Chapter 7: Kindness from Kouji
"Orimoto!" Kouji yelled and ran to where Izumi fell. He couldn't rush because walking near broken ice is not a good idea and he could get trapped in the freezing water himself. Then he stopped dead still. He checked hastily to see that he also wasn't standing on ice also. He brushed away the snow and saw that it was ice, and he had no choice but to walk on it anyway. He stepped with great caution.
"Orimoto!" Kouji yelled uselessly.
Only Izumi's fuchsia hat was floating in the hole of ice and freezing water. Kouji grabbed it and shoved it into his pocket.
Izumi desperately tried to swim up, but she was freezing to death. She knew how to swim but not in water that was ten degrees below zero. Kouji tried to remain calm and not panic. He threw his backpack down, flung his indigo gloves off, took off his jacket, and stuck his hands in to see if Izumi could grab on. Sticking his hand was really painful but not in the physical way. It was unbearably cold, but he had to find her, or he would never forgive himself. But she didn't grab onto his hand. Izumi was beginning to lose conscience, while kicking her legs, trying to reach the surface. Kouji could only think of one other way to get Izumi out. He flung off his bandanna, held his breath, got on his stomach… and stuck his head in the water to look for Izumi. He saw a blurred image of her struggling in torture of the ice cold water. It was good that Izumi was kicking her legs with no sense of directions because she would have sunk down lower. Kouji's head and arms were beginning to feel numb as he grabbed violently for one of Izumi's fingers. He missed. He just had to grab onto her. He also knew that humans could only bear so much ice cold freezing water for only three minutes until they expire. He tried in anguish again to grab her hand. He missed again. He tried a third time to try to grab something. At least something attached to her body, like her hair. He swiveled his arms violently, and successfully grabbed her wrist. He finally pulled his head out of the freezing water. It was like freedom, only that his head and arms were even more adhering through extreme cold. He pulled Izumi out with all his might and took her out of the horrible ice water. He lay her on the snow and grabbed his sleeping bag out of his backpack to cover her. He immediately put on his jacket for some warmth. He stared at her, and she wasn't breathing. This was something Kouji didn't want to do, but it was necessary for her to live. He needed to docardiopulmonary resuscitation, CPR, on her. He pinched her nose and enclosed his lips around hers and gave some breath to her. He felt particularly warm and fuzzy for doing this, but there was no other way. He gazed at Izumi, who still was not breathing. "Man, I have to do it again…" he thought.
He came close to her face again… as she coughed out cold water, which splashed against Kouji's face. He wiped his face with his hands as Izumi opened her eyes. Kouji quickly moved away from her, shivering vigorously at the same time.
"Kouji? What…what happened? And what were you doing?" Izumi exclaimed weakly, clutching the sleeping bag.
"You fell through the ice… and, and…"
"And what?" she said, still feeling faint.
Kouji quickly thought of something dull to say. "Uhh… you spit in my face."
"But, why were you near me?"
"Hey, stop asking questions. I just saved you. And I'm dripping here, freezing like heck," he said coldly while quivering violently. His sideburns were beginning to look like popcicles.
"Well, so am I! I was completely surrounded by ice cold water, and you weren't! All I asked for was an answer, not an excuse!" she said, and sneezed, while vigorously shivering also, fiercely clutching Kouji's sleeping bag.
"Fine. I gave you CPR, or you would've died!"
Izumi gazed at him like she never saw him in her life.