This can't be real...there's no way that this message is for real. Right? You know what, forget it, I-I'm just gonna pretend that I never saw it, I'm not emotionally-equipped well enough to deal with this crap.

I was currently on a shuttle bus, on the way to a Teleportation Point to get to the stadium...and people keep staring at me. I mean, I get it, I won the X-Warrior Championship, that's a really big deal in the Sanctuary, it's literally the most popular event we've got.

It's more popular in the Sanctuary than the Olympics were in the world before WWIII, to put it into perspective. And yeah, while there are sports tournaments and stuff too, they're not all that popular since regular sports have kinda lost their appeal to the masses since literal super powers are a thing now.

"Um...excuse me."

Hm? Is someone talking to me?

I looked up from my seat, to see a little kid standing by my seat, a small boy...I think. Sometimes it's hard to tell the gender of little kids. I'm not used to dealing with kids...

"Oh, uh...can I help you?" I replied uncertainly.

"Um, yeah, if you don't mind...could I take a selfie with you, please!?"

Huh? I'd really rather not...but I respect that this kid gathered up the courage to come talk to a stranger despite obviously being on the timid side. Especially since my own social skills were basically garbage until recently, I suppose I can give in just this once.

"Sure, that's fine, I guess," I relented with a quiet sigh.

Oh, yeah, since I-Watches are used instead of smartphones now, they also have built-in cameras, so you kinda have to point the top of your wrist at yourself to take a selfie, so most people tend to just remove it when they want to take a picture of themselves.

Wait, what kind of expression should I have? To say I'm not used to taking or being in selfies is an understatement. As the kid began to take the picture, I blanked out and impulsively put up a peace sign and an awkward smile.

"Thank you so much!" Beamed the kid with a bright look on his(?) face.

"Right, uh, sure."

Huh, he was that excited over a stupid picture like that? Seriously, I couldn't have looked more awkward if I'd tried. Uh-oh, looks like some of the other people on the bus were considering following in that kid's footsteps...time to put up my defenses!

I swiftly took out my earphones and connected them to my I-Watch, before putting them into my ears and closing my eyes...I was deliberately not very subtle about that, so hopefully the rest get the message and stay away from me...tch, how much longer till my stop...?

...

I let out a sigh of relief as the bus finally reached my stop, I quickly disembarked and headed for the entrance of the Teleportation Point without looking back...I don't like all this attention one bit, I really hope it all dies down soon...at least, that's how it usually works.

Whoever wins the X-Warrior Championship gets really popular and a ton of attention for a while, trending on social media and stuff, but it only lasts a few weeks, and after that, they're basically forgotten. I don't even remember who the X-Warrior who won last year is.

But I think I have cause to be worried that it might not be the same this year...let's think about the facts. I'm the first student to ever win the tournament, before this no other student even made it past the quarter finals. And that aside, no doubt I caught a lot of attention with the reveal of my Anomaly powers, having pretended to be a regular Paragon all this time.

And I watched some of the footage from my fights, my latter stage matches were all highly thrilling encounters from the perspective of a viewer, so I doubt I'll be forgotten as easily as most of the previous winners.

And just to clarify, this isn't me boasting, because all of this is horrifying for me, I enjoy being able to fly under the radar, as I had been doing for a while now...but that's no longer a possibility, I don't think.

This is the absolute worst...

...

With about half an hour to spare, I arrived at the stadium. Except for the bonus exhibition match against an Ace that I get to fight in, I'm not looking forward to this at all.

The first couple of hours are going to be interviews and stuff, starting with the competitors that ended up in the bottom half of the top sixteen, followed by top eight and then the top four, and then concluding with the runner up and winner.

Ugh, that means Yugi is probably going to be here too...great. I let out a sigh as I walked up the stairs and strolled through the entrance, the security guards letting me in immediately, after barely a glance at my face...okay, not gonna lie, that felt pretty good.

I then headed for the waiting room and entered as I reached it, shutting the door behind me as I walked in. Sakura and Katie were already there, and to my surprise, so was Jane...

"Thought the interviews were only for those who finished in the top sixteen or higher...pretty sure you didn't make the cut when you, you know, lost to me," I remarked tauntingly.

"Tch, fuck off."

"Feel like I've been seeing your face non-stop since yesterday," Remarked Sakura, as I walked over to her and Katie, "I can't go online without seeing a cascade of posts about you."

"Not my problem," I responded with a weary sigh.

"Oh, yeah, you've got bigger things to worry about...so, the two of you went out on a date yesterday, huh-?" She began teasingly.

"Bitch, you were there, don't act like you don't know the story," I cut her off with a huff.

"Someone's grumpy. But, heh, yeah, I figured it out pretty much as soon as those pictures of you two eating together started going viral," She replied sheepishly.

"I just hope they don't ask about that in the interviews," Sighed Katie, looking kinda stressed out.

"Just brush them off or directly say that you don't want to talk about it," I suggested, before wondering, "Huh, can I sue the people who took our picture without permission? Finding them shouldn't be too hard."

"Actually, since you were in a public space, it wasn't illegal, so-...wait, were you actually seriously considering it?" Inquired Sakura incredulously.

"Well, yeah, all the attention is annoying," I replied in exasperation.

"But if you make a big deal out of it, you'll just attract more attention," She pointed out.

"Tch, you've got a point...and I don't like that. Fuck you."

"Okay, chill, dude."

"I agree with him...I don't like the attention or the questions," Spoke up Katie in agreement.

"So, what are you two gonna do if the reporters ask you about yesterday and whether something's going on between you two?" Inquired Sakura curiously, "And incidentally, I'd also like to know the answer to that question."

"I'm not above telling them to fuck off if they start to annoy me," I responded, after mulling it over.

"And nothing is going on between us, we're friends and teammates," Added Katie.

Huh, don't know why, but someone bluntly referring to me as their friend is kinda...embarrassing. But not in a bad way.

"On another note, do you know which Ace you'll be fighting, Kilzachs?" Asked Sakura, changing the subject.

"No, not yet. But whoever they pick for me to go up against, it won't be an easy fight...well, unless I use everything at my disposal, I suppose."

I personally know four of the ten Aces, my sister, Kumar, Johan and Zarina...and as for the other six, I know a fair bit about their abilities, except for the other Ace Anomaly.

"Huh, I'd have thought that they'd have told you by now," Remarked Sakura in surprise

"Nope, I haven't been informed of anything regarding my opponent for the exhibition match. Though I doubt it's going to be either of the Anomalies among the Aces," I surmised.

"What makes you say that?" Inquired Katie.

"Well, because both my semi-final and final opponents were both Anomalies, and battles between Anomalies aren't as flashy as Prodigies are, so it just makes sense from a broadcasting point of view. Huh, actually, I guess you're the exception to that flashy rule, since your powers are literally the powers of Prodigies," I said to Sakura.

"I guess the more relevant question is...do you fancy your changes of beating the Ace that's pitted against you?" Inquired Sakura with a slight smirk and raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I can definitely beat them...no, the real question should be this...can I beat them while sticking to the handicaps I've set on myself?" I responded with a smirk...

_____________________________________________

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