Chapter 9: Announcement
A few short months later and Jason, Kira and Julie were sitting in class, waiting for the final bell before Summer Break starts. Their teacher smiled at them, "Alright class, before summer break, I have an announcement to make." She said, "During the summer, this school will be hosting a summer course, that I urge you all to apply for."
She then heard a number of her students make audible groans.
The teacher chuckled, "Very well then, if none of you are interested in winning a Duel Tournament, then that's your choice." She added. The entire class erupted in exclamations of surprise, causing the teacher to smile triumphantly, "Yes. In one week, this school will be holding a Team Dueling Tournament. Students will pair up in teams of three in order to compete. The duels will be waged in a best two-out-of-three fashion."
She then turned on a Power Point that will visualize everything she explains, "For the first Duel of a match, each team will choose who duels. When that first duel is over, the loser then passes the baton to another team member, while the winner continues to face the next opponent. Now everyone, pay attention to this part in particular!" She instructed, "Life Points will be transferred from one duel to another. Meaning, if you win the first duel, but only have 100 Life Points, then you play the next Duel with only 100 Life Points. The match is decided when one side has two wins, or when one team surrenders." She said as she closed the Power Point, "This was only an explanation of the rules. The rest will be explained in one week, when the Tournament is ready to begin. There's still a half an hour before the bell rings, the rest of this class will be for you all to pick your teams." She said before sitting back down on her desk.
The classroom was filled with kids talking and sharing their excitement. Jason and Kira smiled at each other, "Alright!" Jason said, "A tournament! This is gonna be so awesome!"
Kira nodded with a big smile on her face, "Yeah! Now we just need a third team member." She said before glancing at Julie, "Hey, why don't you go and ask Julie if she wants to join our team?" She offered.
Jason nodded, "Ok." He then walked over to Julie, "Hey, Kira and I are making our team, you wanna join?"
Julie blushed slightly, "R-really? A-a-are you sure?" She asked shyly.
Jason smiled at her and nodded, "Totally! You're an awesome Duelist! We'll win for sure if you and I team up!" He said.
Julie smiled, "Ok! Thanks Jason!"
Meanwhile, the bully that tried to steal Kira's card was glaring at the trio. One of his teammates looked over to him, "Don't worry about them, Billy. We'll just wipe the floor with them." He said.
Billy shook his head, "That's not enough. I was nearly expelled thanks to him. He needs to be completely devastated." He then grinned evilly, "And I think I know just how to do that."
Later that day at dinner, Jason and Kira told their parents about the Duel Tournament that the school was holding. Akiza smiled, "Sounds like fun! Your father and I will be rooting for you the whole way." She told them.
Yusei nodded in agreement, "By the way, who's your third team member?" He asked.
Jason smiled, "Julie's agreed to be our third member." He told them.
Meanwhile, Julie was eating dinner with her father. He smiled at her, "Glad to hear that you're looking forward to this tournament. I know you'll be great." He told her.
Julie smiled brightly, "Thanks Daddy!" A brief, but comfortable silence befell the room before she looked back up at him, "Where's Mom?" She wondered.
Her father scoffed, "Heck if I know. She never tells me anything anymore." He said before standing up, "I've gotta make a few calls, I won't be long." He said before walking into another room.
Julie frowned. She had begun to notice her parents growing further and further apart from each other. She was so worried, but every time she asked either one of them about it, they always told her the same thing, "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." She believed it at first, but the more she heard it, the more she knew something else was going on.
The next day came quickly for the twins. Jason and Kira were going to Julie's house so the three of them could talk strategy and help each other with building their decks. Once they had arrived, they all sat down on the living room couch.
Julie smiled, "So what should we work on first?" She asked.
Jason folded his arms, "Good question... Do we really need to prepare that much?" He asked.
Kira sighed, "You really don't think these things through, do you?" She asked, "We need to make sure that we're in sync! That way, we'll be able to perform at our best in the Tournament! If we don't learn how to work together as a team, we won't win." She said.
Julie nodded, "True, but I don't think we need to worry too much." She told her friend, "We've all seen each other duel countless times. We know each other's decks, cards, and strategies. We're already pretty in sync, if you ask me."
Jason nodded, "Julie's right! We're gonna tear the competition apart!" He declared.
Kira shook her head, "Somehow, I don't think it's gonna be that easy, but what the heck?" She said with a shrug.
They spent the day having practice duels with each other, training hard to improve their skills and strategize. When the time came for Akiza to pick the kids up, she actually wound up helping them for another hour with deck reconstruction.
The week passed quickly for everyone, as a crowd stood in front of the school, waiting for the Principal to begin his announcement. Kira tensed slightly, "I'm really nervous all of a sudden." She said.
Yusei placed his hands on her shoulders, "You're gonna do great out there, all of you. I just know it." He said.
Kira smiled at her father when the Principal walked onto the podium in front of the crowd, "Ladies and Gentleman. I'd first like to thank you all for being here, as I welcome everyone to New Domino Elementary Summer Duel Tournament!" He said as the audience applauded. Once the applause died down, he continued, "Now then, to explain the specifics of the rules, I introduce: Leader of Sector Security, Chief Trudge." He said as he stepped down and allowed Trudge to walk up.
"Ah right, listen up. First off, I have officers hidden in the crowd to work alongside the teachers to catch any and all cheaters. If the school faculty doesn't catch you, my troops will. Anyone who gets caught cheating will be kicked from the Tournament immediately and will also be starting the next school year off with a month-long suspension!" He said sharply.
"Now onto the tournament itself. The field of play is the entirety of the school property, teams are allowed to duel both in and outside of the school building. The only area that is off-limits is the gym, which is being prepped for the finals. All participating teams has been given three Duel Counters." He said as he lifted up a small blue coin, "These are how you get into the finals. You get one from your opponent's team for every win you get. Same goes the other way. For every match you lose, you fork over one of your Duel Counters. You run out of Counters, you lose. Simple as that. Your team needs twenty pieces. Once four teams have made it to the finals, the preliminary round will be officially over. Also, you will all be required to use your school Duel Disks. They send out a signal to the proctors of the Tournament and allow us to keep track of the progress. Furthermore, for those who Duel inside, only one match can be played in a classroom at a time. And finally, one last thing." He then paused briefly before smiling, "Everyone do your best!" He said, making all the kids cheer as the parents applauded as well.
The kids scattered fast, leaving Kira, Jason and Julie behind.
Jason pumped his fists into the air, "Man! This is so awesome! I'm revving so much I can't stand it!" He said excitedly.
Kira nodded, "Well we're not going to win this thing by just standing around." She said.
Julie smiled, "Right! Let's do this thing!"
Before anything else could happen, three balls had gone flying towards them.
Noticing them coming, Yusei knelt down in front of the kids, "Duck!" He said as he was hit by a tennis ball in his right shoulder, a baseball in his stomach and a soccer ball at his forehead.
Yusei fell on his back, groaning in pain when Akiza rushed to him, "Yusei!" She called in concern. Kira looked over to Yusei, along with the other two kids, "Are you ok, Daddy?" She asked.
Jason looked in the direction of the balls' owners and glared, "What was that for?!" He demanded.
The boy in the soccer uniform chuckled, "You guys need to work on your Defense." He said confidently.
The boy in the baseball uniform smirked, "Hope you can Duel better than that, cause if not, then we're gonna Grand Slam you three."
The boy in the tennis uniform nodded, "That's right, so grab your decks, cause it's time to Service the Tournament!"
Jason's glare intensified, "You. Are. On!"
(A/N: That's it for this chapter! The next few chapters are going to feel a bit longer because of the duels. I was inspired by this tournament from the WRGP, and Duelist Kingdom tournaments, so I decided to combine them, sorta. Anyways, I hope you are enjoying the story so far! Read and Review!)
