Satoshi felt like dying when he took the last couple of steps before he got out of the sauna. His lungs constricted whenever he breathed due to the steam. And everyone's weight didn't help since he was carrying all of them out of there.
Fortunately, he was able to break past his limits pushing the door open with his last bout of strength and lurching forward. They were out of the sauna, and Satoshi took in a breath of cold air the moment they got out. He didn't bother keeping himself balanced since his legs gave away.
It's as if his strength was sucked from him, and he fell to the ground along with the other three.
Jonathan fell sideways, still unconscious. As for Yun Zhe, he fell on top of Himuro and the two of them sort of got tangled together when Satoshi dropped them down.
"Ah, good thing you're here. As you can see, I won the challenge." Satoshi pointed out before he collapsed in front of Nanako and Mitsuka.
"What on actual—" Mitsuka couldn't help but exclaim as he watched Satoshi fall in front of her.
Nanako gasped when he saw that everyone was unconscious as well. The full blast of steam came out of the sauna, causing them to sweat in an instant. They could only imagine just how high the temperature was in there. Just thinking about it made them shiver.
"Come on, Nanako, help me out here," Mitsuka called out, carefully grabbing Satoshi by his armpit before she started dragging Satoshi to the lounge.
Nanako nodded along. As for her, she grabbed Himuro by the armpit.
When they arrived at the lounge, Mitsuka started fanning Satoshi's face, completely forgetting the other two who were left behind. A couple of minutes later, Jonathan and Yun Zhe walked into the lounge, still disoriented since they found themselves out of the sauna. They didn't even remember how they passed out.
"What happened?" Jonathan asked. Somehow, he could tell that Satoshi and Himuro weren't the first ones to get out. After all, he couldn't remember them going out before him. The only thing he remembered was him trying to keep himself awake. And then he blacked out or something.
"You guys passed out. Satoshi brought all of you out of there before he passed out himself." Mitsuka explained. "What were you guys doing? No wonder you were keen on holding the contest. That was dangerous, you know."
"Ah, so he was the winner... then!"
"THEN!"
Jonathan and Yun Zhe looked at each other since the two of them simultaneously exclaimed 'then'. A split second later, Jonathan gestured at Yun Zhe to go first. Clearing his throat, Yun Zhe continued what he was about to ask.
"Then... who was the first one to fall into unconsciousness... no wait... it was you Jonathan! I remember now!" Yun Zhe exclaimed, pointing a finger at him as he started howling with laughter. For a moment back there, he thought that he'd be the one to scream at the rooftop.
But, if his memory didn't fail him. Then that means, it was Jonathan who fainted first, then after him was Himuro. Yun Zhe was this close to winning the entire thing, but he lost focus at the last moment when he saw Himuro fall down.
'It should've been me.' Yun Zhe told himself. Then again, Satoshi didn't fall into unconsciousness, not until he brought all of them out of there. It was a landslide victory for Satoshi, that much was obvious.
When Himuro came to, he instantly saw Nanako fanning him with a towel. A smile swept across his face as he forced himself to sit down. "Am I dead?" He joked, prompting Nanako to give him a good whack on the head which perked him right back up.
"RIGHT! WHO WON?" Himuro looked at Yun Zhe who was standing in front of Satoshi. He concluded that it was Yun Zhe who won, and he clenched his fists in frustration.
Just like Yun Zhe, he too lost his concentration when he saw Jonathan plop on the ground. Of course, anyone would've laughed heartily after seeing someone fall on the ground like that. It was akin to a seal walking on land, the way he plopped like that.
Himuro couldn't help but chuckle after remembering that scene.
...
The steady whirring of the ceiling fan greeted Satoshi when he woke up. His eyes fluttered open as he rubbed it. For a moment, he had no idea where he was, then he remembered what happened in the sauna, and then he slowly sat up, heaving a sigh.
To his side, Mitsuka continued fanning him with a towel. It was extremely helpful since Satoshi was able to cool down. Then again, even without their help, Dex would've stepped in to help him out the moment it became too much. Fortunately, he didn't reach that point.
"Are you all right?" Mitsuka concernedly asked since Satoshi's skin was bright red, an obvious sign of too much exposure to high temperatures.
"Yeah, just a little bit light-headed," Satoshi responded.
"Here," Mitsuka said, handing him a bottle of milk. "It would help with the light-headedness." She offered.
Muttering a soft thanks, Satoshi gratefully accepted the bottle of milk, gulping it down in an instant. Mitsuka was right. It did help with his uncomfortable feeling. Another sigh left his mouth as his gaze wandered towards Jonathan who was slowly stirring into consciousness.
When he woke up, he was also as confused as the others. "What happened, you guys?" He asked... and then he remembered what transpired in the sauna.
"..."
"..."
Now that everyone was finally awake, they stared at each other for a good moment before Yun Zhe started chuckling. Everyone followed suit and the four of them started laughing at each other. The contest was a success, and there was a clear winner and a loser even though they didn't have enough time.
It didn't take long before Jonathan realized that he was the one who clearly lost. His eyes widened as Satoshi and the others resumed their laughter. They couldn't help but remember how Jonathan fell on the sauna floor. It was the most hilarious thing they'd ever seen.
"So... what's the punishment for the loser?" Mitsuka asked. Her curiosity was piqued since Jonathan didn't seem troubled by the outcome.
"Yeah, and the reward. You have a reward for the winner, right?" Nanako let out, following Mitsuka's question.
Without further ado, the four of them explained both the punishment and the reward. Nanako and Mitsuka couldn't help but realize how childish the contest was. Then again, the four of them seemed to bond with the contest so it resulted better than expected.
"So... should we head over to the girls' room? We're going to spend some time there, right?" Jonathan trailed off, hoping that he could get away from the punishment. After all, he still wasn't ready. He needed at least a day to prepare himself before he confessed his feelings to Manager Hermione.
"No, not yet. You have to do something first, right?" Satoshi said as he wore a grin on his face.
Himuro and Yun Zhe also wore a grin on their face, implying that Jonathan had to undergo the punishment right now.
"All right, all right!" Jonathan muttered. Without further ado, he stood up, did a couple of stretches, and proceeded to head toward the rooftop.
When they reached the staircase that led to the rooftop, Jonathan started questioning his life choices, or rather, he began questioning his existence with every step. He had no idea what would happen the moment he blurted out those words, but then again, he agreed to the contest so he couldn't back down now.
Before he knew it, the door that led to the rooftop was right in front of him. When he turned back, he saw Satoshi and the others who were keenly tailing him. There was no point in taking a strategic retreat. He just had to move forward and get on with it.
Mustering his courage, Jonathan opened the door. A soft gust of wind greeted him the moment he arrived at the rooftop. The coldness sent literal shivers up and down his spine, but he still walked forward. "All right, here we go," Jonathan said to himself.
In hindsight, Hermione was prepossessing. Right now, Jonathan received the push he needed to shoot his shot. And he was going to do it.
"You can do it, Jonathan Ainsworth!" Nanako whispered from the back as Jonathan walked towards the edge of the rooftop.
"Yes! You can do it!" Himuro clenched his fist, pumping it in the air. He was quite proud of himself for thinking up of a punishment like that.
"Here we go," Jonathan took in a breath of fresh air, preparing himself for the declaration that he was about to do.
"HERMIONE RANGER-SAAAAN!" Jonathan screamed out of nowhere, causing Satoshi and the others to rethink what they were doing. Then again, it was too late to stop Jonathan from his punishment.
"I LIKE YOU, PLEASE GO OUT WITH ME!" His scream echoed all over the dorms, traveling further into the forest. With how loud he was, there was no way Hermione Ranger didn't hear his confession.
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