Waterfall

Damn. Damn. It's my fault after all!

I managed to hold on to Kimishima before she fell into the water. Kimishima clung to me tightly with both hands. We were swallowed by the muddy water and drifted away, unable to do anything about it.

It was a relief, at least, that it was not a muddy stream mixed with fallen trees and garbage from the water disaster. We were tossed about by the current without bumping into anything, just the flow of the water.

Just as I was reaching the limit of my ability to breathe, the turbulence caused by the confluence of waterways disappeared, and the current became more direct, flowing downstream.

"Buhaha!!!"

"Puha!"

We were being swept away, but we managed to keep breathing. First of all, I wondered if we had avoided the worst of what was in front of us. The current was fast but steady. Perhaps it was because this was a man-made waterway...

Still, I wondered how far this waterway would go... It might be better if it just joined the river in a normal way. It was in this mountainous area,... no way,... no, let's not think about it...

... Damn it, could we stop? Maybe we needed some thought to be able to handle whatever comes our way.

I was able to take a breath, and I was able to give Kimishima a little more room to breathe. Kimishima seemed to be swimming okay, her hands still gripping me tightly, but she was breathing well enough to keep her face out of the water. She was not panicking.

"With water magic, something. Can't you use it?"

"Now. I'm trying not to sink. I'm trying. Nothing more."

I thought I was breathing strangely easy, but Kimishima was already doing that for me. I'm not the kind of person who can't do anything and just be swept along. I could really rely on her. I was saved.

Eventually, I saw a glimmer of light up ahead. Was this the end of the underground channel? What was beyond this? I thought the flow would slow down if we could get to a wide river...

In the midst of the current, I constantly kept thinking about what was ahead. The exit of the underground canal, which I thought was far away, was quickly approaching. All the waterways were merging together. The volume of water and the speed of the flow were probably higher than usual.

And then, we were out of the tunnel with a bang. The brightness dazzled me.

...

It was still raining. The brightness was weak due to the cloudy weather, but there was a big difference in the amount of light compared to the inside of the canal. It took a little while for my eyes to get used to the light. Still, ... thanks to Kimishima, I could keep my face out of the water, which was really a big help. With eyes that had become accustomed to the conditions, it was relatively easy to see what was going on around us.

.......

……It was awful.

The scenery around us. The end of the river, which was cut off and not visible...

...A waterfall. no doubt.

Kimishima must have noticed, too, because she gulped and tightened her grip.

"Kimishima. Never let go of me!"

"Yes."

"Use your legs to hold tight."

Dammit. We'll make it. We'll make it.

Kimishima squeezed me from the front, but she was slender, as expected. My right hand managed to get a grip on the hilt of the sword. My left hand gripped the sheath.

I had no choice but use Iaido.

Even though I was being swept away by the water, I kept my consciousness in sync with the sword. All right, I was okay. I was okay. I could concentrate. I began to feel the flow of the water around me strangely clearly. I could also feel the beating of Kimishima's heart, who was clinging to me. I could feel the magic power flowing uninterrupted and regulating me so that I wouldn't be swallowed by the current.

…Me too.

The wind magic that Karimah-san taught me. I imagined letting it seep into the sword at my waist.

The rushing water was pushing us onward, whether we wanted it to or not. Without a moment's hesitation, the waterfall soon came right in front of us. And with the force of the current, we were released into the air.

Not yet… Not yet…

With the wind blowing through our bodies, I checked the situation. The waterfall was higher than expected. Below us we could see a large waterfall basin and a pond. I had seen a diving athlete who had an impact of almost one metric ton from a height of 10 meters. This place was not ... 10 meters high, it was close to 30...

It's useless!!!

As soon as I realized how high it was, the symptoms of fear of heights kicked in. Oh no. I couldn't do it. Damn. I was scared. I was scared. Scared.

In the midst of the fear, my concentration waned, my eyes closed, and I almost took my hand off the hilt. In my arms, I recognized Kimishima's voice.

"Sensei!"

! ! !

“Kimishimaaaaaaa!!!”

Unconsciously, I screamed the name of the student who was clinging to me, hanging on. Damn. I wasn't the only one scared.

We were released into the air, and soon we began to fall, pulled by gravity. There was no time to lose our bearings. I quickly adjusted my posture and adjusted myself so that I could aim downwards. The opponent was air. And gravity. Fear. Myself.

… Oops. Kimishima would be on the bottom. I should have had her cling to me from behind...

I suddenly thought about that, but I had no choice but to do it. If I failed, the impact of the water landing would be concentrated on Kimishima. Success was the only way.

I cut the scabbard and timed it right.

With the water surface looming closer, I drew my sword at once, like a drawn bow being released.

Booooooo!!!

With the drawing of the sword, a storm was released downward. The water in the waterfall basin split into two parts as the sword was swung, exposing the bottom of the lake.

Great, this will be... no! Damn! Oh no. Will we hit the ground like this???

Crack...

Suddenly, I was struck by an intense dizziness. In my fading consciousness, I desperately struggle to change my position so that I would at least be on the bottom instead of Kimishima. The next moment, a near-explosion of wind enveloped us both like a cushion, and for a moment I felt like I was floating in mid-air.

! ! !

… The two of us were swallowed up in the wave of returning water.

◇◇◇

~Yuzuki Kimishima~

A waterfall was ahead.

I didn't know what to do in such a desperate situation. But the Sensei shouted with conviction, "Don't let go!" I exclaimed with conviction. Sensei is absolutely fine at times like this. That's what I thought.

Believing in Sensei in front of me was all I could do now.　

When the two of us were released from the waterfall, I had no choice but to cling on desperately, trusting Sensei.

Still unable to see anything further ahead, I was so terrified that I closed my eyes and just kept on spontaneously dropping. I could only shout, "Sensei!" I heard Sensei's voice, which must have been in response to my cry, "Kimishima!"

I was convinced by his voice that I was safe once again. Immediately after that, I felt the release of condensed magic power from inside Sensei, who I was clinging to.

Because I had my face in his chest and my eyes closed, I did not know what had happened at that moment. However, a tremendous storm swept over us, and I felt as if both of our bodies were momentarily lifted up.

As it was, we fell into the water again without much impact. Perhaps Sensei did something about it...

"Sensei? Sensei?"

After falling into the water, I immediately used water magic to create a water current to make the two of us float up. However, Sensei was unconscious and his eyes were closed. The waterfall basin was like a large lake. Was it because of that? I managed to reach the shore because there was no strong current of water that would normally have swept us away.

Perhaps because of the "Divine Light" that I was exposed to when I came to this world, I had a little more muscle strength, and so on. I managed to lift Sensei up on the shore, and I also get out of the water.

I rushed to check on Sensei's condition, but he was breathing properly. Thank goodness ...

I carried him to the bottom of a cliff where water would not splash on him, and used plant magic to make him unseen from the surroundings.

As Sensei said, this magic was very useful. By adjusting the position of leaves, we could also successfully avoid the rainwater.

... I've been saved again.

Holding Sensei's body from behind like a hug. It might be better to warm up a water-cooled body a little.

Little by little.

Listening to the sound of rain falling on the leaves.

I waited for Sensei to wake up while warming him tightly.

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