Chapter 35 It's clearly a movie for three people, so why...?
Monday morning, the sun shone brightly as usual. Strangely enough, since transferring to Sakura-on Elementary School, they hadn't encountered bad weather. The weather had been miraculously fine every day, with abundant sunshine.
Sometimes it's just a bit too generous. The warm sunlight lazily streamed through the windows, bathing everyone in the classroom, even infusing the air with a touch of languor. This made the teacher's steady voice on the podium sound like a lullaby, strangely inducing drowsiness.
The classroom was quiet, with only the teacher's steady explanation of the knowledge points on the stage and the soft scratching of the students' pens on paper below.
Rei Furuya and Kagemitsu Morofushi sat upright, listening attentively to the lesson, while Ikuya Nekono in front of them was also diligently taking notes.
"Hmph...Bang!"
The boy sitting next to me suddenly let out a suppressed cry of pain, his body curling up violently as his forehead lightly bumped against the table, making a sound that was not loud but noticeable.
"???" Nekono Ikuya immediately turned her head to look at her deskmate, and frowned at just one glance.
My deskmate's face was deathly pale, his black hair was wet and stuck to his forehead, and a fine layer of sweat had seeped out from his forehead.
He was hunched over, lying face down on the table, his hands pressed tightly against his abdomen, looking as if he were in excruciating pain.
Nekono Ikuya quickly put down her pen and asked in a low voice with a worried expression, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
My deskmate looked a little weak, but upon hearing this, he forced an awkward smile and tried to stay strong: "I... I'm fine, just a bit of a stomachache... Maybe I ate something bad this morning? I should feel better after a while."
Don't be stubborn at times like this!
Stomach ache? Food poisoning? Nekono Yuumi looked down at where her deskmate was covering her stomach with both hands, blinked in confusion, "But you're not covering your stomach at all."
This is definitely not just a simple case of food poisoning. Nekono Ikumi looked at her deskmate's unfocused eyes and her expression became serious.
He was about to continue speaking...
"Bang!"
A sudden loud bang came from behind, accompanied by the screeching sound of a chair scraping against the ground, interrupting Nekono Ikuya's words and startling everyone.
Nekono Ikuya turned around in surprise, only to see that Morofushi Kagemitsu had suddenly stood up, rushed to his deskmate's table in a few steps, and knelt down on one knee, anxiously staring at his abdomen.
"Kagemitsu?" Furuya Rei was also startled and subconsciously whispered to call out to Morofushi Kagemitsu.
Morofushi Kagemitsu seemed not to hear Furuya Rei's call. His eyes were fixed on Nekono Ikuya, who was clutching his lower abdomen and curling up in pain. His blue pupils trembled slightly, his breathing became a little rapid, and his face was even paler than the person in front of him who was in pain.
He instinctively gripped the edge of the table, his fingertips turning noticeably white from the force. Everyone could easily see that Morofushi Kagemitsu was terrified.
However, Morofushi Kagemitsu did not completely lose his composure; on the contrary, his voice was exceptionally clear and steady.
"Where does it hurt? Is it your lower right abdomen? How long has it been hurting? Did the pain move from your upper abdomen or around your navel to your lower right abdomen? Do you feel nauseous? Do you feel like vomiting? Do you have a fever?"
A barrage of urgent questions rained down on him, and seeing that the student being questioned still looked blank, he immediately and decisively reached out to check.
Morofushi Kagemitsu placed his hand on Nekono Ikuya's abdomen and gently pressed it. "Does it hurt here?"
"Ugh!" Even though Morofushi Kagemitsu had only pressed lightly, without much force, Nekono Ikuya's deskmate felt his vision go black and was immediately in so much pain that he couldn't speak. He gasped for breath, his face contorting on the spot.
What more needs to be said? Without even speaking or nodding, Morofushi Kagemitsu knew the answer. It hurts, of course it hurts!
A hand reached out from the side, gently lifting the man's hair and touching his forehead.
Nekono Ikuya tested the temperature of her hand, slowly withdrew it, and then said succinctly to Morofushi Kagemitsu, "She has a fever, like a high fever."
They exchanged a glance, their expressions both terribly grave—this was no good sign.
The teacher on the podium also quickly walked down from the podium in high heels and wisely took the lead in asking about Morofushi Kagemitsu and Nekono Ikuya, who had given the student with abdominal pain a simple examination and seemed to have found something.
"Nekono-kun? Morofushi-kun? What's wrong with this student?"
Morofushi Kagemitsu suddenly gasped for breath, easing his overly tense body. Then he quickly looked up at his teacher, his tone resolute, though his voice seemed to carry a barely perceptible tremor.
"Teacher, it's very likely acute appendicitis, or worse, because he has a high fever! We can't delay any longer, we must get him to the infirmary immediately and call an ambulance! Right now!"
Persistent lower abdominal pain is a characteristic symptom of acute appendicitis, and high fever further suggests that the appendix may have perforated or peritonitis may have developed.
Delaying treatment and missing the optimal emergency time could really be fatal!
The teacher's expression also turned serious. Clearly, she understood the gravity of the situation better than the many students in the class who didn't know what was happening and were just looking over with worried expressions.
Her reaction was quick: "Nekono-kun, Morofushi-kun, you two take him to the infirmary first. I'll call the doctor on duty at the infirmary and this student's parents, and also notify the hospital to call an ambulance. The rest of you, study quietly."
Without hesitation, Nekono Ikuya and Morofushi Kagemitsu carefully supported their classmate with acute appendicitis almost before the teacher gave the order, and helped him walk out as steadily and quickly as possible.
Nekono Ikuya's face had lost its usual lightness, and her brows were unusually serious. Morofushi Kagemitsu's expression was even more frighteningly stern.
Rei Furuya frowned slightly. Nekono Ikuya's reaction was still within the normal range, which he could understand. But Morofushi Kagemitsu… wasn't he being a little out of line?
This is absolutely out of control. Morofushi Kagemitsu's reaction was far too tense, even excessive.
"Teacher, I'll go too." Rei Furuya raised his hand decisively and rushed out before the teacher could react.
The teacher was dialing a number on his phone when he heard the sound. He looked up and saw Furuya Rei running away in a hurry. He shook his head and could only let him go.
However, she swept her sharp eyes over the restless classmates and said, "Alright, we've had enough people to help. Everyone, please be quiet and study on your own. Class monitor, please organize the discipline." The class monitor stood up nimbly.
After saying that, she followed closely behind towards the infirmary while still on the phone. The situation was serious; she needed to see it for herself to be at ease.
Da da da.
Rei Furuya, who was walking alone without any help from his classmates, was obviously walking faster. Before long, he caught up with Ikuya Nekono and Kagemitsu Morofushi in the corridor.
Upon closer inspection, Furuya Rei discovered that Morofushi Kagemitsu's condition was indeed abnormal; his face was far too pale, and his breathing was excessively rapid, bordering on panic.
“Kagemitsu, you’re not feeling well. Let me help him.” Furuya Rei walked over to Morofushi Kagemitsu.
Morofushi Kagemitsu took a deep breath, realized his own problem, and decisively replaced him.
"Okay, you and Yu Mi help him up."
Rei Furuya draped one of the other's arms over his shoulder, half-carrying and half-embracing him, together with Ikuya Nekono, supporting the weight of his classmate.
They walked quickly and silently. They only relaxed after taking the student with acute appendicitis to the infirmary and watching his parents and ambulance arrive at the school to take him to the hospital.
"Waaaaah~" The ambulance carrying a group of people sped away, and Nekono Ikumi withdrew her gaze, regaining her usual carefree expression.
He stretched lazily, turned his head to look at Morofushi Kagemitsu, and smiled reassuringly: "Kagemitsu, don't worry anymore. We found it in time this time. Don't worry, everything will be alright."
Noticing that Morofushi Kagemitsu still looked worried, Nekono Ikuya looked around and, finding no one nearby, stealthily took out her phone from her pocket.
His usual relaxed and casual style today was now tinged with a hint of smugness as he raised an eyebrow at Morofushi Kagemitsu, adding a touch of cunning to his expression.
Nekono Ikuya deftly twirled her phone with her fingers, turning on the screen for Morofushi Kagemitsu, and said with a smile, "I had one of my bodyguards follow the ambulance to observe the situation. I'll let you know if there's any new information."
Morofushi Kagemitsu forced a smile. He knew that the school didn't actually ban cell phones, as long as they were used during normal hours and not during class time. Nekono Ikuya's quiet gesture was just to put him at ease.
She whispered, "Yumi, thank you."
"It was no trouble at all." Nekono Ikuya waved his hand dismissively, put down his phone, and casually put his arm around Furuya Rei's shoulder, sandwiching him between himself and Morofushi Kagemitsu.
"Let's go, let's go back."
"???" Furuya Rei walked between Morofushi Kagemitsu and Nekono Ikuya. He looked left and right. Suddenly, a huge question mark appeared above his head.
He felt that there was something strange about the conversation between Nekono Ikuya and Morofushi Kagemitsu. Was there something that the two of them knew but did not know?
...Strange, is it just my imagination?
...
Something's not right, something's really not right!
Rei Furuya sat silently in his bedroom, staring at the newspapers spread out on the tatami mat in front of him, deep in thought.
Several days have passed, and thanks to timely medical attention, Nekono Ikuya's classmate with acute appendicitis is fine except for needing a few days of post-operative recovery.
However, Rei Furuya remembered the unusual panic that Morofushi Kagemitsu showed when his classmate suddenly developed "acute appendicitis," which led to today's scene.
To clarify beforehand, Furuya Rei really didn't intend to deliberately probe into the secrets that Morofushi Kagemitsu didn't want to tell him. He just happened to glance at an old newspaper while passing by a newsstand and saw an article urging people to pay attention to children's cries for help and to be vigilant against the dangers of sudden acute appendicitis to children's lives.
The title "Acute Appendicitis" caught Furuya Rei's attention, and the smaller print "Real Case" and "Nagano Tragedy" made him stop and read it.
If I remember correctly, isn't Kagemitsu someone who recently transferred from Nagano to Tokyo?
Rei Furuya, with a subtle expression, inexplicably bought the newspaper, along with several other newspapers that contained recent news from Nagano.
Then--
"Pay attention to children's cries for help; the terrifying threat of acute appendicitis," "Verdict: Resuscitation failed; girl's father suffers mental breakdown," "Knife attack: Don't open the door to strangers; be wary of acquaintances as well"...
Then Rei Furuya sat there, looking at the newspapers with a very conflicted expression, lost in thought.
Phew, what's troubling Rei Furuya isn't just this chilling information, there's something else too.
He discovered that Nekono Ikuya would occasionally go somewhere with Morofushi Kagemitsu after school, without taking him along!
Why? Because I feel no resentment at the bottom!
It's supposed to be a movie with three people, so why don't I have a name?
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