The Loser's Creed: A King in the Shadows

Loss has a sound. For Kunimi Akira, it's the dull thud of a spike hitting the floor—the sound of three years, and every ounce of effort he poured into them, ending in silence. Shiratorizawa Academy's wall has never fallen. Not for Datte Kogyo this year, not for Aoba Johsai's Oikawa Tooru the year before. Kunimi watched that defeat too, and carried away a single line of parting wisdom: "There is always a way to win, even without talent." For three months, those words have offered no answers—only