After running further north through the stadium, we came to the tennis courts. As with all events of the competition, there was a sizable crowd gathered. Due to the tight schedule, we had missed the preliminaries and first rounds for both singles and doubles. There were over a dozen courts in the complex, so naturally it went quickly.

  "I don't see them," Chika said as she squinted.

  The sea of people waxed and waned as each match began and concluded. With no idea who was playing where, we waded through it all trying to find our friend. She had been above average in athletics when we were in middle school, but she showed little interest in clubs since she had us.

  When we had our get together for Christmas, she told us that she had joined the tennis club and that she was doing well. We were happy that even without us, she wasn't lonely. She had been looking forward to this competition much like Denki, even if not nearly as intensely.

  "Everyone!" Kaori called out waving. "Over here!"

  We shuffled over and joined the two of them near the court. Ino and Fujiwara had just taken to the court and faced their opponents from Mashima High. According to Kaori, the two of them had done very well the last two matches.

  "Ino, Fujiwara! Good luck!" Chika and Denki cheered almost in unison.

  Their response was a smile and graceful wave from Ino and a thumbs up and nod from Fujiwara. The match began, and we watched as the four competitors flowed like water across the court. Much like Denki's and Natsu's match, no one could take their eyes off. With each hit, each point, each movement, we became more engrossed.

  I got completely lost in the competition, and I was only pulled back when Fujiwara and Ino cheered and hugged while the others fell in their defeat. It seemed that our friends had won, so I joined in our group cheering.

  The quarterfinal match came after their victory. Again, the two of them took to the court. Their opponents were two from Makarov Academy, one of which was a familiar face, Komamura Aiko, formerly Number 10.

  Her blue hair was permanently in a short pony tail. Her eyes allegedly changed colors depending on her mood — they were always a steel grey. She was cold-hearted, even by Eclipse's standards. I remembered our final interaction vividly.

  * * * * *

  The sun was setting and filled the room with an amber and golden blaze.

  "Number 10, reporting as ordered, ma'am."

  She stood totally expressionless as she saluted Captain Ryder who sat facing the burning sunset. Her last mission had been declared a success despite leaving a trail of destruction. Most of the dealings of the Numbers could be justified since we were "hunting enemies of the state." This incident, however, was extreme.

  Number 10 had used her shadow manipulation ability to take control of the driver of a bus. Her mission stood at the next bus stop, ready to leave the city and hide somewhere far away. Thanks to Number 10, he met his bus face first as it plowed into the stop. To make matters worse, it continued and crashed into a fuel truck stopped at a light. The explosion shook the whole block and leveled a quarter of it.

  "Let's talk about your most recent mission, Number 10," the Captain said finally.

  Number 10 didn't answer: we weren't allowed to say anything unless given explicit permission to. She stood there almost as a mannequin.

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  "Twenty-seven dead, two and a half times that number injured. Now, I read your report. You said that you didn't have a choice given the nature of the mission's regeneration ability. You then said that if he had gotten on the bus that you would not have been able to pursue him further due to limitations on authority. Is that correct?"

  "Yes ma'am," she answered, almost like a cold wind from the north.

  "Even we have limitations on what we can say and do, Number 10. You crossed a line. We exist to dispatch metas, not to harm civilians." She spun around in her chair. "Your services are no longer required. Number 9, render her termination."

  Spears made of shadows sped towards the Captain, but never made it to her. They stopped centimeters from the back of her head along with everything that moved; everything besides me. The Captain had already made up her mind when she read the report before calling Number 10 in. I was posted in the corner of her office throughout the debriefing. As I walked up to her, her face finally showed an expression: fear. Her steel grey eyes became tainted with specks of a deep and sorrowful blue.

  I wasn't sure how long her ability would be in use if she was dying, so I didn't go with my normal methodology. Since she had anchored herself in her own shadow, it was impossible to move her. I stood behind her and wrapped my hands around her jaw and the top of her head. After a deep breath, I put all the force I had into snapping her neck. Once I was finished, I pushed the Captain out of the way of the shadows on the off chance that Number 10 could still manage to use her ability after being unfrozen. It was pointless in the end.

  As time resumed, the shadows disappeared, and Number 10's neck seemed to flop to her shoulder. She buckled and collapsed to her knees before landing on her side. Our eyes met as she lay motionless on the floor. A tear had begun to form in the corner of her eyes. A merciless serial killer with a body count now well over two hundred spent her final living moments terrified and on the verge of tears.

  "How unsightly," the Captain sighed. "Thank you for your assistance, Number 9. You are dismissed. We will contact you when another mission appears."

  "Yes ma'am," I saluted before I left. As I returned to my apartment, I wondered how it would be until my termination was rendered.

  * * * * *

  The referee blew the whistle to begin the match. Just as before, I was almost instantly captivated. The dance between four people and a ball was mesmerizing. It wasn't until a few minutes in that I noticed something off. Ino and Fujiwara would miss their swings at inconsistent intervals.

  As I paid attention, I found a pattern in the inconsistency. Every other time that Komamura would return, the girls would miss. She was using her ability surprisingly well for how early on she was. Previously, she had only discovered her ability a year or so before entering Makarov. She developed it by force in the Prestige Program, but it was a rough start. It seemed like she already had a firm grasp of it the more I watched the match.

  More evidence of the butterfly effect, and not good either. Is anything good ever going to come from my meddling? Why am I even here? Can I really protect them from what's coming?

  The referee blew the whistle again to announce the end of the match; Ino and Fujiwara had lost. Even in their loss, however, they didn't seem defeated. They exchanged bows and pleasantries with the Makarov team before leaving the court. As Komamura left, however, she looked at me and stared for a second before turning and walking away.

  Deja vu, no doubt. I hope our interactions don't end up like they did last time... for your sake.

  "You were fantastic!" Kaori jumped into Ino's arms. "I couldn't take my eyes off of you, and you," she pulled Fujiwara into their embrace. "You were incredible too!"

  "I wish we could have won," Fujiwara said, looking away and avoiding Denki's eyes.

  "It may sound insulting coming from me," Denki started. "But who cares about winning? All that matters, or should matter, is being better than you were yesterday." He smiled as she looked at him.

  "What he probably means," Ino joined, "is that we have two more years to take first place, so let's get better every day to make sure we do." To that, Fujiwara smiled.

  "I miss you and your way with words," Chika jumped into the hug as Ino struggled to get out.

  Our group slowly walked back to the buses, but along the way, I got lost in thought. The uneasy feeling was still pressing down on me, and my headache was slowly coming back. Amidst all the pain, something broke through. A voice, not one I recognized. The voice was scared. I looked around, my abilities still out of my reach. I caught a glimpse of a pair of shoes floating off the ground. Presumably the person wearing them was being carried around a corner. Instinctively, I followed what was happening.

  I peaked around the corner to see Yamato being thrown against the wall and an intimidating person slamming the wall by his head. A second glance showed that it was the Amazonian girl from Mashima High.

  What the hell is happening?! I can't let anything happen to him. Not this time.

  "W-what do you want, Onodera? M-my money? I'm broke, I'm sorry? I can buy you anything once I get some allowance..." He stammered.

  She was silent for a second, and I crept in closer.

  "Yamato!"

  "Yes?!"

  "You're my boyfriend now!"

  "Huh?"

  Huh?