Cardfight!! Vanguard Dimension-D! New Generation, New Journey

Chapter 7: Round One

The first round pairing had been announced, as Nanu and Nina both step up to the fight table. Nanu had his usual carefree smile, while Nina was stoic as always. "Man, it's weird how we're the first round, huh? Usually the plot has us fight the last, most climatic game."

"Stop talking nonsense... Life isn't just some story." Nina bites back. "You're still playing a pretty slow deck, so this should be a walk in the park."

Nanu would grin as he shuffles his cards, setting up his field. "How funny. How's the Stirgna hit been treating you?" He asked.

"You...!" Nina growls as she preps her field as well. They would both look to the screen to see the coin flip. "I call tails." She announces.

"So you're giving me head?" Nanu jokes with her, making her shoot him a terrifying glare. "I'm kidding...!" He groans, and looks to the screen as it lands on Tails, giving Nina the choice to go first or second.

Nina thought it over, and she nods. "I'll give you a head start. I'll go second." She says with a mocking smirk. "After all, your old man deck needs it."

"Aha. Hahaha." Nanu laughs mockingly as he grabs his starter.

"Stand up! The! Vanguard!" Both call out at the same time.

"Trickstar!"

"Scarlet Flame New Soldier, Buckish!"

"I draw for turn." Nanu starts the game off, and rides Blaze Maiden Rino. "Set Energy Generator, and End turn."

A simple start. How most games start, even. "Draw for turn." Nina begins her turn next, and rides up. "Ride, Scarlet Flame Bow Soldier, Aguired! Set Energy Generator and energy charge 3! Draw from Buckish's skill. Attack!" Nina calls.

"Guard." Nanu gets defensive right off the bat.

"Check the Drive. Critical Trigger." Nina checks a trigger, but it's not enough to get through Nanu's guard, so the attack fizzles. "End turn."

"Draw and Energy charge. Ride Blaze Maiden, Reiyu. When Rino is rode over by Reiyu, call Trickstar from my deck. Attack with support!"

"No guard." Nina takes the first attack, and the first damage of the game.

"Drive check. No trigger."

Nina takes one damage, which also wasn't a trigger. With that, Nanu's turn ends, and Nina starts again. "Draw. Energy charge. Since you have one rearguard, I can ride up without discarding a card. Ride, Scarlet Flame Bow General, Dipaanel. Then I call Bolt Blamer Dragon, and two Crimson Scale Sword Maestro, Burnaia. Bolt Blamer attacks! Since I have a Scarlet Flame Vanguard, he gets 5k power! 23k!"

"No Guard!" Nanu to conserve his hand, Nanu chooses to take her attacks. He now has one damage.

"Bolt Blamer's skill, counter blast and retire himself to retire one of your rearguards. But Trickstar can't be targeted for effects, so nothing is retired. Since there was no retire, I bind a card from my drop face down." She shows Nanu her card that she's binding. "Then Burnaia's skill. Since a card was retired during my turn, after she boosts, she binds herself face down, and I draw. Dipaanel attacks next!"

"No guard." Nanu says, taking her attack.

"Burnaia's skill again. Bind, and draw a card." Nina had replenished the cards she put down, while also accelerating her deck's game plan before even hitting Grade 3. She wasn't his rival for no reason.

"I draw, and energy charge. Burn bright, my shining star of hope! Descend, my avatar! Chakrabarthi Divine Dragon, Nirvana!" Nanu slams his card down, a fiery effect flinging from the borders of the card. "Reiyu's skill! Soul blast to add Vairina to my hand. Then I discard this Vairina to call Triclstar from drop! The prayers of the world grant you speed unrivaled! Get dressed, Trickstar! Jet forth, Vairina Arcs! Skill activates! Counter blast, draw two, and gain 5k power! Nirvana attacks first! Skill! Counter blast, now Nirvana and my front row overDress units get 10k power!"

"No guard." Nina calls.

"Twin drive! First! No trigger! Second! Front Trigger! 10k to my front row units!" Nanu deals one damage, as Nina checks a Critical Trigger as damage. "Arcs attacks!"

"Guard." Nina blocks this attack with her Critical Trigger and Draw Trigger in her hand.

"I end." Nanu says, as Nina narrows her eyes.

"You're pretty sloppy today. No double overDress?" She insults him to his face, making Nanu pretend to be hurt.

"Ooh, ouch. I'm so hurt by your words." He says, mockingly.

"You're not taking me seriously?" She asked.

"No, I take fights with you very seriously. Today is just a special circumstance." He says.

"Tsk... Whatever. Even if you hold back, I'm not gonna! Draw, and energy charge! The earth burns away under the scarlet flames! Loose your arrows, my partner! Ride, Scarlet Flame Marshal Dragon, Gandeeva!!" A flaming spiral shoots up from Nina's card, as she slams it on the table with serious intensity. "Dipaanel's skill makes Gandeeva's counter blast skill reduced by one, making it free to use. From my hand, I play the order card, Best Harvest! Then I activate Gandeeva's skill! I target Vairina Arcs! I reveal the top five cards of my deck, and if I hit a card that has the same grade as the targeted card, it's retired!" Nina checks her top five, and reveals a Grade 2, meaning Arcs gets retired. "Since I retired one card, I bind a card from my drop face down, then draw a card! Best Harvest's extra skill, since a card was retired during the main phase, I draw an extra card! Gandeeva's next skill, I bind another card from my drop face down since something was retired!" Nina now had 5 cards in her bind zone, meaning she was at full power. "Gandeeva's continuous skill! My front row units get 2k power for each card in my bind zone, and since I have 5, Gandeeva gets an extra Crit!" Using all of her cards to the fullest, Nina was now ready to make some big waves against Nanu. "Next I call Dragritter, Alfaqaar, two Scarlet Flame Bow Soldier, Boucen, Burnaia, and Scarlet Flame Bow General, Ruguent! Alfaqaar attacks your vanguard with support from Boucen!"

Now that Nina was getting offensive, it was time to stop her in her tracks. Is what Nanu would do, if he wanted to win. "No guard." He casually takes his damage.

This seemed to upset Nina quite a bit. "Ruguent attacks!"

"No guard." Nanu says, taking another damage. "Draw Trigger. Power to vanguard, and draw a card."

"Gandeeva attacks next! Alfaqaar's skill! Counter blast, and bind him to check the top 5 cards of my deck, and call one of them! I call Scarlet Flame War General, Bravaldin! Then my Boucens' skills! When Gandeeva attacks, bind them both and counter charge one for each!" Nina's face was going red. She seemed to be getting frustrated.

"No guard." Nanu shrugs, making Nina even more mad.

"Seriously?!" She growls.

"Yeah, no guard." Nanu confirms.

"Fine then...! Check the Drives! First check! Critical Trigger! All effects to Vanguard! Second check! Critical Trigger! Critical to vanguard, power to Bravaldin!" She pulls out the infamous double Crit, which killed Nanu three times over than needed.

"No triggers. You win this time." Nanu says with a smile.

"You can't be serious...!" Nina balls her hand into a fist.

"I am." Nanu shows off his hand cards. A Grade 3 Nirvana, two Grade 4s, and a single PG (perfect guard). He wasn't surviving the turn even if he was serious. "I bricked pretty hard." He says. "Good game, though. You wiped the floor with me." He smiles, extending his hand out for her to shake.

However, instead of shaking his hand, Nina slaps it away. "You're a disgrace to the game...! To think I consider you my rival... What a joke!" She lashes out, picking up her cards and leaving the battle field in a huff.

Despite her outburst, Nanu just shrugs and walks off to the prep room to watch the next game coming up immediately after them.