After the interview, Dirga made his way back toward the locker room. His steps were slow—not from pain, but from the weight of the day. His body was spent, but the warmth building in his chest pushed him forward.
As he pushed open the door, a wave of laughter burst out to greet him.
Inside, the whole team was already there—Sayaka was giving instructions near the whiteboard like a seasoned commander, Coach Tsugawa leaned back in the corner with his arms crossed, Takeshi-sensei sat on a stool drinking from a vending machine bottle, and—somehow—Ayaka was here too, standing off to the side, watching with wide eyes.
"Ohhh~! Our star has arrived! Dirga-kun~," Aizawa teased the moment he spotted him, grinning ear to ear, deliberately dragging out the honorific with a smug face.
"Please stop, Aizawa-senpai," Dirga groaned, his expression twisted in exhaustion and embarrassment.
