DISCLAIMER: All Rurouni Kenshin characters belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro, Jump Comics, and all concerned parties. No infringement intended! Please don't sue me, a poor person. Any other characters created belong to me.
Timeline: Sometime in the distant future
Type of fic: Alternate Universe
Other notes: There may be some expletives here so I'm apologizing ahead of time ^^; Also, I will be changing the personalities of the characters we have in some aspects. Furthermore, I will also change some of the ages and who's older than whom 'k? ^^;
Some rants ;p
-Thanks, Jason Lee, for the review! ^^ I am praying that the succeeding chapters would be satisfactory ;p
-Yes, Kahori is Kaoru... ;p
-Talaco? I'll look for the stories then! ^^ Thanks for the pointer ^^ Truth be told, I haven't been reading RK fics recently... too busy with the RK site I'm maintaining T.T *sigh* not to mention the fanfic archive I've been neglecting for some time! T.T
Ok, enough of my woes... ;p on with the story! ^^
Rebirth
Chapter One: The Start of Everything
--------------------
"Sensei, domo arigato." [Doctor, thank you.] the short man said when the young doctor made her way to the door of the hospital room. The doctor just nodded her head and turned to leave once again. But, she felt the man's gaze on her back and turned back to him, an expectant look etched on his features.
"They're just fine, Hishikawa-san. Your wife is just tired but your son is perfectly fine." she replied in what she hoped to be a cheerful tone. She even threw in a smile which felt so false to her. Fortunately, the man didn't see it that way. He actually slumped in relief and faced her.
"Yokatta desu." [That's good.] he said thankfully. "For a minute there I was worried."
"May I ask why?" the doctor asked a little timidly.
"Uh? Oh! That's because… You see, my wife looked like she… spaced out… earlier." The man thought he saw something flicker across the doctor's features but decided that it was just his overactive imagination on the run once again.
The doctor smiled again, "It's probably just the fatigue of giving birth." she supplied hopefully.
"Eh? Oh, I do hope so. I mean, she's been so stressed out recently that I thought she wouldn't… make it… and…"
"I understand, sir. Please take care of your family." the doctor comforted him, although her voice hitched just the slightest bit on the last word. "Your son is beautiful."
The short, handsome man regarded the doctor with appreciation, "Hai. Arigato."
Once the doctor went out of the room, the man turned back to his wife who was gazing tenderly at their newborn son. "Hon, how are you now?"
"Just fine, dear." came the honest reply.
"That's good." the man said as he approached and sat down on the bed, gazing at his wife and son lovingly. He reached over slowly and felt his son's soft skin under his fingers. "What shall we call him?"
"What about Shinta?" his wife answered after some time of careful consideration. "It was one of the names we chose right?"
The man smiled his assent. "Aa. That name is good." He turned again his gaze to his son. "Welcome to the world, Hishikawa Shinta."
*****
Kahori leaned her back against the door, lost in thoughts. 'So, some of it has already begun. Everything is proceeding so far as we had predicted.'
"Kamiya-sensei?" a voice invaded her thoughts and she snapped out of her musings. Kahori found herself face to face with a nurse with a worried expression on her face. "Daijoubu desu ka?"
"Ee. Gomen nasai." Kahori replied with a soft voice.
The nurse just smiled and walked down the corridor towards the station. Kahori breathed out a sigh of relief. 'If I keep spacing out like that, might as well advertise to the whole world about what we're doing.' she thought ruefully as she started to walk towards her office. Kahori watched the people around bustle with activity and greeted some of the people in her usual friendly, yet impassive, way.
Once she reached her office, Kahori tugged the sign saying that the doctor is still out before entering quietly. Inside, she locked her door and took off her doctor's smock, stretching her limbs to remove some of the tension and knots that had formed there.
"Ooh… That feels nice." she said before heading over to the couch she kept inside her sanctum. Once seated, she dozed off almost immediately.
**flashback/dream**
Ring. Ring. Ring.
"Moshi moshi," [hello] a quiet voice answered the phone, "Kamiya desu."
Silence.
Then, "MEGUMI-CHAN!... Iie… KISAMA!!... GIVE HER BACK, YOU BASTARD!"
Crying.
"… NOOO…KISAMA… Kisama… Ki… sama…"
Crying.
"Give… her… back…"
Silence.
"IIIIIIEEEE!"
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Thud. Crying…
Rain…
** End of flashback/dream **
"IYA!" she screamed, coming back to consciousness. Her body was shaking uncontrollably as she buried her face in her hands, crying her heart out, bleeding the despair she felt in her situation to the emptiness of her surroundings.
"Iya…"
Some time later, Kahori managed to drag herself from her couch and into the small bathroom at the back of the office. Going directly for the sink, she turned the handle and watched the water gush out from the faucet. Cupping her hands under the lukewarm liquid, she gathered a small amount and splashed her face with it, willing the despair, the hatred, and the helplessness to bleed away with every drop of the cleansing water. Over and over she repeated the procedure until she felt herself calm down considerably.
Groping with one hand, she found her towel and wiped her face clean while she closed the faucet with the other. When she straightened up, she saw her reflection on the mirror above the faucet. Her once bright and warm blue eyes were now dull and devoid of life. Her cheeks, once a healthy color now seemed a tad pale. And her hair was in a disarray.
Reaching inside the cabinet for a comb, she carefully worked out the tangles that had accumulated over the day. Once that was done, Kahori started to brush down her hair. Closing her eyes, she let herself fall into the rhythm of the brush strokes. Finally, once she decided that she was calm enough, Kahori redid her hair and stepped out of the bathroom. Once again reaching for her smock, she turned to a featureless section of the wall behind her desk and touched a blank spot.
Immediately, a section of the wall came forward and slid to the side, revealing a dark and foreboding passageway. Kahori touched another unseen panel on the wall before slipping into the darkness.
"I will protect you, imouto…" she thought as the panel behind her swung shut.
Just after the hidden panel clicked shut, "Sensei? Kamiya-sensei?" a voice called outside the office. "Eto, Kamiya-sensei?"
When nobody responded to the person's summons, "Odd, I thought I saw her come in earlier… I didn't see her come out though."
Another voice answered, "Maybe you weren't paying enough attention, baka."
"Oi!"
"Just kidding!" the second person answered. This person sighed. "Anyways, it doesn't look like she's there so I think I'll just come back later."
"Oh, ok… Was your business with her urgent?"
"Huh? Oh, no… Just wanted to ask her something but she apparently isn't there so I'll just come back some other time."
The chattering died down gradually and the doctor's office was once again left to the silence.
*****
Kahori walked slowly along the passageway, groping for the light switch on the wall. Once she found it, she walked more quickly through the underground labyrinth until she came upon thick twin glass doors which she pushed open. Once inside, her hand reached automatically to the side to switch off the lights at the passageway she vacated.
Kahori looked inside the room, a laboratory filled with a variety of equipment both legal and illegal materials from floor to ceiling. There was nobody around at the moment and Kahori sighed inwardly. It was rare that she reached the lab first and she could use the breathing space. However, even before she could stop herself, Kahori found herself moving to the test tubes set beside a small tank filled with some sticky liquid. Pulling a chair to sit on, Kahori folded her arms on the desk stationed before the equipment and put her chin on top of it. Although none of her expression showed it, amazement still tinted her eyes in their depths.
'Although I know of sin that was created, I still wonder how we were able to pull it all off.' she mused silently before hastily noticing that she wasn't alone in the room. Turning around quickly in her seat, she found herself facing the curious green eyes of Matsuoka.
"Matsuoka-sensei." she acknowledged his presence with a surprisingly steady voice.
"Please, Kahori, how many times do I have to tell you that we shouldn't be so formal with each other?" Matsuoka said with slight amusement which made Kahori narrow her eyes somewhat.
"Very well, Akira-san."
Matsuoka Akira just sighed. 'Such a difficult woman!' he thought, exasperatedly.
"The boss will call shortly and I suggest that you make sure everything's perfect this time around." Matsuoka continued as if nothing happened earlier. At Kahori's nod, Matsuoka turned around and took a clipboard from a nearby table littered with paper containing test results and other pertinent data. "According to these, Sample A is progressing at the rate we had expected." At Kahori's second nod, Matsuoka continued his monologue. "Oh, and he will be released from the hospital soon so we better keep an eye on him."
"We?" Kahori asked, stressing the word with enough contempt that made Matsuoka look up at her with genuine surprise.
"Yes," he answered with conviction, "we as in you," he pointed at her, "and me." he pointed at himself. "Since we happen to be the ones who… made… him, we should keep track of his progress, don't you think?"
'Or you just want to spend as much time with me more than you let on. I'm not stupid.' Kahori thought but said instead, "Whatever. But don't you think we might make the family panic if we put them under surveillance? Or maybe Subject A might react in an unknown manner to our continued presence? Matsuo… Akira-san, I told you that there are a lot of unknown factors yet about him and I personally do not want to find out what he is capable of yet at this age."
Matusoka leaned back on the wall to hide his surprise. Since Kahori had joined his staff, she had chosen not to speak in great length and this was the first time he'd heard her really talk. "So, what do you suggest then? Leave him be with them until…?"
"I don't know." Kahori interrupted him, slightly showing her exasperation on her face. "But I don't think we should be too involved with them. Yes, we should keep them within sight but I don't…"
"How about surveillance cameras and such? Surely that'll be 'discreet' as you would put it."
Kahori seemed to consider it. "Can it be done?"
Matsuoka just smiled at that. "I'll get to it right away." he said before turning to the door he passed through. Just when he was about to leave, Kahori asked him, "How is…"
She never finished.
"Hn." Matsuoka smiled in reply. "Oh, in very good hands, Kahori, just in good hands. If you wish for it to stay that way, you know what to do." he finished before walking away.
*****
"Dear, do you have everything already?" came the voice of the excited father as he played with his son.
"Hai!" came the enthusiastic reply before his wife came out of the bathroom wearing a loose-fitting cotton shirt and a skirt. Her husband whistled.
"Hon!" his wife responded, a faint blush covering her cheeks. Her husband just laughed at her.
"C'mon," he continued as he shifted the moving bundle on his arms, "time to go."
Just then, the doctor came in. "Ah, Kamiya-sensei!" the father greeted the petite woman. "We were just going out to find you."
Kahori just looked at the family in front of her when a slight pang hit her. She ignored it. "Thank you. So," she turned to the wife, "Michi-san, how are you doing?"
Hishikawa Michi looked at the doctor and smiled, "Very well, thanks to you. Although I knew ahead of time what pains I would endure, it was worth it." she said, glancing at her son who had just fallen asleep on her husband's arms. She reached over unconsciously to brush her son's face with her fingers. "He's beautiful… More beautiful than I could ever hope for." she said quietly, brushing aside the urge to cry. She turned her gray eyes to Kahori again. "You gave us hope and our son. We could never thank you enough."
Kahori raised a hand in a placating gesture, smiling a little. "The pleasure's mine, Michi-san, the pleasure's been mine. Well, please don't let me get in the way. Have a safe trip home and thank you."
"No," Michi looked at Kahori again, "Thank *you*." With that, she got up slowly and engulfed Kahori in a hug before following her husband out.
Kahori stared at the family with wistfulness. 'If they only knew what really happened then… I feel so sorry for not telling but…' Kahori felt the despair, the helplessness, and the pain just then. 'They are such good people, they don't deserve not knowing but…'
Kahori knew she was in a tight spot but she can't find a way out of this mess. 'If only…' Yes, that was what she had been musing on these last few months. If only things had been different. If only events didn't happen the way they did. If only… If only… If.
The doctor removed her glasses and sat down on the vacated bed. Slowly, her blue eyes slid shut and she let her mind wander to the past, to where the times were different and she had been another person.
***flashback***
"Oneechan! [big sister!] Oneechan!" came a small voice. "Hora! [look!]"
"Ah! Sugoi! [That's great!] Megumi-chan, where'd you find this?" came Kahori's light voice as she peered at the small yet delicate shell her younger sister had found.
"There!" pointed the little girl with long, dark hair tied up in a loose ponytail to a place further along the beach shore.
"Want to take me there?"
"Unh!" the small child of about seven replied with glee. A small hand came up and started to pull Kahori towards the beach with childhood eagerness. "Hayaku! [hurry!]"
Kahori laughed. "Hai, hai! 'Neechan's coming!"
***End flashback***
Kahori knew someone was calling her name but she took her time. Slowly, she began to drag herself back to the real world.
"Sensei? Oh, thank goodness!" came a relieved voice.
Kahori found herself staring at one of the nurses who came with another person Kahori did not recognize. Unfazed, Kahori just looked at them and said, "Daijoubu… Just tired."
"Ah… Well, that's good, ma'am. We thought… well, we thought you went into shock or something."
Kahori got up. "You're here to change the sheets?" At their nods, Kahori started for the door. "Sorry to make you worry." Before either individual could reply to her, Kahori walked out the door and walked around to start her rounds.
End of Chapter One.
Note: Well, that's the first chapter and I hope that you're still with me ^^x I'm not an expert with hospitals and so, please forgive my lack of descriptions and such --; Hmm… so, what is the baby? You'll know in the next chapters so… watch out for those ^^
C&C's welcomed! ^^
Timeline: Sometime in the distant future
Type of fic: Alternate Universe
Other notes: There may be some expletives here so I'm apologizing ahead of time ^^; Also, I will be changing the personalities of the characters we have in some aspects. Furthermore, I will also change some of the ages and who's older than whom 'k? ^^;
Some rants ;p
-Thanks, Jason Lee, for the review! ^^ I am praying that the succeeding chapters would be satisfactory ;p
-Yes, Kahori is Kaoru... ;p
-Talaco? I'll look for the stories then! ^^ Thanks for the pointer ^^ Truth be told, I haven't been reading RK fics recently... too busy with the RK site I'm maintaining T.T *sigh* not to mention the fanfic archive I've been neglecting for some time! T.T
Ok, enough of my woes... ;p on with the story! ^^
Rebirth
Chapter One: The Start of Everything
--------------------
"Sensei, domo arigato." [Doctor, thank you.] the short man said when the young doctor made her way to the door of the hospital room. The doctor just nodded her head and turned to leave once again. But, she felt the man's gaze on her back and turned back to him, an expectant look etched on his features.
"They're just fine, Hishikawa-san. Your wife is just tired but your son is perfectly fine." she replied in what she hoped to be a cheerful tone. She even threw in a smile which felt so false to her. Fortunately, the man didn't see it that way. He actually slumped in relief and faced her.
"Yokatta desu." [That's good.] he said thankfully. "For a minute there I was worried."
"May I ask why?" the doctor asked a little timidly.
"Uh? Oh! That's because… You see, my wife looked like she… spaced out… earlier." The man thought he saw something flicker across the doctor's features but decided that it was just his overactive imagination on the run once again.
The doctor smiled again, "It's probably just the fatigue of giving birth." she supplied hopefully.
"Eh? Oh, I do hope so. I mean, she's been so stressed out recently that I thought she wouldn't… make it… and…"
"I understand, sir. Please take care of your family." the doctor comforted him, although her voice hitched just the slightest bit on the last word. "Your son is beautiful."
The short, handsome man regarded the doctor with appreciation, "Hai. Arigato."
Once the doctor went out of the room, the man turned back to his wife who was gazing tenderly at their newborn son. "Hon, how are you now?"
"Just fine, dear." came the honest reply.
"That's good." the man said as he approached and sat down on the bed, gazing at his wife and son lovingly. He reached over slowly and felt his son's soft skin under his fingers. "What shall we call him?"
"What about Shinta?" his wife answered after some time of careful consideration. "It was one of the names we chose right?"
The man smiled his assent. "Aa. That name is good." He turned again his gaze to his son. "Welcome to the world, Hishikawa Shinta."
*****
Kahori leaned her back against the door, lost in thoughts. 'So, some of it has already begun. Everything is proceeding so far as we had predicted.'
"Kamiya-sensei?" a voice invaded her thoughts and she snapped out of her musings. Kahori found herself face to face with a nurse with a worried expression on her face. "Daijoubu desu ka?"
"Ee. Gomen nasai." Kahori replied with a soft voice.
The nurse just smiled and walked down the corridor towards the station. Kahori breathed out a sigh of relief. 'If I keep spacing out like that, might as well advertise to the whole world about what we're doing.' she thought ruefully as she started to walk towards her office. Kahori watched the people around bustle with activity and greeted some of the people in her usual friendly, yet impassive, way.
Once she reached her office, Kahori tugged the sign saying that the doctor is still out before entering quietly. Inside, she locked her door and took off her doctor's smock, stretching her limbs to remove some of the tension and knots that had formed there.
"Ooh… That feels nice." she said before heading over to the couch she kept inside her sanctum. Once seated, she dozed off almost immediately.
**flashback/dream**
Ring. Ring. Ring.
"Moshi moshi," [hello] a quiet voice answered the phone, "Kamiya desu."
Silence.
Then, "MEGUMI-CHAN!... Iie… KISAMA!!... GIVE HER BACK, YOU BASTARD!"
Crying.
"… NOOO…KISAMA… Kisama… Ki… sama…"
Crying.
"Give… her… back…"
Silence.
"IIIIIIEEEE!"
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Thud. Crying…
Rain…
** End of flashback/dream **
"IYA!" she screamed, coming back to consciousness. Her body was shaking uncontrollably as she buried her face in her hands, crying her heart out, bleeding the despair she felt in her situation to the emptiness of her surroundings.
"Iya…"
Some time later, Kahori managed to drag herself from her couch and into the small bathroom at the back of the office. Going directly for the sink, she turned the handle and watched the water gush out from the faucet. Cupping her hands under the lukewarm liquid, she gathered a small amount and splashed her face with it, willing the despair, the hatred, and the helplessness to bleed away with every drop of the cleansing water. Over and over she repeated the procedure until she felt herself calm down considerably.
Groping with one hand, she found her towel and wiped her face clean while she closed the faucet with the other. When she straightened up, she saw her reflection on the mirror above the faucet. Her once bright and warm blue eyes were now dull and devoid of life. Her cheeks, once a healthy color now seemed a tad pale. And her hair was in a disarray.
Reaching inside the cabinet for a comb, she carefully worked out the tangles that had accumulated over the day. Once that was done, Kahori started to brush down her hair. Closing her eyes, she let herself fall into the rhythm of the brush strokes. Finally, once she decided that she was calm enough, Kahori redid her hair and stepped out of the bathroom. Once again reaching for her smock, she turned to a featureless section of the wall behind her desk and touched a blank spot.
Immediately, a section of the wall came forward and slid to the side, revealing a dark and foreboding passageway. Kahori touched another unseen panel on the wall before slipping into the darkness.
"I will protect you, imouto…" she thought as the panel behind her swung shut.
Just after the hidden panel clicked shut, "Sensei? Kamiya-sensei?" a voice called outside the office. "Eto, Kamiya-sensei?"
When nobody responded to the person's summons, "Odd, I thought I saw her come in earlier… I didn't see her come out though."
Another voice answered, "Maybe you weren't paying enough attention, baka."
"Oi!"
"Just kidding!" the second person answered. This person sighed. "Anyways, it doesn't look like she's there so I think I'll just come back later."
"Oh, ok… Was your business with her urgent?"
"Huh? Oh, no… Just wanted to ask her something but she apparently isn't there so I'll just come back some other time."
The chattering died down gradually and the doctor's office was once again left to the silence.
*****
Kahori walked slowly along the passageway, groping for the light switch on the wall. Once she found it, she walked more quickly through the underground labyrinth until she came upon thick twin glass doors which she pushed open. Once inside, her hand reached automatically to the side to switch off the lights at the passageway she vacated.
Kahori looked inside the room, a laboratory filled with a variety of equipment both legal and illegal materials from floor to ceiling. There was nobody around at the moment and Kahori sighed inwardly. It was rare that she reached the lab first and she could use the breathing space. However, even before she could stop herself, Kahori found herself moving to the test tubes set beside a small tank filled with some sticky liquid. Pulling a chair to sit on, Kahori folded her arms on the desk stationed before the equipment and put her chin on top of it. Although none of her expression showed it, amazement still tinted her eyes in their depths.
'Although I know of sin that was created, I still wonder how we were able to pull it all off.' she mused silently before hastily noticing that she wasn't alone in the room. Turning around quickly in her seat, she found herself facing the curious green eyes of Matsuoka.
"Matsuoka-sensei." she acknowledged his presence with a surprisingly steady voice.
"Please, Kahori, how many times do I have to tell you that we shouldn't be so formal with each other?" Matsuoka said with slight amusement which made Kahori narrow her eyes somewhat.
"Very well, Akira-san."
Matsuoka Akira just sighed. 'Such a difficult woman!' he thought, exasperatedly.
"The boss will call shortly and I suggest that you make sure everything's perfect this time around." Matsuoka continued as if nothing happened earlier. At Kahori's nod, Matsuoka turned around and took a clipboard from a nearby table littered with paper containing test results and other pertinent data. "According to these, Sample A is progressing at the rate we had expected." At Kahori's second nod, Matsuoka continued his monologue. "Oh, and he will be released from the hospital soon so we better keep an eye on him."
"We?" Kahori asked, stressing the word with enough contempt that made Matsuoka look up at her with genuine surprise.
"Yes," he answered with conviction, "we as in you," he pointed at her, "and me." he pointed at himself. "Since we happen to be the ones who… made… him, we should keep track of his progress, don't you think?"
'Or you just want to spend as much time with me more than you let on. I'm not stupid.' Kahori thought but said instead, "Whatever. But don't you think we might make the family panic if we put them under surveillance? Or maybe Subject A might react in an unknown manner to our continued presence? Matsuo… Akira-san, I told you that there are a lot of unknown factors yet about him and I personally do not want to find out what he is capable of yet at this age."
Matusoka leaned back on the wall to hide his surprise. Since Kahori had joined his staff, she had chosen not to speak in great length and this was the first time he'd heard her really talk. "So, what do you suggest then? Leave him be with them until…?"
"I don't know." Kahori interrupted him, slightly showing her exasperation on her face. "But I don't think we should be too involved with them. Yes, we should keep them within sight but I don't…"
"How about surveillance cameras and such? Surely that'll be 'discreet' as you would put it."
Kahori seemed to consider it. "Can it be done?"
Matsuoka just smiled at that. "I'll get to it right away." he said before turning to the door he passed through. Just when he was about to leave, Kahori asked him, "How is…"
She never finished.
"Hn." Matsuoka smiled in reply. "Oh, in very good hands, Kahori, just in good hands. If you wish for it to stay that way, you know what to do." he finished before walking away.
*****
"Dear, do you have everything already?" came the voice of the excited father as he played with his son.
"Hai!" came the enthusiastic reply before his wife came out of the bathroom wearing a loose-fitting cotton shirt and a skirt. Her husband whistled.
"Hon!" his wife responded, a faint blush covering her cheeks. Her husband just laughed at her.
"C'mon," he continued as he shifted the moving bundle on his arms, "time to go."
Just then, the doctor came in. "Ah, Kamiya-sensei!" the father greeted the petite woman. "We were just going out to find you."
Kahori just looked at the family in front of her when a slight pang hit her. She ignored it. "Thank you. So," she turned to the wife, "Michi-san, how are you doing?"
Hishikawa Michi looked at the doctor and smiled, "Very well, thanks to you. Although I knew ahead of time what pains I would endure, it was worth it." she said, glancing at her son who had just fallen asleep on her husband's arms. She reached over unconsciously to brush her son's face with her fingers. "He's beautiful… More beautiful than I could ever hope for." she said quietly, brushing aside the urge to cry. She turned her gray eyes to Kahori again. "You gave us hope and our son. We could never thank you enough."
Kahori raised a hand in a placating gesture, smiling a little. "The pleasure's mine, Michi-san, the pleasure's been mine. Well, please don't let me get in the way. Have a safe trip home and thank you."
"No," Michi looked at Kahori again, "Thank *you*." With that, she got up slowly and engulfed Kahori in a hug before following her husband out.
Kahori stared at the family with wistfulness. 'If they only knew what really happened then… I feel so sorry for not telling but…' Kahori felt the despair, the helplessness, and the pain just then. 'They are such good people, they don't deserve not knowing but…'
Kahori knew she was in a tight spot but she can't find a way out of this mess. 'If only…' Yes, that was what she had been musing on these last few months. If only things had been different. If only events didn't happen the way they did. If only… If only… If.
The doctor removed her glasses and sat down on the vacated bed. Slowly, her blue eyes slid shut and she let her mind wander to the past, to where the times were different and she had been another person.
***flashback***
"Oneechan! [big sister!] Oneechan!" came a small voice. "Hora! [look!]"
"Ah! Sugoi! [That's great!] Megumi-chan, where'd you find this?" came Kahori's light voice as she peered at the small yet delicate shell her younger sister had found.
"There!" pointed the little girl with long, dark hair tied up in a loose ponytail to a place further along the beach shore.
"Want to take me there?"
"Unh!" the small child of about seven replied with glee. A small hand came up and started to pull Kahori towards the beach with childhood eagerness. "Hayaku! [hurry!]"
Kahori laughed. "Hai, hai! 'Neechan's coming!"
***End flashback***
Kahori knew someone was calling her name but she took her time. Slowly, she began to drag herself back to the real world.
"Sensei? Oh, thank goodness!" came a relieved voice.
Kahori found herself staring at one of the nurses who came with another person Kahori did not recognize. Unfazed, Kahori just looked at them and said, "Daijoubu… Just tired."
"Ah… Well, that's good, ma'am. We thought… well, we thought you went into shock or something."
Kahori got up. "You're here to change the sheets?" At their nods, Kahori started for the door. "Sorry to make you worry." Before either individual could reply to her, Kahori walked out the door and walked around to start her rounds.
End of Chapter One.
Note: Well, that's the first chapter and I hope that you're still with me ^^x I'm not an expert with hospitals and so, please forgive my lack of descriptions and such --; Hmm… so, what is the baby? You'll know in the next chapters so… watch out for those ^^
C&C's welcomed! ^^