The Woman Whose Life I Saved Turned out to Be the Mother of the Popular Twin Sisters in My Class

Chapter 2 – The Girls’ Hero

“People are naturally inclined to think in terms of profit and loss. That’s just how we are. It can’t be helped. But if you ever see someone in trouble, you need to be the kind of person who can lend a hand without thinking about profit or loss.”

Those were Dad’s words, a man who died in an accident while saving a child. I still remember them clearly, etched into my mind.

No matter how big or small the issue, I had always tried to do what I could.

But, being just a kid, there wasn’t much I could actually do.

In other words, I hadn’t encountered a situation that was beyond the scope of what I could do.

But there’s one thing I’ve learned from all of that.

It’s that there’s no time to hesitate.

“What’s going on?”

“…I don’t know.”

A man’s voice came from a little distance away, and Shuka and I ran over to it.

There was already a crowd of people there, and it was bustling. Wondering what was going on, I tried to look across the crowd and saw a person lying in the middle of the crowd.

“Mom! Wake up, Mom!”

A high-pitched voice rang out.

Panic, fear, confusion——all those emotions were mixed into that desperate cry.

“What should we do?”

“I don’t know!”

“Why don’t you call an ambulance?”

“Me? You do it!”

“Hey, isn’t that girl really cute?”

“This is not the time to be saying that! But yeah, she’s really cute…”

The crowd exchanged words of their own, but not a single person made a move.

Around the woman who had collapsed were two girls who looked like her daughters. Huh, the two girls looked somewhat familiar…

“Onii-chan, over here!”

Before I could get a good look, my sister called out to me. Now was certainly not the time to be pondering unnecessary stuff.

Before I knew it, Shuka was at the other end of the crowd. The people weren’t completely surrounding the woman—there was a half-circle of space around her.

So I crossed over there and headed towards the woman who had collapsed.

“Shuka, call an ambulance!”

“Y-yes!”

Shuka is still in middle school, so she doesn’t have a cell phone. I took my smartphone out of my pocket and gave her instructions as I handed it to her.

Someone had collapsed.

In moments like these, what should I do?

I wasn’t clueless.

I’ve seen it on TV, and Dad had told me about it many times.

It’s just I’ve never done it before. I have no proof that it’s the right thing to do. There’s a chance that my actions will make the situation worse.

The more I thought about it, the more the fear gripped me, weighing me down like an anchor. If I let that fear take hold, I’d freeze, unable to move.

So I decided to act before my anxiety takes over my mind.

“Hey Yuzuki, what should we do? What’s going to happen to Mom?”

“I-I don’t know! S-Somebody, please…”

“Excuse me.”

I arrived at the two girls who were expressing their anxiety next to the woman, and slipped into an empty space.

I looked into the woman’s face.

It seems that she’s unconscious after all.

I took a deep breath.

Listen, Ao. If you ever see someone collapse, the first thing you need to do is check if they’re conscious.

I remembered Dad’s words.

“Are you okay?”

I tapped her shoulder.

First on the left side, then on the right. The third time, I tapped both the woman’s shoulders at the same time. I called out to her while gradually increasing the strength of my taps.

Dad had said that in some cases, people might not feel parts of their body, so it was important to change where you apply pressure.

I called out to the woman several times, but she still didn’t regain consciousness. I was hoping she’d open her eyes, but I knew the chance of that happening was slim, seeing as how the girls had been making a fuss up until this point but she still hasn’t regained consciousness.

Huh, what next…

I think I’ll need to arrange for an ambulance…

“Someone, please, bring an AED!”

AED, Automated External Defibrillator. It’s a device that automatically measures and analyzes the heart’s rhythm, and if necessary, administers an electric shock to return the body to normal.

I knew it was used in emergencies like this and could be found in many public facilities.

“Anyone!”

Everyone heard me call out. But for some reason, no one did anything. It’s understandable that they wouldn’t be able to move when they were told to do so suddenly, but the situation was urgent.

The crowd started to get restless.

Should I go and get it?

No, there were other things I needed to do.

Should I ask the daughters to go and get it? No, they’re in no mental state to do that.

“Onii-chan!”

At that moment, my sister came over with an AED in her hand. She arrived so quickly that she must’ve anticipated the need for it after calling the ambulance.

As expected from Dad’s daughter.

“Shuka, get it ready.”

“Y-yes.”

Shuka looked anxious.

It was understandable.

We had suddenly found ourselves in this situation, and we were doing this for the first time. My heart was beating really fast, too.

But I had to pretend to be calm.

If I showed any anxiety, it would spread to others.

“…Alright.”

I checked to see if the woman was breathing.

It’s said you could tell by looking at the chest movement. If their chest isn’t rising and falling, that means they’re not breathing.

…This woman’s chest… it’s not moving.

This is really heading towards the worst case scenario.

Since it had come to this, the only thing left to do is perform chest compressions. It’s what people call cardiac massage. It’s the kind of movement you see in dramas, where people would push hard against the chest.

I put my left hand on top of my right and brought it to the woman’s chest. I placed my hands between her breasts and put my weight on them to begin chest compressions.

“Onii-chan, it’s ready.”

While I was performing chest compressions, Shuka finished preparing the AED. All she had to do was plug the electrode pads into the device and turn it on.

The automated voice on the device told me the procedure, but even so, it’s only natural I’d be nervous since this was my first time.

[Please note that the electrode pads should be attached to the chest. For adults, it’s around the waist and shoulders]

The electrode pads also had pictures on where to attach them.

I remember hearing that it’s not good to have this procedure done while wearing anything made of metal. She doesn’t seem to be wearing a necklace or anything, but…

What about her underwear?

It seems there’s no need to take off her clothes, but aren’t bra hooks made of metal?

I kept doing chest compressions while my mind raced. Still, every second of hesitation was precious.

“Shuka, this woman’s underwear…”

“Yes, I got it.”

Shuka seemed to understand what I wanted to say right away. I took off my top shirt and put it over the woman.

Taking it off wasn’t a problem because it wasn’t that cold. In fact, I welcomed the cool air after my body heat rose from all the movement.

“Onii-chan, it’s ready.”

The AED is reading the woman’s heart rhythm.

During this time, we weren’t supposed to touch her and just wait for the AED’s next instruction. If it determined that an electric shock was necessary, we would deliver the shock. If not, I would continue with the chest compressions. It was a cycle that could repeat depending on the situation.

“U-um…”

In a brief moment of silence, one of the woman’s daughters timidly spoke up.

It’s the girl with the long brown hair who had been so nervous up until that moment.

“Mom… Will she be okay?”

She asked, tears welling up in her eyes, pleading. I didn’t know how to respond to her words.

Should I reassure her that her mom will be okay?

But what if I said something irresponsible when I don’t even know what’s going on?

[There’s no need for a shock. Continue chest compressions]

The AED’s automated voice instructed.

I took a deep breath and spoke, trying to use a tone of voice that would reassure the daughters as much as possible.

“…It’s okay. She’ll survive.”

It’s said that it takes about nine to ten minutes for an ambulance to arrive after you contact them.

Luckily, they must have been nearby, because shortly after, the ambulance arrived, and our part was done.

◇

Not feeling like going shopping, Shuka and I went back the way we came and headed home.

“I wonder if that woman will be okay.”

“I don’t know… But I think we did everything we could.”

I don’t know if what I did was right. If she survives, then it proves I did the right thing, but if not…

Even though it might not have been my fault, the thought of “what if” kept crossing my mind.

“Shuka, you did a good job.”

“That goes for Onii-chan too.”

“How about we grab something sweet on the way home?”

I tried not to think about it as much as possible, but it was hard. I tried my best to act cheerful so that Shuka wouldn’t sense my anxiety.

“Is it on you, Onii-chan?”

“It can’t be helped, today is special. Besides, I’ve got some extra pocket money on hand.”

◇

The light that read “In Operation” went out, and soon after that, a doctor came out of the operation room.

Kotobuki Hikari, the girl with the brown hair, rose from her chair and ran over to the doctor.

Kotobuki Yuzuki, the girl with long black hair sitting next to Hikari, was unable to stand up, but turned towards the doctor with an anxious look on her face.

“How is Mom?! Is she okay?!”

The doctor’s expression was extremely grim.

The thought of that “what if” had crossed the two girl’s minds. But that didn’t mean they were mature enough to accept it.

They prayed in their hearts, begging, as they waited for the doctor’s words.

In the next moment, the doctor’s brow relaxed as if he had released his tension. He removed his mask and smiled at Hikari.

“Yes. She’s fine now.”

The moment Hikari heard those words, she crouched down on the spot, limp. Her legs seemed to have lost all strength.

“But it was really close. If not for the first aid she received, the outcome could have been very different…”

“Really?”

Hikari replied weakly.

Yuzuki, still sitting in her chair, had a blank look on her face.

“Yes. You should thank the person who provided the first aid. Do you have their contact information?”

“N-no, I don’t…”

Hikari glanced over at Yuzuki, but of course, Yuzuki just shook her head.

“I see. That’s unfortunate.”

After that, the two girls talked to their mother, who had regained consciousness, and listened to details about her hospital stay. With a little free time, Hikari and Yuzuki bought some juice from a vending machine and sat side by side in the waiting area.

Hikari had an orange juice in her hand.

Yuzuki had a Fanta Grape in her hand.

“We should have asked for her contact information.”

Yuzuki nodded at Hikari’s words.

They wanted to express their gratitude, and more than that, the girls wanted to properly thank them.

“Everything happened so fast, so I don’t remember everything clearly…”

“Yeah.”

Hikari agreed to Yuzuki’s words.

“I think he was wearing the Omaku uniform…”

Omaku High School.

That’s the name of the high school Hikari and Yuzuki attend. Both girls and boys wear blazers as their school uniform.

“I thought the same thing.”