Ryoma savored the syrupy sweetness spreading in his mouth, glad that he had chosen his old favorite instead of the sports drink his trainer forced on him nowadays. It took him back to a pivotal period of his life, a time that had started him on this journey he was on now.
He had fulfilled that first promise then, and he was fulfilling another promise now. He had chased this distant glittering goal with everything he had, because it was everything he had wanted.
He put the drink down to begin warming up, even though he felt like he could play right now. His body was flush with anticipation, his heart almost skipping. He grabbed his racket and went through the motions, his mind thousands of miles away. To an empty court under the tracks, where a tennis ball landed with hardly a sound but with such force as to tear the blinds from his eyes and show him the world. His mind travelled the years that followed, full of glory and friendship, hardship and pain. But he knew that all of it had been leading to this. This moment.
I'm ready. I'm finally ready. He's waiting. He's always been waiting.
Ryoma grinned, adjusting his cap and the grip on his racket. And then he walked out onto the court, into the roar of the crowd.