Teruki Hanazawa was in big trouble.
During P.E class he had went in to kick a ball but somehow failed miserably and ended up on the grass, holding his aching foot. A soaring pain went through the whole limb as Teruki felt the foot for any damage. It was embarrassing. Teruki was the star of the football field. His teammates still needed him.
The teachers had sent him straight to the nurse's office where the lady told him that one of the toes of his right foot might've been broken. All she could do to help was to offer Teruki an ice pack and wrap the feet up. She offered to call a doctor and get a time to visit, but Teruki declined. He'd call them himself after school.
The truth was that the boy didn't have the money for an actual doctor. Those things were expensive. He still hadn't paid his rent for this month and was already struggling with the costs of daily necessities. He'd need to improvise with this one.
After the day was over and Teruki had painfully managed to drag himself back to his apartment, he opened the browser. He had heard about underground doctors popping up in the city lately. Maybe he could call one of those and arrange a visit. It would be much cheaper than visiting an actual doctor who might not even be able to do a thing and would yet ask for a three digit number in return. There was no way he was going to take the chance of him having to live with instant noodles for the next two months. Teruki was high-maintenance and wouldn't be able to take it for probably even a week.
Teruki found a homepage of an underground doctor. The site was a mess, but the info itself looked good enough so Teruki decided to give the man a call. Maybe he could direct the man to a good graphic designer while he was at it. He and his business really needed it if the website was anything to go by.
"Hello? This is Hanazawa Teruki. I would like you to have a look at my toe. The nurse told me it might be broken", Teruki told the man as he answered the phone, "Tonight? O-Of course! I'll be there."
Well that was simple. The man hadn't asked any questions about him and just told him to come in tonight. It was nice that he got in so quick but it still got Teruki to really think about it all. He would've had to wait for a day or two for an actual doctor, but at least that one would be a professional for certain. He had no idea who the man he had just called actually was. The man claiming to be a doctor could be a salaryman for all Teruki knew. Well, for better or worse, he'd go check that out tonight.
"H-Hello?" Teruki opened a door to a rundown apartment building. It creaked loudly as it gave in. Teruki was fairly sure the door would've dropped out of its hinges if Teruki had used any more force.
The address on the site was for this place. Teruki made sure to check once more. Yes. No doubt about it. He was at the right address. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not.
The place looked nothing like a nurse's office or doctor's either. Teruki had to wonder if it was even sanitary. He swore he could see a mouse run away from under his feet as he stepped forward into the room.
"Hello!" a voice suddenly greeted Teruki.
The blond held in a scream threatening to escape his lips and turned to face the sudden sound. This wasn't a hospital. This was a haunted house if something.
It was a small boy. He must've been about Teruki's age. He had a raven hair and an emotionless face. No other characteristics really stood out. The boy was someone you'd forget right away after seeing. He had no characteristics that would really make you remember him.
"Hello", Teruki bowed his head as he made his way to the boy, "I'm here to see the doctor."
"Yes, Doctor Reigen has been expecting you", the boy nodded, writing something down onto the notepad he had with him, "Please come in. I'll take a quick look at the injury first, then we'll get something to numb the pain with."
"Su-Sure", Teruki nodded as he followed to boy inside a room. Did this boy have the necessary training for this all? There was no way.
Just now he noticed that the boy had been sitting behind a cardboard box of all things. He was also dressed in a nurse's outfit. A female nurse's outfit at that. It looked more like something that you could buy from a costume store just downtown and wear for Halloween. It was baby pink in color and consisted of a button-up shirt, a knee-length skirt and knee socks held up by garters. The white sport shoes ruined the otherwise perfect look.
"Please sit down. I'll be with you in a second", the boy pointed Teruki to an old hospital bed before vanishing out of the door.
Teruki had caught a nameplate on the boy's shirt. It read 'Mob'. Such a weird name. It must be a nickname. No actual person would have such a silly name. No parent hated their child that much.
True to his word, Mob returned after about two minutes, carrying a tray full of basic tools. There was a stethoscope, a small flashlight and some other stuff clearly intended to be used in the check-up Mob had mentioned. Teruki did have to wonder what the wrench was for though. Part of him didn't actually want to know, but he remained curious.
"Reigen asked me to perform a basic check-up first, to see that you're alright in general", Mob explained as he put the tray down onto the bed on which Teruki was now sitting, "The anesthesiologist will come and see you after that."
Teruki was looking for an explanation to how a young boy like Mob knew such big words. Then he thought that there was no way a fourteen year old could perform a proper check-up either.
"No worries. I'm experienced", Mob mumbled as if he had read the blond's mind just now, "I took care of a man just yesterday. He had a bullet stuck in his leg. Have you ever removed a bullet? It's surprisingly easy."
Teruki froze. Well, this was an underground doctor's office. Bullets were probably something they saw every day. It wasn't something Teruki had wanted to hear from a straight faced little boy though. It was creepy.
"No. I can't say I have. S-So, how did it go? The bullet thing?" Teruki asked Mob as the boy took his blood pressure and wrote it down.
"Nice", Mob mumbled, not giving out any details, "Your blood pressure is a little high. Did you run here?"
'Anyone's would be after hearing something like that!' Teruki would've liked to scream but decided against it in the end. He only nodded and watched Mob scribble something down again. He would have enough text for a novel if the boy continued with the same pace. A very boring and factual novel.
"Now lift up your shirt a bit. I'll listen to your heart and lungs", Mob told Teruki as he took out the stethoscope and put it on, warming the metal with his small hands.
Teruki blushed a bit as he did as told.
The boy seemed unaffected by the sight of exposed skin in front of him as he did his job and wrote down something again. Guess he had seen better then. Teruki thought that he was quite ripped. Maybe not enough to impress someone like Mob. The girls seemed to like it though.
"No extra noise", Mob concluded, moving to check out the legs of his patient, "Now let's see that foot you were talking about."
Mob poked and squeezed the leg, looking at Teruki's face to see the level of pain the blond was in. He clearly wasn't good at reading people's faces. It hurt like hell and the boy just didn't stop. If something he squeezed harder. Maybe this was a revenge for when Teruki sneakily tried to look up the boy's skirt.
"It's the pinky toe", Mob nodded, "Just like you said."
'Why would I lie about something like that?!' Teruki asked himself as he tried to recover from the pain he went through. He could use some of those painkillers Mob had been talking about earlier.
"I'll go get the other nurse. He'll help you with the pain", Mob told Teruki as he took the tray and the notepad with him to the backroom.
Teruki was left to sit on the bed in the otherwise quite empty room. For some reason there was a fridge tucked away in a corner as well as a small table and a single chair but nothing else. No other furniture at all.
Well, at least it all looked quite clean. Cleaner than the waiting room he had been in before. No signs of mice here.
The sheets were fresh and white, soft to the touch. There were even some curtains around the bed. In case the patient wanted some privacy. Just like an actual hospital. The faded stains on the baby blue curtains did send a chill down the Teruki's back. Was it blood? He didn't want to know the answer, actually. They were just some liquid stains, nothing more.
"Hello, hello! What do we have here?" there was suddenly a new voice in the room and two sets of steps nearing the bed. Mob must've gotten the nurse and returned with the person to see his patient.
"This is Teruki Hanazawa, today's patient. Age 14. Occupation, a student. Problem, a broken pinky toe", Mob read out from the notepad he had been carrying all this time.
"I see", the other nurse nodded as he eyed Teruki.
Teruki was frozen in place. There was no way this person was a nurse.
The man was wearing about the same costume as Mob standing next to him. It was baby pink and had the same top as Mob had. The bottom was different though. He had a much shorter skirt on. It hardly covered the boxers the man had on. Teruki was afraid that if the man was to crouch down, he'd see more than he would ever want or need to. The nurse also had some black fish net pantyhose on as well as a pair of black high heels. And just for the record, his legs could use a serious trim.
"Well, good evening. My name is Dimple and I take care of the medicine and shots in here", the man, Dimple, explained as he took out a glass jar and a syringe from somewhere under his nonexistent skirt.
"Dimple is a great nurse" Mob smiled as he watched how Teruki suddenly got pale, "He never uses the same syringe twice."
'That's not something to be happy about! It's normal!' Teruki cried as he watched the man tap the side of the syringe which was now full of clear liquid.
"Ah", Dimple suddenly stopped, "This is a blood test syringe. Well, whatever."
"It looked a bit big", Mob nodded, "Too late now."
"Agreed", Dimple shrugged as he prepared to put the thing into Teruki's innocent foot.
"'Too late'?!" Teruki cried out as he tried to pull his leg back from Dimple who was holding it in place, getting ready to strike, "What do you mean by that?!"
"Just what I said. It's too late to change now. Let's go with this one instead", Dimple calmly told as he jabbed the syringe into the foot and punched the liquid in.
"Hi Reigen!" Dimple grinned as the doctor entered the room, "I took care of the patient already. No need for anesthesia either."
Dimple hadn't 'taken care' of Teruki. The poor boy had passed out after the pain killer and the bigger than necessary needle. The nurse's beautiful appearance definitely hadn't helped either.
"Good job!" Reigen nodded as he pulled some plastic gloves on, "What's the verdict, Mob?"
Mob flipped a page and read out, "A broken pinky toe."
"That's all? No bullet wounds? Open fractures?"
"No. Just the toe", Mob nodded.
Reigen looked rather disappointed, "Well, get my surgery equipment ready for me. Guess there are cases like this sometimes too."
"Sure", Mob retreated to fetch the said things and made sure that they were all fresh and clean.
"Dimple. You be my buddy today", Reigen told the man standing by the bed as he put a mask and apron on. Cleanliness first, patient second.
"Mob, you watch and learn", Reigen told the boy, "And give me the tools I shout out."
Mob nodded as he too put on the necessary safety clothes, getting all of the tools ready as Mob gave them to him. Some of the scalpels didn't look that sharp but they had no time to sharpen them now. They were going to surgery. The patient wasn't going to wait.
Teruki woke up slowly. He had no idea when he had fallen asleep and was confused. Where was he?
"Good morning, Hanzawa. How are you feeling?" Mob came to Teruki's view. The boy had kept watch over the patient all night, as Teruki had been unconscious for that long. He had dark circles under his big dark eyes and a cup sat on the side table. It must've been something with caffeine.
"H-Huh?" Teruki sat up on the bed, "Where?"
"You're in the hospital. You came here last night with a broken pinky toe and a terrible hairdo", Mob explained as he helped Teruki balance himself, "Doctor Reigen operated on you and you're all better now."
'My hairdo?' Teruki wondered. The day before came to his mind and he remembered. He couldn't remember meeting this Dr. Reigen person though. The last thing he could remember was the leg of a hairy male and a needle. He shuddered as the memories came back to him.
"Hanazawa? Are you feeling alright?" Mob asked, "Should I go get you something? How about breakfast?"
"No thank you. I'll be alright", Teruki reassured Mob. He was sure that the boy would try and get him some more painkillers. And he knew what this meant, Dimple and the hairy legs.
"I'll get you some breakfast", Mob finally said after the two had been in silence for three whole minutes. Teruki's stomach had rumbled loudly. Well, he hadn't eaten anything after school yesterday so it was obvious that he would be hungry. He was just afraid of what the boy would offer him.
Mob left and soon came back with a bowl of porridge with milk and some strawberry jam. He then continued to feed Teruki the meal.
Teruki let him do it, reluctantly. The boy seemed determined not to let Teruki move a muscle and Teruki wasn't one to disappoint.
"Good morning! How are we doing here?" Reigen asked the two as he and Dimple entered the room with a loud slam of the door. His white doctor's jacket fluttered behind the man as he was by the bedside with three long strides.
"Morning", Mob smiled and nodded to the two, "Just fine. Mr. Hanazawa just woke up too."
"No pain at all?" Dimple asked with a slight grin, pulling out yet another syringe.
"No! Not at all!" Teruki assured the two, shaking his head furiously, "I thinking about leaving soon, actually!"
"Really? That soon?" Reigen whined, "You just got operated on. Are you sure you can move?"
"O-Operated? You mean you did surgery?" Teruki asked. He had seen the cast his foot was in but paid little to no attention to it. He thought that it had been just to support the broken toe.
"Everything is well", Mob told the boy, "There's no reason to panic."
"Did I give you the permission?" Teruki huffed.
"Did you say no? I don't remember hearing something like that. You called me telling me that you needed to get your foot fixed. I only did as you told me", Reigen shrugged.
Teruki couldn't disagree and had to give up.
"I'd like to pay now", Teruki sighed, "And leave. I have school today."
"You're on sick leave today", Mob mumbled as he handed Teruki a paper. It was a forged document. A good one.
"S-Sure. Thanks", Teruki nodded as he eyed the paper. Damn, it looked real. The teachers would buy it right away.
"Can you walk or should I get crutches?" Mob asked as he watched Teruki get up and make his way to the door, "How about a wheelchair? We have one."
"No need to. I'll be fine", Teruki shook his head, "Let's just get this over with."
"Bye bye!" Dimple waved his hands as the door closed behind the two boys.
"Come back again! It's 20% off if the first time does not work!" Reigen told Teruki.
Mob handed Teruki some documents and finally the bill.
"A signature here", Mob pointed to a paper, "And here. Thank you."
Teruki paid the sum written onto the paper and took the couple coins Mob handed to him as change.
"Please come again!" Mob bowed behind his cardboard desk.
'No I won't!' Teruki shivered as he exited the building. He had a small limp but managed to walk home in the end. It did take twice the time but Teruki was happy when he finally took out his keys and opened the door to his apartment. He threw himself onto the sofa right after, not wanting to move an inch for the rest of today.
Maybe he would go to an actual hospital and see a real doctor next time. It would surely be worth all the money.