Summary: It doesn't matter what it takes her, even if she ends up hurting herself, Kanan will achieve the promise she made to Mari.
Kanan/Mari

The promise

Kanan can't help but close her eyes to concentrate, taking a deep breath as she shakes her limbs and takes small hops on her spot to warm up, before she opens her eyes again with a fiery determination blazing in them.

She stares at the track in front of her, before she lets her gaze wander to the sidelines where the whole Aqours is cheering on her, stopping over each one of her friends, until her gaze falls over the shiny blonde girl that stole her heart.

Mari's eyes lock with hers immediately in spite of the distance, a bright smile spreading across her lips, before she winks at her.

Always a tease.

Kanan thinks to herself, chuckling and winking back at Mari, before she looks back at the track in front of her and takes one last deep breath.

She sets her jaw tightly, eyes focused and determined on the distance that separates her from achieving her goal and promise.

Today is an important day after all.

If she wins this race, more people will take the Uranohoshi Girls' High School into account to study at it and like that, they might be able to reach the number of students that Mari's father requested them to have if they didn't want the school to be closed down.

But on the other hand, if she loses, all their hopes to keep the school open will fade away. So with that thought in mind, Kanan positions herself on the track, glancing one last time at her beloved blonde at the sidelines, before she starts to runs as fast as she can as soon as the whistle blows.

The blue haired girl soon takes the lead, but that's not enough, so Kanan speeds up to put more distance between she and her rivals.

She turns the corner, stealing a glance at the rivals behind her to then speed up even more, distancing herself more from the group behind her until she feels a sudden and painful pang shooting down her leg.

Kanan shuts her eyes tightly at the sudden pain and intakes a sharp breath of air, before she keeps pushing herself towards the finish line.

She notices her speed decreasing the same way her rivals start to catch up with her, fast, but she won't let them win, she can't, she made a promise after all.

She promised the girls she would win this competition to help to save the school, she especially promised it to Mari.

So Kanan grits her teeth, sucking up the pain as she forces herself to keep running as fast as she can. It hurts, but she knows she can take it.

Or at least that's what she tells herself trying to increase her speed for the last meters she has ahead of herself, putting more distance between she and her rivals as the final stretch comes up.

- Go Kanan-chan!

- Go, go!

The yelling of her friends it's enough for her to help her overcome the pain shooting through her body and sprint with all her might to be the first one reaching the finish line.

As soon as she crosses it, she hears a burst of cheers shouting out her name while they applaud her, but all that becomes shadowed by the pain traveling her body becoming more and more unbearable, burning her nerve endings to the point that a feeling of dizziness slowly starts to take over her.

Kanan tries to take another deep breath that can help her to endure the pain, when her legs buckle and she finds herself falling forward.

She's already expecting to hit the hard ground, when instead of that, she meets a pair of soft breasts and strong arms wrapping her tightly into a kind embrace.

- Idiot – she hears a very familiar voice saying in her ear as its owner hugs her tighter.

- Sorry – Kanan mumbles against the other girl's chest, surrounding her waist to support herself.

- You didn't have to hurt yourself, it's just a stupid race.

- But it isn't. Mari, I promised you that I'd win it to help you to keep the school open.

Mari can only sigh at the stubbornness of the blue haired girl, looking at Kanan tenderly, before she kisses her lips briefly and helps her to keep standing still as the rest of the girls come to where they are.

- I know, but still I don't like it, silly.

Mari reprimands her and Kanan simply grins at her, before they're engulfed into a tight group hug.

At the end, Kanan ended up achieving her promise, even if it meant hurting herself because of it.