Hakuouki: Hitsuzen

Small Miracles

The girls were being escorted to breakfast by Saito, when Inoue came rushing over to meet them.

"Miyagawa-kun!" he called out urgently, panting. "You said you were a doctor, yes? Could you please come take a look at Takeda-kun? He was experiencing some sharp abdominal pains yesterday, but his condition suddenly worsened overnight."

"What are the symptoms?" Sumiko asked, putting on her business face.

"Aside from the abdominal pain, he has a fever and has been vomiting ever since he woke up."

"Take me to him," Sumiko said gravely. "Chizuru, can you get me my kit? I'll probably need my tools."

"Yes!" Chizuru said, darting back to their room to retrieve the small medical kit Sumiko had packed in case of emergencies, with Saito on her heels.

"Does it hurt here?" Sumiko asked Takeda, gingerly applying some light pressure near his bellybutton with her fingers.

"Ah! It hurts!" he cried out, gritting his teeth in pain.

"This is bad..." Sumiko said, furrowing her brow. He also had abdominal swelling and said he hadn't passed gas in a long time. His symptoms were all classic signs of appendicitis. "I'll have to perform an appendectomy."

"A what?" Inoue asked.

"His appendix is infected. I'll need to perform surgery to remove it," she explained. "If I don't, it could burst and leak toxins into his body. He'll die if we don't act soon."

"Eh!?" Takeda exclaimed, understandably panicked after hearing such a grim diagnosis.

"Calm down, Takeda-san," she said soothingly. "I'm going to take good care of you. I've done this before." She glanced up as Chizuru entered the room with Saito. "Ah, good," she said, relieved to have her tools, as Chizuru handed the box to her. "Inoue-san, I'll need lots of clean cloths—as many as you can find—and lots of boiled water, and a cup of plain water," she instructed urgently

"Hai!" he said, rushing off to get them without hesitation.

"Chizuru, are you up to being my assistant?" Sumiko asked, concerned. She knew Chizuru didn't really like the sight of blood, and there would be a lot of it.

"I, uh..." Chizuru replied hesitantly, looking uneasy. She wanted to help, but...

"It's all right if you can't," Sumiko said understandingly. "Then, Saito-san, when Inoue-san gets back, I'll require your assistance. I'll need you to hand me my instruments as I ask for them and help me keep the sight of the operation clean. Can you do that?"

"Hai," he said calmly, kneeling down beside her as she removed her surgical instruments, disinfectant strength alcohol, and some tsūsensan anesthetic. "These are...?" he asked curiously.

"Right, I guess I'd better explain what they are so you'll know what to grab," Sumiko said as Inoue returned with several more men, bearing everything she asked for. "Excellent," she said, adding the proper dose of tsūsensan paste to the cup of water. "Give this to him to drink. He must drink all of it, or it won't be as effective," she instructed Inoue before turning back to Saito so she could explain what everything she would be needing was. She paused when she noticed all the others were still standing around. "What are you waiting for?" she asked, frowning. "Get out! You're contaminating the room!" she scolded them as she pulled out two face masks for her and Saito to cover their mouths with. "Shoo!"

Chizuru smiled wryly and laughed nervously as she helped Inoue-san herd the disgruntled men out of the room so Sumiko and Saito could perform the operation in peace. Once everyone who wasn't needed were out, she shut the door and breathed a sigh. Sumiko always got really bossy whenever she was in 'work' mode.