Sakuragi shouldn't have came to the locker room.
Rukawa shouldn't have done extra practice.
They stumbled upon each other. Rukawa was a bit—actually, screw that, really—pissed off, after seeing the redhead, who haven't been attending training after they've lost to Kainan, inside the locker room with a ball in hand.
Sakuragi felt his chest ache, feeling a hint of guilt upon seeing his teammate's face that he had been purposely avoiding. He still felt ashamed about the incident that happened in the match.
They shouldn't have had seen each other. Atleast, not now.
Because it only led to a fist on top of one's jaw, a kick on the stomach, and a tan forehead hitting a milky toned one.
"It's my fault! Stop claiming it yours!" A bruised covered Sakuragi yelled, pushing the other by the shoulders, making the midnight haired first year stumble back, though still managed to stand on his feet.
"No. It's mine." Rukawa stubbornly yet quietly replied, throwing a punch at Sakuragi's cheekbone. His attacks were getting weaker.
A pair of rubber shoes creaked on the slippery floor sheltered with sweat, and bare feet sliding a bit from time to time. Two first years were fighting inside the gym, in the middle of the night.
Sakuragi's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. If this idiot is trying to make him feel better about their lost, then it's not working at all. "If I wasn't so stupid to pass it to the opposite team, then we could've won!" The redhead screamed, head butting the fox.
And there Rukawa finally gave up, falling to the floor, on his back. His stamina was all fed up. Training for hours and hours, and then getting into a fight with this punk was too fucking tiring. Rukawa gave up, panting on the floor, looking up at the stars—Oh wait, those were lights. Or are they?
On the other hand, Sakuragi was also panting for dear life, his shoulders slouching forward. It was indeed tiring. They've been at it for almost an hour, the word "enough" finally crossing the redhead's hard head.
Staring down at the fox, he noticed that his eyes were smaller than before. Rukawa was drowsy, almost falling asleep on the floor, and Sakuragi couldn't blame him. He had been practicing overtime after all.
Without thinking too much on it, Sakuragi fell forward to the floor too, on his shoulder, and beside his rival. Their breathes matched each other, fast and heavy. Exhausted, Sakuragi stared at Rukawa, his mind hazy and his eyes a little blurry.
Sakuragi stared at Rukawa's bruised cheek in silence. It was unusual for him to just sit still like this, next to Rukawa, of all people, without creating a ruckus. Well, he did, but Sakuragi would never allow himself to lie down beside Rukawa like this, just staring at him without any hint of anger inside his chest and crappy insults in his mind. Maybe, all of his anger for him got squeezed out of his body earlier, now it left him dry. He was too tired to think nor to feel. Sakuragi's whole body was going numb.
Then, abruptly, a hint of guilt poked his heart once more, that made Sakuragi cringe. The nightmare a few days back filled his mind, now feeling inferior again. It was like an intrusive thought, that Sakuragi wanted to punch it so hard it'll get out of his mind. They lost to Kainan because of his mistake. It was his fault. If he wasn't so stupid, then maybe the results would be different. If only he was better.
And Rukawa passing the burden to himself, saying it was his fault, made Sakuragi even more guilty—mad even, that's why he punched him earlier. He doesn't like the concept of Rukawa trying to make him feel better—if that's what he was trying to do—because it's just so unlike him. So unlike them. It made Sakuragi feel even more bad about himself, and the way Rukawa said that "if only I was in the court a little bit longer, then it shouldn't have happened" made him wanna throw a ball at his face. Not at Rukawa, but at himself.
