Chapter 8: Breath Between Blows

Sae hadn't meant to be there. Not at first.

She'd overheard whispers outside the library - two second-years passing rumors like gum wrappers.

"Takumi's finally gonna shut that weird Nakamura guy up."

"Boxing match? Gym 2. Five o'clock. Should be brutal."

Her gut twisted at the sound of it. Not fear exactly. Something stranger. Sharper.

Nakamura had looked… tired, all week. Guarded more than usual. When she asked about his hand, he lied - carefully, like someone who'd been doing it for years. She'd noticed the bruises before he tucked them back under his sleeve.

Now, standing near the gym doors, the cold from the late autumn wind still clinging to her jacket, she saw him again - silent, steady, focused.

Takumi was playing it up. Talking loud. Acting casual. But she noticed the way his eyes narrowed when Nakamura didn't flinch. The way he clenched his jaw after every blocked jab. He wasn't in control of this the way he thought he'd be.

Sae's eyes flicked over to Tanaka, who stood further up front.

He looked different, too. Jaw tight. Hands folded in front of him like he didn't trust them not to act.

She suddenly understood something she hadn't before.

It wasn't pity they felt toward Nakamura.

It was respect. Quiet. Careful. Earned.

And none of that had come easily.

She exhaled, long and slow.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. A message from a classmate: "You there?? Is he getting destroyed or what??"

She didn't answer.

Because the fight had shifted.

(Back to Nakamuras POV)

By round two, I could feel it. That burn. Low in my chest. The one that always came before the wheezing. I told myself it was nothing.

Not now. Breathe shallow. Don't show it.

He came at me harder then. Sloppy. Angry. Like every time I didn't drop just made him itch more.

I slipped a hook and caught him with a jab that snapped his head sideways. That's when it changed. The air in the gym got heavier. People stopped grinning.

They started watching.

He called it a lucky shot.

I didn't answer.

Because luck had nothing to do with it.

Another swing. Wild. I stepped in, pivoted, hit him low in the ribs. He doubled, just a bit, and that was enough. I saw the opening.

Stepped in again.

Right hook to the jaw.

Not to knock out. Just to shake him.

It worked.

Two more - ribs, shoulder. Then the last one, clean across his face.

He hit the mat hard.

Silence.

The ref shouted, but I barely heard him. I wasn't listening anymore. Because my lungs were closing.

Not now. Please-

The gloves came off like they were on fire. I dropped them on the mat and pushed past the ropes, past the hands reaching toward me, past Tanaka's voice saying my name.

I made it as far as the bench outside the gym before I folded over, hand on the cold metal, gasping like I was drowning in dry air.

Then-

"Sit down. Now."

Sae.

She didn't yell. Didn't panic. Just stood there like she knew exactly what to do. Like she'd seen this before.

"Do you have it?"

My hands shook as I dug into my jacket. Took me three tries to uncap the damn inhaler. She didn't move, just waited while I sucked in a breath. Then another.

The burn backed off. Slowly.

She knelt beside me.

"Why didn't you tell someone you had asthma?"

I wanted to lie. Almost did.

"I didn't need help," I muttered. "I was fine."

"No," she said, voice low. "You weren't."

We sat there a while. Breathing into the cold together.

"I didn't want to lose," I said.

"Because of pride?"

I shook my head. "Because people like him… they think no one fights back. Ever. I had to show them someone could."

She didn't answer right away. Just stared ahead.

Then: "I saw you win. But I also saw you almost break."

"I always break," I said. "I just do it where no one can see."

That made her pause.

She didn't try to fix it. Just stood up, brushed snow off the bench, looked down at me.

"I'll walk you home."

"You don't have to-"

"I know," she said. "That's why I'm doing it."

We didn't talk much after that. Just walked.

And somewhere between the gym and my front door, I thought:

Maybe fighting back doesn't mean you win. Maybe it just means you're not invisible anymore.