Turn Two: Before the Battle

                                    

                                          
The next day, Renji wakes up and gets ready for school as usual. She soon leaves without a word, and meets up the Kanzaki siblings once again. This time with Amu in tow. Just seeing her now hurt. Her skin was much paler, and her eyes seemed distant. As if she wasn't paying attention, but still knew her way around. "Hey Amu." Renji tried to greet her, but the purple haired girl said nothing back and just walked in silence. "O-Oh, okay then..." She sighs and joins the group.
The three siblings that were not Amu just look at each other, then nod. "I guess you already know...?" Perse asked.
"Yeah..." Renji nods back. "I really want to help." She says.
"That's a nice thought, but unless you can make a miracle happen..." Alice sighs as well.
Athena and Renji were both silent.
Flashback
"A tournament that can grant wishes?" Athena asked.
"That's right... At least, that's what I know about it so far. If I can win, then I can heal Amu...! Please. Teach me all you know! I don't have much time before the first round!" Renji tells her as they practice in a park.
"Hmm..." Athena nods along after hearing her story. "I see... Well, then if you want my opinion about your chances...I can't say I'm too confident." She says.
"Huh...?"
"Oh a fundamental level, you have the basics down. But I don't know if the basics are going to be enough for such a high stakes tournament. Everyone is going to optimize their decks and play to win. From what I can see, you don't really know how to do that. I did my best with what little cards I could get my hands on to help, but something still feels lacking." Athena explained.
"Lacking... Like what?! Tell me!"
"Well..." The older woman starts thinking to herself to put the words together. "I would say...your connection with Rezael doesn't feel authentic. It just feels like you're trying to mold him to your will. Play into your deck's strengths. That's all I can give you at this point."
"Our...connection...?" Renji mutters, and looks at her card again.
End of Flashback
As the school day ends, Renji gets a mysterious text on her phone. It was a notification about the Fated Clash. She looks at the pairings, and finds that she was, thankfully, not play the first round. It seemed to be the Fated One of Unparalleled vs Ever-changing. As she lets out a sigh of relief, she turns her attention to Perse, who was just getting ready to leave. "Perse! Can you help me out? I want to try out my new deck." She asked.
"Huh? Oh, sure thing. I'm down." He says and just takes her to the roof of the school. "So, you decided to pick up the game?" He asked as he set up.
"Yeah. There's something important I need to do. So I need to learn and be the best I can be." She says and sets up her field as well. She checks her opening hand, and puts three cards back into the deck.
Perse didn't put anything back, and then rolled a die. "A five." He says.
Renji does the same, and rolls a six. "Yes...! I'll be going first." She declares.
"Alright then. You ready?" Perse asked, gripping his card.
"Yup. Stand up!"