiji kicked the table, sighing. She was very passionate...

"You forced them to use an all common deck? Did it work?"

"That's right. If there's one thing A Class has too much of, it's money. It teaches 'em nothing about the value of money, cuz they get an abundance of it every damn month. They end up leaving school with a warped sense of spending."

I could imagine that, after spending three years of their life in luxury, the A Class graduates would struggle to adjust to a regular life like how we did when the school revelation happened.

"The secret of the all common deck is it was better than his deck full of shiny cards. Dunno if you noticed, but using just high rarity cards usually don't mesh well. There's a lot of good commons in Bermuda Triangle, surprisingly. Once he realised there was value in commons, he became a better fighter."

Whether she realised it or not, Momiji-sensei had given me the answer to my dilemma. Instead of trying to appease Mitsuba, I had to make him learn how to improve his deck with lower rarity cards.

"Sensoukijo-chan, you sure like blabbing a lot to students. Yuu-kun's class is my enemy, you know? Please don't go helping them out so easily."

"Who said I was helping the kiddo out? I was just telling him a story, that's all. If he gets an idea from it, then big whoop, he has a brain. Besides, he's not in my year, he's not a threat! Even if he was, he's in Shizuka's class. Don't tell me, you're scared of E Class?"

Momiji-sensei laughed heartily, much to Hiden-sensei's chagrin.

"Scared? No, you misunderstand. I'm not scared of any class. I'm merely being cautious. You never know what gems are lying in the dumps, Sensoukijo-chan. You should know better than anyone else, after all. One of your students started in E Class."

"Yeah, under her own request. I don't blame her for it, she was looking for a challenge, She's too damn strong, I'll tell ya that."

"Kids these days... they really are impressive."

I wasn't sure who they were on about, so I looked over to the screens Hiden-sensei was watching. The war between 3-E and 1-A seemed to be heating up, as fights plastered the screens.

"Don't be shy. Take a seat, Yuu-kun. The show's just starting after all."

It seems Hiden-sensei had noticed me peeking at the war. I nodded, taking him up on his offer and sat down next to Momiji-sensei, who was also watching the war.

"Who do you think is going to win, Momiji-sensei?"

"Hmm, good question. I'd prolly say 1-A, but I wouldn't underestimate those 3rd Years."

"They have a severe number advantage. A class of 72 against a class of 25 is really cruel."

Hiden-sensei sighed, shaking his head with a smile.

"Though, I know Torisu-kun will lead them... spectacularly."

As if on cue, six E Class students were eliminated simultaneously.

Emerging victorious in a one versus six battle was an A Class student with pitch black hair.

Deep inside my chest, I could feel a faint drop of fear spread throughout my body.

"Who... is he?"

"Him? Oh, that's Torisu-kun of course."

Hiden-sensei looked at me over his shoulder while mirthfully laughing.

"You might know him better as Ryouta, though."

That man... is Ryouta Hane?

For a split-second, I lost my composure. I released the tenseness in my squeezed fist.

"He's A Class's shining star! It's truly amazing how he managed to uncover the truth of the school before anyone else did, wouldn't you agree, Sensoukijo-chan?"

"Yea, yea, keep bragging. Don't forget I have Hikari and Ken in my class, aight? They blow whatever the hell you have outta the water."

"Ah, it must be nice to have Royalty in your class. Who's the braggart now, hm?"

"I ain't bragging, I'm jus' saying. It's also a pain in the ass cuz they're not in Stark White. Dust Purple my damn ass! Who the hell thought it'd be a good idea to have the Royalty be in a separate nation?! Freakin' dumbasses."

Momiji-sensei sighed, before turning to me in a panic.

"Oops, I guess I shouldn't have said that while you're here... sorry kiddo, you didn't hear anything I said, 'kay?"

Momiji-sensei smiled sweetly, ruffling my hair again. She really likes doing that, doesn't she...?

I didn't actually catch what she said, as I was more focused on watching the war. In particular, there was one fight I was interested in. It was Yamamoto Yami versus Hashimoto Atasuke.

"To think we'd run into each other again on the battlefield... you really are getting on my nerves."

Yamamoto could be surprisingly harsh when he wanted to. Hashimoto narrowed his eyes and cracked a thin smile.

"The feeling's mutual. After today's leaked video, I've become a laughing stock... and it's your fault!"

"I did nothing but push you. You want your revenge so badly? Come get it."

"Gladly, asshole! Stand and draw! I ride my avatar, Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom! Imaginary Gift: Accel II! I call Press Stream Dragon (8000 > 13000) and use his skill to give Maelstrom +10k and drive +1! (12000 > 22000/2d > 3d) I also call Jewel Staff of Emerald, Elpida and Drifting Flow Fencer! Elpida's skill, she gets 5k! (9000 > 14000) Fencer's skill, check top 7, and add Glory Maelstrom to hand! Maelstrom's skill, counterblast to give my front row +3k! (13000 > 16000) (14000 > 17000) (22000 > 25000/3d) (9000 > 12000) Let's go, Press Stream Dragon, wave 1! (16000)"

Since Hashimoto went second, Yamamoto was already on grade 3. This meant he could chump block most of Hashimoto's attacks easily, especially because he was a 13k base rather than 12k base.

"Muorda, guard! (23000)"

"Maelstrom attacks next, wave 2! (25000/3d) Water Under the Bridge!"

"No guard."

"You'll regret this! Triple drive! (Press Stream Dragon, Activate Dracokid) Alright, a heal! Healing one, power onto Maelstrom! (25000 > 35000/3d) (Analyse Shooter) Elpida attacks next, wave 3! (17000) Her skill, I counterblast to activate on hit effects, regardless if this attack hits or not!"

In other words, Hashimoto has guaranteed a restand with Maelstrom's skill.

"Grim Revenger, guard! (28000)"

"Maelstrom's skill! I discard two cards and stand him! Go attack once more, Maelstrom, wave 4! (35000/3d) Water Under the Bridge!!"

"No guard."

"Triple drive! (Blue Storm Marine General, Despina) Critical! Power to Fencer (12000 > 22000), critical to Vanguard! (35000/1 > 2/3d) (Bubbleball Corporal, Radiate Assault)"

"Damage checks...! (Nullify Revenger, Masquerade, Dumphood Dragon)"

Yamamoto had been pushed to four in one swoop. Hashimoto laughed gleefully, launching his final attack with confidence.

"Drifting Flow Fencer's next, wave 5! His skill, he gets +15k! (22000 > 37000)"

"No guard. Damage check! (Abyssal Owl)"

"That's all. My victory next turn will be glorious!"

Hashimoto was justifiably confident that he could finish things next turn. With Fencer, he had searched out a Glory Maelstrom, an incredibly powerful finisher. If Yamamoto couldn't wrap things up on his turn, it was game over.

"Next turn, huh? Wishful thinking."

Yamamoto took a deep breath and drew his card for the turn.

"Stand and draw... Final turn!"

The warning popped up on screen. Yamamoto had called for final turn: he had to win this turn or else he'd die in the war. He would only do such a risky thing if he knew for sure that he could win this turn. Hashimoto gritted his teeth, bracing himself for Yamamoto's blitz.

"The shadow that eclipses over the moon will invert the world. Awaken the Qliphoth Tree, my avatar! I ride, Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom! Imaginary Gift: Force I!"

Yamamoto put it on his front row right rear-guard circle. The previous turn, he had put it on his front row left rear-guard circle.

"Nemain's skill. I rest her and superior call Dumphood Dragon to rear-guard. Coolbau's skill, I rest it and Dumphood to return Muorda to my hand. Dumphood's skill, I soulblast and retire him to add a Blaster Dark from deck to my hand. I call Blaster Dark, and that triggers Mordred's skill! Imaginary Gift: Force I!"

He stacked that Force onto his right side.

"I call another Blaster Dark and call Muorda over Coolbau. Mordred's skill, another Imaginary Gift: Force I!"

He stacked that Force onto his right side again. This probably meant he wasn't going for a double Dark restand.

"Masquerade's skill, I counterblast and put him into soul to superior call another Blaster Dark from my drop zone to rear-guard with +5k! (10000 > 15000) Mordred's skill, another Imaginary Gift: Force I!"

He stacked that Force onto his right side once more. At this point, I was sure of what was Yamamoto's true win-con here. While he had the means for double Dark, he wanted a more secure way of winning. One that would surprise even Hashimoto.

"The gatekeeper of the world slumbers for an eternity. Awaken to flip the Kabbalah Tree on it's head, my true avatar! I call, Danger-lunge Dragon!"

With this, it was a guaranteed finish if Hashimoto didn't have enough shield in his hand.

"Boosted by Muorda, Blaster Dark attacks! (15000 > 25000 > 30000)"

"I guard with Activate Dracokid! (32000)"

"Mordred Phantom attacks! (13000) His skill, I counterblast to stand all of my Blaster Dark with +10k! (25000 > 35000) Muorda's skill, since Dark stood, I soulblast and stand him with +15k! (5000 > 20000) Pollution of Thaumiel!"

I could picture it vividly. Mordred Phantom riding down on his steed, dyeing the world around him in pitch black with every gallop, brandishing his longsword embellished with black moonlight, all in order to slay the raging Maelstrom in front of him.

"Despina guards! (27000) Two to pass!"

"Twin Drive!! (Grim Revenger) Critical to Dark (35000/1 > 2), power to Danger-lunge! (53000 > 63000)"

Without hesitation, Yamamoto split the bonus.

"Second check! (Grim Revenger) Damn it..."

"Ha ha ha! Lady luck's smiling down on me today, baby!"

"I'll give it all to Danger-lunge! (63000 > 73000/1 > 2)"

While it was unlucky he got a double trigger when it would matter most, this would also secure instant death if Danger-lunge were to hit. The pressure for Hashimoto to guard it was mounting on heavily.

"Sorry kiddo, while it was nice chatting to ya, I really need a cig. I'll leave you in Mumei's untrustworthy hands."

"Please, I have a war to focus on. I won't do anything to Yuu-kun."

"Heh, sure thing, sure thing. If he does anything weird, come and tell me, aight?"

With a flip of her hand, Momiji-sensei left the war preparation room to have a smoke break. Hiden-sensei shook his head.

"She's certainly an eccentric teacher, wouldn't you agree?"

I quietly nodded my head as he made light conversation with me.

"Say, who do you prefer, Sensoukijo-chan or Chacha-chan?"

"Chabashira-sensei, naturally. She is my homeroom teacher after all."

"Not a bad answer."

I wondered what that was supposed to mean.

"Boosted by Muorda, Blaster Dark attacks! (35000 > 55000/2)"

"Paschal, perfect guard!"

"This is it, Hashimoto-senpai! Danger-lunge Dragon attacks! (73000/2) His skill! I soulblast a grade 3! Since I have three or more Force markers, he gets +10k, a crit, and sentinel block! (73000 > 83000/2 > 3) Sink him into the depths, Lilith Gateway!"

"I can guard it... I can guard it... I can guard it!"

With sweat on his face, Hashimoto started to trick himself into believing he could stop Danger-lunge's massive attack. Pouring over his hand multiple times and throwing everything he had onto the guardian circle...

"You can't guard it."

Hashimoto only had enough guard to reach 57k. Danger-lunge was far more powerful than Maelstrom by a huge margin.

From the bubble of darkness Mordred spread, the dragon that guards Qliphoth emerges. Danger-lunge Dragon raised his sceptre, glowing neon blue, and ferociously stabbed through Maelstrom's chest in one swift lunge. While still skewered on the sceptre, Maelstrom was dragged into the world of Qliphoth by Danger-lunge, becoming a shell of his former self.

Yamamoto had completely destroyed Hashimoto.

"You... damn you, first year!"

Hashimoto was kneeling on the floor, slamming his fist into the ground frustratedly.

"Seriously, I don't know what your deal is. Leave my year group alone. You've caused more than enough trouble for my friends."

"God damn it..."

Feeling the shame of a second humiliation seep throughout his body, Hashimoto buried his face into the floor. Yamamoto turned around, searching for his next target like a bloodhound.

"Wonderful victory, Doukutsu-kun!"

While I would've liked to stay and watch the war, I also had to help out in the training session today. I got up, ready to take my leave.

"Thanks for letting me and Momiji-sensei in, Hiden-sensei."

"It was a pleasure to have you two. It gets boring being alone in the war preparation room. Seeing everyone play Vanguard and have fun... it also makes me want to go out there and fight!"

I felt a bit unnerved by the way he said that so excitedly. There was nothing wrong about being passionate, but the tone he inflected while saying that put me off a little.

"Right... well, I hope your class wins."

"I'll make sure to send them your regards. Actually, you've become quite close with one of my students, haven't you?"

Just as I was about to leave, Hiden-sensei reeled me back in by speaking English from out of the blue. As such, I replied in the same language.

"...you can speak English, Mr. Hiden?"

"Yes, of course. Any good professional is bilingual. Your accent is wonderful. No wonder Tou-chan praises you so much! Did you get it from your father? I heard he was half-British."

He's not my father.

How did he know about my family? I ignored this and continued talking in Japanese.

"Earlier, you mentioned a student. Do you mean Yogen-san?"

Annoyingly, Hiden-sensei continued to converse in English, even though I switched back to Japanese to show I didn't want to speak in it right now.

"Yes, her. She seems to be very interested in you. I don't understand why."

"Neither do I. If you could tell her to stay away from me, it would be a great help."

"I can pass that message along no problem."

We exchanged a weird conversation that mixed English and Japanese. At first, I couldn't put my finger on it, but now I understand why I felt so unnerved around Hiden-sensei. It was his extremely subtle changing of tone.

That tone didn't indicate he didn't know why. It indicated he knew the specific reason why. And that's what scared me the most. I had barely talked to him, yet he seemed to know exactly what kind of person I was.

His way of speaking also threw me off. While a normal person would never notice it, I could hear a sing-song quality laced beneath the rhythm of his words. It was like listening to a distorted nursery rhyme being played in the background. It lulls you in without you knowing.

"Great. Now if you excuse me..."

"It was nice talking to you. Goodbye, Yuu-kun."

I closed the door behind me while taking a deep breath.

Being alone with Hiden-sensei properly for the first time... it made me realise what an intense aura he had. I didn't like it one bit.