Fear doesn't always warn you of danger. Sometimes it teaches you how to see it everywhere. And lately, Ryoma has begun to feel that even something as simple as running under the rain carries that same uneasy edge, as if the world itself has started to look slightly wrong through his eyes.
He continues his roadwork alone in the rain, refusing to break routine despite the discomfort. Each step forward looks disciplined on the surface, but beneath it unease lingers.
The fear of repeating past failures begins to resurface, quietly pushing him to keep running even as everything around him feels uncertain.
He stops only when he reaches the edge of the road, waiting for the passing cars before crossing.
In that brief pause, somehow, his mind drifts back to his debut loss against Kazuya Tojo.
"The expectations were enormous."
"A two-time Interhigh champion stepping into the professional stage…"
"Yet in his debut, he was completely shut down…"
