Question for the readers: is the paragraph spacing working out all right for you guys? Or would it be better if I reduced it to a one line gap between the paragraphs as opposed to two?
Little Collisions - Chapter 2'Just a moment, that's all I need' thought a very tired Kaoru Kamiya, M.D. The clinic had been busy all day, and as much as she loved her patients, she was all too happy the clock showed that office hours were over. The mountain of paperwork and charts that beckoned to her like bony fingers of death, was another matter.
Luckily for her, the phone chose just right then to ring, giving her an excuse to further put off filling out patients' charts and preparing blood work that needed to be sent to the lab. "Dr. Kamiya's office" she said professionally, into the phone.
"Oi, no 'moshi-moshi' from Jou-chan this time?" a deep and rough man's voice teasingly asked her from the other end of the line.
Kaoru let out a rich laugh, and felt the stress temporarily melt away at the sound of her brother-in-law's friendly voice. "Iie, not this time, Sano no baka" she replied to his reference of when he called her at work the last time, and her fading habit of reverting to Japanese had decided to pop up for old times sake. "Well, Sano…what's up?"
"Megumi was wondering if her, and I quote, 'too-busy-playing-doctor-excuse-of-a-tanuki-sister' would like to join her and her loving husband tonight for a nice homemade dinner." Sano grinned as he caught a cup flying from the kitchen followed by threats of wringing his rooster neck.
Kaoru laughed once more, and replied, "Gomen, I'm afraid I have to refuse my adorable sister and her equally adorable tori-atama of a husband. I still have a lot of work to finish up here before I begin my rounds at the hospital." She groaned inwardly, wishing she could trade hospital rounds for a good cooked meal by her sister Megumi. Damn if the woman hadn't gotten all of the culinary genes.
She finished up her call with Sano, and her mood felt light enough to attack her paperwork without too much grumbling. She thought of her sister and brother-in-law with much affection, for they were siblings as well as parents to her. She owed her happiness and current prosperity to them. When she had been a young girl in Japan, her parents had gotten into a fatal and tragic accident, leaving young Kaoru in need of a guardian. Her sister Megumi, who was finishing surgeon training in the States, came back home immediately after news of the accident reached her. The sisters were lucky, as their loving parents had taken care of any details that would set their children comfortably off for a while in case anything happened to them. Megumi decided to take her little sister back to the US with her, since a famous Dr. Genzai had offered Megumi the chance to follow in his footsteps.
Well, fifteen years later, and here Kaoru was. She had long ago decided to practice medicine as well, so she could "make everyone better" as she had once solemnly told her older sister a long time ago. Well, Kaoru followed through on her ambitions, and worked hard to land where she was now, with a budding and promising medical practice in New York City.
If only paperwork wasn't in the job description.
About two hours later, Kaoru stood up from her office chair and stretched hugely. 'There, paperwork and everything all done. Now to just tie everything up at the hospital, and that self-promised bubble bath is mine.'
With merry thoughts of steaming water and scented bubbles dancing in her head, Kaoru dashed out of the clinic, ready to head out to the hospital.
*BAM*
Instead of the cold winter air greeting air, she met with a lean but formidable wall of man and black overcoat. The impact caused her and the "wall" to stumble backwards and finally fall to the luckily carpeted floor. Papers swirled around them before settling into a jumbled mess, and Kaoru looked up into a pair of annoyed amethyst eyes.
Familiar, amethyst eyes.
~*~*~*~
A/N continued: Hmm, now how many people have *those* certain violet eyes? This chapter wasn't too big on the KxK Interaction, but ya gotta set up a story base, ne? Next chapter will be more…lively =P As for any questions about ages and what not, it'll all be clear as the story goes on…I promise I'm working it all in.
Now, time for thanks and whatnot:
Kyaa-Kyaff - thanks for the encouragement, it's great motivation to someone as lazy as I =)
Gypsy-chan - thank you!
Sabrina-star - thanks, and yeah…there will definitely be more "bumping" into ;)
Ewunia - glad you liked it
Chiki - hehe, I didn't exactly *mean* for him to be an arrogant jerk, but it suits the story. Maybe we'll see his gentler side later on in the story. And yes, he's very dreamy =P
Kamimura Kaoru - arigotou for the feedback!
Icegal - The age thing will unfold soon enough, sorry for making it vague in the beginning. Glad you found the orangutan's flea bit amusing, I was feeling random when I came up with it =)
Jason M. Lee - Just the thought of the jargon is making *my* eyes swirly. My mother's a doctor, and I've been to her clinic and the hospital enough times to get some of the lingo down, so let's just hope Kenshin the lawyer doesn't leave me stumped.
Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed!
-Pav