Author's Note: There probably are some (major) mistakes with the timeline on Mikagami's university life. Like when he turns in his thesis, when he studies for his final exams, and when he graduates. Anyways, different country universities have different schedules.
Baby Boom Mi-chan
Chapter Two
-Three Weeks Later-
Mikagami stood outside Dr. Kyle Sullivan's office, his hand half raised to knock on the door. He shouldn't be here, didn't want to be here. The reason why he was here had to be the stupidest reason in the world. He had no idea why he didn't just call or had asked three weeks before when Dr. Sullivan had called. Maybe he just feared that he would have stammered on the phone. He hated being so nervous when he was talking to or was around Dr. Sullivan.
Mikagami finally brought his hand fully up and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Mikagami opened the door and walked into the office. It was just a plain, ordinary office. To the left most corner of the room was a bookshelf filled with all sorts of books base on mathematics, virus diseases, and who knew what else. To his right was a couch. Straight ahead was a neatly organized desk. There was a black LCD monitor along with a black keyboard and speakers as well on the left side of the table. On the right side of the table were neatly stacked papers and a phone. In the middle was a picture frame. Next to the picture frame, closer to the middle of the desk so it wouldn't drop off the edge, was a mug.
Dr. Sullivan stood behind desk reading a chart.
It wasn't that Dr. Sullivan was rude. Whatever he was reading must have been important, otherwise, he would have looked up.
Mikagami took the liberty of sitting down on the couch. The minute his butt touched the cushion of the couch, he regretted coming here. What if one of the Hokage members came by Dr. Sullivan's office? He wasn't here to see Fuuko and he wasn't going to tell them the real reason why he was here. Maybe he should just leave while he still had the chance to.
"Are you here to see..."
Mikagami abruptly stood from the couch. "No, I'm not here to see Fuuko and I don't want anybody to know I was here!" He cursed himself in his head for being so harsh and rude when Dr. Sullivan hadn't done anything wrong. "Sorry, I'm just a little stressed out. I didn't mean to sound so harsh."
Dr. Sullivan looked at Mikagami for a while before setting down the chart and sliding his hands into his pockets. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly and waited for Mikagami to continue.
"You're younger than me, right?"
Dr. Sullivan remained silent for a while. "You couldn't ask this over the phone?"
"It slipped my mind." Mikagami lied.
Dr. Sullivan exhaled and said, "Probably so."
Mikagami knew he liked this guy. He wasn't the kind of guy that questioned anybody no matter how foolish and stupid their questions were and how suspicious they acted. Questioning and suspicion were only given to people he didn't trust and didn't know. He was mostly a straight-forward kind of guy. He was mostly straight to the point and precise, never leading people in one big round with nonsense.
"You won't tell anyone I was here, right?" Mikagami knew he probably wouldn't, but wanted to be certain.
"As long as they don't ask," Dr. Sullivan said and then looked down at the top sheet of the stake of papers, his eyes quickly examining what was written on it.
Kyle Sullivan wasn't the kind of guy who would lie, so Mikagami would have to except what Dr. Sullivan offered. As long as nobody asked about him or his whereabouts, Dr. Sullivan wouldn't say a word about him. He would just have to pray that none of the Hokage would think that he had any contact with Dr. Sullivan.
Mikagami nodded. "Thanks."
Dr. Sullivan looked up from what he was reading and nodded back before returning to what he was reading.
There were a few moments of silence before Mikagami spoke. "How is it possible that you're a doctor when you're so young?"
Dr. Sullivan looked up at Mikagami again. "I don't remember."
Mikagami nodded and turned around to leave.
"She asked for you," Dr. Sullivan said when Mikagami turned the doorknob.
When Mikagami turned back around, Dr. Sullivan was reading the second top most sheet of paper that was in the stack. Dr. Sullivan probably figured that Fuuko didn't mind him telling him this since she wanted him to show. But he couldn't face her, not right now at least. By the time she got back home, he'd probably be readier.
"How is she?" Mikagami couldn't help asking.
"Tired, but other than that she's okay," Dr. Sullivan responded without looking up from the sheet of paper. "Why don't you go and see her? She's probably asleep." Dr. Sullivan looked up as he picked up a sheet of paper and the chart he had been reading when Mikagami first entered. "You'll have to excuse me," Dr. Sullivan said, stepping out from behind his desk. "I have to check on a patient."
Fuuko stared up at the blank ceiling. She was tired, but she couldn't sleep. Her thoughts were on her youngest child, Yuki. She had told Dr. Sullivan not to explain to her what was wrong, but only to tell her that he was getting better and that he'd be all right. So, when results were bad, he wouldn't say anything. When results were good, he'd tell her. Her thoughts were also on Mikagami. Why hadn't he come? She had already forgiven him. Why hadn't he visited?
A soft knock on the door snapped Fuuko out of her thoughts.
The door slowly opened and Dr. Sullivan stepped in, closing the door behind him.
Fuuko sat up, adjusting the pillows behind her. "What's up, Dr. Kyle?"
Dr. Sullivan's eyes looked upwards for a second before returning to her. "The ceiling," he replied honestly.
Fuuko gave him a look. "Obvious," she said, rolling her eyes. "You know what I mean."
"You'll be glad to know that you can return home in less than a week." Dr. Sullivan said, walking to the foot of her bed. "All of your children are fine. Your youngest child just might need a little extra attention than the rest. You might want to breast feed him a little longer than the rest--"
Her expression fell. "Say what? I have to breast feed all of them!"
"It's really your choice."
"My choice... huh?" She said slowly. "Times like this when I wish you'd give me strict orders instead of giving me a choice."
Dr. Sullivan shook his head.
Fuuko grinned. "Some doctors may give strict orders, but you don't and probably never will." After a few moments, Fuuko's smile disappeared and her expression slowly turned sad. "Did Mikagami come by or call you?" There was a little bit of expectancy in her tone and expression.
"Dr. Sullivan, wait." Mikagami said as Dr. Sullivan opened the door. "Whether or not she asks," he paused. "tell her that I stopped by." Mikagami turned his head to look at Dr. Sullivan. "Tell her that I asked about her."
"He came by my office," Dr. Sullivan said, picking up the chart that was at the foot of her bed. "He asked about you." He said, his eyes scanning her chart.
Fuuko's expression seemed to brighten. "Really?" She knew Kyle wouldn't lie, but she didn't think Mikagami would ask about her since he didn't visit her. "Do you know why he didn't come and see me?"
Dr. Sullivan looked up at her as he put the chart back in place in the pocket at the foot of her bed.
"If she asks why I didn't visit her," Mikagami said. "Tell her that it's because I have to study for an exam that I have to sit for in a couple of days."
"He's studying for an exam he has to sit for in a couple of days."
A smile appeared on Fuuko's face. "I guess that's partly my fault. He'd probably be here right now if I'd only left him alone throughout the first three years of university to work on his thesis." Her eyes suddenly felt heavy and her eyes drifted shut. "He worked everything out so perfectly until I ruined it. The timetable he made gave him a reasonable amount of time to study and a fair amount of free time. I just had to ruin it..." She fell asleep just as she finished her sentence.
Dr. Sullivan walked to her bedside and placed his hand on her forehead to check for a temperature.
Somebody quietly opened the door and stepped into the room.
Kaoru leaned against the door frame, his hands in his pockets. He watched the silver haired Ensui master from where he was, looking for any changes. But from what he saw everything was the same. Mikagami was sitting at his desk, a book opened on the table and he was reading. There were books, papers, writing utensils, and "junk" scattered all over his table. It seemed that even Mikagami Tokiya couldn't overcome the forces of university.
"Where'd you go just now?" Kaoru asked. "With all your final exams going on I'd think you'd be sitting for one or studying."
Mikagami turned his head to look at Kaoru. "Where I go is none of your business." It surprised him that he didn't sound all that rude.
"Why haven't visited Fuuko? For all we know you could be the father of those five kids. You did, after all, date her at a certain time in your life, did you not? Don't even try to get me to leave you alone with that 'I have exams to study for' excuse."
Looking down at his textbooks had caused his neck to become stiff and soar so he rubbed his neck in attempt to lessen the tension. "I've never gone to bed with Fuuko. If you don't believe me you can ask her yourself." Mikagami said calmly.
Kaoru frowned. If he was this confident then it probably was true. Or maybe it was just a trick to get him to drop it. There was a good chance that it was a trick. "I'm going to stop by the hospital today with Ganko," Kaoru said coolly. "Maybe I will ask her." He watched Mikagami's face closely to check for any signs of discouragement.
Mikagami's face remained blank and tired. Not even a flicker of emotion in his weary blue eyes. Without another word, he turned back to his book and began studying again. Obviously, he didn't care that he was going to ask.
Kaoru remained at the doorway.
"Why aren't you in school?" Mikagami asked.
Kaoru was slightly confused by the sudden question. "Oh, school." Kaoru shrugged a bit. "There's some sort of problem so school was called off for today. Beats me what the problem is so don't ask. No school is good news. Why should I care?"
"That attitude will get you into trouble in the future."
"You mean when I get into university?" Kaoru sighed. "I should've known that I'd get a lecture from you about it since you're the only one who cares about an education. I ain't going to bother about it untill I actually get to uni. No sense bothering over it now. After all, who says I'm even going to get into uni."
"Judging by your tone," Mikagami said. "you don't care much."
"Why should I?" Kaoru yawned as he stretched. "It's always the same old boring thing, right? Parents always tell their kids, 'go to school, get good grades, get a good job and make lots of money'," Kaoru did a father's impersonation. He scoffed at the thought. "If money is the root of all evil, then why do they want us to make so much of it?"
Before Mikagami could put up an argument for all the parents in the world, the phone rang.
Mikagami brushed his papers off the phone and picked it up. "Mikagami," he said.
Kaoru raised a brow when Mikagami suddenly sat up straighter in his seat. Now who in the world was on the phone that would make Mikagami do that? Who could be so important that Mikagami would sit up straighter even though the person wasn't even around to see it? The answer came from Mikagami himself.
"Dr. Sullivan!"
Kaoru cleared his throat. "Oh, Dr. Sullivan," Kaoru, in a Mikagami impersonation voice, said dramatically. "My mind goes completely blank when it comes to you. I stammer, I mumble, I sometimes become completely oblivious to what happens around me when I hear your voice. I--" Kaoru ducked a flying dictionary.
Ganko stared down at the five sleeping babies, who were nicely wrapped up in their blankets. They were just so adorable it was hard to take her eyes off of the cute little munchkins. She knew, of course, that she'd get no sleep and think them to be extremely annoying once they were brought him, but until then... "Kawaii!"
"Alright! Enough with it already!" Kaoru complained, as he walked into the room with a plaster on his forehead.
Fuuko noticed the plaster he had on his head. "What happened to you?"
"Oh, nothing," Kaoru said casually, as he walked over and sat at the foot of the bed which Fuuko was lying on. "I was just making fun of Mikagami, pretended to gag at the words I was saying, and he lost it and threw a book at me. When I ducked, I slipped and fell and hit my head on the dictionary he threw earlier." Kaoru said in such a way that it sounded as though it was a commonly occurrence and it was no big deal. But the pain in his head would suggest otherwise.
"Might I know why you were making fun of him?" Fuuko asked.
Kaoru opened his mouth, looked at Ganko, both smiled and said in a chorus like tone together, "Dr. Sullivan." The two started laughing.
At that moment, somebody knocked on the door, making Kaoru and Ganko settle down a bit. But when the door opened and Dr. Sullivan walked into the room, the two grinned like idiots.
"Hello, Dr. Sullivan," Kaoru and Ganko said and then burst into another fit of laughter.
"We were talking about... you." Fuuko explained.
Dr. Sullivan raised a brow. "I see."
Calming himself down, Kaoru said, "Yup. More precisely we were talking about when you called earlier today." Kaoru and Ganko started to laugh.
Ganko had arrived home just before Kaoru had to duck from the book Mikagami had thrown at him. A few moments before the book was thrown, she had overheard Mikagami talking on the phone with Dr. Sullivan. It couldn't have been helped since she had to pass his room on her way to hers.
"But I must admit," Kaoru said. "Mikagami didn't act or sound so stupid this time round. His stuttering has seemed to settle down. But, of course, I'm sure you could tell the difference during the call." He was still smiling like an idiot. "One thing good about you doc is that you don't mind."
"Nothing bothers the good doc." Ganko said. "Why are you here?"
"Just checking," Dr. Sullivan replied.
"Oh, that reminds me! I completely forgot!" Kaoru exclaimed. "Raiha wanted to know when would be a good time for him to come and check on you. He wants to make sure he doesn't come while you're sleeping and disturbs you. Of course, I don't see why when you sleep like a rock."
"I'm lying right here!" Fuuko shouted.
The shout awoke the babies and they all started crying.
"Whoops..."
To Be Continued...