Synopsis: He remembered her as the ditzy, polka dotted panty girl from high school who he was madly in love with. Losing contact with her after graduation, he thought he might never see her again. And now, here she was sitting on a chair next to a comatose patient in his charge. Her hand held tight to the patient's which fashioned a wedding band matching her own. AU
Beginning Note: New Short Story!
Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice belongs to Higuchi Tachibana.
Medical Terminology Used
MD: medical doctor
OR: operation room
ICU: intensive care unit
Part One
He had been MIA for ten years, cutting all communication he had with friends and acquaintances alike. It was better that way. They didn't need to surround themselves with a person like him.
He was selfish: only looking for the benefits in life and ignoring the rewards that would come from doing things simply out of the goodness of his heart.
He was cruel: having done so many terrible things to the people in his life that caused them to see him for the person he knew deep down he truly was.
He didn't care about anyone. It was ironic that he had fallen into the interest of medicine and began a career as an MD, doing the very thing he hated to do . . . helping people.
He was an enigma.
"Dr. Hyuuga!" a panicked voiced called out from the distance.
The one addressed, snapped out of his musings and flipped his head in the direction of the voice. A nurse in pink scrubs came rushing down the hallway, strands of hair flying out of her once neat ponytail. She inhaled heavily, trying to catch her breath and flicked her worrisome filled eyes in the direction of her superior.
"We have one coming in who is in dire need of an emergency operation!" the nurse exclaimed. "He's being taken to the OR at this moment!"
The doctor nodded and they both proceeded to rush to the OR to do the necessary procedure.
Four hours.
It had taken four hours to do complete the operation due to the great damages his new patient was suffering. It was noted by one of the nurses that this particular individual flew in via helicopter because of a catastrophic accident involving him running off the cliff. He was so badly damaged to the point where recognition deemed impossible in the event that his loved ones would visit. He was transferred to the ICU once it was announced that he was comatose and needed life support until his awakening.
The doctor walked into the patient's room as the staff set up the proper arrangements for the necessary equipment to be plugged in. Another nurse came up to him and handed him a clipboard which contained the patient's information that included his current status and diagnosis.
"We checked pockets in search of an identification card and found his driver's license and unlocked phone. I've already called the first person on his speed dial and she said she'll be here soon."
He nodded and looked over the assessment handed to him. Almost immediately, he felt his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach upon seeing the very familiar name written clearly on the page.
Nogi, Ruka
It couldn't be. The life that he left behind was catching up to him.
His eyes quickly flashed to the person on the bed and a sweat trickled down his cheek as he carefully observed.
"Ruka," he spoke softly, unaware of the way the people watching his every move. He pulled a chair beside the bed and slowly sat down, the reality of the situation causing his head to spin.
"Are you alright sir?" the nurse inquired in curiosity.
"Hn," he grunted in response and waved everyone in the room away.
"Alright sir," the nurse bowed and left the room with the remaining staff.
It was just them two left, noise from the ventilation machine being the only thing disturbing the silence. He sighed, witnessing the terrible condition a piece of his past was in. The still person had tubing in his nose and bandages all over his body. Pillows at his back kept him elevated to promote proper air flow into his weak lungs. All in all, it was quite a depressing site.
"Dammit," the doctor cursed under his breath. He abruptly stood up and left the room.
"Where is my husband?!"
"Ma'am, please calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down! Where the hell is my husband?!"
"I'll let you know but you need to lower your voice please."
There was a commotion at the nurse's station and the doctor rushed over to see what was happening. It was late at night, patients were sleeping and therefore the noise needed to be controlled ASAP.
His feet jogged to the station but slowed down as the person causing all the ruckus came into view.
Thump.
His heart began picking up pace.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
"It's alright ma'am. The doctor is here to take you to your husband," one of his nurses reassured the panicked woman.
The person standing by the station whipped her head around, long brunette hair swishing, and turned to look at the person servicing her. Her hazel eyes widened in surprised as she met the burning crimson iris staring hopelessly into her own.
"Natsume," she whispered, her hand shakily brought to her open mouth.
Natsume listened to her voice, the melodic voice he missed hearing all these years and shut his lids, nostalgia hitting him hard. His opened them and cleared his throat, willing himself to speak to her in an appropriate manner.
"I take it that you're Mrs. Nogi?" he asked, ignoring the distraught that flashed across her face. He was purposely keeping it professional, just as his job entailed. There was no need to give her reason to believe he would fully acknowledge her as someone important in his past.
The brunette nodded timidly and brought her hand down, soon trailing behind as he motioned her to follow his lead. They stood in front of the room to which had the label of the patient's name outside the door. Natsume turned the knob and allowed the brunette to enter inside.
"He's stable at the moment but his overall condition depends on if he wakes up or not," he informed her.
"Thank you," she replied as she intertwined her fingers with the limp hand resting on the bed. Tears were brimming the corners of her eyes and she began to sob. "Oh god, what am I going to do?"
In her state of distress, Natsume couldn't help but want to reach out and comfort her, wrapping his arms around her body until her uncontrollable sobbing had ceased.
But he knew better not to, no matter how difficult it was.
"Will you be staying here overnight?" he suddenly asked, trying to distract himself although it wasn't working.
"I think I ought to," came the soft reply. "Do you have any extra blankets you could spare?"
"Yes Mrs. Nogi. I'll go fetch you one," Natsume said, again with the formality, and walked over to the door. He paused when he heard his name called but didn't turn around as he listened to the next few words.
"I'm not a stranger . . . please call me Mikan."
The tight grip on the handle he didn't know he had was reduced and he closed the door behind him. His fingers curled into his palms and formed into a clenched fist as he struggled to remain calm.
This woman would be his undoing.
She had only stayed in the hospital for two nights before deciding to check herself into a hotel nearby. It was a daily routine for her to visit the hospital every morning and leave during the late evening. Some of the nurses on the clock advised her to make sure she was maintaining her own health but the brunette was relentless. She cared more about the comatose man than her own wellbeing and therefore wanted to be there for him to help in every which way she could.
"You need to get some rest," some told her but she merely replied with a small smile and turned her attention back to her husband, reading him stories she bought from the gift shop.
Aside from the times when he needed to check up on his patient, Natsume seldom entered the room, fully aware that he would be unwillingly engaged in a conversation he wanted to avoid. Although she wanted him to know that they weren't strangers, during the times where they conversed, he remained laconic.
It was better that way, for him and especially for her.
He figured that his unresponsiveness would make her grow weary of him, ultimately resulting in her surrender. So he was surprised when one day she walked in the staff break room and handed him a cup of coffee.
"Here," she said with arms outstretched, coffee between her palms.
He took one look at it and went back to his business eating a rather bland salad.
"I want you to have it," Mikan continued firmly.
"It's fine, I already had some," Natsume rejected. He continued to ignore her as she pulled up a chair opposite him and sat down.
"You don't have to drink it now. It can be placed in the fridge and warmed up later," Mikan settled the cup on the table and folded her arms on her lap, gaze never leaving her companion's body.
Oh how unsettling it became to have her watch him like that.
Natsume dropped the fork in his hand and looked up, a cold stare on his face. "It is unauthorized for me to accept gifts from my patients and their guests," he asserted rather harshly. He could see the rosy tint appear on her cheeks as her eyes cast down in embarrassment and fear.
"I-I-I'm s-sorry," she stammered. "I-I didn't release that was a rule."
He could tell that she was startled, judging by the fidgeting body but she was still planted on the seat.
Mikan wasn't going to back down so easily.
For the remainder of his break, he chomped down his salad and snubbed her every time she spoke. The coffee was still left intact when he finished his food and stood up to throw the plastic container away. He saw her follow his cue and stand up, cup now in her hand. He once again paid her no mind when she attempted to get his attention and he left the room.
Mikan stood back with the cup, silently staring at the now cold drink. A tear droplet escaped her eye and fell into the liquid, causing a small ripple to form.
"Why won't he talk to me?" she whispered to herself.
Guilt, a feeling he long ago learned to suppress was beginning to surface. It felt bitter and extremely suffocating to the point where he lacked concentration when it came to his important duties, not when a couple feet away stood his reason for his suffering.
Yes, a bit of him felt guilty for treating her the way he did the past week but his pride prevented him from apologizing. Quite the connoisseur of the brunette's thought, his apology to her meant that he in some way was creating a path for her to reenter into his life.
"I want to apologize for being ignorant about giving you a gift. I wasn't aware that it is considered a bribe so I promise to not do it again."
She was standing in front of his office desk with determination to get him to respond back favorably.
Natsume on the other hand became perturbed by her submissiveness. The pride she had in the past was thrown away and she had somehow learned to be humble, a trait she never had. They used to be similar in the way they kept steadfast to their opinions, causing them to butt heads all the time. But she had changed and he had not.
Her apology was not necessary due to the circumstances. Such hospital rules among staff weren't common knowledge and therefore the apology required to be spoken out of his mouth, not hers. She had no fault in this matter.
He pushed aside his pride, surprising himself, and dismissed the apology all together. "You did nothing wrong so don't apologize," he said.
"B-But," Mikan began but then stopped herself. She sighed and sat down on one of his office couches. "Can we talk?" she tentatively asked. Her feet crossed, one over the other to prevent visibility to underneath her white sundress.
Natsume nodded and got out of his revolving chair to sit opposite her.
Maybe, just maybe he could take the time to see how her life has been since their disconnection.
"How have you been?" she started.
How has he been? There wasn't anything new to speak about aside for his residency here in Kyoto to which he carefully selected. It provided a lot of much desired distance from Tokyo, from everyone else.
"Fine I suppose," he mildly replied. He could tell from her facial expression that his answer did not satisfy her.
"I guess what I really mean to ask is, why have you been hiding all these years?"
Thump
". . ."
"Please . . . don't do this again," her voice quivered but she wouldn't let that stop her from being resilient. She never gave up, no matter how difficult the tribulation. That was just her and for that, he couldn't help but feel a mixture of slight resentment and proudness. He had to commend her for that. At least not all of her had completely changed.
"Ruka . . . he's your husband now," he asked in a more rhetorical sense.
Mikan nodded, fiddling with her hair. "We've been married for three years now," she said, a smile graced her lips. "I still can't believe it even happened and it's incredible. He's too good for a person like me who falls short in a lot of areas."
"In what way do you fall short?" Natsume raised a brow at her.
"I'm not exactly the perfect wife per say. It's absolutely horrible when I pick up a knife to chop produce," she chuckled, thinking back on the times she's caused accidents trying to obtain some form of culinary skills. "Not to mention, the clumsiness I thought would escape in early adulthood still haunts me."
As he listened to her ramble, the corners of his lips tugged upward. She had always been particularly very clumsy, as he was witness to that. In the beginning he found it tiring to save her due to her accident prone nature, but when he began to care for her, all he could think about was to prevent her from running into danger.
He used to be her protector and he kind of missed that.
Most of all, he missed hearing her voice.
"You're not lacking," he let slip out of his mouth before he could retract his words. He wanted to curse but withheld himself, thankfully.
Mikan stared at him with wide eyes, highly un-expectant of his sudden thoughtful comment. A crimson color manifested on her cheeks as she muttered, "Thank you."
Thump
". . . Yeah."
End Note: This will range from a three shot to a four shot.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought of it so far! C:
Author: Napperon