Cataclysm

Chapter Twelve

-Stalking-

Akito sat in the Starbucks sipping his coffee as he waited for his prey to enter. True to her schedule, she walked in just past seven-thirty, going straight to the counter to get her drink.

He had been following her for a week now, wanting to know her routine, and all in all, she was a pretty boring person. After getting her cup of coffee, she took the subway to the local hospital, where she worked until five. Then she took the subway home, which was a penthouse located in the wealthier part of the city. For the rest of the night she would cook dinner and watch TV or movies with her fluffy orange tabby cat that was named Pitter. But, on Friday and Saturday nights she would go to a local club and dance until the early hours of the morning.

Coming up with a plan, he decided to try and talk to her at the hospital. That way he could see how she acted in her work environment and see how people treated her. Once she left the coffee shop, he rose from his seat and threw away his cup, following her out and onto the crowded streets. Today he was wearing some black jeans and a white t-shirt with his aviators on.

When they arrived at the hospital he allowed her to go in first and then waited until he was sure her lunch break was over. Walking into the lobby like he owned the place, he went straight to the counter. Inwardly smirking to himself that the receptionist was a hideous blonde with large glasses, he pasted his most charming smile on his face and put his elbow on the counter. "Hello." He said rather pleasantly.

"What do you want." She snapped, not even looking up from the magazine she happened to be reading.

"I wish to see Dr. Sabaku no Natsumi." He said, slightly confused as to her demeanor. Usually it was the ugly ones who fell the easiest for his charm, since they didn't normally get any attention from the male populace. "Please." He added as a second thought.

She glanced up, giving him a once over. "Why?" she demanded, smacking her gum loudly.

He blinked, having not really thought of a reason. "Because I…want to?" he said, making it sound like a question. Why was she being so rude?

"If you're not dyin', you're not seeing the doctor. She's very busy and doesn't need to be distracted by creeps like you. Got it Paco?" she sneered, returning to her work.

"Paco? My name is not Paco, I'm not even Mexican, and I'm not a creep."

She laughed and gave him a threatening look. "Please, I've seen you outside the hospital…watchin' like a stalker. You're lucky I haven't called the police on your scrawny ass." She huffed.

He glared at her. "Please, I am not scrawny." He crossed his arms.

She lowered her gaze once more, "Yeah…ok." She snorted, rubbing her nose and picking up a clipboard as she stood. "Now back off before I call security." She threatened.

"Fine." He said, turning and walking out of the building. "Bitch." He muttered, going off to wait for Natsumi to get off work where he couldn't be seen from the lobby.

A few days later he walked in and went straight to the desk. "Leave." The receptionist said without looking up.

"Aw, come on now Roberta." Akito said. "You could be ruining Natsumi's only chance at love."

"How many times are you going to come in here and ask to see one of the busiest surgeons in the city to take time from her needy patients to see some stalker?" she asked, actually sounding curious.

He gave her a serious look. "Until you say yes."

"Aw…well in that case," she smiled, a hope sparking in his gut. "It's never gonna happen." She glared and pointed towards the door. "Get out and you better not come back here unless you are seriously injured."

"Oh Roberta, don't wish something so horrible upon me." He turned away with a smirk, already planning out what he was going to do.

The next day he came in to the hospital, a series of long and deep cuts on his torso and arms, all visible through his white shirt. This way, when he saw Natsumi, she would have to see his chest, and she would be swept away by his sheer masculinity.

"Roberta, I need to see the doctor." He said, feigning breathlessness. "There was an accident you see, and in trying to help some people I got injured when one of the other cars blew up." He dramatized.

Roberta visibly rolled her eyes, but then finally looked at him. "Oh my God!" she gasped, picking up her pager. "Neila! Page Dr. Sabaku immediately, we have some severe lesions." She gestured for some of the other nurses to come out and help Akito onto one of the portable hospital beds. Smirking to himself, he climbed on, exaggerating the minor pain he felt. It seemed he was finally going to see Natsumi, and he couldn't help the anticipation that welled up inside him.

They rushed him down the halls into one of the emergency rooms. One of the nurses took his vitals and hurried out, assuring him that the doctor would be right in. The door opened and Akito had to stop himself from sitting up in excitement. "So what do we have here?" a clear male voice asked.

The redhead stopped by the bedside, reading the quick notes and glanced down. "Akito?" he asked, looking shocked. It was definitely not a beautiful, pink haired doctor. It was a red haired man with dark jade eyes. A face he had actually come to know as his only human friend.

"Toshiro?" Akito almost yelled, sitting up and wincing slightly from the abrupt movement.

"Lay down." Toshiro ordered, settling him back. "What on earth did you do to yourself Akito? Did you get in a car wreck?"

He sighed, trying not to scowl at his fortune. "I was helping someone from a wreck when their car blew up. I got hurt in the explosion." He recited, abstaining from saying that he had been the one to cause the whole thing.

"Well come on." He snapped his fingers. "Take off the shirt and let's see how bad they are."

Refraining from groaning, he did as he was told. "I can probably just see to the cuts myself you know. I'm sure you have other patients to see. The receptionist told me that you're a pretty busy surgeon, so I don't want to hold you up." He said, hoping that his friend would just let him keep what little dignity he had left.

"Nonsense." He waved off. "Besides my sister said she would take care of the critical care ER today. And you're my friend, I can see you any time." He smiled, pulling on some latex gloves and giving him a commanding look. "Now stay still while I get the hydrogen peroxide." He walked over to the counter and grabbed a few cotton swabs and the chemical, cleaning the wounds so they wouldn't get infected. "You need to be more careful Akito. Behavior like this could get you killed." He said, almost like a parent scolding their child. He helped him up and then wrapped his wounds. "There. All done."

"Yeah, yeah. I was just doing my civic duty." He rolled his eyes and hopped off the examination table. "So tell me, does that receptionist ever take a day off? Go on vacation? She looks kinda cranky, so I think she could use one." He said, praying that this at least would go his way.

"Actually, she just got back a couple weeks ago from two months in Italy." He said happily. "Said it was beautiful and visited a lot of her family."

"Damnit!" he exclaimed, going slightly wide eyed that it had been voiced. "I mean, how great for her. I am so jealous." He said heading to the door. "Well I'll see you around Toshiro. We should go out for drinks some time. I know a great bar where we can pick up women."

Toshiro just gave him a smile and signed off on his medical form. "I'm all for drinks, but you know that I'm engaged now. Remember?" he asked, holding out the paper to him. "And don't worry about the bill, I won't charge you or anything."

"Thanks." He said, taking the paper. "Just call me when you're free." He said, leaving the room and going back to the lobby. He handed Roberta his sheet saying that he was good to go. "Here." He said tersely.

She smirked up at him, "Aw, disappointed? Did I mislead you there Mr. Uchiha?" she sighed, looking satisfied as she took the paper and stamped it with her approval. "Now…as I am sure you are accustomed to by now. Get out." She pointed towards the exit.

"You know, whatever happened to patient care and service? Did you leave it in Italy?" he asked, sneering at her.

"Yup." She replied smugly, leaning back in her chair and shooing him away. "Now go, you little gnat."

He scowled and turned on his heel to leave, going back to his house instead of waiting for Natsumi the way he normally did. He slammed the door and stalked into the living room, the other two occupants turning to the entrance and taking in his appearance.

"Aw, did wittle Kito have a bad day?" Itachi asked, sounding as if he were talking to a two year old.

"Shut up Itachi, I am not in the mood right now." Akito said, pulling his shirt off and beginning to rip the bandages off his wounds that were already beginning to heal.

"So," Sasori snickered. "Have you even talked to her yet?"

He plopped down on the couch and crossed his arms in a pout. "No. This stupid, fat, ugly bitch of a receptionist won't let me go see her at the hospital. I even cut myself like some emo so that I had a legit reason to see her, and who do I get? Her brother." He sighed angrily. "I am so pissed."

"Why don't you just use the brother to get to her?"

"Can't. He's my friend, and it would be too suspicious if I was trying to get with the sister I've never met. Besides, he's super busy now planning his wedding." He grimaced. "Ugh."

Itachi sat forward in his seat. "Well, have you figured out when the receptionist is going to be out of the office?" he asked.

"Yeah, but she just got back from a two month trip to Italy two weeks ago, so she won't be going anywhere any time soon."

Sasori rubbed his chin, contemplating. "Well, you said she deals with the more severe cases of surgery. So do something to your head, they'd have to get her, right?"

"True. But what if that bitch just sends me to some other specialist? And she'd do it too, she knows how bad I want to see Natsumi." Akito said.

"Then make something bad happen to this arrogant cow who dare think she can mess with a demon." The red head pointed out.

Understanding dawned in Akito's eyes and he smirked evilly. "Yes." He said, rubbing his hands together. "And I know just what to do."

Akito staggered up to the front desk, smiling inwardly to himself when he saw that one of the young nurses was filling in for the missing receptionist. She would be unable to come to work today on account of the fact that he had completely destroyed her car during the night, and had disabled the subway line near her house. Sure, she could call a taxi, if her phones were working.

"Please ma'am, I need to see a doctor." He said when he reached the counter, exaggerating his pain.

She glanced up at him, a light pink blush darkening her cheeks. "Oh…um, yes, what is it that is wrong sir?" she asked, playing nervously with the pencil in her hands as she let her eyes trail along his body.

It took a lot of effort to keep his triumphant smirk from showing. "I have injured my head, and will probably need stitches." He told her, turning his face to the side in order to show her the angry red gash that was bleeding down his temple.

"Oh my goodness!" she stood and ran around the desk, "That looks terrible. Here," she hurried off, bringing back a wheel chair and helping him into it. She personally took him to one of the emergency rooms. "I've already paged Dr. Natsumi." She said, tending to his head a bit before dismissing herself. "It shouldn't be too long." Then she left, shutting the door behind her.

"Finally." He sighed, closing his eyes and laying back slightly in his chair.

It wasn't too much later when the door opened and he heard the small click of heels. He opened his eyes and the pleasant look was wiped right off his face. "Who are you?" he frowned.

"I'm Dr. Duvuuri." She smiled. She was a kind looking woman, chestnut hair and big brown eyes.

"But I was told that Dr. Natsumi would be treating me." He said, the frown still on his face.

"Dr. Natsumi has today off." She informed him, already beginning to examine the wound. "Oh it's not too bad," she said, placing his head back down. "It actually looks like it's already healing."

"Well fancy that." He said, somewhat sarcastically. "Could you just hurry and patch it up? I have somewhere to be."

"Sure. We'll get you all fixed up." She said, treating him quickly and efficiently. Once she was done, she signed off on the release form and handed it to him. "You really need to be more careful Mr. Uchiha." She waved, heading down the hall in the opposite direction he went. He headed straight for the front and handed the stricken girl his paper, walking off.

He stepped outside, pulling off the bandages around his head, since the wounds were almost gone now. He shoved his hands into his pockets and started down the bustling streets. How the hell was he supposed to get her if he was never going to get to see her?

He passed by a couple of shops, the world simply passing him by as he usually allowed it. He stopped when he saw something in his peripherals. He turned a bit and caught the woman who tripped from the steps of the store he was by. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!" she gasped out, looking up and meeting his green gaze from over her many bags. "Oh my." She blushed a dark red. "Didn't I accidently spill coffee on you?"

His eyes widened slightly, but he held in his curse. This was so ridiculous! He had tried so hard to see her this entire week, and now, when he wasn't even looking for her, she fell into his grasp. Literally. And now she was being so nice to him, when she'd easily brushed him off at the club. "Why yes, I think you did." He said after a while.

She laughed, the sound almost making him melt. How could something about a person just seem so beautiful in every way? She finally straightened and righted her many bags from her day of shopping. "Sorry about that, I missed the step because I couldn't see." She smiled, and then looked a bit embarrassed. "Oh where are my manners." She shifted her things around and held out her hand. "My name's Dr- I mean, Natsumi." She corrected. "Sorry, force of habit."

"No problem. My name is Akito." He said, shaking her hand and returning her smile with a genuine one of his own. He was just so happy that he now had the chance to talk to her face to face.

She looked a bit confused, as if she were thinking about something. "Uchiha Akito?"

"Yes." He said, adding puzzlement to his gaze. Damn, that meant she remembered him. "I'm sorry, have we met before?" he asked, trying to play innocent.

"Are you stalking me?" she demanded, having the same tone she had when he had been with her at the club. "Because I blew some creep off with the same name and my receptionist keeps telling me some weirdo keeps trying to come in and see me."

He raised a brow at her. "Creep huh?" he asked. "Well, I did meet a girl at a club that blew me off a while back, but I don't know anything about a weirdo. Because I am not weird." He said, crossing his arms. "And twice I actually had a legitimate reason to see you, since I was critically injured." He said with a nod. Best to be honest with her, because if she found out he had lied then things would not go his way, and he would just wind up farther from bedding her than he had been to start with.

"Yes. Creep." She said simply, beginning to walk with the flow. "You don't insult a girl and expect not to get burned." She said over her shoulder. "And how did you find out where I worked anyways?"

He followed her. "I didn't find out where you worked. I didn't know your name, remember? I had simply heard that you were a specialist in surgeries and stitches, and that's what both of my injuries required. And I only see the best doctors. It was only just now that I realized you are the doctor that I had requested."

"Uh huh." She rolled her eyes, continuing to walk away from him. "Look I don't know what you're trying to get at but I will call the police if I have to."

"Oh come on." He said, walking faster so that he was next to her. "You have to admit, it's kind of weird that we would meet this way. First in a coffee shop, then a club, and now here, after I went to the hospital a couple of times to be treated by you, not knowing who you were." he gave her one of his most convincing, most charming smiles. "I mean, this kind of thing only happens in movies right? Maybe it means something."

She turned the corner and wasn't surprised when he continued to follow her closely. "Or maybe it means you're a psycho." She said pointedly, huffing in her anger.

"I highly doubt that." He said, speeding up a bit more and walking backwards in order to face her. "Just tell me what it will take for you to go on a date with me. Just one, and then I promise if you don't have fun I'll never bother you again." He said, although it was a lie. He just wouldn't be so obvious about his stalking of her.

"It'd take a lot more than you're willing to do," she smirked, coming to a stop on the street and he recognized the building they were in front of was her own. She turned her back to him and started up the steps to the finely made entrance, where an employee opened the door for her. She glanced back over her shoulder and gave him a once over. "Besides…I don't date bad boys." She waved then, "Tah."

And with that final word she disappeared into the lobby. Akito smirked, turning and heading off to go and make his new plans. She had absolutely no idea whom she had just challenged. No idea at all.