Hello there...this will me my last update for this story until christmas!

I know...not really productive. (But I don´t care^^)

vocabulary time, yay^^

shihakusho - Shinigami robe

Ano - Like our ehm, err... a filler word

Nene - I dunno, how you would translate it in English; in Germany we say "Na, na"

Hai - Yes/Understand/ etc. pp

shoji walls - paper walls

Jusanbantai - 13th Division

Jusanbantaicho - 13th Division´s Captain

Yunbantai - 4th Division

Gomen nasai - I am sorry

Gomen - sorry

Watashi no namae wa...desu - My name is...

Hajimashite - nice to meet you

Onegai shimasu - Please (polite asking)

Onegai - (begging) please

(domo) arigatou - Thank you


A year after the tuberculosis incident, they came. It was a patrol of this strange people, clad in shihakusho, armed with katanas. I barely knew anything about them. Sure, they called themselves Shinigami and performed kosode on freshly died souls...that was it. And I never really bothered to ask hahaue or anyone other. But now I thought, it would have come in handy.

Most of the people on the streats eyed them angrily, other shouted comments and demands not suited for underaged audiance.

I was on my way back from the chemist and was just aproaching the heavy wood door of the house I shared with hahaue, when they approached me.

„Hey, you!", someone shouted. So I turned around, facing at least ten of them.

„Can I help you?"

„Are you aquintance with a man named Sato?"

„No." The only Sato I knew beside me, was a small boy. He had a slightly worse cold than normal, so his father brought him to me some weeks ago. It wasn´t as bad, as the father had thought. Sato-kun recovered three or four days later. „I never met a man with the name Sato here." Which was very strange, because Sato was one of the most common last name in Japan. Maybe every Sato died without regret and was reincarnated immedately.

The man, who just had spoken to me frowend. Next to him stood a girl – maybe twenty or some years less – who stepped him on his foot. „We are lost! I told you so!" What a fury...

„But the guy told us Sato lives around this corner!", he whined and pushed the angry girl away. „And you were the one, who asked that geezer! It´s your fault!"

I sighed. Great...A grown man and a girl, Shinigami no less, were fighting infront of my surgery. That would chase my patience away.

Ano, could you continue your quarrel somewhere else? You are disturbing my work!"

I pushed the wood door open, without giving the Shinigami a second glance, and took of my getas. They were pretty new. I bought them only two weeks ago, but they already fit perfectly. It would normaly take months until the wood would have taken the form of the feet. So I could call myself lucky with this purchase.

When I put the basket full with the medicine me and the chemist had developed, I could here the Shinigami fighting again. Only because I said that the surgery went well, it I didn´t mean to reduce my patient number.

Sato-sensei?!" The voice of my assistent halled unsure through the shoji walls. She was a nice girl. Gentle and really good with patients – espeacially with children. I met her a year ago on the market. She was helping a boy who had a small cut on his wrist. Skilled, she bandaged it fastly and neat, so I asked her right away, if she needed a job. It transpired that she died only some years ago as a nurse in trainig and lived in a rough and ready room with two other girls. I gave her a job to support her friend and to secure her future. Here in Rukon was it not important if you could lay a catheter or a whole surgery. They needed internist who could treat common diseases, not something like cancer, leukaemia or brain tumors.

„Come in, Kaori-kun, Come in!" I shouted back.

Her head peeked into the room, revealing her troubled face. „There are Shinigami standing infront of the house..." Shyly she plugged one of her black strands behind her ear.

„I know, I know..." I stood up and together we walked back to the entrance.

„-ke-taicho needs a doctor and you can only think of-", the girl shouted. Only now I spotted her blond and short hair.

„Taichos health is the most important thought in my mind! But this Sato-guy doesn´t exist, obviously!"

I already could feel the vein on my forehead pop out like in an anime.

„Sensei...what should we do? Mohami-san wanted to come today..." Mohami Kira. An old and easily scared women with stomach problems. I still can´t say, if it´s a simple carbuncle or a virus. On that with a good earning son. She or bettter her son pays a sixth of my bills.

So for the sake of Kaori´s earning and Mohami-san´s well being, I slipped my getas on and headed over to the shinigamis.

„I am asking you only one time: What is your buisness here?", I barked. I couldn´t stand people always chatting, and chatting like children, while inhabiting an adult´s body. Espeacially, when they aren´t aware of their flaw.

Immedately, the two Shinigami stopped bikkering. Instead they stared at me. First perplexed, then angry. „We are Shinigami of the Jusanbantai!" Proud they layed their fists over their hearts.

„Third seat Kotetsu Kiyone!"

„Third seat Kotsubaki Sentaro!"

Unfortently they shouted it simulatanously, so I needed some time to figure out, who was who.

„That might be good for you, but why do you have to disturb this street without any reason! You are scaring away all the customers."

Offend, the girl – Kotetsu Kiyone, I think – blew up her cheeks. „We have an important mission!"

„We have THE MOST important mission!", howled Kotsubaki in the most childish manner I´ve ever seen.

„I can´t spot the importance in disturbance of peace!" I regreted that mumbled sentence just seconds later. They started with, how I could treat highly ranked officers of the Gotei 13 so rough and that it should be an honor to me that a citizien of our district, was chosen to counsel them. Then suddenly, they were fighting with eachother and completely ignoring me.

I had to sigh, deeply.

„Ano...Gomen-nasai!" A short boy with black hair aproached and bowed to me. „Watashi no namae wa Hanatarou Yamada - 7th seat Yunbantaidesu. Hajimemashite." Finally! Someone with a normal name and normal behaviour. „Kotetsu-san and Kotsubaki-san, only want the best. Gomen-nasai, Gomen-nasai, Gomen-nasai!" With every apology, a new bow.

Hai, arigatou, Yamada-san. Hajimemashite.- But could you explain, what Shinigami are doing here!? It´s the first time I´m seeing your kind since I died."

Hai, Hai!" He bowed again. „We are searching for a doctor. His name ought to be Sato and it´s said he lives in this area!"

Sensei, that´s you!", whispered Kaori in awe. I had to jump a little. She was so quiet, sometimes it seemed to me, she appears out of nowhere.

„Y-You are- Gomen-nasai, Gomen-nasai, Gomen-nasai!" Kaori giggled.

Nene, Yamda-san. You don´t need to apologize." I ignored the still bickering couple and concluded it would be the best, to talk to Yamada only. „How about, I´ll invite you to some tea and we discuss your cause."

Hai! Domo arigatou!" He bowed again.

„Kaori-kun. I think my haha is making tea right now. Could you ask her to share it with us?"

Hai, sensei!", she smiled and turned around.

„Follow me, Yamada-san."

He followed me, until we reached the examination room and I asked him to sit down. He – again – thanked and bowed to me, before he sat down. Shortly after that Kaori came in with the tea plate.

„You too, Kaori-kun. Sit down."

Surprised she looked at me, but did as I told her.

„So...Yamada-san. You said the Shinigami need my advice?!" I sipped on my tea.

„Hai, Sato-sensei. A rumor reached Seiretei, that a doctor – you Sato-sensei – dealed with a epidemic diseas recently and succeded at healing it. The describing, by the inhabitates of Rukon, of the symptons, matched the ones the Jusanbantaicho has since a long time. So the soutaicho and yunbantaicho sent me to request counceling in his case." The jumpy and shy boy had disappeared and was replaced with a firm man.

„Oh...it´s kind of flattering, to hear, that the Seitiri- the Shinigami heard of my surgery, but I´m afraid to tell you, that I wasn´t able to cure the patients."

„Oh...Oh..." And there was the boy again.

Gomen-nasai. I really can´t help you." Yamada looked crushed. Almost absently, he stared at the kotatsu. „B-But, sensei! Didn´t the medicine work first?", said Kaori hopeful. That let Yamada rise his head again.

„Hai...but I´m not sure...And even if it had worked, the man, who Yamada-san refered to, has tuberculosis since a long time. The women from the oiran infected themselve only some months before." I sighed. If only there would be an access to antibiotics. If only, if only...

Suddenly, the shoji door slid open and bursting into the room were Kotetsu and Kotsubaki.

Onegai! Onegai! Help our taicho! Onegai!" Both had tears in their eyes.

It nearly broke my heart, to see them so desperate. Kneeling on the floor, right infront of me.

Did they really love that man so much? Not a lot of people would do something like that for their boss.

„I-I...Stand up..", I pleaded. They didn´t even flinch. „I have patients myself to care for. And my haha isn´t the youngest. On top of that, Kaori-kun needs to learn everything she can and it isn´t my intention to start right away with tuberculosis."

„Ano...There would be possibility to solve the last..." I turned to Yamada. „Because of the lack of capable Shinigami, we have nurses from Rukon working in the Sugo Kyogo Tsumesho (coordinated relief station)."

Onegai shimasu, Sato-sensei. We beg you! You have to treat our taicho!", cried Kotetsu. I could see the tears rolling down her cheeks.

„You are our last chance. Onegai! Onegai!", joined Kotsubaki.

Ano...Sato-sensei...Maybe you should think about it...", whispered Kaori. „They really seem desperate."

„And what about the people here? I can´t put a single men´s live above the good many."

„They´ll will be fine. We just put on a sign, that they should go to the chemist directly. He knows enough about simple sickness."

And Mohami-san?! Well...her stomach problems weren´t that bad, but still...

„I will think about it. Give me two weeks and I´ll have decided if I´ll go or not."


I first discussed the matter with the chemist. But it didn´t bring me any further. His only concern was my haha´s well being, although he hinted, that he wanted to marry her. (My mother marries sooner than me, just great.)

So I talked to her and she was a lot more sceptical about it.

„Most of the people her despite the Shinigami here. It would be bad for your surgery, when you come back." I nodded. „But on the other side...if another epidemic breaks out and you would be able to cure it, because you gathered enough experience..." She took another sip of her tea. „And maybe you will meet my future son-in-law..."

„Hahaue...that is too much..." She laughed and patted my head.

„Let an old women like me keep her optimism. And I have the slight feeling, you´ll meet him soon."

And pigs could fly


Thank your for reading

'till new year

Allytsuki