Aoi's POV
She says it like it's a weather report.
"Mirai finished the formation. She just didn't show you."
It stings more than it should. But Sora doesn't say it with cruelty.
Just… certainty.
Like she's revealing a truth she's carried so long it lost its edges.
And I can't let it go.
"You think you knew her better than I did?" I ask.
Sora doesn't blink. "I think she showed us different pieces."
That should've ended it.
But it doesn't.
Instead, I find myself saying:
"Come to the court."
Sora's POV
I don't hesitate.
Not because I think I'll win.
But because she needs this.
Aoi needs to hit something. To fight someone. To force the ghosts into motion.
And maybe… so do I.
We don't call it a match.
No scores. No sides.
Just a ball, a net, and everything we haven't said.
Rio's POV
I hear about it thirdhand—from Tanaka, who hears it from a second-year who hears it from Sho, who saw them walk to Court 2 together in total silence.
I drop everything and go.
By the time I get there, the match has already started.
No scoreboard. No Coach.
Just Aoi and Sora trading shots like they're trying to bleed the past out of each other.
Natsuki's POV
I record it.
Not because I think it'll matter later.
But because some moments shouldn't be forgotten—even if they were never official.
Even if they hurt.
Aoi's POV
Sora's not good.
But she's not bad, either.
She can move. She anticipates. She doesn't hit hard, but she hits clever.
She knows just enough to frustrate me.
And she keeps saying things—between rallies, low and even:
"She lied to you because she loved you."
"She didn't want you to remember her weak."
"She trusted me with the parts she couldn't show you."
Each one lands harder than any serve.
I stop.
Panting. Hands shaking.
"You think I didn't know?" I say.
Sora tilts her head.
"You think I didn't see the bruises? The way she couldn't breathe after drills? The way she stopped drinking water because it made her chest ache?"
I drop my racket.
"I knew."
My voice cracks.
"I just thought if I didn't say it out loud, it wouldn't be real."
Sora's POV
She finally cries.
Not loud.
Just one tear. Down one cheek.
And I finally understand why Mirai never told her everything.
Because Aoi would've stopped her.
Because Aoi would've carried her.
And Mirai was never going to let herself be a weight.
I step forward.
"I'm not here to take her away from you," I say quietly. "I'm here because she wanted both of us to keep going."
Final Scene – Aoi's POV
We don't finish the match.
We sit on the court.
Two rackets forgotten in the grass.
No scoreboard. No winner.
Just two girls who loved the same person, in different ways.
And for the first time…
We don't feel like enemies.
We feel like proof she was real.