The Fated Clash

Turn One: The Fated Clash

Three months pass after the Uniformers Project was defeated. Life had become normal again, and a second Deluxe tournament was held. The finalists of the tournament were Nanu Kanzaki and Nina Ovetsi, as it should have been in the first Deluxe. And so, the story must go on, as we follow a new protagonist. A young woman by the name of Renji Himekawa. She ties her long brown hair into her usual ponytail, and smiles to herself in the mirror. Her silver eyes would sparkle with the passion of youth as she grabs her school bag and exits her house, humming a joyful tone as she makes her way down the road to school.

Along the way to school, she would usually meet up with a bunch of Kanzaki siblings. However, the group was actually smaller than it usually was now. "Oh. Athena, Alice, and Perse? Where's everyone else?" She would ask as she joined them.

"Big brother Nanu and Azura actually transferred schools cuz of their good grades." Alice answered.

"What about Amu?" She asked again.

All three didn't seem to want to answer, but Athena would put up a smile for her junior. "She's feeling sick today, so she'll probably be having a few days off." She said.

"Oh... Well, I hope she gets better soon!" Renji smiles.

"Tsk... Only if a miracle happens..." Perse mutters to himself, but he gets punched by Alice to keep his mouth shut. "Ouch...!"

"Did you say something?" Renji asked.

"It's nothing." Alice answered for her younger brother, as the group all make their way to school.

They all split off from each other, as Renji and Perse go to class together. "Oh yeah, Perse! You're the new leader of the Uniformers, right?" She asked to make conversation. "I saw your games in the Deluxe last week. You and your Alden deck sure are strong! You almost won if not for that Over Trigger."

"Huh? Yeah. Thanks." He says, scratching his head a bit. "You play Vanguard?" He asked back with a smile.

"Me?! N-No, I don't think I would be very good at it..." She says with a chuckle.

"Ya know, Amu is pretty good at Vanguard too... If you pick it up fast enough, maybe you could impress her." He jokes with her.

"You think so?!" Renji's eyes would sparkle, but she would soon regain her composure and clear her throat. "I mean...if you put it like that, maybe it won't be so bad to try... Actually, I know someone who's trying to go pro." She says. "A friend of my big sister."

"Yeah? Is his name Tohru Embrehart? I've played him a local shop tournament. He's pretty good, but definitely lacking something." Perse says.

"Lacking? What is that?"

"Well, he seemed a bit detached from his cards. Like he hasn't found the right deck for him yet." He explained as the teacher came in. The conversation would have to be cut short from there, as classes were now in session.

———

Skipping to the end of the school day, Renji was speaking with friends about going to karaoke later tonight. However, Renji had to turn them down this time, as she wanted to go find Athena and ask if it would be okay to visit Amu at home. However, when she got to Athena's class on the third floor, she was told that her senpai was at the roof right now. So she went up one more floor to go find her. Before she opened the doors, she could hear Athena's voice talking to someone.

"Hey mom. How's Amu doing?" She asked. After some silence, she spoke again. "I see... So she's just locked herself in her room?" Silence again. "I'm sure there's something we can do...! We just have to find it! Maybe America has something! I know some people there!" More silence. "I understand that, but the sooner we act, the faster we can help her, right?! She only has two weeks! ... What do you mean, it was found too late?!"