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Cycling is a dangerous sport, any cyclist can tell you that. When you ride your bicycle so fast, when you wear aerodynamic clothes that don’t give much protection if you fall or when you take risks to help your Ace win… all of these things combine to make cycling a very dangerous activity. Pretty much any serious cyclist has fallen from their bicycle at one point or another, but the severity of their injuries vary dramatically. But one thing is certain: falling from your bicycle hurts a lot, and you never know if this fall will cause you a career-ending injury.
Even Imaizumi has fallen from his bicycle a few times, crashing hard enough to warp the wheels of his road racer and graze the skin off of his hip. But he doesn’t crash as much as Naruko, who is known to be a ridiculously risky cyclist (he often sprints until he faints and falls from his bicycle), or Onoda, who is just quite clumsy. And although he may not show it, a jolt of fear spikes through his chest whenever he sees someone (especially one of his two best friends) fall from their bicycle, terrified they may end up seriously injured or even dead.
One day, Imaizumi joins the rest of the Bicycle Club on sprint around their favourite course, rushing past each other in their haste to beat each other or break their PBs. Imaizumi keeps his head down and tries to slow his breathing, needing to pace himself. He left most of the first years behind two minutes ago and only has to catch Naruko before he can catch the second years, so he has to keep his pacing perfect.
But as he turns his pedals, determination making him grit his jaw, he still hears it. The clatter of a road racer hitting the tarmac. Someone has fallen from their bicycle.
If this were a real competition, he would leave them and carry on the race, certain that the first aiders would help them. But this is a simple race with his team, and there are no first aiders on standby. So even though he wanted to beat Naruko, he spins his bicycle around and heads off to find them.
He soon finds them, jumps off his bicycle and dashes over to the prone figure. He curls up on his side, the spokes on the front wheel of his bicycle warped, and just lies there, trembling. It is Onoda.
Now, when Onoda falls, he always gets straight back to his feet, giggles about falling and continues his ride, his torn clothes and battered bicycle the only signs he ever tumbled to the tarmac. So to see Onoda just… lying there… is he injured?”
“Onoda-kun?” Imaizumi says, crouching down beside his friend.
Onoda tilts his head towards him, opening his eyes. “I-Imaizumi-kun,” he mumbles, his voice thick with pain. “I f-fell.”
“I gathered that. Where does it hurt?”
“My chest,” Onoda says, letting out a shuddering breath.
Onoda tries to move himself, probably to sit upright, but Imaizumi snaps, “No!”
“Huh?”
“Stay still. You’re in pain. You… might have hurt your spine.”
Onoda’s eyes widen. “Imaizumi-kun…”
“Just stay there. I’ll get help.”
And he reaches into his pocket, grabs his emergency, basic cell phone and dials the emergency services.
---
Thankfully, Onoda doesn’t have a spinal cord injury. In fact, as the rest of the team plus Miki and Aya sit in the waiting room at their local hospital, it turns out his injuries aren’t going to end his cycling career.
A nurse leads Onoda towards them, his face pale and clammy, his movements shaky and his right arm in a sling.
“Onoda-kun!” Naruko says, grinning. “You’re okay!”
“What did you do?” Aoyagi mumbles, and Teshima adds, “Yeah, what’s the damage?”
“Three cr-cracked ribs,” Onoda says, actually smiling like the ever-optimistic dork they all care about. “But… I’m okay.”
Imaizumi rolls his eyes, but he can’t quite hide the smile that twitches on his lips. Onoda is okay. He fell from his bicycle and got injured, but he is going to be okay.