Space and Time

The Waiting Game

A/N: The image in the header this week is the NCC logo! Only the official banners have "National Combat Championship" written out in full. I think the logo above that text is what they'd put on swag and merch. I played around a bit with some promotional images a while back but kept forgetting to post this one. So here it is now.

There he is. He thinks he can hide from me?

"Nathan! How ya doin'?" I slap Johnathan on the shoulder. He nearly jumps out of his skin. Oh, come on, I know he saw me coming from a mile away.

"Nathan? I thought you went by John," Justin says.

"Shouldn't you be prepping for your next match?" I ask Justin. Round Three starts in less than ten minutes.

"I'm allowed to chat with my NCC friends, Evren," Justin replies, exasperated. Now he's turning to Johnathan. "So? 'Nathan?' Care to explain?"

"Evren's literally the only person that calls me that," Johnathan says, throwing me a tired look that mirrors Justin's. I respond with an innocent expression. "It's not going to become a Thing, Evren, no matter how hard you try."

"Nathan's such a nice name, though," I say. Johnathan's got his head between his hands. Success!

"If this is some weird psychological shit you're doing before our match, you've gotta stop," he says. "Pretty sure it's illegal to intimidate your opponent before a match."

"You're intimidated by 'Nathan?'" I retort. Now Johnathan looks like he's ready to tear my head off. "Yes, good, hold onto that energy! You'll need it for the fight."

"You're insufferable!" he says, although I can see him grinning behind the bite.

"Good luck, dude," Justin says as he pats Johnathan on the shoulder. He's wearing an expression of pity.

Oh man, Johnathan's just too easy to tease. I should get out of here before I go too far.

I'm trying to suppress my giggles as I wave goodbye to the two boys and cross back over to the other side of the stage. I peek out from backstage and can see the crowd settling in. Maeva and Faith are there, sitting beside Iida.

"Ready?" Santeri's come up beside me and is looking excited. He's always had a soft spot for Johnathan.

"Always!" I say as I retreat back behind the backstage curtains. It's time to head up.

"In this ring today, we have a match we've all been excited to see." I hear Joe begin his usual intro and start stretching my neck and shoulders. "A fated rematch, between our Commander of Space, Evren Kinnunen-Mwangi..." The crowd cheers. "And our elusive Ghost, Johnathan Davis." The crowd cheers again, and their energy is pumping me up.

"I'll take this time to remind the competitors of the rules of this match," Joe continues. "The winner is the last person standing in the ring, unless a submission or draw is called. Keep this fight clean. Whoever wins grabs a point; the loser gives one up.

"Now... the moment you've all been waiting for..." Joe pauses for dramatic effect as the overhead lights shift onto the stage. "Fighters, onto the stage."

I step up to the ring. I see Johnathan across from me and he waves, throwing me a cocky eyebrow. I return the gesture.

"Please reveal the stage."

The ring buckles immediately and turns into an uneven lattice structure. Tiny holes the size of my foot between the lattices are marked out of bounds. The best approach to this stage is definitely going to include well-balanced takedowns.