Chapter 16: Choosing a Champion
Summary: Who will represent Duel Academy in the duel with North Academy?
The Chancellor had recently given an announcement for the annual school duel, and that the student representative would be chosen soon. That's how we find the school's staff, with the addition of Zane Truesdale, last year's representative, sitting in a conference room a week later.
"I still don't understand why we're even having this discussion; Zane should represent us as he has the last two years." Crowler declares, feeling this whole meeting to be pointless. Chancellor Sheppard leans back in his chair.
"Normally I'd agree with you Crowler, but this year, North Academy is sending a first year, and keeping with the spirit of competition, I believe we should send a first year as well." Sheppard sits up to look and Zane. "I hope you understand, my boy." Zane closes his eyes and nods.
"I understand Chancellor, and since we are going with a first year, I would like to nominate Jaden Yuki to represent the school." The staff looks to be considering his words, except Crowler, who looks like he is on the verge of an aneurism.
"That slacker can't be allowed to represent the school! I won't allow it!" Slamming his hands on the table dramatically, Crowler declares "If we are nominating, I nominate Bastion Misawa!" The staff begin discussing that choice as the Chancellor leans back in his chair again, humming.
"Both seem like good choices, though, I was personally leaning towards Takashi Mirai, he is a skilled duelist, and it would allow the other students here and at North Academy to see more of his unique cards." At that, Fonda Fontaine, head of the Obelisk Blue Girl's Dorm, raises her hand.
"In the spirit of nomination, I believe Alexis Rhodes would make an excellent representative." Crowler looks at her with hope while the Chancellor thinks about this, when Satyr Kabayama, the head of the Ra dorm, raises his hand.
"While Bastion is an amazing pick, I would like to nominate Brier Kohara, he is a first year in the Ra dorm that has shown amazing improvement in the practical's to match his skills in the theoretical." Professor Banner raises his hand now.
"If we're talking about first years that have improved, I would like to nominate Syrus Truesdale." The Chancellor considers this while Crowler panics in his head.
"Not the smaller slacker! There are now three Slifers up for nomination to represent our school!" The Chancellor hums in thought.
"So many worthy nominees." He suddenly grins, jumping out of his chair. "I just had an idea! Does anyone have any other nominees?!" Fonda jumps in.
"Well, I believe Mindy Hamaguchi would make a good candidate." As the Chancellor takes note of that, Crowler frantically jumps in before Banner or Satyr can add another.
"Raizou Mototani would be an excellent choice!" Sheppard gives a big hearty laugh.
"That's perfect! We shall have a tournament! An eight-man bracket where some of the best this academy has to offer will all duel to determine who will represent us against North Academy!" While the other staff members look excited at hearing this idea, Crowler is sweating.
"That was a close one, but with three elite Obelisk students and Bastion, Jaden and the other Slifer's should be crushed."
/RFSXPL/
Classes for the day were about to come to an end when an announcement rang over the PA system, calling everyone to meet in the assembly room for a surprise announcement. In the assembly room Syrus was looking around with curiosity.
"I wonder what this is about." By Syrus's side Chumley gives a shrug.
"I have no clue." Jaden is shaking with excitement next to them.
"They're probably going to finally announce who's going to be in the school duel!" Takashi chuckles and points to the stage at the end of the room.
"Well, it looks like we're about to find out." The others look back at the stage to see an excited looking Chancellor Sheppard has walked to the stage's podium, that sits in front of the large screen. Sheppard then clears his throat.
"If I can please have your attention, students, I have exciting news! A decision has been reached by the staff on who will represent the school in the duel with North Academy!" Everyone quiets down and gives the Chancellor their full attention as excitement fills the room. With a chuckle Sheppard continues.
"First of all, this year, North Academy has decided to send a first-year representative, so keeping with the camaraderie of the event, we are also sending a first-year representative!" The first years get even more excited upon hearing this and while the other years look a little disappointed, they still can't fully shake off their excitement for the event.
"Secondly, while all the years before this we have been able to come to a consensus on a standout candidate among all the amazing nominations, this year we all had different choices, so things will be done differently this year. This year we're having a tournament!" The students who were wondering where this was going, all break out into cheers of excitement at the mention of a tournament. Jaden is hopping in excitement.
"A tournament, that's so sweet!" His three friends chuckle at his excitement. Sheppard lets out a laugh at their excitement, before tapping on the podiums microphone to get their attention again.
"I'm glad you're all excited, but we still have to announce the eight contestants and reveal the bracket." The students quiet down again but their energy can still be felt. "The first contestant is, Alexis Rhodes!" The screen comes to life and Alexis's name appears. Alexis looks ecstatic as Jasmine and Mindy are shaking her shoulders in joy.
"The second is, Bastion Misawa!" Bastion gives a smirk as his name appears in the screen.
"Third, also from the Ra dorm, is Brier Kohara!" Brier looks shocked at seeing his name up there as Beauregard smiles down at his friend.
"Fourth is, Jaden Yuki!" Jaden lets out a loud whoop as his friends around him give their congratulations.
"Fifth, another from the Obelisk Girls dorm, Mindy Hamaguchi!" Mindy stops celebrating for Alexis and points at herself in confusion, until she sees Alexis smiling at her and Jasmine starts shaking her instead, she then snaps out of her stupor and lets out a squeal of excitement.
"Sixth is, Raizou Mototani!" Raizou looks at his name on the screen with smug satisfaction with Taiyou next to him wearing a similar look.
"Seventh, also from the Slifer Dorm, is Syrus Truesdale!" Syrus falls over with wide eyes when his name is announced as his friends look down at him with encouraging smiles.
"And finally, our eighth and final contestant is…" Taiyou looks confident expecting his name to be announced. "Also, from Slifer Red is Takashi Mirai!" Taiyou falls on his face in shock and horror. Takashi gives a small smile as Jaden and Chumley congratulate him while Syrus still sits dazed on the ground. With a flourish of his hands the Chancellor points to the screen.
"Now we'll randomize our participants to decide the first rounds!" A tournament bracket appears on the screen as the names on the screen shuffle. Everyone watches with bated breath as the names stop shuffling and appear in their spots for the first round.
Syrus
Raizou
Jaden
Mindy
Alexis
Brier
Bastion
Takashi
"These will be the matches! You have two days to prepare, the tournament will be held on Saturday! With that, you are all dismissed!" Sheppard takes his leave as the room fills with the sounds of excited teens.
/RFSXPL/
Brier is pacing in his room under the watchful eyes of Beauregard. "I can't do this. Can I? No. Maybe. I don't know! What do you think Beauregard?" Beauregard smiles down at his friend.
"I know you can do it Brier; you've made great strides in overcoming your stage fright." Brier scratches the back of his head nervously.
"I appreciate your vote of confidence man." He gets another worried look. "But my first opponent, the Queen of Obelisk blue among the first years. I can feel the crowd's laughter when she wipes the floor with me now!" Brier starts taking quick panicked breaths before going quiet when he felt his friend's giant hand place itself on his head, looking up he sees his friend giving him a calm smile.
"It's ok to be nervous, but just remember, of all the first years, you were one of the eight students chosen for this tournament, that's a big honor! Win or lose, I'm sure you'll do great." Brier closes his eyes and takes a calming breath, counting to ten in his head, before looking up at his friend with a determined look.
"Let's work on my deck!"
/RFSXPL/
In his own room, Bastion is on his computer going through his data on Takashi. "Hmm, in the two duels I have data on, Takashi used two different decks, and he has even more than those two- if those Psychic Synchro Monsters were anything to go by." He replays the school recordings of his duel with Crowler and his duel with Chazz.
"All these decks have one common factor, Synchro Monsters. The question is: how I counter them. They seem to take some setup, needing at least one Tuner and Non-Tuner on the field to summon. I could go for a constant barrage deck, fill it with monster destroying spells and traps, and powerful monsters. Never give him room to breathe to do his set ups."
Pushing away from his desk on his computer chair bastion stares up at the ceiling. "The problem with that is if he does get these monsters out it could prove to be trouble. Crowler and Chazz had assault decks as well, but with graveyard manipulation and special summons, Takashi was able to turn it around and take them out in just a couple of turns."
Bastion closes his eyes and begins tapping his foot absentmindedly. "Think, what did all those Synchro Monsters I saw have in common?" After a minute his foot stops tapping, and he sits up in chair with wide eyes. He rolls back over to his computer and begins typing frantically. "I got it!"
/RFSXPL/
Raizou is lounging in the common area, leaning on the couch with his feet on the table, completely relaxed, when a group of Obelisk boys knock his feet of the table startling him. "What the hell!" He looks up to see some of his fellow first years glaring down at him. The apparent leader of the group starts talking before Raizou can say anything else.
"I don't know what you think you're doing asshole, but you better take this seriously!" Raizou rolls his eyes at them.
"You need to relax, my first opponent is that runt Syrus, after that I'll be dueling that ditz, Mindy. I'm guaranteed to make it to the finals." The leader gets in his face.
"You better! Your little group have been making the first-year boys of Obelisk look bad. Chazz lost to that cripple then dropped out and ran away instead of dueling Bastion. Taiyou lost to that damn slacker, Jaden! If you don't come out of this tournament as the winner, expect your remaining time in this dorm to be a nightmare." Raizou scoffs and gets off the couch walking to his room.
"I don't know what you think gives you the right to talk down to me, you losers. Unlike you, I was actually chosen to compete." He turns to look at them with an arrogant smirk. "You guys just watch my back as I step towards greatness!" He lets out an arrogant laugh leaving the fuming Obelisk boys behind him.
/RFSXPL/
"I'm so jealous of you guys!" Jasmine is gushing over her friends as Alexis and Mindy are going over their decks in Alexis's room. "You guys get to show off what you can do, and one of you will get to represent the school against North Academy!" Mindy giggles and Alexis chuckles.
"Yeah, it sounds like it's going to be fun!"
"I appreciate the vote of confidence, but don't count our competition out just yet." Jasmine flops on Alexis's bed.
"Oh yeah I forgot your friends with those Slifers and Bastion." Mindy pokes Alexis in the side, giggling.
"And don't forget she liiiiiikes Jaden!" Alexis pushes Mindy's hand away with a roll of her eyes.
"Stop, I respect Jaden and the others as duelists and friends. You should be going in to your duel with Jaden ready to give it your all." Mindy looks at Alexis for a minute before giving her a determined nod.
"I know, Jaden beat you and Taiyou, and I heard about Syrus's duel with the guy that stole Yugi's deck. They may be Slifers, but I can't afford to let my guard down." Over on the bed Jasmine rolls her eyes and sighs.
"Yeah, yeah, you say that, Alexis, but there's no way a bunch of Slifers are going to beat the Queen and Princess of Obelisk."
/RFSXPL/
Chumley is sitting in the middle of the dorm while Jaden and Syrus are sitting on opposite sides of the room going through their decks. "Man, I can't believe you guys got chosen to be candidates for the duel with North Academy! You guys will be the first Slifers to be given this chance if you win." Jaden laughs.
"I know, I'm so fired up! And when me and Syrus win our first duels, we get to face each other in front of everybody!" Syrus weakly chuckles.
"If I win my first round." Jaden looks at Syrus with a determined fire in his eyes.
"Not "if" but "when" Sy! You gotta go into every duel believing you'll win!" Syrus sighs.
"I know I've gotten better, but it's hard to shake off the nerves, knowing I'll be facing an Obelisk in my first round, especially in front of the whole school… And if I do win, I'll have to face you, and I don't know how I would have any hope of winning that." Chumley smiles understandingly at Syrus.
"I get it Syrus, if they had chosen me for this, I'd also be pretty nervous. You just have to remember how much you improved, and push forward!" Jaden nods.
"Yeah, Sy, and when we do duel, I'm coming at you with all I got, so I expect the same from you! Win or lose I want this duel to be one with no regrets!" Syrus takes a deep breath and then looks at Jaden with his own determined smile.
"You got it bro!"
/RFSXPL/
In Takashi's room, he is sitting at his workbench considering what decks to use. "I know what deck I'm going to use for Bastion, I have an idea of how he'll try to counter my Synchro's, so I'll use that deck to surprise him." Takashi chuckles. "Planning ahead is great, but he needs to learn to be more flexible." He then closes his eyes in thought.
"I'm not as sure on the others, I want a deck for each of my potential opponents. Hmmm." While he's thinking about his two potential second round opponents, he feels a mental pull from the cards of two decks.
"Do you guys want to face Alexis and Brier?" He receives feelings of excitement and smiles. "Well, if you insist." After repeating the process for each possible opponent, Takashi spends the rest of the night getting acquainted with each deck and their playstyles.
/RFSXPL/
Two days have passed, and it is now Saturday morning. The stands in the main duel area are packed, with many students standing up on the balcony to make room. Most, if not the whole school, has arrived for this event. A special spectating booth was assembled near the Duel Field itself for the participants to wait between rounds. Outside of Raizou, who took a corner to side of the booth, the participants are happily mingling with each other.
"You better come at me with all you got Jaden! I might be cute, but my deck packs a wallop!" Jaden chuckles at Mindy's declaration.
"You got it! I don't plan on losing so I expect you to do the same!" Alexis sighs and shakes her head fondly seeing two of her friends get along.
"Alright guys, try to save some of that energy for the duel." Jaden scratches the back of his head with a laugh and Mindy sticks her tongue out at Alexis. Bastion is talking with Brier.
"Considering Jaden dragged you over to sit with us, I'm assuming he has something to do with your recent confidence boost." Brier chuckles nervously.
"I guess you could say that he gave me the motivation I needed to relax and start putting my theoretical skills to use in actual dueling." Bastion smiles and nods looking over at the three Slifer boys.
"Yes, that group certainly has a way of bringing out the best in people, I've noticed." Over on the Duel Field Chancellor Sheppard begins speaking into a microphone.
"Welcome students to the school's first preliminary tournament! Some of the best of the first years were chosen to compete for the honor of representing us against North Academy! And if this goes well, I hope to make this a new tradition!" The crowd roars as Syrus takes a deep breath to calm his nerves and Takashi puts his hand on his shoulder.
"You ready for this, Syrus?" Syrus looks at Takashi and then to Jaden who is giving him an encouraging grin before looking back at Takashi and nodding.
"Yeah, I can do this!" He looks back at Jaden with a determined look. "You better win Jaden, I want to duel you in round two!" Jaden is about to respond when Raizou scoffs.
"As if that shrimpy slacker has a chance of beating me." The others give him a glare at his tone and attitude making him chuckle. "I honestly expect to crush this whole competition without breaking a sweat. Before, I would be more worried about Alexis, but look at you, mingling with the lower class." He shakes his head and gets up to leave the booth giving them one last look over his shoulder. "Try not to embarrass yourself too badly." With that, he walks out as Mindy starts fuming.
"What a jerk, and why did he just say he was worried about Alexis before, I'm an Obelisk too!" Alexis puts a hand on her friend's hand.
"Don't worry about him Mindy, he's just one of those jerks that gives us Obelisk's a bad name with the other dorms." Brier nods with a glare at where Raizou left.
"Yeah, I dealt with bullies like him all school year." Jaden and Takashi look at Syrus to see if Raizou got to him, but Syrus still looks determined. Suddenly, Sheppard finishes his speech.
"Would Syrus Truesdale and Raizou Mototani please take your place on the Duel Field!" Syrus stands up and gives everyone a thumbs up.
"I got this, guys, I'll beat him for all of us!" They all give encouragement as Syrus walks away.
Both duelists had taken their spots and were staring each other down, Syrus with a determined look, and Raizou with a condescending one. Raizou speaks up.
"Try not to cry to hard when I beat you and restore the natural social order of the academy, shrimp." Syrus stares him down without flinching.
"That's big talk, let's see if you can back it up." A few tense seconds pass as the audience watches the duel in anticipation when they both activate their Duel Disks.
"DUEL!"
TOURNAMENT ARC! TOURNAMENT ARC! TOURNAMENT ARC!