Whereas the archery ranges were at the southern end of the crescent, the gymnasium where the martial arts tournaments were being held was just north of the main stadium. Our little group seemed to be huddled around Ino as we made our way back in that direction. Since Rito was involved, I was worried that there would be an inevitable unfortunate incident, but my apprehension was for nothing. We made it through the crowds and arrived at the gym with time to spare.

  "Kazu, over here!" Chika called out from their little area. "Ino!" She leaped from her seat and ran over. Within moments, she was in her arms laughing.

  "Does anyone want anything to eat or drink?" I offered as they got settled in.

  "I think popcorn and drinks would be good," Ino replied. "I'll drink whatever." Rito nodded in agreement.

  "Same here," Fujiwara added.

  "Melon soda, please," Kaori said with puppy eyes.

  "I'll just go with you since you'll probably get confused," Chika laughed.

  "How generous," I sarcastically replied as I turned to start walking.

  She caught up to me quickly, and I was hit with a wave of unease again. Time stood still as I looked around. Again, there was no one around that was even looking directly at me. Kaori was looking in my direction, but with my freezing ability, I've found that I need to look deeper than at first glance. I've often caught people's expressions in the most awkward phases of transition: sneezing, shocked, burping, mid-pronunciation, the list goes on.

  I really am going crazy. Damien sewed seeds of paranoia. Who is he really? What does he want with me? I'm no closer to answering that than I was when it happened. I feel like I'm running out of time. I need to find this hidden danger.

  As time resumed, I grabbed Chika's hand, and we walked quickly to the nearest concession stand. The line wasn't long, thankfully. I came to a stop and the end not realizing whose hand I had grabbed and was still holding on to.

  "Kazu," she squeaked.

  Oh no.

  I tried letting go and pulling away, but it was too late. She grabbed my hand tightly as her signature look creeped across her face.

  "Did you feel cheated?" She asked as she got closer. "When we completely skipped the holding hands phase and went straight to a..." She paused as her face went red. "A kiss. Y-you think you need to go back and do it again?"

  I have to push back. She's never been hesitant. Now's my chance to tease her.

  "With as far as we've gone," I brushed her cheek. "I thought you'd be fine with holding hands. Do you mean to tell me that you're nervous after your little display before New Years?"

  Our eyes were locked. Neither of us said another word. Her face grew more and more red with every passing second, and I could only assume mine did the same. It still felt wrong being this close to intimacy with her, but it also felt right in a way.

  "Excuse me, sir," the young lady behind the counter said, breaking the moment.

  In a heartbeat, the two of us snapped back to close to normal and placed our orders. Half a dozen popcorn bags and drinks later, we walked back in silence. I glanced over every so often to see her face still red and her eyes locked on the ground. Before we walked back to our little area, I stopped.

  "Chika," I started. "I took things too far. I'm sorry."

  She stopped and looked back with a gentle smile. "Don't worry about it, Kazu. I know how you really feel." Her smile turned devious. "I'll enjoy tormenting you until you cave into your feelings." With that, she continued forward, and I followed suit.

  I feel like I'm leading her on. While she never said that she still likes me, what could that kiss have meant if not that? I think I like her too, but I can't risk her getting hurt because of me. Maybe I really don't deserve any of this.

  *  *  *  *  *

  The qualifiers for the martial arts clubs ultimately came down to the year. There were three general divisions, in that respect: first years, second years, and third years. Points from individual matches and rankings were used to make the final scores of each school. Denki and Natsu stood proudly among the dozens of first years from across the city.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Each student was given a number that was randomly matched with another. The two competitors faced off, and the first one to bring their opponent to the ground was declared the victor. The process was relatively fast if anything. Time was a large factor when determining the ranking of the victor. Shortly after the numbers were assigned, Denki's was called along with a competitor from Mashima High.

  The two of them stood in the ring and bowed. As they took their stances, I saw the same fire in Denki's eyes that was all too familiar by that point. The referee blew her whistle to start the match, and a moment later, his opponent laid flat on his back as he had done to me that day in gym class.

  Knowing what could happen, I slowed time as the ref blew the whistle. As before, he closed the distance remarkably quickly, grabbed his gi, spun, and hip tossed the dazed and confused opponent. As he landed, time resumed its normal flow, and a thunderous crash was heard throughout the gymnasium. Heads spun around as fast as Denki had ended the match, and all eyes were on him.

  "I almost feel sorry for the guy," Chika sighed.

  Rito and Hiro nodded in agreement. The four of us had seen it all before, so the initial shock factor was gone for us. The others, however, stared at my best friend with their jaws nearly touching the ground and their eyes halfway out of their skulls.

  "Wow..." Fujiwara muttered.

  "I always knew he was strong, but this is almost terrifying," Ino commented.

  Kaori stood silent either unable to say anything or unwilling to try.

  Denki looked over to us and smiled with a thumbs up before he offered to help his opponent up. Needless to say, he took the first place seat for first years. Shortly after his match concluded, I caught a glimpse of Natsu's match.

  His opponent was an absolute Amazonian of a woman with dark braided hair. She towered over him and rivaled his build; she rivaled Denki's for that matter. She was another Mashima student by the looks of her gi. All students had their school emblems on their backs. The two of them bowed and took their stances. The referee blew his whistle, and I almost regretted not slowing time again.

  The two of them launched at each other, unleashing a flurry of blows. I'm sure both of them knew that the purpose was to knock the other down, but neither of them seemed to care. The looks on their faces were those of beasts born for battle. Oddly enough, I was convinced that Denki had played a role in their match: Natsu wasn't going to be outdone, and the girl wanted to face him herself.

  After determining that they wouldn't get anywhere with strikes alone, they locked hands and began a contest of strength. Well, contest was probably the wrong word since it was one-sided against Natsu. In a second, he was being pushed back and down; however, as quickly as he was backed into a corner, he seemed to overpower her and bring her down.

  The reality of it was he opened two portals under the balls of her feet where she was placing most of the weight to drive herself. Without that, she faltered quickly, and he ensured that she was clear of the portals before closing them.

  I'm not sure what I expected, but if I give a pass to the others using their powers, it wouldn't be right to not give him one too.

  The match was decided, and Natsu was seated in the upper half. The girl was seated just within the lower half due to the amount of time the match took. She seemed more upset about being unsure of when she could fight Denki than losing.

  Denki and Natsu stood off at each other as rivals did after the match. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but it hardly seemed harmful. Based on how the two of them act normally, it was probably trash talk. The rest of the qualifiers went relatively quickly, and the first day was concluded. The uneasy feeling that I had gotten came and went throughout the remainder of the afternoon, but I never could pinpoint its cause.

  I didn't see Yamato or Angelica for the rest of the day, but I saw one person that brought back memories. She was a third year student at Makarov Academy, Kirishima Shion. I was confused because I had remembered her being in my year, but she competed with the third years in the qualifiers for the martial arts tournament.

  Was my memory wrong? This is too much of a change to come from the butterfly effect. What's going on?

  Even without her physical enhancement ability, she was near the epitome of fitness. Her short, red hair was cut like a pixie further adding to the thought that maybe she was really a guy. Her match was over as quickly as Denki's with the same result.

  Our group walked back to the buses. The results of the day had Makarov Academy leading by a small margin. Himoru/ Kishimoto Academies held second while Toriyama High School stood in third just above Mashima High. Over the course of an hour, the stadium completely cleared out.

  "I'll see you tomorrow?" Rito asked Ino as they held hands.

  "Definitely," she responded. "I'll be competing with the tennis club. You'll come to support me?"

  He simply nodded as they embraced. Seeing the two of them happy together brought a smile to my face. It was cut short a bit when Fujiwara had to pull them apart so they wouldn't be late.

  "G-good luck tomorrow, Fujimori," she stuttered.

  "Same to you," Denki replied with a smile. "I'll come watch your doubles match if I can."

  Fujiwara smiled shyly as she pulled Ino away. Chika had a smirk on her face but said nothing. I think a few of us had the same idea. A few minus, Denki, of course.

  "I hope tomorrow is as fun as today was," he said as we sat down.

  "You and your love of competition, buddy," I laughed.

  "Shut it, jerk," he jokingly shoved. "I've been looking forward to this all school year. I hope I get to face strong opponents. There’s nothing like a good fight."

  "You mean you hope to floor the competition?" Chika chimed in.

  "Not you too," he said knowing he was being cornered.

  Our group joined into the teasing session on the way back. The sun began to touch the horizon and ignited the sky in a bright flame. The first day of the competition was over with little to no incident. Still, Damien's words echoed in my head:

  You can't sense the danger right underneath your nose.