Chapter 10: Illness. "Terrible" is the keynote of today's chapter.
Before Furuya Rei could even come to a conclusion, wavering between "Kitagawa Ryusei did it on purpose" and "the other party hasn't noticed yet," Instructor Onizuka had already assigned a new mission.
With the sports meet approaching, all six of them were assigned events, as expected.
Although he was envious of the "800-meter emergency response training"① in the hands of Furuya Rei and Morofushi Kagemitsu, Kitagawa Ryusei obediently accepted the "single-person multi-target shooting" project arranged by Instructor Onizuka when he thought about having to run 800 meters in equipment.
Matsuda and Hagiwara's "Comprehensive Police Skills" and Date Wataru's "Shot Put" were held in the same venue.
Instructor Onizuka even declared, "Kids, if you don't win all the championships, you'll be settling scores with me later!"
Everyone was confident of victory and said there was absolutely no problem.
However, plans can never keep up with changes.
I don't know which malnourished brain cell the person in charge of the sports meet used to choose the time for the opening ceremony rehearsal, because it started raining halfway through the ceremony rehearsal.
The rain came suddenly, pounding on the ground and releasing a soily, earthy smell, reminiscent of fresh grass.
Everyone hurriedly took down the flags and moved the equipment, shuttling back and forth in the heavy rain, looking utterly disheveled.
The rehearsal had been quite hot, but the rain actually made it much cooler. Instead of rushing to change his wet clothes, Kitagawa Ryusei first delivered the class flag to the class leader.
"Thank you, Kitagawa. Go change your clothes and be careful not to catch a cold." Date Wataru carefully hung up the class flag and turned to instruct Kitagawa Ryusei.
"Understood, class monitor."
Although he felt a chill, Kitagawa Ryusei didn't think he would catch a cold. Since the bathhouse should be quite crowded at this time, he just went back to change his clothes.
The rehearsal was on Friday, and the sports meet would officially open the following Monday. Everyone had agreed to spend the weekend preparing for the events.
Before going to sleep, Kitagawa Ryusei felt a bit dizzy and thought to himself, "This is bad."
He searched the entire cabinet but couldn't find any cold medicine.
Everyone else should be resting by now, right?
A strong sense of sleepiness washed over him, and Kitagawa Ryusei's eyelids seemed to be magnetized, constantly bumping together. He simply couldn't muster the energy to put on his coat and go out.
He told himself to just wrap himself up tightly in the blanket and make do for the night.
It turned out that his judgment that he wouldn't catch a cold was wrong, and the miracle of getting better after a good night's sleep did not happen.
The next morning, Kitagawa Ryusei was awakened by the alarm clock and immediately felt as if he had just fought Godzilla, with his limbs sore and weak.
The soft blanket, which was originally light, pressed down on him like a heavy weight. Kitagawa Ryusei tried to get up, but after raising his head only three centimeters, he slowly lowered it again.
It was heavy and painful. He suspected that if he moved too much, his head would be shaken apart like an egg.
After closing his eyes and resting for a long time, Kitagawa Ryusei barely managed to sit up and took out the thermometer he hadn't used the night before, putting it in his mouth.
He sat listlessly, his eyelids slightly red from the high fever.
I took out the thermometer, and sure enough—39℃.
He actually slept through the night in that temperature, which was unbelievable to Kitagawa Ryusei.
If he burns for a while longer, he'll probably have to make a trip to the Trayastrimsa Heaven.
Originally unwilling to go out, Kitagawa Ryusei, now forced to save himself, struggled to get out of bed.
He hurriedly wrapped his thick coat tighter, took out an unopened mask, put it on, and went to buy medicine.
"...That's terrible."
Set the tone for a new day with a single sentence.
*
Yesterday's rain came and went quickly, leaving no trace except for fallen flowers and raindrops clinging to the leaves.
Cars speeding by on the road splashed water, and billboards that had been taken inside the store yesterday to avoid the rain were brought out again.
Before entering the pharmacy, Kitagawa Ryusei turned a corner and went to a convenience store first.
Although I don't have much of an appetite when I'm sick, I still expend more energy than usual.
To avoid the absurd situation of "triggering superpowers due to starvation," he decided to fill his stomach first.
Weakly supporting his head with his hands, Kitagawa Ryusei and two little boys walked into the convenience store while the rice balls were being heated.
"A few days ago, someone drew strange symbols on the walls of that alley with chalk. I don't know what they mean."
One of the little boys, dressed in a custom-made blue suit and a red bow tie, was looking up at the refrigerated display case, which was taller than him.
The other little boy was much thinner and followed behind the other, chattering incessantly.
"Could someone be using a coded message to ask for help?"
"If he had time to write a coded message on a wall for help, why didn't he go to the phone booth nearby?"
The little boy in the suit refuted his companion logically and eloquently. After looking around the convenience store, he walked over to Kitagawa Ryusei, who was standing next to him, and gently tugged at his sleeve, his voice still childish and polite: "Brother, could you please get us those two rice balls?"
Kitagawa Ryusei was startled when he was pulled, but didn't make a sound because his throat was a little sore.
He nodded silently, walked to the refrigerator door, took out a rice ball for the little boy, bent down and handed it to him.
"Thank you, brother!"
The little boy in the suit politely thanked her, took the rice ball, went to pay, and then ran back to wait for it to be heated in the microwave.
He nimbly propped himself up on the high chair next to Kitagawa Ryusei, swung his legs, and asked the child beside him, "Do you remember what those codes looked like?"
"I... I don't quite remember," the little boy said, looking troubled as he tried to recall, his eyes darting around quickly. "Like... a little person!"
Once those words were spoken, the rest of the conversation flowed exceptionally smoothly, with the little boy confidently declaring, "Strange little people holding hands."
"Huh?" Kitagawa Ryusei's attitude changed visibly as he saw the boy in the suit's eyes suddenly light up, his previous indifference completely gone: "Could it be the Sherlock Holmes dancing man code?!"
“It must be!” another quickly chimed in.
While listening to the two chatting, Kitagawa Ryusei's breakfast was heated up.
He stopped in his tracks, which had been about to leave, and sat back down in his chair, unwrapping his rice ball and continuing to listen.
The little boy in the suit was clearly imitating the tone and gestures of an adult. He touched his chin and said in a pretentious manner, "Then let's go take a look together later!"
Judging from his tone, he's clearly still just a little kid.
Kitagawa Ryusei's gaze swept over the other boy, but he remained silent.
He calmly finished his rice ball, listened to the two children's plan, put the food packaging into a plastic bag, and took out a tissue to wipe his fingers.
The voice behind the mask was a little muffled, and Kitagawa Ryusei's voice was a little hoarse: "Little friend, remember to have a parent accompany you when you go to places with few people."
Shinichi Kudo, dressed in a suit, was taken aback, unsure if the man was speaking to him, and answered hesitantly, "Th-thank you?"
Without saying another word, Kitagawa Ryusei glanced at the time, left the convenience store, turned and crossed the street to buy medicine.
If it weren't for the fear of leaving behind any unclear traces, Kitagawa Ryusei would actually prefer to use his supernatural abilities to solve the problem.
But letting the condition worsen or suffocating is too painful. His previous method—stabbing the heart—is also difficult to go undetected.
Therefore, in order to adapt to local customs, he decided to minimize the use of his superpowers in the future.
"Sir, your things."
The pharmacy staff handed the medicine and receipt to Kitagawa Ryusei.
He thanked them, accepted the gift, and prepared to leave. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the two small figures from outside the shop walk into the alley one after the other.
Without realizing it, Kitagawa Ryusei sighed. Instead of returning to school, he turned and followed the two children.
In the alley, the two little boys walked deeper and deeper, gradually moving away from the crowd.
The sounds of vehicles passing by on the road gradually faded until they disappeared completely from my ears.
Aside from footsteps, the only sounds around me were the dripping rain and the sound of stray cats poking at discarded cardboard boxes.
"Actually, there wasn't a code at all, was there?" Shinichi Kudo, who was following behind and looking around, stopped and stopped walking. "There are no eaves to shelter you from the rain in the alley ahead. It rained so hard yesterday, there was no way there could have been any chalk marks left."
After saying that, he took a step back and looked at the little boy warily, saying, "So why did you bring me here?"
Once his purpose was exposed, the boy leading the way lowered his head and remained silent, his thin limbs trembling involuntarily.
"Did someone threaten you to bring me here? Let's go call the police!" Shinichi Kudo sensed something was wrong, but still held onto hope.
"No!" the boy shouted sharply as he turned around, his body trembling even more violently.
He was just a child, and he finally couldn't hold back and squatted down on the ground, crying loudly.
"sorry!"
With that shout, two tall, burly adult men emerged from the alley, their faces fierce, and they were carrying a knife and an iron rod.
He is a kidnapper.
The little boy in front of them was clearly bait to lure the target into a trap.
Shinichi Kudo's expression changed, and he immediately turned to run away.
But a man had blocked the path behind them at some point.
Standing in the chilly alley, beads of cold sweat appeared on the boy's forehead. He immediately shouted, "Help!"
No matter how clever he seemed, he was still just a ten-year-old child, and there was no way he could evade three well-prepared, and perhaps even experienced, adults!
"Gag this brat!" a man with an iron bar shouted, quickly stepping forward to pick up the little boy who was being used as "bait" and stuff him back into the van behind him.
The other two approached the little boy from the front and the back.
As the adults, taller than him, pressed closer, Shinichi Kudo's face turned incredibly ugly, his eyes still glancing at the child being pulled into the van: "...Damn it."
Am I really going to be arrested like this?
Just as the man's iron hand, as large as a fan, was about to grab his arm, a low, hoarse, and helpless voice came from behind: "I've already reminded you to notify your parents. It's dangerous for children to be so curious..."
Shinichi Kudo suddenly turned around.
The young man emerged from the blind spot, wearing a mask. His face looked even paler as the wind blew on him, and he coughed uncomfortably after only saying two words.
He was carrying medicine in his hand, standing quietly in the middle of the narrow alley, looking frail and weak.
"Where did this kid come from?" Compared to Kitagawa Ryusei, these people were simply vicious. They looked at each other, clearly not expecting anyone to follow them: "What do we do?"
One of the men, with a scar on his forearm, gripped the iron bar tightly, making a sickening squeezing sound. He stared at Kitagawa Ryusei with a sinister gaze: "What do you mean, 'what to do'? Take him away first, then deal with him."
Completely unconcerned by their seemingly dead-looking gazes, Kitagawa Ryusei clicked his tongue, put down what he was holding, and flexed his wrists.
His seemingly fragile appearance, which could be knocked down with a single punch, contrasted sharply with his confident demeanor, leaving not only the three kidnappers but even Shinichi Kudo in disbelief.
But at this moment, Kitagawa Ryusei was the pillar of support, and the little boy who had just been able to remain calm ran up to him.
Just like in the convenience store, Shinichi Kudo gently tugged at his sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Brother, you're a police academy student, right? Did you notify the police?"
Kitagawa Ryusei glanced at him with considerable surprise. Not really wanting to use his facial muscles, he simply blinked at the little boy in front of him and patted him on the head reassuringly.
A clever child.
This single shot captured most of the tense atmosphere in the alley.
For some reason, despite having met so many unreliable adults, Shinichi Kudo still easily trusted the young man in front of him who looked quite young.
...Even when faced with real knives and iron bars, he would simply pick up a wooden stick from the roadside and charge forward.
Kitagawa Ryusei was dizzy and disoriented, so he became even more unrestrained in his attacks. He dodged the iron rod that was aimed at his face, but his speed did not slow down at all. He swung the rod back to strike!
Amidst the wide-eyed stares of the child beside him, Kitagawa Ryusei swung the wooden stick in his hand, creating a sharp, whistling sound as it cut through the air!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com