"Tenma and Haruka." The professor repeats, testing the words. "Tenma, I am certain Haruka thinks more highly of you than that." The woman's pink eyes shimmer with mischief, addressing her next remark to Haruka. "Right, dear?" "Of course." Haruka's lower, naturally sultry voice contrasts sharply with Sayen's. "My precious brother will win his duel easily." She jokingly pinches Tenma's ear, though he knows the gesture is more possessive than playful. "Follow me. I will show you to the gardens." Dr. Kelsey walks ahead. Haruka holds her brother back from following for a second, buying herself the chance to whisper to him. "I want you staring at our round asscheeks for the entire walk. I know I would~" She hurries ahead, somehow retaining every ounce of seductive grace in her movements, catching and keeping pace with the professor to give Tenma even more to distract him during the trip. The trio go to the gardens, finding a handful of others near a duel field surrounded by hedges and various fragrant, beautiful flowers. The place is absolutely serene, despite the bustle of all the students beyond the walls of flora.
"Not bad..." Adam says idly as he admires the card that resembles him. "I see that miss high and mighty has a type." He chuckles, keeping up the taunting, since it worked last time, before he grins. "Well hello there, old buddy." Looking at Huanani, he smirks. "Oh, you are so screwed..." Using his best poker face, the Frenchman tries to give off the impression that he's focusing on summoning Quintet Magician. In reality, though, he's trying to lure his opponent into a preemptive attack to stop the fusion - and into the trap card he laid down last turn. "When Quintet Magician wipes your pathetic deck off the face of the planet, will you tell me what this whole 'sorcerer' thing is about?"
Her caution proves unnecessary, as the face down card never activates--a last-ditch bluff. Alex simply looks down in disappointment as the fireball washes over him, sending his Life Points to 0 and ending the duel. President Yamagishi grins from his couch. "Congratulations, Miss Matthews! That was very good!" He turns to Alex. "You did well too, Mr. Courser. You will both be fine additions to the student body." Spoiler: Spiritual Resonance Roll 82+10(situational)=92 great success Do not trust him. Felicia hears that menacing voice again, warning her. The balding businessman turns back to her. "I would like to invite you to accompany me up to my office to discuss a few things, if you have the time." Spoiler: Perception Roll 71+20=91 great success The man's eyes hold no hint of anger despite her earlier insult, intentional or not. No, Yamagishi stares at her for another reason altogether, obviously undressing Felicia in his mind.
"Phew." Felicia lets out a satisfied sigh as the duel podium descends once the match concluded. She exits, approaching Alex and Yamagishi. "That was a good duel, I look forward to a rematch." She offers Alex a handshake, ignoring the headmaster for a few moments. Before facing him after Alex shakes her hand, the strange voice catches her by surprise. I know, partner. She replied in her mind, though she didn't trust Yamagishi due to nature as a businessman first, Who knows how long he'll continue to respect the game's rules. The red-head pondered, giving him a curt smile as he congratulates her. "Thank you, headmaster." She replied, her tone cooling down from her intense one during the duel. As he gives his invitation, Felicia couldn't help but shudder from the way he was looking at her. Though due to her prudish nature, she's left thinking, What, does he expect me to be his next cash cow? She hissed inside her mind, unaware his gaze has a more perverse nature. "Sorry, headmaster, but I'll decline for now. I'd like to look around the academy a bit, maybe watch a few duels to scope out who else I'll be battling." Felicia declines his invitation, shrugging him off with a "maybe next time" attitude.
Spoiler: Adam's Taunt Roll 12+20(Dominating)=32 fail Haunani simply stares ahead at him, unflinching and unresponsive. Spoiler: Adam's Perception Roll 94=94 strong success The girl's demeanor and droning voice remind Adam of something he's seen before in a vision...she seems to be in a trance, or close to one, dueling entirely on instinct. @Arachna Spoiler: Julia's Spiritual Resonance Roll 17+10(Cold Reading)+10(Spirit Taming)=37 fail While Julia can easily recognize that Haunani is certainly acting unusually compared to most duelists, she can't quite put her finger on the cause. This could be the duel spirit's doing, but maybe the girl's doing this herself? Both are equally likely. Perhaps even psychedelic drugs are involved... Spoiler: Section 2 Roll Adam: 61=61 average Haunani: 54-10(situational)=44 average Adam draws yet another trap. Setting it face down, he continues to wait for an attack, sending five Spellcasters from his deck to the Graveyard as Future Fusion nears summoning it's target. Haunani sets a monster face down, changing the Sage from her previous turn to Defense Position. It seems she is unwilling, or unable to prevent Adam's card from going forward. On Adam's turn, Quintet Magician is finally summoned. Spoiler: Quintet He uses the overpowering caster's effect, clearing the entirety of Haunani's side of the field. With the way clear, Quintet Magician is free to deliver a devastating blow to the girl, balls of incredibly potent, explosive energy telekinetically thrown at her through the air. Her Life Points fall to 3500 without even a whimper. Ever dispassionate, the white-haired woman takes her turn. "I summon Priestess with Eyes of Blue." Spoiler: Priestess "Then, Master with Eyes of Blue uses his effect to return to my deck. Additionally, I reveal Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand to special summon Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon. Using Blue-Eyes Alternative's powers, your set monster is destroyed." The loss is inconsequential with Quintet Magician on the field. "Then, I tune Priestess and the Alternative Blue-Eyes to Synchro Summon Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon." Spoiler: Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon "However, I cannot destroy your mage, so I must forfeit." Methodically, she removes her deck from the duel disk, setting her Life Points to 0. Life returns to her eyes as the bar displayed in the arena drains. There is no mistaking it--Julia knows this is the dragon which see saw. Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon. The monster's projection almost seems to look at her, measuring the professor, as it fades.
What the...? Adam's eyes narrow as he feels an echo of the past, the strange sense of deja vu discomforting him, but he pushes on, nonetheless. "You had your chance - I summon Quintet Magician in attack mode!" He declares, raising his voice to boom theatrically through the hall. Then, she gives up. "Huh, I win?" Adam says, a little deflated. "I mean, of course I win! Was the outcome ever in doubt?" He chuckles, and pulls his own deck free, stepping away from the platform now that his duel is over. "Hey, good duel." He smiles to Huanani - not much of a gloater, for all his arrogance.
It was hard to access. The girl had some skill. Competent plays. A strong bond with her monster. But.... Something didn't seem right. Did she not have nothing to banish it? Or....? Quintent Magician was powerful, but not unbeatable. While it can't be destroyed by card effects, it could still be targeted. No. Spoiler: She still had lots of options Using stat draining cards like Shrink to cut Quintent's magician's attack in half, putting it at 2250. Silver Eye's Dragon could just beat over it and destroy it by battle. Dimesional Prison banishes cards and does not destroy them by battle, ignoring destruction protection by removing them from play. Drowning Mirror Force would force it back into the Extra Deck, and on top of that, does not target any monsters, ignoring everything but pure immunity to card effects. Or simply returning it to the hand, which in this case, would force it back into the Extra Deck. Simply forcing an exchange. Adam's deck wouldn't syngerize with the Dragon to benefit from it while getting her an extremely powerful monster to destroy it, return it to her graveyard and then special summon it back to the field later. While Silver Eyes Dragon cannot be targeted by either player the turn it's summoned which can be good or bad, Waboku would ensure it is not destroyed by battle and she takes no battle damage for a turn. Magic Cylinder would reflect the attack back and while not enough to win on it's own, it would be a massive amount of damage while negating his attack for a turn. 8000-4500=3500 Then she could use Silver Eyes dragon effect to bring a Blue Eyes back from the graveyard. And while that wouldn't be enough to beat the Quintent magician in direct combat... Tributing Silver Eyes Dragon is not targeting it, so she could sacrifice to remove Quintent Magician from the field, then summon the other blue eyes dragon from her hand. She'd only be able to attack with one this turn but.... She could still fuse into other options. What could she have done? Lot's of things. So why.... She continued. Just enough to show it. Her boss monster and her connection to it. There was no mistaking it. That was on purpose. She wanted to play it and reveal it. She meant to do that from the beginning. Not to just show off about having a strong card like Umianuri had wanted to do, or even to a lesser degree, how Adam was wielding it. It was clear what everything by it meant. She could feel it's presence. Powerful. The bond was strong. ...come to think of it. While she could sense other people's spirits, there wasn't much she knew about her own affinity. Almost instinctively, she reached to place a hand over her practice deck as if checking, trying to feel it's presence and answer to her call. Her palm touched the top of the deck, feeling the cards almost as if feeling for it's heartbeat. She knew about her affinity for Nekroz, but she knew little about the strength of the bond she had with her cards itself. She assumed it had to be quite strong, but it was easier to see the emotions and ties in others, than yourself. Done with her thinking on the mystical side, she looked at the listings to find Haunani's name. What to do here....she had a strong deck. And clear competency. But....what to do about it? She didn't just lose. She forfeited. From a placement match. There was no way to make that look particularly good, even if all the pieces of a competent duelist were there. She could gather what had happened, but to a lot of other staff it would look like she had just been throwing a tantrum after getting frustrated. A little tentatively, Julia wondered what she should do with her...but instead of marking her for Red, instead, she recommended her for Blue. Along with Adam. She was sure the other staff would at least see she has the makings of a very strong duelist. And she would be important for his growth too. @Tjf With all of that out of the way, Julia knew better than to get too personal with Adam in front of staff, but it shouldn't matter now. He had left an undeniably strong performance. Approaching him, Julia held the microphone. "In less that five turns! You've saw it with your own eyes! What's he capable of! The legendary underground duelist!" Adam would likely gather it pretty quickly what Julia was doing aside from just entertaining herself with hype. Nicely Done. You'll almost definitely be in the top ranks for sure and didn't need help. But the mood shifted. A mischievous smile on her face while looking at him, unable to resist the chance to just mess with him a little. "By the way, girls. I've heard he's not just strong. He's rich too. And single."
The suited man nods genially, no hint of disappointment reaching his face. "Understandable. The offer stands. My door is open whenever you have the time. I promise you, Miss Matthews, my offer is quite lucrative." He bows sharply in farewell. Spoiler: Perception Roll 94+20(Perceptive)=114 crit. success As he walks past, fishing his phone out of his pocket, Felicia sees that the President has marked her down as "Obelisk Blue" and Alex as "Ra Yellow," though she is uncertain what that means. There is another name below her own, only half displayed by the screen, Alden Weaver. Yamagishi strides to the elevator, pushes a button, and the shiny metal doors fold shut, leaving the two students alone. "You are very good." Felicia hears Alex's quiet voice again, filled with wonder, from behind her as she watches the Headmaster depart. "I've never seen something like your dragons before. Where did you get them?" [I wasn't expecting her to know Alden's here so soon, but rolls are rolls.]
(RNGsus giveth, and RNGsus taketh away. Specially with how these rolls are going, I can already feel the crit fails later on.) "I'll keep that in mind, thank you, headmaster." Felicia replied, though her words were polite, her tone was indifferent. So it is about money with him. Tsk. She clicks her tongue, hoping it doesn't interfere with any duels to come. Obelisk blue? Ra yellow? What are those about? She thinks to herself, recalling how they're the names of some extremely rare "god cards" or whatever that means. But what catches her attention was Alden Weaver's name on the same list. That bastard! So he's here too? She hissed, Maybe he's changed in the past months... or maybe he'll be the first person I cull. She clenches her fist at the thought, her scar throbbing ever so slightly at the memory of their "duel." Until Alex's voice snaps her out of it, "Hmm? Oh, yeah, thanks. You're quite good yourself." She replied, giving him a softer smile than the one she gave Yamagishi. "My dragons? Ah..." How do I explain it? She pondered, "I got them from my dad. He said they were from some limited edition packs." She replied, unwilling to share how a strange voice told me to call upon them. "How about you? Those silent magicians of yours seemed formidable. How'd you come across them?" Felicia attempts to change the subject.
The crowd had been cheering throughout the duel, but the other students, like Adam, are obviously disappointed by Haunani's decision to forfeit. "You as well, sorcerer." The strange girl wears a slight, knowing smile, color returning to her tone. "I wish to speak, but I must see someone else first. Later?" Spoiler: Julia's Spiritual Resonance Roll 24+10(Spirit Taming)+10(situational)=44 weak fail Julia's thoughts seem correct, as she struggles to feel anything from her own cards. The professor knows from past experience that there's something there, but any spirits held within are not otherwise apparent. Haunani departs without another word, exiting the arena as Julia talks Adam up to the crowd. At least one student visibly swoons at hearing the handsome young man is available. [I can't sneak anything past you! ]
Adam returns the smirk, though he can't keep the hints of confusion from his expression. "Alright. Come see me when you're ready - you can explain that 'sorcerer' thing you keep saying." Could she really know about my dreams? Surely that's not possible. Adam basks in the glory as Julia hypes up the crowd, though he blushes hard when she mentions he's single, a little irritated at how uncharacteristically sheepish she can make him feel. Still, he doesn't fail to swish his hair a little and wink at the girl who swooned, after making a show of seeing if she's okay. Grandstanding complete, he goes to see what the next step is, now that he's passed his initiation with flying colors.
"I...Thank you." The small boy seems taken aback by the praise. Felicia can tell the terror she instilled hasn't quite left him yet. "An old friend gave them to me. She said that they fit me." He looks away bashfully. "Um, we should probably go back down..." The elevator dings at it arrives on their floor and yawns open, though Alex makes no move to enter it yet.
"Well, I think she's right." Felicia replied, just as the elevator arrived, "Yeah, let's go. I'm not sure about you, but I'm going to be looking for someone." She said, her tone becoming a bit rougher once more. The red-head moves toward the lift, not minding if Alex gets on with her, though she remains silent either way. And once they arrive at the lobby, she bids Alex farewell and runs off, looking for where Alden Weaver might be dueling. Though she doesn't really know where that might be, or if he's already finished. Felicia runs off anyway as her anger clouds her judgement. Her hurried movements causing her large breasts to jiggle, and give Alex a slight glimpse of her red panties as her short skirt flutters upward as dashes away.
It was only a brief second of watching him that she really looked at him as he posed in front of the girls. Seeing him like this…she wasn’t sure what it was. As much as she likes to tease him a bit, she never seriously thought of him like that. Not…for anything wrong with him by any means. But just wasn’t anything she ever really thought of before of viewing him that way. That and she was noticeably older than him. If she was ten years younger though…. Snapping back into remembering she still had things to do than daydream, she was visibly less interested in the actual procedure, she kept it rather simple. “Nothing is set in stone yet, but I have a good feeling. You can do whatever you want until you get the message of where they’re putting you.” She did have a temptation to nudge him into yellow to keep him around a bit more, but he had fought for having a good place and it wouldn’t do to prevent his progress. “Later we need to do something about this. You should be old enough to drink now. But I still have more people to cover today.” She said her goodbyes to dismiss him, as she called up the next names, though she got the sense that none of these next matches would be nearly as eventful as today’s morning.
The green-haired boy follows her into the metal box, blushing. He stands facing the door, awkwardly avoiding looking at Felicia. She can't see the reactions of those behind her as she runs through the Admin. Tower's exit, but she hears the receptionist tease Alex in a sing-song voice "Looks like someone really likes you~" Spoiler: Reaction Roll 16=16 fail As she leaves the building, Felicia bumps into a pair of women who are about to enter. Spoiler: Woman 1 Spoiler: Woman 2 The white-haired one barely reacts, but the woman with the eyepatch shouts "What the fuck?!" as Felicia accidentally plows into the pair, though everyone manages to keep their balance.
"Guhgh!" Groaning as she bumps into the pair, Felicia grumbles, "Sorry, but I'm in a rush." She said as she once again tries to run off, far too focused on seeing if Alden had changed his ways.
Julia's instincts prove mostly correct, though there are a handful of noteworthy students. Spoiler: Dominic Benton An arrogant boy with little consideration for his cards who managed to win handily. Spoiler: Elisa Whalen A prim, uptight girl with a fairly strong warrior deck. Spoiler: Iliana Prasinos A playful woman with a machine-based deck. Spoiler: Ning Wu A student using a Water deck themed around the cold. Spoiler: Samir Dror A provocative young man, essentially shirtless, who prefers Beast-Warriors. These five all won their duels handily, though none displayed skill on the level of Adam, or perhaps Haunani. ----- Time passes as duel after duel after duel is performed. Some are fast, but others are agonizingly slow, wearing at Julia's patience. Still, this arduous part of her work is finally done. The students filter out of the stands and under the afternoon sun. Julia has a small amount of free time before she must meet with the other dorm heads and the interim Headmaster to discuss and finalize the placement of the all the students.
Leaving the pair of women behind, Felicia sprints forward headlong. Spoiler: Luck Roll 18=18 fail Though she checks every place on the campus she thinks duels may be held, the scarred woman is unable to find any trace of Alden, spending hours on the search as the sun arcs high overhead. The grounds are well cared for and clean, but this does little to ease her mind.
"Argh, damn it." Felicia grumbles as she failed to find Alden. Causing her to let out a frustrated, and exhausted sigh. "Khh." The red-head lets out a growl, Fine, then I guess I'll see him in class. She thinks to herself, not really sure how the classes will be sorted here. Could it be the Obelisk blue, and Ra yellow on the headmaster's list? She pondered, deciding to instead look for a place to sit down to cool off, and regain some of the stamina she used to run all over the place. Calm down, I'm sure this place chose only the best duelists... Yamagishi probably won't bother risking his money for a known cheater. Maybe he's changed. She thought to herself as she sits down to cool her head.
She finds a metal bench alongside a green space tucked away in a quiet corner of the Academy. Her thoughts race as she recovers from the exertion, the green-painted surface of her seat warm from hours of exposure to the bright sun. It seems she is alone here, the other students involved in duels or spectating them. The small, grassy park feels peaceful in it's isolation, helping to ease Felicia's mind. Spoiler: Spiritual Resonance Roll 7+10(situational)=17 fail It doesn't take too long for her to feel ready to continue running, if she wants, though her legs will be sore tomorrow if she pushes herself without a longer break.
