Chapter 189Emergency
The first thing I felt was the cold sensation of touching the icy metal.
"—Eh...?"
A powerful voice emanated from the front. Although it was barely more than a breath, there was still one surprise that I never stopped looking for, which was the driving force that connected me to my next action.
There was a sensation of heat that burned through my body.
The second loud crash drowned out the growls and moans that came out of my mouth. The multiple booms and rumbles that were heard over and over again were still as unpleasant as ever. It easily erased the sense of accomplishment I was trying to maintain in my memory.
The scissors brought in were handed back to the young lady in an ironic manner. The tip of the scissors had changed into the color she had probably been expecting for some time.
"...Huh...!?"
For a moment, I heard the sound of the small bubbles that were blown up and bursting. The sound of water dripping on the dry floor seemed to silently absorb some of the smallest water droplets. To prevent further damage to the solidity of the floor, I held tightly onto my left wrist, which was hanging down due to gravity, using my free right hand.
I held my breath and after I held on for a few seconds, and as the sharp pain instantly turned into a dull and continuous pain, I finally had the power to speak. I swallowed the saliva that had collected in my mouth.
"...It's much more painful than I thought...!"
An intense stimulation from within that I had never experienced before. I can't deny that I underestimated it, thinking about how easily I could endure it if I was determined to do so. However, I could not let my actions a few seconds ago go to waste, no matter how stubbornly I tried.
"...Hey, Young Lady?"
"Eek...!?"
You don't want to meet the same fate as this, do you?
As I pleaded with her with my eyes, the cutter fell from her hand. The impact on the floor broke the blades of the cutter, which had broken and flew as far as possible to the corner of the Student Council Office. The young lady, who was already as pale as if drained of blood, threw herself down on the spot, with her back facing the door. That was a victory for me.
"...Ouch...!"
Surprisingly, neither anger nor sadness came to me. Much deeper in my shallow mind, while screaming out in pain, "Ouch, ouch," I was very disappointed with myself for finding that I remained calm.
—Eh... ...What have I done!?!
I was very surprised.
Although I did that for the sake of stopping that young lady from acting too early, showing her how to perforate my hand was crazy. Which of the two of us is the desperate one here? I could certainly do something else better, couldn't I?
As I began to regret this, my common sense began to return. As I looked at my hands, which were close to the floor, and my precious iron was still dripping down, despite the slowing momentum. I must do something about this for now. I'm pretty sure... ...It was placed higher than my heart, wasn't it?
With trembling hands, I grabbed some tissues from a nearby shelf, wrapped them around my left palm, starting from the palm of my hand all the way to the back of my hand, and then I held them. I didn't have the courage to check and see if it had penetrated my hand. I layered more tissue over the red patch. It hurt, it really hurt.
"O-Oh..."
As I resisted my urge to scream in pain, a breathless voice reached my ears, as if it was speaking on my behalf.
"Oh..."
"..."
It seemed that, while there were people who were more distraught than me around, I was able to remain calm despite this injury. Or maybe this was just a miraculous balancing act between high tension and pain?
"..."
The young lady stared painfully at my left hand, with her eyebrows arched in a figure eight, her cheeks gradually getting wet. I could only imagine who she would be crying for, what she was trying to do, and how she was feeling right now.
If the current expression on her face came from the kindness of her heart, then I couldn't help but think that the dark feelings that the young lady had put so wholeheartedly into the scissors must have been overwhelming.
"—It's nothing, I'm not lying, though..."
"Eh...?"
"I was going to vote for Young Lady in the fashion show even though you didn't ask me to vote for you... ...because you are the coolest contestant..."
"..."
I didn't intend to follow up on this, but there was a misunderstanding here. It's natural for her to be paranoid, but I don't like it when she goes around guessing about what I think the problem is. Most importantly, if this could prevent that young lady from doing the same thing, I couldn't help but let her know.
I've never really been involved in this, and I don't know what kind of effort or planning is appropriate for me to put into this, but I know by looking at the appearance of the young lady wearing her regular uniform right now, as she usually does, that the results will be of the highest quality. I don't know much about makeup and decorations, but in my opinion, it would be impossible for her to achieve that level of perfection in just one try. I'm sure there must have been a lot of trial and error involved.
"...But... ...I think it might be a bit of a different story if I envy you because you look so beautiful in all kinds of clothes..."
"Eh...?"
"No, those clothes do look good on you, though..."
Every time I endured the pain, my breathing became labored and my tone became louder. Although I tried to persuade her with my sweet words, her feelings outweighed her kindness.
She could do that because she was rich. She can do that because of how beautiful she is. She can do that because she has a big title. She also had confidence. I'm proud. So she was so easily overwhelmed by this misfortune. Her resentment exploded. Her reasoning also exploded. She tried to hurt herself so easily. I don't know if it's okay if I can say that to her.
The reason why I couldn't empathize with her was because we lived in different worlds. I know that such things are possible. Because I've accepted that situation, that's why I'm here right now. That's why,
"—I don't think you need to shed your tears here."
"Oh..."
I had no choice but to approach her. I hated that so much and patted her mouth. I think I smiled at the same time, but I wonder if I smiled well. I could feel the blood rushing to my head behind my attempt to fix it.
She looked like a heroine with a tragic ending, and it made me angry. I didn't even like her expression when she cried and it didn't suit her. I tried hard to find a good angle, and she put on a pretty face, even when she was crying.
"If you're upset, can you stop crying and stand up?"
"..."
It made me angry with her as if she had nothing left. She was born into a privileged family, had a beautiful face, and caught the attention of many people just a few hours ago, but she was acting as if she had lost her family, her friends, her home, her possessions, and everything.
"If you are frustrated, can you stand up?"
Why did she come with a deadly weapon in her hand? Wasn't it because she had pride in her heart that she wouldn't give it up to someone else? If that's the case, I want her to show a little courage to get angry when someone tells her that her appearance is not "pretty" to look at. She's a young lady with a haughty personality.
"—If you can't do it, I can at least help you up, though...?"
"....!"
I focused my gaze on her eyes as if pleading with me and struck her with my eyes, implicitly threatening her to 'get up.' I was also in pain. When she was asked to extend a hand by someone with an injured hand, it was indeed ironic and nothing more than sarcasm. She does have a personality that I don't like.
At times like this, the same coarse blood as Big Sis might come in handy. With my increasingly sensible thinking, the guts theory was indeed a perfect fit. The forced vigor of my blood made me feel selfishly elated and helped disguise the pain in my left hand.
Because I didn't have enough tissues, my blood ran down my arm and into my sleeve, sticking my uniform to my skin. Although the pain eased, I also felt the same discomfort as I did when I was bathed in sweat in my uniform. This hell will last forever if I have to keep sitting on my back in front of the door. This is bad... ... I think it's time for me to do something about this...
"Ugh... ...Hiccup...!"
"Eh...?"
Just as I was beginning to feel critical, the young lady came to me, holding out her trembling hands while holding back her tears. The ending deviated greatly from what I had expected, and I felt as if I had been betrayed, and finally there was a languid voice that came out of me. For a moment, I felt as if I had forgotten the pain for a moment.
Eh... ...I did say that I would help her up, but does she usually let other people who are injured like this help her up? Seriously? Isn't that a completely different world we live in? But I helped her up, though....
"Ouch...!"
I held her thin and small little hand with my right hand tightly and I pulled the young lady up using almost all my strength. Not only was I annoyed at the young lady who so blithely refused to use her own strength at all, but she was also almost intent on killing me. My left hand was hurting even more because of her. I felt like Vegeta* at his best.
(TL Note: Dragon Ball reference.)
As I helped her up, the young lady finally managed to maintain her own posture.
"Hey..."
"...!"
"Eh, wait a minute..."
Even though we were standing up, she wouldn't let go of my right hand. Just as I was struggling to use my left hand to get out of the way, the young lady leaned toward me. Just when I thought she had let go of my right hand, she instead placed both hands on my chest, as if she were clinging to me, and rested her weight on the opposite side of the direction I wanted to go. I could not hide my unease at this sudden harassment. This young lady was too strong...!
"...Can you let me go to the infirmary?"
That was the slowest voice that ever came out of my mouth.
♦
My journey to the infirmary felt long. My left hand that I held in front of my chest was hot and painful. I realized there was a male senpai, who I didn't know what his name was, who I passed on the way looking at me with surprised eyes. Perhaps my unfounded hope that I would be saved by reaching this room was like building a wall, or perhaps for some reason I didn't even expect the people around me to help me. I was more afraid that the loud noise generated from the noise around me would irritate my injury.
"Ouch..."
There was a sliding door that was perfect. Normally I could easily open that door with one little finger, but right now it felt like I was prying open a metal door. The clear, oily sweat that ran down my chin and soaked the floor looked so healthy, in contrast to my left hand that was oozing red liquid and smudged.
"E-Excuse me...!"
I said so while stroking my chest as soon as I entered the room, and a voice came from behind me saying "Okay" in a cheerful tone. At least, I knew that it didn't sound like the voice of a grown-up infirmary doctor. Along with the sound of light patter on the floor, a female student appeared from the end of the wall in the bed area on the left.
"—Who are you?"
"..."
The girl who appeared in front of me was a gyaru-like big sis with clear and innocent skin, with an "I'm being lazy" appearance. She didn't look like she was my age. She had long wavy black hair, wore a short skirt, had colorful buckles on her wrists, and wore her worn-out school uniform. She didn't look like she was staying here because of serious health problems. Although she looked different, she had the aura of a normal student who had not graduated from an all-girls high school, which reminded me of Big Sis.
"Oh, it's a boy."
It's not just "It's a boy"! Can't you see this bloody left hand of mine?
A girl at the end of her rope instantly made an expressionless face as she looked at me. I thought about saying at least one word that I wanted to say, but I would be in big trouble if she held back. Her loosely tied tie was green. Besides, she's older than me, and I think she's a third-year student like Big Sis. I shouldn't ruin this troublesome senpai's mood in a bad situation like this.
"U-Um... ...Where is the doctor...? ...The infirmary doctor, Shindou-sensei...?"
"Reiko-chan? Is she on her way here now, huh?"
"Ugh..."
...Oh, I'm done for now...
Something jolted in my heart and I sat down on the recliner similar to a sofa right by the door. Since I had no energy left to hold my injured left hand over my chest, I placed my left hand gently on my lap. I felt a hot sensation moving towards my left hand, which was currently in a lower position.
Shindou-sensei... ...So her nickname is Reiko, huh...?
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
If you like our work, please consider supporting us on Ko-fi. 🙏
Support Us: https://ko-fi.com/ninjacross
Donations are very much appreciated.
Special Thanks to Our Current Monthly Supporter: Mr. Ads.
Follow Our Official WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaRa6nHCsU9OAB0U370F
Read in other languages: