Since Ichinose Ayano's legs were too weak to walk, then she would just carry her over.
In terms of physical ability, she was still quite confident. Although she had to study hard to get a scholarship to help with the household expenses, she never skipped exercising when it was time to work out. After all, having a healthy and good body meant not having to spend money due to getting sick.
Although Ayano's figure looked prominent, her weight wasn't that heavy. Ichinose Honami found carrying her to be relatively easy.
Aside from Ichinose Ayano occasionally suddenly clutching her tightly with shortness of breath and tightness in her chest like an asthmatic, which made it a bit difficult to walk, there was no problem.
Knock! Knock!
"Excuse me, is the school nurse here?", Ichinose Honami didn't go in immediately, but instead stood at the doorway and freed up a hand to knock on the door.
"I'm here. Go ahead and lay the student on the bed first," Inside the infirmary, a mature woman with orange hair in a white lab coat was sitting behind a desk operating a computer. When she saw Ichinose Honami and Ichinose Ayano on her back, she got up and pulled open the white bed curtain, allowing Honami to set her down.
"Phew!", Ichinose Honami walked to the bedside and laid down Ichinose Ayano, finally letting out a sigh of relief. It was good enough to have brought her to the infirmary. On the way, she had really been worried that Ayano might faint in such a state.
"What happened to her?", The orange-haired mature nurse looked at Ichinose Ayano lying on the bed, breathing rapidly with her pale skin flushed. Her expression was odd as she asked in a low voice.
"I don't really know what happened. Just now we were still in swimming class, and Ayano suddenly became like this in the pool," Ichinose Honami looked at Ayano, who seemed much better now that she was on the bed, no longer appearing as if she couldn't breathe. She shook her head.
She looked at the chest of the orange-haired mature woman but didn't see a name tag. Then she looked at the desk and found a standing nameplate with the school nurse's name, Mikado Ryouko.
"Teacher Mikado, can you tell what's making Ayano feel unwell?"
Although the school nurse wasn't a teaching instructor, their profession should be called "health guidance instructor," they were still referred to as "teacher."
"Hmm... You wait outside for a bit. I'll give her a checkup," Mikado Ryouko looked at Ichinose Ayano on the bed, her breathing gradually stabilizing and the flush on her face beginning to fade, though her legs were still instinctively tightly closed together. Her expression was somewhat subtle.
With her many years of medical experience, she could tell; the girl lying on the infirmary bed wasn't unwell, she was too well.
Although the universe is vast and many aliens have unique racial and pathological traits, the beautiful girl before her was just an ordinary person. This symptom was undoubtedly from getting excited.
According to the girl who brought her here, they had just been in swimming class. Boys' and girls' swimming classes were separate, how could this have happened?
Could it be that this girl likes other girls?
The thought flashed through Mikado Ryouko's mind. With her medical experience, she didn't say much more and smoothly asked Ichinose Honami to wait outside. She then pulled the bed curtain to block the view.
"Alright," Ichinose Honami didn't mind. She only glanced at Ichinose Ayano on the bed, who was covering her eyes with her arms, and then stood outside the curtain to wait.
Although she had just transferred to Sobu High today and didn't know the school nurse Mikado Ryouko well, seeing the calm demeanor of the latter, she was infected by the composure and calmed down too.
Panicking now wouldn't help. Better to wait for Teacher Mikado to finish the checkup.
If the one lying on the sickbed now were her, or say, her younger sister, she might already be worrying that it was some serious illness they couldn't afford, since her family really couldn't take the burden. Even borrowing money for treatment wasn't possible, they could only watch helplessly.
But now it was Ayano. She didn't need to worry as much. As long as it wasn't some untreatable rare disease, Uncle should be able to figure something out.
Ichinose Honami picked up her phone, hesitated a bit, but still didn't report the situation to her uncle, Congressman Ichinose.
Ayano seemed to have a bad relationship with Uncle, probably wouldn't want him to know. Better to wait for Teacher Mikado's diagnosis first.
Behind the curtain, Mikado Ryouko looked at Ichinose Ayano lying on the bed, no longer showing symptoms like rapid breathing or a heated body. The more she looked, the more convinced she was of her earlier suspicion.
Young people nowadays really play big. Publicly doing it during swimming class, even getting misunderstood by classmates and sent to the infirmary.
"Miss Ayano, do you know why your body feels uncomfortable?", Mikado Ryouko bent down and softly asked next to Ichinose Ayano's ear, while observing her.
This girl was supposedly one of the daughters of two councilmen at the school. Could it be that she had been repressed at home for too long? So she went crazy in class? Seeking taboo excitement?
"I don't know... just... felt unwell...", Ichinose Ayano felt Mikado Ryouko approaching but still used her arm to cover her face, not daring to look at her, afraid her strange condition would be discovered.
Although her body hadn't been touched by the club president yet, everything she experienced was through that magical bracelet which allowed her to feel what other girls were feeling. Technically, no checkup should be able to find anything.
But she was still worried, what if the heat she felt was real? That bracelet was so magical; she didn't know whether it could really transfer something from another girl's body.
"Alright, then I'll check," Seeing Ichinose Ayano looking away evasively, Mikado Ryouko said nothing more, simply smiled and took out a stethoscope, placing it on her chest's intercostal space, listening briefly for show, then set it aside and pulled open the curtain.
"So fast?", Ichinose Honami, waiting outside, looked surprised at Mikado Ryouko walking out gracefully.
"The student on the bed is Ichinose Ayano from Class 1-F, right? I'll make a note of her health condition," Mikado Ryouko spoke while walking to the computer and tapping on the keyboard, quickly entering the sick student's name.
"Yes! Sorry I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Ichinose Honami, Ayano's relative, and I just transferred into Class 1-F too," Ichinose Honami bowed and apologized quickly.
"You're also an Ichinose then. Ayano doesn't have any serious problems. She's just a bit overworked. She'll be fine after resting. I'll prescribe some medicine. Make sure she drinks more water, rests properly, and doesn't overexert herself recently," Mikado Ryouko said thoughtfully as she typed out the medical record.
Ichinose Ayano on the bed quietly perked her ears. Hearing Mikado Ryouko say it was just fatigue and she needed rest, she finally relaxed.
As long as nothing was found. As long as nothing was found. If she had been found out, she really wouldn't know how to face people anymore.
"Thank you, Teacher Mikado," Ichinose Honami felt the heavy stone in her heart fall quietly and quickly thanked Mikado Ryouko.
"You stay here and look after her. I'll go get the medicine and be right back," Mikado Ryouko smiled, didn't explain further, gave a simple instruction, and left the infirmary with the newly printed prescription.
Of course, she wasn't going to get medicine. Ichinose Ayano at most just lacked water. She was only going to fetch some relatively expensive supplements.
Recently no patients came to her for surgery. Her expenses on Earth weren't small, she needed to find ways to earn more money.
"To drink more water, huh?", Ichinose Honami looked around the infirmary, took a disposable cup, and filled it with warm water at the dispenser. She handed it gently to Ichinose Ayano with both hands, showing concern.
"Ayano, drink some water. I don't know what's going on with you lately, almost collapsing from exhaustion, but I think you really need to take care of yourself."
"Thank you…", Ichinose Ayano looked subtly at the clueless Ichinose Honami, reached out, and took the warm water cup, slowly drinking.
She didn't expect Ichinose Honami to care so much, running around for her when she was unwell. Even though their relationship wasn't great, and even if they met in childhood, they hadn't gotten close.
Maybe when she took power in the future, she wouldn't just send Ichinose Honami away with money, but let her manage family affairs.
Then Honami's mother and sister could move over here too, no longer struggling to survive in Tokyo.
The Yukinoshita family, which opposed the Ichinose faction, also had two daughters, one of them was in the Service Club too.
To prevent the club president from being roped in by Yukinoshita Yukino and suppressing the Ichinose family, pulling in Ichinose Honami to curry favor with the president and the elf princess might be safer.
"No need to be so polite. Aren't we sisters? Though not blood-related and haven't really spent time together, I'll probably live in your house for a few years. Hope we can become very close sisters," Ichinose Honami saw Ichinose Ayano's awkward and embarrassed expression while saying thanks, and couldn't help but smile softly.
Unlike the profit-minded Ichinose uncle who had always ignored their family and only remembered them when needed, Ayano was naïve and inexperienced, just like her younger sister.
Though by birth date, Ayano might be a month or two older.
"...", Ichinose Ayano, feeling Ichinose Honami's gaze, became embarrassed and lowered her head to drink water silently.
"Teacher Mikado said you need to rest. Ayano, lie down for a while. I'll go see if Teacher Mikado's back," Saying that, Ichinose Honami no longer stood at Ayano's bedside, gave a quick reminder, and walked out of the infirmary, waiting for Mikado Ryouko, who had gone to get the medicine.
"Mm...", Ichinose Ayano had just relaxed and prepared to lie down when she suddenly heard the curtain swish, light in front of the bed dimmed.
A man and woman's silhouette suddenly appeared beside her bed.
"Yo-you guys?", Ichinose Ayano's eyes widened in disbelief at Sakurase Shino, who was almost leaning over her with both hands on the bed, and Hachiman behind her.
She never imagined Hachiman would be right next to her. Even though she already knew from the Empathy Bracelet that the girl being "educated" by Hachiman was Sakurase Shino.
Hayase Saki was more proactive, and even Narahashi Miki became proactive after a while. Both were athletic club aces, with great stamina and high frequency.
Only Sakurase Shino was so passive, weak in stamina and stubbornly staying passive.
But she always thought they were playing somewhere else, never imagined they had stealthily come to her side.
So during swimming class, they were beside her? Even followed her all the way to the infirmary?
No wonder, on the way earlier, whenever she tried to talk to Honami, she kept feeling uncontrollable urges.
Just thinking about how close she came to social death, Ichinose Ayano wanted to die from embarrassment. Not to mention that the culprits were right next to her, watching her almost mess up.
"Shh...", Hachiman raised his index finger to Ichinose Ayano's cherry lips, then personally sealed her mouth just as she was about to cry out.
Sakurase Shino, whose limbs were already weak, had a very unnatural blush on her face.
At this moment, feeling Hachiman's pat on her back, she bit her lip, looked up at the still-unaware Ayano, and reached out to hug her gently.
Hachiman looked at Ichinose Ayano and Sakurase Shino lying together on the white hospital bed, hugging each other, gently withdrew the cleaning magic, and focused on educating the still-struggling Sakurase Shino.
Actually, today's task was just to guide Sakurase Shino. As long as the guidance was completed before school ended, he could go find Yukinoshita and make her fulfill their bet, to see if Yukino would call him "President-sama," and maybe even add a "nya" at the end.
He would first make Yukino acknowledge his position as club president from the body outward, and eventually, from inside her heart, she would sincerely accept his unshakable status.
However, he had said before that Ichinose Ayano had to wear the empathy bracelet for a week, and only after she completed the challenge would he help her usurp power and take her father's position. He couldn't just let Ichinose Ayano off the hook today.
What's easily obtained is never treasured, he had to make Ichinose Ayano truly experience his power firsthand.
A full week should be enough to make Ichinose Ayano feel fear just thinking of him, with only thoughts of submission and obedience left.
Although Ichinose Honami and Ichinose Ayano were relatives and her appearance at Sobu High was very unexpected to him, that didn't affect his view of Ichinose Ayano at all.
Hayase Saki, that dumbass, had already been modified by him. Ichinose Ayano also had to be thoroughly modified, and maybe he would even have to modify Ichinose Honami in the future.
Of course, that wasn't to say Ichinose Honami had a bad personality, she was actually a little angel.
But maybe the whole Ichinose family gave off an aura of being full of "assistance energy." If Ichinose Honami were also a heroine from the 2D world like Ichinose Ayano, and if someone got a hold of that shameful past she didn't dare reveal, her fate might not be much better than Ichinose Ayano's.
In the future, she needed to be properly educated, so that her heart would become full and strong.
After a while, Ichinose Honami met up with Mikado Ryouko, who had returned with the medicine. The two of them walked into the infirmary together.
"Hm? Ayano, why did you pull the bed curtains closed?"
Ichinose Honami looked curiously at the hospital bed, which should have been in plain sight but was now blocked by the curtains.
"Ah? I-I was just a bit tired and wanted to nap for a bit. The sunlight outside… i-it's a little harsh…"
"Oh, I see…"
Ichinose Honami only heard Ichinose Ayano inside sounding like she was out of breath and extremely exhausted, and didn't notice anything else. She reminded her with concern.
"Then go ahead and sleep, Ayano. I'll wake you when class ends. If you're still really tired by then, I'll go help you get another period off and call the driver to take us home," Under normal circumstances, Ichinose Honami wouldn't skip class. But this was a special case. Since she needed to care for Ayano, she naturally wouldn't worry about school right now.
She had already started Sobu High a month late, and missing a few more classes wasn't a big deal. She could make up for it in her own time. The innocent classmate at the next desk had just transferred not long ago. If she studied a bit with that classmate, she should be able to catch up quickly.
Still, if her mother and little sister didn't need her to worry about them anymore, she kind of wanted to continue on to university. In that case, she'd have to work even harder…
Ichinose Honami suppressed her desire to make friends with Hikigaya and the elven princess, and to complete her uncle's mission. She sat in the infirmary with Mikado Ryouko, who didn't have much to do, and the two chatted quietly.
However, as she listened to Ichinose Honami's situation, Mikado Ryouko quietly turned her gaze toward the pulled white bed curtain, her eyes filled with surprise and disbelief.
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