Tales from the Meiji Ward
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Stepping through the electronic entrance at Takani Psychiatric Hospital, Aoshi waved good morning to one of the receptionists before heading towards the locker change rooms to replace his trench coat with a white coat that fell half way between his knees and his ankles. Stifling a yawn Aoshi swiped his security card and then entered the locker room and plonked himself down on the bench in front of his locker. He had fallen asleep on the couch and had not moved from his position and was now paying the price as his neck and shoulders ached.
"Good morning Shinomori-san!" Aoshi peeled his eyes towards another intern and gave the elder man a nod before pulling open his locker and shedding his trench coat.
"Another fine day it is if I don't say so myself." The elder man prattled away while taking off his coat and placing it in his locker along with his badge. He was just knocking off from his shift.
"Aa…" Aoshi mumbled a small reply and then stuffed his bag in the locker before kicking it closed with his boot.
"Are the rumours true Shinomori-san?"
"What rumours?"
"That you've been assigned the Meiji Ward of course."
"Aa…now if you'll excuse me." Aoshi retorted once more as he headed out the door and down the hallway with his hands in his trouser pockets.
"You're here bright and early." Picking his green-grey eyes from the tiled floor Aoshi stared into maroon orbs.
"It's nearly 8am Dr Takani and that is when my shift starts."
"Oh, so it does." Narrowing his eyes at the smiling woman he watched as she moved past him and continued on her way towards her office he presumed. The only ward down this section of the hospital was the one he was assigned to and Aoshi didn't think the lady doctor would associate with his patients. He shrugged not thinking more of it and swiped his security card through the protective lock keeping the patients inside and heard the door buzz before pushing on it to head inside.
"Good morning Shinomori-san." Aoshi glanced down at the ID card the guy had attached to his white coat.
"Good morning Shiro-san. So how have they been this morning?" Aoshi questioned while taking a report from the shorter guy and glanced around the living room. At this very moment two of his patients conversed quietly while one absently fiddled with some paper as he began to role it like a cigarette. That was definitely Saitou Hajime. The one next to him was none other then Takeda Tokio. Over the other side of the table was the man in the straight jacket, Yukishiro Enishi whom was intently watching Kamiya Kaoru run around after a spiky haired man with a broom.
"I see…" Aoshi muttered to himself not needing Shiro to answer his question. Green-grey eyes flickered about the place and came across the redhead softly humming and…dusting. Aoshi sighed lightly before stepping further into the room and his hand reached out as he grasped the broom handle making Kaoru squeak in surprise as she was running past but instead began falling to the floor having lost her balance. She needn't worry about hitting the hard tiled floor as Aoshi shot out his other arm to catch her.
"There will be no more brooms Kamiya-san." Wide blue eyes stared up at him before Aoshi rose to his normal height and straightened Kaoru back up. She stepped away from him, her eyes blinking silently up at him as he held the broom behind his back with his left hand.
"You will learn to control your temper or else you will be confined to your room for the rest of the day. Do I make myself clear?" Aoshi watched as Kaoru jerked her head in an affirmative reply before scampering off to sit in a chair and browse through some magazines trying desperately not to listen to the snickering coming from the spiky haired patient known as Sagara Sanosuke. Serious green-grey eyes turned to crinkled cinnamon coloured ones and Aoshi made his way over to chuckling man.
"Sagara-san?"
"Yeah?"
"I would like for you to go sit in that corner over there." Aoshi pointed to a spot just behind where the redhead was still dusting and not paying attention to anything that was occurring.
"You want me to what?"
"You wish to act like a child then I will treat you like one. I will continue to ask you to sit in that very corner if you insist on tormenting Kamiya-san. Now go…or I might have to call up Sae and Tae and tell them exactly where you are." Aoshi watched as cinnamon widened at his words before Sanosuke picked up a pencil, began chewing on the end of it and headed for the corner. He plonked himself down and visibly sulked in the corner like a small child.
"Oro?" Came a mutter from that direction and Aoshi found the source of it as large violet eyes blinked silently over at him. So that's what al the 'oro-ing' was about. That's when Aoshi pulled up a chair next to the man with white hair and turquoise eyes, Yukishiro Enishi and snapped his fingers to grab the man's attention.
"Yukishiro-san can you tell me why you're in that jacket?"
"If you answer that Yukishiro I'll stab you with this very piece of paper." Aoshi's eyes roamed to narrowed golden ones and watched a cruel smirk cross the man's dark features. There was scraping from a chair as Aoshi blinked several times and watched the straight jacket Enishi head back towards his room without a single glance back.
"And who gives you the right to threaten him?" Aoshi questioned Saitou Hajime and watched the man's smirk grow.
"When you've heard the story enough times like we have, someone is bound to want to beat him up for being over dramatic. Besides shouldn't you be thanking me for saving you the boring outcome of it?"
"Why would you say its boring?"
"In short, his sister is dead, he obsesses over her too much and continuously babbles about her to scar face over there who really doesn't give a rats ass and then profusely tries to harm violent girl over here."
"HEY!" Kaoru flung out of her chair but stopped when Aoshi rose a hand.
"Kamiya-san control yourself." Her fists were balled tightly together, steam practically rising from her face, but she took a deep breath and shuffled back over to the chair. Aoshi turned his head to see the grin still on Saitou's face. The look in his eyes, that sickly grin on his face its like he had just found his new prey.
"A wolf…" Aoshi spoke aloud and watched Saitou's head tilt at his words.
"A wolf? What does that mean? Is that some doctor talk?" He remarked and then eyed the woman beside him who had visibly stiffened at Aoshi's words.
"If you can't figure that out then you really aren't as smart as I thought a detective would be, ne Takeda-san?" Aoshi diverted his eyes to the wide-eyed Takeda Tokio and watched as she picked up a book and hid her face in it as though it had become the most fascinating thing in the entire world.
"Takeda-san we shall speak another day alright?" Aoshi watched her nod behind the book and then he got up from his chair to head for the next patient he wanted to secretly analyse as he chatted with them. As he walked off he heard Saitou question the woman sitting next to him but she had muttered it was nothing and headed quietly for her own room with a pair of golden eyes watching her intently. Aoshi shook his head. The supposed "cop" maybe a smart-ass but when it came to that woman, he was an oblivious moron.
"Am I next Shinomori-san?" Aoshi turned his green-grey eyes to a man with long black hair placed in a low ponytail. He was sitting near one of the many windows lining the living room, on the floor for that matter and with his eyes closed.
"Next for what?" Aoshi questioned the larger built man as he crouched down to his level and watched his eyes snap open to gaze upon his semi hidden ones.
"Analysis of course."
"I found a smart one." Aoshi quirked his lips as did the older man before Hiko Seijiro let off a light chuckle.
"I knew I was good to begin with, I needn't your help to figure that out intern boy."
"Hmm, keep calling me intern boy and you won't be getting out Hiko-san." He watched a slight frown appear on the mans once upturned lips as he glanced away from his cold eyes and muttered,
"Hai, hai Shinomori-san."
Drawing himself to his feet Aoshi stepped in front of the short 15-year-old boy who was running past, but had skidded to a halt before crashing into him.
"Move outta my way, I'm training!" He snapped at Aoshi before blinking owlishly as the taller and older man dropped to his knees once more.
"Heh, can I watch you train to see how much further you need to go before becoming a real samurai?"
"Honto desu ka?" The boy, Myojin Yahiko, questioned with a bit of excitement in his voice. It appeared no one had ever taken an interest in his "skills" before.
"Aa, but will you allow me twenty minutes before coming to see how good you are?"
"You bet!" Aoshi watched the kid run off at that.
"Ano, Shinomori-san, is it wise of you to encourage the boy like that?" Aoshi rose to his usual six-foot height and stared down at violet eyes as the feminine man had come to him instead. Placing some distance between himself and the "laundry lady" Aoshi glanced down at the chuckling Hiko as he heard him mutter out a "baka deshi" to the owlishly looking redhead.
"Oro?"
"The boy merely wishes to train in martial arts what is wrong with that?"
"Well…" The redhead began before both men watched Hiko rise to his feet.
"I place it in these terms for you baka deshi. Would you rather the boy be the way he is now or have him crack as someone tells him he is not a reincarnated or possessed samurai and then have him go around trying to kill us all?" I quirked an eyebrow and watched the tall man head off towards his own room as he lightly complained he was surrounded by idiots.
"Now Himura-san I think we need to chat."
"Kenshin…"
"Hmm?"
"I prefer Kenshin." Aoshi watched the man smile up at him. From the sudden movement of his head tilting back it brushed loose strands of his orange hair away from his cheeks. There, on his left cheek lay a crossed shaped scar and now Aoshi understood why Saitou had referred to him as "scar face".
"Alright Kenshin, please have a seat." Aoshi pointed to one of the chairs and Kenshin slowly descended to it.
"Is something the matter?" Kenshin softly questioned the newest intern in the ward he was staying in.
"Shouldn't that be my question to ask you?" He watched the man laugh lightly and truly wondered why he was in here. Its not like he was truly a threat unless he really did rip peoples clothes off trying to wash them.
"YOU STUPID LITTE BRAT! THAT WAS MY FOOT!" Aoshi frowned and turned around to see Kaoru hitting Yahiko on the head.
"Kamiya-san, to your room please." He watched blue eyes dart his way, before her shoulders slumped and she shamefully headed towards her room. Turning his body around and positioning his eyes back to violet Aoshi was surprised to see they weren't focused on him at all and were in fact still watching Kaoru's retreating back.
"Taken a liking to Kamiya-san I see." Aoshi watched as Kenshin spluttered and blushed trying to come up with an excuse but was soon hit on the head by the passing Hiko as he had returned to the living room once more.
"Baka, don't make excuses. Everyone in the ward knows you like her except the violent girl herself." Aoshi was surprised as violet eyes narrowed at those words and knew that Hiko had hit a soft spot within the feminine man.
"In any case, no matter what kind of woman it is, even one such as her, the company of a lady is far better then being alone, so why not jump at the opportunity while you're here." The two siting men watched as Hiko once more wondered off to another part of the ward and once again sat on the floor, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.
"I'm not saying you should jump at her Kenshin, but perhaps befriending her is best for now." Aoshi watched as the redhead blushed at his words and he sighed once more before voicing his personal and not professional opinion about the situation.
"Perhaps you can bring back her self esteem a little by allowing her to feel something…even if its only the friendship of another that will not mock her ways ne?" Aoshi watched as Kenshin nodded his head before standing up instantly and that's when Aoshi felt the low ki of one Kamiya Kaoru. He too stood up and turned to face her. There was guilt written all over her features.
"Shinomori-san gomen nasai, can I please leave my room now?" Aoshi arched an eyebrow at her, as she looked more like a 17-year-old rather then a 21-year-old at this very moment.
"I suppose for today you can, but if you slip up you won't get another chance and will remain in your room for the rest of the day. I will be keeping an eye on you understand?" Aoshi watched her nod her head and just before she was about to walk off she was haltered in her footsteps by the quiet voice of Kenshin.
"Ka-Kamiya-san, would you like a drink?"
"Okay…" Aoshi watched the two quiet and blushing patients walk towards the smaller kitchen area in the large living room to grab some water from the fridge. Aoshi smirked lightly as he began to mentally report on the patients he had spoken with so far. Damn he was good at his job if he didn't say so himself and then his eyes snapped wide open as he finally noticed that Hiko had already rubbed off on him as he began to compliment himself. His thoughts were lost however when there was insistent tugging on his coat.
"Ne Shinomori-san is twenty minutes up yet?"
"Nearly Yahiko, but I just have a few more rounds so…"
"Shishio-sama are you really leaving today?" Green-grey focused on another two of his patients as they moved into the living room to stare about the place.
"Please be patient Yahiko, I'll be right back." The boy nodded his head and once more went into some form of training. Aoshi's heavy boots carried him over to the shorter boy clinging pathetically to a narrowed-eyed Shishio Makoto.
"Why must you leave Shishio-sama?"
"Because that Himura isn't worthy enough to be my opponent any longer." Came the dark emotionless answer from Shishio. Aoshi quirked his eyebrow and knew these two were going to be shitloads easier then his other patients.
"Seta-san you look sad." Aoshi confessed as he interrupted whatever else Shishio was about to remark on to the young man currently glomping him.
"You must be seeing things, for he always smiles."
"Ah, but look at this." Aoshi voiced while turning the two patients towards the one way window of the office and watched as the blue eyed boy gasped in surprise. Though his face was smiling, his eyes were full of pain and worry.
"You don't wish to be in here without Shishio-sama?" Soujiro nodded his head at Aoshi's words while still clinging to Shishio who was staring at their reflections still.
"He has to stay with me because I keep him away from the fire." Soujiro expressed while finally letting go of his 'master'. Taking a deep breath Soujiro finally confessed a bit more. "If he gets to leave then I will want to go as well. Shishio-sama cannot be alone out there."
"Is that right?" Aoshi questioned the 22-year-old and watched as glassy blue eyes focused on cold dark ones belonging to Shishio.
"If he leaves, Shishio-sama will be all alone and I'll…" He never did finish as Shishio placed his bandaged hand on the boy's head. He still had several burns from his latest "torch incident" he had placed himself through.
"Aa, I understand." It wasn't long before he was glomped by the boy once more and he just sighed in exasperation knowing there was no use trying to change him because that was the way Seta Soujiro was.
"Shiro-san?" Aoshi knocked on the office door and watched it open.
"Please fill out the necessary paperwork as we have two patients who are joining the outside world again." Aoshi contorted while placing his hand out gesturing to Shishio Makoto and Seta Soujiro.
"Right away Shinomori-san." Shiro voiced and headed back inside to type up a couple of letters as Aoshi would need to sign them and then Shishio and Soujiro would be released from hospital.
# Time passes #
Aoshi yawned as he sat slumped on the bench in the locker rooms once more. He had just finished off a 12-hour shift and was looking forward to heading on home.
Placing his coat in his locker Aoshi once again took the same route towards the exit but stopped in his tracks as he glanced down the dark hallway and noticed lights were on in the ward he had just left. He could see the reflection of the bright lights on the floor and walls of the hallway as it shone through the small windows in both the double doors.
"Strange, I thought I turned them off." Heading down the corridor Aoshi swiped his security card and as usual the door unlocked for him as he headed inside. Staring around the quiet living room as the patients had been adjourned to their rooms for the evening; Aoshi glanced at the chair he had sat in after releasing Shishio and Soujiro from the ward.
During the day he had sat numerous times in that very chair and watched as Yahiko performed some moves for him. The boy was a little sloppy in his moves, but while he watched, Aoshi commented quietly, which made the boy smile. It wasn't long before the chair next to him was taken up by Kenshin himself who opted to voice his own opinion about certain things and then to everyone's surprise Saitou of all people had corrected Yahiko on a swing. This truly was a strange ward indeed. Aoshi moved on over to the light switch but stopped from turning them off as he noticed someone sitting in the blue cushioned chair and staring out the window.
"You should be resting." Aoshi spoke as he headed on over to the patient in his black trench coat and stared down at the girl. Placing his bag on the ground he crouched beside the chair to gaze upon her unmoving form. If he didn't see her blink he would have thought she was dead.
"You must be Makimachi Misao." Aoshi spoke quietly and received no answer from the girl, but one glance up into those ocean blue eyes he new his assumption was correct. This was the girl who had watched her grandfather die in front of her.
"Not much of a talker I see. In any case my name is Aoshi Shinomori." As he thought, no reply yet again.
"Can I call you Misao?" Aoshi questioned the silent girl and watched as she blinked her eyes not refusing and not complying with him.
"Alright then, Misao it is."
"I shouldn't allow you to remain out here, but of course when I leave you will just come straight back to this chair and this window right?" Another blink and Aoshi let out an inaudible sigh. He stood to his feet and headed on over to the office. It wasn't long before he was back and with something clutched in his hands.
"If you are going to remain out here, then I suggest you bring a blanket next time." Aoshi spoke to himself as usual and unfolded the blanket before placing it over Misao's unmoving petite form. As he stared down into her ocean orbs, blocking her view of the window, all she did was blink. There was nothing in those eyes. No life whatsoever and it made a terrible shiver run down Aoshi's spine. Was he too late? Was he too late to try and help her?
While pulling away from her motionless figure Aoshi picked up his bag and headed for the doors once more. He turned to gaze at her curled form in the chair and felt for the girl. The other interns obviously lacked a small amount of heart to at least chat with the patients a bit more. All it took was honest words and more understanding and two patients had joined the outside world again.
Aoshi knew he still had his work cut out for him, but what was wrong with just sitting down and listening to them for a moment? Perhaps his methods were better then any other interns because he too knew what it was like to have problems he needed help with getting over.
"Good night Misao." Aoshi knew he wouldn't receive a response from her and swiped his security pass through the detector once more and left the ward for another day. She was going to be his toughest challenge yet.
Moving back down the corridor Aoshi turned the corner he was originally suppose to head down and walked out of the entrance to the hospital and towards the staff carpark to get into his car and head on home.
# At Aoshi's Apartment #
Dumping his bag on the floor after closing and locking his door, Aoshi shuffled towards his bedroom. His trench coat was thrown on the couch were a hiss came from as it has landed on Eclipse who was now wriggling her way out from under it and followed Aoshi into his room all the while meowing as she did so. Instead of paying attention to his pet Aoshi flopped down on his bed stomach first as a throbbing headache assaulted his right temple. Aoshi's hand pat the bed and then he felt a lightweight against the mattress as he allowed Eclipse to sleep on it with him.
"I'll feed you tomorrow…" Aoshi mumbled into his hand as he leaned on it as it now rested against his pillows while he shut his heavy eyelids closed. A soft fur ball curled into the gap between his underarm and his right side as Eclipse purred while snuggling into the warmer Aoshi.
To think Aoshi thought this day was tiresome. He still didn't know how much he was going to change as he took on the responsibility of trying to bring back the life into one Makimachi Misao's eyes.
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To be continued…
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