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20. LOSER
*⋆｡˚𖦹࣪˖ ִֶָ⋆｡°✩
WHEN
Nagi and Isagi had properly gotten up and recovered themselves (really, with a lot of help from you), and you three had all made your way through the loser's gate, into the second selection's 2v2 matchup area. There was significantly less seating than before, and it was only in pairs of two that the seats had been laid out—so clearly, Ego was testing your willpower to stand. You had a lot of willpower.
You stood a little behind the space between Nagi and Isagi's chair, arms folded under your chest and your bag resting at your foot. Take that, Ego.
"So, after you lose a three on three, this is where you end up," Nagi says, and he sounds pointedly exasperated. He breathes out a heaving groan, slumped over in his seat and eyes resting half-lidded—but you can still see him glance over Isagi's way. "It looks like we were the first ones out."
Isagi doesn't reply—silence filling the room overwhelmingly. It almost makes you uncomfortable, with how the only thing filling that empty silence is the sound of breathing, so you speak, "The breakroom is over there. If you two are tired, then you should rest."
Nagi looks up at you from his sitting position and it seems he appreciates your concern because of the way you see his eyes tilt up ever so slightly. "Maybe we should."
"There's no time for relaxing," Isagi hisses with a clenched jaw, and his posture is visibly rigid as he scowls. "We lose this next match, one of us is out."
Better than Nagi, you assume, you are well-acquainted with Isagi. From all this time—you have never heard him sound so pessimistic. It was always I'll try harder, or, I'll get it next time. But now—it's like he's been defeated without even stepping foot on the field. He's acting well out of character—and it's making you feel uncomfortable.
"We'll win the next one," Nagi says nonchalantly, black-hole-like eyes peering at Isagi with a strange sense of fiery determination. He's also acting out of character, you decide, even though you aren't that close with the boy, you think you have a good grasp of who he is from your little interactions. "Our last opponents were just too strong."
Isagi tenses up, balling his fists so hard his knuckles turn a pale white, and he spits out through grit teeth, "You're missing the entire point. You and I—we're not the same. You... fought back. While I couldn't do anything against them."
"What the heck are you talking about? You scored a goal, remember." Nagi, reasonably so, gives him a confused look, brows raised at Isagi's strange actions. You do the same, your notebook held closer to you under your arm, and eyes squinted at him.
