Accessory Wars

Chapter 49-Ki

            "Guys! It's starting!" Mysti shouted as the opening ceremony began. Derek and Trevor stood in the kitchen trying to pile more food on their plates. Reagan and Mysti shared a plate of falafel between them from their cushions on the floor. Kaylee sat in the arm chair with her legs crossed and her nose buried in a large textbook, her knees poking out of her ripped jeans. I sat on the couch with Jay on the floor below me. His head made a nice table for my plate of food. I think he liked the attention. Not that I wasn't doing things to get his attention. He'd been so busy lately with classes I was a bit Jay hungry. Don't judge me.

Having everyone together for the tournament was a treat. It was Friday, meaning everyone was supposed to be in class. However, everyone managed to work their way out of going so we could spend the entire weekend cheering on Felisa, Kami, Seline and Garreld. Mysti even made a homemade t-shirt for the event.

"Where are they in the bracket?" Trevor asked as he dropped onto the couch next to me.

"Fifty three," I replied.

"Let's go! Whoo!" Mysti cheered.

A bit about Trebbin for you newcomers. It's one of the top fifteen tournaments in the world. Singles, doubles, B through S class, age brackets, tier brackets. This thing has more brackets than Jay's chemistry homework. To cover it all, they broadcasted it on twelve different channels with highlights on six more, not to mention news coverage. The arena itself was huge holding twenty five platforms. They stood in a pyramid shape with the final platform hovering over four from the converging lines. Almost eighty thousand sat in the stands waving flags, blaring air horns, holding banners, screaming, cheering, drinking far too much alcohol or spilling their snacks on those around them. I'm glad we weren't there live or I'd be coming home deaf.

People from all over the world came to this event, not to mention plenty of big names in tournament fighting. We had the brackets splayed out over the floor and which sets were supposed to air on which days on specific channels. They'd only get through the first round on the first day since they had sixty four fights to get through on each platform. Then three sets the next day followed by the rest on Sunday. Unlike other tournaments, where they speed competitors along, they stuck to a rigid schedule so outside viewers didn't miss a fight. Add in a few breaks and the first day alone lasted almost eight hours if you included the opening ceremony.

As the mayor gave a speech and thanked the numerous sponsors for the event, Jay reached up to steal a strawberry from my plate. I swatted his hand away, trying not to smile too hard. Music roared over the speakers as fireworks shot off around the arena. Various equipped Elicits put on a performance on the platforms. It was amazing how much effort went into a single tournament. I found myself glued to the screen and found all my fruit missing by the time the opening finished. Jay, you asshole.

The first rounds started once the platforms were clear. Our channel covered the A-class doubles brackets. Since Kami and Felisa weren't fighting for another four hours, we mostly sat around half paying attention to what was on the TV while occasionally watching a different channels to catch popular competitors fight. As predicted, Jay and Kaylee studied for most of it. The rest of us played a board games at the kitchen table, looking up when the crowd started to go crazy.

When the time came, we all gathered around the TV. The announcers flipped back and forth between a few more fights to give commentary and recaps, since the fight before ended early. Then they flashed up the versus banners on the screen. Along with names, they also had pictures of the equipped Elicits in actions. I made sure to take a picture of the screen. Felisa and Kami's looked sweet!