Hearts on The Court

The ball soared through the air.

Yuuto barely hesitated before setting it up—a perfect toss to their ace.

The gym fell silent as the spike cut through the air, slamming onto Seiyo High's court.

Right inside the line.

The referee's whistle shrieked through the air.

Match point. Misaki High wins.

For a heartbeat, there was nothing but silence.

Then—chaos.

The Misaki High bench erupted, players rushing onto the court, cheering, shouting, celebrating. The sound of sneakers pounding against the floor, the elated yells of teammates, and the roars of the crowd filled the air.

Renji exhaled, his entire body trembling from exhaustion. His knees felt weak, his arms ached from the countless digs he had made—but none of that mattered.

Because when he looked up at the scoreboard, he saw the final score.

25-23.

They had won.

A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

---

Kenjiro's Reaction

As both teams lined up to shake hands, the energy in the gym shifted.

Seiyo High's players looked shocked. Frustrated. Defeated.

Kenjiro Morita, however, was different.

He wasn't sulking. He wasn't fuming. Instead, he stood tall, arms crossed, analyzing.

When he reached Renji, he stopped.

For a long second, he simply stared.

Renji braced himself for another insult. Another taunt.

Instead—

Kenjiro scoffed. "Not bad."

Renji blinked. That was… unexpected.

Kenjiro smirked. "Didn't think you had that last dig in you."

Renji quickly regained his composure. "You weren't bad either."

Kenjiro's eyes gleamed with something sharp—determination.

"Next time," he said, voice filled with promise, "I'm breaking through that defense."

Renji's grip on his jersey tightened.

Next time, I'll be even better.

---

Emotional Closure

Back on Misaki High's side, the celebration was still going strong.

Yuuto walked over to Renji, his usual confident smirk softened. "Nice read."

Renji, still processing everything, just nodded.

He didn't need to say anything.

Yuuto's words meant trust.

And that was enough.

Asuka suddenly popped up beside them, grinning. "Took you long enough to figure it out."

Renji's face turned red.

He looked away, flustered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I-It wasn't that long…"

Yuuto snorted. "Yeah, sure."

Renji scowled at him, but before he could say anything, Asuka linked arms with both of them.

"Come on," she said brightly. "Coach is probably waiting."

Renji glanced between them—Yuuto, who had finally started trusting him, and Asuka, who had been there the whole time.

For the first time, he didn't feel like a background player.

He wasn't just the guy picking up loose balls anymore.

He was their foundation.

Their anchor.

And as they walked off the court together, exhausted but victorious, Renji knew—

This was just the beginning.

---

End of Chapter 27

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To Be Continue