Going Pro
Chapter 9: Preliminaries
Jesse Anderson stepped off the train and looked around. It had been a long ride in which he nearly fell asleep twice, but he was finally where the tournament was going to be held. He knew it was rather bland, but he wore his grey school uniform for the event, and had not considered trying to stand out in any way. His dueling should be the things to stand out anyway. Everything he needed was in his backpack and his deck was in a holder attached to his belt.
"Let's see…" he mumbled as he looked around some more. He didn't want to wander off and get lost. Maybe the train was early? Should he just sit down and wait a few minutes?
"Hello, excuse me," a woman's voice called out and caught his attention. Jesse looked over and saw a woman with short dark hair, lots of makeup, and a brightly colored skirt suit. She stopped right in front of him and looked him up and down seriously.
"Um, what are you-?" he didn't get to finish your questions.
"You're a duelist alright," she took a step back. "You must be here for the tournament, can I get your name please?"
"Uh, Jesse Anderson, I-"
"Good, and I'm the coordinator, we spoke on the phone earlier this week," she reminded.
"Oh, that's right, you're…" he tried to remember her name.
"Call me Coordinator, or Lady Coordinator if you want suck up to me," she laughed at her own joke. "Now come along, there is a lot of prep work to be done before the first duels so I am going to pass you off to one of the drivers to take you and a couple others to wardrobe and then you can all get settled into your hotel, I need to look out of some other participations that are arriving here shortly."
Before Jesse could say anything, he was pushed outside and into a car with where two others were already seated besides the driver. It felt like a bit of a kidnapping. He thought he was supposed to find a taxi himself.
"Alright, you're all set, Eirik," the coordinator said and the car started up.
"Are we being kidnapped?" A girl about the same age as Jesse questioned from beside him. Jesse was both relieved and unnerved that someone else thought that too.
A slightly older boy in the passenger seat in front of Jesse laughed outright. "That's just how she runs these things when she's in charge. It's hectic, but she gets things done. There's nothing to worry about."
"So you've done this before?" Jesse asked.
"Third time," he answered. "Second time with this coordinator. The other coordinator hardly did anything with the participants and only worked with the staff and sponsors. Duelists tend to get sidetracked on the way to these events and end up not showing up, so she's just doing her job in making sure we all get there."
"I see," Jesse said as he looked out the window and at the buildings.
"I heard the creator of Duel Monsters is going to be here this year," the older boy said.
"Maximillion Pegasus?" the girl gasped.
"Might just be a rumor though, and don't get your hopes up because he hardly ever personally sponsors anyone. Industrial Illusions representatives do though," the older boy said.
"I'm not really here for that anyway," Jesse said and received an odd look from the older boy in front of him.
"Oh, you're one of those types aren't you?"
"What type is that?" Jesse questions.
"Just here because your school or club sent you, not even really that into the game."
"Yes and no," Jesse shrugged, not really caring to explain himself. "What type does that make you?"
"The type that will keep trying until they reach their over the top and unrealistic dreams," the older boy grinned. Jesse couldn't help but chuckle as well. This guy wasn't so bad after all. "So what about you?" he directed at the girl.
"I think I'm hoping for a scholarship to South Academy," she answered.
"That's pretty far away, even Duel Academy's main branch in Japan is closer than South Academy," Jesse commented.
"I know," she said simply. "That's why I want to go there, because it's the furthest."
Jesse was about to say something when a large duel monster spirit caught his eye outside the car as they waited at a traffic light. "Whoa!" he exclaimed and leaned close to the window to get a better look. He didn't recognize the monster, but it was nonetheless amazing.
"What? See a hot chick?" Eirik looked out the window to excitably, but then frowned when there wasn't anyone in the specific direction Jesse had been looking. "What are you looking at?"
"You didn't see it?" Jesse questioned casually.
"See what?" Both Eirik and the girl in the seat next to him asked.
"Oh, nothing," Jesse sat back in his seat. "Must have been my imagination." Part of him was disappointed that these two didn't share his ability to see the spirits, not that he expected them to be able to, so he wasn't surprised either. He was used to it. Years ago he learned to brush off his sightings has if he saw an animal or maybe a cool insect, especially if the person knew of his insects collecting hobby.
Soon, they were being dropped off at the hotel that was right next to the dueling arena that they were going to be using. Before Jesse even knew what was going on, he and the other two were ushered off with some other participants to get ready for the first duels. Jesse looked around at the other teens and young adults and felt kind of out of place. He looked down at his grey clothes and felt plain. His duel disk was a previous model while many of the others had the next generation of duel disks already. Since he was representing his school, he thought he was supposed to wear his uniform. Some others were, but they weren't as grey and boring as his. However, he wasn't here to stand out. He just wanted to duel. It was simple and it didn't matter what he wore.
Jesse heard someone calling out his name and asking if he was there yet. He rose his hand and approached them. He though he was going be getting a nametag or something, but instead he was nearly whisked away once again.
He ended up in what appeared to be a dressing room. After only waiting a few seconds by himself, another woman came in. She was wearing a nametag, but he didn't catch what it said before she started speaking and he looked up at her face.
She had looked him up and down and frowned. "No, this isn't going to do at all. You know there's a lot of sponsors here, right?" she questioned.
Jesse looked himself over once again before it dawned on him that she was indeed referring to his clothing. "I am representing my school."
"Well you won't get any attention looking like a printer that ran out of ink," she said and stepped closer to look at his face. "Good, good, I think we can work with that…" he muttered. "What kind of deck are you using?" she asked.
"Uh, insect?"
"That's pretty common, what is your best monster?"
"I guess that would be Butterfly Fairy," he said and pulled out his cards and showed her the one he mentioned.
"Oh! Perfect!" she started in delight. "I have been waiting for someone with some style!"
"Huh?"
The woman was suddenly taking Jesse's body measurement and running back across the room to a rack of clothes. "Yes! They are in your size!" he exclaimed. "I've been waiting to give this pants to a guy like you, and you've finally arrived!"
Jesse had no idea what she was going on about. He was pretty sure he's changing his clothes for the duels though. Sneaking out the door no probably wasn't going to be a smart move.
She held up some clothes to his body and looked him over. "Not very common, granted it's high fashion pieces, but you can certainly pull it off without a doubt." She put the clothes in his arms and directed him to change behind a curtain.
As he put them on, he had to admit, they were very comfortable. The fabric had to be made from some sort of magic cloud-fluff. However, as he put on the clothes and looked at them, it wasn't so sure how looked on him. They were certainly unusual and he wasn't sure if it would really make him look good or not. The open v-neck was comfortable and the frills on the wrists of the shirt made him feel more mobile, more free. He pulled on the pants, before he noticed violent accents on the front, but he didn't mind that. The pockets were nice and deep and he barely needed the white belt that was provided. It took him a minute to figure out the boots, but once he secured the strap around his calves, he realized how mobile those made him feel too. His ankles were still free to move in any direction as if he was wearing running shoes. It was quite different than most boots he's worn. He clipped his deck box to his belt and stepped outside to see himself in the mirror.
He had to admit, he looked like someone from a magazine, not that he knew much about high fashion. At least nothing was grey. He would certainly stand out more wearing these for the duel too.
"Mmm," the woman wondered as she looked at him. "Good… but it needs an extra something…" she hastily walked over to the clothing rack again and found another item. "I don't know why I didn't give you this one first," she said as held it out for him. "That vest is by the same designed who did the Duel Academy uniforms. They were going to have a separate summer uniform much like this vest, but the director thought that was pointless, no surprise there considering who he is, but we still have Academy inspired items to try coming in every now and then."
Jesse took the mostly blue vest and put it on. It kind of made him happy to know it was like the Duel Academy uniforms. Made him feel like more of a duelist fit to be in this tournament.
Before he knew it, he was being told to get ready to duel and being given information along with some other duelists. If he made it to the final round, he will duel a total of six times today. It turned out there were twelve contestants today, twelve more tomorrow, and twelve the next day, but each day would have only one winner. Winning the day's tournament only guaranteed the cash prize, but not necessarily a sponsor or further career in dueling. They were encouraged to duel to their full potential by showing power, strategy, cunning, and style. These were things that sponsors look for when searching for fresh faces to the pros. Trash talk was lightly encouraged, but remaining respectful was valued more.
Everyone was asked to hang out in the waiting area, where a the coordinator from before remained by the door and talked on a headset. There were television screens so they could watch the duels that were taking place as well as check the tournament bracket screen as the duels progressed. Jesse saw his name was listed as the last duel of the first round.
It was torture for him to wait that long. After watching four other duels, Jesse could be more antsy, despite enjoying the first set of duels. The talent and skill level was certainly all over the place. The winners were easy to predict. Jesse didn't even watch the fifth duel and instead waited by the door. Luckily, that one was over quickly and he was told to go outside and stand on the right side of the field.
As he stepped out, an announcer stated his name, age, and school affiliation. His opponent was a girl with wavy blonde hair and a pink and violent outfit. He wondered what kind of dueling deck she had, but knew he would find out soon. The announcer stated her name as Eva. She was the same age at him, but looked a bit younger by at least a year or two.
"I hope you're ready, Jesse!" she had the tiniest voice, like a doll. It was difficult to find threatening.
"You bet! I was born ready," he said and inserted his deck into his duel disk.
"Good, and I get the first turn, so here we go," she said as she inserted her deck as well.
"Duel!" they both declared. Jesse was so pumped up for this duel, he paid no mind to the audience or the judges. He was already in the zone and ready to go.
Jesse: 4000
Eva: 4000
"I draw," she said and looked over her hand, taking her time. "First I place one card in facedown defense position and then two facedowns in my spell and trap card zone and end my turn."
Jesse noted her defensive opening tactic. Those facedowns could be traps designed to keep his field clear as soon as he tries to attack.
"Draw," Jesse looked over his hand and nodded. "Next I summon Flying Kamakiri #1 (1400/900) in attack position, then I also place two cards in my spell and trap card zone," Jesse said as the holograms appeared before him. "Now I attack your facedown monster!"
The insect monster began to attack. "Not so fast! I reveal my trap card Magic Cylinder, I hope you know what that does!"
Jesse braced himself as his monster's attack was reflected back to him for full damage. He thought something like that might happen, but he also knew he had to take a chance.
"I end my turn," Jesse said. It was not a good first turn at all.
Jesse: 2600
Eva: 4000
"Nice try, Hun, but now it's my turn, I draw!" Eva looked at her hand and then smirked. "First I play Zolga (1700/1200) in attack mode to take out your little bug."
Her monster begun its attack, but Jesse hit the button on his new duel disk to reveal his facedown. "I activate my trap card, Mirror Force, which not only negates your attack, but destroys all your face-up monster cards!"
"Hmm, guess you were ready for that, I end my turn," Eva said.
Jesse: 2600
Eva: 4000
Jesse took a breath of relief. "I draw," he said and looked at his cards. "Okay, I place another facedown card in my spell and trap card zone and then I summon this card, Insect Knight (1900/1500) in attack mode. Then I'll equip this spell card, Laser Cannon Armor, to increase my Insect Knight's attack and defense points by 300 (2200/1800)".
The monster powered up and Eva was unfazed. Jesse figured she had a plan. She wouldn't be at the tournament if she wasn't good. Jesse smirked at that thought. He felt like he belonged here. Challenging duels that kept him on his toes were what he dreamed of. He pumped up and ready.
"Now I attack your facedown!" Jesse declared.
"Not so fast, I activated a trap, Skull Dice, which causes your monster to lose attack and defense points depending on the number rolled."
"I counter!" Jesse stopped the activation of the trap card. "By activating my own trap card, Seven Tools of the Bandit, so my paying 1000 life points, I negate your trap card and continue my attack!"
Insect Knight (2200/1800) slashed through the facedown card and revealed Spirit of the Harp (800/2000) and destroyed it. The monster's defense points were not high enough to withstand the attack and it was sent to the graveyard without any life point damage.
"Now you're wide open," Jesse stated as he looked over her empty field. "So now I attack you directly with Flying Kamakiri #1 (1400/900)."
Eva braced herself against the attack and watched her life points decrease. The audience cheered over the combo as the dust settled.
"I end my turn."
Jesse: 1600
Eva: 2600
"You're pretty good, Hun, but I'm still in the lead, now I draw." Eva's face was blank as she looked over her cards. It was an excellent poker face. Jesse wasn't sure if she had a good or bad hand. There were four cards in her hand which could lead to anything. "Alright, first I summon my Hysteric Fairy (1800/500)," she said and the monster appeared. Certainly not a bad card, but no where enough to stand up again Jesse's Insect Knight. Now I play the spell card, Graceful Dice, which will increase my monster's attack and defense points based on the number of the dice roll."
The dice began to roll and landed on five, which increased Hysteric Fairy points by 500 (2300/1000). This put its attack points higher than Insect Knight (2200/1800), just enough to beat it. However, Jesse wasn't going to let that happen.
"Hold it! I play my trap card, Magic Jammer, to negate your spell. Sorry, but your fairy is losing its power boost." Jesse immediately discarded one card from his hand as per the trap's requirement to activate.
"Darn, well fine then, it's still strong enough to take out your other monster, Hysteric Fairy (1800/500) attack that Flying Kamakiri #1 (1400/900)." Jesse took damage and sent his monster to the graveyard. He was unable to activate the special effect of his monster, stating he could summon one wind attribute monster from the deck with 1500 attack points or less, since there weren't any left, a problem he rarely faced in this situation, so he only had one other option. "Turn end." He was going to have to rework his deck again after this duel.
Jesse: 1300
Eva: 2600
Jesse knew he needed to step up his game somehow. "Draw," he stated. "I summon Rose Papillon (1400/800), and when I have another insect type monster face up on the field, this monster can attack you directly!"
Eva braced herself against the direct attack, and knew it wasn't over.
"Now I attack your Hysteric Fairy (1800/500) with Insect Knight (2200/1800)! Go!" When the dust settled Jesse took the last card from his hand and placed it in his duel disk. "Now I finish my turn by placing a facedown in my spell and trap card zone, turn end."
Jesse: 1300
Eva: 800
"My draw!" Eva began. "I summon Dunames Dark Witch (1800/1050) and will attack your Rose Papillon (1400/800)!"
"I activate my trap card, Negate Attack!" He was able to save his monster and Eva frowned.
"I end my turn."
Jesse: 1300
Eva: 800
"Phew, guess it's my draw." Jesse smirked and looked over the field. "I guess this is the end, huh?"
"Heh, naturally," Eva smiled. "Do it."
"First my Insect Knight (2200/1800) will attack your Dunames Dark Witch (1800/1050)," the monster was destroyed and Eva braced herself for the finishing more. "And now my Rose Papillon (1400/800) attacks you directly, finishing this duel!".
Jesse: 1300
Eva: 0
Jesse jumped when there was a loud victory sound as his image with the word 'winner' appeared on the screens around them and then the announcer took over the audio to talk about what a great duel it was and how Jesse would be moving on to round two later today. Meanwhile, Jesse and Eva met in the middle of the field to shake hands.
"That was a great game," Jesse said.
"Yeah, it was," Eva said, her voice as doll like as ever. "I'm glad that if I lost, it was someone like you," she winked.
"Huh?"
"Hope we can duel again!" she giggled and then hurried off, leaving Jesse slightly confused.
"Yeah!" he grinned and followed so he could leave the arena.
They both went to the waiting area to watch the next duels on the screens. The people he rode with in that car earlier seemed to be pretty good and both moved onto the next rounds. Jesse ended up sitting at one of the tables alone as he looked through his cards while everyone else mingled or watched the duels on the screens.
By listening to the conversations going on around him, he heard more about the kinds of sponsors that were hosting the duels and searching for clients. Apparently Pegasus hadn't arrived yet due to a delay and there was a chance he wasn't going to come to this tournament at all. Normally, if Pegsus was there from the start, he would have had his own introduction and his presence would certainly be a big deal, especially at a smaller tournament like this one. Jesse didn't really mind he hadn't shown up, though it would have been great to get to meet the creator of Duel Monsters in person at least once. It was kind of every duelist's dream. Not that he considered himself just a duelist. It wasn't his career. However, with that thought, it really sank it. It could be. If he did well here and impressed those in charge, dueling really could be his career.
"Whoa…" Jesse said aloud. Even after everything, he never really thought it was a possibility. Just a dream that was destined to never become reality, but here he was already, taking a major step towards that dream that many didn't get the opportunity to do without attending specialized Duel Academies or having the right connections. Even if he didn't get sponsored from this tournament, he could be in the future. He wasn't sure it was only just sinking in now, after he already started dueling. He figured it was because he was just so psyched about dueling now, the future didn't really matter.
Looking up from his cards as he put his deck away, he saw the duel spirit of Hysteric Fairy standing behind Eva. She didn't appear to notice it. However, Hysteric Fairy did notice Jesse's stare and looked directly at him. Jesse smiled and waved, but was blown off when Hysteric Fairy huffed and pointedly looked away with a pout. Jesse deflated a little and guessed the spirit was still mad at him for beating Eva in the duel earlier.
One of the other duelists gave Jesse a weird look when he waved to what appeared to be the wall. Oh well.
Jesse checked his cell phone during an intermission and saw a text from Julia.
'Good luck today!' - From Julia.
Jesse smiled and put his phone away again. He didn't care about winning here, but knew her sentiments were out of kindness. All he wanted to do was duel, and duel he would. He would duel his best and no matter if he won or lost, he knew he would have a great time. Everyone's cards looked so interesting and fun. He could hardly wait for his turn in round two.
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Author's Note:
Hm, more OCs. Wish I knew of more people in Jesse's life. Or even who he dueled in the tournament. Though it's questions like that which led me to writing this fan fiction. Hope you guys are enjoying it by the way.
Also, I think I'm going to skip some duels. They are quite time consuming to write.
Edit: 26 July 2014: Addressed a couple errors in the duel. I forgot to mention the discard requirement of Magic Jammer, the other I don't remember what the problem was, I probably just forgot, but it's addressed now with the most common scenario of when I usually can't activate that type of effect.
Thank you for pointing it out Guest Reviewer. Now that I have corrected the errors, I will not keep your review, but this doesn't mean I don't appreciate you taking the time to send it.
