Like the last chapter was an introduction to the other competitors, this one introduces the rules of the tournament, and the couple of competitors who we haven't seen yet. They are...suspicious, to say the least. The competitors and the rules. There is a chance that there is more to this tournament than meets the eye, and John is loving it despite himself.
Chapter ThreeThe Rules
I was both ecstatic and speechless, as were my friends. None of us said a word for several seconds, until I blurted, “You’re Yugi! And you,” I said, pointing at the taller of the two new arrivals, “are Katsuya Jonouchi!”
“How’s it going,” said Jonouchi, not really meaning it to be a question.
Then to Yugi he said, “I’m outta here. I need my beauty sleep ya know.”
“Yeah,” said Yugi, “I could use some sleep too.” He waved at my friends and I and said, “See you at the tournament.”
The two famous Duelists found their respective rooms and stepped inside. I turned to my friends and said, “Oh yeah! Yugi’s here! And I might get to fight him!”
“I might get to fight him too,” said Tucker, staring blankly ahead, his mouth hanging open slightly.
“I’ve gotta get some rest,” I said. “I might get paired against Yugi tomorrow.” I stood up, twitching with excitement, and made my way to my room.
I stepped inside and took off my jeans and jacket, leaving only my t-shirt and boxers. I pulled down the sheets, climbed in, and fell asleep.
I suddenly found myself (wearing my jeans and jacket, thankfully) standing with my near-doppelganger Hiro within my own mind. Hiro, who was actually the spirit of an ancient and powerful Duelist called The Forgotten Duelist. Recently Hiro had fulfilled his purpose in the living world, and yet he hadn't yet moved on from it. None of us could figure out why, but I didn't really mind.
Tomorrow is going to be big, I thought to my friend. The instructions mentioned a monetary prize to be announced. It could be just what I need to get my career started.
You’ve never mentioned what you plan to do for a career, replied Hiro.
Well, I said, smirking, since I obviously won’t be able to coast through life on my good looks, I was thinking that I’d try for the Pro Dueling Circuit.
Yeah, said Hiro thoughtfully, you could definitely do that. Most of this era’s Duelists are overrated.
I know, I said, but I figure that I’ll need money to live on until my career as a pro takes off, you know.
Yeah.
Do you think we could beat him?
Beat who? Hiro asked, but I knew that he knew.
Yugi, I answered.
Hiro shot me a competitive smile that rivaled my own, Well, we won’t know until we try.
I slept soundly through the night (for once) and woke the next morning at six-thirty to the sound of my room phone. I picked up the receiver and said hello. A woman answered that this was the standard wake-up call for all participants in the tournament, and that all participants were to be in the lounge by seven-o-clock sharp. Grudgingly I got up and showered and dressed, placing three cards protectively in my shirt pocket, grabbed my deck box, clipping it to my waste, and headed out.
Max, Karen, and Lawrence were already there, along with Christopher, the jerkass-ish Evo, Yugi, and Jonouchi. As I stepped into the lounge, so did War Ruler. I shot him a look, which he ignored as he looked up at the TV, which had just switched on as if on a timer. Sarah and Jen stepped into the lounge about then, with Tucker arriving a moment later.
The screen flickered and the face of Kaiba Corp. President Seto Kaiba appeared. “Greetings Duelists,” he said, a sarcastic arrogance permeating his voice and expression, “and welcome to Kaibaland New York and the second Kaiba Corporation Grand Championship. You have all been chosen because you show great potential. The world deserves to see that potential first hand.”
“When he says ‘the world’,” I said, “he’s talking about himself.”
“Until now the final rules of this tournament have yet to be divulged,” Kaiba continued. “The rules will be standard single elimination, except for two exceptions. As of right now I am implementing both an escalating ante, where the rarest one card in each player’s deck will be bet in the first round, the rarest two in the second round, and the rarest three in the semifinal and final rounds, and a rarest card must play rule. Thanks to this requirement, every duelist in this tournament who is caught without their rarest three cards in their deck will be disqualified.”
I was instantly suspicious of these new rules. Could Kaiba know that I had the God cards? If so, he would obviously want them for himself. Every Duelist did. There was always the chance that he was after something else instead, but it seemed unlikely, and I don’t like it when I’m targeted personally, so I was wary. Then I caught myself. I was being ridiculous. Paranoid.
Why would Kaiba be after me? He didn’t know me. Besides, Kaiba wasn’t even going to be in this tournament, was he? If these new rules were a way for Kaiba to get his hands on certain cards, that meant that either he was in the tournament, or someone else was representing him. Using a proxy wasn’t at all like the Kaiba that I’d heard about. He was proud, and he fought his own battles.
Long story short, I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I didn’t like it.
Either way, I have no choice, I thought. If Kaiba does know that I’m the current holder of the Egyptian Gods, I can’t risk not running them in my deck. I’ll run them, but I won’t use them. Not only are they dangerous, but I simply shouldn’t have them. For all anyone knows, I stole them.
I reached into my shirt pocket and reluctantly removed the three God cards, which I only carried with me at all because they were too dangerous to leave alone, slipping them into the deck box at my waist. No one saw me.
“The pairings for the first round will take place at eight sharp at the Kaibaland Arena,” Kaiba continued. “There will be cars waiting outside the resort at seven-fifty-five to take the competing Duelists to the arena, but any Duelist may employ any means of arrival as long as they are present at eight-o-clock. Any Duelist not present at that time will be immediately disqualified.”
And with that the screen went blank.
“Well,” said Tucker, stepping up to my side, “he sure knows how to get right to the point, doesn’t he.”
“Yeah,” I said, “he does.”
At seven-fifty-five my team and I along with the other competitors headed downstairs to meet the cars. Kaiba had arranged for an entire lane to be blocked off from traffic, and at the curb waited three black town cars driven by chauffeurs. It must be great to be rich. We were at the arena, which was just down the street, in less than two minutes. We stepped out of the cars into the shadow of one of the world famous Kaibaland Towers. Every serious Duelist knew the Tower façade by sight, and every Duelist longed to one day see one up close. We walked between two large ‘Blue-Eyes’ statues and through the front doors. There were people everywhere, every one of them talking about the tournament. Almost immediately a man in a black suite approached us.
“If you’ll follow me I’ll take you to the room where the pairings will take place. The pairing process is set to take place at any moment.” The man turned and started walking. We followed. The man led us to a room in the far back of the lobby marked “Authorized Personnel Only”. He unlocked the door, opened it, and motioned us inside.
We stepped into the room. Inside there were already two figures waiting for us. One was a large man in a trench coat and shades. The other was a kid about my age with red hair wearing a brown mask that covered his eyes. He had his arms crossed.
“You must be the other competitors,” I said, smiling openly. I stepped forward and offered my hand. They glared at me over their shoulders. “Okay,” I said and stepped back a bit. Christopher stepped up and stood by my side, his arms crossed and his look thoughtful. Tucker stepped up to my other side and shot me a look that said, I don’t trust these people. This tournament could be more than it seems.
I nodded. Tucker may not be a genius, but he’s got good instincts. If he was uneasy, then there was a chance that my paranoia was well founded.
I looked forward and noticed, for the first time, a large machine designed to look like a ‘Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon’. At its “feet” was a glass dome. In it sat sixteen numbered lottery balls. Beside the machine was a ticket dispenser. Behind the two machines was a large window showing a massive outdoor stadium, located behind the tower, packed to the brim with people. High overhead, hanging from the stadium wall, was a huge LCD screen.
The man who had led us to the room stepped up beside the ‘Blue-Eyes’ lottery machine and raised a microphone to his mouth, and the screen outside came to life, showing an image of the man. Being the cautious and slightly paranoid guy that I am I looked around. I noticed a door to our left, different from the one that we had entered through. I also noticed several automated cameras located all around the room, fixed to the walls at eye level, and another camera atop the ticket dispenser.
“Welcome ladies and gentlemen,” said the man with the mic, “to the second Kaiba Corporation Grand Championship!” He paused, giving the crowd a chance to cheer like the excitable sheep that they are. “The competitors will now step forward in turn,” said the announcer, “and draw numbered tickets to begin the pairing process.” Then to us he said, “If you would, please line up single file.”
We got in line, and the image switched to the one recorded by the camera atop the ticket dispenser. The first to step forward was the kid in the mask. He pulled out the number one ticket.
“And Duelist number one is the mysterious Masked Duelist!”
The crowd clapped excitedly.
The large man stepped forward next and drew the number two ticket, “And Duelist number two is Exodus!”
The crowd was obviously as freaked out by this guy as I was, because he got far less applause.
The next Duelist to step up was Evo, “Evo will be Duelist number three!”
This one got a standing ovation. Apparently this Evo guy was pretty famous.
Next was Sarah, and then Crabtree, who got some decent recognition, and he loved every minuscule moment of it. Then it was Jen, and then Tucker, Max, and Lawrence. Then was Christopher, who got a ton of applause. Then me.
“Number eleven is John, leader of the up and coming Team Duel Force!”
I stood there holding my ticket as the stadium exploded with applause. It wasn’t as big as Christopher’s, but it was pretty great. People actually knew who I was! I stepped to the side, and Yugi stepped up and drew his ticket. The announcer said his name and his face appeared on the screen, and the stadium roared. My enthusiasm dropped. I knew I’d never be as big a name as he was.
Katsuya Jonouchi was next, then Karen, and finally War Ruler, who was introduced as Marcus. Fifteen Duelists total.
Wait, I thought, looking around, if this is single elimination then we need at least sixteen. Who’s the last guy?
“And finally,” said the announcer, gesturing toward the side door, “the final Duelist in this tournament, Kaiba Corporation CEO and the host for this event, Seto Kaiba!”
As Kaiba stepped through the door, wearing the same white jacket as he had worn during the legendary Battle City Tournament, I couldn’t help but scowl. I knew it. That can mean only one thing: Kaiba is after the God cards.
My sneer turned into a competitive smirk, my common sense being overcome, not for the first time, by my competitive spirit, This is going to be one hell of a tournament!
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