"Wait, wait, just WAIT a second!" Haruko exclaimed as she rushed up to Rika, still in disbelief for the news that had been dropped onto the club and caught her with the twist that she expected the least to happen. "What does he mean, assistant, I thought you were not interested in Duel Monsters in the slightest?" The blonde asked, with her speech sounding rushed and almost not being able to catch her breath to properly finish the sentence.
Rika simply gave her friend a playful smile and brought her finger up in front of her own lips, hushing Haruko, followed by a wink. Then spoke, "Let's not get sidetracked from what we got in our hands here, alright? We'll speak later."
"Eh…" Haruko then looked around then sighed and nodded in agreement as the tournament had to carry on.
Rika started clapping her hands, speaking up to the rookies of the club, "Alright, alright everyone. Awake and alert, we'll start organizing the starting matches of the dueling club's in-house rookie tournament!" Then she placed her hand inside the urn with the names, shaking the hand inside, so the papers were all well mixed up. "Once I call your names, you may take position at the tables and wait for our call for the duels to start, and another thing!" Rika exclaimed before taking a couple of steps towards the group, "No matter how you have built your decks, nor how much practice did you get before this tournament. You are going to give it your all; you are going to go for all, and believe that you can take it all!"
There was a moment of silence after her words, and one of the rookies screamed, "Damn right, I'll take this home!" to which another replied, "No way, I'm going to win" And that built up into a roaring cheer from the collective excitement from the club who cheered up at the friendly competition they were about to face.
Then, the girl, began picking up the names randomly from the small box/urn that held them inside. The tournament fixture was then drawn and filled on a whiteboard, as each name was picked. By the time she was done, Rika motioned the rookies to approach.
"Alright everyone, if you still have doubts about who is going to be your first opponent, take a look at the fixture right here and proceed to pick a spot at the tables to get ready for your first duels, okay?" After a moment, she added. "Once you are ready, you are to wait until the referees are there to watch over the duels. No duel from this in-house tournament is to be carried out without a referee overseeing, understood?"
Saori then took a moment to approach the whiteboard, looking at the names and trying to see where hers was. She then looked at Kumiko in the distance, turning back to check the whiteboard once again, and there it was. They were on the same row in the tournament's fixture. So, should everything go well for her in the first rounds, she would have to duel Kumiko in the semi-finals. The girl reached to her uniform's pocket and pulled out her deck and held it in her hands, pressed it against her chest. "Alright, I can do this…" She thought to herself.
Kumiko looked at the whiteboard from a distance, thinking to herself. "Kaneda Saori… close friend of Kaiba Haruko and also seems to be close with Keller…" Then she just looked at the name of her first opponent and moved onward towards one of the tables, focusing on her duel.
Once the placements were done, she headed over to the table and waited for her first opponent. One of the girls from the club stood at the other side of the table, looking at Kumiko with a nervous smile.
"Hello Kumiko-sempai. I hope we can have fun." The member of the club said before bowing her head a bit and placing the deck on the table.
Meanwhile, Saori had already moved over to her spot, and prepared with her deck before her opponent showed up, exclaiming, "Well, well, well… look at you and me, facing each other again!" It was the boy whom she had had a duel with before, her first duel, and also her first victory.
Saori's eyes widened, and she smiled a bit, "Oh, it's you, I'm happy we get to face each other again!" she stated in a genuine, gentle eagerness. The girl just paused and blinked before scratching her cheek and asking a bit ashamed, "Uh… could you… could you remind me your name?"
The boy was shocked as he realized that he had never been introduced to any of the members of the club, neither him nor the rest of the goons from the gang. Now that a girl was asking him to introduce himself, it felt… odd, comforting, maybe a bit exciting? It was almost as if his whole being been bathed in a feeling of 'personal improvement'. He had been lost in that sentiment for a moment before hearing her voice again.
"Uh… hello?" Saori asked, a bit confused by seeing him space out and look shocked by her previous question.
"A-hah, yes, the name is…!" Then he got up, placing one of his legs on the table and pointing at his chest with his thumb, with pride: "Noma Riochorou, that's the name of your rival and who will make sure this duel ends up pretty different from the last one, as I have now reworked and PERFECTED my deck!" The boy then pointed at her as he exclaimed.
"Ahhh, I'm pleased to finally properly meet you!" The girl then gently clapped her hands together and gave the boy a warm smile, saying, "I'm also glad to hear you are still working hard to improve. Let's do our best, Noma-sempai!"
Finally, everybody else got in position. Takato was the one who stood beside Noma and Saori, acting as their referee, while Tetsuo was the one who decided to act as the referee for Kumiko's duel. The rest of the experienced duelists were also overlooking the other ongoing duels.
Takato spoke up, stating, "Alright everyone, we are all ready to start. Those who are not members of the club and want to take a closer look at the duels of the tournament may approach, but try to remain as quiet as you can!" Then she looked at the rest of the duelists, ready to start. When the observers decided to approach, Takato lifted his arm and exclaimed, "Let the tournament commence!"
And with that, Saori and Noma proceeded to draw their opening hands. Takato then said, "Alright, let's see who decides who goes first. Make your calls!" Then he showed them a coin.
"Tails!" Saori was the first one to call, and with that Takato looked over to Noma, who nodded agreeing with her call.
The club president then flipped the coin in the air and caught it on the back of his hand, covering it rapidly with the other. Finally, he lowered his hand over the table, so both duelists could see the coin as it was revealed. The winning call was heads. Takato pointed at Noma saying, "Alright, Noma, it's your call."
Noma grinned through his teeth with confidence. "I'll go first, of course!"
"Then let the duel begin, Noma and Saori. Four thousand lifepoints. First turn, start!" Takato announced; giving way to both duelists to begin.
And then proceeded to draw the first card from the top of his deck. "Alright, I'll summon my 'Exarion Universe'!" and placed the card on the table. The intricate artwork on the card brings to life the visage of a captivating and mysterious warrior. It also showcases the essence of this celestial being with stunning detail and vibrant colors. The card becomes a window into the fantastical world of the Exarion Universe, allowing those who look at it, to immerse themselves in its enigmatic presence.
Exarion Universe ATK 1800/1900 DEF
"That should be all for now." Noma declared, calling his turn's end.
The observers close to their table started muttering and gossiping. Some of them commented on the high stats of Exarion, even though it's just a level four monster. Others are guessing that it might be able to put Saori into a tight spot from early on, and such.
Saori, then, began her turn. "Alright, I'll draw." The girl then adjusted her round glasses, looking at the cards in her hand through her lenses. Her eyes gently narrowed, letting go a soft hum. "Yes, this can buy me some time…". The girl took a deep breath and nodded to herself, then took a card from her hand, placing it turned to its sides, face down, on the field and saying, "I'll set a monster face down, in defense position. Then I'll set up a face-down card. Then with that, I will end my turn." Saori proceeded to set another card, after setting that first monster, then nodded at both Takato and Noma.
"Alright, that was the end of turn number one. Turn number two starts now." Takato said, then added, "Saori: Four thousand life points. Noma: Four Thousand lifepoints."
Noma then drew his next card. "Hah, I won't fall for that basic trick, Saori-sempai!" Then he picked a card from his hand. "I play the spell card, Mystical Space Typhoon, and with that, I that allows me to target your face-down card and destroy it!"
"Aw no…" Saori said as she revealed her 'Draining Shield' trap card and then moved it over to her graveyard. Sighing a bit in disappointment.
"Then I'll summon my Blockman in defense position while I attack your face-down monster with my Exarion Universe!" The gang member declared before tapping over his monster card and then pointing at Saori's face-down card.
Saori, did however, change her expression of disappointment to a playful smile as she flipped her card, "I'm afraid you attacked my Marshmallon, Noma-Sempai!" Then she proceeded to cheerfully explain. "On top of my monster being indestructible in battle. When it's attacked while it's face-down, it makes the owner of the attacking monster take one thousand life points of damage!"
Marshmallon ATK 300/500 DEF
In the middle of Noma's shocker, Takato raised his voice, gesturing and pointing at each player as he announced. "Noma takes damage. Saori: four thousand life points. Noma: Three thousand life points!"
"Hey, wait, I still have something to declare!" Noma said before adding, "With my monster's effect, I can decrease his attack by 400 points but grant him piercing damage, so Saori would still take damage to her life points as well!"
Saori blinked, surprised. "Oh… I wasn't expecting that…" she commented, as the bit of confidence she had built up with her initial play was now dying down, and she was growing a bit quieter again.
Takato paused for a moment and stated "I will let it pass this time as you both are still rookies, but Noma, make sure to declare you are using your monster's special ability during the attack. Not after the damage resolution was over." Then announced, "Saori: Three thousand and one hundred life points. Noma: Three Thousand life points!"
"Hmph… alright, alright. Well, that will be all for now. Your turn, Saori!"
"Y-yes!" Then, she drew another card, looking at her options in her hand. "Hmm. I do have 'somewhat' of a solid defense, but his monster's piercing damage does present a problem… Hmm, I wanted to build a more stable defense first, but I guess I will have to take the offense now."
"Very well then. I'll summon my 'Dark Valkyria' in attack position!" The girl stated this while placing her card on the table. The illustration of said card, presents Dark Valkyria as a resplendent and powerful figure, exuding an aura of both elegance and fierceness. Draped in a mixture of, what seems to be, dark-hued robes and armor, Dark Valkyria stands tall with an air of confidence and serenity.
Dark Valkyria ATK 1800/1050 DEF
Saori then explained, "With my card's effect, I can add a magic counter to the Valkyria, and for each spell counter, her attack increases by 300 attack points!"
Dark Valkyria 1800 ATK → 2100 ATK
"Damn it, that's too strong for my monster!" Noma protested under his breath before Saori called her next move.
"Now I will attack your 'universe' with my Valkyria!" She said, slightly moving her card a bit forth.
When Noma took the monster away from the field and placed it in his graveyard, Takato announced, "Saori: Three thousand and one hundred life points. Noma: Two thousand and seven hundred!"
"But that's not all." Saori declared, as her voice was going up a bit more once again, gaining momentum and confidence over the situation once more. "With the battle phase over, I will remove the spell counter from my Valkyria, so her second ability can be triggered. With it, I can pick and destroy a monster on the field, and I choose your Blockman!"
With that last move, not only Noma was shocked that both his monsters were taken out swiftly, but also the observers; who were now clapping a bit, chatting, and commenting about the plays that Saori was pulling against his opponent. Among the observers were Haruko, Chiaki and Sayuri, who were struggling to keep themselves from cheering for their friend too loudly.
"Come on, Saori, keep it up like this!" Haruko thought as he observed the duel.
Saori finally pulled another card from her hand and set it face down. "I will end my turn by setting a card. That's all!"
Takato brought his voice up again, "Turn 2 is over. Saori: Three thousand and one hundred lifepoints. Noma: Two thousand and seven hundred!" He then gestured with his hands one more time as he exclaimed, "Turn 3 Start!".
"Alright, I'll draw!" Noma declared, now looking more nervous about how the duel's momentum was going in his opponent's favor. However, the card he had just drawn brought a bit of a smirk to his face. One that was picked up by Saori. "Let's see how you deal with this Saori-sempai. I summon my 'Goblin Attack Force' in attack position!"
Goblin Attack Force ATK 2300/0 DEF
"2300 attack points?" Saori asked, impressed by how a level four monster could have such an attack value.
"Well, yes, but here is the kicker with this monster. After each attack, I have to switch it to defense, making it completely vulnerable to being easily destroyed. But you know… high risk, high reward!" Noma replied before stating, "Now, I'll attack with my attack force and destroy your Valkyria."
"I'll respond with this then!" Saori quickly replied, flipping a trap card that was face down on her field. "I activate 'Magic Cylinder'!"
Both Haruko and Chiaki gasped upon seeing Saori play that card, as they were both familiar with it. "No way, she's got that powerful trap in her first deck!" Haruko noted, impressed, as she wasn't aware that her friend owned it.
"And this practically leaves the duel served to her!" The pink haired girl responded.
Meanwhile, Sayuri looked at both her classmates confusedly and asked, "Uhm... mind sharing a bit with the 'poor common, non-duelist folk' ?" However, she soon heard Saori's voice rising again.
"With this card, I can negate and redirect your attack directly to your lifepoints!" Saori explained with a smile. Shocking her opponent even further.
The surprise in Sayuri's face was then followed by her hands gesturing as if she were doing the math of that damage towards Noma's lifepoints "T-that's…!"
Takato then announced, "Since there is no chain from Noma, the attack is redirected. Saori: Three thousand and one hundred lifepoints. Noma: Four Hundred Lifepoints!"
"Vah, I'm not gonna give up, come on, do your worst!" Noma exclaimed as he switched the monster to defense and ended his turn.
The audience was now getting a bit louder around them, there were people cheering mostly for Saori while there were still some still cheering for Noma, commending his perseverance even though he was pretty close to losing that duel.
Saori drew her next card and said, "Now, I'll play this equip spell card, 'Fairy Meteor Crush'!" The girl then placed on the field a spell card that showed the picture of a meteor falling engulfed in what seemed to be red flashes of light. "I'll equip this to my Valkyrie, and while it won't increase her attack points, it will make her next attack inflict piercing damage. And since your goblin attack force has no defense points, it means that I have more than enough damage to finish this duel!"
And with that declaration, the surrounding crowd started clapping and cheering for Saori's victory. Haruko, Chiaki and Sayuri embracing and jumping together as they couldn't be any happier for their friend.
"And he lost again." Yamada muttered. Having observed the duel as well.
Tetsuo sighed frustrated, "At least he improved a bit, he used a spell card for a change now..."
"I don't think that could even be considered baby steps..." Yamada responded before walking away. "I think I'm calling it early today..."
Meanwhile, Saori picked up her cards and stood from her chair. Then looked at Noma, who clearly looked disappointed at being defeated once again by the same person, and also being kicked out of the in-house tournament's first round.
"Noma-sempai?" Saori asked, catching the attention of her defeated opponent.
Noma looked up at her, and noticed the girl smiling and stretching her hand at him.
"Let's keep working and improving as duelists, okay?" she said, gently and happy. She was happy with him because that the members of that gang of bullies, were seemingly finding common interest with the rest of the club, and actually getting invested in the game.
The boy blinked a couple of times; he was frustrated. But instead of being mocked and naturally wanting to lash out at anyone trying to kick him while he was down, as he was used to in the past, but this was different; there were people genuinely congratulating his effort, and that fed his sentiment of wanting to give it another shot. He quickly stood up, exclaiming, "Y-yes, please, I'd like to keep practicing with you and improving, Saori-sempai!" Then reached out to her hand, shaking it.
As the crowd was cheering on one side of the gymnasium, on another side, and in the middle of another crowd, other duels were being carried out. Kumiko was thinking about her next move. She stopped for a moment, however, as she could hear the voices cheering from another side of the room.
Her opponent, another girl who was part of the club, looked over to the direction the voices were coming from and commented, "Seems there are duels finishing already, eh?"
Kumiko's eyes slowly shifted back to her, and after a barely audible and soft hum, she said, "It appears so, hence why I'm going to finish this duel right at this moment." She calmly stated this, looking at her opponent's side of the field.
'Millennium Shield' was placed in defense position, providing her with solid protection on the field, while she also activated a trap card known as 'Gravity Bind'. Her opponent was simply playing a defensive game, trying to mill her deck and win by taking it out, rather than dropping her lifepoints to zero. However, she didn't seem to be worried about the situation of her duel. Kumiko simply checked the cards in her hand, and on her field.
'Mermail Abysslung' was placed in defense position on her side of the field. Two face-down cards are set as well.
"I'll play this field spell card," the raven-haired girl declared before picking a spell card from her hand and setting on the table a field spell. "This is, 'Legendary Ocean'. As long as it is on the field, all water monsters will have a boost of 200 attack points and defense, and it will also decrease their levels by one, either if they are on the field or in our hands." Following that brief explanation, she picked another card from her hand and said, "With this situation, I'll be able to easily tribute summon this." Then Kumiko moved the monster on her field away from there and over to the graveyard, just so she could place on the field, "I summon 'Levia-Dragon Daedelus' in attack position!"
The girl facing her was a bit surprised, but she shrugged at her summoning and commented, "So what? For one, my shield has a lot more defense than your monster's attack. And second, its level is too high to attack anyway!" she said, sounding a bit playful and cocky, and not addressing her in a degrading manner.
Kumiko calmly closed her eyes and slightly shook her head. "I'm not planning to attack yet." "Now I activate my great sea serpent's effect." The girl then grabbed the Legendary Ocean card, showing it in front of her opponent, and explained, "You see, this field card is also treated as one known as 'Umi', and now I will send it to the graveyard."
Her opponent then raised an eyebrow, asking, "What are you doing?"
Kumiko raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking that her opponent wasn't paying attention to her. "I already told you, this is to activate the Daedelus effect, and it's pretty simple. My monster gets to destroy all other cards on the field."
Then she smiled slightly, as if she were enjoying having that dominance over the field now, adding "monsters, spells, and traps alike."
"Oh, oh, that's bad... That's really bad..." her opponent said, sweating a bit from her temple while taking away all the cards on her side of the field.
"And now I get to end this duel. I attack you directly with my sea serpent and erase the rest of your lifepoints." The first year calmly declared, before Koji, who was acting as the referee of the duel, brought both his hands up.
"That's it; it's over. Kumiko wins the duel and moves on to the next stage of the tournament!" The boy exclaimed, while the people around them started clapping and cheering for the winner, while congratulating the loser for their efforts.
Meanwhile, Van observed Kumiko's duel from a distance, and was quickly approached by Koji.
"Alright, come on, dude, come clean." The chubby first-year whispered, while resting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Didn't you overstep quite a bit when helping to put that deck together?"
Van looked at his friend and chuckled a bit, responding, "Didn't I tell you and everybody else before? She's not to be taken lightly, especially given the fact that I did not have any input when it came to putting that deck together. All I did, was giving her the 'ok' when she asked me to check her work once it was done.
"You are shitting me!" Koji then exclaimed before adding, "Are you saying that she built that entire structured deck on her own!?"
"Yep." Van simply replied, nodding a couple of times. "She doesn't seem to me to be the kind that would like to take advantage of her intelligence and just bully rookies, if she happened to be already an experienced duelist." He then looked at her, moving away from the crowd after having picked up her cards, and going over to check the tournament's fixture again. "I think she is just so smart that she could pick up on that aspect of the game effortlessly. Others did try that, and even with our help, they still have to perfect their archetypes."
"So that's why you told Haruko to accept her challenge..." The boy crossed his arms and sighed, looking at the girl from the distance, then eyed his friend back, asking, "So I guess your chips are with her on winning this tournament?"
The German teen shrugged and responded, "Well, so far, she is not giving reasons to think otherwise." Then his eyes looked at Saori, who was still speaking with her friends after her first victory in the tournament. "Saori is progressing fast, but... Don't think that's gonna be enough yet. If I have to make a call... if both Saori and Kumiko face each other in a duel. Kumiko will dominate by a landslide."
Koji didn't make any comments about that prediction. Of course, their relationships made them closer to Saori as friends, but he couldn't question Van's cold approach and view of things. Saori was a quick learner, and a hard worker, and Kumiko seemed to be a natural. Then he smirked a bit, looking at Van. "You know what?"
The chubby student's words caught the blue-eyed boy's attention. Who simply raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to speak his piece, perhaps expecting Koji to question his thoughts, or give a different opinion regarding the topic being currently discussed.
Koji then brought up his fist and spoke again, saying, "You know, I was having my initial thoughts about the club being a bit more heavily focused on the rookies from an initial point of view. But seeing how things are turning out, it's actually pretty exciting. It makes me wonder if they would get to the point of being able to giving us a genuine hard time in a serious duel. And also, it makes me wonder what duelists we are going to find once the competitions start and what other schools can throw at us."
Van smiled from the corner of his mouth, giving his friend a small punch on the shoulder. "So long as you get to duel, you'll be happy, no matter if you win or lose, eh?"
"Pft, of course, man. Why do this from the get go if you don't have any real fun with it?" Then Koji crossed his hands behind his head, adding, "That's what dueling is all about, or at least should be, in my opinion. Enjoying it!"
Van blinked a couple of times upon hearing the answer from his friend. Made him realize he hadn't asked him that question since they'd met. Each answer was so different—memory, challenge, bravery, joy... He wondered if those who were now getting into the game, before them, were also starting to figure out that answer for themselves.
"Alright everyone. The first round of the tournament is over; we will move on to the second round. Please have a look at your names in the fixture and group up with your next opponent!" Rika announced it with her usual high spirits. Meanwhile, Takato watched the tournament taking place, and how both members of the club and observers who decided to take a closer look at things were interacting with each other.
He simply nodded to himself, with a smile on his face, as he was not only happy by the compromise of the members of the club who didn't choose to give up at the first sign of adversity. But also at how everyone seemed to be drawn closer through the game.
The boy then clapped his hands a bit and raised his voice, saying, "Alright, let's get ready. Chiaki, Yamada, Haruko and Van, I want you guys to look over the duels of the next round!"
The voice was heard by those called, and three of those called were quick to respond, "Yes sir!".
The last one of the group, Yamada, didn't respond out loud, but rather grunted that he had to be bothered by doing this. But instead of protesting and trying to confront Takato, of all people, he chose just to walk up and see which one of the matches he could be a referee at, and reluctantly cooperate.
Author's note: Alright here's the next chapter, starting to spread a bit and give more room to other chars other than our main duo! A bit shorter this time yeah, but I felt nothing more was needed in this particular chapter. Stay tunned for more.
Oh also I hope you all a sick father's day. And in case you are wondering, hand's better, all I feel is just a small pinch on my palm when I close my fist but its FAR better than what I was feeling two weeks ago. See you guys Next time!
