Chapter 7

-Fuutarou-

I looked at Nakano-san, her face a mix of pain and fear, she suddenly started to hyperventilate. "Nakano-san, are you alright? You don't look so good." I looked at Rin, unsure of what to do, but even she seemed to be lost. "Was it something I said? Agh! It doesn't matter, let me take you to the nurse's office."

I grabbed Nakano-san by the elbow and practically dragged her to the infirmary. The school nurse, Tachibana sensei, was surprised by our sudden visit. "Oh! One of the quintuplets! Who's this lady you brought with you? I'll have you know that you can't use the infirmary for acts of indecency!" she said teasingly.

I shook my head furiously as I felt Nakano-san start to tremble, "You don't understand, ma'am! My classmate suddenly started looking pale and she... she looks like she's having trouble breathing!" The look on the Tachibana-sensei's face changed to a more serious one.

"I see, please bring her to one of the beds, I'll see what I can do."

I followed her instructions and let Nakano-san rest on the bed. She then placed her hand on my shoulder and said "Leave it to me, Uesugi. You should head back to class, the next period's about to start. I'll bring her back to your next class once I've done what I can."

I shook my head. "No. I think I may have caused this, I don't know why but I think something I said had triggered this."

Tachibana sensei raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly did you say? Judging by her pale skin and difficulty with breathing, I'm guessing she was going through an anxiety attack. What you said might have made her remember a traumatizing event, which then led to the state she's currently in."

I looked at her in shock, "I... I didn't mean to... All I did was say something about our next class involved swimming!"

She then turned to me. "And there you have it, that's the trigger. Your friend here might have had a bad experience with swimming, or maybe with water in general." She then smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder. "There's no need to blame yourself, you couldn't possibly know what you said would trigger an anxiety attack. It seems that she's calmed down a bit, so let's allow her to rest for a while. I'll write a note excusing you and your classmate for your next class. What's her name, by the way?"

"Her name's Nino Nakano from class 2-B. Our next class is supposed to be PE."

"Alright, please stay with Miss Nakano while I write down the note."

After she left, I stared at the floor, feeling guilty that I had caused all of this. With a sigh I pull out my phone. I went on Line and started typing in my group chat with my brothers. "Nakano-san's in the infirmary right now. Nurse says that she had an anxiety attack. I think we should cancel today's tutoring sessions."

Within seconds the chat was flooded with messages. "You serious? She seemed perfectly fine when I was with her a while ago!" said Niko

A message from Ikku said "Hope she's feeling alright, don't you dare leave her side, Fuutarou!"

Next was a bunch of short messages from Goro asking about everything that happened and if Nakano-san wasn't in any life threatening danger.

Lastly, a message from Shin said "On my way" and believe it or not he emerged from the door 2 seconds after I received the message.

I looked at him in awe, "Shin? How'd you get here so quickly? Wasn't your classroom on the opposite wing?"

Shin grinned as he gasped for air, "I had free period today so I was studying in the library, luckily the infirmary was only a couple of floors below me."

I laughed, "You didn't have to run so quickly though, like I said in my texts Nakano-san's not in any danger."

Shin blushed, "Well that still doesn't change the fact that I'm concerned about Nino! I mean this is only her second day at school, she probably felt pressured to make a good impression on everyone and couldn't handle the stress. If you weren't around, things might have been worse!"

I tensed up at what Shin had said, "Actually... I'm the reason she's here in the first place." I then explained what happened to Shin, and he nodded.

"Still, don't blame yourself for this man, you didn't mean to do it and your quick thinking got her to the infirmary. That's what matters." He then placed his forehead on mine, and his right hand on the back of my head, this was his way of cheering us up when we were down. "And you always got to remember, I'll never fault you or any of our brothers, and I'll always be on your side, no matter what. You got that?"

I smiled at him, "Honestly, how come you're acting like the older brother when you're one of the youngest among us?"

He smiled back, "That's just how it is big bro."

We then heard a slight cough followed by some clapping, we turned our heads toward the sound and saw Nakano-san smiling. "Well that's a nice sight to wake up to, didn't expect you to be the sentimental type of guy, Shin! And Fuutarou I want to thank you for helping me out, I really appreciate it."

Shin and I couldn't help but smile, but then again, it was hard not to after what just happened.

-Chapter 7 End-