Fk=μk · η

A/N: The beautiful new cover you see was designed by AFleetingDream_91, a.k.a. Larissa Chesser. You can see a picture of the old one in this chapter, made by the far less talented me.

It didn't truly hit me how much of a burden a lost arm is until now.

Quite literally.

Sofia is in the middle of tripping me for a takedown, and I extend my bad hand to catch my fall. Of course, it hurts like hell – even with the brace – and I find myself falling onto my shoulder quite unceremoniously.

Roll, Aika. Roll.

I don't need to look to stage left to know that Nevaeh is poised to run at me, to take me out of the fight, if I so much as pause for a second too long. I need to keep moving. This is the NCC. I can't lose.

All right, we've rolled, now we have to get up before Sofia comes at us again. No, not with that arm, Aika, you complete moron.

There we go. Now focus. Where is Sofia?

I look around the dark mist that surrounds me. I see several shadows around me, but I know that those could be the columns this stage is made of. I'm pretty sure Sofia's been hiding behind those while I dizzy myself spinning in circles. She's come in for a strike on my blind (and bad) side every time. I'm trying to keep track of where I am relative to the stage, but I know that with every hit, Sofia snaps me out of my concentration. She knows that I'm hypersensitive on my bad side right now. She knows that I'm particularly anxious about not getting more injured, about defending myself. She keeps gunning for my weaknesses and I'm starting to get disoriented. I'm relying entirely on the cheers and gasps to figure out which direction I'm facing at this point. Though, they're getting kind of warbly the longer I exert myself.

It's been many minutes since the beginning of the fight. I'm going to get worn out real fast if I don't do something about her soon. But she's been so precise. I've never seen her coming. My reaction time might be decent, but my accuracy isn't; I know this, she knows this, probably everyone knows this after seeing my last few fights. It's pretty easy to spot.

...Am I shaking?

Holy shit, I'm shaking. Why?

Is this... fear?

My body's sweating from the heat of movement but I'm frozen. My legs are rooted to the stage and the dark mist around me feels worse than my ice baths. Those at least make me shiver. This is just nothingness.

Was it stupid to keep going with the NCC? To keep charging forward? All my friends and loved ones supported me, sure, but hell, they weren't going to be the ones standing here in the black fog-void. They weren't the ones feeling the pain of the tearing of my muscles or being distracted by the flashing lights and buzzing ears my broken brain has conjured at the least convenient times. Was this all a bad idea? Should I call to submit? I still have time before Sofia knocks me into another hospital room. I have the chance to stop. I have the chance to save myself.

What. Do. I. Do?!

"Think about what you want. What you can do. What your opponent can do." I can hear Nevaeh's voice in my head. Even when she isn't yelling at me from the sidelines, she's yelling at me in my head, huh?

But, as always, she has a point.

I want to keep fighting. It's been my life, and the NCC has been my dream. If I lose this fight, I want to lose it because I lack the skill. I want to lose it because my opponent was better, not because I got cold feet. I never get cold feet, so why would I start now?

If the cold is slowing me down, then I have the perfect tool to speed things up. I'm in the NCC right now. I don't have time to be analyzing and reanalyzing what's going on in my fight. What I need to be doing is reacting. What I need to be doing is moving.

So move.

The chatter of the crowd is close behind me. That means that in front of me is ample stage space, and potentially a giant column. I can't see it. There's a black mist slowly floating around me, obscuring my vision. Sofia's figure. If I can't move, for fear of being injured either by Sofia or by crashing into a solid column, then I have to move something else.

I concentrate. I remember my fight with Gabriel, the sweat-water machine. I glare at the black mist in front of me and I will it to move. I feel the gravity around me drop and I feel the vibration of time itself.

Move faster.

The dark mist whirls and settles, like it would have if I had waited another 5 or 10 minutes. But I don't have that kind of time. Only a small part of it thins, but it's large enough for me to catch the light shining on my opponent's startled face.

Right jab.

Check.

The darkness disperses.

Check.

The countdown begins. My opponent clutches her head, dizzy. I approach her and kneel next to her. I poise myself for a finishing blow, to keep her down for the count.

3. 2. 1.

Checkmate.

"Damn." Sofia's voice is low and breathy. She pauses and locks eyes with me. "I should've guessed. You're one hell of a fighter, Aika." She laughs a bit. "Congrats."

The horn sounds. "Knockout, by Aika Inoue!" the announcer says.

That's it, Aika. You've done it.

The crowd goes wild.

"Holy shit, oh my God, Aika, you won!" Lev is immediately hugging me before I can even stop to wonder how he got on stage so fast. He clutches my shoulders as he pulls away. He's smiling brightly and I can't help but smile back.

"I won," I say. My heart skips a beat as I realize what I've just said. "Lev... I won!" Warmth bursts through my chest and I find myself squeezing a gasping Lev and shaking every hand that comes into my vision. "I won!" I can't help but repeat it. That's a five-streak win. Zero losses. A perfect run of the points fights. I am Division Champion.

"Aika!" Dad's suddenly appeared in my vision and gives me a hug too. His shirt sticks to me a bit and I think I've only just now realized I've been getting my sweat onto everyone. Oh well. They can deal with it. "Congratulations! I am so proud of you!"

"Thanks, Dad." I smile at him and catch Nevaeh running up behind him. "So, did I do good?" I ask her.

She beams at me, smiling her usual sly smile. "You did," she says. No sarcasm. No 'kind of's or 'but's.

"We've gotta tell Takumi, ASAP," Lev says. I see him pull out his phone. "Ooh, I'll tell him to buy you some cake."

I laugh. "More cake? We just barely finished the one you guys got me for my birthday."

"Are you telling me this isn't a cake-worthy celebration?" Lev claps back. I shrug in response. "That's what I thought! Listen, it's on me. I'll even make it another boring flavour so you'll actually eat it."

Yeah, honestly, non-sugar cookie cranberry bubblegum frenzy would be great. "I'm touched," I say sarcastically, though I kind of really mean it.

"Aika." Sofia is the next person to appear in my line of sight and shake my hand. "Congrats again."

"Thank you," I say. "That was a good fight. Not at all easy."

Sofia lights up. "Thank you! Really, especially coming from you. I've been low-key following you throughout the competition. I've been so excited to fight you."

It feels like my ears are going to fall off.

"Anyway, you're amazing, and I hope we can fight again sometime," Sofia continues. "See you at the awards ceremony. And, I guess, in the Battle Royale. I'll be sure to get front row seats for that. Hopefully they're not sold out yet."

This is... so sweet? "I, er... Shit, thank you." Wow, smooth Aika. I immediately apologize.

Sofia just laughs. "No worries. Honestly, it's nice to know you're human." She gives me a little wave and trots off stage. Looks like I didn't hit her too hard. That's good. Lev, Dad, and Nevaeh are still bumbling about around me.

"So, Aika, what next?" Nevaeh asks me. There's a twinkle in her eye that I know means more specialized training before my final battle.

A tiebreaker, if not the Battle Royale. The free-for-all insanity that pits all the Division Champions against each other for the title of Grand Champion. I'll be up against people twice my size. I'll be up against veteran Champions. I'll be up against the defending Grand Champion.

The Commander of Space.

"Maybe... I'll just take a shower first."

Nevaeh laughs at my response but doesn't object. "Go," Dad says. "Lev is still on the phone. We'll wait for you here."

I don't hesitate.

There are a few other people in the changeroom. Some I recognize as fighters in other divisions. Some I recognize from mine. Zuzanna's there. Evren isn't yet. Or maybe she already won her fight earlier and got changed. Or she just went home to shower, if she even broke a sweat at all.

Everyone's chattering about their most recent fights and the leaderboard. A few of them break to congratulate me and I return the favor. Then they go back to discussing stats. I honestly don't think I'm ready to tackle all that yet. I just won. I won. I'm going to ride that high for a while.

The water from the showerhead is soothing. It's a cool hug, a welcome hug, after the heat of the competition.

It's all coming to me now. The pride, the excitement. Five wins. I've wobbled a lot on my way here – honestly, probably more than Nevaeh appreciated – but I've made it. Somehow I've managed to fight through my injuries responsibly. Er, maybe not as responsibly as I should have, but still. I've made it out ok. I've learned. I've made friends. Even with the Commander of Space.

I can still see Evren's awkward smile from when we sat together at the local café. Next to the dazzling persona she put on when she first walked onto the NCC stage in the opening ceremonies, it's almost unbelievable. Meeting her has been life-changing; it's no wonder she's so loved by her fans. I'm her fan. And I'm also her friend. I don't forget to be grateful.

"You're strong." Evren's voice echoes in my head over and over.

There's a shuffling outside the showers. I now realize that I'm the only one still showering. How long was I lost in thought?

I should probably get out and get back to Dad and Lev. They've been waiting on me, and Lev gets antsy when he's bored.

I turn off the showerhead and grab my towel to dry off. I go to grab the clothes I hung just outside the curtain, but I grasp at nothing. Damn, did I forget my clothes in my post-fight haze?

I peek out from behind the curtain and notice them on the floor. They're soaking wet.

"Ugh." I can't help but groan out loud. I don't see anyone else around – they must have shuffled out while I was showering. Either I put my sweaty gear back on, negating the shower I just took, or I put this sopping wet t-shirt on and risk catching a cold in the cool air outside. I don't like either option.

I have to waddle around in my towel and ask Dad via text to pick up a change of clothes for me. If Nevaeh's still around, she can hand them off to me in the changeroom.

Hey Dad, sorry to make you wait. My clothes fell on the floor and are completely wet. Can you stop home to grab something? I punch out.

lol, ok. be back soon, he replies after about a minute.

This is pretty anti-climactic, waiting alone in the changerooms, wrapped in a towel, after becoming Division Champion. Maybe it's for the best? I bet Lev's chattering will be unstoppable once I get out of here.

...Did I just giggle?

I guess I'm still giddy from this whole thing. It feels like I'm just riding along inside my body. All of this is so surreal. It shouldn't be; I've won championships before. But there's something different about this one. There's something about having gone from nearly having Lev run over because of my obliviousness to using the figure that came out of that to win a national competition. I wonder if Evren felt this way when she won her first NCC championship.

A loud metallic clang nearly startles me right out of my towel. Is someone still in here? Maybe I shouldn't be lounging around in my towel; they might be waiting for me to change to leave.

"Is there still someone here? Sorry, I'm waiting for a new change of clothes," I call out. My voice echoes around the tiled changeroom. I hear a shuffling coming from one of the toilet cubicles. "It's just a changeroom. I don't mind being seen in a towel here," I continue.

There's a brief silence before a resonant voice answers me. "I'm sure you will."

The icy feeling that took me over in the middle of my fight against Sofia comes back full force. Every drop of water that falls from my hair onto my shoulders feels like a cold sting, a poison that's turning my body to stone.

The toilet cubicle opens and out come no fewer than seven people. I recognize one of them from the café Evren and I were at the other day. He's a fan of Evren's, if I remember right. What is he doing here?

"This is the women's changeroom," I hear myself say. My voice feels like it's on another planet. "It's clearly occupied and you should probably leave."

"Nah." The person who spoke earlier pipes up again. He's the tallest boy in the group, but to be honest, I'm more worried about some of the girls. They look rabid.

Am I... being jumped? "...What do you want?" I croak out. I still can't seem to move. I need to get out of here.

"Congratulations on your win," the boy continues. His voice is chilling, as much as the drops of water falling from my hair. "That's five wins, no losses, huh?"

I don't answer.

"That'd make you Division Champion. You must be pretty proud of clumsily punching your way through the competition."

"Evren's also coming out of the points tally with five wins, zero losses," one of the girls announces.

"That makes two Division Champions," the tall boy says. "And you're the newbie."

The realization hits me like a train. In the case of a tie, I'd assumed the tiebreaker would be a fight, if there even was to be a tiebreaker. If the NCC really wouldn't let both Evren and I be co-Division Champions, they'd have to break the tie somehow. It didn't occur to me until now that they might make the decision without a fight. Let the newbie have a shot and have the veteran submit.

Could I... beat out the Grand Champion without ever fighting her?

"It looks like you know," the café boy says.

"That means you should know why we're here," the tall boy adds. The group moves closer to me. "You've really run, Fast-Forwarder. Fast, too."

That phrase is familiar. "...What?" is all I can manage to get out.

"Evren got to where she is on talent and skill," another one of the girls says. "She's on another level. She's not going to let an injured newbie represent her division in the Battle Royale."

"Evren wouldn't jump me," I reply sternly.

The tall boy raises a brow. "You can't afford to get more injured than you already are if you want to keep your career," he says. "This is for your own good."

I suddenly remember Evren's hesitation. The worry. The constant asking about my injuries. The sheepish looks and sudden inability to meet my eyes after just a few training sessions. We were getting closer. But getting closer seemed to be exactly the thing that was making her nervous. Was it because she realized what she had done... too late? "But... no." I shake my head. "She wouldn't jump me."

"Would you back down on your own?"

No. I wouldn't. Evren knows that.

"That's what I thought." The tall boy suddenly charges towards me. I dodge his fist and clutch my towel as it threatens to fall off my body. I square up and prepare to defend myself before I realize something.

I can't lay a hand on these people. There are no cameras in here and no witnesses to defend me. If I so much as scratch them, they'll come for me. I'll be disqualified for violence against the audience.

Evren called me strong. She knows I'd hold my own against non-fighters.

Is that what she's relying on?

We need to run.

I barely dodge another fist as I turn to run out of the changeroom and into the hallway. I'm still only in my towel, but I'm not letting these people take away my dignity. I can hear the group pounding after me and I'm praying to any and all gods that I won't slip on the tiled floors in my bare feet.

I nearly slam into another body. I skid to a stop but lose my balance. I'm clutching my towel with my good hand and I know I can't use the other to stop my fall.

This is going to hurt.

...But it doesn't. I hit something soft and when I look up I see Hadley Theoharis holding me, looking completely bewildered. Before either of us can say anything, his dog starts growling.

My attackers stop in front of us, several metres away. They look between the two of us, their expressions twisted somewhere between anger, confusion, and hesitation. I scramble out of Hadley's grip easily and regain my balance as I stare the group down. The hallway is empty except for us and all I can hear is Hadley's dog's faint growling and my own panting.

"What's going on here?" Hadley's voice pierces the quiet. It's not the soft and unassuming tone of voice I heard in the grocery store.

The group doesn't answer right away and instead sizes us up. Eventually, the tall boy grumbles a "Nothing" before motioning for the rest of the group to follow him down the opposite side of the hall.

I suddenly feel soft fur brush up against my leg. I look down to see Hadley's dog next to me. I carefully bend down to pet him. As I reach my hand out, I can see it shaking.

"Hey, are you all right?" Hadley appears next to me, crouching and regarding me with concerned eyes.

I open my mouth to say "I'm fine" but what comes out is a garbled mess. Hadley isn't fazed and he reaches a hand out to steady me.

Me crying is the only thing that makes sense right now.