Chapter 190
Barely
"Why? What's wrong!? I mean, that hand of yours!"
Perhaps sensing that I had given up on something, the gyaru-like senpai rolled her eyes and started making noise. Although it was noisy, I didn't feel that it was distracting at the moment. I see... ...this is what despair is all about. My pain seems to have subsided due to the excess power expelled from my body.
"I'll call Reiko-chan!"
"..."
If you look closely, you will immediately realize that this was no ordinary accident and Senpai ran out of the infirmary in a hurry. Although I saw her black hair and skirt swaying, I didn't feel any unnecessary emotions in this situation.
"...Oh..."
"..."
Someone's feet appeared in front of me. I looked up slightly and found Young Lady awkwardly holding herself up with one hand. Apparently, she followed me all the way here. I was just annoyed at seeing something so pretty at the moment, so I stared at the floor without saying anything to her. I didn't have time to care about her. If she wanted, she could just go home first.
"..."
"..."
The silence brought my consciousness back to my left hand. I didn't like it, and the faint commotion in the distance distracted me from the pain in my left hand. Although I don't know what happened to my blood, the oily sweat running down my temples seems to have stopped.
"─ I've brought you the doctor!"
"Ugh...?"
A few minutes later, Senpai from earlier directly entered through the entrance that was left open, bringing a doctor with her. She was very fast. She seemed more cooperative than I thought. A glimmer of hope, but instead, my pain returned.
"Are you hurt? Wait, that's you?"
"O-Oh... ...Hello!"
There was a female infirmary doctor coming at a brisk pace from behind Senpai. She seemed to be in a hurry as she was panting slightly. She was very reliable in her aged white coat. I felt bad for inconveniencing her again, after I fainted in the first term. At least, I could tell that she remembered my face.
"Sajou-kun, that hand of yours..."
"─Eh, "Sajou"?"
"Anyway, come with me."
I was gently supported on my back and told to sit on the round chair in front of the examination table at the back of the room. This senpai was surprised to hear my name, but I guess she was curious because there was a Yankee girl with the same surname as me in her school year. Yeah, I'm also curious about what the girls in the same school year as Big Sis think of her, of course, besides Shinomiya-senpai and the gang.
After a few questions regarding the affected area with Shindou-sensei, who was sitting opposite me, my left hand was placed on her forearm with my palm facing up.
"Can I take the tissue off?"
"Eh...?"
"I'll take it off, okay."
"Y-Yeah..."
Sensei must have seen my panicked face because she immediately made a decision and started moving right away.
Looking at the tissue wrapped around my left hand, which was completely red and stained, Sensei took out a small pair of scissors. I heard the sound of swallowed saliva from me and the person behind me. That was the last thing I wanted to see in this world right now.
"Eek..."
Scissors were inserted from the side of the red scroll, whose seams were no longer recognizable. The juicy scroll hanging on the back of my hand could be easily cut. I was indeed no longer panicking but instead felt scared.
The roll of tissue on the inside of my hand was removed. I felt a slippery sensation as if it was stuck to my skin. Just for this moment, my fear overpowered my pain. Goosebumps ran all over my body.
"This is..."
"...."
Shindou-sensei frowned. I also swallowed as I saw the state of my left hand for the first time. Black had been added to the red color earlier, making it impossible to ascertain the severity of my injury in detail. But as I looked at the center of my palm, which had clearly lost its "surface" shape, my mind drifted. ─ Oh, this is a serious injury.
"On the back of my hand, huh?"
"..."
"I see."
Although I didn't answer her, Shindou-sensei knew the answer right away. I didn't have the courage to check for myself what was really going on, at least not on the back of my hand. She seemed to have realized that already.
"In any case, we can't do much here. Let's stop the bleeding and go to the hospital immediately."
"O-Okay."
Sensei, who had clearly changed the color of her eyes, suggested in a tone of voice that made me unsure whether I should say yes or no. I could only nod. She told me to wrap my left hand with fresh gauze and place my hand on the table to keep as much pressure on my arm as possible to keep it under control. I listened to what she said like an adult.
"But it's late... ...and the outpatient reception will be closed at this time, so the only option is to use an ambulance... ...and I need to discuss this with the school."
"Uh..."
It seemed that I was worse off than I thought, and I was dripping with cold sweat. Calling an ambulance meant that this school would be filled with the sound of ni-no-ni-no-ni-no. It must be very conspicuous. I really wanted to avoid that, but it didn't seem to work.
"...E-Eh, well, then, leave it to me, I'll take care of it."
Just as I was feeling down because of that really bad thing, Young Lady interrupted from the side. Inevitably, I turned my gaze towards her in the hope that she wouldn't do anything flashy again. It wasn't like when she was holding the cutter, her face showed a strong will.
"Eh, are you?"
"Yeah, I'm Shinonome-Claudine Marika, a first-year student! I'm a student of the West Side!"
"What's that? Are you implying that you have personal contacts?"
"Y-Yeah!"
"Do you think it could be faster?"
"Yeah! That's right!"
"...Well... ...Is it more reliable?"
I don't think we need to call an ambulance. I feel like I'm saved... ...and I don't know what to say about this injury, but if I can go to the hospital without being conspicuous, that would be great. I'll just take the young lady's word for it here.
"—Wait a minute."
"Wh-What's wrong?"
Just as I stroked my chest with my right hand in relief, this time, a shadow came from the other side of my field of vision. The senpai from earlier was still behind me. Her tone of voice was calm and had lost its gyaru vibe and elegance.
"I don't know because I haven't heard the details of the situation, but won't it cause any inconvenience to this Sajou-kun?"
As I turned to look at her, I saw her expression was serious, much different from when we first met. It was a hostile tone of voice. While the look in her eyes somewhat reminded me of Big Sis, there was a hard and cold atmosphere.
"What are you talking about at a time like this?!"
"Pardon? I come from a school year that doesn't believe in the 'West Side'."
"..."
The young lady became frightened. She seemed unable to find the right words to reply because she lacked composure.
The third-year students ─ This is the school year at Kōetsu High School, which, until last year, was divided into classes A to C on the East Side and classes D to F on the West Side, and they clashed with each other. I didn't feel it because I was related to the Student Council officials who were on the same side. I don't know if this was an everyday occurrence at the time or not...?
There's nothing wrong with that, but this injury is something I made myself. I can't say that Young Lady had nothing to do with it, but it was indeed me who did it. From the start, I never thought that Young Lady would take responsibility for this injury. But if it hadn't caused such a stir, I would have been very grateful.
Just as I was about to follow up on the young lady, Shindou-sensei began to speak up.
"Stop it, Onitsuka-san. Is this something you should be talking to a first-year student about? What is your current capacity as a member of the Infirmary Club?"
"Eh. ...I'm sorry."
An act of lecturing. This gyaru-like senpai is a member of the Infirmary Club. I thought she was just skipping school. Looking at her honesty, she doesn't seem to be a bad person. Even so, I feel that she is still developing, like a first-year student in the process of rehabilitation. She still doesn't seem to have realized, unlike Big Sis. I hope I don't get any more unnecessary licks...
"Shinonome-san, if you say that you have contacts, I will believe in your words. Please talk to them immediately and give me the name of the hospital and the phone number of the plastic surgeon."
"U-Understood! I'll call them right away to have them send a car to pick you up!"
"When will they get here?"
"They'll be here in fifteen minutes!"
"That's fast. Then I'll contact his homeroom teacher, Ootsuki-sensei. Onitsuka-san, could you go to Class X-C, and bring Sajou-kun's luggage here?"
"Okay, understood!"
"You should have said, "Ready"."
"Ready! I'm going now!"
This conversation went more smoothly than I expected. It seemed like I didn't need to call an ambulance. Instead, I got transportation that could take me to the hospital within 30 minutes. I guess this is why the young lady is called a young lady. Should I be grateful...? I'm not sure, though...
I feel that it's a bit rude to have a female senpai, who is short and unknown to me, carry my stuff, even if she is a member of the Infirmary Club. But in this situation, it would be better for the injured person not to do anything selfish. I decided to hold my left hand and try to stop the bleeding.
I thought about how I should explain this injury until the time when we would start moving.
