I hardly slept the rest of the night. I even tried freezing time to get a chance to get a full-night's sleep, but I ended up tossing and turning even longer. By the time that morning came, I looked and felt like absolute garbage.

  The bus ride offered no relief as everyone was full of energy and equally as loud. The second day would host the martial arts tournament as well as the tennis matches, the volleyball finals, and the basketball preliminaries. Of everyone, Denki was the most excited. The fire in his eyes seemed to heat the whole bus as we rode to the stadium.

  There was no ceremony between the opening and closing of the competition. Our group shuffled to the gymnasium to support Denki and Natsu in their match. Even Nina joined us on the second day, although she sat with Chika and Kaori. The matches were set up across the expansive mat-covered floor. Almost in unison, the whistles blew to begin the first rounds.

  Unlike the preliminaries, these matches were based on points, tap outs, ring outs, and knockouts. The victors enjoyed their points and continued competition while the defeated were sent on their way for any other competitions they would be a part of.

  Before us sat a battlefield. Blows were exchanged and bodies flew through the air. The chaos of grunts, thuds, and whistles was too much to bear. My head felt like it was being cracked open and split in two by a thousand gnawing hands. I couldn't even calm myself enough to use my ability.

  "I'm... gonna go for a walk," I said as I stood up trying not to sway.

  I failed miserably. Once I locked one leg, it buckled, and I nearly crashed back onto the seat. Everyone in our group was looking at me by that point. Hesitant, I slowly stood up again.

  "Kazu?" I felt a tug on my shirt. "Are you okay?"

  I smiled back at her. "I didn't get much sleep last night, and it's really loud in here. I'll be back soon."

  I quickly scurried out of the gym and onto the walkway connecting the buildings. The sun tried to hide its brilliance behind sporadic clouds. The city was still coming to life as I looked over it. The hustle and bustle of the stadium still droned in my head, but with a scene like I beheld, it was less painful to focus on.

  "You shouldn't lie to us like that," a voice said softly as someone leaned against the railing next to me.

  "Who said I was lying?" I struggled to reply. “I really didn’t sleep much.”

  A hand grabbed my collar and pulled me around. I stood there face to face with Nina. I could feel her hot breath as she exhaled through gritted teeth. Her hazel brown eyes seemed to glow as the sun hit them. I could have sworn her hair was between flowing and standing on its end.

  "You may think that you can bullshit all of us," she grunted. "But you're not fooling me. You don't get to drive us into the dirt before this competition then turn around and almost die on us before it's even halfway over."

  "What are you talking about? I stumbled a little, so what? I didn't sleep much last night, and my head was killing me in there."

  "Yeah, that's a sign that you're overworked, idiot," she responded. "You're completely disoriented, you barely made any sense when you finally said anything earlier."

  I fumbled around trying to push her away from me. "I said I'll be fine." I leaned in and whispered, "I'll freeze time tonight and get some extra sleep." When I pulled back, her face was red, probably from anger.

  "...he said..." she muttered as she looked down. Her fist was balled at her side and shaking.

  "Huh? What who said?" I asked.

  "...You're hearing things now. I said your powers scare me sometimes," she said as our eyes met.

  Her eyes were turning red and tears were forming at the corners. I reached to wipe them, but she pulled back and turned away.

  "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," I said quietly.

  "Just stop pushing yourself so hard," she replied quietly. "Idiot." She walked back into the gymnasium.

  Sometimes I swear she wants to kill me herself.

  A wave of pain hit my head like a truck, and I leaned back against the railing again. At the same time, my stomach felt like a twisted hunk of metal crushing my intestines. I hobbled to the bathroom where I sat teetering between emptying my guts from the top or the bottom. Neither ended up happening, and after a while, I emerged again.

  The feeling wasn't gone, but it was lessened. I slowly walked back to the gymnasium hoping I hadn't missed much. I was still unable to use my ability. Just before I crossed the walkway, I almost jumped out of my skin when my neck was frozen by something.

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  "I'm sorry, Kazuma," I heard a giggling behind me. "I couldn't resist. Orange soda?"

  I turned around to see Kaori offering the can. She had a smile on her face like Chika made when she teased me. In her other hand, she held her own melon soda.

  "Sure, thanks," I slowly took it.

  "Oh, hold on," she said as she took it back and opened it for me. "No point in straining yourself more than you already are.

  "I keep saying I'm fine, just—"

  "Tired? Yeah, no one buys that," she laughed. "Come on, gramps, I'll make sure you don't fall over." She took my arm in hers and pulled me along back to our group.

  "Welcome back, Kazu," Chika said with a grin. "I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost or fallen in."

  "What's with everyone and their jokes today?" I replied as I sat down. "What did I miss?"

  "Denki has been powering through opponents like it's child's play," Hiro responded, still staring at the matches.

  "I thought you wouldn't be interested much in this, Hiro," I replied.

  "I'm not the type to fight. You know this, but seeing Denki like this is... awesome. He looks so happy every match."

  "That's our battle junkie for you, I guess," Chika laughed.

  "I want to stay and watch," Rito chimed in. "But Ino's match is going to start soon, and it's a long walk."

  "I'll go with you," Kaori volunteered. "This is fun and all, but I don't want to miss my girl."

  I really hope his ability doesn't make that awkward.

  With a nod, the two of them left. The four of us remained glued to the matches unfolding in front of us. Finally, the semi-finals were slotted. Denki would face the girl that Natsu fought the day before while he would fight an opponent from Kishimoto Academy. Surprisingly, there weren't any from Makarov Academy in the first year category in the semi-finals.

  Knowing them, they're going to pay for it when this is over, even if they're not a part of the Prestige Program.

  The two matches took place simultaneously along with the second and third year semifinals. The fire in Denki's eyes could be seen clearly even from where we sat. Hiro was right: he was smiling ear to ear. The two of them bowed and took their stances. The referee held his hand up and blew his whistle. I wished that I could slow time to watch his work again.

  He closed the distance in a heartbeat, but —to everyone's surprise — she outmaneuvered him. Blow after blow rained down on our battle junkie, but he blocked and dodged all of them. What happened next could only be described as a dangerous dance between two powerhouses. She refused to give up a single opening, and none of her hits found their marks. We were completely in awe: there was someone that could evenly match Denki.

  The dance seemed to go on forever, to and fro, they flowed over the mat like waves caressing a beach. There were times that Denki was able to bring her to her knees or even to the mat, but she bounced right back up before he could do anything more. As we lost ourselves in their fight, I saw her face clearly. She wore the same smile that my best friend had: she was enjoying this as much as he was. Neither of them cared about winning, only the fight itself.

  Their match was ultimately called once the time expired. The referee frantically tried to catch up on tallying points. Not a word was spoken by either of them, but they smiled and shook hands without even knowing the result. Finally, he held up Denki's hand and declared that he had won by less than a handful of points. The three of us erupted in cheers, and his smile somehow got even bigger.

  On the other mat, Natsu had long since left victorious. His only goal was to fight Denki with everything, and everyone between them was both an obstacle and a lesson. The final match of the first years would be Toriyama's greatest rivals.

  The two of them stood like pillars opposing each other. Silently, all that was exchanged as the referee raised her hand was a nod as if to say "Leave it all on the mat." The whistle was blown, and they were within arms reach of each other almost before it fell out of her mouth.

  Unlike all of his previous matches, Denki didn't immediately try for a toss. I'm sure he knew that Natsu would be expecting it. The two of them threw strike after strike at each other, blocking the others as they did so. Denki maneuvered to Natsu's side with a fist, but he was hit in the gut instead. Natsu's elbow had moved, but it was Denki's own blow that hit him. With that, he swept Natsu's legs, and he hit the mat.

  The two of them rolled on the ground like two fish out of water. If one tried to stand up, the other would keep him down. Locked in combat, neither seemed to notice how close they were to the edge of the ring, or so it seemed. With Natsu loosely above him, it would have been too easy for Denki to shift him off for a ring out. Instead, he shifted him further into the ring, and they continued to fight for control.

  Their match caught the attention of the entire gym, since they both had been rattling the walls throughout the tournament. Cheers came from all around them as their match entered its final seconds. With enough control, Natsu went for an arm bar, but Denki kept his arm bent just enough to keep him from it. The two struggled all the way until the referee blew the whistle again to end the match. The cheering before was dwarfed by what came after it was over.

  The two referees debated over the results as the two competitors smiled and laughed. As before, it seemed that neither of them cared about the result. Even as they were announcing the results, they made faces at each other.

  "The winner of the first year martial arts tournament is Fujimori Denki of Toriyama High School!" declared the referee as she held up Denki's hand.

  Despite losing, Natsu was all smiles as well. The girl from Mashima High stepped onto the mat, and the three of them were awarded their medals. After the fastest bow I've seen, the two of them ran up to us.

  "Check it out, everyone," Denki started. "Not bad, huh?"

  "I'm proud of you, buddy," I smiled and patted his shoulder. "You did well."

  "Thanks to you and your training."

  "Don't think you're safe, blonde," Natsu remarked. "The higher you soar, the greater the crash."

  "Talk all you want, mop top," Denki replied. "You enjoyed that match as much as I did."

  "Zip it," he laughed.

  "Oh shit! Ino's match!" Denki yelled after he saw the time. "We need to run!"

  Always on the move.