[IC/PG-16/Accepting] Yu-Gi-Oh FORTUNE Redux

[Timeskipper 5]

The eye opened, the world coming into sharp focus for the first time. Unfamiliar, grey and blue and brown and white. Then, it picked up a sound.

"Hey, Hiroko, are you ready? Can we roll?"

The world came into sharp focus, revealing the face of a young woman with short, black hair and a black hat. A pin on it said "PRESS".

"Yeah, just make sure you can see the crowd in the background", she replied.

"Alright. Roll... now!"

The woman gripped her microphone and put on a smile, before starting to recite to the camera: "Good morning Neo Domino, Hiroko Kirigami here with Neo Domino News Network. Today we're covering the massive protest march organized by Satisfaction in occasion of the ending of the qualifiers for the Fortune Cup, and as you can see behind us, the crowd that has gathered all along the Daedalus Bridge is absolutely immense. We don't have any specific numbers, but that is, regardless, an impressive show of support for these protests."

She paused to let the crew focus on the crowd. It stretched from one end to the other of the Daedalus Bridge, and even longer behind.

"Satisfaction has officially declared that their intention is to reach the Unity Stage, and occupy the entirety of Unity Square, to take advantage of media attention surrounding the last qualifiers of the Fortune Cup. Their demands remain the same: shutdown of the Momentum Grid, and requalification of the abandoned and decaying building of the city center. This morning, at almost the same time, both Satisfaction and Anthem have diffused to the press communications from their leaders, Kyoji Kurama and Vivian Craft. According to mr. Kurama, Satisfaction intends this protest to be fully peaceful, and that they will comply with the police's warning not to enter the stadium itself for safety reasons. Both leaders have expressed their intention to prevent clashes between the police and the movements, although, miss Craft has noted, she can't ask her supporters not to defend themselves if "someone" decided to commit some undue aggression... seems pretty self-absolutory to me, folks, but you know me already..."

She smiled cheekily to the camera before continuing her diatribe. That's when... the connection suddenly cut. And the world was darkness once again.

Names: "Kyoji Kurama" and "Vivian Craft" recorded. Attempting reconnection.

Connection failed. Restarting connection. Connection failed. Restarting connection...

Connection succesful. Live feed available. Connecting...

The world came into focus once again. This time, it was the inside of a large stadium. The tribunes were absolutely crowded with spectators, and two people were racing on the track: one riding a three-wheeler with a bubble around its seating, and the second wearing a showy red and yellow costume with a couple of bizarre epaulettes.

The stats displayed on the right of the video showed two names: Roxy and Blue, with their Life Points represented underneath, 1200 and 2000 respectively.

Audio feed not found. Correcting.

The audio suddenly cut back in, displaying the thunderous cheers and applause of those inside, as well as the crowd outside's protests. A voice from the loudspeakers suddenly cut in: "Oooouch, folks! This Battle Phase really didn't turn out how the wild rider of Center expected, did it? It seems the duel is almost decided. Unless Blazing Roxy pulls an ace from her sleeve, loss is guaranteed for her next turn!"

The camera centered on one of the two riders, the dirty blonde riding the hoverboard, who despite her seemingly disadvantageous situation, was wearing a cocky grin.

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, audience! Don’t blink or you’ll miss this one! I activate Battery Charger!”

The hologram of the card materialized in the air, draining 500 of her remaining 1200 Life Points, represented by a massive spark going from Roxy to the device. Unfazed, she bent her knees to assume an aerodynamic position, speeding towards her opponent.

“I’m calling back from the grave Batteryman 9 Volt, and I use its effect right away to add to my hand Batteryman Capacitor, and I immediately use its effect!”

She discarded the card she had just added to her hand, and the duel disk produced three more. With a smirk, she grabbed them and showed their backs to her opponent.

“Pick your poison, buddy”, she told him with a smirk.

“The third one!”, came the reply from the duelist on the bubble bike, and Roxy smirked when he said that.

“Thanks. I needed that one”

She slapped the card on her Duel Disk and cheekily proclaimed: “I Summon Batteryman Resistance! And you know what comes next… I tune Batteryman 9 Volt with Batteryman Resistance!”

A green ring of light formed in the sky above her, and 9 Volt disappeared in it, becoming a line of four twinkling lights.

“The secret trick that leads to victory! Come down, Batteryman Memory Cell!”

A giant chip with eyes, looking like a sort of electronic spider, appeared floating high above the track. The holographic display showed that it had 0 attack AND defense ratings. The rider in the bubble bike looked on it, worried about what its effect might be…

“Now, dear audience… take a good look. I use the effect of the Batteryman Resistance I used to Synchro Summon Memory Cell. When I Synchro Summon a Thunder-type monster with it, it brings back one of the non-Tuners I used in face-down defense position. And I’ll need the little guy for the next trick.”

The crowd roared when they realized what was coming next, recognizing one of Roxy’s oldest comeback tricks.

“I know you’re a smart guy, Blue, so no doubt you noticed I haven’t used my Normal Summon yet. Well, I will now! I Summon Batteryman Manual, and use its effect immediately to change the position of my face-down 9-Volt!”

Chants of “Shock him! Shock him!” resounded from the bleachers as a batteryman looking like a small dynamo appeared on the field, and turned its crank to make 9-Volt reappear.

“Manual can negate 9-Volt’s effect to use it himself, even if it wasn’t just summoned, and then negate that of your Phantom Beast Dracossack. And I use that effect immediately to add Batteryman Fuel Cell to my hand, and summon it immediately thanks to its effect, because I still have Memory Cell on my field!”

The combo was now in place, and Roxy had one last step to commit.

“And now… I use Memory Cell’s effect. I tribute it, to add to my hand… SHORT CIRCUIT!”

She dramatically drew the card and showed it to the public, making it erupt in a roar, then 9-Volt flew in front of her, placing itself on the track at an angle to act as a ramp.

“You know what comes next! Hiyah!”

She immediately turned to take the makeshift “ramp” created by her holographic monster, and flew high in the air before slamming Short Circuit on her disk. Fuel Cell shot a rain of small electric orbs, letting her bounce off of them, charging her with energy with every bounce, while her opponent tried to sway his bike to make it harder for her to aim.

With a wild shout of “SHOOOORT CIRCUIT!”, she dived towards her opponent, sparks flying all over around her, until a giant explosion wiped out his entire field.

“And now…”, Roxy proclaimed, emerging from the smoke, headed towards her opponent, “Fuel Cell! Finish him!”.

The battle was over in a flash, when the lightning orbs in the sky above Blue rained down on his bike, forcing him to stop.

"Aaaaaand it's over!”, the announcer proclaimed.

“The match is over, with an astonishing comeback from the crowd's favourite, Blazing Roxy! And with this, the final match of today's Fortune Cup Qualifications has finally come to a close, and I must say, nobody expected it to end like this!"

Sure I wish that idiot would shut up, Roxy muttered to herself as her board also came to a still. He's stealing my moment.

"Remember, folks! After this match, all that's left for our winner is the Fortune Cup! From here, all of her road will be uphill, but I'm sure she's not scared of the challenge!"

"That's right, folks!", interjected Roxy. "This whole cup's been rad, but I'm going back to the higher leagues. I've been there already, and this time I'll conquer them, ya'll see!"

The announcer continued: "As you see, our winner is very sure of herself, people! In fact, I've heard sponsor offers have already started pouring in. They say that even Kaiba Corporation has offered-", but was cut off when Roxy interrupted his speculations: 

"I was still talking, shithead. So! As I said, I'm going to conquer the Fortune Cup. It ain't gonna be easy, I know. Everyone else at the Cup has went through the same qualifications I did. Some of the best duelists of this country will be runnin' for the title. But y'all know this has never stopped Blazin' Roxy. I won't be stopped this time. Not by the best duelists of this country, not even by the Anthem b****. Keep your eyes open, Neo Domino! Blazin' Roxy will conquer this city!"

Her crude jab at Vivian was met with a mix of jeers and cheers, but it was enough. No more relevant information could be acquired, so the eye turned off once again.

This time, it opened in a large, white room, where a small crowd was watching the screen placed directly under the eye’s point of view.

Identification needed. Audio feed included.

There were about twenty people in the room, all of them in Turbo Dueling gear, watching the screen intently. The participants of the previous qualifiers. All of them turned towards the door when another blond-haired woman made her entrance, but she wasn’t Roxy - facial recognition parameters were different, and she was wearing... armor. Shining armor lined with golden reliefs, and with a massive fleur-de-lis emblazoned in the center of the chestplate.

The woman opened her mouth to talk, but before she could, another voice came from outside the eye’s viewing range.

“Thank you for your patience, competitors. As the qualifiers are already over, I would normally announce who of you ended up in which bracket, and close the qualifiers officially. But today there is a special announcement I must make. See, one of the competitors has retreated from the race, and their place has been reassigned. The lady who has just graced her with her presence is madame Lydia Maupin, representative of the dueling circuit of Paris. She had initially intended to be only an observer in our Cup, but she has graciously accepted to fill in for the disappeared ms. Kotodara. Normally, we wouldn’t accept such an arrangement, but madame Maupin has already proven her valor by holding onto the championship in the European circuit for various years in a row already, so we gladly accepted her presence among you. I hope there will be no problems here”.

The woman politely bowed in front of the incredulous room… and the speaker walked out.

Edited March 19, 2020 by Timeskipper

[Arkars 24]

Aster was absently listening to the commentary as he watched, far more interested in what the earphone connected to his mobile phone was saying, his right ear filled with real-time updates on the quotations of GranD-Wheel as the qualifications went on. Far more interesting, as far as he was currently concerned.

Nonetheless, Roxy shouting was difficult to cut off.

Loud, randomly vulgar and seems to believe herself the next Yusei Fudo. Truly the quintessential Satisfaction supporter.

His irritation wasn't helped by the dip in value the quotations all Momentum-technology based sectors and company took as soon as one of the most prominent satisfaction supporters passed the last qualification match. Nothing more than a temporary fluke, but for Aster it was an ominous reminder of what would have happened had the Momentum technology been outlawed.

With a sigh, Aster shut off his phone and put back the earphone as the door opened.

“Thank you for your patience, competitors. As the qualifiers are already over, I would normally announce who of you ended up in which bracket, and close the qualifiers officially. But today there is a special announcement I must make. See, one of the competitors has retreated from the race, and their place has been reassigned. The lady who has just graced her with her presence is madame Lydia Maupin, representative of the dueling circuit of Paris. She had initially intended to be only an observer in our Cup, but she has graciously accepted to fill in for the disappeared ms. Kotodara. Normally, we wouldn’t accept such an arrangement, but madame Maupin has already proven her valor by holding onto the championship in the European circuit for various years in a row already, so we gladly accepted her presence among you. I hope there will be no problems here”.

Aster took a mental note to look up Lydia Maupin and her past duels. He would never have admitted it, but with how much he had focused on the Fortune Cup the last few months, everything regarding competitive dueling that hadn't been directly related to it was in dire need of a refresh.

Seeing that everyone was still stunned by the development, Aster resolved to walk over to the woman and greet her, extending an handshake.

"Welcome to New Domino Miss Maupin. I'm Aster Granduchi, please, come in." He motioned for her to enter the room.

The armored woman smiled and bowed again to him, replying: "Happy to meet you, mr. Granduchi. I will, uh, come in, then".

If the stares of the people in the room were making her uncomfortable, she wasn't showing it: her face was a perfect picture of almost unnatural serenity as she stepped inside the room and slowly made her way to the last free chair in the room.

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"Keep your eyes open, Neo Domino! Blazin' Roxy will conquer this city!"

It was definitely an interesting Duel to say the least, but at the same time, it went south the moment Roxy ended up getting on the political side of things with the Satisfaction comment. Always someone making those types of comments and the like, rather than just showing off for the masses and giving the people what they want in the realm of a good Duel.

Regardless, Itsuki Amano stood there watching the end of the Duel, seeing that she would end up joining in with the Fortune Cup, along with everyone else here in this room. Things definitely would be heating up if that was the case...pun definitely intended there.

Honestly, all this needs to hurry up...cause I'm itching to show what I can do again. Itsuki thought, smirking lightly before the young man moved and went back to sitting down. His match in the qualifying round was pretty good, but it wasn't anything too special. What he was hoping was something with a bit more...flare to it. And given each and every qualifying match he saw before and after his, there were plenty of Duelists here that could give him a proper challenge.

He moved slightly, reaching his hand into his vest pocket to pull out a copy of Jurrac Meteor out. A smile appeared on his face as he stared at the card. Just watch mom...I'm going to win the Fortune Cup. I'm gonna become a Pro Duelist...just watch! he thought, exhaling slowly as he finally put the card in his pocket again.

"But today there is a special announcement I must make. See, one of the competitors has retreated from the race, and their place has been reassigned. The lady who has just graced her with her presence is madame Lydia Maupin, representative of the dueling circuit of Paris."

Itsuki heard the announcement, seeing the newcomer enter the room. It was weird, seeing that a competitor retreated from the race...like who would end up leaving their chance to play in the Fortune Cup? As weird as that way, it was also weird to see that they instantly filled in the vacant spot with another Duelist. But aside from that, Itsuki did have to admit, this girl did look pretty cute.

[Void 6]

“...Satisfaction has officially declared that their intention is to reach the Unity Stage, and occupy the entirety of Unity Square, to take advantage of media attention surrounding the last qualifiers of the Fortune Cup…”

 

While seemingly everyone in the Duelist Pit was enthralled by Blazing Roxy’s duel against her unfortunate opponent, one lanky individual near the back of the room was not: Asaka Yukio. He was as engrossed with his smartphone as his fellow competitor Aster, who has sat just three seats to the right of him.

 

Their respective devices expressed the very different personalities and ideologies of the two - though nobody, in reality, would discern the pair from such a mundane object.

 

Asaka’s smartphone was custom, but not in the sense it was bespoke-made for a wealthy citizen of the “Neo Domino bourgeoisie”, as the more radical elements of Satisfaction decry the residents of the Satellites. It was a collection of recycled and refurbished components, patched together by competent but inexperienced hands, and then brought to life by a wide library of open-source homebrew software. The final product was just as good as the modern equivalent - even if there was no warranty when he would eventually drop the screen and splinter the sapphire-crystal glass.

 

“Bruuuzzzz.”

 

The motor spun within. A message - probably just from the network. Asaka had been browsing online for most of the day. His heart briefly fluttered at the thought he had used up his data cap - the fees for extra data on these contract are atrocious!

 

“One New Message. From: Bis. Grey.”

 

“Oh hell. Not now, PLEASEeeee.” immediately popped into his head, as well as a moderately scowled face.

 

It has been tense between himself and the Bishop the last couple of weeks - The Church had been continuing to bicker amongst itself, and now were clawing at the arrangements for the qualifying rounds. Asaka’s sponsorship had not been cheap, after all: D-Wheel, Pit Crew and Entry Fees alone cost the church a hefty five-figure fee, and some questioned his effectiveness in “purifying” the message of the Church of the Celestial. Yet again - he never thought of it as a real church - Grey wasn't even a real Bishop: It was just his first name, and a stupid one at that!

 

Still. He owed them a big debt. He tapped into the messages app, and onto the avatar of the greyed, elderly figure that was Bishop Grey.

 

“Can you video call us as soon as your done with the tournament organisers today? Thanks, B. Grey.”

 

The scowl receded, followed by a small smirk slid onto an otherwise worn face - the old man always signs his texts like they were an old-fashioned E-Mail. Clasping the back of the phone with both of his ungloved hands, he tapped away with his thumbs a quick reply

 

“Will do.”

 

With that, Asaka slid away from the device into the left breast-pocket of his leathers and returned his amber eyes to the warmth of the monitors… only then to realise not only that Roxy had wrecked her opponent, but everyone was enthralled by an announcement coming from the main door into the room.

 

"But today there is a special announcement I must make. See, one of the competitors has retreated from the race, and their place has been reassigned. The lady who has just graced her with her presence is madame Lydia Maupin, representative of the duelling circuit of Paris."

 

What? Who the heck lost their nerve and dropped out, Asaka pondered. But it was a fleeting thought  - the mystery that was his mind turned to the fact that madame Lydia was french. Foreign languages where never his forte in school. God forbid if he would have to draw on that knowledge in a duel - if god, or gods, existed, in Asaka’s mind. 

 

[Saiba Aisu 11]

Munch, munch, whoosh, pop! Munch, munch, munch, whoosh… Pop! Both eyes glued to the screen in front of her, Dahlia Von Blum continued to chew her favorite gum rather noisily, blowing large pink bubbles every couple of seconds as she watched the duel unfold. She nodded her head approvingly as Roxy managed to come back for the win before launching into an impassioned victory speech, proving once again why she was everyone’s favorite Satisfaction sweetheart.

“I won’t be stopped this time. Not by the best duelists of this country, not even by the Anthem b****...”
 
Well, perhaps she wasn’t all that sweet. Oh well. Most people would have winced to hear that sort of language coming from a duelist, especially on national television. Not Dahlia, though. The blonde chuckled and kicked back her chair as she got to her feet, stretching like a cat after a long nap. Just how much longer were they expected to wait, anyway? Spectating was fun enough for a while, but after an intense match like that, she was itching to get into the ring and take some names of her own... Hmm? It would appear that somebody nearby was speaking.

“The lady who has just graced us with her presence is Madame Lydia Maupin, representative of the dueling circuit of Paris... She had initially intended to be only an observer in our Cup, but she has graciously accepted to fill in... Madame Maupin has already proven her valor by holding onto the championship in the European circuit for various years in a row already…”

Dahlia’s ears twitched. She was through the crowd in a flash, pushing past everyone and coming to a halt—probably too close for comfort—next to the mysterious woman, who appeared to be dressed in medieval armor, of all things.

“Lydia from Paris, huh?” she asked, not bothering to wait for an answer. “Enceinte de vous rencontrer… Ah, who am I kidding, I don’t actually speak French! The name’s Dahlia, though. Dahlia Von Blum! Don’t you forget it!”

The blonde continued to circle the French girl like an excited puppy, poking and prodding her all the while.

“Is it true that you’re the European Champion? Heh, I guess they’re not all that strong in Europe then… And what’s with the armor? I bet it weighs a ton, doesn’t look too comfy either. Don’t you want to, you know, let the girls breathe a little?”

She filled her chest with a deep breath, cupping her own rather large breasts to emphasize her point.

Edited March 24, 2020 by Saiba Aisu

[JPAlpha 2]

In the room where a group of people were watching a duel through a screen in front of them, A girl named Bell seemed out of place. Her height and facial features indicated that she was much younger than everyone else. Her outfit, which consisted of a dark blue long-sleeved jacket, light blue culotte pants and the protective gear on each knee didn’t really add up to a full riding suit that some other people were wearing either. Still, like everyone else in that room, she was a rightful participant of this year’s Fortune Cup.

If anything, she was widely known as a pro duelist among Academia students and those who were young enough to join age-restricted tournaments. But to most people in this room, at least  she would be no more than an amateur who just joined their first—

Bell responded to the repeated vibrations on her wrist by touching the smartwatch screen. After quickly scrolled through it and confirmed that there was nothing but pointless group messages from her friends at Academia, without a single one from her brother, she quietly let out a sigh.

Even if she already had sufficient information on both competitors, an opportunity to learn more about her potential opponent sounded a lot more appealing than top 10 places near Academia you would find good-looking men, or whatever her friends were talking about. The girl reached into her pocket for the blue phone and skillfully turned off notifications from that certain group before shifting her gaze back to a screen in front of the room.

Not so long after that, the last qualification match ended and all participants of the fortune cup were confirmed, or at least that’s what Bell was thinking—

“Thank you for your patience, competitors. As the qualifiers are already over, I would normally announce who of you ended up in which bracket, and close the qualifiers officially. But today there is a special announcement I must make. See, one of the competitors has retreated from the race, and their place has been reassigned. The lady who has just graced her with her presence is madame Lydia Maupin, representative of the dueling circuit of Paris. She had initially intended to be only an observer in our Cup, but she has graciously accepted to fill in for the disappeared ms. Kotodara. Normally, we wouldn’t accept such an arrangement, but madame Maupin has already proven her valor by holding onto the championship in the European circuit for various years in a row already, so we gladly accepted her presence among you. I hope there will be no problems here”.

Someone retreating... this late?

Bell wondered but still memorized the name and face of Lydia Maupin without delay. She had heard this name at least once, but now that she thought about it, her and her brother concluded that this woman was unlikely to join the Fortune Cup, and so they didn’t even bother to watch her past duels. The girl suddenly regretted her own decision, but there was nothing she could do now, except maybe...

Conversation was never her strong suit, so when other started to chat with the French duelist, Bell didn’t move an inch from her seat. Instead, she picked up her phone.

“Lydia Maupin. Replacing Kotodara.”

The message she typed was definitely short, but she knew that it was enough to get that man moving.

[Timeskipper 5]

The blonde woman in knight's garb recoiled slightly, a bit overwhelmed by Dahlia's barrage of inappropriate remarks. Her perfect smile seemed to crack a little, but she quickly regained her composure and offered her a polite handshake, serenely replying to her in hesitant keigo: "Hello, miss Dahlia. I must ask you for forgiveness, but I have not heard much about you prior to you joining the Cup, so I fear I'm at a disadvantage here. Still, you seem... full of energy. I cannot wait to cross swords with you on the track. Maybe I will be able to prove you wrong... but I definitely hope it will be a duel for the ages!".

Without even waiting for a reply, she stepped into the room and politely bowed to the rest of the competitors.

"I know I have already been introduced, but I feel it would still be extremely improper for me not to greet you all. Thank you for the kind welcome, ladies and gentlemen. I am glad to be among the best duelists in the world, and look forward to being able to measure myself against you, and give our audience a show to remember".

She was about to see herself out, when suddenly, a slow clap was heard coming from the last row of seats.

It was, of course, Roxy.

"Great speech, great speech", she proclaimed sarcastically. "So, now that you're done with the bowing and scraping, care to tell us what's the real reason you got in here?".

"I, ah, beg your pardon?", the Frenchwoman replied, slightly confused.

Roxy growled and started slowly, menacingly walking towards the new arrival, angrily barking at her: "What, did I fucking stutter? I ain't stupid, miss fancy frenchie. This is shady as shit. What duelist on the face of this fucking earth just up and leaves right as they made it into the Fortune Cup? I don't buy it. Nobody with a brain buys it. How the fuck did you get in here? Everyone in this room fought to get here. We all worked our asses off! And you get to waltz in with that pathetic excuse just because you've been a champion in some backwater circuit for a few years?"

The freestyle duelist stepped in front of Lydia, pointing an accusing finger against her chestplate, but the French duelist didn't back down.

"Well, since everyone is too much of a pussy here to say it, let me be the one to: you ain't welcome here. And I won't let you get away with waltzing in on some technicality while so many good duelists who have worked for this spot are left out. Stay out of this cup, cupcake".

Before even getting a response, she turned around and angrily stomped out of the hall, leaving the other participants speechless. Veterans of the dueling circuit and fans alike knew she was known for her fiery temper, but that was the first time they had seen her so angry. Even her rivalry with Vivian Craft had always had a playful kind of respect to it. But this... this was pure venom.

In the general astonishment, almost nobody noticed what Lydia murmured in a low voice as Roxy slammed the door on the way out: "I feel your pain, Fujiwara..."

Immediately, she picked herself up and calmly addressed the others.

"I thank you all for your welcome. Please, do not think badly of your fellow duelist for what just happened. I know in her place, or yours, I too would feel suspicious. But I intend to prove to you all that my heart is true, and that I'm worthy to be a part of this tournament alongside all of you. I just hope this will not compromise our future relations".

She closed her eyes, and bowed again.

----

Meanwhile, outside of the stadium, a livid Roxy was walking out of one of the exits and was immediately plunged in the loud chanting of the tens of thousands of protesters that had gathered outside the stadium, surrounding it almost entirely. Her entrance was behind the barriers protected by the police, but she could still see them.

"Guys...", she muttered to herself, "I'm sorry... I should be with you today..."

She turned around and dropped her hoverboard on the ground. It still felt awful, to be on the other side. She could've circled the protest to try and join, but... as much as she felt she should, all she wanted was to go have lunch, and then go home...

Edited April 2, 2020 by Timeskipper

[Arkars 24]

Ah.

"Feeling insecure about your chances, Blazing Roxy?"

Of course that foul-mouthed woman would stir up a fuss.

Aster scowled as the most recent winner of the qualification rounds went on about the french duelist making it in without qualification... And so what? The only thing to do would have been to beat her as well, no different from what would have been with another duelist. Not that it mattered, since Aster intended to arrive on top anyway. The alternative was simply unacceptable. He wondered if he should have been more direct, but Roxy stormed off before he could decide.

Damn street celebrity.

Putting away his things, Aster sent a few instructions from his phone. Somewhere not too distant, a D-Wheel turned on and engaged the autopilot, guided by the phone's GPS.

"I thank you all for your welcome. Please, do not think badly of your fellow duelist for what just happened. I know in her place, or yours, I too would feel suspicious. But I intend to prove to you all that my heart is true, and that I'm worthy to be a part of this tournament alongside all of you. I just hope this will not compromise our future relations".

"I hope so as well" He replied as he made his way out of the room. He needed to perform a full check of his D-Wheel and have someone do the same for his protections... and eat something... and take a shower... and look up as much about Lydia Maupin as he could...

As he made his way through the mental list, and out of the stadium, he noticed Roxy, and on the other side of the barriers, what had to be her fans.

Luckily for him, his D-Wheel had also made its way up to that point, slowly advancing towards him. Better this way, he though as he mounted on and put on the helmet. If the Satisfaction folks were busy chanting for their idol, he wouldn't have had to deal with them starting to shout at him.

Edited April 8, 2020 by Arkars

[Saiba Aisu 11]

“Well, since everyone here is too pussy to say it… You ain’t welcome here. Stay out of this cup, cupcake,” Roxy snarled, shooting Lydia one last glare before turning and stalking angrily out of the room, slamming the door behind her and leaving an uncomfortable silence in her wake.

Dahlia whistled as the other woman vanished from sight, making a show of looking through her pockets. “Speaking of pussies… Anybody got a tampon? I’m fresh out, otherwise I would’ve offered her one.”

To her credit, Lydia didn’t seem overly fazed by Roxy’s tirade. In fact, her first reaction was to attempt to smooth the situation over and implore her fellow participants not to judge the freestyle duelist too harshly. For somebody decked out in a suit of armor, she sure did sound like a pageant queen at times.

“So what’s the deal?” Dahlia asked, shoving her hands in her jacket and leaning against a nearby wall, legs crossed at the ankle. She barely registered as another of the participants—Aster? Oscar? Aslan?—strode from the room. Now that things had calmed down, she had gone back to chewing gum and blowing bubbles.

“Do we just sit here and wait? I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m ready to get out there and kick some ass. Pardon my French, Lydia.”

Edited April 14, 2020 by Saiba Aisu

[Timeskipper 5]

"I imagine all of you must be eager to go back home and celebrate your admission", the knight cut in, indirectly answering Dahlia's question.

"I came here to introduce myself, and hoping to get to know you better. But I realize it's arrogant of me to ask more of you if you would rather be with your loved ones, or rest".

She bowed politely, stepping back towards the exit, still facing the room.

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"...you ain't welcome here. And I won't let you get away with waltzing in on some technicality while so many good duelists who have worked for this spot are left out. Stay out of this cup, cupcake".

The famous Roxy temper...striking yet again. Itsuki only watched from his bench the entirety of the conversation...or rather...the outright yelling from Roxy to Lydia...but at the same time, that she had a point...even if she went about it the wrong way. Things weren't specifically adding up here, a competitor turns tail and leaves the running for the Cup and then a new one brought in lickity-split.

Of course, unlike Roxy, Itsuki kept this to himself. After all, who was he to assume that she hadn't gone through the proper channels to join the tournament. Maybe she was offered a position but turned it down before and then it was offered to the other person, who knows? Plus he figured this was a much better manner to keep the tournament going without any problems. A Duelist and competitor leaving the brackets would most likely give one of these Duelists a free pass in order to just move to the next round: an easy win, one could say.

And I know none of these Duelists want anything like that...they worked hard. No one wants an easy win and easy access to the next round just because of this. They might've actually done something right and Roxy isn't thinking clearly...as usual. Itsuki thought, letting out a bit of a yawn. All this waiting here was starting to make the young man tired.