Rivals Beneath the Cherry Blossoms [End]
After Setsuna leaves, Kazumi remains alone in the dojo.
She quietly looks around the space — the floor where they had just sparred so intensely, the spot where Setsuna broke down in tears, and the place where they finally faced each other’s true feelings for the first time.
Kazumi remembers the days when she and Setsuna trained here as children.
She sees their younger selves overlapping with the present — inexperienced, struggling, but desperately trying to become stronger.
Back then, Kazumi had only looked straight ahead toward her own goal. She never realized what kind of feelings Setsuna had been carrying beside her all that time.
Setsuna’s confession remains deeply in Kazumi’s heart.
Even though Kazumi never intended to hurt her, the fact that her name had caused someone such long-lasting pain is not something she can easily forget. At the same time, the fact that Setsuna finally chose to speak those feelings aloud feels like a small but precious beginning.
Kazumi slowly looks around the dojo and thinks to herself.
The next time she faces Setsuna, she wants to meet her not only as a rival or former training partner, but as a friend.
Even amid the heaviness in her heart, a quiet resolve remains.
Their relationship is not completely healed yet, but for the first time, a path toward each other has opened.
(Part 9 - https://komikoai.com/s/2Wfl9v)