Daybreak in Maiami City gave way to a crisp, cool, and calm autumn morning. Well, calm for most people. All except a young student named Brent Rytora. [i]Why did I have to miss the bus today of all days,[/i] Brent thought as he ran, full-speed, through the streets of Maiami City in the direction of Leo Duel School. [i]I've got to get up there. I was chosen as one of the participants for today's exhibition match![/i] He turned a corner and nearly plowed into a woman standing next to a news stand. "Sorry," he called back to her, still running. The satchel he always wore flapped behind him. Luckily he had his Duel Disk on his arm, otherwise it may have fallen from his bag already. He knew he had lost at least two sheets of his homework already, but he couldn't spare the time to grab them. He was two blocks away, and he saw one of the buses that had dropped its students off already. He dashed across a crosswalk, not noticing that the signal still showed the orange palm that signaled not to cross. He narrowly avoided being hit by a small car that was pulling out of the side-road he had been crossing.. Despite the angry honking of the driver, he continued to push on. Now he was one block away, but on the wrong side of the street. He closed the distance quickly between him and the next crosswalk. This time he waited for the signal to allow him passage, which only took ten seconds, thankfully, and dashed across to the other side, where Leo Duel School's doors were. He got inside just before the tardy bell rang, and just about collapsed on the floor. He had to make it to the Center Court now and prepare for the exhibition Duel he had. He still hadn't heard who his opponent was, but was fairly confident he could handle whoever it was, especially now that he had made it to school just in the nick of time. He just needed something to drink first. After stopping by one of the school's vending machines and getting a bottled water, Brent Rytora calmly made his way to the Center Court, the biggest and most incredible Dueling arena in the school. He sat in the waiting area, flipping through cards, grabbing sample hands, and swapping out certain cards in his Deck for what he thought he would need the most for this Duel. After about five minutes, he slid his Deck back into the Duel Disk, feeling as ready as he could be for the Duel. He then drained the last of his water and tossed the leftover bottle in a trashcan just as the Duel Coordinator poked his head in the room and gave Brent the thumbs up, indicating that the crowd of potential students had gathered for the Duel and were ready for some action. He stepped out of the waiting room and into the Court. It was enormous, and unlikely that he and his opponent would be able to see each other once the Action Field had been activated. But then again, that depended all on what the Action Field was. Sometimes fields were flat and open, while others involved obstacles or hills. So now all he had to do was await his opponent and the MC's opening announcement. --- Gale had been concerned when her brother hadn't made the bus on time, especially considering he was supposed to Duel today. Maybe they'd find a replacement for him, or something. [i]Oh, well,[/i] she eventually thought as she found a front-row seat in the Center Court. [i]I guess I'll just have to tease him later about it.[/i] She gazed around as other students filed into the stadium to watch the soon-to-commence Action Duel. She hadn't recognized anyone yet, but then again, they were only now starting to fill the seats. While she waited, she pulled out her Duel Disk and used the Internet to study up on more advanced Ritual Summoning techniques. --- [i]Of course I have to be the new kid again,[/i] Kaeru thought to himself, already hiding behind a mask which depicted sorrow. [i]Why can't I just be done with school already?[/i] He had been placed in the Special Summoning Class. Something that didn't surprise him. He wasn't much of anything special. He found an empty seat three rows behind a young girl who was studying something on her Duel Disk. Squinting, he could just barely make out the blue border on a card depicted on her screen. [i]Ritual? That's not a common form of Summoning,[/i] he pondered before someone else took a seat in front of him and blocked his view of the girl. At least he'd be able to still see the Duel. Not that he didn't know how. He could probably beat a good number of the Duelists here.