Feather 1: Silk and Blood

Minato cut through an alleyway, heading for a café he visited often while studying for the entrance exams. Every so often he would pull out his phone, fingers on the dial pad, ready to call, only to chicken out at the last minute. It was during one of these moments that a glimmer of white caught his eye.

Even in dirty alleyway, white was not uncommon as odd bits of paper mingled with the other detritus. However, this white was not dull, or crumpled, or pasted, or any other hue of whiteness that littered the streets. This was a pristine silky white that flowed from a pile of cloth situated between two dumpsters.

As Minato approached the ribbons of white, he noticed a long shapely leg stretch out from underneath one of the silken veils. He cautiously made his way toward the cloth pile, not knowing what to expect. A gorgeous brunette was the last thing he expected to be laying in the middle of the alleyway. Her beauty only captivated him for a few minutes; the crimson essence spreading from her shoulder soon dominated his vision.

Carefully he shook the body in front of him trying to elicit some sort of response. A small painful groan was the only reply the woman was able to give. Minato whispered apologies as he drew back the veils covering her shoulder. He gasped as he saw the deep gash that cut from her collarbone to shoulder blade, deep enough to expose some bone beneath the bloodied flesh.

Something clicked in Minato's brain as he calmly started to take control of the situation. Surprisingly the immediacy of the situation did not trigger the normal panic attacks that usually overwhelmed Minato in high pressure scenarios. First thing first, clean the wound. He grabbed a water bottle from his bag and poured the contents over the wound; eliciting a grimace from the fallen woman. However, the veiled beauty remained unconscious as Minato continued to clean the wound with one of her veils.

She was going to need proper medical attention fast. Minato pulled out his phone and tried calling for an ambulance. Nothing happened. He glanced at the phone and realized he was not getting a signal. Of all the times and places for my phone to conk out, Minato though as he let out a heavy sigh of exasperation.

Remarkably, Minato still kept his wits about him. Using the woman's many veils, Minato created some makeshift bandages and padding. Carefully, he dressed the wound, gently applying pressure to the gash in order to staunch any further blood loss. He wasn't about to leave the body here; so he had to make sure that he would not do any further harm as he transported the body. Utilizing more of the silken veils, Minato bound the wounded limb flush to the woman's torso.

Minato pulled out his phone checking if he was still without service; sure enough the screen displayed a lack of signal bars. There was no choice; it was now his responsibility to ensure that she made it to a medical facility. With all the care in the world, Minato lifted the veiled woman into his arms, bridal style.

Once he was sure he had a stable hold on her, he made his way out of the alley. Exasperated gazes met him as he exited the alleyway and made his way down one of the main thoroughfares. Minato was annoyed as he heard bitter murmuring from other pedestrians. What irked him even more was that no one was bothering to help him; most of them preferring to think that they were just a couple of delinquents who got themselves into too much trouble.

One of the bothersome onlookers was even shouting at him, the bitch. However, as he listened to her loud calls, he realized he barely understood her. His curiosity got the better of him as he turned toward the shouting voice. A middle aged woman dressed in white continued to shout as she ran towards him. Why couldn't he understand her? She wasn't speaking Japanese, at least not any dialect he was familiar with. Minato caught a few words, it was English, she was speaking English. She was a foreigner.

As if making the realization at the same time as Minato, the woman switched to broken Japanese, very broken Japanese. However her stumbled mix of quick phrases and solitary words conveyed a welcome message to Minato's ears. She was offering help. The woman gestured toward a storefront, motioning for Minato to follow him. Having no other option, he pulled his burden close to him and carried her through the doors that the foreign woman held open for him.

Minato found himself in a waiting room of sorts, an empty waiting room at that. It did not bother the young student, he was glad to be away from the prying eyes of presumptuous pedestrians. His friendly guide urged him forward, past the front desk and toward another door. The foreigner opened the door, gesturing him to continue into the next room. Minato expected to be led into some sort of office. The last thing he expected was an examination room.

The woman gestured for Minato to lay the veiled lady on a cushioned table in the middle of the room. Minato carefully placed the woman on the table as the woman exited through another door at the rear of the room. While he waited for the foreigner to return, Minato checked the veiled woman's injured shoulder. Fresh blood already stained the silken bandages that he secured only minutes ago. Instinctively, Minato glanced around the room scanning for medical supplies.

Minato was just about to start rummaging through the cabinets and cupboards when a well-dressed man with dark hair walked through the back door followed by the woman who had led Minato here. The man gave a curt nod as he made his way toward the patient on the examination table. Minato felt a warm hand on his arm as the woman gently pulled him from the room; explaining to him in broken Japanese that Dr. Brackett needed to work, he could wait in the front room.

Plopping down onto a plastic chair, Minato started to tremble as his body started to come down from the adrenaline high he was riding since he found the veiled body in the alley. After several minutes the tremors became manageable enough to hold a magazine, the only available distraction in the waiting room.

With a loud bang, the entrance to the clinic opened followed by a medical team wearing jumpsuits with the letters M.B.I. stamped on their backs. One of the medics was pushing stretcher past Minato and straight into the examination room. As quickly as they came in, the team was on their way out; the veiled body secured on the gurney they carefully pushed through the entry way and into an awaiting ambulance. It was all a blur from start to finish and soon the ambulance was speeding off down the road, hopefully towards a nearby hospital.

Minato just watched this rush of events pass him by, his body frozen not knowing what to do. After the ambulance pulled away, Minato pushed off from the uncomfortable plastic waiting room furniture. With nothing left tying him to the clinic, he made his way toward the front door. His fingers were curling around the door handle when a friendly yet commanding voice beckoned him to stay for a few minutes.

Minato turned around and looked questioningly at the man that he had assumed was a doctor when he first saw him enter the examination room. With no bloodied beautiful veiled patient distracting him; Minato was able to take a closer appraisal of the man in front of him. He wore a white lab coat over a well-tailored suit. His hair was dark with flecks of grey especially around the temples. What piqued Minato's curiosity the most was the fact that like the woman that brought him here, this man was a foreigner, however his command of the Japanese was far better than his companion.

"Hello, my name is Doctor Kenneth Brackett, um er, Brackett Kenneth," the man doing his best to adjust to Japanese customs.

Minato smiled at Dr. Brackett's discomfort. "You're…"

"American," Dr. Brackett replied. "Yes, I am. The doctor that owns this clinic is a close personal friend and professional colleague. He has taken an extended leave in order to work with some doctors from Johns Hopkins University. I was looking for a change of pace, so I offered to watch over his clinic while he took his sabbatical."

"And the woman?"

"Dix? I mean, Dixie, her name is Dixie. She's my nurse and wife."

Minato nodded. "Well, I'd like to thank her for assisting me and that woman, can you express my thanks to her. No offense, but it sounds like she doesn't have the fluency of the language that you do."

Doctor Brackett laughed. "She was never one for languages. I'll let her know. Actually, that's why I wanted to talk to you. Do you have some time?" As a second year unemployed ronin, Minato had loads of free time to wallow in self-pity, so a meeting with the good doctor would be a welcome distraction.

Doctor Brackett led them back through the examination room and into his office in the rear. Minato was quickly reminded of what brought him to this clinic as he saw Dixie cleaning the examination room; picking up ribbons of bloodied silken veils and disinfecting the examination table. Doctor Brackett addressed Dixie, speaking hurriedly in what Minato assumed was English. Dixie nodded politely and soon the two men were seated comfortably in Doctor Brackett's office.

"Where to begin…" Dr. Brackett sighed as he leveled his eyes with Minato's. "That was a very admirable but stupid thing you did..."

"Sahashi, Sahashi Minato. You can just call me Minato, Brackett-sama."

Even though Dr. Brackett was quite familiar with Japanese customs and honorifics, he still shook his head and smiled at the cultural differences. "Minato.. san?"

"Just Minato, I commend you on your familiarity with Japanese language and culture, but please address me in the manner you are most comfortable with. So, my given name without any honorific will be just fine, Brackett-sama."

"Okay, let's not get bogged down with cultural diversity. I wanted to commend you on your act of compassion but you do know that it would have been in everyone's best interest if you just called for an ambulance. You are just lucky that you had plenty of material to bandage her wounds." Dr. Brackett smirked. "But the bit that impressed me most was how well you were able to clean up the wound."

"Thank you, Brackett-sama, I guess she's lucky that I carry around water and hand cleanser. And just for the record," Minato continued calmly, "I tried to call for an ambulance, but I lost my signal in the alley."

"Good thing that you didn't buckle under pressure."

Minato laughed at this.

"What?" Dr. Brackett inquired at Minato's sudden comical outburst.

"Sorry, I'm not usually good in high pressure situations, so I'm as impressed with my performance as you are. As a matter of fact, I just failed the entrance exam for Shinto Taeto University for the second time in a row."

"Well, I'm of the mind that people don't always handle all pressure situations in the same manner. Someone who can fly through a high stakes college board exam might have fainted when faced with the medical emergency you stumbled upon. How did that happen by the way, and where did you get all that silken material."

Minato gave a brief rundown of the events that led him to Dr. Brackett's clinic.

"So she was dressed that way? Rather strange, don't you think?"

"I thought so when I first saw her, but all that was forgotten when I saw her wound."

"You'd make a pretty good paramedic."

Minato laughed. "Well, I was planning on studying medicine, if I could only get into university."

"I heard college entrance exams are pretty tough over here. But, you wouldn't need to be a doctor to become an EMT. Well, at least you don't need to in the states."

"I don't know what the requirements are here; I never actually thought about it."

"Most people don't, especially those who want to work in medicine. They usually think of being a doctor or a nurse. However, paramedics or EMTs are vital positions in the medical field. I work quite closely with the paramedics and EMTs at the hospital I work at in the states. I'm not trying to sway you either way, just giving you ideas for alternatives in the medical field."

"I appreciate it, I'll probably need a job soon. With me failing the exam for the second time, I have a feeling that my mom might cut my allowance and force me to work if I want to stay in the city."

"If you need some work, I can use some help around here. I might be able to help you get a head start on that medical education that you desire. I'm not familiar with all the specifics in this country, but maybe we can get you certified as a CNA, certified nursing assistant, that's what it's called in America. I don't know what it's called here, or even if there is such a program in this country. Until we can get some specifics nailed down, you can at least do some filing and help Dix with her duties."

"I don't know what kind of help that I can be to her, but I can do the filing and other office stuff."

"Well, you can possibly bridge the language gap between Dixie and the patients. She knows a little Japanese, so maybe you can elaborate her broken Japanese for the incoming patients."

"I studied some English in high school, so that might work out. If you're serious about the offer, I'll take it. I could really use some help if I want to continue with cram school, pay for rent, and still have money to feed myself."

"I think I can provide further help in your situation. My colleague has an apartment above this clinic, it came with the property. It needs some cleaning up since it hasn't been used since his daughter moved to the states, but if you're willing you can live there rent free. Consider it part of your salary."

"Then I'll definitely take you up on your offer. My current apartment is rather cramped and the landlord is a real jerk. When can I move in? When can I start? When…"

Dr. Brackett laughed at the youth's enthusiasm. "One thing at a time, why don't you pack your stuff and move in first and we'll get you started in the clinic next week. How does that sound."

"Thank you, Brackett-sama, I'll go home and start packing up my stuff right now." Minato said as he bowed profusely.

"Stop with all the formalities. If we're going to work together, you need to loosen up a bit. I think the honorifics should stand, since it will show our patients respect for me as well as you, but all the bowing and other gestures you can dispense with. You might not be a doctor yet, but that bandage work you did on that woman shows me that you will make a fine physician one day. So we might as well start treating each other as colleagues while you are working for me, okay?"

Minato nods in assent. "Okay, Brackett-sama. Well, I guess I should go back to my apartment and pack. Unless you need me for anything."

"No, Minato, go home and pack." Dr. Bracket pulled open one of his desk drawers and grabbed a set of keys. He tossed them to Minato as he scribbled something on a piece of paper. "Here are the keys to the apartment as well as the clinic, follow me and I'll give you a quick tour of this space as well as show you the two entrances to the apartment. There is a private entrance outside on the side of the building and there is also an entrance here in the office. This slip of paper has all the instructions on how to work the alarm as well as the codes for the alarm box. Come on, I'll explain everything as we walk around the place." Dr. Brackett gestured for Minato to follow him.

oOo

It was a quick and brief tour, but Minato got the general idea of how to work things and get into his new living quarters. It was a nice change from the cramped studio apartment he was living in now. As Minato exited the clinic his phone chimed. He checked the caller I.D. and smirked, it was his mother. He was not so apprehensive about this call as he was earlier today. He flipped open the device and greeted his mother with a genuine smile. "Hello, kaa-chan."

"About time, I was waiting for you to call me with your results. Let me guess, you've been wandering around the city trying to figure out a way to tell me you failed again."

Minato laughed. "Yes and no. I started out trying to explain away my failure but something happened and then my cell service dropped out and…"

"One thing at a time, you failed again!?" Takami almost yelled through the line. "I'm sorry Minato but…"

Minato cut off his mother. "If you are going to tell me that you're decreasing my allowance and that you want me to get a job if I want to stay in Shinto Taeto, than you can save it. I found a job and a new place to stay."

"What?!" Takami exclaimed, surprised in her son's confident attitude.

Minato laughed and started to tell the story of the chain of events that led him to a new job and a new apartment. When he was finished, he was met with a very shocked and stunned Takami. Well that's what he guessed when it took his mother several minutes to compose a suitable response.

"Well, I guess you have everything taken care of. I'll let you go and pack up your stuff. Oh, one more thing, your sister will be in town in a couple of days. Unlike you, Yukari got into Shinto Taeto on her first try."

Minato was surprised that he wasn't as hurt by that last statement as he should have been. Maybe this new job and the confidence that Dr. Brackett had in him was just what Minato needed to face the setbacks of everyday life. "Okay, I should be settled into my new apartment by then and I don't start my new job until next week, so I should have plenty of time to help Yu-chan get settled."

"Yara yara, I expected you to throw a fit when I told you that your baby sister beat you into Shinto Taeto University."

"Whatever mom, I have packing to do." Minato said dismissively, surprising himself further with his new found boldness. He snapped the phone shut to punctuate his response.

Sahashi Tamaki looked at the phone receiver wondering who she was just talking too and what did he do to her son. She shook her head and chuckled softly. So he was the boy who saved number ten. Well, if her son was going to run into a sekirei it might as well be one who has already been winged. She'll be damned if her children were going to be caught up in this stupid plan concocted by that cape wearing dandy. But you cannot temp the fates, this was something that the Sahashi family would learn in coming months.

A/N: I also do not own Dr. Brackett and Dixie, they are the property of Mark VII Productions and the Jack Webb estate. I wanted a foreign doctor and nurse, so I borrowed them from another program, they just seemed to fit well into my story. Kudos to anyone who can figure out where they came from.