Chapter 195To Keep the Heart
"Wataru was taken to the hospital...?"
After those words that she muttered in her heart, Aika could no longer talk to Kei. She was tempted to run out of the classroom immediately to find out the facts, but Kei gently put his hand on Aika's arm and shook her head. They didn't have the freedom to go outside, as their homeroom teacher was preparing to enter their class. They tried to contact Wataru to let him know that they were worried about him by scrolling through their smartphone screens with their trembling fingertips, but without knowing the reason why he was rushed to the hospital, they didn't know how to start this chat.
"..."
"A-Aichi..., ...calm down?"
Kei calmed Aika, who was probably very agitated, to the point of sobbing on the spot. Aika stopped moving with a worried look in front of her best friend's eyes and looked glum.
"You're worried, aren't you?"
"...Yeah."
Aika finally calmed down for a moment after hearing those words, which matched her pace. Before Aika realized it, she found herself successfully sitting on her seat. Kei's arm embraced Aika from behind, and a cotton scarf gently wrapped around her fidgeting heart.
"I'm sure Sajocchi will be fine, so just endure yourself for a while, okay?"
"...Yeah."
A voice whispered softly in Aika's ear. Aika, conscious of her composure, obediently agreed with that reasoning. While her heart rejected that it was not the right time to receive warmth from others, she could not deny the comforting feeling of warmth on her neck from her own blood.
Staring straight at her desk, Aika felt the time passing slowly.
♦
"Sajou-kun, I think he's a little injured, that's why he's on his way to the hospital. It's a shame, because we were about to finish the Cultural Festival with the whole class intact."
"Injured..."
This was the Homeroom session that Aika had been waiting for. Their homeroom teacher, Ootsuki-sensei, recounted one fact that was among the information regarding Wataru's condition. It was the worst of several possible cases. None of his classmates dared to make fun of Wataru here.
"Okay, but that story starts from the day after tomorrow..."
The topic of conversation soon switched to another. The atmosphere was successfully controlled by Ootsuki-sensei so that the atmosphere did not become heavy. The students, who were already rolling on their palms, soon returned to their normal limits. The topic then changed to complaints about the drinking party with the old male employees that would follow later. ─The topic of Wataru had disappeared from the minds of more than fifty percent of the students, who were smiling right now.
When the Homeroom session was over and the disbanding was announced, Kei and Sasaki came to Aika's seat. Sasaki was followed by a confused Saitou Mai. Sasaki's girlfriend, who had just started dating him, must have had mixed feelings when he chose to approach other female students after the Homeroom session was over.
"Natsukawa... ...this disbanding party, are you coming?"
"Eh...?"
That was a concern from Sasaki himself. After thinking about Aika in a certain way, Sasaki knew that Aika was not the kind of girl who would forget the hurt of someone close to her and have fun. Although she hesitated, her hesitation was indeed short-lived, but Aika's thoughts tended to choose not to participate because she didn't think that she could enjoy the event in any way.
Her best friend, on the other hand, called out to her.
"Aichi, you're coming too, aren't you...? I think it might be more confusing for you if you just daydream in the classroom."
"Kei..."
Her best friend's argument, saying that there was nothing they could do, other than to at least reduce some of their emotional burden by continuing to do something. Sasaki also agreed with this idea.
"Okay, ...I see. I'll go with you guys."
"Yeah, thank goodness!"
Neither worry nor the kindness of one's heart could always be conveyed to others. Aika decided that if she couldn't go with them, it would only be a burden to Wataru if she continued to worry.
(...I see.)
Having regained some of her enthusiasm, Aika turned her attention to Ichinose Mina, who also had a close relationship with Wataru. Sitting across from Aika's seat, by the window on the side of the corridor, Mina was still sitting there even though the Homeroom session was over.
(Eh...?)
Aika was sure that Mina must have been in a state of numbness when she learned about Wataru's injury. That was understandable. However, Aika tilted her head when she saw Mina left alone. Aika was usually quiet, but since the beginning of the second term, she must have been so popular that someone always cared about her.
Aika came over to Mina.
"Ichinose-san..., are you alright?"
"!? Eh? ...Oh, yeah..."
Mina's body trembled with a jolt as Aika placed her hand on Mina's shoulder. Mina immediately realized that it was Aika and immediately looked around as if she had regained consciousness.
"Homeroom session, it's been finished since then, you know."
"Oh, yeah..."
As Aika had expected, Mina did not seem to realize that she was numb. As if realizing this, Mina shrugged her shoulders shyly. Aika, who somehow realized the circumstances and feelings that led to this, asked Mina the same question she had asked her earlier.
"Ichinose-san. This disbanding party, are you coming too?"
"..."
If this girl's heart was the same as Aika's own. So to lessen the burden on her heart, Mina should also come to the disbanding party as suggested by Kei. Aika thought so and decided to invite Mina, even though it was a bit pushy. Before the Cultural Festival started, Aika knew that Mina had been persuaded by her classmates to come to the disbanding party.
That girl looked at Aika with doubtful eyes─.
"I-I got... ...part-time job today!"
"Oh, I see..."
Mina stood up with more agility than Aika had expected, and after saying no in words Aika hadn't expected, Mina grabbed her school bag and ran out of the classroom with lightning-fast steps. Mina wasn't sure what she should say in response, and it was too late to reach out to intercept her.
(TL Note: It's getting more and more obvious which one is the real heroine?)
"Is she going to be okay, huh...?"
"That's very kind of you, Aichi."
Kei approached Aika, who looked worried, smiling as she looked at her with caring eyes and a smile as she came over. Combined with the fact that Mina had flatly refused Aika's advances, she could only blush.
♦
A large room in a karaoke bar had been booked on the initiative of the students in their classroom. The place was indeed a bit cramped to fit all the participating classmates, but since it was after the Cultural Festival, it was filled with students from Kōetsu High School from the very beginning. Students in familiar uniforms came and went between the various rooms of the karaoke bar. Sasaki was headlocked and carried by a senpai from the Soccer Club.
The room was abuzz with singing and music. The corners of Aika's mouth naturally turned up and she was drawn into the atmosphere here. Aika wasn't the type to make noise, even when she was happy. So she just sat quietly on the sofa and held her drink with both hands, but it was more than enough to dispel her not-so-cheerful feelings.
In the midst of all this, a rather calm prelude began to play. It was a song with a female vocalist that all the girls seemed to know. The cue for the awaited schoolgirls arrived and the female students in the room went into a frenzy.
"Aichi! Let's sing!"
"Eh!? Eh...!?"
Kei put Aika's glass on the table and tugged on Aika's arm. She was pulled in front of everyone, confused by this sudden invitation, and out of nowhere a new microphone was passed around her.
A song that started with Kei. After the A melody, Aika began to sing shyly so that she wouldn't be left behind. The male students quietly listened to her low voice, which had been honed through repeated lullaby for her little sis, as if to say that they were taking a break. This is indeed a traditional karaoke bar.
After they finished singing, they realized it was a romantic song and blushed.
"Hoh—..."
The girls' turn continued, their voices died down somewhat, and Aika sat on the sofa to breathe, though she did not move her body. Kei, who was elsewhere, threw balloons of party goods that had been inflated by someone and smashed them into the faces of the students.
At that moment, a number of cell phones placed on the table lit up. Aika's cell phone was no exception. When she picked it up and checked the screen, it was a notification that a new message had entered the class messaging group.
[Sorry, I can't go. I messed up.]
Aika's eyes changed color and she unlocked her smartphone after seeing the corresponding short message on the notification screen. Aika tried to contact Wataru immediately, but the group message had already been updated by one student after another, having started with a single word from Wataru. Not a few of her classmates were sliding their fingers over their smartphones for nothing to do.
[I've heard from Ootsuki-chan. Are you okay?]
[Good job. Where were you injured?]
[I thought you weren't here.]
"Uh..."
There wasn't much time during the day for Aika to touch her smartphone. It was a natural consequence of not being able to keep up with the fast typing and incoming messages of her smartphone-addicted classmates. While Aika was choosing her words, the group's updates accelerated. On top of that, they were asking her what she wanted to ask Wataru, so she was losing even more time to chat.
[My palm. When I was cleaning up, then a tool got stuck in it, and my gland got stuck.]
"Ah..."
Small squeals of 'Ah...' sounded out of nowhere from all around them. It seemed that they were already imagining Wataru's words in pictures. Aika was no exception. There was a male student, who was unable to hold the affected part, gripping his wrist with his other hand and showing a pained expression. There was a male student who fell to his knees and groaned, rubbing his cheeks against the floor without hurting himself. Aika's mind was filled with a very vivid image of that boy being carried away by someone else. Unable to bear it, Aika pressed her smartphone against her chest.
[Are you serious?]
[I think it hurts!]
[No problem. It's still not enough, just get hospitalized.]
Aika couldn't believe those words.
Aika could not hear Wataru's voice from the message on the app. Aika couldn't read Wataru's facial expressions. How many facts were in his words that were released just by moving his fingertips?
All eyes were on Aika who was standing. Some classmates were marching towards the door of the karaoke bar room, and some other classmates, guessing something, sank deeply into the sofa. In front of them, Aika quickly ran over.
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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