Author's Note: As I said before, this will be loosely based on Grey's Anatomy. Though I assure you all that it won't just be a retelling of the series with the names replaced with the characters from Rurouni Kenshin. I'm a bit nervous about this since it's my first time to attempt writing something light. So… yeah. Anyway, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, or any of its characters. All information regarding the institutions that will be mentioned in this story are fictional. This is being written purely for entertainment.
Relevance
Chapter 1
Kenshin
"Hey."
Someone was poking him.
"Hey. You have to get up."
Apparently, that someone also felt the need to whisper the same things again and again in an effort to draw him out of his peaceful and comfortable slumber.
He was about to ignore the other person's efforts so he could slip back into dreamland, but the sheet he was laying on was so roughly pulled out from under him that he ended up crashing down onto the floor. He opened his eyes tiredly to look up at the person responsible for his rude awakening, fully intent on glaring the other person to death. When he looked up, however, he was blown away by the beauty that was before him—dressed in nothing but a thin white sheet, nonetheless; the same sheet that he was covering his very naked body not a minute ago.
"I tried to warn you," his angel chuckled. "You're a hard person to wake, did you know that?"
The woman before him was smiling down at him with such an amused look on her face that he felt he should be offended... but he wasn't. He was too busy admiring the girl's bright blue eyes that were filled with so much mirth he couldn't help the grin that grew on his face in answer to the warmth he was receiving from her. She had a few freckles around her cute button nose, and the line from her nose down to her lips was so defined he could swear they were molded into perfection by the gods themselves.
Her raven black hair was in disarray—evidence of the interesting night the two of them must've shared, and he was so annoyed with himself for not being able to remember all the details from their tumble. That was definitely the last time that he was letting Sano trick him into taking that much alcohol before making him talk to the beautiful girl at the end of the bar; not that he wasn't thankful for the latter part of the challenge—especially since that's what got him here in the first place.
Speaking of... where was he anyway?
Kenshin smiled up at the woman in front of him in embarrassment—which was only made worse when she threw a pillow at him so he could cover his family jewels. "Yeah, I... uh... had a rough night", he muttered shyly.
"I could tell," she replied.
He saw her raise her brows in surprise when she noticed that he did nothing but stare up at her instead of rushing around the room to try to clothe himself.
"Anyway," she said after a while, "I have to go take a shower now. I'm late for this thing I need to do and... when I come back out here, you shouldn't be here anymore, okay?" she explained charmingly.
God, she's beautiful.
He chuckled as he stood up, taking extra care to ensure that the throw pillow he was given would cover what it needed to cover since he was still very naked and he was nowhere near close to finding where any of his clothes are. "Hospitality must be one of your strong points, Miss...?"
"Kaoru," she replied, giggling silently as she reached out to shake his already outstretched hand. "Kaoru Kamiya."
"Kenshin Himura. It's very nice to meet you, Miss Kaoru."
"Just Kaoru, please. I think what happened last night merits the loss of formality between us." She gave him one last amused glance before looking past him to check the time on the clock hanging high up on the wall behind him. The clock read nine-fifteen, and he watched her amusement slowly fade into panic. "I'm really late now, so I have to go. It's my first day at my new job, and I don't want to make a bad first impression."
"Oh yeah? I doubt you could ever make a bad first impression", he replied charmingly as he bent down to grab his boxers that were conveniently laying right by his angel's feet. "Where do you work, anyway? What do you do?"
He watched her look around in an effort to help him find his elusive clothes. A few seconds later, she bent down when she found the sweater he had the night before and threw it at him gently.
He caught the article of clothing and hastily put it on. "We don't have to do this," he heard her chuckle softly as he pulled his hair out of his sweater.
"Do what?"
"This", she stated plainly. He guessed that she must've seen the confused look on his face, so she explained further. "Polite conversation—asking shallow questions in an effort to try to get to know each other in the rushed hours of the awkward morning after. We don't have to do it."
"But I want to do it," he replied simply. "Actually, I want to get you back into that bed to remind you of how well we actually know each other already, but I can settle for a nice cup of coffee before we part ways... for today."
She laughed. "Okay, crazy man. Whatever you say. I'm still late, though. So I'm going to go take that shower now. It was very nice to meet you, Mr. Himura."
"Kenshin", he corrected, his smile growing even wider as he did so. "If I get to call you Kaoru, then you get to call me Kenshin."
"Alright then. Kenshin." she grinned. Kaoru grabbed the sheets from around her and turned to run into her bathroom to take a rushed shower. "It was nice meeting you! Have a nice life!"
The redhead laughed and bent down again to try to find his pants. It was an interesting morning, and he had a feeling that life was going to get so much better for him from this day on.
It took him an hour to get out of the strange house. He found his pants laying rumpled on the floor just outside of Kaoru's bedroom door, and since his beautiful host wanted him out of the house as soon as possible, he didn't bother going back inside the room to try to tidy up a little.
It wasn't as though his effort would've ended up anywhere though, he mused. The entire house—or at least what he's seen of it—was a mess. There were unpacked boxes everywhere, and clothes were strewn out all over the place as though the woman literally just dragged her things into the house and changed out of her clothes to go straight to the bar where he met her the night before. It made him wonder about where this girl was from, since it was obvious that she just moved in. He actually had a lot of questions for her, but he didn't want to intrude into her morning any more than he has already. She did say that she was late for something, and he doubted that pestering her for details about herself would've been a good idea since she was clearly in a hurry. He didn't want to give her any reason to look at him with anything else but that smile she graced him with earlier, and somehow, he knew that sticking around would've had her feeling immensely annoyed with his presence—no matter how charming he could make himself appear to be.
Still, the redhead wanted to do something nice for the woman, so he tried going into her kitchen so he could at least get a cup of hot coffee ready for them. Much to his dismay, though, the kitchen's state wasn't any better than the rest of her house. Everything was still in boxes, and it would've taken him more time than he had to find her coffee maker and a couple of mugs. It frustrated him to know that there was absolutely no reason for him to stick around her house to at least get him to stay at least until after she showered. So he resigned himself with just trying to find some time in his busy schedule to drop by her house again for a friendly visit within that week.
As one of Manhattan's best attending cardio surgeons, time was not something that he often had to spare. In the three years that he's been working in NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, there was always one surgery or another that needed his attention—effectively thinning out his social circle to people whom he worked with. Although New York is known as one of the best cities in the world in terms of giving its occupants a fantastic night life, the only places he ever enjoyed visiting were those that were within a fifty-mile radius of his house and the hospital. So he didn't really have a lot of chances to meet exciting new people—much less, women.
Not that he minded, though. His friendship with Sanosuke Sagara, the country's top orthopedic surgeon who had the same attending status as he did in NewYork-Pres, provided him with more entertainment than he could ever need. Making sure that his best friend didn't end up passing out in their favorite bar was enough of a hobby for him, so he didn't really find it necessary to try to find other people that he could spend his free nights with. That is, until the night before, when he found another much more appealing way to pass the time.
They were out for their usual post-shift drink when Sano started to complain about the lack of romance in Kenshin's life. Apparently, his single status despite being one of the top surgeons in the country and having a face that was "too pretty to be stuck within the four walls of an operating room" was severely disturbing, and Sano felt that it was his job to correct the unnatural happening.
Kenshin laughed it off and claimed that his relationship with his work was enough for him, and that he didn't need a woman butting into his business and demanding him to spend less time operating and more time trying to make her happy. After all, his last relationship didn't exactly end well, and he absolutely refused to have to live through it again—not that Sano was aware of his romantic adventures prior to his moving to the city the year prior.
Five glasses of scotch later, and Sano's complaining took a turn for the worse when he started bugging Kenshin about at least talking to a possible prospect before they left the bar that night. Normally, the redheaded surgeon would've just shrugged off his demands in favor of going home since it was obvious that they were both feeling a bit braver than usual because of the alcohol they've consumed, but something—or rather, someone, settling down onto the edge of the bar caught his attention. It was perfect, too, because Sano was just telling him that there was no way that he was letting Kenshin stop drinking unless he approached someone in the next ten minutes.
He quickly finished his remaining scotch in one big gulp and gave Sano a quick pat on the back as a goodbye, ignoring his friend's extremely loud and embarrassing whoops of delight, before making his way to the raven-haired beauty that caught his eye.
She was even more beautiful up close. It didn't matter that she was in a plain pair of jeans, a white shirt, and that she wore a ragged-looking baseball cap in the middle of the night. If anything, he liked her outfit even more because it didn't take attention away from the way her skin seemed to glow in the dim lights of the bar.
He walked up to her just as she was ordering her poison for the night—a shot of tequila, so he immediately took the opportunity to swoop down on her.
"That goes onto my tab, Tae." He said to the petite bartender who was conversing with the woman in the baseball cap. "And I'd like a scotch for me, if you don't mind. Neat."
The bartender's eyes grew wide in surprise at the interruption, but quickly regained its warmth when she saw who interrupted her conversation with her new customer.
"I haven't heard of you doing anything like this before, Dr. Himura." Tae observed amusedly as she nodded to him in greeting.
He approached the two ladies and took the empty seat beside the beautiful woman. "Well, it's not every day that you get to see women as gorgeous as your little friend here." He replied charmingly.
Kenshin heard an ungraceful scoff come from beside him, and he turned to look at its source, barely hearing the brief "good luck" that Tae threw at him before moving away to fix the female stranger's drink.
"You're quite the rude one, aren't you?" he heard her say. He was trying to catch her eye, but she was too busy putting her phone back in her pocket.
"I don't think it's rude to want to welcome a new face into my favorite bar." He explained.
She looked up at him then and he was yet again surprised to see bright blue eyes staring up at him. The brightness from her sapphire orbs were such a huge contrast from her raven hair and pale skin that for a moment, he was completely blown away.
"Do you own this bar?" she asked, her brows rising in genuine curiosity.
He regained his senses then, and he managed to put his smile back in place before replying, "No. I just spend a lot of time here, so I've pretty much seen everyone who comes here at least once."
"Well, I just moved here, so it's my first time here." She gave him a pointed stare before continuing, "You just interrupted me from making my first friend."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"You don't look sorry." She mumbled.
"You're right, I'm not," he chuckled. "I guess this means the spot's still open then? For being your first friend, I mean."
The woman gave him a bemused glance. "For you? I don't think so."
"Why not?"
"Because you're obviously here for something, and I highly doubt that involves us becoming friends."
He pretended to be offended at her insinuation. "That's a bit arrogant, don't you think? I haven't done anything to make you believe that. What if I really just wanted to befriend you?"
She laughed and looked away as she thanked Tae for bringing her the drink she ordered. "Guys with faces like yours don't approach women in bars just to make friends."
"Why?" he asked, his charm creeping back into his voice. "What's my face like?"
"I think we both know I'm not answering that question." She replied with a grin.
They fell into a comfortable silence then, with Kenshin sneaking side-glances at the woman beside him, watching her silently enjoying the ambiance that was surrounding them as she drank her tequila in one big gulp. She gestured for another one before turning towards the redhead beside her to give him a meaningful glare, daring him to tell the bartender that he'll be paying for her drink again. He chuckled and raised his palms in surrender, and he watched her smile before looking way from him to thank Tae for bringing her drink quickly.
"Cheers." She said, raising her shot glass at Kenshin. As soon as he raised his glass in return, watching her gulp down her drink as he took a sip of his scotch. She gestured for another shot and his brows shot up in amusement.
He grinned. "Is my presence that horrible for you to want to get hammered tonight?"
"My world doesn't revolve around you, stranger." She mumbled, silently thanking Tae once more after the bartender slid yet another shot glass filled with tequila down to her.
"Oh? Why all the drinks, then? Trying to get over someone?"
"More like trying to get over a stressful day." She replied, sighing as she did so before pushing her head back as she drank and reveling in the burning sensation she got after swallowing the liquid. "Moving is shit."
He nodded. "Yeah, I know how you feel. I went through the same thing when I moved here a year ago." His grin went back into place. "Lucky for you, I'd be happy to help you get acquainted with the city… I can even help you unpack, if you'd like."
She scoffed again. "No thanks. I don't allow strangers into my house. And I most certainly don't enjoy spending the day with someone I met in a bar. That's how girls end up dead, you know."
He was about to reply with a witty remark when a loud crash made the two turn around in surprise. The redhead groaned upon seeing what caused the commotion—or rather, who was in the middle of the said commotion.
"Your friend?" Kaoru asked, mirth swallowing her bright sapphire eyes.
"Unfortunately." He murmured. He watched as Sano tried but failed to get up from his rather disgusting position on the floor, his legs sprawled out in front of him, and a broken glass of what he knew was scotch scattered by his left hand.
"I'm fine!" Sano yelled at the people who were trying to assist him as he shakily pushed himself onto his two feet, shoving off the hands of the tall man who had his arms under the doctor's armpits to help pull him up. "You get your filthy hands off of me, you—you… giant, you."
Kenshin sighed, standing up and gearing himself for the task of driving his friend to his apartment. "I have to go push him off a bridge now." He muttered before looking at his companion with hope in his eyes. "But before I leave, is there any chance I can get your number?"
She shook his head, grinning at his misfortune.
He sighed again, but smiled at her amused face. "It was worth a shot. I'm going now. Bye."
The woman glanced behind her, her eyes lighting up at what was sure to be an interesting scene. "I don't think you have to go anywhere. Your friend's here."
The redheaded surgeon turned pale at what she said, his eyes widening in shock as he turned around to face Sano.
"Ah, Kenshiiiin." His best friend sighed, putting his arm around his best friend's shoulders. "Nice to see ya got yourself a little Missy here!", he gestured towards Kaoru.
The woman turned towards the drunken man in front of her, clearly amused at his slurred language. "Hi.", she greeted.
"Well hello, Missy! Aren't ya the pretty one." Sano replied as he pushed his friend away from him, opting to put his arm around the woman's shoulders instead. "Now, I gotta tell ya. This man here hasn't really… gotten any for the longest time. So I'm gonna trust ya to take really good care of him, eh?"
Kaoru chuckled. "I'm not taking care of anyone tonight. So I suggest you remove your arm… or I'm going to have to remove it for you."
"Woooah!" the tall surgeon exclaimed, immediately taking his arm from around her and taking two steps back and away from her, stumbling onto Kenshin as he did so. "Feisty, eh? No need to get violent now, Missy. But I'm tellin' ya. Yer gonna be missin' out if you don't give my good man a roll in the sack."
Kenshin blushed angrily at his friend's insinuation. "Shut up, Sagara. C'mon," he said as he shoved his friend away from the woman and towards the bar's exit. "The bouncers are on their way over here and I don't want you beating anyone up tonight. Hiko'd kill you if you injure yourself again."
"Dying to get rid of me already?" Sano said, feigning a look of hurt and clutching his chest. "Bros before hoes, man! Always!"
The redhead rolled his eyes before proceeding to give his friend another harsh shove, making the other man stumble onto a table with a few men enjoying their beers. "It was nice to meet you, Miss. Hope you enjoy the city life." He bid at the woman. He turned towards his drunk friend again and kept shoving him until they were out of the bar.
"I can kill you right now, Sanosuke. I swear to God I can kill you right now and make it look like an accident."
He heard Sano mumble something in reply, but he was far too annoyed and tired to bother trying to understand what his companion said.
When they finally reached his car, he gave another frustrated sigh before pressing the button on his keys that would unlock the doors to his vehicle. He grabbed a fistful of his friend's shirt and pushed him roughly inside the backseat of his car, watching him fall against the leather seat.
Kenshin was just about to step into the open door that would grant him access to the driver's seat when he felt three gentle taps on his right shoulder. Upon turning, he was surprised to feel gentle lips fall against his as the woman before him placed two soft hands on both sides of his face.
It only took him a few moments before he closed his eyes to enjoy the attention that this mystery woman was giving him. He snaked his arms around her petite frame, pulling her closer and immediately taking charge of their passionate kiss. When the need for air became too much, the couple pulled away from each other and gently leaned their foreheads against one another's. He was greatly pleased to find a pair of familiar sapphire eyes locked onto his, mirth and a sexy amount of confidence shining in her gaze.
"Get out, Sanosuke." He said loudly, pulling one of his arms away from around the woman to bang at the door to his backseat. "You're taking the cab tonight."
Now, here he was, parking outside of the hospital and trying to shake off thoughts of the mysterious woman that he was with just an hour ago. He was going to have to postpone his daydreams until the end of the day, since he remembered that he had three major surgeries lined up.
He grabbed his briefcase and coat from his passenger seat and opened his car door so he could step out of his vehicle and expose himself to the cold wind that was blowing across the parking lot. Upon entering the hospital, he went straight to the attending's lounge where he placed his things into his locker and grabbing his lab coat so he could put it on.
"Ugggh." He heard someone groan from behind him. He turned around and grinned at seeing his best friend's pale face and generally tired stature. "What the fuck did I do last night?"
"Why do you even bother asking that question every time this happens to you, Sanosuke? You know what you did." Kenshin replied amusedly.
"A bit of sympathy from my friend would be nice—especially if said friend threw me out of his car so he could fuck around with some girl."
The redhead chuckled. "You deserved that. You almost made me lose her 'cause of your drunken antics, you bastard."
"Hey, hey. No need for language. You got her in the end didn't ya?" Sano mumbled.
He hmmed in response, not wanting to share his wonderful night with the disheveled-looking man. The two doctors fell silent as they fixed their respective cups of coffee, wanting to sit down to enjoy them before submerging themselves into the rush of the morning.
"I heard Hiko hired a new resident." The taller doctor muttered before taking a huge gulp of his hot coffee. "Some chick from Boston that's supposed to be brilliant. I heard they call her Lucifer from where she's from."
Kenshin chuckled. "Lucifer?"
"Yeah. Crazy, right? Apparently she's so tough she made all four of her interns cry on their first day. Not to mention she's a robot—and she loves breaking attendings piece by piece in their own O.R.s." Sano shivered. "I hope to God I'll never have to work with her."
"She can't be that bad."
Sano scoffed. "Let's see you work with her, then. I bet those sappy eyes of yours won't have any effect on that woman. She's tough as nails. She might even be on the same level as Chief Hiko."
"Sanosuke, we all know nobody's as tough as the chief of surgery. It's his job to be a rock."
"Whatever, man. Believe what you want to believe. All I know is that I'm gonna be hiding from that chick forever."
Kenshin chuckled again. It was strange for Sano to be this afraid of a resident he's never met. He's heard of nicknames for the really good doctors around the country, but he doesn't think he's ever heard of someone called Lucifer. Surely the people she's worked with before just overreacted—and he's pretty sure the interns that cried just screwed up and got reprimanded for whatever they did wrong. Interns, after all, were known to be clueless during their first year in big hospitals.
A scuffling sound followed by a string of curses made the two surgeons turn towards the door, the two of them wondering at who could possibly sound that harassed at this time of the day. They waited for the door to open, curious as to what was going on.
After a couple of minutes, the door burst open and admitted entrance to a disheveled-looking woman, her shiny black hair loose and wild around her face as she bent to fix her crooked high heel.
"I'm so sorry," they heard her say. "It's my first day and I'm lost. Would you mind telling me where the residents are supposed… to…"
When she looked up at the two surgeons, all three of their mouths fell open in shock at seeing each other.
'Well, this is interesting.'
Author's Note: Well, here it is. This fic is definitely going to be lighter than It Is What It Is, but I hope you will all enjoy it nonetheless. I'm still trying to figure out just what style I should use for this, so please bear with me.
I'm excited to hear what you all think, and as always, I'm very open to suggestions for how this will progress.
Cheers!