While the break was underway, Saikoa Barley and Suzune Rokuoin were in the green room together, both seeming focused on their upcoming matches. As Saikoa polished up her deck strategy, she hears the sounds of crunching candy, making her ears perk up. She turns around to see Suzune hugging a large jar of caramel candies in her lap, as she ate one with grace. She wanders over, her eyes glued to the candy in the jar. This caught the attention of the green haired maiden, as she tilts her head.

Saikoa shakes her head, snapping back to reality. "Sorry! I couldn't help but feel hungry myself." She says with a giggle.

Suzune remained stoic, as she ate another candy.

"Uh, I'm Saikoa, by the way. Saikoa Barley." She says.

"Suzune Rokuoin." She responds simply, her expression unchanging.

Saikoa tilts her head a bit. She figured she wasn't much of a talker, but kept trying anyway. "You must really like those caramels, huh?" She asked.

"The sugar helps me think." She replies.

"Really? That can't be all there is to it. If that were the case, any other candy would do, right?" Saikoa asked with a kind smile.

Suzune didn't seem to have an answer for this. She soon stands up and gives the shortstack a polite bow. "I should be going. My fight is starting soon." She says, and walks out with the caramel jar.

As that conversation is happening, Nanu is outside with Athena and Minerva, talking about a multitude of things. But the most important thing right now is how Athena could beat Suzune Rokuoin.

Also, for those wondering, Minerva is Athena from the future, player of the Fated One of Time who came back in time. Thanks to the power of Gabwelius, she's able to remain in this world as a new person. And the name she chose to live under was Minerva, in reference to being Athena, just with a different name. Like how Rome just copied Greece's mythos and gods.

"I don't know much about this Suzune girl. I just know that she's a pro fighter, and one of the Three Rising Stars of Japan, alongside Arkray and Tohru. Other than that, I've never seen her fight until now." Athena says.

"Hmm... It's almost as if she's a new character here to promote new cards." Nanu adds with a hint of sarcasm. "Jokes aside, all I know about her is that she comes from a prestigious family of Vanguard fighters. The Rokuoin family, the family that never changes... Sounds hella boring, if you ask me. But yeah, that's all I got."

"Well that's to be expected from you, brother." Minerva laughs. "I actually have some info. She plays a Lyrical Monasterio deck that uses Shadow Army tokens, like Alice and Orfist."

"Shadow Army, huh...? In Lyrical? That's random... Well, it helps to some extent. It means that she likely doesn't need to call a board down, as her Vanguard can produce one. Or her cards operate like an Orfist deck, where she calls during the battle phase to make multi attack. Thanks, Me. Uh, I mean, Minerva. Still getting used to that, even after a year." She laughs.

"Well, either way, I'm expecting a good fight. Go kick some ass." Nanu says, as someone catches his attention off by the river. It was Amu, and she seemed to be looking for something.

Turns out, she was looking for the restroom, which Nanu showed her to the nearest one. "How did you end up outside looking for the restroom?" He asked his little sister with a chuckle.

"There were none..." Amu says, sounding embarrassed.

"They have signs." He tells her, but then stops in his tracks as he hears the voice of a woman up ahead.

It was Suzune Rokuoin. And a woman who looked to be her mother. "Winning the Deluxe is only a passing point for us. Suzune. Your talent is outstanding, even among the greats of the Rokuoin family. But that is because of the knowledge our predecessors have accumulated. In other words, your talents are not your own, but that of the Rokuoin family. You understand that, yes?" Her mother says sternly.

Suzune's expression didn't change. She just stared and listened, as if the words went in one ear and the out other. But she did seem to be listening, as she replies with a simple "Yes, Mother."

"Winning is expected. A close game will not be tolerated. Go dominate."

"The Rokuoins must always be winners." Suzune adds to her mother's sentence.

"Good. That's all I have to say." With those final words, Mrs. Rokuoin walks off, passing her daughter, with a butler in tow. As she left, Nanu couldn't help but notice the look in Suzune's eyes. He's seen it many times before. Her eyes were like Amu's. Empty, almost lifeless.

Despite his better judgement, he goes up to her to strike up conversation, as Amu followed him. "'Cuse me." He says, getting the girl's attention. "You okay? You look...well, distressed."

"Distressed? Me?" Suzune's eyes become normal again.

"I mean, I kinda get it. You were just called a talentless hack by your own mother." Her adds.

"Nonsense. She is correct. Vanguard is a world of competition." She says, as Amu just stares at the girl. It almost looked like she was seeing something. Nanu was seeing it too. Red chains, wrapped around Suzune Rokuoin. "Everything other than strength is an impurity. I do not need such things as happiness or sadness." She spoke with a straight face, as if what she was saying was normal.

Her words seemed to upset Nanu, but he wasn't the type of guy to preach. If that's how she saw things, who was he to say otherwise? But even still, he wanted to say something. "Well, if that's what you think, I won't judge. But ya know...the world of Vanguard is much more colorful than you think, if you're even capable of seeing it that way anymore. Word of advice, from one fighter to another. Relax a bit." He says.

Once again, like with Saikoa earlier, she didn't have a response to these words. Instead, she just bows. "Please excuse me." She says, turns, and walks away. The match was starting, and she needed to be in the pitch when it started.

Nanu and Amu head off to the spectators' area to watch the fight unfold. "Hey guys! Welcome back! I hope you're ready, because the next fight is starting NOW!!" Azura shouts as a light shines onto Athena as she walks out of the pitch. "This fine woman is about to give us a show! Athena Kanzaki makes her entrance! And on the other side, the levelheaded and collected Vanguard Machine is stepping up to the plate! Suzune Rokuoin!"

Both fighters stand at the table now, then prepare their decks. As Athena puts her cards down, she looks up at her opponent. "'A close game will not be tolerated. Go dominate.' Did I get that right?" Athena asked. Suzune simply looked up at her, wondering what she was talking about. "Sorry to burst your bubble, honey, but I won't just roll over and die. I'll make sure this isn't a cakewalk for you."

"Are both fighters ready?!" Azura calls out, and raises her arm, then waves in down. "Fight!!"

"Stand up! Vanguard!"

"Gear Quatzel of Sweeping Distance!"

"HeapUpOctaver, Proutta."

Athena was given the first turn, so she does the basics. Rides, sets energy, set Timepiece Token, ends turn. The turn passes to Suzune.

"Draw. I ride DynamicExciter, Eastiera. Using her skill when riding over Proutta, I add a Sound System Order Card from my deck to my hand. Adding MegaЯoManiA to my hand. I attack with Eastiera." Suzune attacks once.

"No guard."

"Drive check. No Trigger." Suzune narrows her eyes, then ends her turn.

"My turn. Draw. I ride Life Cessation Colossus. Using its skill, I put a card from my hand to my Regress Gauge, and draw two cards." Athena is already setting up for the turn by putting an Anachronous Dragon to her gauge. "Then I call Steam Burner, Ammi Ditahna. Giving my vanguard 5k power. Entering my battle phase, Anachronous Dragon's skill activates. I counter blast and place a card in my drop to my Gauge, then call him to rearguard! I attack with Ammi Ditahna!"

"Guard."

"I attack with Life Cessation Colossus! 15k!"

Suzune looks at her hand. She could guard it, but if she checked a Trigger, it would break her shield. "No guard."

"Drive check! Over Trigger! My vanguard gets 10k power and an extra critical for the rest of this fight, and I give 100 million power to Anachronous Dragon!" There was that classic Kanzaki effect for all to see.

Suzune's eyes widen for a split second, but she composed herself just as quickly, as if showing anything other than stoicism was a crime. "Damage check. No Triggers."

"Anachronous attacks!"

"No guard." Suzune suddenly takes 3 damage, while Athena had 1.

The situation just got much more challenging for her, as her mother stared down in what looked to be disgust. She turns to the butler at her side, and makes a silent request, to which he nods and heads off on his own.

With Athena's turn at an end, Suzune knew she had to either push, or just lose. And losing wasn't an option for her. "Stand and draw. I ride WitchingVibrato, Lifel. Her skill, adding Shout in Shadow from my deck to my hand. I attack."

"Guard." Athena stops this attack, wanting to keep the advantage in her favor.

"Drive check. Critical Trigger." Suzune was starting to feel the pressure. "I end my turn."

"I stand and draw." Athena discards, then picks up her boss unit in a single motion. "Wings of conviction, arrive from the past! I ride, my avatar! Destined One of Time, Liael=Odium! From my hand, I call Avarice Wrester! I discard a card from my hand to place a Normal Order into my drop zone! I then play it, Distorted Bane! This card lets me soul charge, and becomes a Regress Gauge! Then I draw a card and Liael=Odium gets 10k power! On top of that, my front row gets 5k power for each Distorted Bane in my Regress Gauge! I attack with Anachronous Dragon! 23k!"

"I guard." Suzune stops this attack.

"Liael=Odium attacks! 41k! Then, using her skill, I soul blast one and place Anachronous into my Regress Gauge, which then gives her Triple Drive!"

"Perfect guard."

"Triple Drive! No Trigger! Second check! Critical Trigger! All effects to Ammi Ditahna! Third check! Front Trigger! 10k power to my front row! Ammi Ditahna attacks!"

"No guard..." Suzune is now pushed to 5 damage.

"I end my turn." Athena says with a smirk. "What was that about dominating? I'm walking all over you, rich girl! Better step up your game, or you'll be run over!"

Suzune did her best to remain calm, as she draws her card. "Sound System, start up. I ride, PolyPhonicOverDrive, Artisaria." As Suzune looked at Athena's board, she took note of the Anachronous Dragon in her gauge. She made sure to get a key piece off of her board. But either way, it wouldn't matter. "Using Artisaria's skill, I pay two energy and set a Sound System Order from my hand or drop. I place MegaЯoManiA. When placed into the Order Zone by Artisaria's effect, I choose on of your rearguards... Ammi Ditahna, is Locked." Athena's rearguard is flipped face down, surprising everyone.

"Well that's new..." Athena mumbles, but doesn't seem too bothered by it. After all, she still had the advantage, even with one less attack.

"I call two DevilishFlanger, Lufur, they get 5k power when placed. Then I call two Trailing Notes, Reverbera. My first Lufur attacks. 28k."

"I don't guard." Athena takes this hit, since she needed the damage from here.

"Reverbera's skill. She goes to my soul, and I add Lufur back to my hand. Lufur's skill when activates next. I counter blast and draw a card. I attack with Artisaria. Using her skill, I counter blast and call a Shadow Army token for each of my Sound System cards in my Order Zone."

"I guard that attack."

"Twin Drive. First check. No Trigger. Second check. Front Trigger. 10k power to my front row. Attack with my other Lufur."

"No guard. Damage check. Critical Trigger. All effects to Odium."

"Adding Lufur back to hand, then draw a card. Shadow Army attacks. 25k."

"Guard."

"I end my turn..." Suzune addresses the situation. She's restricted Athena down to two attacks, while also drawing into a good amount of shield value. However, she was still at 5 damage, and it's unlikely Athena would slow her momentum from here. There was no possible solution to get out of this situation without getting a lucky trigger check. But the Rokuoins don't believe in luck.

"Stand and draw. Hm." Athena also takes note of the locked card. Either way, she couldn't afford to stop now. "Persona Ride! Draw and plus 10k power! I call Almanac Colossus! Using its skill, I draw a card, and soul charge one! I play from my hand, Distorted Bane! Liael=Odium gets 10k power and I draw a card! Adding this Order to my Regress Gauge! Entering battle phase, I counter blast and place another Distorted Bane into my Gauge to call Anachronous! Draw, and another 10k to Odium! I attack with Liael=Odium! Using her skill, I soul blast and place another card from my hand to my Regress Gauge to gain Triple Drive! 61k with two Critical!"

The attack was massive. Suzune had barely enough shield to stop it. She didn't want to use a Sentinel so early in the turn, but she had to. "Perfect guard."

"Triple Drive! Critical Trigger! All effects to Anachronous! Second check! Heal Trigger! Power to Anachronous! Third check! No Trigger! Now, let time distort! Liael=Odium's Divine Skill! I discard two cards from my hand, and at the end of this current turn, I can repeat my turn again! Anachronous attacks with a boost from Almanac Colossus! 73k!"

Suzune grits her teeth for a moment, then throws down another Perfect Guard.

"Struggle all you want! It's pointless! I end my turn. When my turn ends, Ammi Ditahna is unlocked. But the clock rewinds, and I get my turn again! Stand and draw! In this additional turn, there is no Ride or Main Phase, and Liael=Odium is inflicted with minus one Drive. I attack with Liael=Odium! Using her skill, I soul blast and put the Distorted Bane in my hand to the Gauge! Draw, and plus 10k power! Gaining Triple Drive!"

Suzune was running out of cards in her hand. Being forced to discard for each Perfect Guard really hurt her in the long run, but it's a better position than she was in if she didn't. "Perfect guard...!" Suzune uses her last Sentinel to stop this attack.

"Twin Drive! First check! No Trigger! Second check! Front Trigger! 10k power to my front row!" Athena narrows her eyes. The card she drew off of Distorted Bane was a Critical Trigger. If she wasn't forced to draw, she would have game by now. So now she just had to hope Suzune didn't check a single Heal Trigger. "Anachronous Dragon attacks! 58k!"

"Guard...!" Suzune is forced to block with every card in her hand just to stop this one attack.

"Ammi Ditahna attacks! 40k!"

Suzune takes a step back. She only had one card in hand, and it was just a Persona Ride. She couldn't stop it. "No guard..." She hangs her head, as if accepting defeat already. She reaches over to her deck and picks up the last card. Her eyes widen, as she shows it off. "Heal Trigger...!" She lets out an unintended sigh of relief. She was still in the game.

"Tsk... Damn... I end my turn then." Athena groans a bit, but still figured she had this in the bag. Her hand was massive, and was filled with 15k shield cards and Sentinels. There was no way she was winning.

"Stand...and draw." Suzune starts the turn. "I Persona Ride, Artisaria. Draw again. I use Artisaria's skill to energy blast two and play Shout in Shadow from my drop. I draw a card, and create a Shadow Army token. I call Beware of Overeating, Eileen. Eileen boosts Shadow Army for its attack. 33k. Eileen's skill, I check the top card of my deck. Place it on the bottom."

"I won't guard." Athena takes a damage.

"My second Shadow Army attacks Liael=Odium."

"Guard." Athena blocks this with a simple Trigger unit.

"Artisaria attacks. Skill. Counter blast and call two more Shadow Army tokens. Then, my front row gets 5k power for every two Sound Systems in my Order Zone." She opted to place them over the other two on her board to get five attacks this turn. "Also, Artisaria gets plus one Critical when I have two Sound Systems."

"Perfect guard!" Athena smiles.

"Twin Drive. First check. Heal Trigger. I heal one damage and give 10k power to my right hand Shadow Army. Second check. Critical Trigger. All effects to my right Shadow Army. I attack with my right token."

"Guard."

"My left attacks."

"I guard that too." Athena survived the turn, as expected. But her hand was much lower now. She still had one more Sentinel. However, she was running low on cards in her deck. At this point, she would have to stop Triple Driving to keep herself in the game for three more turns.

And Suzune seemed to have noticed this too. It wasn't conventional, and she wasn't winning as easily as she wanted it to be, but a win was a win, no matter how it's achieved.

"I stand and draw." Athena looks at her hand. She had a Persona Ride, but the low deck count stopped her. Instead, she went straight to battle phase, knowing that Suzune had no Sentinels herself. "I attack with Liael=Odium!"

Even if she just swung with a vanilla vanguard, her power was still high, at 31k. There was also that constant Crit pressure thanks to her Over Trigger. But even if she chose to guard it, the other two attacks would finish her off. But if Athena checked another Critical, the game was over. No matter what, Suzune once again couldn't find a solution to this predicament. Deciding it would be the best play, Suzune tossed down the two Trigger units she had just checked. "Guard!"

The total shield value was 43k. Athena needed to check two triggers break the shield, but even one Critical will win her the game. "Twin Drive! First check! No Trigger! Second check! Critical Trigger! All effects to Anachronous! Attack with him! His skill, retiring Eileen!" Athena decided to take out the booster to keep Suzune in the dark for future checks in case she didn't win this turn.

Suzune couldn't stop this attack. It was too high to block. "No guard... First damage... No Trigger. Second damage..." Once again, the green haired girl had given up. At least, on the surface. Deep down, she was praying. She turns it over, and the result enraged Athena. "Over...Trigger...?!" Suzune gasps in surprise, removing it from the game and making Artisaria invincible for the rest of this turn, as well as drawing another card.

"Ugh...! Dammit, why won't you go down already...?! Why PLOT?!" Athena rages for a moment, then calms down. "I end my turn."

"Stand and draw." Suzune didn't have another Artisaria to ride, so she went straight to the main phase. "I use Artisaria's skill...! I set MegaЯoManiA and Lock Anachronous...!" With that, she shut down one of Athena's biggest attackers. "Attack with Shadow Army...!"

"I guard!" Athena had gotten careless. She should have blocked a Shadow Army last turn, but her hubris caused her to misplay hard, which might cost her the game.

"My second Shadow Army...!"

"Intercept with Ammi Ditahna!" Athena was wasting shield.

"Attack with Artisaria...! Skill, I call three Shadow Armies...! 18k with two Critical...!"

As much as Athena wanted to perfect guard this attack, she couldn't help but wonder if she could stop the left hand side. Because she called three tokens, the left side now had a booster, and that booster was another 15k body. Although, Suzune also hasn't checked much Triggers this fight. She still had a good chunk. Athena gulps, and throws down two of her Trigger units. "Guard for 43k!"

"Twin Drive... First check...! Critical Trigger...!" Suzune had to stop