Beside them, Aki and Reika hide their laughter behind polite hands, shoulders shaking. Then they clap along for Sekino, just out of mercy, trying to make his entrance look a little less pathetic.
"You know," Tanaka murmurs, voice half-drowned by the crowd, "the way things are going… Ryoma looks ready to be the next Japanese Champion."
Aki waves him off immediately. "Come on, that's too soon. He's not even ranked yet."
Reika chimes in, tilting her head slightly. "But my father said they're aiming for a title fight right after this one."
She says it so casually, so matter-of-fact, that it takes a beat for the words to sink in.
Tanaka and Sato freeze, mid-breath, their smiles slipping into disbelief.
The two exchange a glance, half shock, half calculation, the look of men who've just stumbled onto something far bigger than gossip.
Now the ring announcer's voice booms through the speakers, sharp and practiced:
