[color=#FF4CAB]"No waaay, he really didn't attack~!"[/color] Sacchi playfully commented on Sora's mistakes. [color=#FF4CAB]"Hey, hey, Haru? Aren't you being a little mean to him?"[/color] he said back to his Commander after twirling on his heel.

[color=khaki]"Quiet, Sacchi."[/color] Haruto reprimanded his Avatar.

Sacchi, with a playful hum in his voice, replied again: [color=#FF4CAB]"Oooh, you're so scary~! It's a good thing I like that about you~"[/color]

The clock's hand shifted back to Red with a loud clicking of the gears, Haruto hovering over his deck as another card joined his hand. [color=khaki]"Colour charge."[/color] he said, same as before. Sacchi, too, went through the same motions, a wry smile on his face as if he knew what was coming. Haruto continued his turn. [color=khaki]"Your blockers are an eyesore, Sora... let me get rid of them for you. Incantation: Scorched Earth."[/color] he told his friend. One of Haruto's own cards, the level 1 attacker, burnt away. A flickering flame remained on his field in its stead. The flame suddenly shot out and leapt at Sora's table, splitting into two and incinerating both cards on either side of Wolf. Sacchi could barely contain his laughter.

[color=#FF4CAB]"Pffufu! Don't look so surprised, Sora! Your cards will be fine after the battle's over,"[/color] he explained with a wink, [color=#FF4CAB]"but now that you don't have much left to protect you, let's have some fun!"[/color][hr][color=#ffbae8]'[i]Sora... Sora![/i]'[/color]

Rui desperately ran through the darkening streets in search of her brother, but didn't make much progress. She took a short breather, leaning up against a nearby house. From her pockets, she could hear a voice chiming in. [color=#FFF83B]"Nee-chan! Nee-chan!"[/color] it kept pestering her. Rui took Lumia out of her pocket, mildly annoyed. When she saw the serious look in Lumia's eyes, however, Rui couldn't find any words to tell her to be quiet. [color=#FFF83B]"I didn't know how to tell you this, but... there's a battle going on not far from here. I don't want to believe it's Sora, but..."[/color]

The pupils in Rui's eyes shrank. [color=#ffbae8]"No... he wouldn't- that idiot!"[/color] she angrily shouted as she stomped her feet. [color=#ffbae8]"I need to make sure he's safe! Tell me where it is!"[/color] she demanded and Lumia obliged. Rui continued her mad dash, following the instructions fed to her by Lumia. She soon reached a small clearing where she found Sora and somebody else slumped up against a nearby tree. Rui dashed over, grabbing Sora's shoulders and calling his name.

[color=#FFF83B]"It's no use, Nee-chan... he's... he's battling,"[/color] Lumia timidly informed Rui. Their eyes met.
[color=#ffbae8]"Then tell me how to stop it!"[/color] she demanded. Lumia just shook her head.
[color=#FFF83B]"I'm sorry, but we can't. It's impossible for a commander to stop a battle between two other commanders. However... we can still enter their battlefield."[/color] she replied. Lumia explained that Rui should [color=#FFF83B]"Hold me up and shout 'Open'"[/color] to her commander. Rui, determined to do what it takes to see Sora safe, did just that.
[color=#ffbae8][b]"Open!"[/b][/color][hr]Haruto's eyes remained fixated on his board. [color=khaki]"Two more attackers, one level 0 and level 1."[/color] he continued, having a full formation lined up as the two joined his one remaining attacker. [color=khaki]"Sacchi, full attack."[/color]

Upon hearing his Commander's order, Sacchi narrowed his eyes as he grinned. [color=#FF4CAB]"Aye aye, sir~!"[/color] he playfully replied. The three cards around him briefly glowed with a red aura, those auras then coalescing around the avatar. He kicked off from his platform and shot forward, being in front of Wolf before Sora had time to blink. Since Sora had nothing to block with, Wolf couldn't do anything to guard against Sacchi's upcoming strikes. He grappled Wolf, threw him down onto the table and then jumped into the air. Even if Sacchi was wearing sandals, the force with which he crashed down into Wolf's gut with left its mark. Sacchi proceeded to use Wolf as a springboard to leap back all the way across the battlefield, landing neatly on his side while the other Avatar lay battered and bruised. Seven little lights had surrounded Wolf, of which four shattered. Sora's life had been reduced from full to three within just one turn of starting the match.

At that moment, from the depths of the intersection between the two mists, another platform rose up. Rui's platform. She didn't have a table to play Nexus with and it was much narrower compared to the other two, but she still had more than enough legroom to herself. [color=#ffbae8]"Sora! Sora, are you okay?!"[/color] she shouted in concern. Rui didn't really know what was going on, but any confusion about the situation was pushed to the wayside to make sure her brother was alright.