Take a Step Back

Chapter 1: Newfound Love

Life was a dreary existence. Dark, gray- everything that life was not intended to be. The rain poured outside, leaving the ruts in the mud filled with murky water. The windshield of the car was hammered on by the large drops, making visibility hard. I gazed out the side window, eying our destination up the road. The dim lights ahead were difficult to see. I could see the large house coming into view as the man next to me drove the ambulance up the drive. It was a wonder we hadn't gotten stuck in one of the potholes as we had done many times earlier.

Both of our dark uniforms were soaked and muddied from our time on the front and our many times getting this old vehicle out of the mud. It always seemed to rain here. My clammy fingers combed my long strands of black hair out of my eyes. I had thoughts of cutting it with the knife I had with me, but then was not the appropriate time for that.

Pulling out in front of the intricately constructed house, we had our doors open before we came to a complete stop. We were both stepping out as two women came out to meet us, umbrellas in hand. Their worried and pale faces glowed in the headlights of the car until my partner shut it off. I looked past them, already making my way towards the building. One of them stumbled to catch up to me.

"Sir, you'll get wet." She put the umbrella over me as we briskly walked on.

"I'm already wet." I walked ahead of her into the house. I stopped once inside, waiting as she closed the umbrella and set it in the tall hall tree. When I turned to look at her for the first time, I could see her brown hair pinned back tightly against her head with loose strands hanging down on each side. Her violet eyes stared at me with concern and I awaited for her to speak. My expectant gaze had her startled.

"My name is Nara Sohma," she introduced herself and bowed. "I'm one of the nurses of this hospital." I only momentarily glanced at her white uniform.

"You're Sohma?" I inquired, an eyebrow raised. It seemed highly coincidental for another of my family to be in this exact spot.

She blinked and stood upright before speaking, "yes. My family is from Japan."

"Hm," I turned and started walking, expecting her to show me the way. Her shoes clicked after me at a steady pace and she slipped in front of me, leading the way through the halls.

"I didn't catch your name, Doctor."

"Tsuru Sohma," I responded with utmost seriousness. She seemed a bit taken off-guard by our coincidental meeting.

"You're from Japan?" I nodded. "Here is your room." I snapped my green eyes to her as she creaked the door open. She allowed me to step inside first before entering herself and fixing the curtains over the window. "I will leave you to get some rest. You will be called down in the morning." She walked over to the door and I went to the bed where clothes were left folded on the neatly made bed.

"Goodnight, Doctor Sohma," she turned to look back at me as she spoke. Her thin hands pulled the door closed behind her.

I changed my clothes and sat down on the mattress. The room was small with very little furniture. A simple bed with a hard mattress and cloth blanket sat on one side of the room. Across from it was a dresser with hand-carved designs on the drawers. The floor was hardwood that creaked in some places, the walls an off white. It had been nothing like the place I had called home. Home...

I laid back on the bed, pulling out a tattered picture of a sweet little girl and boy from home. The girl had long black-brown hair and gray eyes full of life. Her name was Satomi. She had always been the sweetest little thing. Her little brother, Reikoro, had short brown hair and bright orange eyes that had always looked up at his sister with admiration. I looked to this picture with a heavy heart, knowing they were not those same innocent children they used to be. They had grown distant from me, knowing then that I was not their father. I was only a family member put up to the task of caring for the abandoned children. That did not mean I had not cared for them, however.

I laid the old picture under my pillow and laid my head on it. I looked to the cracked ceiling as my thoughts wandered back to the nurse that I had met. She was Sohma. I knew it was very possible that there were Sohmas I did not know. Some even lived far from the Estate. As large as the family was, however, it was still surprising to find one in the war. What had her name been? Nara? I had to admit that she was beautiful, but that was not the time to be thinking of something like that. I had other things to worry about.

My heavy eyelids threatened to close, despite my deep thoughts in my head. It had been a long time since I had gotten a good night's sleep, but that was normal for a full-time doctor. It was even normal back at home. That night was the first night that I could close my eyes without the anxious ideas of being attacked in the night. A long-awaited chance to rest.

Nara's Point of View

I entered my room, unpinning my hair to let it fall onto my shoulders. It had been an exhausting day, and I didn't have the energy in me to keep a conversation going with the newly arrived doctor. I wished I could have, but that would have been out of place. It was none of my business who he was.

But still, I couldn't help but wonder about him as I changed my clothes. He was quite tall and slender, and very intimidating with how serious he was. It was a serious time though, and I knew I could be uptight while on the job. It was all part of our work. We worked all day and rarely slept without thinking of what we had left behind. Well... I didn't have much to leave behind. Since both of my parents had become dangerously ill and passed just weeks after I had left to be a nurse at this hospital. It stung a little, but they weren't very supportive anyways. None of that mattered though, as it was all in the past.

All I needed to do was keep on with my duty there at the hospital and I would make something of myself. Of course, it wouldn't be easy. Especially if I couldn't get along with our new doctor. It seemed like we may disagree on some things, but I had to remember that the doctor was always right. I had to hold my sharp tongue and accept that fact. Or I knew I would regret it. One wrong move and it was all over. I would be ashamed of my failed life for the rest of my lifetime.

I laid my hair pin on my nightstand and sat on my bed. I knew that any remaining family I had would be ashamed of me too if I made a mistake. Such high expectations came at a high price. My parents would not see, but my siblings would. The same siblings that all became successful in all different trades and careers, and I was supposed to follow their example. Those siblings.

Sighing, I laid on my bed and closed my eyes. Such an exhausting day. The next day would be even worse. I just knew it. I would also have to work under Doctor Sohma. Our attitudes were sure to clash, and the other nurses would keep mine in check to be sure. They would be quite nervous knowing the tension between us. The only one to be concerned about was the head nurse. She was the one that had the power to ruin me. I decided that I would have to go day by day, hoping that I was only imagining the worst-case scenario. It couldn't be that bad. I would just have to see how it went.

Tsuru's Point of View

The next morning was a rushed one to say the least. I was in uniform and walking downstairs at a quick, steady pace. I was ready for whatever they had to throw at me, but the scene I found downstairs was a surprise.

"Oh, Dcotor Sohma." The nurses all looked in my direction. Their thin faces each looking at me in a curious way.

"What's the hurry, sir?"

"Is something wrong?"

My breath caught and I thought for a moment. This was a new hospital, and we were the new arrivals. So that meant... There were no patients that needed attention at the moment. I felt like an idiot, but put my hand in my lab coat pocket.

"No new arrivals?" I asked.

"No, sir."

My partner turned the corner and smiled at me, coffee cup in hand. "Hey Sohma," he greeted. His expression turned to a nervous look. "You all right?"

I was surprised how relaxed he was. That he could smile like that at a time like this. It wasn't the appropriate time for that. I realized he expected an answer and replied with newfound composure, "yes. I'm fine."

My partner, Kotaro Koda, took me into a sitting room and handed me a cup of coffee. I sipped at it as he sat down in a chair across from me, resting his feet on the coffee table between us.

"You're pretty popular among the nurses here, Tsuru," he joked.

"I haven't noticed." I glanced away, not interested in this kind of relaxed conversation.

Koda chuckled. "I bet you could have you're choice of any of those nurses."

"Don't be ridiculous," I replied.

"Just please don't take Katai," he set his cup on the table, the smile never leaving his face as he spoke.

"Koda," I scolded.

He froze, his teal eyes looking at me a little surprised. "What?"

"You shouldn't be thinking about finding a date," I sipped at the hot coffee in between talking, "now is not the time."

"You never think it's the right time, Sohma." I ignored that statement. "Tell me when it is right, Tsuru," he pleaded with me. I had to think about that. For me, I supposed it was never.

"You need to lighten up," Koda went on, "if you keep saying now isn't the time, then you will never find happiness."

"Who says I'm looking for it?"

Footsteps nearing us broke my attention from my overly relaxed partner. It was the Sohma girl, her hair pinned back neatly and her hands clasped in front of her.

"Doctor Sohma," she greeted with a nod, then looked to my partner, "Doctor Koda." He hardly deserved that title.

"Hello, Nara." Koda smiled at her. I scowled at how informal he was. I was tempted to scold him for calling her by her first name, but did not. I would have plenty of time to later.

"Good morning, Miss Sohma." I stood.

"It seems we will be working together," she looked up to me with her small violet eyes. Her eyes always looked narrowed, even though she was not angry. Possibly needed some glasses?

I gave a simple reply, "so it seems."

"Our first patients will be arriving," she informed me.

I nodded and gave my first order, "go get the rooms ready." She nodded and walked off quickly to do so. I took in a breath to prepare myself for the confusion that would soon follow. Once the quiet was gone, it was gone for hours straight some days.

Once the front doors opened, the new patients were brought in quickly by the ambulance drivers. Each patient either completely out of it or nearly screaming in pain. I went to the first man, straight away working on his broken leg. The blood was already staining my new lab coat, and it was only the beginning of the day's work.

As I went from one patient to the next, I barked orders at the nurses, including the Sohma girl. I could hear Koda giving similar orders down the hall. Mass chaos took over the entire house as we did our best to save the brave mens' lives, who had been injured in the war. It wasn't until one of our last patients came in that we had real problems.

The man was severely ill, struggling to stay awake. His wound was dangerously infected, making me wonder how he was alive. I ordered the nurses to do their best with the wound, too tired to think of anything else. That was when I got a defiant reply.

"He will die if you let him keep his leg," Nara spoke urgently. I scowled a little, annoyed that she had the nerve to talk back like that.

"Just do what I say," I said irritated.

"Doctor!" She kept arguing with me. We went back and forth on our reasonings, each of us unwilling to budge on our opinion. I was up for a rude awakening however when one of the older nurses nearly screamed. We had lost the patient. And it was my fault for not acting. It was after that, that the house was finally falling quiet, and I placed the blanket over the deceased man.

Downstairs, the chaos resumed as all the nurses spoke of their account of what happened. The head nurse silenced them and pulled Nara aside.

"It's your fault Miss Sohma!" She yelled at the young girl.

Nara closed her eyes, accepting her words. "I'm sorry."

"We lost a patient because of you!" The head nurse raised her hand to deliver a blow, but I stopped her from harming that beautiful face.

"Don't blame Miss Sohma," I said.

"She was wrong to go against your orders."

"She was right," I stated, "and I was a fool for not considering her words." The nurses had been surprised. But at the same time, a mutual feeling was between Nara and myself. I felt it run through me when our eyes met. Her gaze was confused and a little defensive, but she saw something different in me then. I did too.

From then on, things were different. For the first time, I had allowed myself time for something other than work. Nara and I's relationship blossomed from there, and every moment made life worth living. At first, I did not worry about home. Not until weeks became months and it was nearing time that we could return home. My mind was thick with thoughts, and I wondered if it was appropriate to bring Nara back with me. Yes, she was Sohma, but family matters were... Complicated.

I would just have to wait until then.

A/N:

A shout-out to BellatrixBlackLestrangeRiddl e for Satomi!