Title: "Tomorrow"
By: lucydod
Series: Peacemaker Kurogane
Rating: T, Pretty mild to begin with, but maybe later chapters...? Just playing it safe!
Disclaimer: I do not own Peacemaker or any of it's characters. This is purely a work of fiction. Please forgive the AU aspect, but I just couldn't resist!!
Chapter One
The door banged open, making the bells adorning it's handle jingle wildly, almost as if they too sensed the urgency of the young man's predicament. "Somebody!" the young man gasped, trying to catch his breath and holding his burden tenderly to his chest. "Please help me!"
Toshizou Hijikata stopped what he was doing, and focused solely upon the distraught young man before him. He was young, perhaps only about eighteen, with long black locks and deep purple eyes which at the moment were filled with such worry that he couldn't help but step forward. "What is it?" he demanded of the boy, the hamster on the table behind him forgotten as he looked to his newest patient.
"It's Saizo!" the boy cried frantically as he cradled his sick piglet protectively. "He's not feeling good and I don't know what to do!" the boy cried, eyes glazing with helpless tears.
"Calm down." Hijikata soothed the boy as he steered him toward the medical table, careful to relocate the tiny hamster to safer location before indicating that he should put the piglet down. "Let me take a look at him. It's probably nothing," he assured him, eyes taking in his patient.
The cute little piglet wheezed an angry snort as it eyed him back, not sure if it should trust this stranger or not, though he was comforted by his master who hovered nervously nearby.
"He seems feisty enough." Hijikata commented as he shone a small penlight into the piglet's mouth, almost receiving a nip in return. "Tell me more about what happened..." he urged, checking the animal's other vitals. "Any symptoms besides the wheezing?"
The boy shook his head sadly. "No. It's just, this morning, he didn't jump into bed with me to beg for breakfast and when I did try to feed him, he wouldn't eat. He just laid there..." the boy hiccuped a sob as he swiped at his tears. He was one of those rare people that cold cry and remain pretty at the same time, which was quite a feat considering the buckets of tears the boy was currently shedding for his sickly pet.
"I see...no appetite, huh..." Hijikata mused, deftly poking the piglet's side to see if he could feel anything foreign in his abdomen. "I don't feel any–," Hijikata began but was cut off as the piglet suddenly coughed, dislodging the source of his problem.
They both stared dumbly at the cartoon band-aid that now adorned the table as the piglet stood with an indignant snort and tromped a dainty hoof on the offensive object. "Ah!" the boy cried, pulling up his sleeve and searching his pale limb for something. "Oops..." he said sheepishly, blushing cutely as he tilted his head and offered Hijikata a relieved smile. "I was wondering where that went."
The piglet snorted again, demanding that his master pay attention to him. "Oh, Saizo!" the boy cried, grasping the indignant little creature and giving him a big hug. "I'm sorry! I promise as soon as we get home I'll throw all of those things out of the first aid kit!"
"Um...isn't that a little bit extreme?" Hijikata asked, eying the boy skeptically. He seemed a bit scatter-brained and his lanky form did little to build one's confidence in his ability to function without obtaining some sort of injury.
"No! It's my fault that he got sick and I promised!" the boy declared. Then, his big eyes widened and he bowed deeply. "Thank you so much, doctor."
Hijikata was a bit taken aback by the boy's actions. After all, he really hadn't done anything. "Yeah, well, I didn't do much, so..." he admitted modestly. "And my name isn't doctor, it's Hijikata. I don't think I caught yours..."
The boy gasped and blushed again, bowing in apology. "Souji! I'm Souji Okita." he managed. "And this is Saizo!" he declared as he held the surly piglet at arm's length, right in Hijikata's face.
"Right..." Hijikata sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in irritation. 'Man this kid is tiring.' he thought, meeting the boy's earnest gaze. He couldn't help but smile. "Well, I suppose all's well then?" he inquired.
"Oh right!" Souji agreed as he rummaged in his pockets. "Um...this is all I have right now, but I can come back later with the rest." he said sheepishly as he held out a few crumpled bills.
Hijikata waved him off and said, "No, keep it. Like I said, I really didn't do anything, so there's no need to pay me."
Souji frowned a bit in confusion before shrugging and stuffing the bills back into his pocket. "If you say so, doctor." Then, unable to hold back his relief, he suddenly glomped the bigger man in a hug and said, "Thank you." Before pulling away with a smile. "Now, let's let the doctor do his job and go and get you some food, ne Saizo!" Souji cooed, offering Hijikata a final smile and wave as he slipped out the door.
Hijikata watched as the boy stumbled off the curb, almost landing in a heap before regaining his balance and trotting off, his happy monologue continuing for a moment before the door slid shut with a happy jingle. "Heh." Hijikata laughed as he shook his head, once more focusing in on his work.
(One down! This is my first chaptered (is that even a word?) story, so please forgive me if it takes awhile to update. I just started writing this one today, so we'll see how long before the writer's block kicks in. Wish me luck and please comment!)
Note: I thought an irritable guy like Hijikata patching up a bitty little hamster was funny (which was pretty much the inspiration for this story. Sad but true...).