Volume 1 - CH 65

“Are you okay, Himekawa?”

In front of me, I see Himekawa lying on the ground.

And, next to her, a large jar was lying on the floor.

The jar may have fallen from the shelf and hit Himekawa.

I turn Himekawa on her back and put her in a comfortable position. She is breathing.

No major trauma. Is she unconscious?

“Himekawa! Hey, Himekawa!”

I put my hand on her shoulder and call out softly, but she doesn’t respond.

I quickly carry Himekawa in my arms to get her out of the room.

“Oh, it’s not heavy!”

With no strength at all, I tried to stand up by putting my hands under her armpits and behind her knees to carry Himekawa in a princess carry from the floor, but she was heavier than I had expected.

I wondered how a human being could be so heavy.

I often see scenes of brides in wedding dresses being carried by their groomsmen down the stairs in a princess carry, but perhaps all men are muscular?

Himekawa is not that big. She is rather petite, and even her body shape is slender.

However, she is heavier than I expected.

“Hnnnnn!”

I stand up with all my might, putting all my strength into my waist, legs and arms.

Oooooh! I feel like a weightlifter.

I was able to stand up while carrying Himekawa in a princess-like position!

Himekawa’s breathing is normal, but her breath is getting a little raspy.

And her face is reddening without her mind. Is she running a fever?

Instead of panicking, I slowly walked out of Himekawa’s room and went down the stairs.

Then, instead of going out the front door, he goes out the window of his room to the porch, puts on his sandals, and escapes.

I lay Himekawa down on the futon already laid out and check her breathing.

Should I check to see if his heart is beating too?

I’m going to put my ear to Himekawa’s chest to listen to the sound of her heartbeat, right?

…… Himekawa’s chest? Chest?

I can’t help it. I have no choice but to do it.

I slowly unbutton Himekawa’s cardigan, starting from the top.

I’m sorry! But I have to do it! Let’s go!

My face was about to be sucked into Himekawa’s chest.

—

“Tsukasa, what are you doing?”

My mother is standing next to me, staring at me.

“Shouldn’t I be checking for a heartbeat?”

“Huh… check the pulse with your wrist. Here, do this.”　

Mom sits next to me, takes Himekawa’s wrist, and checks her pulse while looking at her watch.

“Her pulse is quite fast, but it’s normal. Tsukasa, you need to study a little more.”

“Oh, oh.”

I am out of my mind. I am looking at the sky in the distance.

“The first thing you need to do is to call the emergency services and fire department as soon as possible after evacuating the injured. If there is a fire, we need to take initial action.”

“Do I have to put out the fire right away?

“If the fire is small enough. Anri-chan, that’s enough, get up. Thank you for playing the injured party.”

Himekawa opens her eyes and silently buttons up her cardigan.

And then she looks at me with a warm, lukewarm look. Ah, please stop. I am very sorry.

“Tsukasa-kun… Am I heavy?”

“You are not heavy. Yes, light, light.”

In truth, she was heavy. However, I couldn’t say in front of a woman, “You are heavy! I would not be able to say that even if the heavens and the earth were turned upside down.

If I did, this place would be a sea of blood.

Well, I don’t think that would happen to Himekawa alone.

“Tsukasa. Try to hold Anri-chan in your arms again.”

“Eh?”

I need to hold her again. We exchanged glances with each other, “Is it okay? It’s okay, isn’t it?” and converse telepathically.

I silently approach Himekawa and offer my arm.

Himekawa also answers me and puts her arm on my shoulder.

Hnnnn. Ah? It’s not as heavy as before.

“Oh, I’m not too heavy, am I?”

“I’m fine, it’s light, light.”

Himekawa’s thin arm is on my shoulder.

And my arms are holding the soft Himekawa firmly.

I should not be shy here. Himekawa must be embarrassed too.

I must be mindless. Get through this situation with a mind of nothingness.

“She is lighter than before, isn’t she? A person who has stopped moving is heavier than you think. Tsukasa, you should train yourself for emergencies.”

After listening to Mom’s words of encouragement, I released Himekawa.

There is still a faint scent of goodness in the air.

Then we’ll do some fire drills in the yard. We won’t actually use a fire extinguisher, but we’ll pretend we will.

Mom had a fire extinguisher in her hand. The familiar fire extinguishers you often see at schools and commercial establishments.

If you think about it, it was in the corner of the kitchen. It was totally interior decor, you know.

“Then that’s the goal. Let’s try it together.”

“I understand. Can I do it first?”

“Okay, sure. Then I’ll watch from the other side.”

I moved to the opposite side of Himekawa and watched him from a little distance.

Holding a fire extinguisher in her hand, she vigorously pulls out the pin?

Then she points the end of the hose at the target.

“Here we go!”

Hey! Didn’t she just pull out the pin? If you pull it out—

—Shoooo

My eyes went completely white.

Then the yard of the Gohashi boarding house went white in a wide area, and a white smoky substance drifted into the sky.

“I am so sorry! I pulled out the pin by mistake!”

“I can see it when I look at it. But, well, what has been done can’t be helped. I’ll have to get you a new fire extinguisher.”

“Mom, will this powder affect the human body?”

“A little bit is all right. Get rid of the powder and take a shower. That’s it for the drill.”

“Tsukasa-kun! I’m sorry! I’ll clean the powder with you!”

“I’m fine. You don’t have to do it. It’ll turn Himekawa white, too.”

“But ……”

She looks at me with puppy dog eyes, almost as if she’s going to half cry.

Don’t look at me like that, please.

“I’m fine, really. Take care of Mom and the garden, will you?”

I shrug off Himekawa’s arm, and at a short distance, I dust off the powder from my body.

Oh, no! It’s so powdery! I can’t wait to get rid of it!

I try to remove the powder with my hands, but I can’t get it off.

I can’t get it off even if I jump or run!

Then Himekawa came up next to me and brushed my back.

Her expression was like a candle with the light had gone out.

Himekawa is silently and diligently brushing my back.

“I’m all right now. Don’t make that face.”

I lightly patted Himekawa on the head.

“I’m sorry.”

“Look, it’s not powdery anymore. Now, I’m going to take a bath. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Oh, but I still have to…”

Hearing Himekawa’s voice, I go to the bathroom and wash off.

Then I get dressed and set my hair up a bit. It still feels kind of powdery.

While I’m in the bathroom, I hear them talking from the kitchen.

Are they preparing breakfast?

“And how did it feel to be held?”

“Eh? It was normal. Normal.”

“Hmm…”

“I, it’s really normal!”

“Are you blushing?”

“No, I’m not!”

I don’t know what they are talking about in the morning. 

I changed into new clothes and left the bathroom.

“Mom. Milk!”　

I went to the kitchen to cut off their conversation.