The air was still in the apartment. The type of stillness that came not from silence, but from intent. Every breath was measured. Every word calculated. The FNCS semifinals were a week away, but for KyoZ3ro, Clix, and Horikita, the battle had already begun.
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Morning Routine: Structure Breeds Sharpness
Kyo's day began at 7:00 AM sharp. Horikita had set the alarm a few minutes earlier, just to get a head start preparing his breakfast. The smell of miso soup and freshly grilled salmon seeped into the air as sunlight cracked through the blinds.
Clix, still shirtless and yawning, walked into the kitchen. "You're gonna make the rest of us look bad, Horikita," he muttered, cracking a smile.
Horikita, without looking up from the stove, replied, "Then train harder."
KyoZ3ro entered moments later, towel slung around his shoulders from his cold morning shower. His eyes were already on the schedule Horikita had taped to the fridge.
Warm-up aim routines: 8:00–9:00
Arena grind (duos): 9:30–12:30
VOD review & analytics: 2:00–3:30
Gym & recovery: 4:00–5:30
Late night scrims: 7:00–10:00
The calendar was full, but so was their drive.
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Training Arc: Next-Level Micro Decisions
KyoZ3ro and Clix weren't just scrimming. They were redefining duo synergy. Kyo had started recording every scrim from both POVs and importing them into a custom software visualization tool that mapped heat zones, edit timings, and reaction delay.
"0.42 seconds," he muttered during a late-night review session.
Clix raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Your wall-to-ramp edit. You're 0.13 slower when it's reversed. It's subtle, but at high-level, it's a free punish."
They began running micro-drills: 1v1s with weird ping, 10-minute clutch simulations, storm pressure scrims. Clix stopped questioning. He just followed.
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Horikita's Role: More Than Support
While the boys trained, Horikita was the backbone. She kept the apartment spotless, scheduled their breaks, cooked proper nutrition-balanced meals, and enforced at least one mental reset activity a day.
She even started learning Fortnite terminology just to understand their callouts.
"You guys don't box fight. You play tempo games," she remarked after one session.
Clix was stunned. "Okay, she's cracked. Someone sign her too."
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Streams & Influence: Reaching the Masses
KyoZ3ro's streams had taken a surreal turn. His identity might still be obscured, but everything else felt human. Fans saw a boy focused, a genius at work, and more than anything—someone real.
One day, Clix and Kyo went live on a joint stream titled "Duos and Dumb Stuff."
They ran scrims, joked about loadout RNG, and even started rating viewers' locker skins.
Horikita, off-screen, walked by with a tray of matcha.
Chat exploded:
> "W HORIKITA" "Bro getting buff, smart, and spoiled??" "She's actually the secret MVP lol"
That night, the stream peaked at 98K viewers.
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Collaborations & Crossovers
Kyo started branching out—not just to other Fortnite pros but streamers from different games. He did a surprise Valorant duo stream with TenZ.
They won three games back-to-back, prompting TenZ to say:
> "Wait, you're insane for someone who lives in Fortnite. You sure you're not AI?"
He also appeared on a podcast hosted by SypherPK, where he talked about ego, structure, and discipline in esports.
> "Being cracked isn't rare anymore," Kyo said. "Being consistent? That's the miracle."
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Small Moments Before the Storm
The chapter closed quietly.
Kyo, Clix, and Horikita sat on the couch one evening.
Kyo had his laptop open, watching old FNCS footage. Clix was eating popcorn, occasionally heckling bad rotations. Horikita sat between them, reading a novel.
For just a moment, the grind faded. All that was left was peace, earned through focus.
Horikita looked at Kyo, then said softly:
> "You're not carrying this alone, you know."
Kyo didn't reply.
But he nodded.
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End of Chapter 17