CHAPTER 6 – VALENTINE’S KNIGHT-SAMA
PART 02
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When Ai-chan asked me to speak with Kotake about Leon, I didn’t really know how to do so. However, since I was really interested in finding out what Leon had said when Kogure-senpai pa.s.sed him the chocolates, I decided to use that as an excuse to broach the topic.
“Huh? So that’s it?” Ai-chan asked incredulously.
“Yeah. It seems like both Kotake and Yada-kun are really turned off by Leon,” I replied tiredly.
Yes, it was because someone had said the words, ‘Both of them were so cool, just like knights. It’s been so long since I felt like a princess. I’ll remember to add them both to the list of men who will be getting chocolates from me for Valentine’s’ to Leon.
Who, you ask? It was none other than Ms. Minako, Leon’s wife. During that incident at the club, Yada-kun and Kotake had thought that the drunks were hara.s.sing the ladies, and so came to the rescue. Their actions had touched the two women, and Ms. Minako had gushed about them to Leon.
Of course, the two ladies were probably used to men trying to pick them up, and could easily have handled the situation themselves, but having two brave high school boys come to your rescue must have felt good too. And because of that, Leon ended up getting jealous of the boys.
“So that’s it? He’s probably just jealous? And here I was, getting myself all worried for them,” Ai-chan sighed, both in relief and exasperation. Shouldering her bag, she then continued, “Well, that’s settled then. I’m glad it’s all nothing. I have track training now, so I need to go. I may pop in at the MAHO-do later.”
“No problem, I’ll let Momo-chan and Majorika know.”
With that, Ai-chan dashed off down the corridor.
Judging from her performance at the previous track meet, becoming a professional athlete or joining the Olympics was definitely no longer just an unattainable dream for Ai-chan. I’m so proud of her, and I wish she’ll continue working hard to achieve her goal.
As for myself, I’ve been bringing the notes Kogure-senpai had given to me to school every day for study and reference. I’m a little worried because there’s just so much to know about soccer, but I can feel myself slowly starting to make some progress.
“It was so amazing, Doremi-chan. And Ai-chan was so cool too!”
Momo-chan had not stopped her gushing ever since she arrived at the MAHO-do, excitedly reliving what she termed “Ai-chan’s chivalry”.
It happened when Ai-chan was dashing down the corridor after we had said goodbye in the cla.s.sroom. As she was rounding a corner,
“Look out!”
She came face-to-face with Shidou Yuuna-chan, Narita Akira-senpai from the science club, and Miyamae Sora-kun. Narita-senpai had tried to pull Yuuna-chan aside, while Ai-chan did her best to stop herself, but it was all in vain as she b.u.mped hard into Miyamae-kun, who then fell backwards onto Yuuna-chan.
“Sorry, Yuuna-chan. Are you ok? Are you hurt?” Ai-chan apologized hurriedly.
Yuuna-chan had sc.r.a.ped her knee against the corner of a nearby pillar, and it was bleeding slightly. Narita-senpai immediately whipped out his handkerchief and handed it to her.
“I’m ok, it’s just a scratch. Aiko-san, are you hurt?”
“Come on, Yuuna-san, I’ll bring you to the school infirmary. Senoo-san, do come alo-”
But before Narita-senpai could finish his sentence, Ai-chan had picked Yuuna-chan up bridal-style, and had started running to the infirmary with her.
“She was just so quick! I was watching them from the opposite corridor, and lots of people saw it too. In the end, only Miyamae-kun was left standing there alone,” Momo-chan concluded.
What bad luck. He hadn’t made it in time to help Yuuna-chan up, missed the chance to pa.s.s her his handkerchief, and could only watch as Ai-chan carried Yuuna-chan away.
“Was Ai-chan hurt?” I asked.
“Well, she was running to the infirmary with Yuuna-chan in her arms, so I guess she’s alright,” Momo-chan replied, before informing me that Ai-chan had went for her track training after the incident.
The next track meet was scheduled for spring. Ai-chan had broken the record in the national high school category the previous year. Since then, there hadn’t been any major events, so she could not challenge any more records. Since she had been training every single day since winter, I’m sure she’ll be ready to display her prowess in spring.
The next day, Ai-chan was visibly relieved after learning that Yuuna-chan’s injury was slight. Yuuna-chan, being her usual kind self, was instead concerned about Ai-chan, and whether she had strained her muscles during the collision. Yuuna-chan was also slightly embarra.s.sed, no doubt remembering how Ai-chan had carried her all the way to the infirmary the previous day. I mean, it was definitely the hottest topic in school that day.
Yuuna-chan is quite a tiny girl, but I don’t think I could have carried her if I was in Ai-chan’s position. The thought of carrying her probably wouldn’t even have crossed my mind. Ai-chan was probably acting on instinct. It was just like her.
n.o.body knew if that incident was the cause of it, but during training that day, Ai-chan injured her Achilles tendon.
Momo-chan and I learned about this when we were making desserts at the MAHO-do. Suddenly, my mobile phone rang.
Before I could even say h.e.l.lo, Kotake’s urgent voice sounded in my ear, telling me that Ai-chan had gotten injured.
“Ai-chan? Is she alright? Where is she now, at the hospital?” I yelled into the phone, as Momo-chan, Majorika and Lala turned towards me with shocked faces.
“Is Ai-chan hurt?” Momo-chan asked hesitantly after I ended the call. I informed everyone that Kotake had been training as well when he learned about Ai-chan’s injury, and that Nagao-sensei, the teacher in-charge, had already sent her off to the hospital in his car.
“Her calf was hurting, so it might be something to do with the Achilles tendon,” Kotake had told me calmly. It was probably nothing new to him, since injuries were an inevitable part of every athlete’s life, but I was worried for Ai-chan. The track meet wasn’t long off, and I wished her injury wasn’t something serious.
Just as I finished updating everyone on the situation, both my mobile and Momo-chan’s rang out again. It was a message from Ai-chan.
“I guess you girls already know about this. My leg started to hurt when I was running just now, so I was brought to the hospital. I went through a check-up and am home now. The doctor said I have Achilles tendonitis, and told me to take a rest from school if I’m still in pain tomorrow. At least there’s no tearing, so I’ll heal soon. Don’t worry about me. I’m going to bed now zzz”
Ai-chan must have guessed that we would be worried, and sent us this message as rea.s.surance.
“I wonder if she’s alright… Well, it’s Ai-chan we’re talking about here, I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Momo-chan whispered to herself as she went back to mixing the ingredients. Following her lead, I picked up on work as well, hoping that Ai-chan was really alright.
Soon, we received a message from Hazuki-chan. Ai-chan had no doubt dropped her a message as well. However, we didn’t know many details, and couldn’t answer her questions. I promised that I would find out more tomorrow from the teacher in-charge and give her a call.
I was slightly worried that we hadn’t heard from Onpu-chan, but decided not to worry about it right now.