At the stage entrance, the fifth line was read out.
"Next match, Sasuke Uchiha versus Gaara."
The sand from the previous match had not been cleared away.
Sasuke stepped onto the stage from the other side. Before he went up, he pressed his right hand against his right shoulder blade, then lowered it.
The movement was tiny, over in an instant. Kiyoshi saw it from the viewing seats.
Inside the eastern boundary, Gaara was already standing with his arms folded.
His eyes were open, but he looked neither at the stage nor below it.
Someone in the eastern stands waved to him. He did not respond.
A stagehand came over and tipped his chin at Kiyoshi.
Those who had finished their matches did not sit in the viewing seats. That was procedure.
Kiyoshi followed him down and sat in the waiting section beside the stage.
The section was a wooden bench backed against the barrier, one level below the audience seats. Only an aisle separated it from the stage, and every word spoken up there carried down distinctly.
A seat placard lay against the edge of the section, its lettering facing outward.
The nearest corner of the arena was less than seventy feet away.
Once seated, the first thing he did was gauge everything within sight.
He counted the exits. One at the passage entrance, two gaps in the stands.
Then he counted people. The three recording desks, the row of honored guests, the section of his fellow rookies. The guests sat in a neat row, and the pens at the three desks never stopped.
When he counted himself, he paused.
There was a damp sweat mark on the armrest, left by his own grip earlier.
Onstage, everyone from the fourth match had withdrawn, and the fifth match's fighters were