𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 / 𝘪𝘬𝘶𝘺𝘢.

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 / 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭.

'stick to your path. the relay and individual events are all the free you love, aren't they? don't get caught up in the past. if you can do that, then you'll become the best.'

'yes.'

'[name], don't be so hard on yourself. you did your best against sano without comprimising your health, and that's all that matters.'

the girl nodded, 'alright.'

'i didn't want to do something uncool as... asking you to shoulder my dreams, too, but... go swim and win. enough for me, too.'

'yes!' the students exclaimed.

'woah, you're loud,' nao commented.

•·················•·················•

'let's run home!' asahi yelled.

'huh? run?' ikuya questioned.

'i just really feel like i want to move my body. it'll also count as training, so let's run home!' asahi broke into a jog, putting distance between himself and the group.

'wai- idiot... this is why there's a direct connection between his muscles and his brains!' ikuya grumbled, chasing after the megaphone.

'ah, wait!' [name] called, following the boys.

'haru,' makoto encouraged as he and haru joined them.

the landscape flew by as the group ran through the suburbs. [name] and haru had slowly fell behind, quickly losing air.

'yes! i win!' asahi declared as they reached the point where they part ways. as everyone slowed to a stop, haru fell onto his front and [name] was writhing on the pathway, clawing at her chest. 'haru? [name]?'

'haru!' makoto yelled, rushing to his friend.

'[name]?' ikuya called, kneeling beside her. he put his bags on the ground and pulled her onto his lap, cradling her torso as she hid her face in his shirt. her whimpers of pain were muffled and her grip on her shirt tightened. he stumbled over his words before finally asking, '1 to 10?'

tears decorated her [length] eyelashes and she grit her teeth. '10,' [name] grunted.

ikuya nodded to himself, bringing his mind back to when this happened during club, albeit, it wasn't as bad. 'um, ok. easy, medium or hard?'

'hard,' she whispered.

asahi, who had somehow remembered the series of questions, reached for her water bottle that was tucked away in her bag. 'yes or no?' he asked. the panic in his voice was evident. [name] raised a [skin colour] hand and took as much as she could.

'better, same or worse?' ikuya asked, readjusting his grip.

'same.' she tried to take deep breaths, groaning in between. the severity of the situation quickly sunk in and her attempts to take deep breaths soon turned to hyperventilation. she looked at haru and her concern for him increased her adrenaline. her eyes met ikuya's and he could see the fear that filled them.