Horizon: 22 – Seiryuu: 12
A ten-point lead.
In a game this fast, that was more than just numbers on a scoreboard—it was momentum, it was psychological pressure. It was the sound of Horizon throwing the first real punch of the tournament.
And the second quarter?
It was about to explode.
…
"That was a solid first quarter," Coach Tsugawa said, voice calm but charged like a blade kept under silk. "We're going to do exactly the same in the second."
The team nodded, chests still rising and falling from the tempo. Their sweat glistened under the lights like battle-scars earned, not just shed.
Sayaka moved among them like clockwork—towel in one hand, water bottles in the other. Her expression focused, yet gentle. A field medic in a war that didn't use guns, only grit and heart.
The players didn't need to say much.
They already knew: this was only the beginning.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side of the court, tension clung to the air like humidity before a storm.
