Title: Work-A-Holic
Author: Tsubasa Kya
Disclaimer: I have a mission. It is in my profile. View my profile to see my mission. I will accomplish this mission. And that other mission. And any other mission so long as it deals with writing. I own my thoughts and ideas and over 100 music boxes, but I do not own your or anyone else's things.

Chapter three: Working

Kagome had done what any genius in her situation would have done. She pulled out the cell phone she conveniently had forgotten she hadn't paid the bill for and tried to dial the hospital, but when she could get no signal, she recalled that being three months behind on her phone bill generally wasn't accepted by her phone company.

After figuring that out, she did what any irritated woman would have done after being attacked in a secluded lover's get-away, covered with blood, and threw the phone as far as she could away from her. This of course did nothing for her mildly annoyed temper because the phone had been very expensive, but she understood that the unconscious man probably needed care.

Adjusting her priorities, she took her coat off and covered the bloody man, taking the sword from his hand and throwing it into a snow bank. It wouldn't be very lovely if the paramedics came and saw the diced up demon and then the sword in her odd savior's hand. Humans were easily scared by what they couldn't understand, and someone strong enough to dice another up into jerky strips with a sword was something they wouldn't understand.

There were too many pieces of the demon to purify and she didn't particularly become attached to the idea of allowing the spiky haired demon to die on her watch so she allowed her magic to create foot impressions in the snow leading away from the scene of the crime.

She wasn't about to bring the spiky haired demon home with her. Her home was pristine perfect and she was not dumb enough to think that she could do a better job caring for him and making him well than her fellow co-workers at the hospital. She checked to make sure his pulse was strong before jogging toward the entrance to the park, hoping that no other strange and evil horned demons would come for him.

Several times her foot landed in a snow drift and by the time she reached the payphone that always seemed to be just at the entrance to the park, her ankle felt frozen and she was shivering even further because now she was without a coat. Her fingers fumbled as she dialed the emergency service at the hospital and as it rang, she looked around for some inkling of a sign to name the park.

Harris Street Park, she read on a sign just barely within sight. Soon she had given the location and the emergency service was on its way. There. She had helped the demon who had helped her. Now she could go on with her life and hopefully never see the demon again. That would be just perfect if it worked out for her. And hopefully she had made it so the demon wouldn't get arrested by throwing his sword into the snow bank.

Or else she had just condemned herself to be the assist in the crime. Shit, that sucked. Her prints would be on the sword. She watched as the paramedics came and the police came and everyone and everything was questioned, photographs were taken… Life had once been perfect, but every now and again she had this craving to break from normality. That break turned out for the worst.

By the time Kagome was finished being questioned, it was nearing six thirty and she had to go home and redo getting ready for work. She heaved a sigh as she trudged into her cold apartment once more, carefully setting the keys on the perfect counter top. All the emotions that had raged through her in the last hour and a half left her near ragged, and the cold shower soothed no pains.

She was a half an hour late for work, but as she noticed, no one seemed to care. All her co-workers seemed to think that she had a problem with working. They seemed to think it was like a drug or something for her.

Other doctors drank, or golfed, or went to charity banquets, but she worked. Other teachers played with their children or read a book or chaperoned school dances. She worked. They said it was unnatural. But even if she were told to go home, she wouldn't unless she was either fired or something drastic happened to force her to go.

They knew that. They all knew that. She pulled on her lab coat, white and as perfect as the rest of her once more was, she felt slightly exhausted. Her deviation from normality probably meant she would need to sleep more than four hours that night. Some people might wonder how it was possible for her to live on four hours of sleep per night.

Her reasoning was even though she was tired, she would have plenty of time to make up all that lost sleep when she died and no longer had to dream. If she killed herself early, then that would be only for the better.

"Doctor Soruisa." Kagome turned to look at who had called her. It had been so many years since she had heard her real name being called out. Her own mother didn't even call her anymore, though she supposed that could have been due to the lack of payments she made on her phone bill.

Souta came and visited her once a year, but he called her Aiko Soruisa just like everyone else did now. He called her by the name she had made up instead of her given name. Oh what a harsh world she lived in that no one knew who she really was anymore.

"Yes?" Kagome asked as she clipped her nametag on the pocket of the lab coat and pulled her stethoscope around her neck. She was once more ready for a day of hard work so that when she lay her head down on the pillow at night, she would not dream.

"I heard you're trying to get the position for Head Doctor of Ward B. I just wanted to wish you luck on that." Kagome smiled and accepted the luck, even if she felt she wouldn't need it. She worked very hard, so of course she was the perfect person for the job. And if she got the job, she would receive a pay increase that would hopefully help her keep up with her bills.

"Thank you," Kagome told them and they walked off.

Kagome went to Ward B of the hospital, looking through her chart box to see who she would have that day. She had the usual amount of patients in the clinic to take care of, most of them walk-ins. She also had Terrance and Jillian to take care of out of the patients in Ward B. There was nothing out of the ordinary about her day anymore. The world had righted itself.

Kagome set off toward the clinic. Her first patient of the day was a child named Colten Brown and he was in for his six month check-up. He was one of Kagome's regular patients in the pediatrics department since their hospital didn't have any specific pediatrics doctors, the regular doctors all had to work at it as well as their other work.

As she walked into the room where Colten and his mother were, she greeted the two cheerfully. "Good morning. Sorry, I hope you weren't waiting too long. Ran into a little trouble this morning." Kagome must have perfected the art of understatements, she swore it. Chalking everything off as unimportant or inconsequential for all those years did take a negative toll every now and then.

Mrs. Brown smiled warmly at Kagome. "Oh, not at all, Doctor Soruisa." She assured her, though Kagome knew they had been waiting doubtless a half hour or more because they were scheduled for a seven o'clock appointment and Kagome hadn't even gotten to the hospital until seven thirty. "Colten, why don't you put the toy down and come talk to Doctor Soruisa?"

"Because I don't wanna do it." Colten said stubbornly, turning his back further to the two adults and slamming his fist down on the toy car he was playing with.

"I'm sorry, Doctor Soruisa," Mrs. Brown apologized. "He's been like this for almost a month now and I had been going to bring him in early for a check up, but I had hoped it would just be a passing phase."

Kagome smiled encouragingly at the woman. "It's quite alright. He's seven," Kagome always made it her job to know her patients as well as she could just like she did with her students, "and in my experience with patients, children always get cranky about that age."

After Kagome had managed to peel a few questions out of Colten and received the rest from his mother, Kagome was about to leave, but an eager tug on her jacket stopped her. She looked down at Colten to see him holding his hand out expectantly for a sweet that she usually kept in her pocket. She smiled and took out a red and white swirled peppermint hard candy.

"Don't eat it until you've had your lunch, okay?" she told the boy. He nodded his acquiescence and stuffed it in his pocket where she was sure he would forget about it and it would go through the washer. "I'll see you in six months. Don't hesitate to call in early if you need me though." Kagome told Mrs. Brown and Colten.

"Thank you again, Doctor Soruisa." Mrs. Brown said gratefully. Kagome nodded and went to take care of her other patients in the clinic before the noontime lunch came around. Once more she had made herself food but as soon as she saw it she didn't feel hungry anymore. But still, she ate it because she wouldn't waste it.

"Aiko?" Kagome turned at her boss's voice. "Another patient was placed in Ward B. I would like you to take over his care during your shifts. He'll be another of your regular patients." Kagome nodded and accepted the chart that he held out to her. "But I also want you to take Christmas Day paid vacation. I unscheduled you."

Kagome's knuckles turned white as she held the chart a little too tight. She couldn't afford even one whole day vacation! That was too much time to herself! Too much time to sit and think! "Yes, sir." She told him, though if looks could kill, he would have been dead a thousand times over.

She liked the fact that he had given her another regular patient—it was all that much harder she could work herself to death—but unscheduling her was like begging her to just drop off the face of the Earth. She decided she didn't like her boss all that much anymore. He had been tolerable before, but now he was just downright insane.

Of course she couldn't complain though. He was coincidentally also the one who would choose the person who was promoted to Head of Ward B, since he was the current Head. But when he retired and passed that position onto her… she would be able to drown herself in the work. She had never been so sure about anything in her life: she would get that promotion.

That's just crazy. But sexy crazy. Haha!