The first thing she acknowledged before she opened her eyes was the sound of a beeping heart monitor. The second thing being the white light shining on her eyelids. And third, the constant throb of pain in her right arm.
After a moment of gaining back her senses, she felt the pressure of a blanket over her body and….. A hand in hers? The girl quickly opened her eyes to see her classmate, Kishinuma Yoshiki holding her uninjured hand. But, he was asleep.
Her eyes widened as a deep blush spread across her cheeks. As gently as she could, she slipped her hand from his. She saw him stir, making her heart stop. But, to her relief, he didn't wake.
Letting out a sigh of relief, she looked around the room, trying to remember how she got here.
'The last thing I remember…. Was being stabbed in the arm,' she thought, 'and Kishinuma-kun fighting off the man who did it…'
She then looked back at Yoshiki's sleeping face, her own softening at his peaceful features.
'He looks… Cute," the blue-haired girl thought to herself, surprise evident on her face at what she had noticed.
As she looked down at the covers, the boy beside her opened his grey eyes and sat up, stretching.
"Hey, Shinozaki. Glad to see you're awake," he said nonchalantly. As he looked indifferent on the outside, on the inside, he'd never been so relieved in his life.
"Yeah…," she replied hesitantly. When she looked back at his face, she noticed that it looked a little pale.
"Hey, Kishinuma, are you okay? You look a little pale," she asked.
"Oh, uh, yeah. After you got… You know… Stabbed," he started, "I called 911, and they came and got you. On the ride to the hospital, they said that you were losing a lot of blood, and that they'd need some to give you. So, I… Offered to give some blood to speed up the process."
At her weird look, he quickly added with a slight blush, "I only knew we had the same blood type because of that one project we had to do for Ms. Yui. I'm not a stalker or anything, don't worry."
Ayumi nodded, satisfied with his answer. A light blush crossed her cheeks as his words sunk in. Not only did he fight off the man who hurt her, he donated precious blood so she would live.
"Th-Thanks, Kishinuma-kun… For everything," she muttered. She knew he'd hear, so she wasn't worried about repeating herself.
"Uh, don't mention it, Shinozaki," the ex-delinquent replied. "I didn't mind, really. I mean… You were gonna die. What could I do?" he added with a shrug, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
The girl in the bed smiled at him, finding his modesty endearing. 'Whoa… Where are all these thoughts coming from?' she wondered.
Kishinuma stood up, coming to his full height. "Well, I'd better be off… Got some, uh… Some stuff to take care of," he mentioned.
"Oh, alright," Ayumi replied, somewhat disappointed. "Take care, Kishinuma, and thanks again."
The blonde boy acknowledged her with a smile before nodding his head and exiting the room.
When he was gone, the girl sighed. Her thoughts drifted to the boy who had just left, and all the sweet things he has done.
She only looked up when her sister, Hinoe, came in and carefully hugged her, and blabbering about how she was so glad that Ayumi was alright.
The two sisters got caught up in Ayumi explaining what had happened.
The whole class of 2-9 was walking home from school, happy to have their class rep back.
Naomi was walking with Seiko linked in her arm, laughing at something they said. Satoshi was walking with Yoshiki next to him, both smiling at the girls' joke. Then it was Ayumi and Mayu, with Morishige on Mayu's other side.
As the students walked on, they eventually came across a fork in the road. This is where Seiko and Naomi had to break from the group, waving and saying their many goodbyes.
As the group laughed on, it was Morishige next to go, getting a hug from Mayu. As he turned, a blush washing his face, Ayumi giggled to herself and the other boys smiled knowingly to each other.
The remaining students continued on, chatting about school and plans for the weekend. When it was time for Mayu to go, Ayumi hugged her goodbye and said that she'd see her later.
She then caught up to the boys. Satoshi was talking to Yoshiki about some project he was doing, while Yoshiki was listening and nodding, occasionally adding in what he thought necessary.
As the two boys talked, Ayumi couldn't help but think about her former crush on Satoshi. Was it former? If so, when did this change? She would ask herself those questions, and others like them until it was Satoshi's turn to go his separate way.
"See ya, man," Satoshi said to Yoshiki. Turning to Ayumi with a smile, he added, "And bye, Shinozaki. Glad to have you back, class rep."
"Thanks, Mochida-kun," the girl replied enthusiastically, her own smile adorning her face.
With one last wave to the pair, Satoshi turned and walked back to his house. He was secretly glad to leave the two alone. He, along with the rest of class 2-9, had heard what Yoshiki had done for their class rep.
As it was only Ayumi and Yoshiki left, a comfortable silence blanketed the two as Yoshiki fell into step with Ayumi. Every once and a while, one or the other of them would bring up a topic for them to discuss (it was usually Ayumi).
When it was finally time for Yoshiki to split from her path, he ducked his head with a wave and started off.
"Kishinuma, wait!" Ayumi called. The taller boy turned and walked back over to where the girl was standing.
"Yeah? What is it?" he inquired, curious as to why his class rep called him back.
The girl in question looked at her feet, debating on whether or not to do what she was about to.
She looked back up at the boy who was a good foot taller than her. Looking into his concern-filled eyes, she made her choice, a determined light crossing her own eyes.
Yoshiki furrowed his brows, seeing the sudden change in the shorter girl's eyes.
Ayumi then stepped closer to him, raised herself on her tip toes, and kissed Yoshiki's cheek.
Bringing herself back down and seeing his wide eyes and deep blush, she quickly explained.
"I wanted to properly thank you for all that you did for me. It really meant a lot."
Yoshiki cleared his throat, looking to the side, the blush still prominent on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck. It was a trait Ayumi thinks is quite adorable on him.
"Uh, *ahem* No, uh… No problem, Shinozaki…" he acknowledged.
"Ayumi. Call me Ayumi," she told him firmly but kind. She then flashed him a smile and waved goodbye, turning and walking down the road.
The boy stood, flabbergasted at the exchange that just took place, watching the girl walk away.
When she was finally out of sight, he smiled the brightest he ever has and turns as well. Walking down the street to his small apartment, the blonde ex-delinquent has never felt lighter.