The third bell rang with a heavier sound than the first two.
Not louder—heavier.
Narumi rose from his stool immediately, rolling his shoulders as if trying to shake something loose. His breathing was rougher now, chest expanding deeper with every inhale. Sweat darkened his hairline, trickling down the bridge of his nose.
Across the ring, Jin stood more slowly.
Not tired.
Measured.
Coach Kagawa's words echoed in his mind.
He'll feel it.
Narumi moved first again.
But this time, his pressure carried urgency.
He stepped in behind a hard jab, then another, forcing Jin to react quickly. Jin slipped the first, blocked the second, but Narumi didn't pause. A hook followed, then a straight to the body, punches flowing tighter than before.
Jin absorbed what he had to.
The body shot dug in deep, drawing a sharp breath from his lungs.
The crowd roared.
Narumi stayed on him.
This was the round he planned to break things open.
Narumi cut off the ring cleanly, steering Jin toward the ropes with practiced efficiency. Jin slid laterally, but Narumi's feet were already there. The space closed fast.
Too fast.
Narumi fired a compact combination—jab, hook, body.
The hook grazed Jin's temple.
The body shot landed solid.
Jin felt it.
The pressure everyone talked about wasn't loud or violent.
It was suffocating.
Narumi leaned in, crowding Jin's space, forcing him to respond now.
Jin didn't retreat.
Instead—
He stepped.
Not back.
Not sideways.
Through.
For a split second, Jin's feet crossed as he moved diagonally inside Narumi's advance, slipping past the narrow gap Narumi didn't realize he'd left behind.
The crowd gasped.
Narumi swung where Jin was.
Nothing but air.
Jin reappeared at Narumi's flank, already turning, guard tight, balance perfect.
Coach Kagawa's eyes sharpened.
"There it is," he murmured.
Jin struck.
A short left snapped into Narumi's guard, immediately followed by a right that pierced straight through the center. Not wide. Not heavy.
Exact.
Narumi stumbled half a step, surprised more than hurt.
Jin didn't chase.
He moved again.
Pressure followed him—and failed to catch up.
Narumi adjusted quickly, turning, trying to reestablish control of the ring. He advanced harder now, frustration creeping into his movements.
Jin let him.
Every step Narumi took forward, Jin answered with that same diagonal slip—never the same direction twice, never predictable. He wasn't escaping pressure.
He was ghosting through it.
The crowd began to buzz.
"What is that footwork—?"
"He's not backing up!"
Narumi swung again, faster, wider.
Jin was already gone.
Narumi growled and surged forward, abandoning patience.
A mistake.
Jin felt it immediately.
As Narumi committed to a heavy right, Jin stepped into the punch's blind spot, slipping past the shoulder and firing a tight combination to the body—left, right, left—each punch snapping with sharp intent.
Narumi grunted as the shots sank in.
Jin finished with a short uppercut that clipped Narumi's chin cleanly.
Narumi staggered back a full step.
The arena erupted.
Narumi didn't fall.
But something had shifted.
His eyes were different now.
Focused—but wary.
From the corner, Coach Kagawa spoke calmly.
"That step," he said. "Don't force it."
Jin nodded, breathing steady despite the burn in his ribs.
Narumi advanced again, but this time, there was hesitation.
Just a fraction.
Jin saw it.
And moved.
The Phantom Step didn't look dramatic.
No sudden burst.
No exaggerated motion.
Just perfect timing, angle, and trust in his feet.
Narumi swung.
Jin vanished from the line of attack.
And answered.
A sharp jab snapped Narumi's head back.
A right followed, landing flush on the cheek.
Narumi's legs dipped.
The bell rang.
Round three ended in chaos, the crowd on its feet, noise crashing over the ring like a wave.
Narumi returned to his corner breathing hard, eyes narrowed, replaying the round in his head.
"That step…" he thought. "He's not running."
Jin sat on his stool, chest rising and falling, eyes calm.
Coach Kagawa leaned in.
"Now," he said, "he knows."
Jin nodded.
The Phantom Step had appeared.
And the fight would never be the same again.
END OF CHAPTER
Author's Note:
Round Three is where things turn.
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