The alarm clock on Kaoru's phone rang, sending a shrill, tinny tune throughout the room. The miserable 24 year-old flung an arm out of her bedcovers, searching wildly for the phone so that she could hit the snooze button, but it was far out of reach under the bed, and she was forced to get up to retrieve it. She looked at the time on the iridescent screen: 0600, giving her long enough to shower, do her makeup and hair, eat a decent breakfast, and grab a latte on her way to the university. After all, today was her first day of graduate school, and she wanted everything to be perfect.
Kaoru Kamiya was a bright girl, but more importantly, she was a very hard worker. She had finished college with a good GPA, had done well enough on the GRE to be a competitive applicant for graduate school, and had glowing recommendation letters from the faculty members she had helped as a research assistant, and with whom she was very close. Unfortunately, a degree in psychology and Japanese history left Kaoru hard pressed to find a job that paid enough to support her purse fetish, and so, she had decided to apply to graduate school in nursing, and enlisted her best friend Misao to do the same. To their delight, they were both accepted to a prestigious school in San Francisco, and almost before they knew it, they had packed up and moved into a cozy house off campus. After a few frenetic weeks of unpacking and settling it, it was time to begin the intensive, 3-year master's program.
"Misao, I'm beyond ready. Hurry up!" Kaoru checked herself out from behind in the mirror one last time as she waited for her sleepy roommate and best friend. She figured that her classes would be filled with mostly women, but it never hurt to look good. The new class was instructed to meet at one of the major hospitals downtown for orientation, as they would start their clinical rotations the next week, and Kaoru had chosen a professional, yet casual outfit that included charcoal-colored, light wool trousers, kitten heels, and a tailored, dark denim jacket over a black camisole. Finally, Misao emerged from her bedroom, smartly dressed in a houndstooth-print, knee-length tulip skirt, a short-sleeved, teal sweater, and black leather ballet flats.
"Hot!" Misao exclaimed as she sized up Kaoru and grabbed her car keys. "Trying to impress the doctors?"
Kaoru snorted. "You mean those arrogant, emotional wrecks? No thanks. I just want to look my best…you never know on the first day, right?"
The two girls hopped into Misao's Jetta, grabbed a couple of triple lattes at the Starbucks a few blocks from their house ("Ugh! We've got to find a local coffee place that serves real espresso," Misao scoffed), and zoomed to the hospital downtown, where their new life as student nurses awaited.
Kaoru and Misao looked around the huge atrium of the hospital, where their 40 classmates stood, waiting to be taken on a tour of the facility. It was a modern, beautiful building that had opened just a few years ago in response to the skyrocketing population in San Francisco, and the interior was very impressive. There were extremely high ceilings, walls made of glass, tropical plants everywhere, and a food court that would have rivaled any mall. When their instructor, a firm but pleasant older woman named Tae, took them around to the different units, the girls were no less impressed by the wide hallways, bright colors, artwork, and modern equipment found in each patient's room. "Misao," Kaoru whispered, "This is going to be so much fun. We have to go shopping for chic scrubs so we fit in here!" Misao let out a little squeal and nodded happily. Shopping trips always made her excited. Unfortunately, Ms. Tae overheard the girls' conversation and interrupted her speech, saying, "Actually, ladies, you'll all be wearing uniforms that designate you as student nurses from our university. I expect them to be clean and pressed at all times, and your hair should be pulled back away from your face. We can't have it dangling into open wounds!" Kaoru and Misao looked at each other morosely. Hair up? Uniforms? "It's okay," Misao whispered back. "We can personalize our uniforms with fun accessories…as long as they don't dangle," she added, with a nervous glance at Ms. Tae.
When the group took their lunch break at noon, Kaoru and Misao practically raced to the food court, starving and excited to see what their dining options were. Kaoru settled on sushi, while Misao opted for Italian and bought the biggest piece of pizza she could find. They plopped down at one of the tables and began eating, trying to maintain a ladylike pace, though they both wanted to scarf down everything in sight. Kaoru was about to swallow a particularly large bite of yellowfin tuna when she suddenly heard a charming, feminine laugh a short distance away to her left. She and Misao turned at the same time to see where it was coming from, and stopped chewing when their eyes landed on the most beautiful woman they had ever seen.
She was sitting with three men at a table not far away, and they were all wearing short white lab coats with their names embroidered on them at the chest pocket. The beautiful woman's eyes sparkled a dark coffee brown, and she tossed her dark, silky hair as she laughed again at something one of her companions said. She crossed her legs and leaned in closer, revealing long, porcelain legs and delicate feet. In other words, she was a complete knockout. "Megumi Takani, M.D." Misao read the name on her labcoat. "Ugh, they're first-year residents," Kaoru complained. "They're the worst. They're technically doctors, but they don't know anything yet, and they're so full of themselves. I hope we don't have to work with them!" She silently regarded the men sitting at the table with Dr. Takani. One was a tall, slim youth with dark, spiky hair and a mischievous glint in his eye as he watched his female companion, one was a silent, unsmiling but gorgeous man with dark bangs that fell into his face, and the last was a shorter, smaller man with flaming red hair and a very effeminate, beautiful face. He struck Kaoru and Misao as the oddest of the group, as his hair was tied back into a high ponytail that seemed uncharacteristic for a physician, and he had a large, x-shaped scar across his left cheek, which made him look a bit like an assassin. He was listening politely to what Dr. Takani was animatedly saying, but the silent one seemed a little bored, and played listlessly with the straw sitting in his drink.
Kaoru glanced at Misao to make another cutting remark about new residents, when she noticed the expression on her best friend's face. Misao's mouth was slightly opened, and she was staring rather pointedly at the tall, brooding doctor as he continued to gaze sullenly at the table in front of him. Kaoru wasn't sure, but she thought she might have seen a little drool collecting at the corner of Misao's lips. "Um, Misao." Kaoru took the girl's arm and shook it slightly, bringing Misao out of her trance. Misao turned to Kaoru and exclaimed, "Oh. My. God. Kaoru, do you see him? He is absolutely, without a doubt, the most beautiful man in the entire world!!" Kaoru regarded the group again. All the men were, without a doubt, to die for. She glanced at the man with the scar again, and assumed Misao was talking about him. After all, he stood out the most, and was shorter, like Misao. He seemed like a natural choice for her friend. "The doctor with the red hair? I mean, sure, he's okay. But come on, Misao. They're doctors, which means they're going to be horribly spoiled with no personalities, and they probably won't even give us a second look. Forget about it, okay? We can hit the club scene this weekend and meet some people who are actually nice." Misao looked at Kaoru incredulously. "The redhead? Are you kidding me? Seriously, I think you might need to get your vision checked. I'm talking about the hottie with his hair all in his face…oh my god, I think I'm actually going to pass out. Literally." She began to fan herself with her hand dramatically, making Kaoru laugh. "Come on, we have to go over and introduce ourselves!" She pulled out some lip gloss and a mirror to check her appearance, when Kaoru grabbed her arm. "Misao, you can't be serious. There is no way I am letting you go over there to talk to those people. We're students. They're going to laugh at us and then talk about how stupid we are when we leave. And then they'll probably torment us whenever we see them working at the hospital. You are NOT doing this." Misao smiled. "You're right, BFF," she replied. "We're doing this!"
Moments later, Misao was dragging Kaoru by the arm over to the table where the young doctors were still sitting and talking, picking at the remains of their lunches. Misao planted herself confidently in front of their table, flashing her most winning smile. A few feet behind her, Kaoru stood miserably, her face already a dark shade of red.
"Hi guys!" Misao exclaimed happily, looking directly at the silent, brooding doctor. "You all are first-year residents, right? That's so exciting! I'm Misao, and this is my best friend Kaoru. We're graduate students in nursing at the university, and today's our first day. Have you been at this hospital long? What are your names?" She finished breathlessly.
The group of doctors stared at Misao and Kaoru for a moment, each with a slightly different expression on their faces. The tall, spiky-haired man and the redhead smiled politely, the sullen doctor looked mildly surprised, and the beautiful woman pursed her lips a bit a smirked. The spiky-haired doctor spoke up first. "Hi, I'm Sanosuke Sagara, and these are my friends, Megumi, Aoshi, and Kenshin." "Pleased to meet you," the redhead added a little shyly. The one called Aoshi inclined his head forward slightly. "Hello," was all he said. Finally, the beautiful woman named Megumi spoke. "No offense, girls, but doctors don't really hang out with the nursing students." She pointed to a table of Misao and Kaoru's classmates. "You should probably go sit with your friends…we have some important things to talk about before we go back to the floor." She smirked again and look at Misao and Kaoru expectantly.
Kaoru's temper flashed. She and Misao may have just made total idiots of themselves, but she wasn't about to let some doctor make her feel like trash! "I beg your pardon," she said witheringly, making Dr. Takani's cool gaze falter a bit. "Let's go, Misao. We don't need to waste our time with doctors who have no manners." She began to pull at her friend's hand, when the one named Kenshin stood up and raised an elegant hand. "Please excuse Dr. Takani," he said quickly, sending a disapproving glance at Megumi, who now looked embarrassed. "We were all on call this weekend, and she's very tired. It was great to meet you both. The next time we see you at lunch, we should definitely sit together." His gaze lingered on Kaoru for a moment, who was too pissed off to notice.
"Great," Kaoru said sarcastically. "Can't wait. See you around." This time, she didn't wait for her friend, and quickly turned to walk away. The nerve of that woman! As Misao scurried to catch up with Kaoru, they could hear the doctors talking. "Geez, fox, why did you have to be so rude? Those students were just trying to be nice," Sanosuke exclaimed. "Besides," he added, "You're much hotter when you behave yourself."
"Shut up, Sano," Megumi snapped. "I don't have time for little girls. None of us do. Our fellowship applications are due next week, and I'm drowning in paperwork. Ken-san, you understand, don't you?"
"Well, of course I know how busy everyone is, Miss Megumi. But, ah, I do think Sano has a point. As physicians representing the hospital, we should be friendly to everyone, especially to students who may want to work here someday, no?"
"Takani's right." The low, sultry voice of Aoshi finally broke in. "We don't have time to make new friends. This is the most difficult year we're going to have, and we need to focus our energy on work and the future."
From the corner of her eye where they were sitting back at their table, Kaoru saw Misao's face fall. Her temper flared up again. Stupid doctors, she thought.
