Ryoma tilts his chin slightly, eyes unblinking. "You're barely clinging to the bottom of the national contender list, Sekino. And you talk about teaching me a lesson. Maybe try teaching your juniors properly, so I wouldn't have had to teach them the hard way."
The words land like a blade drawn slow. Sekino's face stiffens; the muscle in his jaw jumps once, then again. For a moment, no one breathes.
But Sekino can't just argue now. Kanzaki's arrogance, the blind hungry pride that's been rotting his gym from the inside, is something he's seen himself.
Still, knowing that doesn't make the humiliation easier to swallow. His hands tremble, half from rage, half from the truth pressing down on him.
Kobo and Tsutomu shift uncertainly, glancing between the two men as if a single word might ignite the air.
The silence stretches, taut as a wire. Until then, headlights sweep across the curb, washing them all in harsh white as a taxi slows to a stop.
