The Unusual Newcomer

"She's a handler of time, folks. A fast-forwarder."

A what?

I almost completely spin my head around to get a look at who this girl could possibly be, but I stop myself mid-turn and act like I've just changed directions waving at the crowd. No need to be overdramatic. I catch the eye of a little girl in the audience – so cute, she's wavin' back at me – but I also notice that 'most everyone else is staring at a point to my left. Behind me. At the newcomer at the front of the lineup.

We haven't gotten someone with a new figure in years. Not since me, anyway. And I've been holding the grand championship title for that whole stretch of time. A new figure could well knock me out this year.

I'm curious.

I smile, maybe a bit too hard in my excitement, but whatever, and I finally turn to face the competitors in my weight division. The polite thing to do would be to acknowledge the returning veterans, my peers, but I can't take my eyes off her.

Aika Inoue. She's got on a completely composed expression. Dark hair's neatly tied back in a pony, and she's so ordinary-looking I'm baffled. She could've come in here flauntin' her fancy figure like nobody's business, but she's... not flaunting anything.

If her strategy was to stun us, she's doing a good job. I can see some of the others looking at her nervously. They must be thinkin' what I'm thinkin'. Where did she come from? What's her history? She seems young. How did I miss her? She's just standing there, totally cool, totally confident, dressed in all-black athletic wear that's honestly sleek enough to look semi-formal.

She radiates decisiveness.

What a cool person, I definitely need to chat with her when I get the chance.

"...wonder if this will challenge the undefeated streak of our esteemed Commander of Space..." Joe's still going with her introduction. Now everyone's looking at me. I gotta stay composed, so I keep smiling, but I honestly can't help the intense staring. I'm curious and rattled and, all in all, distracted. She's your competitor, Evren. She could knock you out of the championship.

We're doin' some hardcore research when I get off this stage.

Joe finishes introducing the Lightweights, and then the Middleweights, Heavyweights, and Super Heavyweights. I'm surprised to see Justin in the mix; I thought I did a number on him in the Battle Royale last year. Guess he's healed up.

"That's it for our competitors aged 18 to 24! This is our largest group by far. Let's give them a hand as they make room for our 25 to 35 Adults," Joe says as he waves us off stage. I take the lead as he repeats himself in French and I bound down the steps before heading behind the curtains to the back. I must have brushed past the curtain with a bit too much gusto, because Maeva immediately greets me with a raised eyebrow.

"Whoa, what's got you so excited?"

I see Faith chattering away behind her with Santeri, who looks like his patience is gonna blow soon. I hold up a finger to let Maeva know I've heard her but need to postpone a response, and I grab Faith to save my poor uncle from her merciless babbling.

"...and-! Hey! Evren! Oh my gosh, did you see that Aika girl? The newcomer? No, don't answer, of course you did, you notice everything." She continues babbling as I drag her back towards Maeva. "How exciting is this? Oh, man, I would kill to see a match between you two-"

"Faith, chill, you're gonna give someone an aneurysm," Maeva says before I can even open my mouth to respond.

"Right, sure, so Evren!" Faith continues rapid-firing her speech, completely missing Maeva's point, "Give us the deets! What's her story?" I laugh a little at Faith's enthusiasm - it's always endearing - but now I'm looking away sheepishly. I have no idea how to answer.

"She's as much a mystery to me as she is to you guys," I say hesitantly. "It looks like she's a first-year tryout; I didn't see her in the previous qualifiers but I missed this year's. She must've passed on her first go."

"Fresh blood," Maeva says ominously. I give her The Look but she just shrugs.

"All right, well, I'm gonna go talk to Santeri. You two sit tight for a bit," I say as I wave and not-so-casually step out of our conversation circle to search for my coach.

"Ugh. Famous people." I can hear Faith being her typical dramatic self – poor Maeva – as I spot Santeri talking to Emily's coach. Emily's moved up this year to the 25-35 division, hasn't she? Bummer, she was always a great opponent. Ah, there we go, looks like they're done talking. Time to slip into Santeri's line of sight.

"Heeey~!" I slide in front of my uncle as he turns in my direction.

"Evren, I see that attention is making you giddy again," he responds calmly. Hey, who doesn't love attention? It's my favourite thing, seeing other people so excited to watch me do one of the things I love most in the world. Sharing is great. "I spoke with Emily's coach. He wished you well."

"I'll have to drop by one of her matches and say hi." I make a mental note to not forget to do that. "Hey, so, there are a couple new competitors in my division this year. Know anything about them?" I ask.

"Hmm," Santeri thinks for a minute and I wave at the administrators as they pass through the backstage area, en route to who-knows-where. "Sofia is Justin's younger sister. She failed the qualifiers last year, but she made it in well this year."

"Whoa, now that's sibling rivalry! Competing in the same age division, too, that's somethin' else. What about Aika?"

"Aika." He pauses. Oh man, does he not know anything about her either? "Boxer." I stand corrected. "She is a brand new newcomer. Youngest competitor this year." I knew she seemed younger than everyone else.

Before I can drag more information out of him, Santeri's wife, Anni, comes out of nowhere, says hi, and then starts chatting with Santeri excitedly about something in Finnish. I guess I'm dismissed from this conversation for now. Back to the girls; I've left Maeva alone with Faith for too long.

"Why am I even friends with you guys? You're both so dramatic; it's exhausting," I hear Maeva saying as I jog back over to their corner.

"How am I dramatic?" I protest as I come to a stop beside them.

Not missing a beat, Maeva continues. "Doing the electric slide to get your uncle's attention just now wasn't dramatic?" She has a point... but hell if I'm gonna admit it.

"You love us anyway," Faith says matter-of-factly. Maeva sighs and rolls her eyes, but she's smiling. She's so full of it. Faith changes the subject quickly, as usual. "Hey, Evren, I know you're the bigshot 'Commander of Space' or whatever, but do you really have to stay for the whole opening ceremony? They've got so many divisions to go through." Here we go, I was wondering when Faith's complaining was going to start. I give her a sympathetic look.

"They're already halfway through the 25 to 35s," I answer as I tune in to Joe's amplified voice. "And the older divisions don't have as many competitors. We'll be done soon, just be patient. And besides, I'm not just a trophy to parade around, I have actual lines I need to say to keep my sponsorships running through the competition. I don't wanna go broke." Faith exhales loudly and continues grumbling to herself. Right as I'm about to shoo her over to the water station to chill out, one of the administrators comes behind the curtain and calls me over.

"We'll have you back up once the introductions are done, to close off. I'll come grab you when it's Go Time so just make sure you keep near the curtains. This area's going to fill up fast with competitors," he says. I give him a thumbs up and beckon my friends over with a jerk of my head as he shuffles back out.

"I've been ordered to stay put until they call me up to close. I figured you'd be thankful for the company in the meantime," I inform them as they saunter over.

"'Thankful?' Your title's really gettin' to your head. You sure you don't wanna ditch us to give out autographs to your fans?" Maeva teases me. I swat at her dismissively and keep an eye on everyone coming through the curtains. I'll have time for autographs later.

I haven't seen Aika, now that I think about it. I must've missed her while I was chatting with Santeri. I'll have to catch her on the way out. Faith's at it again, rambling about all the different competitors and whose fights she's most excited for. Of course, Aika and I top her list. I'm pulling out my phone. Aika just won't leave my head. Obviously whatever Supreme Being is in charge of my destiny is giving me signs to just look Aika up. All right, where's my internet app? If it wasn't so loud here I'd just yell at Googol, it'd be a lot faster. Ok, Aika... Inoue... boxer... Search.

"Huh," I say aloud as I read through the search results and article previews.

"What? Don't get another meme?" Maeva nudges me playfully but I'm going to respectfully ignore her.

"Aika," I say, keeping myself on track. "She's a professional."

"Well, yeah. She's in the NCC. Everyone's a professional," Faith says as she comes closer to peer down at my phone.

"No, I mean professional. She doesn't fight in the amateur ring, she's a professional boxer."

"Whoa, at 18?" Faith's gotten to Aika's personal info, partway down the page of search results. "Dang."

Before I can continue internet-stalking the Fast-Forwarder, the administrator who talked to me before shows up and tells me it's Go Time. I pocket my phone and walk out on stage. I'll do more research later.

I don't see Aika at closing. Everyone shuffles out in a huge crowd and it's impossible to spot anyone in particular. I decide I'll have to try again another day and I say goodbye to the administrators and the fans who stayed behind to chat with me. Maeva and Faith wish me good luck and head out to walk home, and I hitch a ride with Santeri and Anni. I do more internet research on Aika from the back of the car, and what I find I can't believe.

"She has national titles!" I practically yell at Santeri, who's in the passenger's seat directly in front of me. "Youth Featherweight Open Boxing champion three years in a row, National Youth Flyweight MMA champion two years ago... How did I completely miss her?"

"Evren, you can be quieter, we are not surrounded by noise anymore," Anni twitters.

"Sorry. I just... can't believe this! How did I miss such a big name? I've never been so surprised in all my years in the NCC."

Santeri laughs. At me, I think. "'In all my years!?'" Yup, he's definitely mocking me. "The NCC has had surprises before. It is normal. You and Aika competed in different rings. Boxing and Kung Fu never go together, except within Mixed Martial Arts competitions."

"I did MMA, though."

"Yes, in the Elite division. Aika competed in the Youth championship." Oh, right, age difference.

"Ok, so I might have an experience advantage, but what about her figure? Time manipulation? Like, how the hell am I supposed to counter that?"

Santeri turns around in his seat and gives me a look of mixed amusement and concern. "You are worried about fighting her," he states, more than asks. I think for a second. I guess I'm worried, but I'm also just... interested. Who wouldn't be? I don't know anybody else with a space figure. She probably doesn't know anybody else with a time figure. Novelty's eye-catching, right? And it's not like she'll pull all my sponsors from me if she wins; I have an established career. Maybe I've just gotten comfortable with my winning streak. This feeling of uncertainty is new. I don't know what to expect.

"Yes and no," I answer truthfully. He gives me a look that's a cross between confused and entertained before turning back to face forward. He and Anni have a short exchange in Finnish before Santeri addresses me again.

"Don't worry," he says. "We train tomorrow."

I sigh and put my phone away. Now I'm just watching the shadows of the houses in this suburb whizz by. It's been a long day. Santeri's always got my back. Anni too. And it always warms my heart. But, it's not them who're gonna be in the ring with the Fast-Forwarder.