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THE DIM LIGHTING OF THE GYM CAST LONG SHADOWS ACROSS THE MATS as the captains' training session got underway. The atmosphere was heavier than usual, charged with the weight of unspoken tension. Kim Da-eun's sharp eyes roamed over the room, her presence as commanding as ever as she barked out orders.
"This is your final test of teamwork," Kim announced, her voice slicing through the air like a blade. "A captain is only as strong as their team, and tonight, we see if your team can make you stronger."
The rest of the students, not selected for the finals, moved in sync to assist their captains. Some held pads for striking drills, others guided warm-ups, and a few prepared blindfolds for reaction training. It was an evening designed to hone every skill to razor-sharp precision.
But y/n didn't buy it.
As she knelt beside Kwon, tightening the wraps around his hands, her mind flickered back to earlier that day...
Y/n had been grabbing her hidden bar of chocolate near the lockers when she heard the low murmur of voices from a shadowed corner of the gym. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but the urgency in Sensei Kim's tone caught her attention.
"Do you have any idea what you've done, Nichols?" Kim hissed, her arms crossed as she loomed over Tory.
The blonde's shoulders were tense, her head bowed slightly, but Kim's voice was steady as she continued talking. "Zara Malik is tough and agile, but I doubt she's ever had to break rocks with her fists."
"That's not the point," Tory mumbled, her voice almost too soft to hear. "Being captain means putting the team first. That's what she did when she gave this to me. And now..." the girl hesitated, her jaw tightening. "It's time for her to reclaim what she earned."
The rest of the conversation was lost to y/n as someone called her name, catching her snack sneakily upon the bar she claimed was lost, snapping her back to reality...
But the fragments she'd overheard clung to her thoughts, nagging at her still.
Now, watching Tory across the room, y/n couldn't help but notice how tense she was. Her movements were mechanical, her gaze flickering toward Sensei Kim every few seconds. Something was definitely off.
Meanwhile, Kreese stood at the center of the gym, his voice booming as he delivered one of his trademark speeches.
"Second chances," he began, pacing slowly as his steely eyes scanned the room. "They don't come easy. They don't come fair. You don't get to stand on a podium and ask the universe for another shot. You earn it."
