courage dear heart | Yuki Ishikawa

76

Two days had passed since the accident, and although my body still ached from the injuries, they had finally removed the neck brace.

I could move my head again without pain, which felt like a small victory. However, my arms were still immobilized, my leg wrapped up, and I was stuck in bed for the foreseeable future. I wasn't exactly feeling my best.

That afternoon, I had visitors—Reira, Ayumu, Hiro, and Kaito came to see me. The moment Reira stepped through the door and saw me lying there with casts and bandages everywhere, her face crumpled, and she started to cry.

"Reira, come on, you don't need to cry," I said, trying to make light of the situation. "It's not like I'm dying, geez!" I attempted a smile to reassure her, but it didn't seem to help much.

"You're such a jerk," she said through her tears, wiping her eyes quickly. "You don't know how scary it was hearing what happened to you. I've been so worried."

I softened at her words, realizing how much this had affected them. "I'm sorry for worrying you all, but I'll be fine," I reassured her. "Look, I can move my head now!" I tilted my head from side to side dramatically to show off. "See? No neck brace!"

Ayumu, standing beside Reira, had tears welling up in his eyes too. He tried to keep his composure, but I could see how upset he was. "Nabi, when we heard you fell... I didn't know what to think. We all... we were so scared for you."

"Stop, you're going to make me cry," I joked, trying to lighten the mood. But inside, I felt touched by their concern. I hated seeing them upset because of me. Hiro and Kaito stood beside Ayumu, both of them with somber expressions. Even though they didn't cry like the others, the sadness in their eyes was just as intense.

I looked at all of them and gave a small laugh. "Really, guys, don't worry about me. I'm going to be fine. It's going to take some time, but I'll get back to it. And besides," I added, smirking, "you all need to keep training to keep up with me when I'm back, you know?"

They all chuckled, even through their tears. Reira sniffed and wiped her nose, then pulled herself together. "You're still a pain, even when you're lying in a hospital bed," she teased.

Reira stepped closer to my bed, pulling something out of her bag. "We wanted to show you something," she said, her voice still a little shaky. Ayumu and the others stepped forward too, each of them holding a small case. "Look."

They opened the cases, and I gasped when I saw the glint of medals inside. "No way..." My eyes widened in disbelief.

"We all medaled," Ayumu said proudly, holding up his gold medal for me to see. Reira did the same, her gold shining in the light of the room.

"You guys!" I exclaimed, feeling a burst of happiness for them. "You both got gold?! That's amazing!"

"And Hiro and Kaito," Reira said, turning to the boys. "They got silver. Both of them."

Hiro smiled a little shyly, holding up his silver medal for me to see. "It wasn't gold, but... I'm happy with it."

Kaito, was a little quieter today, but he gave me a small grin as he showed me his silver medal.

I blinked at them, my heart swelling with pride and love for my friends. "You guys... you're all amazing. I'm so proud of you."

"We're proud of you too," Ayumu said softly. "You won gold, Nabi. You're the best out there."

I smiled, though it felt bittersweet. "Yeah, but I didn't even get to stand on the podium with you all."

Reira shook her head. "That doesn't matter. You earned that gold fair and square. We'll have our moment to celebrate all together later."