The Charged Hallway (The Gold Vibe)
The atmosphere in Lincoln High wasn't just charged—it was stunned. Students parted for the nine athletes as they walked the main hallway, a collective unit of disciplined muscle and unbreakable confidence.
As a final, slightly silly show of unity, the entire crew was wearing their Lot Legends track jackets (which Date had ordered with their last bit of prize money), ignoring the school uniform code.
Toshiro (Walking with a straight back, his silver-medal anxiety evaporated): "They're staring. I actually think Rewan's crew just flinched when I looked at them."
Kenji (Adjusting his glasses, trying to look cool, but failing miserably): "Yeah, man. I heard the Thai gym teachers were talking about my Bronze-to-Gold conversion rate."
Yumi (Tired but radiant): "The only thing that matters is that my 10 km sprint time is now faster than Date's old time. Fatigue is dead."
Emi (Checking her watch, speaking in technical, soft tones): "Toshiro, calculate the leverage of your gold-winning jab. It had a 1.2 cm shorter pivot radius than your Nationals jab. That's a 3% kinetic energy efficiency increase."
Toshiro (Nodding seriously): "Excellent data, Emi. The gold jab is real."
Date, walking at the front, simply acknowledged the stares with a silent nod. He had achieved his mission: they were safe, disciplined, and strong.
School Conversations: The Whispers of Power
The shock of the students quickly turned into awe, and their whispered conversations centered entirely on the crew's gold-medal power output.
Two Freshman Boys (By the water fountain):
Boy 1 (Holding his phone, showing a clip of Riku's KO): "Dude, forget the NBA. Riku is the real star. He hit that guy so hard in the second round, the guy went out mid-fall. They're all walking around like they have steel rods for spines."
Boy 2 (Eyes wide): "Yeah, but check out Aiko's uppercut. It looked like a cannon fired from her waist. How is she even legal to box?"
Two Sophomore Girls (Whispering near the lockers):
Girl 1 (Fanning herself): "I know, but Sora is the technical king. That defense, that weave, that Round 3 final hook! He won gold by being the smartest one there."
Girl 2: "And Emi! She went all three rounds and still won by Unanimous Decision! She said her secret was extra knee strikes. I'm terrified of her."
The Teachers (In the lounge, watching the news footage):
Math Teacher: "Principal Nakamura, you should see this. All nine of our students swept the entire Thailand Open qualifier. Nine golds. They are calling them 'Japan's Iron Men.' What about the dress code?"
Principal Nakamura (Rubbing her temples, giving up the fight): "The jackets, Mr. Saito, are the least of my concerns. We are hosting nine international gold medalists. I will address the uniform violation after they return from the Asian Championships. Possibly."
The Fan Girl, The Gold Response, and Hana's Coup
Date stopped by his locker, finally pulling out his forgotten textbooks. As always, a small crowd materialized, including Mei, the star-struck upperclassman.
Mei (Voice trembling with awe, holding up a newspaper): "Daisuke-kun! You are seriously our Golden Legend! The way you used the Dempsey Roll feint in the final round! You hit 1600 lbs! You're like a beautiful, silent storm!"
Date (A genuine, tired smile spreading across his face): "Thank you, Mei-san. But the discipline belongs to all of us. The power is just a combination of 100 reps a day and knowing where to stand."
Mei (Totally missing the training aspect, sighing): "Oh, your humility! What is your secret? What's next for your incredible power?"
Date (Smiling wider, giving the honest, mundane answer): "The secret is simple: We never break the promise to train. What's next? Today? Physics, then dinner."
Just then, Hana rounded the corner. She saw Mei's intense admiration and Date's polite smile. The protective, gold-medal-winning Bantamweight saw a threat to her mentor's recovery.
Hana (Inner Thought - Activating 'Recovery Protocol'): Physics and dinner are secondary to immediate recovery! She is distracting his focus!
Hana moved with a sudden burst of speed. She grabbed Date's forearm with an iron-strong grip (forged by a thousand inverted rows) and yanked him away from the stunned Mei.
Hana (Dragging Date, her voice sharp and low): "Come on, Daisuke-kun! Emergency Glute Activation drill! Your glycogen levels are compromised! We must optimize your post-fight fascia!"
Date (Stumbling, his bag sliding off his shoulder, laughing despite himself): "H-Hana! Wait! My Glutes are fine! I need my bag! Where are you dragging me?!"
Hana executed a perfect Rodtang pivot to avoid a teacher and charged for the emergency exit, pulling the taller, heavier boy along with terrifying ease.
Hana (Dragging him through the emergency exit): "We're going where your focus won't be compromised by high school frivolity! Cry once, train twice, Daisuke-kun!"
The Funny Post-Match Scrutiny (Gag Movement)
The rest of the crew watched the sight of the Light Welterweight Gold Medalist being hauled off by the Bantamweight Gold Medalist.
Riku (Chuckling, leaning against the lockers): "She really did treat him like a heavy bag. Good leverage."
Aiko (Shaking her head, but smiling): "Hana's defense is still focused entirely on him."
Toshiro (Adjusting his glasses, speaking in a deadpan tone): "Technically, by dragging him at that speed, Hana is adding unpredictable resistance to Date's core, preparing him for the anti-gravity effects of high-altitude training. It's genius."
Kenji (His bronze-to-gold fire still blazing): "Genius! Wait, that means we should be doing it too!"
Kenji abruptly grabbed Toshiro's arm and began trying to drag the smaller boy down the hall. Toshiro let out a startled yelp as Kenji tried to execute a dramatic pivot, failed, and nearly crashed them both into a garbage can.
Toshiro (Struggling to break free, panicking): "Kenji! Stop! I'm not stable! I need my pivot radius calculated first! I need my gold jab!"
The Lot Legends were back, gold and all, and the endless, beautiful, and slightly ridiculous grind had already begun again.