I held my head and crouched down — the pain was so intense that I couldn’t hear anything around me.
Someone tapped my shoulder to see if I’d react, but I couldn’t respond.
I heard voices arguing with each other.
It was probably Kouhei and someone from the opposing team.
But I couldn’t make out what they were saying.
Even so, I could tell the argument was getting more and more heated.
Yet I couldn’t move or speak.
But through it all, I clearly heard Yuuka’s voice calling out to me.
◆
(Kouhei’s PoV)
Kouhei was panicking — Yuuto had fallen headfirst and wasn’t reacting to anything they were saying.
He tried tapping his shoulder, but there was no response. Calling out didn’t help either.
While he was panicking, three of the four who had made the malicious tackle came to apologize.
However, the one who had been riding on top of the human horse just stood there with his arms crossed, glaring at us.
“Hey, aren’t you going to apologize?” (Kouhei)
I said while glaring back at him.
“He’s the one who failed to break his fall properly, right? It’s a competition—accidents like this happen, don’t they?” (Student)
The other guy said that smugly.
He seemed determined to play the ‘I was on top, so I wasn’t involved’ card to the very end.
And now, he was trying to pin the blame on the four who had been the horse underneath, planning to make his escape.
The other four seemed to realize this too and exchanged glances.
Their expressions were gloomy, like they were thinking, “Here we go again.”
While I kept arguing with the guy for a while, Kaori and Yuuka-chan came running up.
“Kouhei, how’s Yuuto doing?” (Kaori)
Kaori asked between breaths.
“No good. I’ve been calling out, but he’s not responding.” (Kouhei)
As I explained that, Kaori tapped Yuuto’s shoulder.
“Yuuto, Yuuto, if you can hear me, can you squeeze my hand?” (Kaori)
Kaori whispered into Yuuto’s ear and held his hand.
But there was no response from Yuuto.
Seeing that, Yuuka leaned in close to Yuuto’s ear.
“Yuuto, please… answer me.” (Yuuka)
Yuuka, as if praying, held his other hand and gently pressed her forehead against it—and then, it felt like Yuuto’s fingers slightly squeezed back in hers.
Yuuto gradually became aware that his senses were returning.
And in front of him, he could clearly see Yuuka holding his hand.
“Yuuka? I’m okay now, so could you let go of my hand?” (Yuuto)
Kaori-chan looked shocked that he started speaking and quickly let go of his other hand.
Yuuto asked Yuuka to let go too, but she refused, so he just kept gently patting Yuuka’s head for a while.
TL Notes:
Thanks for reading!
Footnote:
- None