People gathered.

The street became filled with noise.

Fireworks bursted into the seven colours in the skies.

Ragnarøk began!

To celebrate the start of this colossal event, the first tournament in the First Winter Stage was held on a special stadium near the sea in Minato, built eight years ago to hold one of Ryuzaki's biggest events and one that shook the Vanguard world at the time, a competition between Kings by the name of Tokyo's Finest, and later the final round of the Dream Team Challenge, where it gained its name from.

Hanabi Stadium, named after the team who won the Dream Team Challenge.

The perfect place to serve as the first location for such a monumental, life-changing event!

And two thirds of Izanagi were late!

Yeah, the tanuki dumbass and the dinosaur dumbass were still not there, leaving a very annoyed Kikka feeling very stupid as she stood in front of the stadium with her arms crossed.

"Those two... I'm gonna end them when they show their ugly mugs! Life already screwed me over by having Lucia-san have to work at Dogma's today, it can't screw me over again!"

"Yo, probie! Kept you waiting much?"

Oh look, the tanuki was finally there, with Yukie by her side and a plumpy, half-eaten mango in her hand.

"What took you so long?!" The redhead asked, facing her teammate. "I've been waiting here for ten minutes! We agreed to be here on time!"

"We stopped by a fruit market on the way. Harui enjoys the fruit there." Yukie informed.

"That's not a good excuse!"

"Want some? This mango is bussin' bussin'." Harui said, extending her fruit to her fellow fighter.

"No thanks." Kikka shook her head. "Where's Nozomi-san? He has a car, he doesn't have an excuse!"

"Oh hey girls, kept you waiting much?"

Oh look, Midorin was finally there, with Nozomi by her side and a plump, half-eaten mango in her hand.

"Sorry for the wait, guys." Nozomi chuckled, scratching his neck. "We-"

"Stopped by a fruit market on the way? Midorin-san likes their fruit?" Kikka asked.

"Wow, Kikka-chan has some mad detective skills!" Midorin exclaimed. "Want some of mine? This mango is bussin' bussin' for real!"

"I'll pass, but thanks..." The redhead sweatdropped. "You two are so irresponsible! We promised we'd meet here at a specific time and then you got distracted by fruits!"

"I did, alright." Harui cackled, looking at her girlfriend. "You know me, I just love good fruit so much."

"Zip it!" She deadpanned. "Let's just get going, I've been standing here like a fool for long enough..."

"Hey come on, I'm just ruffling your feathers!" The white haired laughed. "Where's your spirit of celebration? Today's a big day! It's the day I beat stupid Nozomi's stupid brother's stupid face in!"

"Please don't actually put your hands on Naomitsu." Nozomi deadpanned.

"Today's also the day we go toe to toe with people way out of my skill range! Forget Tartarus and Blacksync, there's a bunch of teams here we don't know anything about, you stinky tanuki!"

"Oh please, what's the worst that could happen?" Harui asked.

Right on time, the worst that could happen appeared, and Harui felt it with her spine and her very soul.

Someone she didn't fancy was here. And was making his way to her group.

It started with two people happily calling out Kikka's name, then rushing over to hug her while the third member of their team simply pat her on the head.

He didn't want to get crushed or tased, afterall.

They were a legendary team who left a mark in the history of Vanguard, missing their leader who had to work that day, which didn't matter because he couldn't participate in Ragnarøk anyway.

The namesake of Hanabi Stadium.

The prince of protein, Fuchigami Gin.

The full taser alchemist, Onizuka Masato.

And the nightmare of the commonwealth, Mikazuchi Kaido.

"Kikka-chan, Kikka-chan, Kikka-chan!" Gin and Masato cheered.

"Are you two stupid? Stop trying to catch a case and let her go." Kaido deadpanned.

"Gin-san? Masato-san? And Kaido-san too? What are you guys doing here?!" Kikka asked.

"Yeah! What are you doing here and when are you leaving?!" Harui asked with a hiss. She was neatly hidding behind Nozomi and Midorin.

"I'm sensing some wicked stuff between Harui-chan and these three goons..." Midori muttered to Nozomi. "What's the deal?"

"Good question..." Nozomi sweatdropped. "Stop clinging to us, Harui. What's your problem with them?"

"Them? Not them! Gin is dope and his boxing matches rock! Masato is pathetic and makes me laugh!"

"Why am I catching a stray here?!" Masato asked. He and Gin had already let go of Kikka.

"My problem is that tactless rich bastard! He's the real criminal here!"

"You really sound like Yuuto at times... And a little like Kiri with that second line."

"Kaido-san, what did you do to her?" Kikka asked.

"What do you think?" Kaido asked.

"I'll tell you! When I was still in middle school, that bastard... That damn bastard... That filthy bastard...! He... He touched me without my consent!" Harui declared.

No one was surprised by that, not even Yukie.

"You never told me you were her surgeon, Kaido-san!" The redhead said.

"Work is work, leisure is leisure." He replied. "Ryuuga asked me to pull some strings, so I got the best surgeon in the world. Myself."

"He saw places only Yukie should see!"

"I saw your spine, get over it."

"I'd really prefer if we moved from this topic..." Yukie requested with a small sweatdropped.

"R-right, sorry for pressuring the matter, Yukie-san..." Kikka said, lowering head. "Did Ryuuga-san not come with you guys?"

"He's stuck being the MC for a different First Winter tournament." Gin explained.

"Ryuzaki got the entire Tokyo's Finest gang to go host the First Winters. I'm amazed he even got Tenma on board. That guy never says yes to anything." Masato commented.

"Well, with or without Ryuuga-san, I'm still super grateful you guys came to watch me. I promise I won't disappoint you!"

Rookie mistake, Kikka.

Rookie mistake.

With just one word, Kikka would resonate with Harui and Yuuto more than ever in terms of not wanting to be in Kaido's presence.

"Watch?" Kaido asked.

"...yes...?" Kikka quietly replied. Nothing could hide the squeaking sound she made as her voice broke.

"Nah, we're here to enter! Gin's finally on hiatus from the boxing scene with his wedding and all coming up, so Hanabi's back in biz!" Masato exclaimed.

"It sucks Ryuuga can't enter due to being a branch manager and all, but we'll make do." Gin added.

"It's good to get out of the house and be with friends every once in a while." Kaido said. "We'll see you inside, Izanagi."

Nozomi, Midorin and Yukie waved Hanabi goodbye like normal people, but Harui kept her hissing and hiding while Kikka just stared dumbfoundedly at the floor.

"Kaido-san isn't so great now huh, Probie?" Harui asked.

"I, uhm... I-i think this Yuuto-san might have been right all along..."

"Is that Kaido guy that intense?" Midorin questioned, eyes on Nozomi.

"You're asking the wrong blonde guy with some connection to the Mikazuchis..." Nozomi weakly chuckled.

Mikazuchi Kaido takes another victim.

Anyway.

Now everyone was there at last, Izanagi and their closest supporters finally entered the stadium. Nozomi was chill, despite the weight this day carried; Harui was being herself, now that Kaido was far gone from her sight; and Kikka was still not all there, so Yukie and Midorin had to help her walk.

But along the way, they encountered another team. At least this one they already knew.

"Big sis Rita!" Harui teasingly exclaimed.

"Shut it or die!" Kiru barked.

Yeah, it was Blacksync, now featuring their fresh faced new member.

"Took you guys enough. Tanuki kept you waiting?" Satoru asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"I also got here after our agreed time..." Nozomi admitted with a small chuckle. "We spent some time talking with another team too."

"That Mikazuchi rat is here!" The white haired girl hissed.

"What?! Piss off! Why'd he have to come to this one in specific?!" Kiru groaned, holding her head with both hands. "Of all the First Winter tournaments, he had to choose this one?! I knew it, we should have gone to a different one! This is all your fault, you sleazy porn addict!"

"Collector." Akafuyu corrected his teammate. "And I'm not going to be blamed by someone who starts pounding drinks before team training! Why'd you buy a stupidly expensive beer crate anyway?! That money could have been stretched to the rest of the month!"

Oh yeah, it was May already. The first wave of First Winter tournaments were held May 1st.

"I was stressed! Besides, it's not like I can afford them anyways, so I'm not gonna be drinking them daily! Let me live a little, I'm still young, I can turn this around later! Going cold chicken would be even worse for my stress! My bubbly is medicinall!"

"You pounded two before coming here, you common drunktard!"

"For good luck!"

"Good luck my behind!"

"Man, a shame Jiei said no to making a team with me..." Satoru sighed. "I take we'll meeting each other in the finals?"

"Y-yeah, yeah totally... As soon as we... Get over Hanabi and stuff..." Kikka muttered. She was still processing it.

"After I send stupid Nozomi's stupid brother's stupid face flying with a kick, duh. Try to not need to get carried, you dumb furry." Harui snickered with her usual grin, extending her fist out to Satoru.

"Again, please don't actually hit Naomitsu." Nozomi said.

"Only if you don't get disqualified for your smell, you stinky tanuki." Satoru replied, pushing his shades up, then bumping his friend's fist with his own. "You're on, Izanagi."

"Bet, Blacksync."

"Wait, why are you the one doing the agreeing to meet in finals and bumping fists? I'm the team captain here!" Kiru exclaimed.

"Oh, true. My bad, boss Rita."

"YOU LITTLE FORK, I'M GONNA RIP YOUR-"

The meeting with Blacksync went by smoothly.

Anyway times two.

One hundred teams gathered in the battlefield.

Ten thousand viewers filled out the seats surrounding it.

Many more watched from card shops around Tokyo, where the events were being broadcasted to.

And on top of a raised platform to the right, the two MCs for this First Winter tournament held up their mics.

Usually, it'd only the Ryuzaki doing the MC stuff, with being the guy organizing these things and paying for everything, but this time, he was joined by a pretty face many wished would do everything without Ryuzaki standing there like a sore thumb.

Nozomi looked around, but there were too many people for him to see Naomitsu and Akimitsu.

"Welcome, welcome!" Ryuzaki greeted.

"To the start of Ragnarøk!" Payic followed.

"Oh yeah... They're real, alright..." Masato said to himself in awe, and decided to follow it up with a sleazy laugh he accidently let slip.

"Do you want to die?" Kaido asked.

"Anything's better than the anxiety made by the thought of you operating on me..."

"It's been a while since the announcement, huh? Sorry for the long wait, but we had to iron out some kinks."

"Long wait? It's only been two weeks."

"You've never waited for one of Bushiroad's big product streams, have you, honey?" Ryuzaki asked with a small laugh. "Nothing makes time feel longer than having a date to looking forward too! Especially if a banlist is involved!"

"I haven't, but I've waited for you to pick up a hat your hat closet. And they say women take forever to get ready." Payic snarkly remarked.

"Oof, called out... But I'll have you know all my hats are different enough to require the wait!c

"Such as?"

"Some are white with green stripes. The others? Green with white stripes."

"Are those two gonna stretch their comedy bit forever?" Kiru groaned.

"Chill a bit boss, I think they're pretty funny." Satoru said.

"Right. Allow to me once again welcome you all to the start of Ragnarøk!" Payic announced, showered by the cheers and applause of the masses. "Ragnarøk comes after three unending winters, bringing about the end of the world, and like the mythological version, so too is our Ragnarøk divided into three phases."

"Obvious, the start is the First Winter Stage, in which you're all standing right now!" Ryuzaki continued. "A number of First Winter tournaments will be held all over the country, and the teams who claim victory in them will move on to the next stage. So, how do we get a winner from the First Winter? By making a tournament, duh!"

"Each team will participate in seven rounds of swiss, and at the end, the eight teams with the most wins will move on to the next phase, which will be like your standard team battle tournament."

"As for our swiss phase, when a team meets, all members will fight all at once! We gotta end this tournament today, you know? It's unlikely to have some ties here, but if we get one for the last stop in the top eight, we'll break it the old fashioned way."

"With Vanguard?" Payic asked.

"With Vanguard! Who doesn't love some good old fashioned Vanguard?" Ryuzaki laughed. "Team leaders, check your phones! The list of teams you'll be fighting off in the swiss round is being sent to you!"

Naomitsu, Kaido, Kiru and Harui checked their phones.

Tartarus, Hanabi, Blacksync and Izanagi had avoided each other during the swiss round.

They also avoided an odd team by the named of GSB.

"Alright, you doinky-doinkers!" Harui called out as she turned to her team. "You know what time it is, right?!"

"Let's play card games!" Nozomi exclaimed.

"Oinky-doinkers? Who're you calling pigs?!" Kikka asked.

"I want a clean game, and a cleaner sweep! Clean the floor with the tears of our opponents! We don't got Kiru and her goons kn the way, same with that demonic Mikazuchi's team and Tartarus! There's nowhere here that can beat us! Seven rounds, three fights per round, that's a total of twenty one points! Let's aim for a clean twenty one!"

"Don't put more pressure in me! I'm pressured enough because of Kaido-san!" The redhead whined.

"Just you wait, Naomitsu... We're coming for you!" The blonde declared, tightening his fist.

"Now, everyone!" Ryuzaki called out.

"Ragnarøk begins here!" Payic continued.

With their backs touching, Ryuzaki and Payic reached out their left and right arm respectively. They snapped their fingers, and exclaimed in unison.

"Let's! Stand Up!"