When Johnny ducks his head and kicks out his foot, Paul is startled by the echo that comes through the lines of his body, the unburied ghost of someone younger shining out of him as he speaks of his memories.

If he lets his eyes unfocus, and thinks of Robby, he feels like he can almost see the Johnny his age, stung by defeat and betrayal from someone he should have been able to trust.

"But he was your sensei," Paul says, bewildered in a way he should be too old and too wise to be bewildered, after everything that brought him to this point. He knows that some teachers cannot be relied on to do what's right by their pupils, but-

"You came in second." There's tightness in his chest for the sake of someone else, and he welcomes it. "He should have been proud of you."