The moment Kai spoke, the room shifted.
"I want to spar."
The words had already left his mouth. There was no taking them back.
A few students turned.
Not all. Just enough.
Enough to make it clear that he had stepped outside the expected flow.
One of the instructors looked toward Jin-Sensei.
Jin-Sensei did not respond immediately.
He stood still, watching Kai with the same unreadable expression as before.
Then he spoke.
"No."
It was not harsh.
It was not loud.
It was final.
Kai frowned. "Why not?"
"You do not understand what you are watching," Jin-Sensei said.
"I can learn by doing," Kai replied.
A few students nearby exchanged looks.
Mateo exhaled quietly through his nose.
Annoyed.
Luna remained still, observing.
Jin-Sensei stepped forward.
He stopped in front of Kai again.
"You cannot learn timing if you cannot see it," he said. "You cannot manage distance if you do not recognize it. You cannot score if you do not understand what a valid exchange is."
Kai held his ground.
"I'll figure it out."
"No," Jin-Sensei said again. "You will fail."
The word landed without emotion.
Simple.
Certain.
Kai felt his chest tighten.
Behind him, someone from Rhino Squad let out a short laugh.
Not loud.
Not exaggerated.
Just enough.
"Of course he will," another voice said quietly. "He doesn't even know how to stand."
Kai turned slightly.
Two older students stood a few feet away.
Seventeen, maybe eighteen.
More experienced.
More confident.
They were not even trying to hide it.
"He should go back to watching," one of them added. "Or leave."
Kai's jaw tightened.
He looked back at Jin-Sensei.
"Let me try."
The insistence was there now.
Pushing through.
Jin-Sensei did not respond immediately.
Instead, he turned slightly.
"Tiger Squad."
Mateo straightened slightly.
Luna shifted her weight into a more balanced stance.
Kai followed half a second later.
Jin-Sensei spoke clearly.
"Tiger Squad is the lowest-ranked squad in this club."
There was no hesitation in the statement.
No attempt to soften it.
Kai felt it settle immediately.
Lowest.
Around them, the reaction was subtle but obvious.
A few students smirked.
One from Viper Squad glanced over and shook his head slightly.
Another from Eagle did not even bother to look.
Indifference.
That was worse.
"Tiger Squad is inconsistent," Jin-Sensei continued. "Undisciplined. Unreliable."
Mateo's expression hardened slightly.
Luna remained calm.
Kai absorbed it.
This was how they were seen.
Not just weak.
Unstable.
"Tiger Squad is where students are placed when they do not meet the standards of the higher squads," Jin-Sensei said.
Leftovers.
The word was not spoken.
It did not need to be.
Kai felt it anyway.
He looked at the other squads again.
Eagle.
Viper.
Elephant.
Rhino.
Each one looked solid.
Defined.
Respected.
Then Tiger.
Three students.
Now four.
Jin-Sensei, male, thirty-eight.
Mateo, male, fifteen.
Luna, female, fifteen.
Kai, male, fifteen.
The youngest in the room.
Not all students were their age.
Some were older.
More experienced.
Seventeen. Eighteen.
They carried themselves differently.
They had already earned their place.
Kai had not.
Mateo stepped forward slightly.
His voice was controlled, but there was tension beneath it.
"Why is he here?"
Direct.
No hesitation.
Kai looked at him.
Mateo did not look back.
He was looking at Jin-Sensei.
"He slows us down," Mateo continued. "He doesn't know anything."
The words were not emotional.
They were precise.
Measured.
That made them worse.
Kai felt irritation rise immediately.
"I didn't ask to slow anyone down," Kai said.
Mateo turned his head slightly.
Finally looking at him.
"You don't have to ask," Mateo replied. "It's obvious."
Kai stepped forward.
A fraction.
Enough.
Luna spoke for the first time.
"Stop."
Her voice was quiet.
But it carried.
Both of them paused.
She looked at Kai.
Then at Mateo.
"He is here because Sensei placed him here," she said.
Simple.
Clear.
No argument.
Then she looked back at Jin-Sensei.
"That is the decision."
Jin-Sensei nodded once.
"Correct."
Mateo exhaled slowly.
Frustration contained.
Not gone.
Just controlled.
Kai looked between them.
This was not a team.
This was a structure.
And he was the weakest part of it.
He felt it clearly now.
Not just from the instructors.
From the students.
From the way the other squads looked at Tiger.
From the way Mateo reacted.
From the way Luna observed.
Tiger Squad was not respected.
It was tolerated.
Kai shook his head slightly.
"I shouldn't be here," he said.
The words came out before he could stop them.
Mateo's expression did not change.
"Correct," he said.
Luna said nothing.
Kai continued.
"I don't belong in the lowest squad."
That was the part that mattered.
Not that he did not belong.
That he did not belong here.
At the bottom.
Jin-Sensei looked at him.
"You do not belong in any higher squad," he said.
Kai held his gaze.
"I can improve."
"You can attempt to improve," Jin-Sensei replied.
A pause.
"But currently, this is where you fit."
The words were clear.
Precise.
Unavoidable.
Kai felt something tighten in his chest again.
Not confusion this time.
Not entirely.
Something sharper.
Rejection.
Not being placed at the bottom.
Being told he deserved to be there.
Around them, the gym continued.
Other squads resumed training.
But the tone had shifted.
A few students still watched.
Not openly.
But enough.
Tiger Squad was being observed.
Judged.
As expected.
Mateo stepped back into position.
Luna did the same.
Kai remained where he was for a moment longer.
Then he moved as well.
Into line.
Into place.
Into the lowest squad.
He looked forward.
At the other squads.
At the system.
At the structure that had already decided his value.
His jaw tightened.
He did not accept it.
Not fully.
But he understood it.
This was the only place he had been given.
The only place he might fit.
For now.