Nanami Cheiko is someone unfamiliar to me. 

As a member of Kang Sungjun's Class, the girl is not someone I have ever seen in passing during the past nine months, but with the first school year ending she is a sight I doubt I'll forget for the next few years. 

Her fiery red hair is a beacon as enters the ring, her pale skin even more so as she seems to shine an almost blinding white. If not her looks that captivated me, her accent was the second killer, a heavy Gaelic accent adding a note to the masked threats of her greeting but the lighter undertone of her Japanese heritage audible in certain syllables. 

Dressed practically in sportswear, her dark freckles seemed to mark the entirety of her skin as the thin yellow shirt hides few of the markings beneath, a tattoo of some sort peaks out from the collarbone of her left side and another from the ankle of both her socks. Nanami Cheiko is one of a kind, and not someone easy to forget. 

Our bought, due to start at 3:15 that afternoon is one of the last to take place before the winners are pitted against each other until only one remained standing. Only those who had won during their previous match were allowed to fight during this tournament, but as the rule only applied to first years, a little over half of the group has a little over a year to improve their combat skills, whether that makes them dangerous or arrogant we'll just have to see. 

Our badges are handed over to our judges, to be traded for gold if we win or returned if the match ends out of favor. While the small silver flower, DO identified as an Artemisia flower meaning dignity, is familiar to me, the crown of Cheiko's coin-sized badge was not one I had seen any of my victorious classmates showing off.

Undeniable winner, she'd said. Unlike my equally matched but still victorious fight, she'd decimated her opponent and broken their jaw, as well as a few fingers, information she'd supplied in an effort to psych me out and throw me off. Determined to not let it get to me I turn to the stands, forgetting my Warriors are not allowed to come and support me from the sidelines, the sudden feeling of isolation hitting as not a single face I recognize even smiles at me. 

Shaking my head I turned to where the other years are sat watching the single ring with little interest, a stark contrast to the small green gathering at the top of the first years, what looked to be Cheiko's entire class decked out in green and cheering for the only member of their class to be fighting in the final tournament. 

The contracts and waivers had been signed back in our classrooms that morning, so all that was left was to stand on our marks, bow to each other, and wait for the judges to ring the bell to begin. 

Watching the matches before ours, the tension was heavy between competitors, but in the ring, it's almost suffocating, seemingly stealing the breath from my lungs and making it thick enough to choke on. Even Cheiko, in all her unbothered glory, appears affected by the heavy atmosphere, a light shake in her hands and her tongue flicking out to her lips every few seconds.

Except for the class of first years, the rest of the school already wanted the match to be over and the day to be finished. Nothing but small mutterings and a light hum of mindless chatter muffled by the ring's shield could be heard, unlike previous champions who were cheered and screamed for. This day has been a long one and it shows.

But the near silence of the crowd makes the bell all that much louder.

I brace myself milliseconds before Chieko's fist collides with my arms, crossed over my face to protect my jaw from her iron fists and I spend the first minute blocking her relentless attacks, evading and maneuvering away from the boundary line as she throws fists and feet with little more than a second between each.

My lucky break comes when she slips slightly on the now sweaty floor, her momentum too far forwards for her to catch me as I spin, grabbing her wrist and pulling it behind her, locked in a hold that would dislocate her shoulder if she wriggles too much. For good measure, I kick the back of her knees, forcing her to kneel on the hardwood floor as I pull her arm tighter behind her, waiting for her pain threshold to be reached and her to tap out.

But such was not the case as she powers her way to standing once again and with a foot hooked behind my knee throws herself backward on top of me, forcing the air from my lungs as I hit the ground, head landing with an echoing smack as it hits the floor, a throb immediately starting as I am wrestled into a chokehold. 

Dazed and winded I stumble to my feet, airway partially blocked by her arm across my neck and my muddled brain can think of no other way to escape than tripping her forwards in a move identical to her own, locking my leg around her own and throwing myself to the ground on top of her as her hold slips and I land an elbow to her kidney, releasing the hold entirely as I scramble to the other side of the ring to regain my bearings.

The crowd, now alive once again is drowned out by my heaving breath as I attempt to regain composure and form a plan before Cheiko acts again. 

The medical staff hover at the edge of the ring only slightly to my left, looking as if they're readying themselves to bolt in and catch me if I fall. With a strained smile, I wave them off and risk a probe at the back of my head, pulling my fingers away to find a smear of blood and I wince at the sight. 

Lay is going to tear into me once I summon him again.

Cheiko launches herself again but I am prepared this time, ducking as she punches at my head and stepping slightly off to the side to deliver another round kick to her stomach, folding her in half and winding the powerful girl for just long enough as I launch my own attack at her face. Two consecutive punches, one of which something crunches under, followed by what is supposed to be my finishing blow, an ax kick to the back but I am blocked as she grabs my leg and rises to a standing position, a small dribble of blood streaming from her nose. 

Nine minutes. That's how long the timer says we've been going for as it flicke