Instantly, the classroom atmosphere turned chaotic.
"Someone fainted!"
"Hurry, call a teacher!"
"Kujo-san! Please wake up!"
Mikazuki tried to wake Shirayuki by gently patting her cheek.
However, there was no response.
"..."
It seemed that her condition truly had not fully recovered yet.
"Move aside, Mikazuki."
I stepped closer.
"I'll take her to the infirmary."
Without waiting for an answer, I immediately lifted Shirayuki into my arms.
"I'm coming too."
Mikazuki immediately stood up after seeing me carry Shirayuki.
Without paying attention to the surroundings, I directly carried Shirayuki out of the classroom toward the infirmary.
And without saying anything, Mikazuki followed behind me.
After walking for a while, we finally arrived at the infirmary.
Mikazuki immediately opened the door for me, and I stepped into the room right away.
The infirmary staff member, who saw Shirayuki's condition, quickly approached us.
"Please lay her down here."
Hearing that, I immediately placed Shirayuki onto the prepared bed.
The infirmary staff carefully checked Shirayuki's condition.
After a few moments, she finally let out a relieved sigh.
"There's nothing serious."
"She only fainted due to fever and exhaustion."
"With enough rest and regular meals, her condition should improve soon."
After hearing that explanation, the atmosphere in the room became slightly calmer.
Beside me, Mikazuki seemed to let out a relieved breath.
"Thank goodness."
If I remembered correctly, their relationship should not have been particularly close.
Then why did he seem so worried about Shirayuki?
For a moment, my gaze unconsciously shifted toward him.
"By the way, Tenshou-san."
Mikazuki suddenly spoke up.
"Do you know Kujo-san?"
It seemed that he had started becoming curious about my relationship with Shirayuki.
"What?"
I shifted my gaze toward him.
"Why are you suddenly asking that?"
"Hmm? Is that question not allowed?" Mikazuki tilted his head slightly while showing a faint smile.
I let out a soft scoff after hearing his question.
"Just childhood friends."
I was not lying.
However, I was also not telling the entire truth.
Shirayuki and I had indeed met quite often since childhood at various formal family banquets.
Mikazuki fell silent for a moment before finally smiling gently.
"I see."
"In that case, I'll stay here with her. Can you report this to Saegusa-sensei?"
"Alright. I'll report this matter to Saegusa-sensei."
After saying that, Mikazuki left the infirmary room.
And now, only Shirayuki and I remained inside that quiet room.
I sat on the chair beside her bed before taking my phone out of my pocket.
Without hesitation, I searched for Shirayuki's older brother's contact number.
Kujo Renji.
I immediately pressed the call icon on the contact.
Tut...
Tut...
After a few seconds, the call was finally connected.
"What is it, Aizen?"
Renji's voice was heard from the other side of the phone.
"It's rare for you to contact me like this."
"I just wanted to inform you."
My gaze slowly shifted toward Shirayuki, who was still sleeping weakly on the infirmary bed.
"Shirayuki fainted in class. And right now, she's unconscious in the infirmary."
For a moment, silence filled the phone call.
Until finally, Renji spoke again.
"Alright. I'll tell Haruki to pick her up."
"Thank you for informing me."
"Yeah."
After that, the call immediately ended.
While waiting for Shirayuki's family to come pick her up, my gaze unconsciously drifted back toward her.
I had actually grown used to hearing news about her getting sick frequently.
However, this was the first time I had seen her condition this closely in person.
Her skin looked far paler compared to this morning.
Her face also looked exhausted.
When her eyes were closed and her body could only lie weakly on the bed like this—
Shirayuki looked very fragile.
As if... she were someone who needed protection.
.
.
.
Some time passed.
And finally, Shirayuki slowly opened her eyes.
Her gaze looked slightly unfocused from just waking up.
She seemed like she wanted to say something.
"You're awake?"
Shirayuki looked like she wanted to get up from the bed.
However, because her body was still weak, her fingers could only lightly clutch the blanket.
"Why did you still come to school today?"
"I heard you had a fever."
I paused for a moment before speaking again.
"That's not like you."
Shirayuki only remained silent after hearing my question.
And seeing her current condition, I chose not to press her any further.
Most likely, she truly did not have enough strength to answer.
I then shifted my gaze toward the window.
At the very least, that way the atmosphere between us would not feel too awkward.
Several minutes passed.
And not long after that, the sound of footsteps could be heard from outside the room.
Slide—
The infirmary door opened.
Kujo Haruki immediately entered with an expression that looked slightly worried.
The moment he saw his younger sister's condition, he immediately walked closer.
"Yuki, are you alright?"
However, because her body was still weak, Shirayuki could only nod faintly in response.
Haruki let out a relieved sigh.
Then his gaze slowly shifted toward me.
"Aizen."
His tone became slightly more formal.
I stood up from the chair I had been sitting on beside Shirayuki's bed.
"Haruki-san."
My reply was as short as usual.
For a moment, we simply looked at each other in silence.
"Thank you for taking care of her."
Hearing those words, I did not answer immediately.
"There was nothing that needed taking care of."
My tone remained flat.
As if what I had done was not something important.
Even though in reality... I had stayed here since the very beginning.
Haruki smiled faintly.
"Even so, I'm still grateful."
He stepped closer to Shirayuki.
"I'll take her home."
I only gave a short nod.
"Then, I'll return to class."
I turned around to leave.
However—my steps briefly halted.
"...Don't push yourself too hard."
I said it without turning back.
My tone did not change in the slightest.
But clearly, those words were directed at Shirayuki.
After that, I resumed walking out of the infirmary.
And the room's door quietly closed behind me.
I did not know why I suddenly said something like that to her.
For some reason, those words simply came out of my mouth on their own.
Without thinking too deeply about it, I returned to the classroom.