“Sakura, sorry, did I wake you up?” Kazuha palms at her cheeks, wiping them as she sniffles.

“No, I haven’t been sleeping yet,” Sakura says, unsure whether she should acknowledge the fact that the girl has been crying, because now, she’s smiling again.

Is it because of the squad announcement? She wonders as she makes her way to the kitchen sink.

“I also couldn’t sleep. I feel like the adrenaline is still buzzing in my veins,” Kazuha says as she passes Sakura a glass from the cupboard. “So I’ve decided to watch this Korean drama Chaewon has recommended me. Turns out it’s quite sad. And then I got hungry,” she chuckles, her long dark hair mussed-up a little.

Sakura regards her from above her glass of water, resisting the urge to reach out and fix her hair. It’s not the first time that she has this sudden impulse to do it, but she still cannot explain where it comes from. She suspects that it’s maybe similar to how one cannot resist petting a cute puppy when they see one.

“I thought it was maybe because of the squad announcement,” Sakura blurts out as she places the empty glass in the sink and winces.

She may have good control of her hands, but she needs to work on controlling . The communication between her brain and lips seems to be failing lately. She didn’t plan to bring up the call-ups. It’s late and Kazuha already has trouble sleeping; she didn’t want to give her more stuff to think about.

But alas, the proverbial cat is out of the bag now, and Kazuha perks up.

“Squad announcement? You mean for the national team?”

“Yeah, have you seen it?”

Kazuha shakes her head, and her smile dims a little. “We didn’t get in, did we? If we did, you would have told me the moment you knew. And I can imagine you’d be jumping from joy.”

“Yeah, I would,” Sakura admits with an equally sullen expression.

“Well, our first match wasn’t the best, so I wasn’t expecting much.” Kazuha shrugs, and Sakura is suddenly hit with guilt.

She looks down in shame, wrapping her arms around her torso. If only she didn’t screw up that first game. God, she’s so pissed at herself for that. 

“But if we keep playing like we did today, I bet we’ll make the team.”

Looking up at the girl, Sakura finds the same unwavering confidence in Kazuha’s eyes that she saw earlier today during the game. And it’s just so damn easy to believe these soft, brown eyes. Way too easy. She doesn’t know how the girl is doing it but if she told her right now that they were to become World Cup Champions tomorrow, Sakura would have believed her in a heartbeat.

Gnawing at the corner of her bottom lip, she glances to the side. For some reason, she doesn’t feel like going back to her room. She doesn’t want to be alone with her thoughts right now.

“Hey.” She looks back at Kazuha. “Would you like to watch that k-drama together? I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep now.”

Kazuha grins. “Only if you promise, you won’t laugh at me if I’m gonna cry.”

“Oh, don’t worry.” Sakura waves dismissively. “I totally get it. I always cry when I’m watching Kimi no Na wa.”

“What’s that?” Kazuha asks, and Sakura stares at her as if she has just admitted to not knowing what an offside is.

“Excuse me? You’ve never heard of Kimi no Na wa? The biggest masterpiece of Japanese cinema?”

“I don’t think so,” Kazuha admits, chuckling shamelessly.

“That’s it. We’re watching it right now.” Sakura takes the girl by her hand and drags her to the living room. “Wait, here,” she tells her as she grabs her by the shoulders and sits her down on the couch. “I’ll bring my laptop and some snacks.”

“But--”

“No, no buts.” She raises her index finger, silencing the girl. “You can watch your k-drama later. It’s literally disgraceful that you haven’t even heard of Kimi no Na wa. Like I can’t believe you’ve even admitted to that. What’s next? Are you going to tell me you haven’t watched Spirited Away?”

“Well…” Kazuha scratches her cheek, looking down at her lap.

Sakura’s eyes widen as she gasps. “I can’t believe I allowed you to be my roommate,” she mutters.

Kazuha brings her hand to her lips, shoulders shaking with laughter. “Well, will you allow me to stay if we watch it together tonight?”

Sakura narrows her eyes, which only elicits further giggles from Kazuha. 

“I’ll think about it,” she says as her expression starts to crack, scowl slowly turning into a smile.

She leaves to her room, gets the laptop and grabs a bag of chips from the kitchen then pours them into a bowl. She usually doesn’t eat junk food, but she always keeps one bag of chips for emergency situations like impromptu movie nights, for example.

Back in the living room, she sets the laptop on the coffee table, passes the chips to Kazuha and turns off the lights. Once everything is ready, she presses play and plops down on the couch next to the girl with her arms folded over her chest.

But as the opening credits to Spirited Away start rolling, Sakura can feel Kazuha’s gaze linger on her side-profile. She gives the girl a sideways glance.

“What?” she asks, ignoring the prickle of heat in her ears.

Kazuha shakes her head, grinning. “Nothing.”

“Then pay attention to the movie or else I’m kicking you out and you’re sleeping on the doormat,” she mutters, nudging shoulders with the girl.

Kazuha snorts another chuckle but obediently starts watching the movie while munching on the chips.

Soon they hear a soft pitter-patter of tiny paws against the panelled floor. Hana-chan approaches the couch and with a loud meow demands to be sat on it as well. Kazuha picks her up, and the kitten settles between them, curling into a croissant. They both gush over how cute she is, before returning their attention to the laptop screen.

However, halfway through the movie, Sakura’s eyelids begin to grow heavy and she has to stifle a yawn. She looks at Kazuha, but the girl seems to be very much engrossed in Chihiro’s story. Her face illuminated faintly by the light coming from the laptop.

And Sakura finds herself enraptured by the scene before her eyes. By just how pretty Kazuha is with her heart-shaped lips, defined jawline and slender neck. Even her collarbones are somehow pretty--

Her heart skips a beat, and that’s when her thought processes grind to a halt and her eyes snap wide open.

I should have just gone to sleep. I’m clearly in a dire need of it.

Carefully, she shifts away from the girl to squeeze herself into the corner of the couch on the opposite end. But the sudden movement doesn’t go unnoticed by Kazuha who glances at her with a raised eyebrow. 

“Sleepy?” 

Sakura shakes her head. “I’m fine.”

Lair , she berates herself, which only further proves her that she should in fact go to sleep. But instead, she makes herself comfortable in her corner and continues to watch the movie. She doesn’t last long, though, and soon succumbs to her drowsiness. The last image she remembers before her eyes flutter close is Kazuha’s smiling side-profile.

“Sakura,” she hears a gentle voice call out to her, but only groans in response and refuses to open her eyes, slipping back into deep slumber.  

When she wakes up to the sound of her phone’s alarm, she’s not on the couch as she would expect, but in her own bed covered by a blanket. Sitting up, she looks around herself confused. She’s pretty sure she hasn’t gained teleportation powers overnight, and she also knows she has never sleep walked in her life which means that--

“Zuha carried me here,” she says under her breath, face growing hot as the image of Kazuha carrying her in her arms unwittingly appears in her mind.

With a groan, she falls back onto her pillow.

How am I supposed to face her now?  She laments in her head. 

Eventually, after she showers and gets changed, she decides to just ignore the fact that the situation ever took place in hopes of Kazuha never bringing it up either. However, the moment she enters the kitchen, she sees Kazuha ready for their jog, and the girl instantly destroys her hopes as she breaks into a long-winded speech.

“I’m sorry. I carried you to your room because I figured sleeping on the couch won’t be good for your shoulder. I tried to wake you up, but I guess you were really tired. I hope you’re not mad at me. Oh, and by the way, I watched the movie till the very end. I promise. I can even give you a summary.”

Sakura lets out a stifled chuckle at that last piece of information, which immediately makes her forget about the embarrassment she felt just a moment ago.

“I’m not mad. And you don’t have to give me the summary. I believe you,” she reassures the girl and watches how the worried frown on her face turns into a smile of relief. “So, did you like it?”

“It was fun. The plot was really interesting. Although that River Spirit was quite creepy, but also oddly cute?” 

Kazuha’s eyebrows scrunch up in confusion, and Sakura bites back a smile.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Just don’t mention it to Yunjin, or else she’ll throw you over her shoulder and bring you to a room without knobs so that you’d watch every single Ghibli movie with her.” 

Kazuha laughs. It’s soft and melodious. 

And Sakura bites down on her lip, battling against thoughts that tell her just how cute it sounds.

 

🌸🍃

 

The team spends their Monday at the pool since swimming is a part of their post-game recovery routine. But they never actually spend much time on swimming itself, as somehow they always end up goofing around like a bunch of high-schoolers, dunking each other and fighting with pool noodles. Surprisingly, Coach Takahashi allows for it, and Sakura suspects it’s because he sees it as a sort of team bonding time.

When they are in a particularly ambitious mood, they play water polo. Today, Mei suggests they play, but Sakura decides to pass since even though her shoulder seems fine, she doesn’t want to push her luck. 

She leaves the pool and sees that Chaewon follows her example. She’s probably tired from all the dunking fights she had with Yunjin today, which makes Sakura wonder whether the two will ever grow out of their kindergarten methods of flirting with each other. She guesses they won’t.

Yunjin stays behind and becomes the designated goalkeeper for Mei’s team. Kazuha, who spent most of her time at the pool just laughing at Chaewon and Yunjin and their never-ending shenanigans, joins the blonde’s team, and Sakura regrets not being able to play with them. But she figures that there wouldn’t be anything more humiliating than getting injured during a water polo game and having to skip matches due to that. 

Back at the locker room, she checks her phone, but there are still no text messages from her dad. As much as she was happy that she didn’t get any messages from him after the match yesterday, now she starts worrying that maybe he’ll never write to her again. Scoring the same amount of goals as Kazuha wasn’t good enough for him, probably.

Dad? Dad, please don’t leave us. Please don’t leave me. 

A loud bang of the locker door slamming pulls Sakura out of her thoughts, flashbacks of shouting fights and spilled tears dissipating, leaving behind only dull pain in her chest. She shoves the phone back to the locker and goes to take a shower. 

Leaving the showers, she can already hear Yunjin’s boisterous laughter coming from the locker room, which makes her realize that she has completely lost track of time.

“You should have seen it, Chae! If Zuha ever wants to quit soccer, she can easily make a career as a water polo player.” Yunjin grabs Kazuha by the shoulders, shaking her, while Chaewon rolls her eyes at both of them.

“Nah, it’s not nearly as fun as soccer,” Kazuha says, catching Sakura’s gaze as she joins them by the lockers.

Something about the way Kazuha has said those words while looking into her eyes, makes Sakura’s heart rate pick up its pace. Feeling her face grow hotter, she hides it under a towel as she dries her hair.

She quickly changes into her clothes and plays with her phone as she waits for Kazuha to finish her shower and get ready.

“Hey Kkura.”

She lifts her gaze from above the phone at Yunjin, the blonde leaning casually against the lockers. 

“Me and Chae are going to the pub to watch Japan’s game on Thursday. Wanna come with us? You’re also invited, Zuha,” she calls towards the girl who just left the shower.

“What’s up?” Kazuha asks as she joins them, wearing just her sports bra and boxer briefs.

And while Yunjin repeats what she has just said, Sakura tries not to look at the droplets of water that slide down Kazuha’s abs. But she fails, miserably.

“Sakura?” Yunjin says, and she realizes she’s yet to give her an answer.

“Sure, why not,” she replies and turns to her locker only to realize that she has taken everything out of it already.

She swivels around to face the two girls again, giving them a nonchalant smile.

Kazuha an eyebrow, clearly amused by her glitching behavior.

“Wait, really?” Yunjin asks and straightens up, eyebrows furrowed.

“Yes. Why are you so surprised?” Sakura shoots her an offended look.

“’Cause you like never want to go out?”

“True!” Chaewon seconds Yunjin from behind.

“Come on, I’m not a hermit,” Sakura protests, rolling her eyes.

Yunjin looks at her, doubtfully. “Yeah, well, you almost are.”

“But Sakura is going out quite often actually,” Kazuha chimes in.

Sakura’s eyes widen as she looks at the girl, wordlessly asking her ‘what the hell?’ .

“What? To where?” The revelation only further confuses Yunjin until something occurs to her, and she gushes with a sly smirk. “Wait, are you dating someone? Spill the tea, girl!” She slaps Sakura’s arm. “What’s her name?”

Kazuha realizes her blunder and ducks her head meekly.

You’re lucky I like you, Sakura thinks to herself and redirects her gaze from the guilt-ridden girl back to Yunjin.

“I’m not dating anyone,” she deadpans. 

“Suure, Miss Mysteriously Going Out Somewhere Often,” Yunjin says, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Yuun, are you ready? I wanna go home. I’m hungry,” Chaewon whines as she starts tugging at the blonde’s arm. 

“Yeah, let’s go.” Yunjin picks up her bag from a bench and slings it over her shoulder. “Don’t think you’re off the hook.” She points to her eyes then at Sakura, and leaves the locker room together with Chaewon. 

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that,” Kazuha says, rubbing the back of her neck and looking at Sakura with eyes full of remorse.

Sakura heaves as sigh. 

It’s not fair because how she’s supposed to be upset with the girl when she looks like that. That is looks at her like that, not that she looks like that period. Although she has to admit that it’s much less distracting to talk to Kazuha when she’s fully clothed. Then again, most of the time, her abs are on full display anyway, so is the difference really that significant?

Maybe it’s the y wet hair--uhmm… what?

Sakura shakes her head as if being suddenly roused from a nap. “It’s fine.”

It’s not.

She clasps both her hands around the strap of her duffel bag that she has slung over her shoulder.

“It’s just Yunjin being her annoying self. She’ll forget about it eventually,” she says. “Let’s go back home.”

Kazuha’s face brightens, and she nods. “Sure. Let me just put on some clothes.”

“And dry your hair,” Sakura mutters.

“Oh, it’s fine, I’ll just let them dry on their own.”

Sakura gives her a pointed look. “You’ll catch a cold.”

“It’s okay. It’s still warm outside.” 

Sakura crosses arms at her chest, her disapproving expression remaining on her face.

“Uhm, okay. I guess I’ll dry them then,” Kazuha says with a chuckle.

So not fair.

“I’ll wait outside,” Sakura says and leaves.

Next time, she’ll wait for Kazuha to take her shower first, before she takes hers.

 

🌸🍃

 

When Sakura and Kazuha enter the sports pub on Thursday, the place is filled to the brim with people donning the blue jerseys. And as they make their way through the sea of people, Kazuha slides her palm into Sakura’s, lacing their fingers together as if afraid they would lose each other in the crowd.

Sakura feels her face warm up, staring at their linked hands and thinking how snugly her small palm fits into Kazuha’s larger one. But once they reach Yunjin and Chaewon at their table, she quickly lets go of the girl’s hand and shoves her palms into the front pocket of her hoodie.

“How did you manage to get a table?” Kazuha asks as she takes her seat.

“Oh, I booked it like a week in advance.” Yunjin flashes them a smug smile.

“For a total airhead, she actually has some mad organizational skills,” Chaewon says and takes a sip of her beer.

Yunjin’s grin grows even bigger.

The match begins and everyone’s attention turns to the huge TV screen above the bar. 

Japan scores the first goal just fifteen minutes into the game. The whole pub explodes into loud cheers, and the girls start clapping and hooting as well, with Yunjin being decidedly the loudest among them. Then the bar owner announces free tequila shots for everyone, and that’s how Sakura ends up with two of these, because someone brought one for Kazuha not knowing she’s 19.

But Chaewon drinks one for Yunjin too, as the goalkeeper insists that if she starts drinking now, she will fall asleep before the match ends. 

So Sakura raises a toast with the midfielder and washes it down with beer, which she knows isn’t the best idea, but at the same time, it’s everything she needs right now. Because she’s here while Japan's team is in Thailand. The alcohol helps to forget that distance, and the fact that her dad still hasn’t written to her.

However, it also has its side-effects, namely, the more she drinks, the more she becomes aware of just how cool Kazuha looks in her leather jacket and tight jeans. Her supermodel appearance has never been more prominent than today. 

Why you have to be so stupidly pretty? Sakura whines internally when Kazuha flips her long hair over her shoulder and flashes her a grin.

The fifteen minute break feels like ages as Sakura tries to fight off the urge to stare at the girl next to her, or lean her head on her shoulder the way Chaewon does it now to Yunjin. 

“I’m going to the toilet,” she says and stands up, swaying slightly on her feet.

Kazuha quickly grabs her forearms to stabilize her. “Are you okay? Do you want me to go with you?”

“I’m fine.” Sakura smiles, gently removing Kazuha’s hand.

“I’ll go with you. I also need to pee,” Chaewon offers.

Holding onto each other, they make their way through the crowd.

“Yunjin is so stupid for making me drink those tequila shots,” Chaewon groans when she leaves the stall.

Sakura chuckles from her spot next to the sink. She wants to point out that technically, Yunjin hasn’t made her drink those shots, but then she hears Chaewon mutter under her breath, “If only she wasn’t so stupidly pretty.”

She pretends she hasn’t heard her though (more for her own sake than Chaewon’s), and they get back to their table just as the second half begins.

“Come on! Pass it to your left! She’s free!” Sakura shouts at the screen as if the players can hear her. 

Next to her, Kazuha is bending over with laughter. Sakura shoves her arm playfully, but that only causes her to laugh even harder. 

“Yah! We should be there! We would show them how to score goals! Right, Zuha?”

Kazuha nods, wiping tears from her eyes. 

The final minutes of the match are tense with both teams having scoring opportunities. Sakura doesn’t realize she’s clutching onto Kazuha’s sleeve until Japan’s scores again, and they’re out of their seats, jumping and cheering.

And as Sakura gazes at Kazuha, at her dimpled cheeks and bright eyes, something stirs inside her chest, propelling her forward. She throws her arms around the girl’s neck and hugs her tightly.

“Next time, we’ll be the ones scoring those goals.” Kazuha whispers into her ear, wrapping her arms around Sakura’s waist gently as if afraid she’s going to break her.

“Promise,” Sakura demands in a shaky voice and squeezes her eyes shut.

“Promise,” Kazuha chuckles softly.

And that’s all the assurance Sakura needs to believe.

 

🌸🍃

 

She has no idea how she ended up here. Here, meaning in front of the pub and on Kazuha’s back. All she knows is that her eyelids feel heavy, and the world is spinning despite them standing still, and nothing is like it’s supposed to be.

As if the earth has shattered, and someone put it back together but all wrong. The harsh lights of the street lamps blind her, and the noises of the passing cars hurt her ears. She takes a deep breath, relieved to find out that at least one thing remains intact - the familiar scent of jasmine flowers. And just like that the world slows down, its rough shapes softening, and the jarring sounds become nothing but a mere hum in the distance. 

Across from her, a pair of drowsy eyes is peeking from above Yunjin’s shoulder. Chaewon looks at her in some sort of wordless, mutual understanding. And Sakura thinks they should probably hail a taxi, but Chaewon doesn’t mention it, so neither does Sakura. She’s not sure, however, why their sober friends don’t do it.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let these two drink those tequila shots,” Yunjin says and adjusts her hold on Chaewon. “Geez, for your pocket-size, you’re quite heavy.”

“Excusse me?” Chaewon straightens up and reaches to squish Yunjin’s cheeks together, slurring her demands of apology.

“Oww, soowy,” Yunjin mumbles while trying to free her face from Chaewon’s offending palms.

Satisfied, or simply too tired, Chaewon lets go of her cheeks and plops her head back on the goalkeeper’s shoulder.  

Kazuha laughs at them, her shoulders shaking, and Sakura thinks it’s an odd sensation to not only be able to hear someone’s laughter, but to actually feel it with your own body as well. 

Her cheeks flare up. She blames it on the alcohol but tries to hide her face behind Kazuha’s leather clad back, nonetheless. 

“Anyway, let me know once you arrive at your place,” Yunjin says her goodbyes while Chaewon takes care of the waving.

“You okay, Sakura?” Kazuha glances behind at her, worry evident in her eyes, and Sakura hates how the alcohol dulls her spatial awareness but heightens the rest of her senses. 

How everything feels too much. Too soft. Too sweet. Too hot. Is it because they are alone, again? Has it been their friends’ presence that actually kept her calm and grounded?

Her grip around Kazuha’s arms tightens. She can’t understand why she feels like she’s about to lose her balance when she’s not even moving. 

“Sakura? Are you feeling sick?”

In a way she does, just not in a sense Kazuha means it.

“I’m fine,” she mumbles against the black leather that smells like jasmine.

Too sweet…

“Okay, let’s go then. But let me know in case you feel sick, okay?”

Sakura hums her agreement.

“You know I can walk on my own, right?” Sakura murmurs, staring at the passing cars, and fighting off the sleep from her eyes.

“No, you can’t. You’ve tried, remember? At the pub? You stood up and toppled over right away.”

Sakura frowns as she searches for the memory through the blur and haze of her drunk mind but arrives at nothing.

“You even broke a glass by accident,” Kazuha continues to feed her clues. “The one that had an image of a globe on it?”

That last bit of information is what finally jogs Sakura’s memory, and it starts playing in her head.

She stood up from her seat, but felt like she was on a ship during a storm, and in a desperate attempt to save herself from falling over, she tried to grab onto the table but caught the glass instead. If not for Kazuha catching her, she would have ended up face first on the floor.

Right. Kazuha caught her. Her face didn’t end up on the floor, but against Kazuha’s… chest…

She squeezes her eyes shut and shakes her head, trying to bury the memory back behind the drunken haze.

“Sakura?”

“I’m fine,” she assures quickly, realizing that her sudden movements must have been alarming to the younger girl. “I’m sorry.”

Kazuha lets out a chuckle. “For what?”

“For everything.” 

“It’s okay. After all, Japan won and you were just celebrating. Plus, the glass was empty, and the owner didn’t even want us to pay for it.”

Sakura shakes her head. “Your back will hurt,” she mumbles. 

“You can give me a massage as a payback.”

Sakura’s eyes snap open. Has the girl sounded smug just now, or are her ears playing tricks on her? In an attempt to find her answer, Sakura props her chin on Kazuha’s shoulder, tilting her head to take a better look at her profile.

“What?” The girl stares back at her, eyes twinkling and an impish smile on her lips. “I cannot let you walk. You’ll break your legs and who will play with me in the World Cup, hm?” She bumps her forehead gently against Sakura’s then directs her eyes back to the path ahead.

Sakura feels her cheeks pulse with heat, and so she slinks back to hide behind Kazuha’s shoulder again.

“You weren’t drinking, were you?” She wonders out loud as she tries to somehow understand the girl’s sudden boldness.

“I’m nineteen, remember?”

“Yet you’re the one who is taking care of me,” Sakura mumbles under her breath.

“I don’t mind.” Kazuha’s voice is soft, sincere, everything Sakura doesn’t want it to be.

And it doesn’t escape her notice how Kazuha takes a longer route through the park. She doesn’t comment on her choice, but she can feel the girl is starting to get tired, her breathing heavier and muscles taunt.

“Let’s take a break there,” Sakura suggests, pointing at a park bench.

“Do you feel sick?” Kazuha asks, because of course she does. 

“No, but if this is the only reason for you to take a break, then yes.”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Kazuha chuckles and stops beside the bench. 

Carefully, she lets go of Sakura. But once her legs make contact with the ground, she’s back to being a newborn foal as she wobbles to the side. Luckily for her, Kazuha’s reflexes never fail her, and she grabs onto her palms to stabilize her. With her help, Sakura plops down on the bench.

Leaning her head back against the bench, she inhales the crisp September air, hoping it will sober her up a bit. A chilly gust of wind sweeps across the park, rustling the leaves and messing up her hair. She’s too tired to fix it though, and only wraps her arms around herself. The heat she felt while being pressed against Kazuha’s back, now dissipated, and she starts to shiver.

“Cold?”

She looks up at Kazuha. The girl is still standing, hands shoved to the pockets of her jacket, and somehow her hair still looks perfect despite the wind. 

She shakes her head because she knows that the moment she admits she’s cold, the girl will do something foolish like giving her own jacket to her. Sakura can tell that’s what she’s thinking right now. She has that stupid idea written all over her cute, grinning face.

“You sure?” the girl asks, arching an eyebrow.

Sakura frowns. “Yes, now can you sit down? We’re supposed to take a break.” 

Kazuha takes a step forward, swivels around, and finally takes a seat on the bench. Then she gives Sakura a look of a pup who awaits praise for a well executed trick. And that’s how Sakura knows she’s nowhere near being sober, because only a drunk mind could conjure an image of Kazuha with puppy ears and a fluffy, white tail that wags excitedly. 

She stifles a groan of embarrassment that the thought prompts, and averts her gaze to the ground. To distract herself from thinking how if Kazuha were a dog, she most likely would be a Samoyed, because they smile all the time just like she does, she kicks at the fallen leaves under her feet.

“Hey, don’t treat my bros like that,” Kazuha says, nudging her arm.

Her lame joke forces Sakura to look at her again. Kazuha feigns offense, but under Sakura’s questioning, not at all impressed gaze, her expression cracks and she starts to giggle. It’s silly and infectious, and before Sakura knows it, they are both laughing.

Once they calm down, Sakura rests her head on Kazuha’s shoulder. She no longer feels cold, but shivers when Kazuha reaches to move her stray locks out of her face, placing them gently behind her ear.

Her hands ball into fists at her sides, fingernails digging into the insides of her palms, and she wills herself not to look up, afraid of what she may see.

“Sakura? ” 

Kazuha’s voice is quiet. Too quiet for Sakura’s liking, but then it occurs to her that maybe the girl is just checking whether she’s still awake.

“Yeah?"

“Yunjin and Chaewon, they like each other, right?”

Sakura’s palms relax. “They sure look like they do.” 

“So why aren't they together?”

Sakura shrugs. “Maybe they’re afraid it would impact the team negatively.”

“How so?” Kazuha asks, and Sakura can feel her gaze on her.

She looks up, and she’s right, of course. Kazuha stares at her, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Sakura sighs. “What if they have like an argument, and then their mood affects their game play, and causes misunderstandings.”

“But that can happen regardless if they are on the same team or not. Does this mean they can never date each other?” Kazuha argues, and Sakura has to agree she has a point, but she’s too tired and drunk to think of any other reasons as to why Chaewon and Yunjin remain just friends. 

“Haachan…” she mumbles against Kazuha’s shoulder as her eyelids begin to droop and consciousness starts slipping.

There’s a pause, and Sakura begins to suspect Kazuha fell asleep herself until she hears a soft ‘ hm?' .

“Can we go home, please?”

“Of course.” 

Kazuha stands up from the bench which causes Sakura to slide down. It’s not the most comfortable position, but she’ll take it.

“Hey, Sakura, don’t fall asleep. You can take a nap on my back. Come on.” Kazuha lifts her back to a sitting position and crouches in front of her.

Acting on autopilot at this point, Sakura clambers onto Kazuha’s back and snuggles into her jacket. The last thing she sees before she drifts off into the dreamland, are the rustling, falling leaves. 

And strangely, she feels like she’s falling herself too…