『Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni』
Yukidomarishi-hen
{Chapter 7}
Color returns to the world around me.
It's morning.
My head hurts a little. I don't remember much of what happened last night. What I do know, is that at some point, I ended up where I am now.
I'm laying on my stomach. My head is facing the window. My chest is on my bed. My legs... are on top of Satoko.
I don't quite understand what happened last night, but I guess I must have tripped over Satoko. I'm surprised I didn't wake her up.
I stand up carefully, so I don't wake up Satoko. Then, I go into the kitchen, and prepare today's lunches.
My lunchbox and Satoko's lunchbox are always packed with the same thing as each other. Usually it's just leftovers from the previous night's dinner.
While packing our lunches, I notice Satoko starting to wake up.
She rubs her eyes as she speaks to me.
"...R-Rika...?"
"Mi-. Good morning."
"Did something happen last night? I almost felt like something fell on me..."
"You were just dreaming. Come on, you need to take your injection before we go to school."
I grab a small container, and walk over to Satoko.
Satoko has a disease, and she needs to take a couple injections every day so it won't progress. Satoko doesn't know about the disease, though. I always tell her that the injections are nutrient shots.
I open the container. Inside is a syringe that holds the medicine for the disease. The disease in incurable, but with these shots, it helps prevent it from progressing any further.
I hand the syringe to Satoko. She takes it from me, then she lifts her shirt up to reveal her belly.
She injects the needle into her belly.
"I don't understand why I have to take these nutrient shots."
Satoko complains about the injections as usual.
• • • • • • • • • •
Me and Satoko arrive at the school early.
We always get here before any of the other club members. This gives Satoko time to set up a trap for Keiichi.
Satoko and Keiichi seem to fight a lot, but they actually get along great. Keiichi is sort of like an older brother to Satoko, since her real brother disappeared last year.
"And... done!"
I hear Satoko announce the completion of her trap.
It's an elaborate trap, as usual. An eraser is set up above the door. The door handle is covered with tape and thumbtacks. A rope is tied around the entryway, and an ink stone is placed on the ground.
"Let's see Keiichi-san get past this! Ohohoho!"
"You should watch out, Satoko. Keiichi might get past you this time."
"Hey! Whose side are you on, anyways?!"
Satoko acts upset by my comment, but I know that she's not actually mad.
After a while, the door slams open, causing the eraser to fall to the floor without hitting its target.
Keiichi is standing on the other side of the doorway. He's smiling proudly, happy that he finally got past Satoko's trap.
He steps into the classroom...
However, he didn't notice the rope trap around the entrance. He trips and falls, right towards the inkstone.
Satoko laughs as Keiichi falls right into the last trap.
Just then, Keiichi twists his body a bit. He manages to avoid the inkstone at the last second, but he still hits the ground, landing on his shoulder.
Rena and Mion watch the whole event from outside the doorway.
The looks on each of their faces show that they're both worried about Keiichi.
He did all he could to avoid the inkstone, but he still got hurt.
I can't help but worry about him myself.
Even Satoko looks concerned.
Keiichi slowly stands up, holding his shoulder.
Rena and Mion rush to his side.
"Keiichi-kun! Are you okay? Are you?"
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry."
"Are you sure, Kei-chan? You landed pretty badly..."
"I said don't worry, you guys! I'm fine. I'll tell you what. If it gets any worse, then I'll go to the nurse's office. Alright?"
Mion and Rena both hesitate to answer, but they soon agree.
"Anyways guys, your biggest concern shouldn't be me. It should be these little things you set up, Satoko!"
"Where is your proof that this was my doing?"
"Are you kidding?! You're the only one who could pull off pranks like these!"
"They're not pranks! I'd like for you to call them 'traps'!"
Satoko and Keiichi argue with each other.
Even though Satoko teases Keiichi a lot, she's actually sweet and nice.
Keiichi needs to see that. I bet it would make Satoko a whole lot happier if he did.
I walk over to Keiichi, and tug on his shirt.
He turns to look at me.
"Hm? What is it, Rika-chan?"
I stand on my toes, and reach as high as I can. My hand just barely manages to touch the top of his head.
I rub his head.
"This will make the pain go away. Nipah~"
Keiichi seems a little confused by my actions, but he doesn't mind it too much.
"We should probably remove the traps before Chie-sensei gets here."
Mion reminds us of Satoko's traps.
All of us work together to get rid of the traps.
Shortly afterward, Chie-sensei comes walking into the room.
"Good morning class. We have a new student today."
New student? This never happened in any of the other worlds.
Who could the new student be?
We all turn to face the new student as they enter the room.
Everyone of us are surprised when we realize who it is...
...It's Sonozaki Shion.