Chapter 1

Kimi studied the sign on the building before looking back down at the paper in her hand. Kurosaki Clinic - yep, this was the place. A loud crash and the sound of a man bellowing from the house next door startled her. She stared in shock as a man came rolling down the sidewalk with an irate teenage boy sporting wild orange hair yelling at him. 'Surely that's not him,' she thought to herself with a creeping suspicion that it indeed was him. The man jumped to his feet, shouting back at the boy who she guessed was his son. Two young girls appeared on the doorstep of the house. The dark headed girl screamed at her father and brother while the other girl with dark blond hair cried silently. Oh, no! That had to be him. He was wearing a white doctor's coat with a tacky Hawaiian print shirt underneath. They had warned her about his shirts at the employment agency when they gave her the address for the interview. If only they had warned her about his dysfunctional family. She jumped when the man saw her and rushed toward her. He ran his hands through his short black hair and over the slight beard on his face. She forced herself to stay rooted to the spot instead of running for her life.

"You were sent by the agency right?" he asked, his dark eyes slightly crazy looking as he seized her hand to shake it. He was completely unaware that there was a cut under his eye oozing blood.

"Yes, sir," she responded, staring at his otherwise handsome face. "Dr. Kurosaki, you're bleeding."

"Well, damn," he muttered, touching the cut. He stared at the blood on his finger with good natured surprise. "The boy's getting good. Come on in."

Kimi followed the tall, scruffy looking man into the clinic. She trailed behind him straight to one of the examining rooms where she watched him rummage through the cabinets for peroxide, cotton balls, and a bandage. She was surprised when he sat down on the rolling chair in front her, waiting for her to tend to the cut.

"What's your name?" he asked her as she soaked the cotton ball with peroxide.

"Kimi Yakuro, sir," she answered, dabbing the cut gently.

"Tell me Kimi, why is it better to use peroxide on an open wound rather than alcohol?"

"Because the alcohol will damage the skin tissue whereas the peroxide won't but it will still kill the bacteria."

"What's the difference between a viral infection and a bacterial infection?" he inquired, watching her with interest as she carefully cleaned his wound.

"Viral infections have to run their course while a bacterial infection needs to be treated with antibiotics," she answered, lightly pressing the bandage down on his face. "There - you're all fixed up."

"So are you. You're hired Ms. Yakuro. Welcome to the Kurosaki Clinic," he said, shaking her hand so heartily it moved her whole body. He was definitely energetic.

"Was that your family I saw?" she inquired, putting away the peroxide and box of bandages.

"That was my son, Ichigo and my twin daughters, Yuzu and Karin," he answered with obvious pride. He started beating his coat with his hand to remove the faint remnants of dirt that clung to it from his tumble down the sidewalk.

"Is that an everyday occurrence?"

"Yes, it is. It's my duty as his father to teach the boy how to take care of himself and his family."

"There's no way to do it less…violently?"

"No," he responded pointedly, blinking at her as if to say 'duh, silly woman.' "Well, then, let's go for a tour," he said, taking her by the hand to lead her around the office.

Kimi had no idea there were so many rooms, closets, and hidden nooks and crannies to be toured in the small clinic. She was sure he showed her every medical supply he owned. With his constant chattering while pointing out everything she did not even notice that he had held on to her hand the entire time.

"Oh, dear," she gasped when he led her to the front desk area. It appeared as if a monsoon had hit the room. Files were everywhere; even piled up on the floor. Papers were scattered all over as if they had been thrown like confetti. There were filing cabinets and shelves in the room that were completely empty. Of course they were empty – everything was on the floor! Kimi took a deep breath immediately feeling overwhelmed.

"As you can see, this area needs the most work right now so if you would spend your first week or so organizing this that would be fantastic. It will also give you time to get to know the patients as well. I'll leave it to you then, Ms. Yakuro," he said, disappearing from the room with amazing speed.

"Fabulous," she muttered to herself, pushing a stray strand of dark brown hair behind her ear. "I get overtime for this right?"

"Yes, of course!" he yelled from somewhere in the back.

Kimi's golden green eyes scanned the room, and she took a deep breath. No time like the present to get started. She dove into the paperwork determined to at least get the loose papers organized and filed today. Not many patients came in, but each one expressed surprise in varying degrees to see that Dr. Kurosaki had an assistant. At the end of the day she had succeeded in accomplishing what she set out to do. Tomorrow the boxes would be next.

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When Kimi arrived the next morning, the doctor was sitting in the waiting area with an ice pack to his forehead. She peeled his hand back and lifted to ice pack to see a knot about the size of a baseball on his forehead. At that moment, she resigned herself to the fact that treating the doctor would be her first daily chore. His injuries did indeed occur on a daily basis and ranged from black eyes to broken ribs. The man was energetic to the point of hyperactive and sometimes she could understand his son's need to beat the hell out of him. The man asked for – no – begged for an ass kicking sometimes. There were some days when she had to almost physically restrain herself from shooting him up with sedatives and sticking him in a closet so she could get a sanity break. Today was one of those days.

"Kimi!" he yelled, grabbing her and swinging her around as if she were a five year old child.

At least she had heard him coming this time. There were times when she was busy and he was able to sneak up on her and scare her out of her wits. She believed he privately enjoyed her shrieks of surprise and fear a whole lot more than he should have.

"Yes, doctor?" she coldly responded, straightening her coat when he let her go.

"Oh, don't be that way!" he murmured, reaching out to push her hair behind her ear like she did a thousand times a day in frustration. "I would like to invite you over for dinner. You've done such a wonderful job straightening the office. For the first time in years I'm organized. The patients really like you too. So what do you say? My daughter Yuzu is a great cook."

"Are you sure? It wouldn't be improper? I am your employee and you are a married man – " She stopped when he paled suddenly and a sorrowful expression covered his face.

"Was, Kimi, I was a married man," he corrected her, dropping down heavily into the chair behind him with a crestfallen expression. "My wife was killed many years ago."

"Oh, oh, I'm so sorry, Dr. Kurosaki. I didn't mean…"

Now who deserves an ass kicking? If she could, she would gladly kick her own. Sometimes ignorance is not bliss, and she wish she had known to keep from saying anything. He still wore his wedding band and talked about her as if she were still alive. Although she never saw a wife, it had not occurred to her the woman was dead. It was obvious he still loved her and had been unable to recover from her death.

"It's all right. You didn't know. So will you come to dinner?" he asked, managing a smile.

"Sure if you think it's really okay."

"It will be fine."

...

"What the hell is she doing here?!" the irate orange haired teen demanded. He was in his last year of high school but looked much older. It was immediately obvious that he was very protective and possessive of his family. He did not like strangers, and he definitely did not like her.

Kimi handed Yuzu the carrot she had been cutting up to assist with dinner preparations. The soft spoken blond girl with big brown eyes silently accepted it, giving her a trembling embarrassed smile. She went back to her cooking while Kimi turned to face the highly agitated young man. His expression could have burned a hole in her since he was looking at her with such unmasked hatred and anger.

"Dr. Kurosaki, I'll just go. Obviously I've intruded where I shouldn't," she said, taking off the apron and handing it Karin who was glaring at her brother with her dark gray almost black eyes.

"No. You stay," Dr. Kurosaki growled, standing in front of his son who was as tall as him. He stood up taller, puffing out his chest like some kind of animal challenging another for dominance of the household.

Kimi rolled her eyes witnessing the ridiculous display as the younger Kurosaki repeated the stance and dared to act if he would take the first blow. She would have to admit she sometimes questioned who was in charge here. This family needed a grown woman around to help even out the excessive bullshit happening on a daily basis between the two men and to help protect the two young girls. She had seen these two fight every morning for months, and she did not feel like hearing or seeing it tonight. She moved between the two men, poking the younger one in the chest as if to deflate him.

"Look here you, that's your father standing there and not some stranger," Kimi snarled baring her teeth. Her finger continued stabbing his muscular chest despite the murderous glare from his brown eyes beating down on her. The young man was nearly a foot taller than her, but she didn't care. She had three older brothers and could whip their ass any day. It didn't matter to her that she was barely over five feet tall and probably twice his age – she was not afraid of a rude, grumpy little bastard who always disrespected his father.

"Would you please stop touching me?" he demanded, grabbing her hand. Her poking actually hurt, and he wanted her to stop. He rubbed his sore chest hoping there would not be a bruise.

"I'll go if he wants me to but not because you do. You're not the head of the household here. Your father has worked hard to take care of you and how do you repay him? You don't even give him the simplest displays of respect," she admonished him. At this point, she was really getting wound up. Her expression darkened, and she was hatefully glaring back at him now. "I'm tired of having to treat a new wound on your father every damn day. It's time for this silly crap to stop. You're his son, not an enemy. If you two want to fight like that, get in the backyard and do it right. Don't pull sneak attacks or instigate a fight," she snapped, directing the last statement at her boss. After witnessing the beginning to several altercations, she realized the father was the one who always started it. She also knew first hand how irritating Dr. Kurosaki could be and knew that most of the time his son was striking back out of self-defense. Sometimes Ichigo purposely inflicted the most damage possible. She hated to admit it, but a few of those instances made her want to yell thank you to the young man.

Ichigo yelled out in astonishment and pain when he unexpectedly found himself on his back looking at the ceiling. 'What just happened? How in the hell did she take me down to the floor?' he speculated while he scowled deeply at the dark haired, hazel eyed dynamo who had slammed his ass to the floor. He hated her. This woman had already become an intruder into his father's life now she was becoming one in his. If she had any idea in her head about becoming his new stepmother, she could forget it. He wanted her gone permanently. Since she would not leave at this very moment, he stood up and walked away.

"Where are you going?" his father demanded.

"I'm going to my room!" Ichigo yelled back over his shoulder. He slammed the door as if to make his point.

"That boy," Dr. Kurosaki grumbled, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry. I suppose I should leave. I've ruined dinner for everyone," Kimi said, moving toward the door.

"No! Miss Kimi, please stay," Yuzu requested. "Don't mind my brother. He's always grumpy like that."

"All right. If you really think it won't cause any more trouble," she acquiesced, taking Yuzu's hand when she offered it. What a sweet girl.

Karin was more reserved emotionally yet outspoken like her brother. However, she did not seem to have an issue with Kimi's presence like Ichigo did.

Kimi decided to enjoy her dinner with the family and get to know them a little bit more. She did not know she was taking Yuzu's place working in the clinic. She felt like fussing at the man for making his daughter work in the clinic since she was very young and sensitive, but she held her tongue because it was not her place. Karin loved sports, playing soccer mostly. Ichigo stayed busy doing…something.

"Dad, should I take Ichigo something to eat?" Yuzu inquired while they were cleaning the kitchen.

"Sure. Why not? I can't let the boy starve," her father offhandedly remarked.

"Well, I suppose I should leave. It's late and we both have a long day tomorrow. You're booked for the whole day," Kimi informed the doctor.

"I do believe I'm getting more patients in the office since you've come to work for me," he said, holding her arm with the lightest pressure as he led her to the door.

"Thank you, Yuzu for the lovely dinner. It was so nice meeting both of you girls," she told them while putting her shoes on.

"When can you come back?" Karin inquired.

Apparently that surprised her father as much as it did Kimi. She would gladly come back anytime because these two young girls needed a woman's influence in their lives. They had been stuck in the godforsaken testosterone zone by themselves for far too long.

"I have a game tomorrow night. Can you come? And make sure Dad gets there on time?" she asked, glaring at her father whose tanned cheeks swiftly filled with a pink coloring.

"Sure. I'd be happy to," Kimi answered with a smile that the dark headed girl easily returned.

"I'll cook dinner," Yuzu offered sounding thrilled over the prospect of having Kimi there again.

"Sounds good to me. Hopefully your brother can adjust to the idea," their father returned, opening the door for her.

Kimi did not expect him to walk her all the end of the sidewalk in front of their house. She was glad it was dark so he could not see the blush she knew was there due to her overly warm face. It felt like the end to a date.

"Well, thank you, Dr. –"

"Isshin. Call me, Isshin please," he requested, giving her a somewhat shy smile.

"Isshin," she repeated, feeling the warmth spread to her whole body. This was feeling more like a date all the time.

"Good night. Be careful walking home," he told her, reaching out to touch her cheek.

Kimi resisted the impulse to gasp from the unexpected touch but did back up a step to distance herself from him. Her pulse beat in her ears so loudly she could hear her own heart beating.

"Thank you for the lovely evening. I will see you in the morning," she said in breathy voice since it was hard for her to breathe suddenly. Bowing slightly, she smiled nervously and turned to walk away.

Kimi twisted a curl around her finger as she walked home. It had been so nice to have dinner with her boss's family tonight. It was so much better than being alone. She would have to watch her emotions around the handsome doctor. That son of his had already made it apparent that she was not welcome for any reason, not even a simple meal. Pure hell would ensue if she dared to think of having a relationship with her boss. What was she thinking? The prospect was pure insanity and should not even be considered. After the short walk home, she quickly dressed for bed. Falling asleep swiftly, her dreams were taken over by a certain ruggedly handsome, dark haired doctor.