I stood outside the dorm room for a long moment, staring at the wooden door like it might bite me. My ribs still ached from the spar, but that wasn't what made me hesitate. Tsume's pride had been shattered in front of everyone. I knew how dangerous a wounded ego could be.
Taking a slow breath, I opened the door.
The room was dark. The heavy curtains had been pulled shut so tightly that only thin slivers of sunlight cut across the floor. It felt like stepping into someone's bad mood.
Tsume was leaning against the far wall, arms crossed tight over his chest, face turned away. Even in the low light, I could see his shoulders were tense. "The switch is on your left," he said flatly, without turning around.
When I flicked the light switch, he flinched.
His pale eye was red.
"What the hell do you want, Ryomen?" he snapped, voice rough like he'd been yelling at the walls before I got here. "Come to rub it in? Got tired of everyone praising you for that cheap shot?"
I closed the door behind me and stayed near the entrance, giving him space.
"It wasn't a cheap shot," I said quietly. "And I just… wanted to talk."
Tsume let out a bitter laugh and finally looked at me. The redness in his eye made something twist in my chest. He looked… broken.
"Talk? About what? How you embarrassed me in front of everyone? How you made me look weak?" His voice rose with every word. "You think you're hot shit just because you landed one lucky hit, huh? Newsflash—you're nothing special. You only got that far because I let my guard down. Because I turned my back on trash like you… Just like your deceased father turned his back on his own son."
The words hit harder than any strike he'd landed during the spar.
I felt my jaw tighten, but I didn't raise my voice.
"You're right about one thing," I said quietly. "I don't have a father anymore. He's gone. But at least I know my father died protecting the people he loved. Can you say the same about yours?"
I then began whispering, "Because he probably would've let you die."
Tsume's entire body went rigid. "What was that?" He asked,
I continued, my voice low but steady. "Every time I look at you, I see someone who's terrified that he'll never be good enough for his own old man. And instead of getting stronger, you lash out at everyone around you. You think that makes you superior? It doesn't. It just makes you lonely."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Tsume's fists trembled at his sides. For a moment, I thought he was going to swing. Instead, his face twisted with raw pain.
"You don't fucking know anything about me," he whispered, voice cracking. "You don't know what it's like to have Kyo Harasayuki as your father. Every single day, I have to be perfect. And the one time I slip up… I get reminded exactly why he looks at me like I'm a disappointment."
He turned away sharply, shoulders tense.
I took a small step forward.
"We're on the same squad now, whether we like it or not," I said. "You can keep trying to tear me down, or we can actually get stronger together… Your choice."
Tsume didn't answer. The tension in the room felt like a wire pulled too tight.
Then—
Clack.
Both of us froze.