(60) A hectic prelude to a hectic duel
23/SEP/35MT
For days with matches, my routine is pretty hectic. But today we went too far… We woke up late…
“COMMON GOGOGOGOGOGO! WE’RE UP IN 7 MINUTES!” I don’t even know who shouted that, probably Haruna.
I’m not even taking a shower today, just rushing to put my uniform on. Challenging on its own, but panicking has the ability to make things 100x worse.
I would blame the night’s activities for our tardiness, but the day’s activities, or lack their off, could have something to do with it as well. One thing’s for sure: We’re screwed if we don’t arrive on time. The Director already doesn’t trust our club with this, and missing a duel would only cement that we’re lazy.
That sentiment is doubled when it’s Aya’s match with the CSG we’re talking about. A match that me and Aya have been preparing for since the first day of the tournament.
Between all the chaos in our hotel room, we somehow get dressed all at the same time and run as fast as we can to Arena Number 1 passing by confused guests probably asking why a cheer team is still not in the arena five minutes before a match of the advanced bracket. You know? The one that most people here are waiting to see?
Still, we power through, arriving at the central elevators in the nick of time, pressing the Arena 1 floor faster than the voice over can even read the option. With most of the guests already in the arena, it doesn’t take a lot of time for an elevator to arrive.
In no time, we rush to enter it and as the doors close, Haruna exclaims. “I told you we needed to set an alarm! Who had the bright idea to not do that!?”
Rolling my eyes, I say. “It was you… You said, and I quote. ‘There’s no way we won’t be awake by 1PM’”
“Then why didn’t any of you say that was a stupid idea!!?” She doubles down. Squaring up with me.
Naeko facepalms, then gets in between us to separate us. “CALM DOWN GIRLS! Let’s save the fighting for after the match? That way we don’t arrive bruised!!!!”
This statement quickly gets Haruna to stand back while I only look down on my duel disk.
[12:58]
“We’re not late yet. And even then, don’t forget that the introductions also take time.”
Haruna nods and acknowledges this. “You’re right. Let’s do what we do best and blow the socks of these filthy fans!”
Unfortunately, that’s exactly when the elevator door opens revealing a group of the aforementioned ‘Filthy fans’ staring at the elevator, most likely having recognized her voice…
“Where the hell is Yuumi at?! Don’t tell me they slept in!” exclaimed a troubled Aya. She was already in the backstage of Arena Number 1 waiting for the inevitable call for her to go up into the arena and face what would probably be her toughest opponent yet.
“Don’t worry Aya! I’m sure she won’t leave you up there alone!” Mia tried to reassure, but between her words she was also jittering in her seat. Their cheer squad had always been the first to arrive, but today they were noticeably missing from their group.
“This isn’t like her. Maybe those creeps from the CSG have something to do with it? She did kick them out of their territory and left their duelist in a sorry state.” This time, it was Yasuna who voiced her theory.
Aiko was also present there, but she remained quiet through all of this, only thinking to herself. ‘Maybe she just didn’t want to watch Aya get pummeled into the ground… The duel Anna had against Yuumi was pretty brutal… I don’t think Aya has what it takes to defeat her deck…’
The four heard a sigh to the side, followed by an annoyed question from a slightly familiar voice. “What did my team do this time?”
Everyone turned to the voice to find a tall, slender girl with her green hair done in a pixie cut. It was Anna from before, the CSG duelist for the advanced bracket.
Unafraid of the skilled duelist Yasuna, walked up to her and demanded. “Where’s Yuumi? The duel is a few minutes, and she’s missing.”
Anna opened her mouth wide before letting go of an estranged laugh. “AHAHAHHAHAHAH! Are you kidding me? You think I want her to miss the event? No, no, no, no, I want to see her face when I destroy whoever the NWDA is sending instead of her.” She peeked over Yasuna’s shoulder, over to Aya, and continued. “That would be you, of course.”
Anna walked past Yasuna and faced Aya, offering her a handshake. “Anna Matili, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Aya is apprehensive at first but returns the gesture. “Aya Ohayashi, daughter of Kuon Ohayashi. I’ll be your opponent for today.”
Anna snorted in response to Aya’s introduction, hastily covering her mouth while trying to rein in a laugh. After calming down, she added. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t expect someone on Yuumi’s team to introduce herself like that.”
Aya crossed her arms, slightly offended by Anna’s behavior. “And why would that be? It’s important for one to introduce themselves with their most important connection. That way we avoid gratuitous conflict.”
Nodding, Anna replies. “No, I agree. It’s just that last time I tried that with Yuumi and she cut me off immediately. I’m sure you understand my confusion.”
“That does sounds like something she would do…”
Anna nodded. “Very well, reintroduce myself, then.” She took a step back and repeated. “I’m Anna Matili, daughter of Lucija Matili. I hope you can challenge me as much as Yuumi did.”
Aya visibly shuddered when she heard that name, her face becoming ashen. “Hmmm, Hi.. Err, how are you doing… Nice day isn’t it!?” Aya felt a wave of regret wash over her when she heard her own words, but she was in no position to choose them wisely after learning her opponent’s identity so suddenly.
When Yasuna saw her get like this, she quickly asked her what was wrong. “What are you doing, Aya? Who the hell is Lucija Matili?”
The blond girl responded under her breath. “oh… nobody… Just the CEO and Owner of Dimcorp, ahahahahahahahaha…”
…
…
An uneasy quietness filled the space between them. Yasuna spun around, her heart skipping a beat when she learnt who Anna was. With a palpable feeling of trepidation, Mia and Aiko distanced themselves from the group, not wanting to cross someone so powerful.
Not liking the reactions of the two, Anna sighed. “And that’s why I don’t enjoy doing that… I’m guessing one of you has some kind of connection to my mother? I would guess Aya, because she knew her name.”
Aya nodded and told in a stammering voice. “M-My father, Kuon, is the marketing director at Dimcorp…”
Hearing this, Anna face palmed. “Of course he is! You see? This is why sometimes it’s best just not to tell!” she picked up her phone before holding it to her ear. “Wait a minute. I’ll just give mom a quick call.”
“Wait! Why are you calling her? We can just forget about that detail and duel like we want!” Pleaded Aya, dreading what Anna could do with what she had just revealed.
Anna sighed again. “I’m just giving her a warning that if anything happens to him after this duel, she’ll have to contend with me. This way, we’ll be able to duel without you having to think about how the result may influence his career.”
Aya opened her mouth as wide as she could, her breath coming out in a short, surprised gasp. “You’d do that just for a fair duel!?”
Her opponent nodded. “What would be the point in dueling if you had more to lose by winning? Oh, hi mom, yes, I just wanted to ask something…”
“Are you sure the duel started at one?” I turn my head slightly to ask Haruna. We’d just spent the good part of five minutes trying to appease fans so they’d let us pass… I’m not going into the details of what that entailed but the short story is, apparently a disgusted scowl from me is worth the same as Haruna flashing her… You know what? TMI.
Haruna nervously scratches behind her head as she stumbles over her words. “W-What's this? Pretty sure they’ve been calling them up...”
Naeko simply starred at the group of three.
In front of us were Aya, Yasuna, and Anna. Talking and laughing with each other like a band of drunk pirates.
I take a step forward and speak up. “*Cough*, *Cough*, I think they’re calling you up, Aya, Anna.”
They turn our way, with Yasuna being the first to talk. “Look who’s arrived.” She starts, then pinches my belly and continues. “Where have you been all this time!? Aya and Anna were supposed to go up five minutes ago!”
“AHHHH! Stop, dammit,” I exclaim, swatting her arm away. “We slept in, ok? What are Aya and Anna doing here, anyway? Shouldn’t they have gone up by now?”
Her eyes open wide and her mouth parts, ready to reprimand us for being late. But when she notices my straight, unapologetic face - I wasn't going to take another talking to after the impromptu fan meeting - , she sighs instead and speaks softly, explaining what happened. “Aya wanted to wait for you and for some reason, so did Anna. The organizers deliberated and decided to wait 10 minutes to avoid a double elimination of the match. You're already here, so get movin'!”
I nod and share a look with my squad mates. They nod as well.
Before I get to walk away from here, both Aya and Anna arrive next to me, Aya simply facepalms and walks away again, saying something under her breath, while Anna sighs. “Well, you arrived late, but at least you’re here now. Still, you must’ve angered someone to be cast as a cheerleader instead of a duelist.”
I furrow my brow and argue back. “What are you talking about? I choose to be here. Besides, why would I even participate? Don’t you find it boring that most of your opponents last two turns at most?”
She smirks. “Sure, I get what you’re saying. Sometimes I’d also prefer being on the sidelines, cheerleading is fun on its own, but there needs to be a champion and I also enjoy playing that part. I just hope your friend offers a better challenge than most of the braindead fools taking part. You instructed her, right?”
“I would say she instructed herself.” I start by saying that. Aya devoted a lot of effort to prepare for the tournament and I won’t allow Anna to diminish her into a marionette of mine. “Why don't you follow her to the arena and see it for yourself?”
“I think I will,” she murmured with a wide smile. Putting one foot in front of the other and casually leaving.
The spectators were growing restless. There was an announcement saying that this match was going to be delayed, but not for how long. People had payed for this event long in advance to see quality dueling and even better cheerleaders, but now they felt disappointed.
Ten minutes later, one saw movement on the platforms carrying both cheer squads.
On the side decorated with Blue and white lights, stood three girls, two tall and muscular, and one shorter and curvy. The three wore blue tank-tops with white stitching, paired with matching mini-skirts, which did nothing to cover the deep blue bloomers underneath the skirt of the curvy cheerleader. The most die-hard fans in the crowd noticed their skirts being shorter than in the last matches while the rest simply thanked whoever assigned the seats for a better angle...
Opposite to the “Blue Team” was the “Red Team” named that way because of their opposing color scheme. That cheer squad was composed of six members, though they all shared an uncanny resemblance to each other. With only slight height and skin color variations between them. Their uniforms consisted of underboob crop tops and shorts. But keen eyed viewers could see a bit of rebellion going on, as some members had the telltale sign of a high-waisted thong showing, adding a bit of naughtiness to the overhaul tame look.
As far as cheer teams in the tournament were concerned, both of them were low down on the scale of shamelessness. A list topped by a team from the “Dream Achievers” who showed up in reverse bunny girl outfits with pasties covering the forbidden areas and routines that relied on getting the audience horny. A move so shameless that even the organizers raised concerns about the girls being blackmailed to undertake such a thing. Apparently, they were just THAT keen to support their duelists…
Back to the present, the central platform rose, and two duelists squared up. Taking their duel disk out of their respective holders.
Then the music started. Metal wasn’t very popular around the independent cities. Pop, Dubstep and EDM were the most popular genres. But the music that started playing with the NWDA’s introduction was heavy metal, with clear distinguishable vocals. Yuumi had recorded one of her favorites from the old world and submitted it for this event. Of course, the organizers that managed royalties were skeptical when she said it was something she came up with herself, but after their song detection algorithms had failed to identify it, they took her word.
So, under the call of a medieval charge, Aya faced her opponent.