A/N: Hi. it's me, Nebelflecke-the girl who had the idea of writing two stories named Divinity. It has been a while, I know, and I have gotten a lot of messages during my absence asking me if I was ever coming back to keep posting the third story. I thank you for that. A third story, well, that is still hanging under the 'maybe' category, because it pretty much depends on how you feel about it. You, who have followed and supported me since day one. You, who have found my second story and liked it and dared to read my first one. You, who have given me supportive words and silently encourage me to continue writing.
You see, I understand the terms given to me when I first published a chapter. I understand how bothersome bad grammar and bad spelling can be, trust me, I do, but I also remind you that I am not a professional writer and I while I accept criticism I do not accept rudely or mocking messages and/or reviews. I am too old for that anyway, so I encourage you to move on and look for something else to read in case you find this story boring, too long or badly written. I do not want to go down that road again, it is very demotivating and that same reason have made very good writers I used to follow to just vanish and never finish their work. So, basically, this story depends on good vibes only.
I wrote this chapter right after I finished publishing the last chapter for Divinity: A Question of Honor so if you are new to this story, I welcome you and inform you that you may get a little confused along the way if you haven't followed my two previous stories. You do not have to if you do not want to-it's just a recommendation.
Thank you for the encouraging messages, thank you for keeping me in mind and well let's just hope the best with this story- best wishes.
Divinity: The Fates and the Afterlife
Chapter one
The sun was shining between the fluffiest white clouds Casanova Akira had seen in her life. She looked up and covered her freckled face from the intense rays at noon and smiled widely with excitement at the sight of her new adventure.
The woman had been a freelancer archaeologist since she was 18 years old; born from an Italian mother and a Japanese father. Casanova Akira grew up listening to her parents' stories about the many treasures that were still hidden in Earth and its mythological meaning behind them being that the fuel to ignite her curiosity to pursue her dream as a treasure hunter.
Akira knew many stories and had achieved the knowledge and praise from the media with her great discoveries at the young age of twenty-four years old.
She was now standing at the top of a hill with the cool wind crashing against her young face looking down at the pitch darkness of her next adventure, an adventure that was going to give her and the world the biggest treasure ever discovered by a human being.
She looked around and pushed her shoulder length hair and tied it in a loose ponytail and put her hands on her hips "This must be the place…" she muttered to herself as she watched to the cave below her feet.
"Oi! Akira! Where are you?" she heard a man's voice call for her and turned with a smile on her face, she raised her hand and waved it in the air "Over here!"
A man with blonde hair appeared minutes after and put down the equipment he had been holding for the last couple of hours with a tired sigh. He looked at him and waved his hand at the crew that was joining him behind and then turned at the girl standing in front of him, looking at him with loving eyes.
It was no secret to anybody that Akira Casanova and the Sweden archaeologist and photographer Mikael Ahlstrand shared more than just business. The two had been photographed together several times before by the paparazzi holding hands and even sharing one too many kisses in public. It was one of those situations where everybody knew they had an affair despite he had a playboy reputation and neither she or him, admitted it to the public.
"What took you so long eh?" she asked playful "You are missing all the fun!"
Mikael put his hands on his waist and took his sunglasses off "I've been carrying your things, young lad—you left us behind!"
Akira giggled and put a finger on her lips "Listen,"
Mikael frowned and put his hand on his face to create a shade for his eyes "What is it?"
Akira took a deep breath and exhaled loudly "It's the sound of adventure."
"You really are very excited about this mission, aren't you?" Mikael asked with a grin. Akira nodded and extended her arms with a sense of freedom "I always knew I didn't belong to an office or a Museum," she chuckled and turned more serious "I have grown knowing about so many things that happened way before our mere existence, things we could not even start to imagine," she turned to look at her lover over her shoulder "My mother always told me these stories about secret civilizations and mythological people and I was always hitched to them…I wanted to be in those places and find all the objects hidden in our planet."
"Like this crown you've been wanting for so long?" Mikael asked serious "Do you know how much recognition this discovery will give you?"
Akira widened her eyes, not really following what her partner was trying to say. The man cleared his throat and looked around "We won't have any more private time for us," he muttered, "You will be sucked by the media."
Akira put a loose strand behind her ear and frowned "I won't."
Mikael looked at her "I wanted to be part of your crew in the first place because I was tired of being working for others, I wanted to live the adventure…you gave me that, independence, triumph, satisfaction…"
"…Sex?" Akira raised a brow.
Mikael looked at her with serious eyes "I do not want us to become a circus for the media; I want us to remain free from any agency or museum."
Akira licked her upper lip and reached for his hands "We won't," she said softly "We will remain the same—I promise."
"You are basically looking for the past we are not sure if it happened," Mikael said slowly "Is this is what you want?"
"Mikael, I've always followed my gut…and look what I have discovered because of it," Akira said in a serious and reassuring tone "I know we are going to find something down there, trust me on this one, 'kay?"
The blonde pressed his lips in a tight line and nodded "Fine, fine—you win" he looked behind him and saw the crew was finally joining them at the top of the mountain "Well Miss Casanova, what's next?"
Akira smiled and looked down at the dark hole beneath their feet "We must prepare the equipment to go into that cave."
"It's a god damned hole in the ground!" one of the researchers said surprised "What makes you think that object you seek is inside that cave to inferno?"
Akira shrugged her shoulders and smiled "I just have a feeling."
Mikael looked at her and smiled, knowing that his playboy days were now long gone. He turned to the crew and began undoing the security cords on the equipment "You heard the boss, let's get going."
Almost three hours later, the crew finally prepared everything for the exploration, including themselves. All of them were wearing their gear and equipment and were ready to go inside the intimidating cave "This is going to be something interesting to tell in the many parties we are going to have after this discovery." the photographer said excitedly, he turned to a very serious Mikael who, turned to see Akira waiting anxiously to go inside "I'm ready." she said.
Mikael nodded "I can go first if you want to—that way I could prepare the ground for you, tell you how the ground is—if there is any."
Akira smiled at him and shook her head "No, I want to go first. You can go after me," she turned to the photographer and the other five crew members "Let's find us some treasures!"
"Yeah!" the crew clapped and cheered in excitement, then clamped the cords on her security belt and vest and prepared her to lower her down in the vast darkness "Okay! Here she goes—ready Akira?" the one taking charge of the equipment said while looking at the cameras strategically placed on their helmets.
"Ready!" Akira said with a big smile on her face and turned to Mikael "See you down there."
Mikael smiled and nodded "Just, be careful… don't leave us behind like you always tend to do."
Akira waved a hand and secured her helmet as she slowly began to descend into the depths of the cave below her feet. She turned to look around and slowly began to lose any sight of the remaining light that was feeling her secure and attached to the ground she now had above her head.
As she descended, the light filtering through the many branches and roots from the trees slowly began to disappear and was going deep down a place where her breathing and her gear was the only thing that kept her company besides her very much excited conscious.
Mikael watched the small monitors one of the technicians had next to his seat, near the great hole and frowned at the pitch darkness "Akira?" he asked.
"I'm here!" he heard her say and kept staring at the monitor "Turn the light on! We can't see a thing!"
Akira stayed silent and took in the mysterious surrounding her, she heard like the echo of what could be a constant dripping "Water?" she whispered in wonder and continued descending until she felt a cold wave that chilled her to the bone "What is this?" she asked to herself as she extended her arm and tried to see if she had any walls to hold on to. She began feeling vulnerable in the midst of pitch darkness, anxiety began creeping as she realized the immensity of the hole she was now into. Uncertainty was beginning to drive her insane.
The brown haired adventurer kept going down for what it appeared to be an eternity that in real time was equivalent to almost half an hour to descend between constant stops and check up points. Akira began to think if this choice of coming down alone was the best of her decisions ever made and wondered with slight concern if she was ever going to touch soil anytime soon.
Akira put her hands on the long cord that was helping her lower deeper into the cave and felt a disturbance, to her surprise she began to feel like if she was moving like a pendulum to one side and the other and let out a soft cry "What's happening?!" she asked and went to look for the light switch on her helmet; with trembling fingers she touched the small button and turned on the light and was met by a thick mass of angry bats that flew from one extreme to the other in the cave, scaring the crap out of her.
"Ahhhhh! Ahhhhh!" she screamed and alerted the men who were now ready to descend. Mikael secured his gear and leash and looked down at the cave "Akira-I'm coming down!" he said, returning the girl to her own thoughts "A-Alright…" she said softly as she slowly felt like she was closer to the ground or, was she?
The light from her helmet was not enough to give a good glimpse of the place, even when she looked down all she could see was darkness "At this rate I don't think I'll ever reach for any soil." she was about to pull the metallic cord and give the sign to the crew to take her up all the way again when she suddenly felt what for a moment thought it would never happen. Her feet touched the ground.
With a steady thump, her combat boots splashed in the water that was clearly stalled in the unleveled ground. Akira felt like herself again, away from any kind of fear her spirit slowly returned to her body, she was there…she was finally there.
She took off the secure hook on her vest and went to look for the lantern inside her backpack; after a few minutes of searching for it, she turned it on and gasped at the sight of the immensity she has been hanging on for almost an hour "Un-freaking-believable" she said with amaze. Akira pointed the light at her feet and confirmed her thoughts "There is water in this place…" she followed the small stream of clear water with her light but again, was lost in the depths of darkness.
The young adventurer began to walk towards the direction of the small river while trying to catch a glimpse of something inside the cave. She readjusted her backpack with a small shrug and continued her way not really minding if her crew was coming behind her.
After a several more minutes of walking into the unknown, she finally waited for Mikael and the rest of the investigators go down to meet her. With a surprised stare, the blonde Swedish man looked at his love interest and patted her shoulder "Scared?"
Akira smiled and shook her head, then turned to look around "No more like excited" she frowned "Come on! I've waited long enough! Let's explore this place and find that crown!"
"Yes, ma'am." Mikael said and took his own lantern to guide his way; all seven talked to the technicians through the small microphones they had attached to their vests "We can't see clearly—where are you guys?" one of them said.
Mikael moved his face closer to the mic and frowned "Not sure, it's very dark in here…the light coming from the lanterns is not enough for us to even see the magnitude of this place but there's water in here…we may be in some kind of cenote."
"Keep us informed." the voice of one of the techs came out of the walkie-talkie "Got it." said Mikael as he looked for Akira "Wait…" he frowned "Where is Akira?"
Akira got separated from the group as she continued following the small water stream on the ground "This has to lead me somewhere…the river must have an end." her brown eyes saw something in the distance that caught her eye, she looked up and saw light coming from the rocks and stones, like stars in a dark sky.
Akira opened her mouth in amaze and looked up at the mesmerizing sight of bioluminescence hanging from the cave walls like streams of shining stars. She looked down at her feet and just like she suspected, she was standing in a small creek that followed a ray of clear light that made her think that her discovery was not too far away from her now.
With a wide smile on her face, she was unaware of the very fragile and cracking ground. She tripped with some stones on the ground and rolled down. Mikael saw her trip and fall and widened his eyes in panic "Akira!" he called her.
Akira let out a soft cry as she fell on the moist ground and widened her eyes in shock. She looked at the surface where she miraculously landed and rubbed it in surprise "What the…" she muttered and widened her eyes at her magnificent discovery.
"Akira!" she heard Mikael call for her "Akiraaaaaaaa!"
"Down here!" she said, still in shock.
"Are you alright?! That's why I asked you to stay close to us!" Mikael told her slightly upset "Akira?"
"I'm alright…" Akira said and stood up slowly, careful enough of not to break the surface beneath her "I'm alright," she repeated softly and gasped in awe "By all heavens…"
"What is it?" one of the archeologists asked, "Did you find the crown?"
"Is it placed on a pedestal like in fairytales?" another researcher asked playfully.
Akira walked with extreme care until she reached for a more solid ground and raised her head to take in the magnificence of the place she had in front of her; it looked like a dream. She couldn't explain how or why such strong light could be inside of that cave of pitch darkness.
Akira's eyes gleamed with excitement as soon as she realized what she must have discovered "No," she said breathlessly "Guys… this is much better than the crown I was looking for—this is…" she trailed off.
"What is it Akira?" Mikael asked, surprised.
Akira sighed with content "A Land of dreams."
The bird shaped clock began to chirp in a constant beeping sound over and over and over again. A slender hand appeared from behind the soft pink covers and grabbed the vibrating object. Looking at it, she pushed the covers in one swift move "What's the big fuzz? It's only—8:30" she whispered and closed her eyes again, then after a fraction of a second she opened them again and sat on the bed "What!? 8:30?! Oh my god! Oh, my god!" she jumped out of bed and went to take the towel she left over one chair in her bedroom and ran straight to the bathroom in the corridor.
After a few minutes under the strong stream of hot water from the shower, she opened her eyes slowly and took a deep breath. Allowing Minako to do a mental idea of what her day would be like. Sighing, she thought about her choices in life. Not that she was depressed or that she wanted to give up her dreams but she wondered why was it so damn hard? She pursed her lips as she squeezed the bottle of shampoo and poured some on her hand while thinking about the auditions she had been going for the past few months, sure she had gotten some good roles but lately, her star has not been shining bright enough.
Right now she was working at the local TV station as an assistant for the station's director and producer and even when she had a decent pay, she wanted more. She had tried stardom once and she wanted more; that's why she was going to this casting for a play because she knew she could be that idol she has always wanted to be.
After she rinsed her hair and washed her face, she was ready to step out of her warm shower and continue her beauty routine. The blonde looked at herself in the mirror and proceeded to dry her hair, all the time thinking of the many things she would get and do once she gets that part she wanted so bad "I could move to a bigger place—maybe ask one of the girls to join me." she pouted her lips and continued brushing her hair until it was completely dry.
Aino Minako was finally ready, after another 15 more minutes she was finally dressed and ready to face the world; she spent another five minutes to find her apartment keys and then, finally, she felt like she could face the world for real this time.
As she walked down the street, she finally got to Ginza's Main Street where all the fancy stores and restaurants waited for people to go inside. Minako looked at the adorable yet very expensive outfits in one apparel store and sighed dreamily "Now this is something I would wear," she said at the deep orange angora sweater and smiled "One day." she said happily and turned around the corner and entered a fancy restaurant with tall glass doors and french decoration.
"Ohayō!" she said softly at the hostess and took her fancy rounded sunglasses off; the brunette girl looked at her and smiled kindly "A table for one?"
Minako shook her head and pointed at the kitchen doors "I am looking for a friend of mine, Kino Makoto? She is one of the kitchen assistants."
The brunette blinked and turned to the doors "Oh yes um—I'll see if she is available."
Minako flashed the girl a big smile and giggled "Thank you!"
After a couple of minutes, the wooden doors in the back opened, revealing a very tall and very pretty Makoto wearing her white uniform and a red bandana on her hair "Mina-chan," she said softly and smiled playfully at the blonde "This is a surprise—so early in the morning," she said softly and thanked the hostess "You usually come here later in the afternoon."
Minako smiled and waved her hand "I know, I didn't get a call to go to the station early today since we recorded everything last night so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me to go to today's audition."
Makoto widened her eyes and motioned her to follow her to the bar where she usually served her a cup of freshly made cappuccino "How did it go?" she asked curiously.
Minako blew the steam off her hot beverage and smiled softly "I haven't auditioned yet, is in an hour but since the theater is close by I decided to come here first and tell you the news," the blonde widened her eyes "I'm so sorry, are you busy? Am I interrupting something?"
Makoto pursed her lips and turned her face toward the wooden doors from where she came out a while ago and shook her head "No, not really. Work has been very calm these days—since that other french restaurant opened a month ago, this one has been slow when it comes to customers." she grabbed the cup of cappuccino she just made for herself and took a little sip "There hasn't been much to do lately, the head chef has considered the possibility to close this place or even going to work at another restaurant and abandon this place to its luck."
Minako frowned "What!? And if he leaves who would take his place?"
Makoto blushed and looked both sides "Well…there are five assistants, so—he would have to pick one of us but it's still uncertain, who knows, though the most obvious would be the sous chef."
"Ah-the meanie," Minako said, Makoto nodded and took a sip of cappuccino "Yeah, the meanie."
"He should cut the nonsense and pick you," Minako waved her hand "You are the best cook here."
Mako blushed and chuckled "Thanks, it would mean a lot to me if I get picked—but who knows, there are other two guys who are very skilled and pretty good with cooking and again, the sous chef."
Minako blinked "Guys?" she smiled "Are they cute?"
Makoto arched a brow "Um kinda-why? She widened her eyes "Oh come on! No!"
"You should date one of them—it's time," Minako said softly and took a sip of her warm coffee, "I think you gave Masaru enough time to reconsider your relationship, you are only wasting your time with that guy."
Makoto arched a brow "You say that because you are dating one hot man who happens to be the sports anchor at the most popular sports show on TV right now."
Minako shook her head "I am not dating him."
Makoto widened her eyes "What?! You were head over heels for him, you even said he might be the one because he admired your volleyball skills."
"He is so boring…" Minako breathed "Besides…I only went out with him two times and nothing happened, he kept talking about his ex."
"Ouch," Makoto bit her lower lip "Red flag right there."
"Yeah," Minako sighed softly and took the last sip of her coffee and stood up "I guess I should get going," she looked at Makoto and smiled "There is one big role waiting for me," she widened her eyes "Oh, by the way, I was thinking—are you looking for a roommate or something?"
Makoto crossed her arms "Um, actually—now that you mention it, yes, I am looking for one. How did you know?"
"Ami-chan told me you asked her if she wanted to be your roommate," Minako said and frowned "Everything okay?"
"Well…" Makoto sighed "The thing is that ever since we don't have much work to do here my paycheck hasn't been enough to pay all of my dues—it's crazy! I was buying all this cooking stuff for my business and now the landlord raised the rent," she frowned "Why do you ask?"
"Because I want to move out of my apartment and if I get this part I might be able to look for something else but since Ami told me about you were looking for somebody to live with you, I thought why not me? Since Artemis spends a lot of time with Luna at Usagi chan's house I suppose he won't be returning to live with me anytime soon."
Makoto chuckled "Those two are finally taking their relationship to the next level," she smiled "That would be great, I would love to have you as a roommate, better for me to be with somebody I truly know and not a creepy stranger."
Minako grinned "I'm so excited!" she looked at the time on her cell phone and widened her eyes "Oh my god! I have to go!" she smiled at the brown haired girl and waved her hand "Thanks for the cappuccino."
Makoto smiled in return "Anytime," she widened her eyes "Oh wait, are you going to the café tonight?"
Minako turned and smiled as she pointed at herself with her thumbs "Maid of Honor."
Makoto chuckled and watched the blonde leave the fancy restaurant in a slight hurry. The tall girl blew her chocolate bangs and turned to the hostess "Nothing?"
The young hostess pouted her lips and shook her head "Tables 9 and 20 are occupied—they should be ordering in a couple of minutes, I just gave them the menus and offered some beverages."
Makoto nodded and walked towards the kitchen and tied her apron around her waist and proceeded to take the two orders on the waiting list and gave a nod "Easy," she muttered and widened her eyes when she heard the head chef call her name "Y-Yes Haruto san?"
The tall dark haired man tied his apron around his waist and frowned "What are we making?"
Makoto blinked and looked at the two orders and licked her lips nervously "Table nine wants an order of Escargot as an entrée and two crab crêpes as the main course."
The chef narrowed his eyes and turned to the other assistant and asked her the same question "Suzuki, what's the second order?"
Suzuki, the sous chef blinked and hesitated to answer as she looked for the order in her apron's pocket "Um…" she kept looking for the piece of paper and turned to Makoto, hoping she might know what the second couple ordered for the day "I swear I had the order right here…"
Makoto turned to the head chef and took control of the situation "Table twenty ordered Ratatouille and one Bouillabaisse."
The chef arched a brow and looked at Suzuki "A Sous Chef's obligation is to serve and help the head Chef not to make his work harder—you should know that by now." his voice was clear and with a heavy weight of annoyance. Suzuki widened her eyes and shook her head "I understand Chef, is that—I swear I had the order in my hands."
Like gas to a blazing fire, her words only made the man get angrier "I don't like when people makes me waste my time like you are doing now with your excuses—we don't have time to be arguing this!" he turned to look at Makoto and arched a brow "You saved our reputation."
Suzuki widened her eyes and turned to look at Makoto with a face of disbelief and slight disgust "Her? Why!?"
Chef Haruto raised his hand and motioned to stop "Your incompetence is getting off my nerves!" he raised his voice in frustration and ran a hand through his dark copper hair and sighed "We don't have time for this, get to work!" he turned to the other kitchen assistants "Start the fire, get the pans and the right ingredients—move move move!" he clapped his hands as he prepared to start making the Bouillabaisse.
Makoto went to one of the large fridges to get the right ingredients to make the perfect crab crepes and bumped with a very stressed Suzuki on her way to her station in the kitchen; the sous chef looked glared at her and she was sure of how much she was cursing her as she kept walking to her place next to the chef "Watch it—cook." she muttered and turned the fire on.
Makoto frowned and tried to ignore the woman's as she began with the crepe batter and let it rest aside while she began taking the crab meat out of its hard shell. While seasoning the crab meat she forgot to get some fresh scallions and left the stew cooking in slow fire; Suzuki noticed her station was alone and with great care and a very studied timing and strategy she went to see the dish she was making and took the salt and pepper and poured it all over the meat and creamy sauce bubbling in another casserole.
"What are you doing?" one of the assistants asked the sous chef, startling her. Suzuki arched a brow and shrugged her shoulders "I am supervising her work."
One of the male assistants shook his head and frowned "Don't get us into trouble Suzuki, please. This could cost us our job."
Suzuki arched a brow and turned to leave once she saw Makoto coming her way back to her station with some extra ingredients and looked at Masao's worried face "What?" she asked softly.
Masao looked at her and pointed at the creamy sauce in the casserole "I suggest you taste your dish before serving it."
Makoto frowned "What?" she asked, confused then saw Masao pointed at Suzuki with his spoon and gave her a knowing look "Just do as I say," he said softly "You might be surprised."
Makoto looked at her casseroles and pans and grabbed a spoon, then proceeded to taste the cream first then the crab and widened her eyes in disgust "Oh my god..." she put her spoon down and looked at Masao to confirm her suspicions, the brown haired man nodded and pointed at the sous chef "You better fix that quick or start anew."
"I can't-I have to finish this!" Makoto said softly as she looked at her dish in panic; Chef Haruto turned with a questioning look and asked the others to start serving their dishes "Come on, we are known for being on time with our service! Where are the dishes!?"
Makoto looked at her sauce with panic and bit her lip; she closed her eyes and felt the chef's eyes staring at her "You, why haven't you served the dish?"
Makoto looked at him and shook her head "I-" she trailed off.
"You what?" he asked, "Start serving!"
"I can't…" she said softly, much to Suzuki's pleasure "I can make those crepes if you want Chef Haruto, the girl's not ready to take charge of a full course."
Makoto frowned "Not ready?" she pursed her lips and turned the fire on high and went for some white wine and fresh herbs; her action startled the sous chef and of course bothered the chef "What the hell are you doing!?"
"I am fixing this," Makoto said as she poured some wine on the creamy sauce and stirred until she had a thick reduction and began to chop some fresh herbs. She poured some crepe mix on her pan and proceeded to make the thin and silky crepes in a flash.
Suzuki frowned and turned to the chef "You are not letting her do whatever she wants with your recipe, right Chef?!"
All the other assistants looked at a very busy and concentrated Makoto pouring the thick white sauce over the perfect golden crab filled crepes and finished the plate by sprinkling some fresh herbs on top of her new creation.
Before the chef and sous chef could stop her from putting her dish on the bar, the waiter walked in and took the plates with him and went straight to the customers. The chef turned and gave the brown-haired girl a serious look "In all my years of being a Professional, World's Renowned Chef I had never met a girl who dared to go against my call."
Makoto blinked and felt her heart sink in her chest "Chef, I—"
Chef Haruto wiped the sweat off his forehead and turned to the waiter who was calling his name "What is it?" the waiter walked inside the kitchen "The client would like to have a word with the Chef."
Chef Haruto turned to look at Makoto and frowned but said nothing and turned on his heel to meet the client and listen what she had to say. Masao turned to Makoto and put a hand on her shoulder "You took a huge risk right there," he said softly, startling the brunette "I didn't mean to go against his orders but my dish was—" she trailed off and glared at the sous chef "You." she muttered.
Suzuki arched a brow and looked at Makoto with disinterest. Mahami Suzuki was a girl probably a year or two older than Makoto, she was known for having a strong temper and a lack of patience. Suzuki did not always have it easy; she had to study hard and sacrifice many things so she could study in several gastronomic schools. The girl was applauded by her skills and perfectionist style of presenting a dish. She was a genius in her own field and because of that ambition she had for her career, she won many scholarships to travel around the world and learn the many secrets of the french cuisine.
The moment she met Chef Haruto, her world changed, she changed. She was absorbed by his passion and his deliver in every dish he made and could not deny the attraction she felt towards him because, to be honest, the man was not bad looking…not at all, and the fact that he was one of the finest chefs in Japan was a tremendous plus to her career and her love life. Mahami Suzuki wanted that, she wanted his life and she wanted him to be in her life but all of her skills and dreams slowly faded away every time Makoto came into the scene; she was well aware that the brunette had good skills even when she didn't have the preparation she had to become a chef. She was a natural and Suzuki knew, Haruto noticed it among other things.
Haruto Asato walked back into the kitchen interrupting whatever Makoto was about to tell Suzuki and looked at her "You…" he muttered, slight surprised.
Makoto blinked "Chef Haruto—let me explain."
Suzuki tried to interrupt Makoto and went to stand next to her "I understand if you want to let her go if she can't keep up the good work."
Makoto widened her forest green eyes and turned to the other brunette "What?!"
"You disobeyed the Chef! You think that is something one can pass?" Suzuki frowned "You are here to follow orders not to do whatever the hell you want!"
Chef Haruto raised his hands and turned to Makoto, his lips curved into a big smile "You saved our reputation."
Makoto widened her eyes again "What?"
"The client loved it, she loved your crepes and she happens to be one of the toughest food critics in the Tokyo. Do you know what that means?"
Makoto shook her head "N-No Sir…"
"This will give a good position to the restaurant! And you—you just gave a food critic something that was not on the menu and impressed her!"
Suzuki frowned "The crab crepes are actually on the menu."
Chef Haruto turned to look at her "Yes, but not the way she prepared them." he turned to Makoto "You made a cream sauce with white wine and other secret ingredients—what did you do?"
Makoto blinked and rubbed her hands nervous to be the center of attention "I just…"
"Yes?" the chef asked.
"Improvised."
Chef Haruto's face stiffened and turned to Suzuki, who saw this as her opportunity to attack Makoto "She had been doing this since she was hired—she has been modifying your dishes, Chef, I've seen her but she won't listen!"
Haruto frowned and turned to Makoto "Is this true?"
Makoto bit her lower lip "Well…yes, I have—but in my defense, I did it because I feel like some of the recipes are too complicated and…" she trailed off.
"…And?" the chef asked.
"Well-old fashioned." Makoto finished.
Suzuki turned pale and turned to look at the man standing next to her "H-How dare you?"
Haruto narrowed his eyes and cleared his throat, his ego was not liking the words coming from Makoto "Old fashioned you say?"
"I know french cuisine is something you need to prepare with delicacy and that it has its tradition but—I think there are other ways to get the same result without stressing too much with each step." Makoto began to feel her knees weak, this was a moment where she no longer knew what she was doing but still remained as if nothing happened thinking:
"Stupid Makoto…you are going to lose your job sooner than you thought if you keep talking nonsense…"
She watched the head chef turn on his heel and went to one of the fridges and grabbed a bottle of vodka, then turned to one of the waiters that were walking into the kitchen "After they leave…tell Hiromi to close the restaurant."
Suzuki frowned and so the other four people in the kitchen, including Makoto "Chef? You are closing…? Why? It's not even noon!"
"Goda Kahori is a very strong card we can use to be back in the game and be a serious competition to the other restaurants. I have a name and a reputation to protect and I won't let my business go down to hell; I know her presence here was not casualty…" Haruto turned his head from Suzuki to Makoto "…And she happened to love those improvised crab crepes—she loved them so much she said she would be back and bring Hiraoka Sachiya with her."
Makoto widened her eyes in shock, now, that name she did recognize. No one really needed to be a very good gastronomic connoisseur to know Hiraoka Sachiya was in fact, the most strict and respected food critic in all Japan.
Chef Haruto looked at Makoto and gave her a soft smile "You managed to charm a strong critic today and we are not leaving this place until we know how to make those crab crepes," he turned to Suzuki and frowned "We will change the menu and I want her to contribute." Suzuki widened her eyes and blinked surprised "Change the entire menu? Chef—isn't that too risky? And it would take us all day and night!"
The handsome man turned to look at Makoto and nodded "Well, it's good to know you don't have plans for tonight," he turned on his heel and began cleaning his station in silence leaving Makoto with four very annoyed pairs of eyes looking back at her. Makoto pursed her lips and turned to get her purse, took her cell phone out and dialed a number she knew already by heart and waited for the person at the other end answer.
"Hello?" she heard a soft powdery voice finally answer after several rings.
"Oh, thank goodness you answered me!" Makoto said with relief as she went to hide in the bathroom to talk "Please tell me I didn't catch you resolving a matter of life or death."
Ami giggled softly and covered her lips and cleared her throat as she caught some of the nurses and doctors stares "No," she said in a more serious tone "No, it's fine."
"Last time I called you, you were witnessing an open heart surgery."
"Yes I know but not every day I get the chance to be assisting in surgery." Ami said softly as she slowly walked away from the nurse station with new notes with information about new patients "I am actually hunting for surgeries—looking for nice and friendly doctors who can offer me to assist them in one" she looked at the sheets on her hand and pursed her lips "I came to one of the nurse's station to get more files to deliver hoping to be able to assist in one."
"What happened to A&E?"
"I'll go there after I give my rounds here," Ami said as she looked at the patient's name "It's part of being an intern and basically all doctors here unless you are a partner, you have to assist wherever you are needed."
"Yeah, but you are the best intern there," Ami heard Makoto's voice and smiled "I do my best."
"I thought you were going to assist your mother." Makoto said curiously; Ami pursed her lips and continued walking "And I do it from time to time but since my mother is in cardiology I do not get to help her as much as I would like to since that wing is on the other side of the hospital." her eyes sparkled when she looked at one of the patient's doctor and squealed with glee "Ami-chan?"
Ami widened her eyes and looked around then put herself together again and cleared her throat "Sorry…"
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, it's just that—I might be able to assist one case…hopefully." she said softly.
"Really?
"Yup," Ami smiled and blinked "Oh, I'm sorry…I totally got immersed in my own work but, what about you? Are you okay?"
Makoto sighed and leaned on the bathroom door and looked at herself in the mirror "Yeah…I just—something happened here at work and I needed some time for myself."
"What happened? That girl again?"
"She is so mean," Makoto exhaled "Anyways-I might be late for tonight's reunion at the café; I was going to call Minako but then I remembered she was in an audition and Rei doesn't answer her cell phone for some strange reason and I don't know if Usagi-chan was going to be available you know, because of her boss."
Ami nodded and made a knowing face "Oh right—well, I'll let the girls know you are going to get there a little late don't worry but…are you okay?"
Makoto cleaned a slight mascara smudge on her lower lashes with one hand while she held the phone with the other and blew her bangs "Yeah…it's just that the chef here wants to change the entire menu and he wants us to give him ideas and present him some prepared meals so he can try and decide."
"Oh, Mako-chan" she heard Ami said softly on the phone, Makoto sighed "Yeah…I will tell you guys as soon as I get out of here."
"Sure," Ami smilMako-chanI have to go—I must look for one of the doctors and I have several cases I need to give to Mamoru kun and Motoki kun."
"Ah I get it, those are the friendly doctors you have been looking to assist." Makoto chuckled, Ami blushed "Well, they are very accessible and for example, Mamoru asked me to assist him in one of medical cases since he knows I am very interested in that field and well, who am I to say no to that?"
"Wow", Makoto blinked surprised "That is awesome news!"
"Yup, he is one of the best resident internists in the hospital, he gets all types of cases from A&E and Special Units." Ami said softly as she walked closer to the intensive care area "If I see him I can ask him to give Usagi chan your message."
Makoto smiled "Ah that would be great, thanks a lot Ami chan and say hi to Mamoru and Motoki for me—I will see you later tonight."
"Okay Mako chan, good luck!" Ami hung up and put her cell phone in her right pocket and proceeded to take a quick look at the papers in her hands and finally reached the nurse's station in intensive care "I have these from Hirakawa sempai, he said it was important."
One of the nurses took a look at the record and nodded "Alright, thank you Mizuno san" she put the file on her desk and looked at the young blunette "Are you assisting this section today?"
Ami shook her head and looked around "No, today's ER."
"Ah…" the nurse smiled "You will get to see the handsome doctor again, lucky you."
Ami smiled and knew the handsome doctor she was referring to was no other than Chiba Mamoru. The bluenette nodded and gave the nurse another set of files "Every nurse in this hospital is well aware of that young doctor and his dashing looks." she heard the nurse say dreamily and smiled.
Ami giggled "My guess is that you are one of those nurses?"
The nurse known as Chiaki, giggled and waved her hand. She was known to be a very kind woman and was very much loved in the hospital since she was one of its most loyal nurses for over 10 years. Her light brown hair was tied in a low bun and Ami calculated she would be around her forties.
"Oh… of course," she smiled "And he seems like he is a nice young man."
Ami smiled and took the remaining files in her hands and waved her hand "He is," she said softly and smiled "Have a good day Chiaki san."
"Good day to you too Mizuno san."
Ami turned with a smile on her face and took a deep breath as she walked closer to the elevator and pressed the button to go down. The doors opened right after showing and several nurses both male and female walked out of the wide elevator "Mizuno san." said a warm male voice.
Ami looked up and looked at Satomura Akashi and blushed softly "A-Akashi san…" she mumbled, surprised. The young doctor had been Ami's crush since both started their internship at the hospital; with his kind of rebel, wavy hair in an ashy brown and his sparkling almond eyes the young man waved his hand at her and stepped out of the elevator "Well this is a surprise—I thought you didn't come to the hospital today."
Ami shook her head and wet her lips "N-No—I mean yes…but," she took a deep breath, this guy made her lose any concentration "I was asked to deliver these files to nurse Chiaki here in Oncology."
"Where are you heading now?" Akashi asked with obvious curiosity "Are you assisting Dr. Mizuno in Cardiology today?"
Ami shook her head "No, ER."
"Ah," Akashi's eyes lit up with joy "What a coincidence, me too! I was just helping one of the nurses with some of the papers but I'm actually on my way back there."
Ami blushed and smiled "Oh, really?"
Akashi chuckled "Yeah, I mean…I kinda knew you were going to be there…" his face darkened a little bit "…I know you enjoy assisting in that department."
Ami blinked and pursed her lips as she felt a cold air of 'jealousy?' she wondered and blushed even more as she walked inside the elevator and pressed the number 2 button. She frowned and turned to Akashi who suddenly fell silent "Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yeah…" Akashi said softly as he stared at the numbers changing color each time they went down another floor "It's just that…suddenly everybody wants to work there—I dunno why," he pressed his lips together "Well, I have one idea of why."
Ami frowned and joined him at his number staring contest and waited for the number two to lighten up. The doors soon opened and were received by the fast paced rhythm of the ER department and moved quickly to the nurse's station and went to look for her binder as she greeted the nurses filling a patient's form "Good morning."
"Good morning Mizuno san," Maki, one of the nurses greeted "Ready for another exciting day?"
Ami smiled and nodded "I sure am," she looked through the papers on the binder and frowned "Um, excuse me…by any chance do you happen to know who I will be assisting today?"
Maki gave the forms to the patient she was attending and turned on her chair to look at her computer "Um, let me check…" she typed something and then turned to look some papers on the desk "Well, here says you will be assisting Chiba san." she blushed softly and blinked "But…he hasn't checked in, though he called and said he would be a little late, he is probably on his way."
Ami frowned, finding it strange for her friend to be late and especially for work. She scratched the back of her neck "Well that's strange…" she mumbled and thought for a moment if everything was alright, if Usagi was alright because the only reason Mamoru would go late for work or any other thing is because it was something related to Usagi "Did he say if he had an emergency or something?" she asked concerned, startling Maki "Um, no…I don't think so, he didn't speak with me," she smiled "Ah… you are worried for the man…so cute," Maki smiled and tugged a strand of light copper hair behind her ear "You lucky girl."
Ami widened her eyes and blinked "Me? Why?"
"You get to work with him pretty often," the nurse said and smiled, then turned to a slight annoyed Akashi standing next to her "Why is everybody so infatuated with him?"
Maki blushed and frowned "You obviously don't understand."
Akashi sighed and shook his head "No, trust me—I get the idea," he sighed "But everyone is just being misguided by his looks, he probably is not that good but just because he is 'cute' everyone thinks he is…the guy is probably aware of it and uses it to his advantage."
Ami frowned and closed her binder with a loud snap "You cannot possibly be serious," she said in a cold tone "How can you say that?"
Her comment made Akashi feel even more annoyed "You too?"
"Have you ever seen him work?" Ami was very upset to hear him talk about her friend that way. Mamoru had become a role model for her since she began studying medicine at the university, she had developed a new respect and admiration for him and even gratitude. Since she started studying, he always offered to help her with many of her classes and when she had the opportunity to work at the hospital, he understood how much she wanted to step aside from her mother's shadow. To Ami, trust was one of the most important things in her life and he believed in her skills as a doctor. When she had the first chance to work with him and see with her own eyes how he develops with such professionalism in a place like ER, she understood how much he cared to help others. Saving lives to him was a big deal, Ami thought it was maybe because of his past. Akashi sighed again, this time more heavily and shrugged his shoulders "Well, no—I always work with Dr. Osuna."
"Well maybe that's why you think that way…Maki, what do you think I should do then?" Ami said and turned to Maki who was checking on some papers "I suppose you can go ask one of the doctors while you wait for Dr. Chiba to arrive."
"That won't be necessary," a male voice startled the nurse and the two young interns; Ami turned and smiled at the man behind her "Hi." she said lightly. Motoki smiled at the blue haired girl and went to the nurse's station and grabbed the binder Maki was just checking minutes ago "Hm…" he mumbled as he gave a quick view to the files and then turned to Maki "I'll take care of his cases until he gets here."
"O-Of course Dr. Furuhata." Maki said softly and turned to both Ami and Akashi "And them?"
"I'll take them with me until he gets here." he turned to Akashi and narrowed his green eyes "You've worked with Dr. Osuna before right? I remember you…"
Akashi widened his eyes and nodded "Yes," he looked around "It's actually my first time assisting another Dr. besides Dr. Osuna."
"Ah, good. It's good if you take experience from someone else from time to time, but I must tell you—this is going to be different." he looked at the chart in his hands "Neither Dr. Chiba or myself work at the same pace as Dr. Osuna so you will have to keep that in mind."
Akashi widened his eyes and clenched his jaw "Yes, I understand."
"Very well," Motoki said and turned on his heel "For what I see here, today's cases don't seem to be as bizarre as what we are used to, so—it will be a good training for you." he slid one mint colored curtain aside and saw a girl with deep cut from her knee to her mid thigh "All right…" Motoki put the chart down and looked at the girl "What happened here?" he asked softly at the crying girl and then turned to see her mother who immediately spoke for her kid "She was roller skating doing tricks for her talent show and crashed against a window from our home."
Motoki nodded and took a closer look at the girls wound after he put on some latex gloves "Okay, Mizuno and Hano san, what should we do in this case?"
Ami moved closer to the sobbing girl and smiled at her "Don't worry—everything will be alright," she turned to Motoki and cleared her throat "The cut is deep, but it's not close to the bone or any nerves we could say it will threaten functionality, so we should remove any remains of glass, clean the area, put some stitches and give her some antibiotic to fight any minor infections, that will help her heal faster. But some blood tests must be taken in order to make sure nothing more serious could affect her cicatrization."
Motoki nodded "Very well," he turned to Akashi "Is there anything else you would like to add?"
Akashi wet his lips "Maybe if we give her a shot to prevent tetanus in case she hasn't had the shot in the past five years and prescribe some pain killers and a disinfectant cream…I would even dare to suggest bandaging the wound until it starts cicatrizing."
Motoki turned to the girl and smiled at her "Dr. Mizuno and Dr. Satomura will be cleaning your wound, I will try to be as careful as possible so you don't feel any pain when I put this shot on your arm, okay? After we're done, I'll prescribe you with some medications so your blood can coagulate and make the wound heal faster."
The girl looked at Motoki then at her mother and nodded, Motoki turned and started to prepare the vaccine for the girl while Ami and Akashi began helping the girl with her wound. Akashi sat on a stool while he began working on the stitches on the girl's leg while thinking this could be the beginning of a very long day.
Thank god it was Friday.