"Ugh, that hurts..."
"Classmate Sakura!"
The boy's heart lurched. He immediately broke into a run.
When he reached the girl, who had collapsed on the ground, Hashiba Hikaru noticed that the rain had soaked the earth beneath her feet, leaving it muddy and slippery.
Perhaps she hadn't noticed the ground beneath her and had suddenly slipped.
Mud stained Sakura Airi's tights and skirt. Pain showed between her brows, but what made her even more embarrassed was that the boy had seen her in such a humiliating state.
"Classmate Sakura, are you all right?"
"I'm..."
The girl had just started to say she was fine when she moved her foot and felt a sharp, stabbing pain shoot straight to her head.
"Don't move!"
Seeing her pale expression, Hashiba Hikaru immediately looked at her ankle.
"You might have sprained it, but we won't know for sure until the school nurse checks."
Without hesitation, the boy said to Sakura Airi, who was sitting on the ground, "I'll carry you to the nurse's office, Classmate Sakura."
"Huh?"
At his words, the girl's pink cheeks flushed a deeper red, and she felt her heart begin to pound.
"Don't hesitate. If it's really a sprain, the nurse needs to treat it as soon as possible. Otherwise, you might not be able to walk tomorrow."
Hashiba Hikaru crouched down with his back to her, his voice urgent. "Quick!"
At his urging, the red-haired girl looked at her current state. After taking a deep breath, she climbed onto his back.
"Careful. Hold on tight."
The boy hooked his hands under her knees and slowly stood up.
Sakura Airi was around five feet tall. She was slender everywhere except where she had curves, so she was quite light.
With his stamina now back up to four points, and all