Arata Hinohara’s life in modern Japan is defined by fear. At school, the same bully who tormented him in middle school, Katowaki, keeps pressing him down, while his only new friend, Subaru Hinoha, seems to be the one person he can trust. That trust shatters when Arata overhears Subaru confessing to Katowaki’s gang that his friendship was fake. The words hit harder than any punch, because Arata had truly admired Subaru and needed that bond to survive.