A few hours later, after school.
I had work as a library committee member today, so I was working alone in the library. As usual, the library was very quiet with no one coming in.
「Alright. I’ve finished all my tasks for today, so I guess I’ll head homeー.」
After successfully completing my library committee work, I stretched lightly and left the library. Then I walked down the hallway at a leisurely pace.
「Still, it feels like the heat is coming back again. Haa, it’s hot today tooー.」
I muttered to myself while fanning with my hand. Although it’s supposed to be autumn, the temperature has been rising again recently. Today it’s over 30 degrees again.
「Unn, this must be tough for people in sports clubs.」
Thinking this, I walked down the hallway. And when I reached the shoe lockers, I changed my shoes and stepped out onto the grounds.
「Ah, come to think of it…」
As I stepped onto the grounds, I remembered the conversation I had with Sakurai-san during break time today.
── Fufu, but if you’re that close… why don’t you come and cheer for the volleyball club? I’m sure Saki would be really happyー!
Suddenly, I remembered Sakurai-san’s words. By the way, the gym where the volleyball club practices is just beyond the grounds. And Sasaki-san should be at volleyball practice today too. Which means Sasaki-san is in the gym right now…
「Unn, I’d like to cheer for my friend too, but…」
But it’s a bit embarrassing since everyone around is a girl… Well, it’s a “girls’ volleyball club”, so it’s obvious that everyone around would be a girl.
But more than feeling embarrassed, I overwhelmingly didn’t want Sasaki-san to feel uncomfortable. After all, there’s a normal possibility that she might not want acquaintances to see her working hard in the volleyball club.
「Unn, well, Sakurai-san did say that, but still, if I suddenly go, it might trouble Sasaki-san… Yeah, that’s right! I’ll ask Sasaki-san for permission properly before going!」
Well, I indeed want to cheer for my friends when they’re working hard. So I want to properly support my friend Sasaki-san. But if Sasaki-san thinks it’s embarrassing and doesn’t want to be cheered on by an acquaintance, I don’t want to do it.
So I thought I’d properly ask Sasaki-san if I could come and cheer for the volleyball club next time. And if Sasaki-san says no, I’ll obediently give up…
「「Kyaaaaaa!」」
「Eh!?」
As I was leisurely walking around the grounds thinking about this, I suddenly heard what sounded like girls screaming from inside the gym nearby.
「W-What was that all of a sudden…?」
Thinking it was an emergency, I hurried towards the gym.
When I entered the gym, there was already a crowd of people. And at the center of it all… Sasaki-san was lying on her back.
「Eh… Ehh!? S-Sasaki-san!? W-What happened!?」
I quickly rushed to where Sasaki-san was lying. I saw her grimacing and holding her leg.
「Hi, higg… Saki-senpai… I’m sorry…」
「Eh…?」
As I approached Sasaki-san, there was a girl crying next to her. If I remember correctly, this girl is a first-year student, Segawa-san. It seems Segawa-san knows something.
「Um, what happened? Could you tell me…?」
「Gusu… It’s my fault… Actually…」
After listening to Segawa-san’s detailed explanation… it seems that the temperature in the gym was higher than usual today, and Segawa-san suffered a mild heatstroke during practice, almost falling headfirst to the ground.
And then Sasaki-san quickly noticed Segawa-san about to fall and rushed to her at full speed, sliding to the ground and catching Segawa-san as she fell.
Thanks to Sasaki-san using her whole body to catch her, Segawa-san was unharmed, but on the other hand, Sasaki-san couldn’t stand up.
It seems that due to the momentum of rushing at full speed, sliding into an awkward position, and putting a lot of strain on her legs while catching Segawa-san, Sasaki-san ended up twisting her ankle badly…
「I see. Well, how should I put it… haha, that’s so like Sasaki-san.」
「…Is that… supposed to be a compliment?」
As I understood the situation from Segawa-san’s explanation, Sasaki-san glared at me with cold eyes, sweat on her forehead. As expected, even when injured, Sasaki-san doesn’t change at all.
「Yeah, it’s a compliment, a compliment. I just thought you were as cool as always.」
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「…Being called cool as a girl… doesn’t really feel like a compliment…」
「Haha, true enough. Yeah, that was my bad. Sorry. So, is Segawa-san okay? She almost fell too, right?」
「Eh? Ah, y-yes… If anything, after being saved, I got wide awake…」
「Ahh, I see. Maybe you were surprised and it woke you up. But if it was heatstroke, that’s definitely not good, so you should rehydrate and cool your body down. I’ll take care of Sasaki-san, so don’t worry.」
「Eh, b-but… gusu…」
「…You don’t have to cry about it… Look, I’m tough… I’m totally fine. A-Actually… fufu, it doesn’t hurt that much, so if I just rest a bit, I’ll be fine…」
「Eh… b-but──」
「Ahaha, yeah, yeah, that’s Sasaki-san for you! Being physically tough is definitely one of Sasaki-san’s strengthsー! …So, see, Sasaki-san is saying she’s okay, so it’s fine. So Segawa-san, you should rehydrate properly and take a break.」
「…Y-Yes, understood… Then, um… senpai, I’ll leave the rest to you.」
「Yeah, leave it to me. See you later.」
「Yes, excuse me…」
Saying that, I watched Segawa-san leave. Then I immediately spoke to Sasaki-san.
「Well then… Sasaki-san. Are you really fine?」
「Eh? W-What do you mean? F-Fufu… I said I’m fine, didn’t I…?」
No matter how you look at it, she’s definitely not fine. Sasaki-san is clearly putting on a brave face. Yet, despite beads of sweat on her forehead, she smiled and told me she was fine.
(Well, I know that Sasaki-san is originally a girl with that kind of personality…)
「……」
「…W-What? Why are you suddenly silent? F-Fufu… like I said, if I just rest a bit, I’ll be fine… so, you don’t have to worry about me…」
Even though Sasaki-san’s face was distorted with pain, she kept forcing a smile and telling me she was okay.
But as I looked at Sasaki-san’s smiling face…
「……」
As I looked at Sasaki-san’s smiling face… for the first time in my life, I felt a bubbling anger towards her. But now is not the time to talk about such things.
「Sasaki-san, for now, we’re going to the infirmary right away.」
「Eh…? N-No… I said I’m fine. I think I’ll be better if I rest a bit, so Yamada, you should just go home without worrying about me──」
「That’s enough.」
「Eh…?」
I interrupted Sasaki-san mid-sentence. Then I slowly crouched down in front of her, who was lying down, spread my arms, and placed my hands under her back and knees.
「Sasaki-san, I’m touching around your legs now, does it hurt anywhere here? Are you okay?」
「Eh? Y-Yeah… it doesn’t hurt…」
「I see, that’s good. Then… could you put your hand on my shoulder?」
「Eh? O-Okay… like this?」
「Yeah, yeah, that’s fine. Alright, then… up we go!」
I lifted Sasaki-san up in one swift motion, holding her in my arms. It was what you would call a “princess carry”.
「Eh… U-Uwaa!? Wawa!?」
「Ah, sorry, Sasaki-san. Does it hurt after all?」
「Eh…!? Ah, n-no! T-That’s not it! U-Um… d-don’t worry about it…!」
「Unn? Well, if you’re fine, that’s good. Then, let’s hurry to the infirmary!」
「Eh… ehh? Ah… o-okay…!」
So with that, I hurried towards the infirmary while tightly carrying Sasaki-san in my arms.