The smell of opium is on her. It's deceptively sweet and rich, but underneath, it's sickening, promising of rot. It's crept into her clothes, and she has sworn to burn them once she can afford new ones. It's beneath her fingernails and her hair, a perfume that refuses to wash away.
She promised herself to save lives and pay for making opium. She had resolved to do that, hadn't she? But it's harder than she imagined, since Dr. Gensai's patients are wary of her new face. And she can't approach them; the last time she offered her services, she found herself under Kanryuu's thumb.
Dr. Gensai is tending to a patient on the outskirts of town, and he's entrusted her with overseeing the clinic. She flips idly through his medical texts. They're rather yellowed and old-fashioned, so maybe she could edit-
"Hello? Dr. Gensai?!" The voice is panicked. "It's Itsuki! My wife! She's gone into labor! Are you home?"
She hurries to the front, blinking at the sunset. Itsuki is apparently a man in his thirties, and he's clutching his knees for support. She hopes that he hasn't run too far. "Dr. Gensai isn't here right now, but I'm Takani. I can help your wife."
"Thank you, thank you!"
Itsuki's house is small, and there are three boys waiting at the front steps. They're young, and she inquires. "So this isn't your first child?"
"They're my wife's siblings. The baby will be our first child."
She presses her lips together and clutches the bag she brought with her. First births are rarely easy.
The wife is crying, and there's a girl, perhaps her sister, trying to calm her. Megumi introduces herself with a smile and a saccharine voice, before asking to check her condition.
She's almost fully dilated, so it can't be long now. Megumi had helped her mother deliver babies years ago, but now that knowledge is blazing through her mind. She shouts orders at Itsuki and the boys, for water and clean cloths. She deems the girl her assistant and goes to wash her hands.
Then, she loses track of time, easing the wife through the contractions and monitoring everything she can see. It's a war, but she is winning. "Alright, here it comes. One last push, do you hear me?"
The woman doesn't have the strength to nod, but with a clench of her jaw, the baby slides out.
From then on, it's methodical. The cord is cut, and with a flick of Megumi's wrist, the newborn wails. "Congratulations. It's a girl." She declares. The baby's swaddled and passed to the father, as she handles the post-delivery care.
After she ensures that both mother and child will be fine and promises to return for a follow-up, she leaves. She's exhausted but she's saved them. She has.
Dr. Gensai doesn't return until the next morning, but he's grinning. "More people are asking for you, so I'll have you meet them on your own now. It'll be more work, but I know you can do it."
She will never admit it, but she appreciates his trust in her.
"Then, you had better increase my pay." She says cheekily and enjoys watching him sputter. As she lifts her hand to her mouth and laughs, she thinks that the smell of opium is a little weaker. Just a little.