Recap: I'll break you in front of everyone."
She brushed past, leaving Rika frozen, chest heaving, adrenaline flooding her veins.
Rika swallowed hard, her whole body trembling. She should have been afraid.
But instead… she felt alive.
The sun rose slow and golden over the Academy stage complex, but inside Team 12's dorm, it felt like dawn hadn't come at all.
No one talked much that morning. Not because they were angry but because this silence was different. It was the kind that came before the lights hit, before the world watched.
Kana double-checked their setlist with military precision, fingers tapping against her tablet. "Mic checks at 10:30. Call time eleven. We'll hit the pre-stage warmup right after."
Akari stretched lazily on the couch, earbuds in, pretending she wasn't vibrating with nerves. "God, I hate mornings that smell like destiny," she muttered.
