Ichi Mezato took her job as the school's journalist photographer very seriously, and sometimes ended up in mildly dangerous situations. Or rather, what could be considered mildly dangerous. Somehow, she had good luck and never sustained injuries that were too terrible, so, more often than not, she took greater risks for that perfect shot.
"Mezato-senpai, what are you doing?" a small voice called out from down below her perch in a tree. She drew her attention away from the fantastic view and down to Shigeo. Mob, whose neutral face displayed an emotion akin to concern.
"Hey, Mob. Just look at this sunset! I can get a great shot of the whole school like this," she fiddled with some buttons on the back of her camera as she spoke. "Wanna come up and see?"
"I… no, it's really dangerous up there, you should come down." Mezato appeared surprised, but laughed a little.
"Yeah, maybe it's kinda dangerous up here, but I can't get a good shot from the ground." Shigeo shifted from foot to foot nervously, looking down at his feet. She sighed when he didn't reply right away. "I'll come down as soon as I get this picture, okay? Just gimme a second."
"B-but the branch you're standing on looks weak… I think it's going to break…."
He wasn't wrong. The branch kept trembling strangely under her feet every time she moved. He was definitely right, but she absolutely could not miss this opportunity.
"Just… a little bit more…."
Mezato shifted further away on the branch slowly, camera outstretched and at the ready.
"Mezato-senpai!"
Shigeo's startled cry was all she heard before the world fell out from below her with a tremendous crack. Instinctively, she slammed her eyes shut and screamed, expecting an eruption of pain any second. But instead, her body was enveloped in a warm, tingling feeling, and the air stopped moving so quickly around her. A second later, she heard a rustle and everything became quiet. She took a chance and cracked an eye open only to find Shigeo standing in front of her, poised as though approaching a wary animal, and herself sitting safely on the ground.
"W-wait, did you-"
"Mezato-senpai, are you okay?"
A short distance away, she could see the branch she had previously been standing on, now broken in pieces on the ground. Grimly, she thought that could've been her too right now, had it not been for….
"...I'm okay. But what just happened?"
"It looks like this pile of leaves cushioned your fall. Be more careful next time."
At that, Shigeo straightened up and turned, leaving a little too quickly, but Mezato knew when someone was lying. Rather than pursue him with her line of thinking, though, she thought it best to repay him for saving her life by not mentioning it at all, the way he'd probably want her to.