Disclaimer: I don't own either InuYasha or Black Jack
Doctor Black Jack was currently unawares of a female named after him and had just finished an interesting case in India that was worth far more than the $4 million he had taken the case for. He should have asked for $10 million for all the trouble that case had given him! Spending almost 3 months in the humid jungle, in the middle of monsoon season, and having to deal with an extremely contagious and mutated infectious disease was not worth a measly four million… But the past was the past, and he would just have to accept it. He could always charge his next patient more.
Relieved to be finally heading home Black Jack hailed a cab outside of the crowded airport.
Sure enough a taxi cab hurried over to him, the driver eager for business as he placed the doctor's luggage in the trunk while Black Jack took a seat in the back. Doing his best to ignore the nearly nauseating scent of some unnamable, unpleasant car air freshener the doctor set his sharp gaze out the window. Or at least he tried to before his driver decided to strike up a conversation with him.
"Oi, I couldn' help but notice yer scars…" the man began, causing Black Jack to shift his glare towards the back of the cab driver's seat. He didn't like it when people were rude about his less than desirable appearance.
The man was unable to see the glare directed at him so he continued, "An' yer all dressed in black in spite o' this doggone heat… You that Doc' Black Jack?"
"Is it a problem if I am?" Black Jack asked warily.
"Naw, youse fine by me, Doc. Meh friend who owns a lil' pub- yeh treated 'is lil lass's eye, an fer a few months of free drinks n' grub at tha!" the man exclaimed jovially as he slowed down at a red light. Stepping on the gass as the light shifted to green the cab driver continued his praise for a while before saying something that caught the doctor's attention.
"I didn't catch that, could you say it again?"
The man gave a hearty grunt before obliging the doctor, "Haven't ya heard Black Jack? Doctor Red Queen is goin' ta give youse a run for your money!"
"Red Queen?" Black Jack asked. That was a name he'd certainly never heard before.
"Aye sir, they be sayin' round these parts that a woman who per'forms medical miracles. They say she was once a shrine maiden 'afor Kami-sama commanded the lass to become a doctor. O'corse tha's what I heard."
"So she uses religion to influence her patients?" Black Jack asked, immediately recalling some rather unpleasant run-ins with 'religious healers' he had encountered in the past.
"Naw, naw. Tha lass don' mention religion she just wears the garb that be proper for a shrine maiden. Got a red haori tha' she wears like a cape, too. I suppose that be account'in the 'Red' of 'er name." The cab driver seemed to be pleased he could tell the doctor something useful.
Black Jack was perplexed; he had chalked up the 'Red' to be symbolic for blood, meaning she had no reservations for cutting up patients like the woman who had been dubbed 'Black Queen' for her icy demeanor and willingness to amputate limbs.
"Then why is she named after me?"
"I don' wan imply nothin' but I hear she 'fuses ta treat adults! Heard she rejected an offer 'spite being offered 5 million yen! Just turned up 'er nose an' walked away! 5 million! But they be sain' on da same day the lass saves some street waif's dog fer nuthin'! Gives a whole new mean'in ta the fickleness of women, don' it Doc?" The cab driver gwauffed at his own joke.
"'parently Red Queen likes animals over people…." the man muttered lowly.
"Just be mindin' this only wha' I heard bout Red Queen. Don' know if it be true or not. Ya be better off askin' some doctors, Doc." The man stated as he slowed the cab down as he arrived at his customer's destination.
~!~
Black Jack was not terribly worried about another female surgeon named after him. After all Black Queen was named after him, and she was hardly a household name. Only medical personnel and locals of her hometown called her Black Queen. He was sure this 'Red Queen' would be the same. Still it never hurt to know the competition, did it?
However it was several months later that the genius surgeon began to look into Red Queen. It would seem she had taken a few clients from him. He had only stumbled upon one of her patients by coincidence. It had been a young boy who had been admitted to a local hospital for an infected carbuncle on the four-year-old's right forearm. It seemed the head surgeon had known the boy had been treated by Red Queen and was afraid there was some sort of post-operational complication that would surely be beyond his ability to treat. The Surgeon was also concerned that his hospital would loose its good reputation by having allowed an unlicensed surgeon to operate. It went against that logic to hire another unlicensed surgeon in Black Jack's opinion but he remained quiet.
The young patient had made it crystal clear to Black Jack that he had been treated by the enigma Red Queen. The boy had thrown a full-scale temper tantrum demanding the mysterious doctor.
Black Jack had many patients do unusual things before, but being bitten and struck furiously on his head with a stuffed lion was a first. The only reason Black Jack hadn't quit the job was because it wouldn't sit right with him to let a patient possibly loose a limb or die because of an incompetent unlicensed doctor.
Reading through the child's medical history the Dark Doctor was extremely skeptical. The child had been an unfortunate victim of a freak construction accident. The medical report stated the boy had sustained a few broken bones. But the worst of the toddler's injuries was that his right arm had been crushed and ripped off from the elbow down.
(flashback to the actual event)
Kagome was having a very good day so far, having treated one of her preferred type: a youkai! It was a 4 person family blending in quite inconspicuously with humans. She had been very excited; it was the first time she had been called on by a modern demon family. Normally her patients lived in the very remote youkai settlements still living in the dark ages or the rather intimidating youkai who had changed with the times and ended up as insanely rich entrepreneurs and leaders in businesses. Basically the crème' de la crème, that all seemed to be very skilled in making her feel as though she was very much out of place.
So finding a youkai family that was disguised, as an average middle-class family was an extremely exciting prospect. The family was shark youkai, which as Kagome mulled it over in her head made sense seeing as this was a seaside town.
She hummed a little tune to herself, pleased with her work. The oldest child in the family had acute appendicitis and would have died had she not been in the area. Shark youkai anatomy was an extremely complex mix between the animal shark and human anatomy.
"Plus they're sure to tell other hidden 'modern' youkai about me meaning more clients!" Kagome smiled to herself as she randomly twirled in a circle, causing many passerby's to stare at the odd woman.
Deciding to grab a bite to eat she found a cute local café. Eyeing the menu Kagome half listened to the waitress as she prattled on about the soup of the day, and specials. But the former time traveler had already found exactly what she wanted. Nothing would keep her from getting that turkey sandwich! Plus she was backed up by a rather… let's say beefy man sitting in a booth a few tables down. If fat people like it, you can't go wrong!
Leaning back in her seat Kagome watched as people walked by the window she was sitting at. Unfortunately for her, this was a very small town that didn't get many visitors. Her waitress promptly came and sat down directly across from her.
'Oh, yeah. Hi there it's not like you're a total stranger. Maybe if I stare at her, she'll go away… this isn't working… sigh..'
"Uh… Can I help you Miss…. Toko?" Kagome asked as she squinted to read the name from the nametag.
"I've never seen you 'round here." The waitress drawled.
"Oh, I'm just passing through." Kagome stated shortly.
"You a travelin' priestess or somethin'?" It seemed the waitress didn't get the hint.
"Uh… No, I'm a Doctor."
"Oh" The teenaged girl paused, "Are you gonna go work at the regional hospital on the edge of town? It's really new; they built it two years ago. Guess the city folk didn't like getting' injured fishermen."
"… That's nice…" Kagome was ready to strangle the girl.
The miko was saved as a gruff voice called from the kitchen for the girl to pick up her sandwich.
Kagome was sure that the girl would leave her alone now that she had her food. But instead the girl sat right back down watching the doctor eat. Halfway through her hard-earned sandwich, Kagome couldn't take it anymore. Her blue eyes scanned around to find anything to distract the girl. 'Dang it! There's no empty glasses at any of the other tables…Ah! Outside. Gotta find something outside!'
Taking a sip of her water to wash down her food Kagome feigned interest in the construction site across the road. "What's that? It looks impressive for only being half-done."
Her plan had worked and the girl began to proudly explain what the new building was going to be allowing the miko to finish the rest of her turkey sandwich making sounds every now and then, pretending she was listening.
Only a bite away from finishing her food, Kagome nearly fell out of the booth. The annoying waitress was screeching bloody murder as the vibrations of something large and heavy falling to the ground.
Taking a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart, Kagome stood up feeling dread sink to the bottom of her stomach. She should have known that her perfect day was to good to be true!
Kagome was forced to slap the waitress from her hysterical screams. "Hey! Pull yourself together!" Taking charge of the panicking restaurant Kagome barked out orders, "Ok! Does anyone here have a cell phone?" After hearing a positive reply Kagome continued to speak calmly, "Good! Call 911! Tell them they are going to need ambulances down here now! Are there any Doctors or nurses here?"
After no reply Kagome sighed and here she had hoped she wouldn't have to get involved. She had been trying to lay low on the human scene, as she had her pediatric license revoked a few months ago. She had done nothing wrong, she had saved the patients life!
Unfortunately her annoying waitress had regained enough sense to remember that she was a doctor. "You said you were a doctor, Doctor!"
Guess she had no choice, time to become their miko in shining er… red armor! Besides the people trapped under the rubble were innocent victims!
Grabbing Inuyasha's fire rat cloak she donned the garment and made her way out of the café.
Spreading her miko ki, she felt out the auras in the rubble. There were nine, however one was already dead. Most likely killed on impact.
Kagome had pulled out two victims from the rubble with the help of some local men by the time the ambulance and fire fighters arrived.
That was her cue to slink away. As she made her way to watch from a distance something caught the doctors eye. Sticking out from the rubble was a tiny tire.
'Tricycle. How sad.' Kagome thought to herself. "There's nothing I can do…If I try to move any of the rubble you'll be crushed. Best to leave it to the fire fighters. If you make it out alive, I'll try to be the one to fix you up. Sorry I can't do more." Kagome spoke out loud, hoping the child would hear her.
Even 500 years ago in the feudal era Kagome had hated to see children die.
Kagome watched from a distance that allowed her to see the action without drawing attention to herself. Quite a feat, considering she was dressed mostly in a bright red. It was 15 minutes before they found the child. The commotion the fire fighters were making indicated to Red Queen the child was still alive. Her blue eyes immediately searched for damage.
The boy was unconscious, from either shock or blood loss. She was leaning more towards the blood loss, considering the child's arm was missing from the elbow down.
"They're not even looking for the missing limb…Well I'd better hurry, I need to get to the hospital before he gets taken into OR…" Kagome muttered to herself as she made her way to the ruble. She wasn't really fazed by the sight of destruction, she had seen far worse.
After a few minuets of searching she found the crushed limb. "Well I've got my work cut out for me. Now to hitch a ride to the hospital."
Kagome Higurashi had learned from the best at conning people, Miroku, she hated lying to people so she had to make it look good… Seeing a sharp edge on a piece of nearby rubble she made a scratch on the back of her forearm just enough to make it look bad.
Stumbling over to a paramedic Kagome feigned an excellent faint, prompting the paramedic to load her into the back of the ambulance. Halfway through the ride Kagome channeled her miko ki to the scratch, healing it up.
Feeling the vehicle slow down Kagome sat up. "Thanks for the ride! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a patient waiting!" she said in a chipper voice that threw the paramedics off guard, giving the doctor a chance to escape.
"Wait, Ma'am! You're not well! You're suffering from blood loss and shock!"
Making her way to the reception desk she inquired about the young boy. She claimed she was there to pray over the child. Wearing priestess robes had their advantage from time to time.
"STOP!" Kagome yelled as she sprinted down the corridor to where her new patient was about to be admitted into the OR. Standing directly at the foot of the gurney Kagome caught her breath.
"I'm glad I caught you in time! Here you forgot this, I thought you might need it." Kagome said as she pulled out a bundled item from her robes holding the bundle to the surgeon. The surgical team gasped at the uncovered limb, appalled at the fact this strange woman would have the gall to bring such a gruesome thing!
"If you hurry, you can still save his arm." Kagome informed the surgeon.
"Miss, if you don't get out of the way I'll have you arrested!"
Giving a small serine smile Kagome ignored the surgeon as she looked to whom she inferred were the boy's parents. All she needed was their permission.
"Are you the patient's parents?"
"Can my Baby's arm really be saved?" The mother was clearly in shock as her voice trembled heavily as she stared at the amputated limb.
"It would be difficult, considering how long the arm has been detached, there's a chance that he might never regain use of his arm. And it increases every minute it is detached." Kagome explained in a calm voice.
A surgical nurse decided to put in her two cents, "The only person who could possibly do it is that unlicensed doctor, Black Jack! He could never get here in time!"
Kagome turned her head to the side, "There's that name again. I wonder why every where I go he is mentioned?" giving a shrug she continued pleasantly, "but that's not important right now. My name is Dr. Kagome Higurashi, I'm a pediatric surgeon and I would like to help. I can save your son's arm; I just need your permission. But if you'd rather not, I understand. If you don't choose in the next two minutes I will take your silence as a no, and I will get out of the way."
A crowd of doctors and nurses had gathered from the sound of the commotion. "Hey, what's going on?" "Some crazy woman is blocking the way. See over there- the one in red." "Who is she?" "Someone should call security or that child's going to die!" "She says she's a surgeon…" "She said something about Black Jack, does she know him?"
An orderly who had recently moved from the busy city of Tokyo longing for a simpler life stood in the growing crowd of onlookers. Something was nagging him about this. A female surgeon in red robes… Why was it so familiar?
As if a cartoon light bulb had appeared above his head the answer came to him, "RED QUEEN! That's who she is!" as he made his way through the crowd to get a better view of the living legend.
"Red Queen? Who's that?" "You've never heard of her? She's famous! She's the one that they call the living reincarnation of Black Jack! She's performed surgeries that were deemed impossible! " the orderly all but shouted.
"Well that's one I've never heard before… Well I guess it's better than that one about me being Black Jack's wife. It would be quite hard to be the wife of a man I've never met, wouldn't it?" Kagome replied good-naturedly causing the orderly to blush.
The boy's mother fretted anxiously before calling out to Kagome, "Wait! Doctor… Red Queen! Save my baby's arm- I beg you! We'll pay whatever you ask!"
"I'll do my best." Kagome stated as she began pulling the gurney through the OR doors.
A few months later the bandages were removed revealing a perfectly reattached arm much to the delight of the boy's parents. They would forever be grateful to the mysterious Dr Red Queen who had disappeared right after the surgery, never once mentioning any cost for her services.
~! Present day
Black Jack scrutinized the boy's arm under the magnifying power of his loupe. This was… unexpectedly good he had to admit as he followed the nearly non-existent surgical scar. There were no signs of keloids, infection, necrosis, or nerve damage. It would seem that Dr. Red Queen was not the amateur he had believed her to be, no, this was the work of an accomplished surgeon.
Taking off his gloves and loupe, Black Jack wrote up his diagnosis for the boy: acute cellulitis from gram negative staphylococcus aureus unrelated to the boy's surgery. Writing up a prescription for an antibiotic Black Jack took his leave of that hospital.
This Dr. Red Queen certainly had his attention now he admitted as he looked up to the bleak winter sky.
Another chapter done, it's still lacking something in my opinion… Please review if you have any constructive criticism to help me improve my writing!