Chapter Nine: Perfect Imperfection
A couple of months ahead, Erika would be facing the entrance exam for the Medic Corps and she wasted no time in studying. The subjects she had to master in order to pass the written test was none other than chemistry and biology. She wouldn't deny that she was horrible at committing the concepts to memory; consequently, she had to spend more time in the library, reviewing the materials over and over again.
The father and daughter had also settled their differences. Kiyoshi no longer avoided his daughter by working late and returned home almost every day if he wasn't too occupied with paperwork. Even so, whenever he arrived home, the very first person he wished to see couldn't be located anywhere. Immediately, he was aware of Erika's whereabouts—she could be studying in the library at the moment without a thought of coming home crossing her mind. He sighed at the possibility. She better not forget to feed herself this time!
Erika would only go home if the librarian drove her out. The librarian could've had enough of her coming and going already—no matter how furious he became, Erika would still waltz into the library again the next morning as if nothing had ever happened yesterday. Be that as it may, she never complained about the rude librarian to Kiyoshi when she was home. Her complaints mainly revolved around how difficult she found to memorize all the chemical reaction. As though a patient would like to know what the chemical reaction was for the medicine she prescribed.
"You are just like me, Erika. I also have a problem with remembering complex principles. That's why I signed up with the ANBU," Kiyoshi boasted, "Maybe you should follow in my footsteps instead."
Erika's weary expression brightened up, "What? Becoming the ANBU commander?" She jabbered, "Otou-san, are you retiring?"
"Where did you get that idea from?" Kiyoshi let out a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. "You'll have to start at the bottom just like everyone else. Your father being the commander will not give you the upper hand."
She pouted, "I never said I want to enter the ANBU in the first place. How on earth you manage to execute a mission while wearing a really distracting mask?"
"By a really distracting mask, which point of view you mean from?"
"I put on it once and my face was boiling inside. I couldn't wipe my sweats off without removing it—oh, that was a slip of the tongue! Just pretend you never heard it." Erika sealed her lips tightly once she recalled she wasn't supposed to spread the word for Itachi's sake.
Kiyoshi couldn't help but smile faintly. Regardless of how old she turned, his daughter was still a kid at heart. He was thankful that even though he had lost the love of his life, the misfortune restored the friendly relations he used to have with his only daughter.
"I'm not sure if it could be of help," the ANBU commander suggested before traveling briefly to his neat and tidy room, carrying an empty medium-sized scroll along. "It must be stressful to be studying in the library for a day long, yes? With this scroll, you can move the materials needed onto it and bring it around. I cannot help you with the field of study since I'm not quite proficient in science myself but I can always cater to you."
"Oh, cool. Thanks," long hours of being absorbed in medical books had slowed Erika's brainpower down seemingly, "But how do I make use of it?"
Her father's nose crinkled in disbelief, "Firstly, come up with several hand seals," instructed him. Noticing that his daughter didn't move a muscle, he frowned, "Now."
Spontaneously, Erika formed hand seals consisted of the Boar and the Dog, the simplest ones since Kiyoshi didn't go into detail about the acceptable seals.
Luckily, Kiyoshi didn't make a federal case out of her chosen hand seals. "Those will be the passcode to summon this scroll," elaborated the ANBU commander.
"Thanks for the idea, Otou-san! With this scroll, I won't show my face ever again to the rude librarian. Maybe I'll be studying in the park tomorrow, or in the woods? Good luck with trying to locate me then," the black look Kiyoshi gave tickled her in some way, "Just kidding!" Erika added.
Itachi had become accustomed to his previous mission; not performing it a day deep down made him feel incomplete and he openly hated a half-finished result. For that reason, he decided to watch Erika from afar after he completed his mission today.
The team he was assigned into was again under Kakashi's command and he was earnestly grateful of it—they had found their dynamics long before his sudden removal from the team, meaning the probability of succeeding the mission would also not be higher but briefer. To sum up, he couldn't wait for seeing his former classmate even from a distance.
At the same time, Itachi felt rather guilty for secretly observing her without notice. Despite that, Erika looked awfully serious while she was perusing the medical textbook, he didn't have the heart to disturb her in the slightest. But then again, he was partially intrigued whether Erika was sincerely keen on the subject or she was in fact, forcing herself to concentrate because of her freshly declared aspiration.
At first, Itachi had a hard time finding the commander's daughter's whereabouts since she didn't seem to be hiding behind one of the bookshelves. But after a while of searching, he spotted her stretching out her legs on the bench in the park, paying close attention to a specific scroll. Every time a parent passing her by with their children hand in hand, they would drag their children away because Erika looked as though she was going to perform the summoning technique. Little did she know the parents had been keeping their children's away from her.
"Erika-chan!" Exclaimed a familiar voice.
The auburn-haired girl turned her head aside, "You're late, Natsu!"
Oh, the Hyūga maid. Itachi recalled. Wait. Since Erika spared some time to meet up with her closest friend, he no longer saw the use of hiding himself away at this rate. But would it be unnatural to arrange a meeting for no particular reason? What if Erika asked—oh, he had learned by heart how she would put it into words. Initially, she would put her hands on her hips, tilting her head slightly to the side, "What brings you here, Uchiha?" Uchiha. Uchiha. Uchiha. When would she start calling him by his first name?
"My bad. Had a full plate dealing with the sisters at home," answered Natsu. "I am not bothering you, aren't I? What were you up to before I got here, still studying?"
"Nope. Actually, I need a distraction so bad right now, or else my head might explode in no time," Erika continued, "How are the sisters doing? Hanabi-sama isn't giving you a hard time, is she?"
"Yes, she is. You'll be stunned if I tell you this; Hanabi-sama misses you so much. I bet she would tag along if I'd told her I'm meeting you," announced the Hyūga maid, "Why did you suddenly decide to pursue medical ninjutsu anyway?"
"Because I won't allow the same treatment Okaa-san received to be given to others," Erika explained, "If I kept holding my potential in by staying inside my comfort zone, who else would save their lives?"
"You cannot continually accuse the medics of your mother's death, Erika-chan. Do not resent them. Do you think Sakuya-san ever wanted you to take revenge for her?"
"I'm not taking revenge against anybody, Natsu. I'm willing to turn the existing hospital policy and procedures for the better."
"It has the same meaning. Your way of paraphrasing my whole sentence has brighter connotations of my advance notice." Natsu pointed out.
"Why are you against my decision whereas Hiashi-sama and my father approved of it?" Erika's hand squeezing her arm, "Drop it already, Natsu. I didn't invite you to argue with me."
"You might not be aware of it since the event took place before you were born. But I remember it clearly; Hiashi-sama completely put his trust in your father, Kiyoshi-san . However, do you notice why they seem cold, distant to one another now? Because Hiashi-sama could no longer trust a man who has chosen the village over the clan. I'm telling you this for your own sake, Erika-chan. Please consider it before it's too late."
"The clan this and the clan that, it's always about the clan. What good has the clan ever done to you, Natsu? Since we both are branch members, the similarity we share should make us easier to relate, should it not? Have you not had enough of the pressure they've been giving us on? How much of value does the main family regard us as not to think twice about sacrificing us when they are exposed to danger? See the world from the bigger picture, Natsu and you'll achieve big in return."
"Apart from the similarity you mentioned, want to know what else we share in common? Our destiny, which is held in the stars." Countered Natsu.
Most branch members put on false fronts when they were coming face to face with the main family as a rule. Hyūga Erika wasn't the only evidence Itachi could provide with but the real Hyūga Natsu took him by surprise. The maid left an impression that she had a patience of a saint every time she dealt with Hanabi but now Itachi knew it was all merely an act. Inasmuch as there was actually an invisible thin line that the branch members could not ever cross while confronting the main family, no matter how vicious they treated them. In the beginning, Itachi thought Erika was the most obnoxious branch member who had gone too far with disciplining her young master but she unexpectedly turned out to be the most genuine of them all. To say the least, Erika's tongue was automatically programmed to include the suffix when she was addressing any main family members. Little did she know her habit had saved her from time to time.
"Not in the stars, Natsu. But in ourselves." Erika's hazel eyes landed on the horizon, the sky was pink and the sharp prongs of bare trees had ripped a hole in the clouds. "To make myself clear once again, no, I'm not changing my mind. You might have noticed that I'm avoiding any conflicts between us, so it's better for us not to bring such a sensitive topic up by the time we cross each other's path again."
"Thank you, Natsu for spending the afternoon with me. Even though we raised our voices without even realizing, it's been a while since I made social interaction with other people besides the rude librarian and my father, ya know." In her arrogant triumph, Erika smirked. Turning her body around, she walked away while waving at her old friend.
"Do you want to come over for dinner, Erika-chan?" Natsu called out worriedly, "Hanabi-sama will be pleased to see you!"
"Otou-san's waiting for me at home," announced the younger Hyūga, "Say hi from me to Hanabi-sama!"
It was a relief to hear that the commander had finally made up with his only daughter. If truth be told, Itachi had guessed that good thing might be currently happening with Kiyoshi, seeing that he'd been returning home quite frequently one of these days, even neglecting the paperwork scattered to the four winds. Not only the commander who had been reaping benefits from the reconciliation, Erika also appeared to react to her surroundings positively lately. For all that, she still forgot to get rid of her unintended clumsiness as far as Itachi could tell.
How. In the world. Could a person leave their most essential belongings behind? On a bench, to boot. After winning an argument with her best friend.
At the last minute, Itachi came to a decision to pick the scroll up for the sake of Erika passing the exam with flying colors. Moreover, the forgotten scroll had given him all the more reason to meet its owner once again.
Erika began to panic once she found out her scroll was missing. Noticing that his daughter had been carelessly tossing her personal possessions around after they had done eating dinner, Kiyoshi walked casually into her room to inspect the situation.
His hand caught one of Erika's stuffed animals in time before it hit his face, "What's with this mess, seriously?" He shook his head in disbelief.
Erika shifted her gaze to her father, "Otou-san, do you happen to know where my scroll is?"
"Look, you weren't home the entire day, you won't find it here." Reminded the ANBU commander.
"You're right," disappointment glinted in her hazel orbs, Erika slamming her back down her bed, "I lost it!"
"I have plenty of empty scrolls in my room, you can grab yourself a new one—"
"The materials, Otou-san!" Suddenly, she rose to her feet, "I've outlined every difficult word I found in the textbook neatly. And I lost it just like that…"
Kiyoshi turned his face aside and sighed, "Calm down first…" comforted him, "Where did you go before coming home?"
"I was studying in the park."
"Have you tried to look for it there?"
Timidly, Erika shook her head.
To Erika's surprise, her father patted her shoulders all of a sudden, causing her back to straighten up on impulse. "Fetch it. Can you do it on your own?"
She nodded reluctantly.
"Why are you not making a sound? Are you mum?" Kiyoshi frowned, "I'll catch up to you if you don't get here before 8."
Just when Erika was practically standing a meter away from the door and prepared for going and getting the scroll she left in the park, she was taken by surprise to discover Itachi situated behind the door, his knuckle close to knocking on the door.
"What brings you here, Uchiha?" She began, her eyes enlarging in surprise.
Itachi backed away, as though he forgot his original intention of dropping by, "Here." He handed over the scroll Erika had been looking for.
"Where did you pick it up? How did you know I was looking for it—" the commander's daughter looked back cautiously, making sure her father didn't step in their instant reunion. She murmured, "Want to go for a walk? It won't be long, though. Otou-san said I still have time until 8 p.m."
"Are you not involved in studying at the moment? Isn't the entrance exam only a few months ahead?" Itachi reminded.
"For your information, I've been studying the whole day," she stepped out of her house and led the way confidently, "Let's go."
"I made a promise with Sasuke to help him with his homework tonight," lied the young ANBU, "I can't stay for long."
Her lips curved slightly downward, "Are you sure to decline my offer? We won't have enough time to hang out again after this."
"Where do you think you're going, missy?" As expected, Kiyoshi intervened before his daughter took a step further. He added, "Itachi has kindly delivered the scroll to you, you should at least let the thoughtful guest in."
"Forget about the offer. Thanks to your slow response, Uchiha," muttered Erika before faking a smile, "Do you want to come in?"
"Perfect timing, Sir! There is something I want to ask you about."
Great. He's ignoring me now.
"Come in, come in. Make yourself at home, Itachi." Kiyoshi gestured the guest to enter the house. On the other hand, he instructed his daughter, "Serve him anything to drink, Erika. What do we have?"
"He's just paying a short visit, Otou-san, there's no need to serve him anything," as she passed by and her eyes met Itachi's, she gazed away.
"It seems that tonight will be my turn to wash the dishes, does it not?"
"Okay then," Erika directed her gaze back to Itachi, "What do you want to drink?"
"Thanks, but no thanks," he refused politely. "I don't intend to stay for long."
"I told you." Raising her eyebrows, Erika's back shrunk from sight and disappeared after the door was slammed.
She thought she would be able to continue studying in her secluded room, but the indistinct noise her father and his subordinate were making outside distracted her attention from the scroll. The only audible sound she perceived was her father's heartfelt laugh, complimenting his valued subordinate, "You just can't wait for your next mission tomorrow, that's why you came a long way here?" Nonsense. Perhaps she should come out of her room dramatically and jog Itachi's memory of helping his beloved little brother with his homework. In the end, she decided to stay in her room and stared at her recently found scroll.
It took her no time to pinpoint the last sentence she had interpreted. Her eyes continued running over the summary she made slowly but surely until she discerned a mysterious circle she had never drawn before along these lines. Congestive Heart Failure (CHV): divided into left and right-sided failure. Left-sided causes included ischemia, hypertension, dilated, yadda yadda yadda. Her eyes stopped in their tracks as the last phrase was brought to the fore. The veins in her either temple bulged—her Byakugan was almost activated without being asked. There was a side note after the last period, stating: "Don't abbreviate. Your handwriting is unladylike already."
How. Dare. You. Insult my personalized font, Uchiha! Erika's palms struck the desk, supporting her body to be upstanding. She could've sworn by the time the door was open, the lamp in her living room would be the last ray of light he ever saw. Her tread was heavy and loud by design, giving the poor Uchiha a clear sign that he was at death's door.
Just when she had thrown the door wide, revealing herself, Itachi was no longer present in the living room. Erika gazed around, catching sight of Kiyoshi washing the dirty dishes that had not been touched for almost a week.
"Did you kick him out?"
Several months went by quickly, the first part of the entrance exam that was a written test had long passed and this very day, the test results would be announced. It was the beginning of the year. As of last year, Erika remembered she was making an excuse to be able to curl her limp body up under Hiashi's warm kotatsu but there she was, walking back and forth in front of the hospital gate, unable to take it easy at all.
"Have you gotten your result?" Began Kiyoshi.
Gradually, people started swarming around the announcement board near the front entrance of the hospital. The results must have been posted by now. Erika clenched her fists, her fingers stabbing in her palms. She got a feeling that she wouldn't pass somehow. The written test was… well; she could barely remember the problems and her solutions to those. If today was indeed her lucky day, maybe her score would not be as satisfying, lowest but still certified—looking on the brighter side, the Lady Luck permitted her to go ahead this time, to say the least.
But she heard the second part would be much more difficult than the previous part. For that reason, she had gotten everything set beforehand that in case she made it, she would do some volunteer work at the hospital. Since the second part of the entrance examination was regarding how you put your medical knowledge into practice, Erika couldn't think of a better alternative than to offer her services in the actual situation.
Just the same, what if she didn't make it? She had to cancel everything, it went without saying.
"It's too crowded, Otou-san," she threw an eye on the crowd, "I'll check it out after they leave."
"What's the purpose of possessing the Byakugan then?" Hinted Kiyoshi, setting his Byakugan in motion as soon as that.
"You know how limited my Byakugan's field of view is—"
"Oh, you got the highest mark!"
"What?!" Pushing her limits, Erika operated her Byakugan and had to narrow her eyes to see clearer. Her father wasn't kidding—she unbelievably came through the written test with flying colors!
Leaping for joy, she babbled, "I nailed it, Otou-san! I still can't believe it! This is my biggest achievement so far in my entire life!" She halted her jumping, her hands reaching for his father's full of hope, "I'll be working voluntarily at the hospital tomorrow, Otou-san. I'm going to confirm my application for a moment. You can go to work at ease, I'll see you at home!"
"That rascal." The proud father sniggered.
"You unusually show signs of being in a good mood today, Sir," commented Kakashi while stopping by the commander's office. "Did you find a dime by chance while on your way?"
"Better than a dime, Kakashi," The man in his late 30s bragged, "My daughter, Erika did really well on the Medic Corps entrance exam. She obtained the top score!"
Erika's name drew Itachi's attention at the moment he was accompanying his captain to give an account of today's mission. The good news resulted in his mouth twitching upward, let alone a hard time he had suppressing a smile.
She spent most days in the emergency room. Every day was hectic in her new workplace. People came and went like there was no tomorrow—if you'd like to be where men, women, and children cried the loudest, Erika would recommend the hospital corridor. The hardest part of her job (and probably the worst) was to explain to any innocent children that their family members had passed away. When they asked where was the stopping place of the dead, she couldn't give an answer to that. Because she herself had no clue where Sakuya went after she breathed her last. Did she transform into a beautiful angel like the bedtime stories always portrayed? Had she met her maker and watched over her loved ones from above? If only Erika had the answer.
Despite the challenge to tell the unwanted truth to the unworldly children, Erika genuinely found giving medical care to people enjoyable. Since she was one and the only medic who was capable of applying the Mystical Palm in the midst of civilian medical practitioners, they hinged on her analysis more often than not. Recently, she had also discovered that her limited-range Byakugan could be maneuvered to diagnose the detailed parts and structures inside the patient's body. As a result, her coworkers began having the air of appreciating her attendance more thanks to her second-rate visual prowess.
"A handsome man was rushed to the hospital due to excessive usage of his eye technique," the senior nurse told Erika out of the blue, "I heard he's in the ANBU."
Pretending to be unfazed, Erika inquired, "How old he looks like?"
"Age is just a number, Erika-chan," teased the 30s woman, "He's noticeably older than you, apparently."
Thank goodness it's not Uchiha. Erika breathed out a sigh of relief.
"He was transferred into room 301, if you're eager to know," the mature woman glanced at her wristwatch, "Oh, it's about time his dressing needs to be changed. Would you like to take this opportunity, Erika-chan?"
"Y-you do know I cannot turn down your request," she stuttered before giving in, "Fine."
To tell you the truth, Hatake-san, I don't get how everyone's crazy about your looks. Erika's eyes moved back and forth from the copy of the patient's medical records to her masked patient. Indeed. Hatake Kakashi, the ANBU whose appearance had received praises from all the nurses and female doctors here had a dark-colored mask covered more than half of his face. And everyone could still be of the same opinion that he was good-looking. It could be that one of the nurses felt like being playful that day and decided to pull off his mask stealthily and spread the rumor. It could be.
However, Erika would only be perjuring herself if she denied that this patient had an ideal figure. His arms were muscular, but not too much to drive her inclination away. A pair of arms that would definitely make you feel secure and homely at the same time. Her eyes shifted to his defined jawline, couldn't help herself but stare in awe at it for the time being. Before long, Erika got her head together and kept reminding herself to stop fantasizing about her patient.
The silver-haired man was sleeping soundly as yet. His medical records stated that he was suffering from PTSD, causing him to lose some sleep from time to time. Because of that, Erika didn't have the heart to wake him up whereas she was obliged to change his dressing. Eventually, she was left with no option but to remove his mask while he was still unconscious.
Just when she was prepared for gently taking the patient's mask off, his eyelids unexpectedly shuddered.
"I'm sorry, Hatake-san," Erika began, "I have no choice but to remove your mask in order to get your bandage changed."
His eye glinted in sorrow, "Rin…?"
This man has gotten to be delirious.
author's note: hi i'm back after a short while with a new chapter! had so much fun writing this. i'm so ready to bring erika and itachi together. my babies! aren't they look cute together? look at how this tsundere being open and acted comfortable around itachi who is still confused about his feelings :3 btw the outline erika gave is actually taken from a medical textbook "Fundamentals of Pathology" by Sattar. including the ideas in this chapter gives the impression of me being such a smartass, does it not? oh, i personally like the description about kakashi best cuz he's undeniably hot. are you guys with me? btw i'm begging of my silent readers to leave me a review from now on, pretty please?
