Scene 10.

{Matsumoto Ryou I}.

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"First Duel".

[Dominos City, Japan. Saturday. 12/15/1990. Morning. Headquarters Building, District 4, Dueling Room].

I quickly wrote down the total LP followed by both contestants' names.

|2000/2000LP Katsuya Jonouchi|.

|2000/2000 LP Kurai Hotaru|.

Then, the duel finally began.

#Truc#

I started the timer. The seven minutes began to run.

Participants number 35, Katsuya Jonouchi, and number 36, Kurai Hotaru, each drew five cards simultaneously.

Currently, it was the turn of contestant Katsuya Jonouchi.

As I had been informed, the draw had already been decided before my arrival, with contestant number 35 being the winner.

"Let's see, um. No, not this one. Hm. Not this one either, definitely. Um". The blond boy made his move after almost fifteen seconds of indecision.

"Well, I'll play this card! I summon Armored Lizard, in attack mode! Hehe, and that's all for now! Now let's see if you're capable of overcoming my powerful Armored Lizard!". Katsuya Jonouchi provoked.

I immediately noted the basic statistics of the card in question.

Armored Lizard LV4 ∆Earth∆ (Normal) {Reptile} [1500ATK/1200DEF]

Then I continued observing the duel.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye that contestant Kurai Hotaru hadn't even flinched at his opponent's provocation, he simply drew a card from his deck and continued the game. 'Disciplined'.

Then, his turn officially began.

I quickly noted the end of the turn for contestant Katsuya Jonouchi.

#Truc#

I reset the timer and the seven minutes began to run again.

After a brief pause for planning, contestant number 36 finally made his move. Unlike his opponent, he acted without beating around the bush with excessive exclamations or senseless provocations.

He selected a card from his hand and then placed it on the game board in defense position face-down.

Then, he calmly turned to his opponent. "Your turn".

#Truc#

I immediately noted the end of the turn for contestant Kurai Hotaru and then reset the timer. The seven minutes began to run again.

Contestant Katsuya Jonouchi drew a card from his deck, not without murmuring. "Tsk. This bastard sure knows how to make this game feel boring".

Then his attitude changed abruptly from one second to the next.

"Heh. Whatever, let's just end this once and for all". He smiled and then exclaimed as he threw a card onto the game board. "I summon Tiger Axe, in attack mode!".

I immediately noted the data of the monster in question.

Tiger Axe LV4 ∆Earth∆ (Normal) {Beast-Warrior} [1300ATK/1100DEF]

Summing up the scene, currently contestant Katsuya Jonouchi had two monsters in attack mode while his opponent, contestant Kurai Hotaru, had only one monster in defense mode face-down, probably a weak monster, according to my knowledge of the game.

However, contestant number 36's expression hadn't fluctuated in the slightest despite the apparent urgency of the situation he was in.

'Expressionless brat. I wonder what he's up to?'. I pondered curiously.

Unfortunately, my train of thought was abruptly interrupted by the contestant Katsuya Jonouchi's strident declaration. "Ha! Say goodbye to your monster! I'll chop it into pieces with my Tiger Axe! I attack!".

After his rival's exclamation, the contestant Kurai Hotaru flipped his monster over, revealing the card, and immediately surprise hit me square in the face. "What the hell?". I muttered, confused.

"Oh no, damn it!". cursed the equally flabbergasted Katsuya Jonouchi.

"How the hell does this bastard have such a rare card?!". He continued, expressing exactly my own thoughts.

Regaining the professionalism I had lost during that short lapse, I quickly noted the details of the card in question. 'Uh? Now that I think about it...why the hell did he play that card in defense? It doesn't make sense'. I questioned the actions of contestant number 36.

Crescent Blade Dragon LV7 ∆Dark∆ (Normal) {Dragon} [2200ATK/2350DEF]

"Uh?". I hesitated while calculating the LP that contestant number 35 had lost due to the difference between the attack and defense of both monsters.

|950/2000LP Katsuya Jonouchi|.

|2000/2000 LP Kurai Hotaru|.

'Oh, I see. Double damage. This brat is very smart. Things will get really ugly for the blond when it's his turn'. I concluded, analyzing the game carefully.

Then my eyes turned to the figure of contestant Katsuya Jonouchi; he still seemed to be in a state of shock. His brain probably had reached the same conclusion as mine. "He's screwed".

#Beep Beep Beep#

Meanwhile, it seemed that the seven minutes of contestant number 35 had ended without him being able to react to avoid the penalty.

I immediately noted the event.

Then I exclaimed loudly. "First penalty for contestant number 35!".

Only then did the blond boy seem to snap out of his daze.

"Oh darn it, I forgot! Damn it!". He complained uselessly. "This isn't fair!".

For my part, I noted the end of his turn and the start of the rival contestant's round.

#Trick#

I reset the timer and the seven minutes began to run once again.

Without wasting time, contestant Kurai Hotaru drew a card from his deck and continued playing.

Not a second later, he finally made his move.

Swiftly, he changed his monster's position from defense face-up to attack position. His goal was already obvious at this point.

"I attack your Tiger Axe with my Crescent Blade Dragon". He declared in a neutral tone.

Contestant Katsuya Jonouchi tremulously withdrew his card from the game board and then placed it, resigned, in the graveyard zone. "What a disaster". He muttered.

He looked completely defeated, and no one could blame him for it.

On my side, I immediately found myself doing some calculations in my notebook.

|50/2000LP Katsuya Jonouchi|.

|2000/2000 LP Kurai Hotaru|.

Whether by luck or cruelty, the circumstances seemed to have given contestant number 35 a small margin of maneuver. '50 LP, what a miracle'. I thought.

Contestant Katsuya Jonouchi breathed a sigh of relief after finishing his own calculations with his fingers, nothing more, nothing less. "2200-1300 is... 900. Hmm. So, I have 50 LP left, right?". He asked me, and I nodded in confirmation in his direction with a bit of second-hand embarrassment due to his poor calculating skills.

"God, that was lucky...". He sighed in relief, only to be abruptly interrupted by his opponent.

"Not so fast, it's still my turn, kid. I activate the magic card, Fireball. This duel ends now". He declared as he threw his card onto the game board.

"No!". Contestant Katsuya Jonouchi cried out in desperation.

Unfortunately, his fate in this competition was practically sealed. 'Too bad'.

At this point in the match, there was no way for me to be surprised by the actions of the expressionless contestant, Kurai Hotaru. A super rare card like Fireball, which dealt 500 LP damage to the opponent without any cost to oneself, seemed unimpressive now. 'He must be the typical rich kid'. I concluded in my mind with disdain.

'Two rare cards to crush his opponent, that's not impressive at all'. I added in my head as I simultaneously turned off the timer.

Unfortunately, that's just how the world worked. The rich had the resources, and resources translated into power. Even in this small game, it wasn't much different. Maybe if contestant number 36 didn't have much skill in the game, things could have turned out differently. But on the contrary, the kid was extremely capable. As capable as to defeat his opponent in just two turns. His abundant experience in the Duel Monsters game was perfectly evident. It was a crushing victory.

Unconsciously, I looked at the clock on my left hand. It read 12:07 PM. "Noon. Hmm. We're a bit tight on time. Whatever, let's blame the organizers".

Curiously, I took one last look at Contestant Katsuya Jonouchi. 'Poor kid, he never had a chance to win'.

"Darn it. What am I going to tell the guys now? Ugh, Yugi's grandfather is going to kill me!". He complained as I recorded the end of the match in my notebook.

|0/2000 LP Katsuya Jonouchi|

|2000/2000 LP Kurai Hotaru|

Ignoring my brief moment of empathy, I quickly corrected my facial expressions as professionally as possible and then declared. "The winner of this match is Contestant number 36, Kurai Hotaru! Congratulations on your victory! Thank you both for...".

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To be continued...