𝐃𝐈𝐋𝐅 || 𝐉𝐮𝐣𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐮 𝐊𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐧

Chapter 4

He runs over and when he's close he can see she's breathing- shallow, but definitely breathing and Toji sucks in a huge, relieved breath of his own.

"Hey, girl," he says, circling around so she can see him.

Alisa whines, her free feet twitching like she wants to get up, lifting her head from the canyon floor.

"Shh, shh, you stay still, shh," he says, carefully crouching next to her. "I'm gonna get you out of here." He's going to have to sedate her to move the rock, and he quickly administers the dose, stroking her along her muzzle like he did when she was a pup, until her breathing settles and she drifts into sleep.

"Anna," Toji radios.

"You've got her?"

"Trapped, probably a rock slide. One of her legs is pinned. She's out now, I'm going to try to move it. I can get her out of the canyon. Where are you now?"

"Waiting for you on the road. Called Noah, he's driving over to the center now."

"Good job."

He tests the weight of the rock- he should be able to move it, but he wants to do it in a clean lift, so he spends a minute or two trying to figure out the best leverage he can get. It comes free in a massive yanking flip, hardly an inch to spare when the rock comes down heavy and quick. There doesn't seem to be any bleeding, but the bone is undoubtedly broken. Toji can see a straight branch about the right length, and uses his belt to keep the leg straight. Alisa whines, even through the sedative.

"I'm sorry, I know, I'm sorry," Toji repeats, the just same as when he takes bandaids off or when shots happen. "I'm trying."

Picking Alisa up isn't much heavier than picking up Tsumiki. However, carrying her up the side of a canyon is less easy than carrying Tsumiki up the stairs. His feet slip a little a few times and he has to keep readjusting his grip- but the two of them make it up, probably thanks to sheer stupid luck.

"Almost there," Toji promises as they come up over the edge. The access road is a ten, fifteen minute walk, maybe longer, weighed down with a sedated wolf he doesn't want to shake. His infallible sense of direction when on the reserve doesn't steer him wrong- he can see the road and thank god, the jeep. Just because he can carry a seventy five pound wolf this far doesn't mean it's easy.

He whistles loud and Anna pulls around, Toji carefully laying Alisa on the blankets already spread out on the back and getting in with her.

"Go, go," he says, still quiet, gently stroking Alisa's fur.

"You might have mentioned that a 'Y/N' is actually Megumi's teacher, Ms. L/N," Anna says out of the blue on the drive back.

"But you called?" Toji checks.

"Yes, yes, it's fine," she sighs.

Toji pulls out the radio and radios back to the stables that they need to send someone to pick up the horse on the drive back toward the center and the vet. It isn't more than ten minutes but the trip seems longer watching and feeling Alisa's very shallow breathing.

When they pull into the lot, Noah is waiting for them, helping Toji carry Alisa out and into their infirmary.

"You did right, Toji," Noah is undoing Toji's makeshift splint and feeling carefully along her leg. "It's broken, we'll need to x-ray, but it feels clean, stable. Her heart rate is okay for the tranq dose, she should be fine."

Toji feels like his knees are going to give out, adrenaline and relief coursing through him and he rubs a hand over his face. Which brings his watch right up to his face, and oh god, Career Day.