"You guys will have the honour of fighting the legendary Team Hanabi!" Ryuuga chuckled, pretending to be pushing up a pair of glasses.

"For real?!" Ban asked. "That... That's huge!"

"Fighting Hanabi... Holy shit, I never thought that day would come... And I was even in the event where they debuted!" Tate exclaimed. "We're in, we're so, so, in!"

"You guys should tone your expectations down..." Izuru sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Geez, stop being so skeptical. It'll be fun!" The blonde boy said.

"I'm skeptical because I know how much of losers these guys actually are. But if you guys wanna do this... Then sure, let's have a go at it. Can't say I don't like the idea of bullying my big brother through card games."

"Though love, they say, he doesn't mean any of that, they say..." Ryuuga cried. "While it looks like we don't have enough people for it, I was thinking of us having a casual five on five. First you guys fight with these three dumbateers." He explained, pointing at Kaido, Masato and Gin. "We can decide how we'll do the last two fights later, but I'll fight in those. First side to score three dubs wins this little testing tournament of ours."

"What do we get if we win?" Ban asked.

"That's the fun part. You get nothing."

"F-for real?" Tate blinked.

"No, that's just joke, but I always wanted to say that. You guys get to have personalized Vanguardrivers when they come out. Ryuzaki said it was cool, since he's already making special ones for a few folks." Ryuuga explained.

"And if you lose-"

Gin was about to explain what would happen if they lost, but Masato cut in by pressing his taser's trigger.

"That's all the explanation you need." Kaido said.

"I'm starting to have second thoughts..." Tate sweatdropped.

"Yeah..." Ban nodded.

"Morons." Izuru sighed.

"That's rich coming from the guy in a pink scarf." The rich man snickered.

"I know, right? Who gave it to you, your mom?" Masato laughed.

Izuru's eyes widened. In a swift roundhouse kick, the kicked the taser out of Masato's hand and into Kaido's neck, giving the track suit wearing guy a good hand pain while tasing the hell out of the rich cunt.

"IT'S NOT PINK, YOU DIPSHITS! IT'S MAGENTA, THAT PINK SHIT HAS PISS YELLOW ON IT, YOU LOSERS!"

'And I thought I was the obvious one...' Ban thought, sweatdropping.

"I think it looks neat." Ryuuga shrugged. "Either way, let's go get this testing festival underway! We wanted to do this tonight and then blow up a ton of fireworks, but that bitchy old lady living across the street keeps calling the cops on our noise. Well screw you Mamako-san, I'm having constant sex with your granddaughter!"

"You haven't left the temple in three days." Mayuri said.

"Shut up, at least I have a girlfri- I mean wife! You only got your hand!"

"And I can get home in time to enjoy it because I'm not overworked, what are you trying to prove?" 

"You snotty middle schooler... You lost to the big bird, never forget that!"

"It's fine. Some chicks dig the copium."

"Why you-"

"Give it up, he kinda won this one." Gin sweatdropped. "So, who are you guys sending in first?" He asked, looking at the Heiwa students.

"Guess I'll give us a solid start. I've beaten half your asses back then, how hard can it be now?" Izuru said, tossing his FiCa up and catching it. "Who's ass am I beating up first?"

"I'll take the first match then." The boxer said, lifting his FiCa.

"I'm out."

"AH?!" Gin, Ban and Tate yelled. "WHAT GIVES?!"

"Dude, I've been fighting Link Joker the entire year, first Endo's space fetus and then Kagekiyo's clown, no way in hell I'm stepping down to fight Brandt of all things! C'mon, give me this one!"

"I mean, if it's Brandt... I think even Reijy could beat it." Ban said.

"That hurts, man... But I'll take any shots I get! I'm taking the first fight!" Tate exclaimed, looking at Gin.

"Then let's fight, Serebryakov-san." Gin nodded.

With the first match arranged, the team members that wouldn't fight stepped out to their sides, and the fighters stepped up to the front. Mayuri was staying with the Hanabi guys.

"Now that we're going into the practical side of things, I'll explain how the new FiCas work with the Vanguadriver." Gin said, showing his FiCa. "First, you push the button on the side." He said, giving the button a click.

"POWER!"

"Huh? What was that?" Tate asked.

"The new FiCas call out a word the system comes up with after scanning the deck inside, in order to confirm that the system has activated. And then, you do this. Stand up."

Gin entered the FiCa into this belt, through an entrance on the right side of the piece on the middle, positioned horizontally. Hearing the voice command of "Stand up", the V-shaped pieces around the center moved both up and down, revealing small lights placed around the center crystal-like piece. They were projectors.

"Ooooh, so cool... Alright, let's go!" Tate exclaimed, clicking his FiCa's button.

"WING!"

"Stand up!" He called out, entering his FiCa into his Vanguardriver.

The projection lights of the FiCas began shining, and created the silhouettes of two units within the fighter's decks. On Gin's side, it was the white silhoutte of a large dragon with a sword, and on Tate's, a small human figure with bladed wings, coloured purple.

The two units fought each other briefly, with the dragon swinging at the winged human, who deflected with his wings, but soon, they dispersed into data, and were turned into holographic boards in front of the players.

"That's... That's so sick..." Tate muttered with his eyes wide open. Then, five cards appeared above his left hand. "Wait, is this-"

"Yup. The Vanguadriver isn't just something where you put your FiCa into. It's also a hand held version of the GIRS System. You can now fight with holographic cards anywhere you go. Oh, but because of storage problems, the belts only project the units for a certain area. So if you aren't inside that determined area, you can't see the units fighting. Basically, they digitalize the units in order to check the surrounding area and create a perimeter around the fighters. Once that's done, the boards appear. I'd say this is like... A good five meter diameter? Probably less, probably more? Huh, about the side of a tennis field. Yeah, let's go with that." Gin chuckled. "And I think that's everything I have to explain. I mean, everyone knows how the GIRS work so I don't need to go into that. So, are you ready?"

"Hm? Hell yeah! Fuchigami-san, let's have a good fight!" Tate exclaimed, bowing.

"Oh, please call me Gin. You're making me feel older than I actualy am." He sweatdropped. "Stand up, the vanguard! Starting Legend, Ambrosius! (6000)"

"Alright then, Gin-san! Call me Tate! Stand up, my vanguard! Werfleder Ordonnaz! (6000)"

"Oh right, do you guys have a name for your team?" Ryuuga asked.

"Oh shoot, we don't. Got anything in mind?" Ban asked, looking at Izuru.

"Tch, I forgot the guy also played Royals at some point..." Izuru clicked his tongue.

"Guess not. Tate, choose a cool name for us! Something in ru-"

"Big PP Nation!"

"ANYTHING BUT THAT!"

"Too late." Mayuri said, writing the name down.

[TEAM BIG PP NATION VERSUS TEAM HANABI]

[FIRST ROUND]

[SEREBRYAKOV TAMETOMO VERSUS FUCHIGAMI GIN]

"Player turn: Fuchigami Gin."

"Hm? The system handles choosing who goes first?" Tate asked, looking down at his belt.

"Yeah. It's the one thing Ryuzaki kept from the Vanguard Visors. I'll miss the old coin flip." Gin chuckled.

"Don't go saying that like they're supposed to use the Vanguadriver for everything!" Kaido deadpanned. "If you're gonna fight in small spaces, keep using actual cards and tables! The fighting animations won't shrink down because of your lazy asses!"

"And because not even Ryuzaki could be bothered with the sprite sizes..." Masato sweatdropped.

"Anyway, I start. Draw. I discard a card and ride Authoritative Knight, Ballizal! (8000) With his skill, I check the top seven cards of my deck and add Sanctuary Guard Dragon from among them to my hand. Then, I draw a card off Ambrosius. Turn end."

Gin
Hand: 7
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

Tate
Hand: 5
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

"Sanctuary Guard, huh? That's a nice challenge! Draw! I ride Ironheart Assassin! (8000) Ordoannaz's skill let's me draw one and get a ticket! Go at it, Assassin! (8000)"

"No guard."

"Drive check! (Bestial Squeezer) No trigger!"

"Damage check. (Absolute Blade Knight, Livarot) No trigger too."

"One damage in, let's go! Turn end!"

Gin
Hand: 7
Damage: 1
OXO
OOO

Tate
Hand: 8
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

"Stand and draw. Ride, Knight of Conquest, Wigstan! (10000) This is where the fun begins for me." Gin smirked. "Wigstan's skill. Superior call, Knight of Warhammer, Augustus! (8000) And then call, Absolute Blade Knight, Livarot! (10000) With no face up cards in my damage zone, I use his skill by paying a soulblast. Superior call, Explode Jewel Knight, Laile! (10000) And then, call two Laurel Knight, Sicilus. (8000) When both of their skills, I check top five, add Ashlei to my hand and discard a card, then search another top five for Sanctuary Guard Dragon and discard it. With no face up cards in my damage zone, both Sicilus gain 5000 power. (8000>>13000) (8000>>13000)"

"Crap, that's a strong offensive..." Tate grit his teeth.

"Battle! Boosted by Augustus, Livarot attacks! (10000>>18000)"

"No guard! (Blitzritter - Critical) Nice, a defensive trigger! I give it to my vanguard! (18000)"

"Boosted by Sicilus, Wigstan attacks next! (10000>>23000)"

"I guard with Ketzer! (28000) That's an one to pass!"

"Drive check. (Knight of Conquest, Wigstan) No trigger. Boosted by Sicilus, Laile! With her skill, I put Ballizal and Sanctuary Guard Dragon on the bottom of my deck in order to soulcharge and give her 5000 power! (10000>>23000>>28000)"

"After Ketzer guards, he goes into the soul! No guard! (Variants Killertail)"

"Turn end."

Gin
Hand: 5
Damage: 1
XXX
XXX

Tate
Hand: 7
Damage: 2
OXO
OOO

"Man, you're no pushover, Gin-san... But I didn't expect anything from a member of Hanabi! Stand and draw! I ride Emblem Master! (9000) When something rides over him, Assassin can call himself to the back! (8000) And with Emblem Master's skill, I put three Assassins from my deck into my soul! Alright, that's five cards! Time to go on a rush of my own before your stampede takes me out! I call Variants Killertail and Emblem Master! (6000) (9000) Emblem Master puts two Killertails into the soul, making that seven cards! Then I rest Killertail to put the Killertail from my damage zone into my soul and throw a face down card into my damage zone! With three Killertails in soul, Killertail restands and I countercharge. That's eight cards! Battle! Boosted by Assassin, Emblem Master attacks! (9000>>17000) Assassin's skill, I soulcharge, and with three Assassins in my soul, I countercharge too! Nine cards ready to go!"

"No guard."

"Drive check! (One-eyed Succubus) Let's go! I give the crit to my vanguard and power on to the rear! (9000>>19000)"

"(Sanctuary Guard Dragon) (Knight of Conquest, Wigstan) No trigger."

"Boosted by Killertail, Emblem Master! Since my soul has more than seven cards, he gets 5k! (9000>>15000>>20000)"

"No guard. (Flash Shield, Iseult - Draw) I give the power to my vanguard and draw a card. (20000)"

"Let's go, another two in! Turn end!"

Gin
Hand: 5
Damage: 4
XXX
XXX

Tate
Hand: 6
Damage: 2
XXO
XXO

"Stand and draw. Here and now, surpasses the skies and go beyond the laws of the sanctuary! A new legend begins here, with the strike of this heavenly blade! Ride the vanguard! Sanctuary Guard Dragon! (13000) Imaginary Gift, Force I. I put it under Sanctuary Guard. (13000>>23000) Battle! Sanctuary Guard Dragon attacks! (23000) Heavens Crosser!"

"Sorry but I'll have to guard this one, Gin-san! I guard with Cuticle Defender, Flavia! Heal Guardian, go! (34000)"

"Two triggers, huh... Twin drive. (Knight of Warhammer, Augustus) (Future Knight, Llew - Critical) I got a critical trigger. Putting it all on the vanguard. (23000>>33000/2) And then, Sanctuary Guard's skill! Counterblast, discarding one card and resting the three grade ones in the back! Sanctuary Guard Dragon, restand! And then, my front row powers up! (10000>>20000) (33000>>43000) (10000>>20000) Augustus' skill, restand too! Once again, Sanctuary Guard Dragon attacks! (43000/2) Heavens Crosser!"

"Tch, I guard with another Flavia! Heal Guardian, go back at it! (44000) And then, I intercept with Emblem Master! He gets 5k shield! (54000)"

"Another two to pass? You aren't making this any easier, Tate-san. Twin drive. (Pongal - Critical) All on Laile. (20000>>30000/2) (Pure Heart Jewel Knight, Ashlei) No trigger. Laile attacks! I botdeck two cards to soulcharge her and give her power! (30000>>35000/2)"

"N-no guard! (Emblem Master) (One-eyed Succus - Critical) A-a trigger, all on my vanguard! (39000)"

"Now that I can't surpass. Turn end."

Gin
Hand: 8
Damage: 4
XXX
XXX

Tate
Hand: 4
Damage: 4
OXO
XXO

"Holy crap, I actually got out of that alive..." Tate muttered, panting harshly. "I knew you were no pushover but this takes the cake and eats it too, Gin-san..."

"You're going great too, Tate-san. Now show me what you got! Show me the fighting of the motherland!"

"That's not exactly what I wanted to hear!" He deadpanned. "Alright, stand and draw! Scatter like the wind, souls of the fallen, and dance together in this rondeau under the dusk moon! Come together as one to become wings that cut through the night! Ride! Blade Wing Reijy! (12000)"

"This is the crucial part of the game." Ban commented.

"Hm? Whaddya mean?" Izuru asked.

"Look at the gamestate. Gin-san has a clear advantage over Tate already. Tate has two choices now. He either tries to clinch it with Reijy's maxed out skills, or he gives that up to try an survive one more turn. Even then... Gin-san's deck is still really strong."

"Let's get this party going! Protect I!" Tate exclaimed. "Reijy's skill! Since my soul only has ten cards, I can soulblast to bind a card from my soul face down! I soulblast two to bind two Assassins! Countdown to Destruction! Killertail's skil, I rest her to put Bestial Squeezer from my damage into the soul! And then with Reijy's skill, I soulblast two Killertails and one Bestial Squeezer to bind three cards! With five face down on the bind, Reijy gets a permanent 5k! (12000>>17000) And then, I bind Ketzer face up to soulcharge two! That's two more Ketzers that I'm gonna use! Nice, four Dimension Creepers! I'm gonna use three of them now! Soulcharge nine! I soulblast four to bind another four! That's over seven cards, so Reijy gets 10k and a drive! (17000>>27000) I bind Bestial Squeezer face up to put Killertail into the soul, then soulblast her to bind one more card! That's ten cards! Countdown to Destruction, Full Release! Reijy gets another 10k and two criticals to boot! (27000>>37000/2) I'll leave it at that! I may not clinch it here, but I'm not going down without a fight! Battle! Boosted by Assassin, Reijy attacks! Soulcharge with Assassin's skill! (37000>>45000/3) Blast it all to hell! Unparalleled Blade Wall!"

"Llew and Pongal, along with Luscious and Augustus, guard! (63000)"

"Alright, two to pass! Easy money! Triple drive! (Emblem Master) (Phantasma Executioner) (Werwolf Freiwilliger) H-huh?! N-nothing?!"

"Blind soulcharge isn't always the way, Tate-san."

"This suckes... T-turn end!"

Gin
Hand: 4
Damage: 4
XXX
XXX

Tate
Hand: 8
Damage: 4
OXO
OXO

"Stand and draw. I'm sorry Tate-san, but the first win will be going to Hanabi! Final Turn! Slash through night and day, until you reach the peak of combat! Sanctuary Guard Dragon, Persona Ride! (23000) Imaginary Gift, Force I to Laile! (10000>>20000)"

'Tch, can I even survive this one?! I have to guard, but I also need cards to reach Reijy's final skill too!' Tate thought, looking at his cards.

"I'll go straight into battle! Sanctuary Guard Dragon attacks! Now that you're at grade 3, he gets a critical! (23000/2) Heavens Crosser!"

"Protect I, perfect guard!"

"Twin drive! (Explode Jewel Knight, Laile) (Laurel Knight, Sicilus) No trigger. Sanctuary Guard Dragon's skill, restand! (10000>>20000) (23000>>33000) (20000>>30000) Augustus stands too! Sanctuary Guard Dragon, once again, attack! (33000/2) Heavens Crosser!"

"That attack... G-guard with One-eyed Succubus and Freiwilliger! (57000) No pass!"

"Nice going, Tate-san. But I still have a twin drive and two units left! Twin drive! (Sanctuary Guard Dragon) (Pongal - Critical) Critical trigger. All effects to Laile. (30000>>40000/2) Livarot, attack! (20000>>28000)"

'Crap, he got a crit! What do I do... If I take this one and try to guard the next, I can live for sure, but... If I guard this one and try to get my last heal, I can keep cards to max out Reijy's skill... What do I do... Dammit, I did things too fast again!' Tate thought, gritting his teeth again. 'It's as if I were fighting that guy again! I did things so fast that I ended up losing to him! I... I don't wanna lose to him ever again! Ah, goddammit!'

"You... STOP OVERTHINKING IT ALREADY!" Izuru yelled, throwing his FiCa at Tate.

"W-wha- Oh crap!" Tate dodged the projectile. "W-what gives?!"

"WHAT ARE YOU OVERTHINKING ABOUT?! YOU'RE TATE, THE MOST CHAD OF CHADS! YOU HOOK UP WITH A GIRL AND DO HER MOM BEFORE LUNCH TIME! HOW CAN YOU GO AROUND DATING EVERYTHING WITH LEGS WHEN YOU OVERTHINK IN A CARD GAME?!"

"He can't actually be expecting that to work, can he?" Kaido asked.

"No comment." Ryuuga sweatdropped.

"FORGET ABOUT DOING THE RIGHT PLAY! DO WHAT YOUR PLAYBOY GUT TELLS YOU TO!" Ban yelled. 

"You two... TELL YOUR MOMS I THINK THEY'RE CUTE! I guard with Dark Knight! (32000)"

"This is the end! Laile attacks! (40000>>45000/2)"

"NO GUARD! WIN OR LOSE, THE BIG PP NATION WILL KEEP GETTING UP ROCK HARD! DAMAGE CHECK! (Werwolf Freiwilliger) ONE MORE! ONE IN SIX, I CAN GET BETTER CARDS!" 

Tate grabbed the holographic card on top of his deck and threw it into the sky, where it exploded into green flames.

"LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Izuru and Ban shouted.

"Holy crap... HOLY CRAP, HOLY CRAP, HOLY CRAP! (Cuticle Defender, Flavia - Heal) I LIVED, BITCH! AND I'M GONNA EVEN HEAL A FACE UP DAMAGE LIKE A CHAD!"

"Hm, I can't argue with that. Turn end."

Gin
Hand: 7
Damage: 4
XXX
XXX

Tate
Hand: 3
Damage: 5
OXO
OXO

(Media - Light in Starless Sky)

"Alright, here and now, and I'll make a goddamn miracle happen! Stand and draw! I call Freiwilliger and Emblem Master! (8000) (9000) Emblem Master's skill, I search my deck and drop for three Freiwilligers and put them into the soul!"

"But they're all in your drop zone, why are you searching your deck to?"

"A shuffle is a shuffle! Get those Creepers on top! Now I call Phantasma Executioner! (9000) I retire him to retire Laile! Then, I soulcharge two! Let's go, that's two Creepers! I call Bestial Squeezer! (8000) With her skill, I put a normal unit from my drop on the bottom of my deck! Then I'll bind the two Bestial Squeezers in my drop to shove Assassin and Squeezer into the soul! I soulblast the Squeezer to bind the Assassin, and then bind Squeezer to put Freiwilliger into the soul! Now, I soulblast four to bind four! Countdown to Destruction, Ultimate Liberate! I don't need to worry about decking it if I just take out before my drive check! Reijy, attack! (37000/3) When Reijy attacks, if the number of face down cards in my bind zone is fifteen or more, I can deal two damage to your vanguard ahead of time! TAKE THIS! PHANTOM SHELL STRIKE!"

Reijy's wings exploded into purple flames that ate him alive and converged into an orb the size of a normal football. The ball fell towards Tate, who kicked it with all his might, right through Sanctuary Guard's chest.

"Can't guard that. (Pure Heart Jewel Knight, Ashlei) (Explode Jewel Knight, Laile) I lose."

[SEREBRYAKOV TAMETOMO VERSUS FUCHIGAMI GIN]

[MATCH TIME: 19:37]

[FINISHING MOVE: PHANTOM SHELL STRIKE]

[WINNER: SEREBRYAKOV TAMETOMO]

"LET'S GO, I DID IT!" Tate cried, falling to his knees. "I TOOK IT HOME! I TOOK IT HOME BEFORE ENGLAND! LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"THAT'S OUR FAVOURITE SLAV BOY!" Izuru and Ban yelled.

"THAT'S RIGHT, I'M YOUR FAVOURITE SLAV BOY!" He laughed, jumping to their arms. "GIVE THIS RUSSIAN CHAD ALL YOUR PRAISE, YOU PEASANTS!"

"Imagine losing to Reijy." Kaido snickered, giving Gin a can of lemonade.

"I wasn't the one who lost to Demagogue in 2048, I don't know what you're talking about." Gin replied, looking at Kaido with the biggest smug of superiority he could muster.

"You little... I'm gonna-"

"You can sue him later." Masato deadpanned.

"So? What did you think? They're pretty good, aren't they?" Ryuuga chuckled.

"Copium will make everyone surpass their limits. But having their friends behind their back will get the job done easier. Besides that, no comment." Gin chuckled, sitting down.

"Man that was lame. I can't believe I actually called you boss at one point..." Mayuri sighed.

With the first round of the Dark Zone Bout over, Team Big PP Nation was in the lead with one win against Hanabi. Soon, the second round would begin.