I Risked My Life To Save The Cheeky Girl, And As A Result, I Lost My Right Arm.

The Flames Of Love Under The Torrential Rain. —1

It was around 3:30 PM, after school. I was waiting for the bus with Hasegawa at the bus stop.

The sky wasn’t looking too good—it was overcast and gloomy. It might start raining soon.

(Damn, I should have brought an umbrella… Well, I’m getting on the bus anyway, so it won’t be too bad without one.)

As I thought about that, I absentmindedly looked up at the sky.

“…………”

Suddenly, I glanced over at Hasegawa, who was standing next to me.

She still looked pained. Ever since lunchtime, when I had been taught by Kurasaki-san, she had been wearing this expression… the same one all this time.

“…Hey, Hasegawa.”

“…Yes?”

“Are you… okay?”

“…What do you mean by ‘okay’?”

“No, it’s just… your face doesn’t look too good.”

“…Yes, I’m fine. Please don’t worry.”

“…………”

I felt an invisible wall in her words. The voice of her heart, telling me not to ask any further, leaked through the edges of her words.

When she said that, I had no choice but to fall silent as well, and another moment of silence passed between us.

“…………”

It was an awkward atmosphere. It felt so tense that I hesitated even to clear my throat.

Brrrrrrrr…

At that moment, I saw the bus I had been waiting for arrive. I took out my commuter pass from my bag, preparing to board.

“…Huh?”

But next to me, Hasegawa was rummaging through her bag with a puzzled expression.

“What’s wrong? Hasegawa?”

“Um, I… I think I forgot my commuter pass at school.”

“Oh no, I see.”

Hasegawa wiped the sweat from her forehead and muttered, “What should I do…?”

At that moment, I roughly understood why she was troubled.

She probably wanted to go back to school to get her commuter pass, but she didn’t want to trouble me.

She didn’t want to make me walk with her for the ten-minute walk to the school, and on the other hand, she didn’t want to have me wait with her for nearly 20 minutes at the bus stop.

I could feel her thoughts clearly, as if they were being conveyed directly to me.

“Hasegawa, don’t worry about me. Go get your commuter pass.”

“But, if I leave, I’ll be making you wait… I’ll pay for the bus fare myself. I’ll just go get the pass tomorrow.”

“No, no, that’s wasteful. It’s 500 yen one-way from here to my house, right? If you add the return trip and going to school tomorrow, that’s 1000 yen. Isn’t that a bit too much?”

“Well…”

“It’s fine, really. I’ll head home first. That way, you won’t feel guilty about making me wait.”

“But… are you sure? Are you okay to take the bus by yourself?”

“It’s fine, really. I’m not a baby, I can get home by myself without a problem.”

“…………”

Pshhh

“Daioyodomai～, Daioyodomai～”

The bus finally pulled into the bus stop and opened the doors for passengers to board.

Seeing that, Hasegawa made up her mind and finally said, “Alright, I understand.”

“Okay then, I’m off.”

“Yeah, take care.”

“I’m sorry, Senpai, I can’t be with you.”

“It’s fine, really. Don’t worry about it.”

With that, Hasegawa turned her back to me and started running toward the school.

Brrrrr…

On the bus heading home, I was holding onto the strap while standing.

The inside of the bus was pretty packed, and it felt like I was in a crowded space, the air thick with heat.

(Damn… my arm hurts. I want to sit down…)

But at that moment, the people around me sitting in their seats were all asleep. I couldn’t bring myself to wake them up just to sit down.

I had no choice but to wait it out. Eventually, the number of passengers would decrease, and until then, I’d have to endure.

“…………”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

…It’s not going well with Hasegawa. Whenever I think we’ve gotten closer, a wall seems to form again without me realizing it.

I want to somehow improve our relationship, but I don’t know how to do that.

Since the accident, my worries have only multiplied, and they won’t stop. I’m dealing with struggles both in my relationships and physically, and I find myself frustrated often.

Honestly, sometimes I feel resentful of the people around me who have both their arms. They probably don’t have the kinds of problems I have and live carefree lives… I can’t help but think like that.

There are passengers around me holding onto the strap without any trouble, playing mobile games with one hand. I’m struggling just to hold on with one hand.

“…Damn, this is getting tough.”

My hand holding the strap was starting to hurt. I let go for a moment, trying to relieve the pain by opening and closing my hand. Normally, I’d massage it with my other hand, but I couldn’t do that.

“Whoa!”

At that moment, the bus jolted, and I lost my balance. My left elbow hit the back of an old man’s head who was standing nearby.

“Ow! What the hell, hey!?”

The old man turned toward me and glared at me with an angry expression.

“I-I’m sorry! Are you okay?”

“How could I be okay? What if I die from a stroke because of this!? What would you do then, huh!? How are you going to take responsibility!?”

The old man’s loud voice echoed through the bus. Damn, this guy is the troublesome type.

“I’m really sorry. I was trying to press the stop button, and I let go of the strap…”

“You idiot! A disabled person like you shouldn’t even be riding the bus!”

“What?”

“You’re a nuisance! People who can’t even hold the strap properly shouldn’t be on the bus! Buses are for people with both arms, you know!”

“………………”

“Hey! Bus driver! Stop the bus! Get this idiot off the bus right now! Honestly, these young people nowadays can’t even think of the trouble they cause others!”

As the old man’s anger continued to escalate, a nearby woman shouted, “Shut up!”

“You’re the real nuisance here! You should get off the bus right now!”

“What did you say!?”

“This kid has already apologized! Stop making a fuss over nothing! If you keep causing trouble, I’ll call the police!”

“………………”

The old man couldn’t respond to the woman’s words, and his face twisted into a grimace, as if he had bitten into a bitter bug. The mention of “police” must have hit a nerve.

When the bus stopped, the old man quickly got off. After watching him leave, the woman muttered, “Hmph! Pathetic,” while huffing in indignation.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. Thank you so much.”

“It’s fine. When someone’s in trouble, we help each other out, right? Okay? You shouldn’t pay attention to what that old man says. The fool is him.”

“…Yes.”

Brrrrr…

The bus started moving again, heading toward the next stop.

“………………”

Ding-dong

’Next stop.’

I quietly pressed the stop button. It wasn’t my stop yet, but I just wanted to get off as soon as possible.

“A disabled person like you shouldn’t be riding the bus!”

The old man’s insult still clung to my mind. It replayed in my head over and over again, and I couldn’t shake it.