With a turn of her head, Penelope looked over to where Melody and Kai were last seen "I would have to ask my employer."

Penelope paused to think it over, worrying she may have been giving off the wrong impression.

"That's not to say Miss Tomozawa is a slave driver or anything of the sort. Rather, it would be derelict of duty if she needed me for something important and I were not around."

Penelope wasn't sure what to make of the girl, though she had to admire the boldness in asking a complete stranger to hang out with her. "That is not to say I refuse. Rather, I need a bit of forewarning to make sure your plans don't interfere with my job. It's nothing personal, of course."

Penelope looked over the orange-haired girl with a tinge of trepidation. The dark-haired girl was no stranger to ways of bullying and she knew better than anyone how cruel school children could be.

"What did you have in mind?"

A notable grimace appeared on Penelope's face towards the words the red-headed Legold was saying. The idea of unstructured fun did not sound appealing to the young Legold Butler.

"I do apologize miss-" she paused, letting the word hang for a moment before realizing she did not catch this girl's name. She made a mental note to properly introduce herself as soon as possible, and hopefully get the girl's name in response as well.

"However, I am what one would call a... highly disciplined person." Her right arm snapped up at exactly forty-five degrees as she motioned to her neck. "Everything from the Windsor knot of my tie," she then stuck out her right foot and pointed. "To the well-polished sheen of my shoes," she snapped her body back to a slightly rigid almost military-like stance of attention. "Everything about the way I live is planned and organized. I do not do well without structure and discipline."

She felt she had made her point however there was something else she felt she needed to say. "Furthermore, I do not enjoy being interviewed and speaking in an off-the-cuff sort of manner. I prefer, to be respectful towards the person asking the question, to give a well thought out response, not to fire from the hip with an answer."

Penelope paused, realizing that at this moment she was giving an off-the-cuff and fired-from-the-hip sort of response. She was coming off as rather rude and she felt it would be ungentlemanly and ignoble to go off on such a tangent. Instead, she should try to frame her response in a more positive light

"I do apologize if I come off as rather impolite in that previous exchange. However, I'd be more than happy to answer your questions but do not expect an immediate response. I would not want to taint my answer with a touch of emotion. And as for 'hanging out', I suppose we could do an activity however my only request is that it be well thought out and organized. If you need assistance in coming up with our itinerary, I'd be more than happy to oblige."

The dark-haired girl with the golden streak in her hair smiled at her. "By the way, my name is Penelope Springs. And you are?"

Kai threw up his arms with uncertainty. "I'm sorry to say that my time here has only recently begun - much like yours, I assume," basing it off of the simple query that was given. He folded his arms as he continued. "I can certainly say it seems impressive enough. ...Of course, every school is likely to have their share of issues, whatever they may be...." Raising a hand from the fold, "I will say this, however: the academy has a lot of choice to it. No matter what you're aiming for, it has something to aid you towards that goal." As he thought about that, a simple smile surfaced. "Admirable, I'd say. For an academy to have everything - rather than specialize in a few - it could be fairly interesting to see where its roads take everyone," he said, playing up his friendly demeanor. "As for this country, [...]" Kai Hidata spoke of what he knew about Silva - or the city of Silvershine, more specifically, as well as a few other questions.

However, after discussions with Miss Tomozawa had gone at length, Kai found a good point in the conversation to remind his guest of the event that would soon be underway.
"Before we continue, we really should get your name entered into my mini tournament. I'd hate to have any willing participant miss out, especially due to being occupied with myself."

Once it seemed everyone had completed the sign-ups, Kai leisurely approached his butler and glanced at the list of names with a hand to his chin, "Hm. Impressive," eyebrows up as he nodded with appreciation for the number of duelists who entered. Aware of his boss's presence, the elderly butler responded "Quite the turnout, isn't it?"
"Mm," Kai affirmed, just before holding out his hand to the name-taker. Knowingly, the sheet of paper with the list was handed over to the young Hidata teen. "Yugo, let Adam know to have everyone get the floor ready. We'll begin immediately."
"Right away, sire." The aged man contently departed.

As he went and gave Kai's instruction to one of the other attendants to wheel the tables of food and refreshment to the perimeter of the floor, Kai, himself, had begun climbing his way up the center of the staircase.

"It's finally time for things to really get underway." He thought to himself as he glanced to the side, over and below the railing where a few students had gathered. "The ones who entered my tournament should all be true duelists, people willing to tackle the challenge without knowing what fate's got in store for them."
Kai then focused ahead, to the top of the stairway as he accessed the phone on his duel disk.
"If they're as good as I hope they are, this should be quite the showcase. And the better it turns out, the brighter it will burn in people's memories, with me to thank for it all."
Moving towards the left as he progressed upward, the silver-haired boy reached the top of the stairway. He held the rail as he gazed down the long hallway before him. ".... ...And when that fire eventually fizzles out..., well, by that time, I should have something to show for myself at this academy besides hosting a great event. I will be a man of my own calibre; a stand-out over many, if not all."
Before long, a deep-voiced man spoke from the duel disk.

"Young Mr. Hidata?"

His eyes remained forward. "Hello. We're about to begin with the tournament. Is it ready?"

"Yes, sir. It's attached and ready to go. Would you like us to depart now?"

"I would, yes. I'd like it to be here and operational within an hour."

"Can do. We'll be on our way. I'll keep you posted on our progress."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

The call ended soon after. A lengthy clench of his fist preceded an about-face; his story was about to get underway.
He eyed the congregating students, soon spotting Melody with her butler, Penepole.

"Everything starts here. Let's begin...!"

"EVERYONE. CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION!"

Once the party-goers and the music had silenced to an acceptable level, Kai continued.
"...The tournament is about to begin. As duelists up for a challenge, you've surpassed my expectations and we have ourselves a larger contest on our hands! I thank you all for your willing participation...!
As you can see, the floor is being cleared to make room for your duels to take place. Naturally, not even this large lobby can contain every duel for the first round, so I will place a few of our greeters outside to witness the victories that occur out there. Each new round will begin once everyone in the previous round has completed their duels. ...I hope to see some truly outstanding battles take place! And for those not participating, feel free to stay and observe! The food and beverages are now along the walls, away from the action!

.... And now, with that out of the way, it's time to pair you up with your opponents. Listen carefully! [...]"

He continued on, explaining that there were 60 participants, so there would be 6 rounds with a few people with byes, selected at random. Soon, the pairing of opponents began, and once that was done, the tournament began.

As the rounds went on, many great duels and comebacks were had. While the second round was nearing its end, Kai was contacted by the man with the deep voice on the phone, letting him know that they had arrived and were ensuring something was properly operational. Midway through the 3rd round, Kai was informed that everything was ready. A few people at the party had noticed something large being worked on and they told others about it. At this point, there was no longer a reason to keep quiet about it. When it was time to announce the 4th round - the quarterfinals, the silver-haired youth addressed the murmurs, explaining that he had a replica of an old duel arena airlifted to the back of the Legold dorm. Similar in appearance to the outdoor version of the Duelist Kingdom set, it was modified by adjusting the player panels and shrinking down the zones a bit - and with them, all holograms, as well - for the inclusion of more zones to match modern standards. As a modernized replica, it uses all of the latest technology, but still captures the old-school feel.

For many of the remaining participants, this would be their first chance to duel on this historic stage - or to see it up close - or even knowing it exists! Kai announced that the semifinals, onward, would be conducted upon the old arena, and after the tournament is over, it will remain there for free use for another day before being removed. With this, even those who didn't participate can have access to it.

Following cheers, applause, and/or general positivity, Kai began the quarterfinals, after which, only 4 duelists remained - one of whom being Ms. Tomozawa.
"So you've made it. Quite the feat, if I do say so, myself. ...Hm. I've got a different opinion about you now, Ms. Tomozawa."
Impressed that Melody had managed to fight her way to the semifinals, Kai had to change his impressions of her; she was far more skilled than he had given her credit for - and her mental endurance had carried her this far. A lot of duelists would be making costly misplays by this point; could she keep up her streak, or would her mind's fortitude give out midway? If she continues to do well, this could even benefit him in the future, if he plays his cards right, so-to-speak.

The host announced the names of the top 4 duelists for the event: Lex Adams, Rina Kasakura, Yuwen Schiltz, and Melody Tomozawa!

Before long, Kai led everyone out to the back of the dorm where the modernized classic arena was located.
Once everyone was there, he announced the pairings:

Melody Tomozawa vs Rina Kasakura
Yuwen Shiltz vs Lex Adams

"The first duel of the semifinals will be Tomozawa and Kasakura. Duelists! Take your positions, and get ready to duel!"