"S-So this is where the Fortune Cup will take place, Mina?" Kōchi asked, staring at the enormous stadium. "I-It's so big!"

"Well, it needs to be," Mina replied with a soft chuckle. "This tournament will have Turbo Duels, so there needed to be a big enough arena for both regular and Turbo duels to take place, like this one here."

"A-And Goodwin organized the tournament to take place here, correct?"

"Goodwin was a part of it, yes." Kōchi looked at Mina to see if she would say anything else about it, but Mina didn't. "You don't have to stay with Lazar and I if you don't want to," Mina started, "however, I don't know if we'll need you around in case something does happen. I'll try to call you if you're needed."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Kōchi smiled. Mina then went into the stadium while Kōchi followed from a large distance. Now having some freedom, the girl can walk around the stadium's outside to see how big it was. But she didn't get too far because she heard someone crying nearby. Kōchi hurried over to where she heard it and found a young woman with ocular glasses, a blue-striped shirt, and an orange vest. The women's tears were running down her face as she fingered through a camera in her hands. "E-Excuse me," Kōchi said, approaching the woman. "I-Is everything okay/"

"My camera broke!" the woman cried. "I don't know how but it broke while I was on the way here. How am I supposed to take photos now?!" She kept crying more.

"M-Maybe I can help you," Kōchi suggested. The woman looked up at her immediately and exclaimed,

"You can fix it?!"

"I-I didn't say that!! I-I'm no expert but I think I can figure out the problem. M-May I see your camera?" The woman nodded and quickly gave Kōchi the camera. Kōchi examined it a bit and then took a look inside of it. After a while of fidgeting with the camera, Kōchi gave it back to the woman. "D-Does it work now?" The woman checked the camera and turned the lens towards Kōchi.

"Smile!" the woman exclaimed happily. Kōchi gave her a smile and the camera flashed with a click. "It works, it works! Thank you so much!"

"Y-You're welcome," Kōchi said. "A-Are you a photographer for tournaments?"

"I'm actually a reporter!" the woman smiled. "The name's Carly Carmine. What's your name?"

"K-Kōchi Hachibana."

"Nice to meet you, Kōchi. Hey since I already have your picture, could I do a story on you?"

"M-Me?! N-Nonono! I-I'm nobody that important. I-I'm just a little office worker."

"No way! I'm super curious about you, especially that orange streak in your hair. So, I'm gonna ask you a lot of questions! Are you ready for them?" Kōchi sweatdropped a bit and said,

"H-How about we go find a seat? Then you can ask me questions."

"Great idea!" Carly exclaimed. She proceeded to grab Kōchi's arm and walked into the arena. Kōchi's eyes widened as she looked at the enormous arena. Carly smiled but then glanced over at her new friend. "Have you been to this arena before?"

"N-No," Kōchi replied, shaking her head. "I-In fact, I've never seen a Turbo Duel before. S-So this will be new to me." Carly couldn't believe what she said.

"How could you have NOT seen a Turbo Duel before?!" she exclaimed. "It's, like, what this city is all about! You mustn't be from around here if you haven't seen Turbo Duels."

"A-An excellent observation," Kōchi said with a nervous chuckle. "N-Now, let's go find a seat before any more questions are asked."

"Okay fine, but that's not the end of my questions." Kōchi only nodded and headed off to find a seat with Carly. Luckily, there weren't too many people in the stadium yet so it was easy to find places to sit. As soon as they sat down, Carly began to ask more questions to Kōchi, who tried to answer them to the best of her ability. It wasn't for a little while that she noticed something.

"A-Aren't you supposed to be writing this down?" Kōchi asked.

"Hm?" Carly responded, a little oblivious.

"W-Well if you want to write a story, you have to write down what you've found first, correct?" The reporter stared at Kōchi for a few moments and when that realization hit, Carly began to sulk.

"I guess I should've done that, huh?" Carly sighed. "Whoops..." Kōchi smiled in sympathy and patted Carly on her right shoulder.

"D-Don't worry about it," she said. "E-Everyone makes mistakes. I-I make tons of mistakes at my work all the time, s-so it's okay." After Kōchi's little speech, Carly brightened up a bit and smiled.

"Thanks Kōchi!" she grinned. "Now let's go see if any of the competitors for the tournament are out, or better yet we could see Jack Atlas!" Carly squealed happily at the thought while Kōchi merely sweatdropped again. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go before the opening ceremony starts!" Carly got up and walked down the stairs next to their seats, leaving Kōchi to just follow her. The two went towards the front railing of the arena, where anyone can see Turbo Duels up close. Looking around a few seconds, Kōchi rested her arms on the railing and said,

"I-I don't see any of the duelists yet. P-Perhaps we should check somewhere else?"

"But they should be here any minute!" Carly protested, holding up her camera to make sure she could get photos. Kōchi looked at her and decided to just let it go. If people enjoyed what they love doing, Kōchi figured that she shouldn't stop them. She sighed softly and let her eyes wander to the arena itself. Suddenly, a shadow got into Kōchi's view and she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "H-Hey, Kōchi?" Carly said, poking her shoulder. "I think that guys wants to talk to you."

"W-Who?" Kōchi asked, still confused. Carly pointed in the direction of the shadow and Kōchi turned there to see a man with long black and dark brown clothing that went along with his dark skin. The expression on his face was serious and intimidating, even Carly felt it as she backed away a little. However, Kōchi didn't back down, even though she was nervous. "M-May I help y-you, sir?" she asked.

"Do you work for Rex Goodwin?" the man questioned.

"Y-Yes," Kōchi gulped. "I-I work for h-his secretary, Mina."

"You do?!" Carly exclaimed in shock. "Why didn't you tell me that?"

"W-Well, you didn't ask any business-related questions."

"So then you wouldn't know about Illiaster if you just work for his secretary," the man said softly. Kōchi heard the name but knew nothing of it.

"W-Who's Illiaster?" Kōchi asked curiously.

"It's nothing you should concern yourself with," the man replied quickly. "It'd be too dangers for someone like you.:

"F-Fair enough. A-Are you a duelist for this tournament?"

"Yes. My name is Greiger."

"N-Nice to meet you. M-My name is Kōchi Hachibana. G-Good luck with your duels this tournament." Greiger was surprised that Kōchi was wishing him luck but he thanked her and went off. "H-He seems interesting," Kōchi noted. "W-What do you think of him, Carly?"

"I can't believe I didn't ask about your job!" Carly exclaimed. "I should've asked earlier but- wait, how old are you?"

"I-I'm 16."

"How can you have a job when you're only 16? Especially if you work for someone like Rex Goodwin."

"I-I really had no other job options at the time and Mina took pity on me. S-So I was hired and began working for her."

"Wow, that's really interesting! That means you know Jack Atlas, right? I mean, you work for his manager!"

"I-I only met him recently, Carly. I-I work more behind the scenes than stand out." Carly pouted a little in disappointment and then saw Greiger.

"Hey, it's that guy again," she noted. "Do you think that means the tournament is starting?"

"P-Probably," Kōchi replied, looking out into the arena. She saw more duelists coming to the arena with Greiger and she knew that it was time.

That's the end of the chapter!! If you've enjoyed it, vote and I'll see you whenever I get the next chapter up! :)