Sealed Move: Sunset-Colored Promise

Raizaki had stepped out for some fresh air, making her way to a rest area located away from the parking lot.

Unlike the bustling spots where tourists came and went to and from the inn, this area was secluded and cast in shadow.

Raizaki happened to spot a familiar silhouette. Spurred by some sudden streak of mischief, she quietly crept up behind him and spoke right into his ear.

"—Pervert. Sneaking a peek at someone else's kifu is pretty bad taste, you know."

"...Good work out there."

"Good work to you too, Mikado-senpai."

Whether he had noticed her approaching from the start or not, Mikado wore a troubled look, continuing to review the kifu without turning around.

On the screen was the record from Raizaki's match against the South District player.

"I'm sorry, I ended up losing. It's an ugly kifu, isn't it?"

"Not at all. The team won, after all. ...I just thought it was a pretty early resignation, that's all."

"Do you think so?"

Raizaki scratched her head with a wry smile, making a show of checking her own kifu.

Glancing at her, Mikado asked bluntly.

"Is she really that strong? Mary Sharon from Central District's Gaisen Dojo, I mean."

Raizaki cast her eyes down slightly.

"...She's one of the people I used to look up to. Not anymore, though."

"I see."

"Um, please don't misunderstand—I definitely didn't throw the match on purpose. It's just, the possibility of a repetition draw crossed my mind, and..."

Though her tone sounded somewhat like she was making excuses, Raizaki spoke honestly.

"A repetition draw, huh... A replay match drains twice as much stamina, after all."

"Yes. So since the team had already secured the win, I thought it would be fine to press the attack."

"And that's how you lost."

Raizaki gave a small nod.

"I suppose... no matter the situation, I should always play with everything I've got without worrying about what comes next..."

"Well, I think it's fine. I don't think anyone would blame you."

"...Mikado-senpai?"

Something felt distinctly off.

While it wasn't quite a blunt dismissal, there was an unmistakable chill in Mikado's reaction that compelled Raizaki to call out his name.

Mikado slipped his smartphone into his pocket and took a step forward, pushing off the wall he had been leaning against.

Turning on his heel, he faced Raizaki directly.

"...There's a favor I want to ask of you."

"What is it?"

Seeing Mikado's dead-serious expression, Raizaki stiffened as she asked.

A gust of wind blew. The ambient murmur of the venue, the hum of automatic doors opening and closing, and the rumble of passing cars filtered into her ears.

At Mikado's unusually long pause, Raizaki tilted her head in puzzlement at first.

But as she gradually realized what Mikado was about to say, all the color drained from Raizaki's face, a clammy, unpleasant sweat breaking out on her skin.

It had been a joke—banter—a dizzy spell—. A question asked beneath the sunset that she had sworn never to take seriously. A distant scene she had watched with detached eyes as someone else's problem, assuming that eventually, someone would step up to shoulder it.