The One Who Never Told | P5

35

After school came by in a blink of an eye.

Both he and Ryuji were behind the gym wearing their old gym clothes. They had been running around for about an hour now. Suzuki could see the sun starting to set above him. He collapsed to the ground as Ryuji hunched over besides him. Both of them were panting, desperate for oxygen as their lungs burned.

"Ugh, damnit!" Ryuji hissed between pants. "I wanna move better, but I just can't..." He muttered, a grimace on his face. "We were so close to nationals but in the day... but now I totally suck balls." He added as he wiped the sweat off his brow.

Suzuki took a few deep breaths before shaking his head a bit. "We just need to get back into shape." He replied as he grabbed his water bottle before taking refreshing gulps of the ice water.

"What the hell do you two think you're doing?" called out a voice from the distance.

Both boys looked up and saw a trio approaching them. Within a second, they recognized them. "Nakaoka... Takeishi..." Ryuji's voice came out as a surprised whisper. It was Ryuji and Suzuki's old teammates.

"...Running, huh? I saw you from the window." Nakaoka commented, standing in front of the other boys. Suzuki couldn't help but look away a bit ashamed.

There wasn't much that could make him feel embarrassed, but somehow, abandoning his old teammates and then running back into them was one of them. He didn't know what to say to them, and neither did Ryuji.

Takeish looked down at the boys. "What, you gonna try to come crawling back to the track team?" He questioned, a mocking tone in his voice. It was obvious that they still hated the duo. After all, they were the former star players that walked away from the team.

"Huh?" Ryuji couldn't even utter a word.

Suzuki shook his head as he stood up. He dusted the dirt and grass off of his red and white striped pants. "Of course not, you guys wouldn't accept us back in regardless." He pointed out. Somehow, he had a bad feeling about the discussion.

Nakaoka took a look around the area. "...Speaking of which, this was your secret training spot, huh, Sakamoto?" He said, referring to Ryuji. He paused, as his lips curved into a small smirk. "Well, it's our spot now."

He continued. "You know, us. The former track team." His words cut like a blade.

"We don't even have a locker room anymore, thanks to two somebodies I know." Takeishi added.

Ryuji couldn't say a word as a look guilt washed over his face.

Suzuki met their gaze with a deep frown. "How petty..." He muttered.

Takeishi's gaze snapped towards Suzuki. "Huh? What was that, Nakamura?" He asked.

His features were twisted in rage. Suzuki definitely wasn't going to stand for this if this was how they were going to act.

"You blame us for leaving; you blame us for the team crumbling down, but was it ever a team if you just watched us suffer in silence?" Suzuki's harsh words silence the boys instantly. "Some teammates you guys were..." He couldn't help but scoff as he rolled his eyes.

"You knew damn well what Kamoshida was doing to us." He hissed.

Ryuji extended his hand out before tugging Suzuki back before he could say anything else. "Naka, don't fight..."

"Everyone was going through the same bullshit with Kamoshida." He began, a deep frown on his face. "The beatings, the impossible exercises... but we put up with all of it for the track team. But no. You both had to go and fuck all of that up!" Nakaoka hissed.

"Like father like son, right?" Nakaoka gave a slight shrug. "Now that's some scary shit. You're both like your fathers."

Suzuki looked at the man, bewildered. Sure, everyone knew of his situation, but Ryuji was differently.

Ryuji's grip tightened around Suzuki's arm. "That don't got anything to do with this..." Ryuji said between grit teeth. Given everything, if they got into a fight now, it wasn't going to be pretty, but at the same time, what else did he have to lose?

Well, Ryuji was different from him. If nothing else, Suzuki didn't want Ryuji to take the fall.

Suzuki used his other hand and gripped Ryuji's wrist, holding him tight in place. "Don't do it." He squeezed the taller man before shooting a final glance at Nakaoka and Takeishi. "They aren't worth it. Let them have the spot."

"Man, I was stupid for ever thinking you guys were my teammate." Takeishi put a hand on Nakaoka's shoulder, calming down the fuming boy a bit. "Let's get outta here..." The trio soon left afterwards, leaving Suzuki and Ryuji alone in silence.

Suzuki rubbed the back of his neck as he finally let go of Ryuji's wrist. Had the blond boy not been there, Suzuki would've most definitely started a fight with the boys.

"...I nearly smacked him when he was talkin' about our dads..." Ryuji admitted as Suzuki began to pick up their stuff. Ryuji was left staring at the direction the boys had walked off in. Of course they were both livid. There probably weren't words to describe the anger Suzuki felt at the moment.

Ryuji let out a long sigh as his gaze shifted towards his friend. "I haven't changed at all..." He muttered as Suzuki handed him his water bottle.

"Don't say that. You've changed in so many ways. We all have things that make us upset. You weren't wrong in leaving the team when you did. Kamoshida was trying to break us, and he did."

Suzuki gave him a smile as Ryuji took the thing from him. "But, there won't be anymore students like us, not at Shujin. Don't cha remember?" He asked as he playfully punched his shoulder. "We got that bastard back, and eventually, the track team will bounce back."

Ryuji paused and watched the raven haired boy before cracking a smile of his own. "Heh, you're right." He chuckled as he tossed his arm around his shoulder before pulling him into a tight hug.

Suzuki's head nestled into Ryuji's chest as he hugged him for a bit. He didn't move for a moment before trying to struggle out of his grip. "...Gah! You're sweaty!" He whined, trying to hold the boy back as a crooked grin grew on Ryuji's lips.

"Don't run...!" Ryuji yelled as he chased the boy around the courtyard. They had definitely gotten closer on that day.