By the time Hell Week reached its final stretch, every boy on Seiryō High's roster felt like their bones had turned to sand.
Muscles ached.
Knees trembled.
The gym felt like both a battlefield and a home.
They weren't ready.
But they were closer than ever.
And just as they started to feel something like confidence…
The outside world struck back.
Hard.
Yuuto woke up sore, fingers still stiff from endless drills. His whole body wanted to stay under the blanket — but something felt off.
A buzzing.
Multiple buzzes.
Hundreds.
His phone vibrated like it wanted to crack open.
"…What the…?"
He blinked and checked the screen.
69 notifications.
112 tags.
20 DMs.
10 missed calls from Marcus.
Yuuto's stomach tightened.
That could only mean one thing.
He tapped the first link.
A sports page.
Then another.
Then another.
Then another.
---
"HAKURO ACADEMY DESTROYS WESTERN PREP — RYU KAZEN DROPS 51 IN TWO QUARTERS… IN A TRAINING MATCH."
The headline screamed at him.
