The GPS said that the hospital was only thirty minutes away if she walked.
Like she had figured before, walking wasn't so bad. Especially today, the mindless act was needed to help soothe her frazzled nerves.
Today was Sakura's first day at the hospital.
Even though she did her best to pace herself, take in her surroundings, and enjoy the walk; she found her steps quickening each time she thought about something that could go wrong. It was a misty, foggy morning in Tokyo. The air was dense with the promise of rain, she could feel the condensation pooling in her lungs with each intake of breath. Most businesses were already open, while some were barely getting started; men with trucks loading in supplies, a woman sweeping the steps of her shop and stopping to smile and wave at Sakura. Sakura waved back at the elderly woman with a small smile of her own, rounding the corner down the next street.
Every turn she took, the streets of Tokyo had something new to offer. Sleek, modern buildings, towering over the city with pride, traditional artwork sprayed on the sides of more hip places. Comic book shops with cute anime character cut outs in the window, even a small holistic medicine shop that Sakura made note to come back to and check out when she had the time. The closer she got to the hospital, the more contemporary the buildings and surrounding area started to become. She realized that's what came with any medical district in any city—the more clean and sleek it looks, the more likely someone will choose that hospital over others.
Before she knew it, looming over her was the massive expanse of her new job in Tokyo. She still couldn't wrap her mind around why the hospital had chose her. Even with Tanaka's thorough explanation, it seemed somewhat unreal. Most nurses at her age don't make it big off the bat, the process is gradual. You start small and build your way up, working for promotion after promotion. Her title wasn't much different than from the hospital in Long Island, but the pay was by far greater. She wondered if it could be more than just the traveling aspect of it. She swallowed the lump in her throat. How was this going to work out? Would they throw her to the wolves? Would the other hospital employees despise her because she was an American woman working in Japan? Surely they were used to that by now, right? Especially at such a prestige hospital like this one.
Sakura had done her research.
Eiju General Hospital was advanced beyond any of the other hospitals in the district.
She had read nothing but good reviews about it—honestly, she literally could not find one person bitching, which is rare because hospitals have to give out bad news, so naturally people react to that however they choose and sometimes it's in the form of a really shitty review. Anything anyone had to say about Tanaka was nothing but kind words. Funny, caring, kind, thoughtful, to name a few. All the nurses there had only been talked about like each one was personally tending to their dear grandmother. One review even stated that a nurse named Ino was "tender."
Sakura stared back at the enormous building. People walked back and forth past her, not even paying attention to the fact that she was nearly frozen in place.
"Alright, Sakura. You've got this. You are educated, trained, and prepared for whatever is thrown at you. This is the place of opportunity, this is exactly what you were wanting and here you are. You've got this," She declared quietly. "I've got this."
Sakura pushed her shoulders back, lifted her chin, and raised her chest.
She didn't know what to expect, really. Whatever it was, with a sudden rush of adrenaline, she was ready to kick the day's ass.
The first half of the day had been pretty predictable and, if she was being honest, boring. Most of the onboarding protocol she had to do, she did back in Long Island on her computer. However, once she was lead to one of the offices, a nurse lead by the name of Himari sat her down and handed her two fat packets, prompting her to fill those out. "We had no way of sending you these, they're standard paperwork for employees here at the hospital that, technically, one of us has to witness you filling out and then we sign to confirm that you read it all and understood the guidelines. That being said, not that I don't want you to read all of that and take in everything, but we are pretty short staffed today, so I can't be back here long watching you flip some pages—no offense."
"We're short staffed?" Sakura probed curiously, not looking up from the packet to make it seem like she was being actively nosey.
Himari ran her hand through her choppy auborn pixie cut.
Himari was an older woman, she appeared to be in her early forties, maybe. She was a bit more heavy set, especially in the ass and thighs area. Her ass was so big, it could of doubled as a shelf if Himari really wanted it to. Sakura found herself sort of jealous when she got a full sight of Himari's behind. Sakura had never been curvy like that, she'd always been a willowed woman. Her hips didn't flare nearly as dramatically as Himari's did. Her breasts were nowhere near as fluffy and round as Himari's was. Sakura always loved the way women with some meat on their bones looked, especially if they owned it, of which Himari clearly did. The scrubs she wore seemed to hug her figure perfectly; cinching in her waist, and expanding out tightly over her bends. Himari knew what those scrubs did to her figure, and from the looks of it Sakura doubted that woman harbored any insecurities.
"Yes, hun. Short. Staffed. We've been that way for the past six months and let me tell you, it is E-X-H-A-U-S-T-I-N-G. Our hours are the same, so it's not like we are working overtime, but the days are more hectic. We are doing jobs that we aren't supposed to be doing, helping where there's overflow, and moving onto the next task. Tokyo is a big city, and this being one of the primary hospitals, we get all patients of the like. Recently, a bug had gone around and we were so full that we almost didn't have any room to put some of them."
At this, Sakura flicked her gaze up, eyes wide. "Really? Here? This place is so huge, that's hard to imagine."
Himari licked her teeth. "Hmph. You're telling me, honey. Between that and the crime related incidents, us being so short staffed, it's been a lot for everyone to deal with. Luckily, Tanaka understands, and that's why he's kept our hours the same. He thinks if we still get our regular days off, we'll be willing to work extra hard during our shifts and pull all the extra work possible."
"That make sense," Sakura agreed. "You said crime related incidents?"
Himari stopped, placing her hand on her hip and bobbing her head sassily, "Honey, we are in Tokyo. Yes, it's a beautiful place. But, it's also a big city, and with that comes a lot of crime. Sure, the police and government do a pretty good job about keeping most of it under wraps, but here," she pointed a finger down. "We are frontline with it. We get men in here with gunshot wounds, men being stabbed, people mugged for their money..."
"What do you do if you know they're a criminal?"
"Huh! What can I do, honey? I can't very well tackle them to the ground and tell them not to resist arrest. We do what we are supposed to do: our jobs. We attend to whatever the need is, and that's it. Don't engage with them, don't ask about it, and don't hang around longer than you have to. Sometimes, they don't even have to be criminals. They can just be a shifty patient. If you're uncomfortable, make it quick, and then get out of there. Surely you knew full and well about that in America, right?"
"Well, yeah…I guess I just…I don't know why it surprises me…" Sakura looked back down at the packet, pretending to be really interested in the paragraph in front of her to hide the fact that she felt like a fucking idiot.
Behind the raised packet, Sakura heard Himari grunt. "Don't be so hard on yourself, baybay. You're new here, you're still seeing it through rose colored glasses and who can blame you? Tanaka told me that moving here had been one of your dreams."
Sakura folded the top of the packet over to look at Himari, who was wearing a softer expression. "He told you that?" Sakura questioned.
"Oh, yyeeaahh! Honey, I am Tanaka's right hand woman. Anything you tell him will 100% get back to me. But," She leaned in, looked over her shoulder, and leaned in some more. "if you've ever got something to say that you don't want Tanaka to know, I'm your woman. I've got the tightest lips around Tokyo. So, feel free to tell me whatever is concerning you. Be it a patient, a coworker, your hours…whatever."
Sakura grinned. Himari made her feel at ease, somehow. There was an air about her that Sakura felt like she could really trust. She also really liked that Himari called her honey and bay-bay. It was like drinking hot soup on a cold winter day. Reassuring. "Thank you, I really appreciate," Sakura returned.
Himari gave an absent wave, "It's nothing, baybay. You done? We've really got to be going. We've got a lot of clients today for some reason and, even though I'd like to show you around the hospital more to give you the ropes, I'm throwing you out to handle some patients. Are you alright with that?"
For a second, anxiety had bubbled its way from her stomach and up to her chest. But, looking at the pure confidence Himari exhumed, Sakura couldn't help but squash the shit and replicate it.
Noticing her anxiousness, Himari spoke, "Don't worry, hun. I wont be far from you, so if you need anything you can just yell and I'll come running. Besides, I won't give you anyone too extreme. You might do some stitching, if it's called for, but that's pretty quick and easy. Now, are you done?"
Glancing down, Sakura flipped through the pages of the packet, finding the places where she was supposed to sign and filled them out quickly. Himari came to stand behind her and followed with her own sloppy signature. After everything was signed, Himari took the packets, tossed them over to another desk with a "there, let's go" and quickly led the way out of the office to the patient rooms.
Following Himari through the corridors of the hospital, Sakura did her best to take in everything she could so she'd have a better way of maneuvering the confusing building herself. She forgot how easy it is to get lost in a hospital, since she had been so used to the one she was working at before that she could get to where she needed to be with her eyes closed. Sakura noted two things as she worked on keeping up with Himari's surprisingly rapid pace. One, Himari must be really good with remembering people. Because, every person they passed, be it coworker, doctor, or patient; Himari knew. She'd say something to them in passing, waving, smiling, sharing some inside joke. Second, Himari must be the champion of multitasking and organization. Some people she passed, they shared standard hospital jargon back and forth. Some asking about specific patient charts, some about blood work and the like. Not once did Himari: A) stop walking and B) hesitate in answering any of their questions. She knew the answer to everything it seemed, speaking with an unquestionable confidence that made everyone take her at her word.
Sakura secretly hoped she could get to that point one day.
Pushing past several sets of double doors, Himari stopped at a desk that was a semi-circle off the wall. Sat behind it were two other women, one who looked busy typing charts into the computer, and the other wheeling around a cart that was used to carry supplies when visiting the patients in their room. Himari placed both palms flat down on the counter, clearing her throat to speak. In doing so, both women stopped what they were doing and immediately straightened when they saw it was her. "Good afternoon, Himari!" the one at the computer chirped, giving her glasses a small push with her knuckle.
"Haruko," Himari nodded, looking over at the other woman holding the cart, "Harumi. You girls keeping busy?"
"Yes!" They replied in unison.
It took Sakura a moment.
Her eyes flicked back and forth between the two.
Same chocolate brown hair.
Same diamond shaped faces, topped with cute, pointed noses.
Four sets of honey-brown eyes.
Four sets of glasses.
Sakura gasped audibly, tossing her head between the two, "You're twins?!"
Haruko giggled, "Yes."
At the same time, Harumi remarked, "What gave you that bright idea?"
Himari, who was both unimpressed and unfazed by Harumi's snarky remark, gestured a hand towards Sakura. "Ladies, I'd like you to welcome the newest addition to our team. This is Sakura. Along with nursing aside you two, she will occasionally assist Dr. Tanaka in surgeries. Aaannndd, she's our new travelling nurse, too! Say hello!"
"Thank god," Harumi groaned. "Finally, Tanaka hired someone else. I was getting tired of doing all this extra shit."
"Go bitch to someone who cares," Himari bit back sharply. "We're all putting in extra work, not just you, princess."
Harumi glared, but otherwise turned her attention back to the cart.
"It's nice to meet you, Sakura," Haruko beamed, unfazed by her twin's attitude. "You'll love being a travelling nurse, the nurse before you who did it always talked about how much she loved it."
"I'm really looking forward to it," Sakura kowtowed, nodding her head as she did.
"Alright, you ladies can get to know each other another time. Back to business. Haruko, as soon as your done inputting all of that information, I need you to go down to the children's ward and do a quick check on the patients there, at least until the team for the next shift shows up. Harumi, after you do your rounds here, there are patient's on the second floor waiting for their blood to be drawn. I need you to go and draw their blood. Just leave the vials in the storage capsule when you're done. By the time the team for that shift arrives, they can handle it. We need to work quick and efficient today, we've got a lot on our plates. Even Miss Sakura here is going to be putting in some work on her first day, so no one is safe."
"Hai," both women nodded.
"Sakura, this way. From what I understand, we've got some patients in the emergency ward that need to be checked out. Again, this isn't your first rodeo, so you know that more than likely none of them will be an actual emergency. Handle them properly, if you come across anything serious, just grab me and I'll tell you what you need to do. Understood?"
"Understood," Sakura repeated.
The closer they got to the ward, as told by signs down the halls, the more excited Sakura started to feel. She figured as much they weren't expecting a lot out of her on her first day, but she was now determined to handle anything that was tossed at her with ease. Like Himari said, this wasn't her first rodeo. She's handled crisis situations, she's handled rather boring ones, too. The only difference was that she was in Tokyo, now. A hospital is a hospital, and she had all the skills necessary to succeed.
One last set of double doors, and Sakura was greeted with the hallway that had rooms all along side. If the door was open, that means that the room was empty. Each hallway had about ten rooms for patients, from what she could see. To her surprise, every single door was closed, meaning each room had a waiting patient in it. Through the small window of the door leading into the room they were in was the emergency waiting room, loaded with people who were also waiting.
Himari was right, it was going to be a busy day.
Himari came to a stop at another desk, reaching over to pull out a writing board that had names written hastily in columns, along with numbers beside each name. Himari reached across the desk again to grab a red expo marker, using it to circle a column. "You see all of these in red? Those are your assigned rooms for the day. So, you've got the hallway across from us, numbers 11-20. I know that seems like a lot, but again remember, you're just checking them out. Do some small stuff if small stuff is needed, if it's major send them on to the next room where they'll be treated or ask me if you can handle it. 75% of the time, they're just here complaining about a stuffy nose. Go in order, from 11 to 20. You take this," She handed Sakura a clipboard that had stacks of papers on it asking for patient information. "write down just the basics, you know; name, age, sex, reason they're there, and if they were treated or not, if they left, so on and so forth. You got it?"
"I've got it," Sakura answered confidently.
Himari grinned, "I love that look on your face! First day on the job and you want to kick ass, honey. You and I are going to get along really well, I just know it. Alirght, let's get to work. When four rolls around, let's meet back at this desk so we can input this paperwork into the system really quick."
At this, they broke. Himari walked into room ten with a very loud, "Good afternoon!" while Sakura made her way across the room to the opposite hall. Grabbing the door handle, Sakura took a deep breath in. "I've got this." With a smile on her face, she walked in, greeting her first patient of the day.
Sakura had no idea why she had been so nervous.
Nothing about what she is doing in Tokyo has changed from what she did in Long Island.
Patient after patient, Sakura sought to each and every one of their needs. From a mom worried about her son's constant nose bleeds, to a man who had rubbed his dick raw from masterbating—it wasn't unusual, if anything it was an instance that happened so often that the moment he, hesitantly, told her she popped out an answer and solution. Ear infections, colds, achy bodies; it was all standard for Sakura. Even though she was pretty tired, she lost count of how many people she had seen since there seemed to be a non-stop flow of patients (not unusual for the emergency ward), she was overjoyed at doing what she loved to do the most. Nothing made her happier than tending to a patient and making them feel better however she could. Sakura was undoubtedly in her element and thriving.
Around 2:50 it started to slow down, the time between patients being escorted to the rooms more staggered. This gave her time in between room jumps to go over the papers she had filled out, correcting or adding anything so it made it easier to input it into the computer. She had just finished with room 20, feeling somewhat satisfied with the sight of all ten of her doors open. Peering out of the window to the emergency room, she saw that there were only a couple people standing there now, still waiting to be seen and processed with gave her some time. She walked across to Himari's end of the hall just as Himari made her way out of room four. "Sakura," Himari approached. "need something, honey?"
Sakura shook her head, "Oh, no. All my rooms are cleared, and there's still some time until the patients in the waiting room are processed. I was here to ask if you wanted me to help anyone on your side?"
Himari stopped, shifting her weight back on her right foot to jut the opposing hip forward. "You're telling me you cleared them on your side?"
"Well, yes ma'am. They were all really easy stuff, though." Sakura tried to digress.
Himari's eyebrows jutted up, impressed. "Honey, easy or not, you took care of business and that's what I like to see! And you know what," she pointed at Sakura. "this is perfect timing, too. I've got way too much paperwork here, if we keep this up, we'll be inputting this all night. How about you give me your filled out charts, I'll take mine and get started on submitting them. You, go ahead and finish off everyone I've got down my hall. Like you said, it'll be another hour or so until those people out there are processed. That'll give us more than enough time to catch up. What time are you supposed to be off today?"
"I'm off at eight today, ma'am," Sakura responded, pulling the filled out paperwork off of the clipboard and handing them out to Himari.
Himari took the papers, "Okay, great. The second shift for here should be in at 5. When they show up, you and I can break for a little bit. Afterwards, if there isn't more work to be done, I'll give you an official tour of the hospital. How does that sound?"
Sakura beamed, crossing her hands behind her back. "That sounds great."
Himari gave a warm smile, "Great, honey. I know it's your first day and I shouldn't be judging your work ethic just yet, but I've just got to say: you're doing great!"
A small blush tinged Sakura's cheeks. She gave a small bow, "Thank you, Himari."
Himari raised her hand up, waggling her extended finger. "Oh, I should add. The room I was just in, he needs stitches. I told him that he should really wait for the doctor to see him to do it, but he opted for one of us to. All the tools you need are already in there. He's been made aware of the pain, and he is still consenting to one of us doing it. I'm going to leave him in your hands, I've seen your hospital form, I know you know how to perform simple stitching. The wound is bad, but not bad enough for me to force him to see a doctor. Plus," she rolled her eyes. "if we tried to get him to wait, he would of just left at any rate. I've helped this particular men and his buddies before. I don't know what trouble those kids get into, but they're always in here. They say they're bouncers, but I don't believe it. Anyways," Himari blew out a gusty breath of air. "Don't fret. Simple suture, dress it, and send him on his way. Got it?"
Sakura lifted her hand in a small salute, "I've got it."
With another smile and wave, Himari broke away down the hall, through double doors, and out of sight. Sakura watched her go, hips swaying to and fro with each hurried step. Stretching out her arms and legs, Sakura stood in front of room four, breathing in her nose and out her mouth. "Simple suture," she whispered to herself. "You've done a million of them." Diligently, she turned the knob and pushed the door in. "Hello," she rang out, "I'm Sa—"
"Ugh Himari, why do you always make us wait forever, don't you love u—oh…you're not Himari."
Standing in the middle of the room was a man who looked like he was around Sakura's age, with a huge, fluffy white dog sitting at his feet. He had dark brown hair that was swept back and stopped just at the base of his neck, a brief glimpse of a five o'clock shadow on his cheeks met with his goatee that came to a point. On his face were two red marks, starting just under his eyes and coming to a sharp point lower on his face. He was handsome, in a beastly sort of way. Sakura gave a sidelong gaze between the man and the dog, who had now moved to its feet and was wagging his big tail making a thump, thump, thump noise. The man crossed his arms, somehow sensing Sakura's apprehension about the dog being in a hospital. "Himari knows us. Akamaru is allowed in."
"Akamaru?" Sakura questioned. "But he's all white?"
He scoffed, "Y-yeah. It's more…his attitude. He can get real fiery, y'know?"
"I suppose so…Can I pet him?"
"Oh," he started, looking surprised that she asked to pet him, probably because not seconds ago she was eyeing him like she wanted to kick him out. "Sure, go ahead. He won't bite."
The man moved back some while Sakura took a couple steps towards Akamaru, holding out her hand and letting him investigate. Several beats passed before the dog gave a deep, heady woof; nearly tackling Sakura down in his excitement. Sakura widened her stance and braced herself for the dog's loving onslaught, anticipating that he was going to do that. She cooed in his ear, calling him the most handsome of boys and scratching deep down his chest causing him to kick his leg. As soon as she finished, she untangled herself from the dog and moved towards the sink that was in the room; washing from the very top of her arm all the way down. "Now," she started, still washing her hands with her back turned on the man and his canine. "what is your name?"
"Inuzuka Kiba," he replied from behind her.
"Kiba…" Sakura repeated, shutting off the faucet and reaching for the paper towels. "Himari said that you need stitches?" She dried off her arms and hands, tossing the wet paper towel in the trash. She turned back around to face Kiba, question on her face.
"Oh, no! No, I don't need stitches. My friend does, he's just—"
In the middle of Kiba's sentence, someone else walked in the room, talking.
"You know what I hate, Keebs? I hate how fuckin lost you can get in hospitals. I felt like I was in the twilight zone just trying to find damned the restroom."
"Ah, hey. Our nurse is here to help you with your stitches," Kiba chortled, directing a hand in Sakura's direction. The man that entered the room paused, eyeing Sakura gingerly.
"Oh, so you're the one that needs stitches?" She prodded, pointing at the silver-haired man. Sakura tried to hide the lump in her throat she just swallowed, hoping neither man had noticed. Somewhere deep in her head, a familiar bell was ringing. She felt like she'd seen this guy before, though she knows she certainly hasn't.
She would of remembered if she saw a man like him.
The air about him was feckless, his entire body radiating an aloofness that was beyond her. His physique was wholly chill, seemingly unbothered by anything and everything. He was certainly tall, at least six feet and some change. From where she was, she could tell that he was strong, the muscle definition was outrageously obvious, his body not thin, not bulky; he just appeared to be filled out appropriately for his height. He had a mess of silvery-white hair that was sticking up and around to the right more, shorter on the left and increasingly longer on the right, looking mussed as if he just woke up. His eyes were angular and cat-like, though somewhat heavy lidded like he just rolled out of bed. Thin, arched eyebrows complimented the shape of his eyes, accenting his expression perfectly. Straight nose met lips that weren't too full or too thin; his entire face seemed very cat-like and proportionate to itself. Just below the right corner of his lip sat a noticeable beauty mark that furthered to accent the ruggedly handsome expression that was his face. A strong jaw line started just wide enough at his throat, narrowing down to meet his chin. His face appeared clean shaven from what she could see, though that wasn't what caught her attention.
Bisecting from just inches over the top of his right brow, all the way down his right eye, to an inch past his cheek bone was a scar that stood out above everything else. Though it didn't mar his appeal, it certainly added a quality to the aspect that she couldn't put her finger on. Sakura wondered what must of happened for him to receive such a scar.
Sakura couldn't deny the physical response she felt pool in her stomach at the sight of him. Science says its pheromones and whatnot, so was she really to blame?
He leaned back against the door, knee raised with his left foot pressed against it, right hand in his pocket. "I am indeed that man," he replied cooly, a small smirk tugging at his lips, appearing as if he knew something she didn't.
Oh, fuck, Sakura internally cursed. Did he see me checking him out?
"Himari is having…er, I'm sorry," Kiba spoke up, brow slightly furrowed. "I didn't catch your name when you walked in."
The sound of Kiba's voice broke whatever spell she had been in. Taking in a breath, she answered, "Sakura. My name is Sakura."