"Servant of Monsters"

Chapter 9 - Apology

It was past 10 o'clock. The servant slumped down his armchair, sighing in relief that there were no more patients before the noon. Right after the breakfast, both he and Shiro excused themselves and went straight to the Clinic. Catching a small glimpse of the Emergency Unit, Kaien noticed about 5 people, either with broken limbs or badly bleeding. It seemed that Ichigo had to run his part pretty early.

In the meantime, Shiro was explaining all three patients that had an appointment. There were two cases of social anxiety and one person with eating disorder. It freaked him out, Kaien had never even thought about psychology or psychiatry, but Shiro had already planned everything – he was able to become invisible and he could use telepathy to tell Kaien what he was supposed to say, all what the young man had to do was to deliver his words appropriately. At first, the servant refused to take the part in this conspiracy, because it seemed to be highly unethical and illegal.

However, he never expected Shiro to be so persuasive. He must have used some hidden power, I'm sure of that... Kaien stretched himself, relieving all the tension from his back muscles which was rewarded with a satisfying sigh. It seemed almost impossible to him, but the ghost's plan actually worked. Luckily to both, Kaien had a natural ability to get along with people, so none of patients had any doubts that he was a doctor. Experience was strange, but at the same time really fulfilling.

"Good job, Kaien-san!" Shiro laughed with his watery voice. "Ya even got me fooled! If ya want, ya may try yer luck with the psychology field – ya seem to be created for that job!"

"Ehehe... Yeah, I don't rally think so." Kaien smiled, nervously scratching his back.

"Anyway, thanks for yer help. Ya can go now. From wha' I know, there are lots of patients in the Emergency Unit." Kaien was very afraid to hear that. Since the early breakfast he had been musing over what he was supposed to say to the vampire. "Just apologize to that idiot." Shiro immediately commented on Kaien's thoughts. Even though the young servant's mind was pretty hazy, Shiro sensed the aura of embarrassment and guilt right after mentioning Ichigo's name. Unusually of him, he smiled in encouragement to Kaien. "He also did wrong, but m'sure he's on the same level of guilt as you. So don't prolong it and go." Not thinking more about his feelings, the servant thanked and exited the psychotherapy room.

Both Psychology and Emergency Units were really close to each other. Kaien reached the door of the Emergency room. There were still few patients waiting in line to be treated. Kaien gulped – solving people's problems by talking them over was one thing, but actually tending wounds, injuries and axes stuck in skulls were a whole different story. Hesitantly, he reached for the doorknob and entered a white room, full of medical equipment like ECG, USG and portable RTG device. Shelves were full of medical instruments and substances. In the middle, on the green couch, was lying a man, who had real difficulties with breathing and whose torso was full of bruises. Hovering above him was the young doctor with bright orange hair, wearing a white coat and a pair of sunglasses. Right now, Ichigo was trying to access the damages on the man's torso. Hearing the door opening, golden eyes shone as the black-haired servant entered the Emergency room.

"Good, you're here." Ichigo spoke confidently at Kaien, tilting his head towards a spare white coat and a box of rubber gloves. Kaien quickly understood what he had to do – he firstly picked up the coat, then washed his hands, and finally put on the gloves. "Bring from the corner an oxygen tank. There are oxygen masks in the cart next to me – connect them to the tank, set the flow on 2l per minute and put the gas mask on this man." The explanation was too quick for the inexperienced servant. Suddenly, he felt overwhelmed by the situation – there was a nearly-dead man on the couch and he was supposed to make some strange things. He felt a panic level rising.

"B-But I don't-!"

Don't you dare to say you don't know what to do! Kaien groaned at the message from the inside of his head. Right now this man believes he's in good, experienced hands. He may pick up your panicking and it wouldn't help him in this condition. Just take a deep breath. The servant took as much air as his lungs let him. Good. Now – pick up the oxygen tank, bring it here. I'll tell you what you have to do, so don't be scared. Despite his fear that he might harm the suffering man, he decided to follow Ichigo's orders. His adrenaline got him going. The man on the couch finally got his wounds treated and Ichigo injected some painkillers. Soon, the doctor called for a nurse, ordering her to take the man out to the Clinic rooms. Ichigo looked outside of the door, inviting another patient. This time Kaien could be more relaxed – every other patient came either with deep cuts that needed stitching or with some broken limbs, which later were immediately put inside casts. Kaien looked at his watch. It was 11:20.

"It's almost time for me to go to the orchard." He spoke to the vampire. The other hummed in response, while filling up all the documents of the patients. Kaien sighed. Any other moment wouldn't be better. "Excuse me, Ichigo-sama..." The orange-haired man looked up. Golden eyes were shining from behind the darkened sunglasses. "I'm truly sorry for what I said... er... thought at breakfast. These vampire-monster customs and changes are still odd to me and it'll take some time for me to get used to it. But it was neither my right, nor my place to criticize you. It is your mansion and you're allowed to do as you please." While speaking, Kaien was standing straight and formally. He even decided to use more polite way of speaking – at breakfast he showed no respect and he knew he was just a mere servant. Ichigo sighed, putting his sunglasses down and looking at the man's aquamarine stare. "You have right to punish me for my unacceptable behavior, Ichigo-sama."

"Stop!" Finally, the young doctor snapped. Realizing the tone of his voice, Ichigo closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just... Stop, please." Kaien waited for any other reply. "..m...sor..." He whispered something under his nose. Kaien didn't catch that, so he hadn't changed his stance. Ichigo growled in frustration. "I said 'I'm... sorry.'" This time, Kaien was confused. The rest of the speech was stuttered. Ichigo seemed to have difficulties with apologizing."It's just... I wasn't in the mood and got really angry... seeing you eat so normally and kind of drank blood next to you on purpose... Can we just please forget about that morning and... talk normally?" Golden eyes were filled with pleading. Kaien smiled warmly and nodded in agreement. The sight of servant's warm forgiveness forced a small blush on vampire's pale cheeks. "I asked you not to call me 'Ichigo-sama', didn't I? Besides, that polite talk doesn't suit you, at all..."

"Ok, I won't do that to you ever again." Kaien chuckled, glad that the air between him and his employer finally cleared out. He liked being casual in front of Ichigo, since he was the most friendly from all three triplets. "Anyway, do I need to have a medical degree or course or something?"

"No, you'll learn your way around here soon." Ichigo smirked. "You handled the pressure quite well. Be prepared – all your mornings in the Emergency room are going to look like this one." Kaien groaned in frustration. However, deep down, he was pretty thrilled with today's activities. Both Kurosakis led him with their minds and he was pretty good at listening to orders and executing them. "Okay then. Let's go to the orchard." Ichigo snapped him out from his excitement.

"You mean like 'we'?"

"Well yeah, I don't have any more patients right now. I could use some fresh air."

"Uhm... The room is covered by curtains, so no wonder you don't know how's outside." Kaien smiled in pity. Ichigo quickly took the hint.

"...It's a sunny day, right?"

"Not even a single cloud."

"...Okay, I'll just follow you to the living room, then." Kaien chuckled at Ichigo's depression.

During their walk they were eagerly talking about their pasts. Ichigo and Shiro received their doctor titles at the age of 19 and it made them one of the youngest geniuses the Medical Academy had ever seen. When Kaien asked how they managed to learn at the Academy, Ichigo revealed yet another surprising news – their old servant Zangetsu once picked the apples for them!

"Zangetsu!?" Kaien shouted in surprise. "But-! Then why isn't he doing that today!?"

"That's because he's no longer human. You see, not only our family made the horrible deal with the Devil – there are many other people who suffer the consequences of their or their family's choice. Most of them don't know where to go, so my Dad employed them as our servants, maids, cooks, etc. Zangetsu became our servant when my brothers and I were 6 years old and took care of us that time. He was very kind to us, he taught us many things and played and laughed. "

"That guy knew how to laugh? He barely shows any expressions..."

"Hard to imagine, but he did smile once." Ichigo chuckled, though immediately his expression turned nostalgic. "When we were about to graduate, we hired a new desserts expert, a snow-woman called Sode no Shirayuki. We never thought that Old Man had any feelings for her. Even though he knew the consequences, both he and Sode wanted to be together. After one night, Zangetsu totally changed – since then he has never smiled, nor became angry. There was an aura of sorrow around him. Just by standing next to a tree all apples fell down and rot in a blink of an eye."

"So he became one of you?"

"Yes. It was very hard for us – we couldn't find a good person for almost a half a year. Our mansion and Clinic had to close down from the world. Later, we decided to try our luck and posted job offers."

"So how many servants have you hired before me?"

"Hmm... During three years... About 11, I think."

"...That's a lot."

"Not really. There was once a girl, she was very strict, but at the same time reliable and helpful. She lasted about 2 months without knowing our true selves. One time, my dad thought 'Okay, let's reveal the secret!' and, umm, she didn't take that well... After that, nobody answered our ad for almost 3 months and sometimes we had to ask our patients to pick the apples."

"What about your last servant?"

"He never knew our monster selves. He actually quit, because it was too much work for him. He lasted only 3 days. Fortunately, you answered our ad 8 hours later."

"Hahaha, probably destiny!" Both of them laughed.

The noon passed and so Kaien witnessed the full transformation of the family. Just as everyone took a small bite, a white glow covered their bodies, blurring them and finally changing the monster appearance. Mr Isshin could finally wave and talk without any fear of shattering his body; veins and flowers disappeared from Masaki; all levitating stuff around girls' heads dropped on the ground; Shiro's image finally returned to it's solid and colorful state; the plushie doll stopped moving while Kon (inside of his original body) groaned in pain; and, at last, Ichigo's pale skin changed into beautiful tan, there were no longer fangs in his smile, and golden orbs darkened into strong ocher-brown eyes. Soon as the transformation ended, everybody scattered around the mansion, ready to face the world.