User blog:TDE44/The Buddy National

No idea how receptive people are of fanfiction on here, but I've had this idea for a while for a Buddyfight one. I thought of posting it on tumblr, but the Buddyfight community on there isn't large enough yet, so I figured I'd try here. Happy to know what you guys think~

Summary: Aibo Academy isn't the only famous Buddyfighting school in the world. Buddy-National, an international Buddyfighting school, hosts thousands of fighters all aiming for the title of world-class, and eager to make themselves legendary in the Buddyfight world. Explosive battles, lifelong partnerships, and mysterious alliances are only part of the curriculum here, and the students will need more than powerful cards to make the grade...

-/-/-/-/- CHAPTER ONE: Into the Æther

A stadium filled with cheering people...a field filled with powerful monsters...and two fighters glaring each other down, hearts pounding with the thrill of the battle. Brenda Salvers, or "Sal" as she was called by her friends, clenched her fist around the weapon in her hand, the cold metal of Gunrod Bechstein familiar, and comforting. She reached up and played with a stray strand of her teal hair, a habit she never quite grew out of.

"Your hands are sweaty." Almost reflexively, Sal wiped her hands on her blue half-skirt, the article swishing around her black jeans.

The speaker, a well-built man with skin as pale as hers, placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. His hair nearly matched Sal's, though while hers was in a braid, his flowed freely behind him, the ends glowing an ethereal purple. Clad in the garb and stole of a great duke, with many rings glittering on his fingers and bone ornaments jangling, he looked out of place in this modern amphitheater, especially alongside a young girl.

"Be calm, and be clear." he spoke in a smooth, cultured voice that carried centuries of wisdom. "Analyze the field, and plan accordingly."

Sal took a deep breath, nodding. "Sorry. I got a little nervous. I can win this. I know I can."

Across from her, her opponent, a brown-haired boy with green eyes laughed. "You think so? Your Astaroth is strong, I'll admit, but not enough to break through my Bronze Shield!" He gestured to the large green and brown dragon in front of him, the scales hardening and the shield-like protrusions coming together to form a seemingly impenetrable wall. "Even if you did, I have eight life points to your four! It's over!"

Sal smirked as she performed her Charge and Draw. "Yeah, it's over, alright. For you! I call to the Center, Demon Doctor Buer!"

In a flash of runes and purple light, the orange-furred creature appeared before Sal, cackling madly. [Demon Doctor Buer: Size 1, 1000 Power/1 Critical/3000 Defense] "I'll use his skill to put a card from the top of my deck to the Gauge!" A card flew from her deck to the pool of large, glowing cards on her left, bringing the total to three.

"Next, I'll take a shot with Gunrod Bechstein!" Aiming the gun, she fired a blast at her opponent, who grunted as his life dropped to seven.

"Big deal!" he shouted across the field. "Seven life points or eight, you can't beat me on this turn!"

"Can't I? I pay two Gauge to equip Gunrod Stradivarius!" Two cards from her Gauge burst into light, ultimately coalescing into a magical-looking shotgun of silver and black that fell into her outstretched hands.

"Stradivarius works like Bechstein; I can use it even with a monster in my Center! I'll use its skill to inflict another point of damage to you!" Hefting the weapon, she fired a shot at her opponent, another life point disappearing from his total.

"Are potshots all you can do?" taunted the brunette. "Looks to me like you wasted two Gauge!"

"Looks to me like you're not paying attention!" smirked Sal. "Stradivarius has another ability: when I use its skill, the excess energy is added to the power of a monster on my field! Astaroth gets the power boost!"

The demon sighed as the energy of Stradivarius formed around him, brining his power to a shocking 8000. "I do so enjoy a snack before victory." he grinned, fangs glinting.

"E-Eight thousand power...you can break through my Center!"

"Bingo! Astaroth, attack that dragon!" Needing no further coercion, he clasped his hands together, dark energy swirling between them. With a mighty yell, he unleashed a fearsome blast upon Bronze Shield that dissolved it into motes.

"And now, thanks to Double Attack, he can stand again! Guys, hit the fighter!"

"Got it, chief!" laughed Buer, leaping across the stage just as Astaroth fired another blast of energy. The opponent grunted, crying out as Buer delivered a swift kick to his shoulder.

"I'm...still standing..." he snarled, holding himself up with his axe Core Gadget. "I've got three life points left!"

"And I've got two cards left! Cast! Key of Solomon First Volume!" Two cards appeared in Sal's Gauge, bringing a look of horror to the brunette's face.

"N-No...it can't be!"

"It can! Final Phase!"

A card shone in Sal's hand, her remaining Gauge flying towards her as dark-colored points of light. With a flourish, she spun the Gunrod, opening the chamber just as the cards flew inside, snapping it closed seamlessly. "Gimme a hand, Buer!"

"No problem!" The little demon flipped onto his head, using his feet as a springboard to launch Sal up high.

"This is the finishing blow! Diabolical Hardcore!"

Taking aim, she fired an enormous burst of dark energy at the fighter, the brunette screaming as his life points dropped to zero.

[Game over.] spoke Sal's Core Gadget, the purple and teal circlet flashing back into its case form. [Winner: Brenda Salvers.]

The crowd erupted into cheers, Sal grinning ear to ear as Astaroth patted her head. "You did well, Sal. A fine battle, worthy of such an audience."

The brunette strode across the field, extending a hand to Sal. "Not bad. Guess you got me back for last time, huh?"

Sal accepted the handshake graciously. "It was a close call, believe me. Astaroth gave me the last push I needed."

The demon chuckled softly. "I merely reminded her of the strength she always possessed. And you fought hard as well, Lucas."

The Dragon World user, Lucas, laughed. "Guess you're still the Duchess of the Gauge, huh? An item and an Impact in the same turn, both to full effect."

"Same time tomorrow?"

Lucas flashed the thumbs-up, giving Sal a grin. "You know it! I'll get revenge for today, mark my words!"

-/-/-/-/-

From the stands, a boy, dark-skinned, hair black as the night sky, and eyes more silver than a cloudy day, watched the two fighters depart with the faintest trace of a smile on his face. "Sal's still got it, huh, Ana?"

Next to him sat a girl with pure white hair with several haphazard black streaks. Her yellow eyes watched Sal intently, a small smile playing on her lips as the demon hoisted his Buddy up on his shoulders. "The best Magic World user in the school. Managing her Gauge quickly and efficiently every turn, along with a steady flow of spell cards and damage from her Gunrods. Small wonder she's ranked 3."

"Astute as ever."

The boy, Sho, stood and stretched lightly, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. "I'm in the mood for a battle. Feel like getting pulverized, Ana?"

The girl chuckled lightly. "Oh, you are in for a /world/ of hurt."

Sho cracked his knuckles as he made his way down the aisles. "Bad pun."

-/-/-/-/-

Sal sighed as she returned to her dorm, setting her Core Deck Case down on her night table. The room was small, but not cramped, and she had done her best to give her half a personal touch. A little bookshelf in the corner that contained numerous texts about Buddyfighting, demonology, and other subjects that would catch her eye. Posters of bands and scenery that, on a good day, shone like priceless treasures when they caught the sun. It was more than cozy; it was home.

"That was tough." she groaned as she flopped onto her bed. "Lucas is usually never that strong."

"Funny." smirked Astaroth as he began walking up the wall. With a poof, he reverted to his miniature form, to allow more movement. "He only ever really seems to try hard against you. Maybe he respects you too much to let up."

Sal's response was a laugh muffled by the pillow. "The things that you say sometimes, Astaroth."

The two were interrupted as the door was all but thrown open, a girl with black-streaked white hair stomping in. "Hello, Ana." greeted Astaroth, bowing. "How did your match go?"

"I miscalculated." she replied gruffly, kicking off her boots. "Sho played an item destruction card turn three and I couldn't bounce back. He's gotten almost as good at balancing the Gauge as you."

"That would be the day." Astaroth laughed.

"So how come you're not still fighting him?" asked Sal. "Normally you two would battle until curfew."

"He has a report due tomorrow he neglected, so I made him go finish it. That guy...he's a great Buddyfighter, but sometimes I don't know what goes through his head when he does things like that."

Were there anyone smarter than Ana, Sal had yet to meet them. Able to deduce her opponent's moves in the blink if an eye, she was a master strategist, and could be brutal in battle. But she had a gentler side, too, as well as a love of astronomy that was rivaled only by her love of Buddyfighting. When she and Sal had been assigned as roommates the two had become fast friends; they could tell each other everything, from their greatest accomplishments to their deepest insecurities. Sal never really bought into the belief of soulmates, but if she did, Ana was definitely contender number one.

"I'm gonna head down to the shop." Sal spoke, leaping from her bed. "Maybe they've got some new cards in."

"Isn't your deck perfect already?" asked Ana, reaching under her bed and pulling out an astronomy magazine. An older issue, but she still liked rereading it.

"My main, sure, but I wanna look over my sideboard. 'Be prepared and have no regrets', right?"

Ana smiled; she remembered. "Exactly right. See you at dinner."

"See ya. Let's go, Astaroth."

The duke hopped down from the ceiling, retaking his normal form, following Sal out and shutting the door as they left.

-/-/-/-/-

Buddy-National didn't just provide the usual amenities you'd expect for a school of its size; things like a gym, study rooms, a library were all standard. But being geared almost exclusively towards Buddyfighting, it naturally had facilities catered towards the game. Small arenas for private battles were available on every floor, as were stations for renewing or severing Buddy Contracts. There was even an office on the fifth floor that helped fighters find their Buddy based in world, compatibility, playstyle, and dozens of other factors that guaranteed a 99.8% success rate when assigning Buddies.

But perhaps the crown jewel was the card shop. The location was ideal, a simple hop, skip, and jump from the cafeteria, and filled with every card imaginable. With the credits students obtained from their monthly allowances, winning fights and completing homework assignments, they could buy as many cards as they could, whether singles for the driven sort, or packs and boxes for the more gambling types. However, there was a...system in place...

"What do you mean I can't buy these cards? My credit's as good here as anywhere else!"

The sour-faced attendant behind the counter shook his head at the tiny, pleading student opposite him, plucking the small packet of cards from his hands. "Sorry, kid. You know the rules; Triple Digits, R or below, and Double-Digits RR and below."

"But...but that's not fair! How am I supposed to increase my ranking if I can't even get the cards I need to do it?"

"Not my problem." was the attendant's reply. "I've still got plenty of Us and Cs lying around. You can look through them if you want."

"I have enough of those already!" the student replied, black eyes starting to well up with tears. "C'mon, please!"

"Like I said. It's out of my...hands!?"

The slap of cards on countertop made both males turn to face Sal, who had appeared at the shop as if from nowhere, Astaroth at her side. She fanned the cards out, raising an eyebrow at them. "Four Yamigitsune, a Tempest Garo-oh, an Art of Explosive Hades Fall, and a pair of Demon Way Karakurenai. Total, that's about 60000 credits." Sal reorganized the cards. "How'd you get enough for all this?"

"I fought for them, how else?" he replied. "And he won't let me get them!"

"Like I told you, squirt, rules are rules." snorted the shopkeeper. "Until you up your ranking, there's nothing I can do."

The student opened his mouth to retort but was interrupted by Sal. "He's right, you know. Rules are rules."

The red-haired student looked on the verge of tears.

"60000 credits, huh? Y'know, I always wondered about Skull Warriors...I think I'll get these."

"Sure thing, Sal." The shopkeeper rung her up as she handed him her student card, swiping it deftly to deduct the credits. "Skull Warriors, huh? Good luck."

Sal looked through the cards, a small smile playing on her face. "Y'know, on second thought, Skull Warriors aren't really my thing. I'll stick with Magic World. What's your name, kid?"

"K-Kress." stammered the redhead. "Kress Jacobs." He jumped a second later when Sal shoved the cards into Kress' hands.

"Enjoy these, Kress. Good luck on the ranking rise."

"Y-You can't do that!" sputtered the attendant indignantly. "You can't buy cards for him! That's anarchy!"

"I didn't buy them for him." smirked Sal as Astaroth erupted into laughter over his Buddy's craftiness. "I got them for me. But I don't want them anymore. And cards are meant to be played, and he is using Skull Warriors, so..."

Kress stared up wide-eyed at Sal unable to comprehend what just happened. "You...thank you! Thank you so much!"

Sal chuckled lightly, pointedly ignoring the freaking out of the shopkeeper. "Think nothing of it. Good luck with your deck!" With that, she wandered off to another part of the store, Kress still staring after her with wide, admiring eyes.

-/-/-/-/-

"That was hilarious." Astaroth laughed as he floated behind Sal, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Right? Did you see that card hog's face?" Sal twisted her face into a fairly decent imitation of the shopkeeper's look of horror when she had handed Kress the cards. "Priceless."

"If only I could add that to my collection." chortled the demon.

Sal and Astaroth spent only a short while in the shop, looking over some of the Magic World selections. Her purchases were small, only a pair of Gunrod Martil and a Devil Advantage. With ten minutes left to dinner, the pair began making their way to the dining hall.

"So why are you adding them to your sideboard?" asked Astaroth as Sal pocketed the cards.

"I've already got three Devil Advantage, which is perfect, and Martil is just in case." Sal tapped her chin in thought. "Maybe I should see Sho about changing my deck around a little."

The duke shrugged. "Very well. Know I'll support whatever decision you make."

"Awww...how could anyone call you a demon?"

"Wanton slaughter and enough magic to redefine modern physics." A pause. "And it's probably the fangs, too."

Sal was nearly doubled-over in laughter, attracting more than a few stares. Astaroth's...'unique' brand of humor never failed to make her laugh. "You're too much sometimes."

"I suppose. Sho."

"Huh? No, I'm Sal, not Sh--"

Sal's objection was interrupted as she all but crashed into Sho, who barely flinched at the impact. "Ow."

The brunette turned to face Sal, giving her a bemused look. "Walk much?" he asked jokingly, helping her to her feet.

"Stand around much?" she shot back, resuming her walk, Astaroth and Sho following at her side.

"Saw what you did for that kid earlier. That was pretty nice of you." Sho gave the girl a friendly punch on the arm. "Way to stick it to the system."

"Just making sure everyone gets their shot." she shrugged in reply. "What're you doing here?"

"Uh, dinner in a few. I'm freakin' starving." As if by some cosmic punchline, his stomach growled, an almost thunderous sound that made Astaroth raise a brow.

"Geez...when are you not hungry?"

"Whenever I'm sleeping or Buddyfighting."

"Speaking of," asked Sal as she, Astaroth, and Sho took their seats. "Where is your Buddy?"

"......Around."

Sal smirked and folded her arms smugly. "You lost him again, didn't you." It was more statement than question.

Sho slumped his head onto the table. "He always keeps doing this! I need to get him a leash or something!"

"How do you keep losing him?" asked Astaroth, grinning. "He's enormous."

"He's also smart."

"Oh, well he must be to outwit you."

Sho gave Sal a look. "Was that sarcasm?"

Her reply was a simple smile.

"Jerk."

"SAL!" The hall fell silent at the cry, turning to face the instigator. Standing in the doorway was the minute form of Kress, a look of pure determination and resolve on his face, Core Deck Case in his hand.

"I...I challenge you to a Buddyfight!" he hollered, pointing at the teal-haired girl, earning gasps and murmurs from the gathered students. All eyes were on Sal, who regarded Kress with a look.

It was a while before she spoke. "Can't it wait until after dinner?"

END