Aki still clutches her notebook, though the pages remain blank. She hasn't written a word since leaving Kirizume Boxing Gym. It's her first time riding back with a boxer after sparring, and the silence between them feels almost too fragile to break.
Most reporters she knows only hover around the surface; covering weigh-ins, bouts, and rehearsed press conferences. But this, catching a glimpse of what happens once the gym doors close and the cameras vanish, is exactly the kind of access she's been chasing.
"So, what happens now?" she finally asks. "Another meeting I'm not allowed into? A secret after-sparring party? Or do you just head back to the gym and call it a day?"
"Not exactly," Hiroshi answers, his voice low. Then, after a pause: "Before we go back… could you take a detour? There's a clinic near Suidobashi."
Ryoma stirs, raising his head just enough to glare sideways. "No, it's okay. No need for the clinic. I'm not made of glass."
