Author's Note: What I love about this chapter is that I got the plot down all in the span of a cup of coffee and two cigarettes. As always, I had fun writing this and I hope you'll have fun reading it too.
Before you continue though, I have to warn you: I am not a doctor, nor do I have any background in the medical field. So if there are any inconsistencies between the descriptions in this story and the reality of medicine and the health sciences, please forgive me. I do perform a bit of research prior to writing chapters like this, but the internet's not really a perfectly reliable source for technicalities, no?
Anyway, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, or any of its characters. All information regarding the institutions that will be mentioned in this story are fictional. This is being written purely for entertainment purposes only.
Relevance
Chapter 4
Kaoru
It was supposed to be simple, this arrangement of theirs.
Don't get her wrong, she was fully aware of how what they were doing wasn't really moral, or ethical, or right, by anyone's standards—but then again, she wasn't just anyone. Misao, her best friend from college, always did say that she had a rather fucked up moral code. People who've known her for most of her life chalked it up to her less-than-perfect childhood, but she didn't really believe that. In her book, perfection is something that could never be achieved in life, and everyone has struggles that they face every now and then; it just so happened that she had to face her share of hardships early in her life.
She didn't blame her parents either. I mean, sure her Dad died of something that a lot of people frown upon and her Mamman is a stuck-up, perfectionist who didn't really approve of her career choice, but she understood them both. The pressures of being an artist—a well-known artist at that, wasn't anywhere near easy to live with. She knows this because she lived through it. It wasn't exactly an ideal environment for a developing child—watching and dealing with your mother having a panic attack while hiding from the French paparazzi was quite horrible, if she may say so herself, but it helped form who she was now, and she rather liked who she is, so she didn't resent the way she was brought up.
She wasn't a perfect person, she's aware that she has a lot of flaws, and she's also aware that perhaps the biggest of these flaws of her is her impulsivity and her ability to run. Not run in the literal sense, though. It's more of the metaphorical kind—the kind where whenever she faces a challenge or a problem or an… inconvenience in her personal life, her first impulse would be to run from it. She'd try to get as far away from it as she could, then she'd find a way to distract herself from whatever it was she was running from.
She ran from her beloved Mamman when she tried to force her into the circles of the French elite, then she forced herself to forget all about it by enrolling herself in Stanford under one of the best medical programs in the States. When her mother found her in California, she ran to Boston and eventually became one of the country's best surgical residents. When the distractions she indulged herself in seemed like it would lead to her destruction, she ran to New York where she's now working as the state's best chief resident. It's true that the way she deals with her problems isn't really considered as courageous, but it was clearly very productive for her so she didn't see anything wrong with it.
The way she sees it, what she does to herself isn't really harming anyone else. Everyone has ghosts that they run from every now and then, and we all have different ways of dealing with being haunted. We're all human, and as human beings, we all find ways to survive and to float through our troubles without drowning. She isn't hurting anyone else, so she refuses to be called a bad person for the things she does to kill her sadness. In the same way, she refuses to be put down for wanting to keep some things hidden.
Kenshin wasn't in love with her or anything, so she knew he wouldn't be hurt or anything if she ended up kicking him out of her life. They don't know each other that well, and really, the main purpose of their arrangement was to provide each other with a distraction from the stress that they get from the hospital and from whatever else they wanted to be distracted from. What the hell was the purpose of keeping him around if he was going to be there to remind her of everything she was, admittedly, running from?
She didn't mean this in a bad way, of course. She's just being practical. And in all fairness, she really didn't want to end this with him yet. He may be annoying from time to time, but lately, she's been enjoying his company far too much to consider him as a pesky little disturbance that she had to deal with every day. He was warm, comforting, funny, entertaining, nice—basically everything you'd want in a friend, and she wasn't arrogant enough to admit that she isn't growing rather fond of him. In fact, it was because of him that she was starting to consider actually dating someone again—and she hasn't done that in years.
So it was with a really heavy heart that she had to do what she had to do to save herself from all the hassle of him being too involved with her personal business.
Her blue eyes were wide in shock as she gaped down at his bent form up in her attic. Goosebumps ran all over her skin, but she wasn't sure if it was because of the cold temperature around her—she was, after all, wrapped in nothing but a white towel, and her skin was still a bit damp from the shower that she just took—or if it was because of the surprise she felt at seeing him looking at things that she so desperately wanted no one else to see… ever. Hell, she didn't even want to see them herself!
She saw him flinch at the tone that she used, but she was in no mood to soften her voice. Her hands were shaking because of an emotion she couldn't recognize, and she was trying so hard to control her suddenly erratic breathing. 'This is not happening'.
"Kaoru, I—" he gulped, spinning himself to face her. "Look, I can explain."
Her heart stopped when she saw the very familiar newspaper clipping he was holding and she mentally swore at the sight. 'As if the paintings aren't bad enough.', she thought sardonically.
He saw her looking at the paper he was clutching in his right hand and he hastily cast the offending sheet away as though it burned him. 'Trouble, trouble, trouble', his blood sang as he stared at her frozen form. "I tripped, see?" he explained, pointing towards the raised wooden plank that caused him to fall. "I tripped and the boxes fell, and well… I was just starting to clean them up. I didn't mean to see what I saw! Honest!"
He rose and lifted his palms in a placating gesture, his eyes wide and wary as he tried to guess what she was thinking at that moment. Her milky skin glowed under the dim lighting, and her sapphire eyes were bright as she took in the situation. He was glad that she at least listened to his explanation, and she seemed to understand what happened, but he still didn't know what she was going to do now.
After a few more heartbeats, she spoke.
"Get out." She sighed tiredly, one of her hands lifting to pinch the bridge of her nose to control her jumbled thoughts and emotions.
He stepped closer to where she was standing. "What? I really didn't mean to—"
Her eyes flashed as she locked onto his worried gaze and he cringed at the fire he saw behind her sapphire orbs. "Just leave, okay? Leave. I can take care of the rest by myself."
Kenshin stared at her a bit more before sighing when he realized that there was no way she was going to calm down so long as he was within her sight. Sighing resignedly, he said, "Alright. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then."
She nodded and he started making his way out the door. As he stood beside her though, he paused and dared to kiss her cheek—and was pleasantly surprised when she didn't react violently. "I really didn't mean to see all those, Kaoru." He apologized again. "I'm sorry for the trouble."
"I know." She replied softly. She knew he was a bit hurt by her dismissal, but she really did understand what happened and she didn't blame him for it. She just needed him to leave because she knew that it would take her a while before she'd be able to file away the memories that seeing the paintings brought up in her head. She gave him a gentle smile and she saw the surprise blossom in his eyes before his face morphed to give her a warm smile in return. He turned and started making his way down the stairs, but before he could get out of earshot, she called him.
"Kenshin?"
"Yeah?" he asked, turning around to look up at her.
She smiled, a genuine one this time. "Thanks for all the help today."
He paused and his eyes widened again when he heard her, obviously surprised that she wasn't screaming or throwing things at him. When he got over the brief shock he felt because of what she said, he smiled back at her. "No problem. It was my pleasure."
He nodded at her one last time and a couple of minutes later, she heard her front door close.
'Alone again.' She thought as she made her way to her bedroom to get dressed before she had to deal with the mess. 'Naturally.'
"You look like someone shat on your cereal bowl, darling."
Kaoru scoffed. "Good morning to you too, Kamatari. I see you're obviously feeling better."
The effeminate patient laughed as he continued speaking, his French accent barely noticeable as he teased. "How could I not when I'm being treated like a superstar every day? Seriously darling, I never thought I'd have much use for your unglamorous career choice, but I guess I was wrong."
She chuckled at her friend's cheerfulness and stepped further into the room where Kamatari Honjou, one of her closest friends, was confined. Her chest constricted at seeing him look paler than usual because of his current condition. His usually vibrant and glossy hair was lacking its usual luster, and his arms were covered in splints and bandages due to the various fractures that he acquired the week before he was brought in. There were dark circles under his eyes, and it seemed as though he didn't even have the energy to put on the usual amount of make-up that he used to make himself look healthier than he was. She carefully masked her worry, though, since she knew that her friend would hate her for having such a morose expression on her face. She forced her lips to curl up into a smile and walked closer to his bed to grasp his outstretched hand in hers as a gesture of support and care. Silently, they both watched the rest of her residents shuffle inside the room and patiently waited for them to settle themselves so they could proceed.
The doctors were just about to conclude their morning rounds seeing as this was the last room that they had to visit before they were free to do their other tasks for the day, and Kaoru could not be happier. Ever since Kamatari was brought into the hospital the week before, she'd taken to always leaving his room as their last stop so she could have the time to chat with her cheery friend after the formalities were through.
"I see you've brought your little pets with you, darling." He smiled up at her and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles. "Although I have to say, must they look so… drab? Seeing faces like those won't help me get any better, I assure you."
"Oh? And what will?" she asked amusedly, ignoring Megumi's annoyed huff at being referred to as something less than exquisite.
He grinned. "Well, bringing those delicious surgeons in would help a great deal. Give me the tall one for a day and I'll be as good as new."
"You're traumatizing my residents, Kam. Now shut up and let us work." She admonished before turning towards the four doctors who were standing in front of them with varying degrees of amusement on their faces. "Takani, present."
Megumi cleared her throat and stepped forward as she opened the patient's chart and started rattling off the various information that summarized his medical history and the treatment he was being given during his stay in the hospital. "Kamatari Honjou, 28. He has Type IA Osteogenesis Imperfecta or OI, which is a congenital bone disorder that is characterized by a lack of the necessary collagen structures that are supposed to make bones less brittle and less prone to fractures."
"Give the girl a golden star." Kamatari mumbled jokingly to Kaoru, making her chuckle and hide her face behind her free hand. Enishi snorted, but schooled his face into a more serious expression when he saw the heated glare that his colleague was giving him.
Megumi blushed and took a deep breath before continuing. "He was brought in last week after he acquired a chest trauma which fractured his sternum, which led to the rupture of a part of his aorta. To properly perform the needed repair, Dr. Sagara had to clean out the fracture before performing a median sternotomy, after which Dr. Himura proceeded to repair the damaged aorta."
"Good." Kaoru smiled. "What are we looking out for now?"
"We have to check his stats every hour to monitor the volume of his chest tube drainage, heart sounds, and to watch out for signs of shock. Right now, he's prone to developing a cardiac or pericardial tamponade. He could also develop a clot which could eventually cause a stroke."
"And fractures. Never forget fractures, darling." Kamatari concluded, his smile widening when he saw Megumi's brown orbs flash in irritation before giving him a tight nod.
"Thank you, Dr. Takani." Kaoru gave her friend a warning glare before turning to address her residents again. "Alright, that's it. Everybody step out so I can give you your assignments for the day." She was about to leave the room herself, but a surprisingly firm hand tugged her back.
"What is it?" She asked worriedly as she stared down at Kamatari's suddenly forlorn expression.
The patient sighed. "You'll come back, right? I just… Can you just stay and talk to me for five minutes or so? You know how much I hate hospitals."
"Of course, Kam." She replied gently, carefully easing her hand out from his grip and placing a soft kiss on his cool forehead. "I'll be right outside. Give me a minute and I'll come back here."
Kamatari nodded at her with a tight smile and watched her leave before settling back onto the cushioned bed. Kaoru smiled at him one last time right before closing the door, silently telling him that he won't have to wait long.
She sighed as she closed the door behind her and lifted her head to face the four bored faces of her residents. It annoyed her to no end whenever she saw her subordinates acting so arrogant and so impartial to their patients. She's been training them for a month now, yet she hasn't seen any significant changes in their attitudes and this frustrated her. For people who were supposed to be the smartest and most talented surgeons in the entire state, she honestly couldn't see what was so great about them.
They took everything for granted. Every surgery was like an exam for them and nothing more. They'd complain whenever they'd be assigned to an operation that they've already performed before, they had absolutely no respect for pre-ops and post-ops, and they treated the patients as though they were nothing but animals that were being offered as a treat for their blood-thirsty hands. As she looked at each of her residents' faces, she felt a deep urge to smack all of them until they finally realize that it was them who should be thankful for being given an opportunity to save lives. She wanted them to realize that they were there not there because they're the cream of the crop, but because other people trust them to be able to take care of their sick loved ones.
None of the four doctors noticed the dark look she was giving all of them though, and when she finally got a hold of her senses, she thanked the heavens for their ignorance. She shook herself out of her dark thoughts and focused on the task at hand, silently telling herself that her dark mood was probably just being caused by Kamatari's presence in the hospital.
"Alright." She cleared her throat. Their attention successfully gained, she eyed each of the doctors as they stood up straighter than they were before and dutifully circled around her.
"There's a neonatal case coming in today." She said with an emotionless tone. "It's going to be a complicated procedure, which means that more than one team of surgeons will be required in the OR."
Looks were exchanged between her four subordinates and she couldn't help the grin that grew on her face. "It's a Neo-Natal procedure, but we'll be working closely with cardio since this also technically falls under their specialization. So far, Chief Seijuro, Dr. Himura, and myself have already signed on the case, but we need two more residents to scrub in and assist."
"The chief's operating?" Enishi asked, surprise painting his eyes. "Lately he's only ever scrubbed in on the big cases."
She raised a brow. "The procedure is rather unusual, and it's very delicate too. So we need the best hands we could get. One tiny slip could cause the baby and the mother's lives."
"The mother's? What do you—"
"Ectopia Cordis, kids. Does anybody know what that means?"
"It means there's a heart that's growing outside of a baby's body in-utero." Megumi said quickly, stepping closer towards her with her eyes alight with excitement—which was probably the first emotion aside from anger that Kaoru's seen from the resident. "There've been less than two hundred cases, and only a handful have survived various procedures so far. It's a very risky case to operate on."
She grinned. "That's right. Five stars for you, Takani." She paused and pulled out the chart that she was handed two days prior that included all the information that she needed for the procedure that they would be performing later that day. "We'll be performing an emergency C-section on Mrs. Yamada to get her thirty-five week-old baby out so we can put everything back in its proper place. Two ORs have already been blocked off for this. The first OR is for the C-section, and the second will be for the baby's surgery. After the baby is delivered, Chief Hiko will close the mother, while I'll be assisting Dr. Himura with the cardiac repair." She closed the chart and held it behind her back as she stared at the eager faces of the four doctors in front of her. "The way I see it, most of the surgical team will be in operating rooms the entire afternoon—including myself. Obviously, this means that the two residents who won't be scrubbing in while we're in that room will be out here monitoring the patients on the surgical floor."
She steeled herself for the next part of her announcement. "Sanjou, you'll be at the pit today. Takani, pre-ops and post-ops, Yukishiro and Seta, you're with me."
"Excuse me?"
'Thought so.' "Problem, Takani?" she said coldly as she turned to face the seething resident.
"Pre-ops and post-ops? Are you sure I won't be needed in the OR?" Megumi asked angrily, throwing a baleful glare at the two men who were now avoiding her angry gaze.
"I said I only needed two residents, and now I have them. So yes, Takani, I'm very sure that you won't be needed in the OR." She sighed. "The rest of our patients though, will need you today. I need you to keep a close eye on 4314 and 4425, and I want hourly updates on Mr. Honjou's stats. I know you know what to watch out for."
The resident scoffed. "So you're asking me to babysit your friend instead of learning from a possibly once-in-a-lifetime surgery?"
"If you call doing your duties as a doctor "babysitting", then yes. Like I said, most of the surgical team will be in operating rooms and we need doctors like yourself to stay out here to make sure that none of our patients will get worse while we're in there." She paused and studied the snooty doctor. "Or do you need me to re-educate you on the importance of pre-ops and post-ops?"
She ignored the glare that Megumi was still giving her and turned to the other doctors. "Any more questions?"
"What time will the surgery be?" Soujirou asked softly from his spot beside Enishi.
"I'll brief you on more of the details later. We're all supposed to meet in Hiko's office in two hours to talk about how everything will go, so you'll know everything by then." She answered. "Any more?" At their silence, she nodded and made her way back into the room. "Go. Page me if you need me."
She heard a final huff from Megumi before she was able to step fully into the room and she couldn't help the scoff that bubbled out of her throat after hearing the arrogant sound. Her heels clicked and clacked as she walked towards the low couch that was placed on the left side of the room, directly across from the hospital bed.
"Probléme?" Kamatari asked amusedly as he watched Kaoru's stony face melt into a more relaxed expression.
She sighed and proceeded to answer her friend in French as well. "Yeah, from the usual suspect. I swear that woman has too much pride than she can handle. She's just so…"
"Like you?" Her friend asked with a raised brow. "You used to be exactly like her, if I remember correctly. The poor Bostonians didn't know what to do with you. They never even had a chance."
"Hey! At least I never undermined my chief resident." At seeing his meaningful look, she backpedaled. "Well, not without reason. I wasn't about to let a patient die on me just because my boss' head was too far up his ass to see that what he was doing was wrong."
Kamatari shrugged. "Maybe she just thinks the way you're handling her is wrong too. Based on what I've seen from the last week, she does seem like she's being punished."
"She's not." She scoffed. "She just wants in on a hot surgical procedure. I'm telling you, Kam, she's far too arrogant for her own good, and until she tones that arrogance down, she won't be taking part in any major surgeries any time soon."
"Oh whatever. She's your student. Just make sure she doesn't kill me or anything." He drawled, waving his hand as if to shoo the topic away from his current train of thought. "Anyway, is her attitude really what pissed you off so royally this morning? Or is it something else… maybe… someone else?"
"Pissed off? I wasn't pissed off." She denied halfheartedly.
"Oh, don't fuck around with me, you little chit." He scolded with an amused grin on his face. "I could smell that mood from halfway across the world. Please darling, save us both the time of having to go through your denial rituals."
Kaoru looked carefully at her friend and observed his mannerisms. For as long as she's known the effeminate man, she rarely ever saw him paying close attention to her moods. He was never one to want to talk about morose topics, or anything that wasn't of his interest. In fact, one of the few times he has ever approached her about the reason behind her frustrated disposition was when—
"Who did you talk to?" she asked, her eyes narrowing down into a pair of angry slits.
He smiled as he adjusted his bed and gently leaned back down onto it. "What are you on about now, darling? Can't a friend want to share with his darling's burdens?"
"Kamatari." She warned. "Who did you talk to? What do you know?"
"By the way," he started, closing his eyes in an expression that looked a lot like delight. "Where is that little redhead of yours? Isn't he supposed to be checking in on me at around this time? I'm surprised you two didn't come in here together." He opened his eyes a bit to see her reaction to what he said, and he wasn't dissatisfied when he saw her eyes widen at his not-so-innocent question. "You know, he really is a nice guy, Kaoru. He's been taking such good care of me day in and day out. He even dropped by last night just to see how I was doing."
'He didn't seriously—' "What did he tell you, Honjou?"
"Honjou? My dear dear girl, hasn't anyone ever told you that taking that tone never helps things?" he teased. When he heard nothing but silence, he opened his eyes fully and twisted his neck so he could see her completely. He sighed when he saw the angry glimmer in her eyes. "Oh, Kaoru. You don't have to be so uptight about it. I was only having a bit of fun."
He sighed again and turned to face the ceiling, his voice holding a wistful note as he continued. "You know how hospitals make me feel. I just… I'm so tired."
She scoffed. "Stop being such a drama queen. That little skit of yours stopped working on me three years ago." Despite her annoyance at his obvious attempts at meddling, she couldn't fight the grin that crawled up her face when he turned back to her with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"I guess that's true. I really need to think of a new thing. This woe-is-me-my-bones-break-when-I-sneeze drama's getting a little too old, eh?" He conceded. "Really though, what's up with you and the red-man?"
"Nothing." She raised her brow. "Why the hell are you so interested anyway? Did he say anything to you?"
It was his turn to scoff as he remembered the various moments that he had seen between the redheaded surgeon and his friend over the period of his confinement. "Of course not, you stupid girl. He didn't need to say anything."
"What do you mean?"
"Seriously, with the way you two've been ogling each other every time I see you, I'm surprised none of the other doctors here have noticed. Although," he brought his voice down conspiratorially and she had to strain to hear him. "I can't say the same for the nurses. They're very… perceptive."
She sighed. "I'm tired of going around in circles, Kam. Just get to the point already."
"Oh darling." He chuckled. "How long have you two been sleeping together?"
"Sleeping together?" she asked amusedly. She eased herself into a more relaxed position on the low couch and kicked off her nude pumps as she brought her legs up and stretched them out on the sofa. She didn't need to worry about creasing her outfit since she already draped her lab coat over one of the other seats in Kamatari's room when she went in the second time, and she was only wearing a dark pair of jeans and a dark blue knit sweater—her scrubs were still in her locker since her surgery wasn't for another three or four hours. Her hair sprawled underneath her when she leaned her head against the sofa's armrest and she brought her arm up to cover her eyes to get a few minutes to unwind. "What makes you think we're not dating?"
"Because, Kaoru, much to my obvious dismay, you don't do dating." Kamatari replied easily. "I haven't seen you date since your mother set you up with that horrible bastard back in Toulouse."
"Damn it. How many times must I beg you to not remind me of that nightmare." She groaned. "I still don't understand what Mamman saw in that guy. He was even more conceited than she was."
"So I guess his beautiful face never did anything for you? Personally, I wouldn't have minded living with his ego as long as I got to wake up next to that Adonis every morning."
She giggled. "Of course you wouldn't, Kam. Although I don't think you would've survived his morning breath. You'd think he eats shit for a living with how it smelled like."
"Don't ruin him for me!" Kamatari laughed. He sobered easily enough and took on a more teasing vibe again. "But we digress, sweetheart. You still haven't told me about the delicious surgeon you're enjoying now."
"There's nothing to tell, love." She explained patiently. "We're sleeping together, we're keeping it under wraps, you know the drill. It's all routine, really. I don't know why you even bothered asking me."
"Because, darling, you're not doing a really good job of hiding it this time—not if the nurses are already spreading all sorts of lovely stories about you two. You're many things, Kaoru Kamiya, but you are not sloppy." He pointed out.
"Well it's not my fault." She defended. "He's the one who won't leave me alone. He follows me around everywhere."
"Ah, and you're letting him, lovely girl. That is the big deal about this particular escapade of yours. Usually, you'd've dropped him like a hat by this time."
She fell silent at what he said and mulled over his words. To be fair, Kamatari did have a point. She never had trouble with getting rid of guys who would compromise her career or reputation, so she considered the possibility that maybe, deep down, she was starting to like having him around.
Maybe it was the fact that he was so different from anyone she's ever done this with before. After all, most of the men that she'd have a… physical arrangement with never really bothered trying to convince her to spend more time with them outside of the bedroom—which was perfectly understandable since she didn't want to anyway, and since their "agreement" posed no complications at all. It was an ideal way to enjoy the physical aspects of a relationship without actually having to deal with all the other drama that real relationships shoved down each party's throat.
Aside from his obvious persistence in that regard, she also couldn't deny that the conversations that she shared with the redhead were very amusing. He had the rare ability to make her laugh and provide her with more distractions from her dark thoughts, and his mere presence was able to shield her from being plagued by thoughts and memories that she would rather not be bothered by. That's actually why she didn't even try too hard to push him away whenever he'd force himself into her bubble while they were at the hospital. She may not want to fully admit it to herself, but she liked spending time with him—and she was still dealing with how she should address that recent discovery.
"He's… a friend." She stated softly. "We're friends who just happen to sleep together."
Kamatari laughed. "Right. Friends."
She grinned and listened to her friend mock her about her choice of words for a few more minutes. It was nice to see and hear him acting so jolly, and for a moment, she fought the urge to go over to his bed and just hug the life out of him because she missed him so much.
It was just sad that they didn't meet under better circumstances this time around. Kamatari was brought in by an ambulance the week before at around 2:00 AM, with blood coming out of his mouth as he screamed for Kaoru to be brought to him down at the ER. If it weren't for all the blood that was covering his clothes and the various bandages that covered his arms and legs, she would've laughed at seeing him cause the medical practitioners such hell as he demanded for only the best hands to touch him.
He was lucky that she was in the hospital for her weekly 48-hour shift at the time, otherwise he would've been strapped down and that would've just made everything worse because the people who brought him in were far too focused on the blood coming out of his mouth to ask if he had any other medical issues that would hinder his treatment. As it was, though, she ran down to the ER as soon as she was paged and froze at seeing her long-time friend being manhandled by the doctors who were on-call.
She'd known Kamatari for twelve years now, having met him at one of the social gatherings that her Mamman forced her to attend when she was younger. He was a very friendly and entertaining face in the midst of all the snooty artists, and they were both immediately so enamored with each other that they ended up spending most of their time together. That, however, was back when she was still living in France, and while she was still letting her mother steer her life and decisions to fit what was expected of her.
He was one of the few people whom her mother had approved of. It was rare for the beautiful and extremely talented Emi Laurent to ever agree with her choice of "companions", as she so lovingly put it, but Kamatari's popularity as a painter made him more than qualified in her mother's eyes. Prior to her decision to pursue a career in medicine, the two of them had been quite renowned for their various collaborations—more so because they both come from the artistic elite, as the press described the social circle that their families were a part of.
Kamatari was one of the reasons behind why Kaoru felt that becoming a doctor would be more fulfilling for her. After an unfortunate accident that he was involved in, his rare congenital disease was brought to her attention, and she never stopped caring for him since. He resented her for it, and he hated himself for a time because he believed that it was because of him that her then-blossoming career ended abruptly. The decision forced them to part ways since he was still enrolled in the highly distinguished École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSBA), Paris' national school of fine arts, while she opted to drop out of the art program in the same school so she could transfer to Stanford and continue the rest of her career in the States.
It wasn't until he visited her in Stanford a year after their separation did he realize how truly happy she was with the path she'd chosen for herself. So, he kept her secrets and helped her hide from her seething Mamman, who was terribly angry at the decision she made.
It was Kamatari who attended her graduation ceremonies, and who kept in touch with her throughout the years. They kept their bond strong despite the distance, and he refused to see any other doctor aside from her—as long as it didn't put his life in danger, of course. He was dropping by for a surprise visit when he accidentally slipped on ice and sprawled out on a wooden bench where he broke his sternum, and a few more bones.
"There's nothing wrong with dating, darling." He said patiently once their mirth died down. "God knows you're old enough, and you're Mamman clearly has no jurisdiction over you in this place. Does he know about you?"
"Sadly." She sighed as she pushed herself up and rubbed her eyes. "He stumbled into some of my old paintings last night. I guess he pieced it all together from there."
Kamatari yelped happily. "Well, take this as a good thing then!" She turned a curious glance at him as a prompt for him to elaborate. "Now you won't have to go through the awkward admission phases, or whatever it is that couples do whenever they'd have to say something serious. Drama was never our thing, chérie."
"I don't even know what he thinks about it. Besides that, I'm still trying to build up my foundation in this hospital. If anything like that comes out, I swear I'll lose whatever respect the others have for me so far. God knows my residents think so little of me."
"Pish posh. If you're talking about that snooty little garce, then you don't have to worry about that. You said so yourself, she's too full of herself to recognize what actual talent is." He huffed. "Besides, if they're going to judge you because of your social background, then fuck them. What does something you used to do have to do with where you are now?"
Kaoru chuckled. "Alright, alright, Kam. You don't have to get so worked up about it."
"I'm not. Look, all I'm trying to say is that who you used to be shouldn't affect who you want to be now. You worked hard for this, and you deserve everything you have." He grinned. "And you most certainly deserve to enjoy that fine, fine man."
"You just want me to date him so you could spend more time with him, you little putain." She laughed.
"Actually, I'd much rather spend more time with the handsome, tall one. Sagara, was it? I'd love to have him as a… muse."
Kaoru shook her head. "I really don't understand what you see in Sanosuke. I would've thought he'd be far too crass for your liking."
"Hush, love. You know that doesn't matter since our paintings don't talk." He chuckled.
She stretched her arms and arched her back to get rid of a few kinks that her muscles have developed. "How is everything back in Paris, by the way? I haven't heard from Mamman in a while now."
"Oh, it's all fine." Kamatari shrugged. "Same old, same old. Although I did do a portrait of your Mamman for UNICEF a while back. It sold for €300,000, and it all went to their Ebola fund."
"That's wonderful." She smiled. "So, Mamman's doing alright, then?"
He nodded. "As fine as could be. But I have to warn you, Kaoru, she's coming here soon. I think she heard about you working here from someone, so you should expect to see her in the next few months."
"It's not like I can do anything about that anyway, so let her come." She waved. "What I really want to know is what you're doing all the way over here. I'm not buying your I wanted to see my best friend excuse."
"You're far too unsentimental, darling. Of course I came here to see you!" He gushed. "I was invited to be a speaker for a seminar that NYU's Institute of Fine Arts will be holding next week, but I only accepted the invitation so I could visit your darling face. I haven't seen you in over a year now, and you never visit me in France."
"You know why I can't, Kam." She explained.
"I know, I know. Which is why I'm here…"
Her eyes flashed as she studied him closer, noting his fidgety hands and the way that he couldn't quite look straight at her. "Any other reasons?"
Kamatari sighed. "I miss you, darling." He said sincerely, making her pause and scrunch her eyebrows in confusion.
"I'm right here, Kam."
"No, I mean… I miss you. Don't you ever miss painting with me?" he asked. "We used to have so much fun, Kaoru. We were so full of joie de vivre and we were ready to take on the world." He sighed again. "Won't you consider painting even just one more piece with me? Please?"
"You dirty little scumbag." She said in English after a few more moments of studying him, her eyes narrowed into thin slits. "Who asked you to talk to me?"
"What?" He gasped, aghast at her insinuation. "How could you ever think that of me! I was baring my heart and soul and this is what you say to me?"
"Kamatari." She scoffed. "You don't do drama, and the begging was overkill. So who was it?"
He laughed and had enough decency to try to appear sheepish. "ENSBA, who else?" He leaned further into his pillow. "There's an alumni project, and they would really like for us to submit a collaboration piece. They didn't even give us a topic. They said we're free to paint whatever we'd like, in whatever format and whatever size we want."
"Wow." She breathed. "They never give that much freedom to commissioned pieces."
"Yes, well they would like for us to do the piece so they can display it in the entrance hall. I was thinking we should do a mural or something." He smiled. "Don't you remember how much fun we had with those back then?"
She smiled back as she remembered the fond memories that mostly involved the effeminate man, huge canvases, and hours filled with wine, music, and paint. "Of course I do."
"So will you at least think about it?" He asked hopefully.
She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose as she fought between the desire to have one last bout of fun and the urge to stay as far away from anything that could jeopardize her career as humanly possible. At this point in her life, she valued little else but the medicine; but the opportunity that she was being presented with was very, very tempting. She sighed. "I don't know, Kam. It's… it's going to take a lot of time."
"Time she doesn't have to waste on frilly little drawings." A loud voice interrupted from the suddenly open doorway.
The two friends turned towards the source of the voice and grinned at seeing the giant intruder. They watched as Hiko stepped further into the room, his large frame blocking Kamatari from outside view since he left the door open. The chief was dressed in a pair of black slacks and a gray polo, which were covered by the neatly pressed lab coat that he donned. As always, his dark hair was tied neatly into a low ponytail, and his strong arms were crossed as he gave the two people measuring stares—as if trying to figure out if they were up to no good.
"'Morning, Chief." Kaoru greeted cheerily as she slipped her feet into her shoes.
The chief of surgery ignored her greeting and turned towards the patient. "Good morning, Mr. Honjou. I just wanted to check in on how you're doing today."
"Oh I'm perfectly fine." Kamatari smiled. "Thank you very much for dropping by. You make me feel so… special." He winked.
Kaoru chuckled at her friend's flirtatious manner and the way that Hiko's eyes widened slightly at the way the patient spoke to him.
"That's—er, that's wonderful news, Mr. Honjou." The chief said, clearing his throat to rid himself of the discomfort he was feeling.
"Kamatari, please." The effeminate man said coquettishly. "I want you to feel as comfortable as possible around me, Hiko—" he widened his eyes and blushed. "Oh, sorry. I hope you don't mind me calling you Hiko… I tend to forget my manners around such beautiful men."
Kaoru laughed out loud at seeing her boss' reaction to what her best friend said, and decided to intervene lest Hiko decide to make her day horrible because of her friend's actions. "Alright, enough Kam. You're going to make the man faint." With one last kiss on Kamatari's cheek, she bid him goodbye and dragged the stunned chief out into the hallway.
Since they weren't due to meet Mrs. Yamada for another two hours, Kaoru took the chance to invite her boss to have a cup of coffee down at the hospital's cafeteria so they could enjoy a few moments of peace before they were thrown into all the preparations that they needed to go through for the surgery that they'll be performing. Seeing as he had nothing better to do and since he wanted to discuss something with the chief resident, he agreed to join her after making her promise that she won't be talking about his incident with Kamatari with anyone else in the hospital.
The walk down to the cafeteria was relatively silent and without any significant happenings. They each purchased a cup of cappuccino with two extra shots of espresso and settled down on a table that wasn't too far away from the small, but nicely built garden that they had in the middle of the refectory.
"I had a feeling that you knew about who I was before I went into medicine." She mused after taking a couple of sips of her hot drink. "I was very surprised that you considered me for the job, actually. Considering the backgrounds of everyone else in the program, I would've thought that you'd think I wasn't qualified for this."
Hiko scoffed. "Your personal affairs are no concern of mine. I'm not going to inflate your ego by telling you about why I chose you to be a part of this hospital, since I have no doubts that you already know what your previous employers and teachers say about you. In this hospital, everyone who can do their job and who can do it well is considered qualified. No questions asked." He paused to glare at her. "Although I'm warning you, Kamiya. The next time your mother calls me to demand that I fire you from this place, I won't be too kind."
"She called you?" She gasped.
"Last night. Apparently, one of the press people from your country got a hold of Mr. Honjou's whereabouts and snuck around here. An article was published last night about his condition and the missing gem of Toulouse." He explained with distaste.
She groaned, but before she could say anything in her defense, Hiko continued speaking. "Should I be expecting trouble here, Dr. Kamiya?"
"Trouble?"
"We have dealt with the press before. We're one of the best hospitals in the country, and we've been dealing with lots of pests because of all the high-profile cases we get." He paused. "The only articles that are published about my doctors are those that talk about their medical breakthroughs and, sometimes, their failures. Getting one of my top surgeons' names plastered around on some tabloids—on international tabloids, no less, because of anything aside from their career might tarnish our credibility here. If that happens, it's going to be hard to defend my decision to hire you against the board." He took another sip of his coffee before gingerly placing the cup down onto the table and giving her an appraising look. "If there's anything I need to know in case anything like that happens, you need to tell me now so we can take the proper precautions. I hired you here because you're one of the best, but I will not be made a fool of."
She met his gaze unflinchingly and tried to see if he was bluffing in any way at all. He was obviously dead serious about what he was saying, and she silently cursed her complicated history with every fiber of her being for causing such a disturbance in a career that she so wanted to pursue for the rest of her life. Obviously, her mother's knowledge was going to be a complication that she might have to deal with in the near future, and she couldn't possibly do so without getting help from those ranked above her. However, she still didn't have the heart to tell him any more than what he already knew. Sighing, she shook her head and looked away. "No. There's nothing. What you know is probably all that you need to know."
"You're sure about this?"
"Look, I was brought up in France with a drug addict for a father and a conceited, perfectionist mother. It's not my fault that they did well in their careers, and I refuse to be prejudiced against because of something that I can do but don't want to do. I graduated at the top of my class in Stanford and I was one of the highest scorers during my batch's medical boards. I had an outstanding record back in Boston, and now I'm here because you wanted me to be here. I'm a good doctor, Chief. Just because I can do something that's not really common among doctors from time to time doesn't make me any less of a surgeon." She grunted. "I'll talk to Mamman about press control. If we aren't able to control it and if things get out of hand… well, I know my place. I know when to bow out."
Calmly, Hiko leaned back against his seat's backrest and crossed his legs. "Good. I'll take it that you plan on staying with us for a long time, then?"
"You have the best training program in the entire country. I would've assumed that the answer to that question was obvious."
"It is. I just didn't understand why you wanted to make things harder on yourself with what you've been doing recently."
Her eyebrows met in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Himura." He said, his eyes shining with what appeared to be amusement. "I would've thought that you of all people wouldn't be so inclined as to involve your personal affairs with what you do in this hospital."
"What—there isn't—I'm not…" she sputtered.
"I told you, Dr. Kamiya. I am not one to be made a fool of." He said. "The nurses here talk, and in this hospital, getting involved with one of the top surgeons is a big deal to the staff—especially when the person who's messing around with the head of cardio is new."
Frustrated at the sudden turn of events and the knowledge that NewYork-Presbyterian clearly had no respect for the privacy of employees, she slumped down and leaned her hand against her palms. "I'm not trying to sneak around, Hiko." She sighed. "I met Dr. Himura before I even came—"
"I am not interested in your personal affairs, Dr. Kamiya." The chief interrupted.
"Well you sure seemed like you were based on all the gossiping you've been doing." She muttered.
Hiko scoffed. "I don't gossip. I was volunteered the information." He looked at her heavy-laden form and sighed. "I'm not saying that it's against the rules or anything, Kamiya. Like I said, so long as you can do your job and do it well, then we won't have any problems on that front. However," he paused and waited for her to look up at him. "Things like that tend to get messy. And I do not like dealing with personal messes. I have no time to watch you or any of my doctors fucking around in this place—not when too many people rely on us to keep our shit together."
"I know what you're saying." She said seriously, her head now pillowed on her forearms as she craned her neck to meet his eyes. "I don't like dealing with messes either. I promise we're going to try and keep it as low key as possible. Anyway, I'm not really that interested in his specialization and we've already worked together before—with no hitches, mind you. We have it under control."
"Do you really?" he asked with a grin. At her confused stare, he continued. "We'll see about that."
"What are we going to see?" a loud voice interrupted.
Kaoru and Hiko both turned to watch the tall surgeon walk closer towards them. Grinning, Sanosuke nodded at the two of them and slumped himself down onto one of the vacant seats on their table. "Big surgery today, eh? I heard the skin flap just got here last night."
"I don't recall inviting you to join us, Sagara." Hiko remarked stonily.
Sano's grin widened. "Aw, come on Chief. Can't a guy enjoy a nice cup of joe with two of his closest colleagues?"
"What do you want?" The chief asked with a raised brow.
"Oh nothing." The tall surgeon replied breezily. "Just a bit of gratitude from little Missy here would be nice." He turned his attention towards the tired chief resident. "After all, I did save your best friend's life. I think I deserve a bit of love from little Lucifer."
Kaoru scoffed. "You did your job. I don't see how that deserves any kind of special treatment."
"Are you kidding me? With the number of broken bones that guy had? I deserve to be put up on a pedestal because of what I did." He paused and was suddenly engulfed with a serious air. "I have two surgeries this afternoon, so I won't be able to check in on him as often as I'd like. How are his post-ops? Who are you leaving in charge of the floor while all of you big shots are on the preemie case?"
"Yukishiro and Seta will be assisting us with the surgery." She said simply. "So Takani's going to be on pre-ops and post-ops while we're in there. She's more than capable of taking care of Kam."
"What? Are you sure about that? Isn't Takani obsessed with cardio?" Sano asked. "I would've expected her to be with Kenshin on this."
She sat up and ran a hand through her hair. "Neo-natal's a sensitive field. Operating on mothers and babies is not a game, and I have no doubts that if you stick her in there at this point, she won't treat this as anything else but a prize or something. Besides, Yukishiro and Seta are more than qualified to join us, and Takani is needed on the surgical floor in case something goes wrong while we're all stuck in surgery."
"It's a high-profile case, Missy." Sano mused.
"We all know that, Sagara." Hiko interrupted. "Dr. Kamiya cleared the assignments with me this morning, and I have no qualms with her decisions. Besides, if anything goes against our plan, she knows what's going to happen."
The orthopedic surgeon raised his palms in surrender. "Alright, alright. I'm just tellin' 'ya. Watch out for that little fox. I'm sure as hell she wasn't happy about this, and she's gonna be givin' 'ya hell for it, Missy."
"Don't you think I've already started dealing with that?" Kaoru grinned. "It really is amusing how she keeps fighting me on every decision I make. I'm amazed that you all tolerate her attitude."
"Before you came in here, people were shit scared of her, so it wasn't really an issue of tolerance." Sano recounted.
"What made it change then?"
He looked at her as though the answer should be obvious. "You came in."
"And?"
"And as it turns out, you're even more of a monster than she is." He joked.
Kaoru laughed and tried to give him a good smack on his head for his observation, but he dodged it easily enough. Since the serious topics were already dealt with, the three doctors spent the rest of their lag time talking about the surgeries they had lined up for the day as well as a few strategies that they could use for the procedures. Surprisingly, Sano made no jabs about her budding relationship with a certain red-haired surgeon that morning—a fact that she was glad for since, to be honest, she has already had her fill of discussing something that didn't really have to be discussed in the first place.
In the past month that she's been employed in the hospital, she found that she greatly enjoyed Sano's company. Thanks to her close relations with Kenshin, she'd spent many a night being entertained by his rambunctious behavior and drunken antics; and thanks to her standing as chief resident, he always hung around her to beg her to assign him a decent resident for the day—which meant that they spent a lot of time together.
She never had any awkward moments with the tall surgeon, despite the issue of her unwillingness to give his best friend a chance to get to know her better. He teased her often enough, but all of it was done good-naturedly and you could always count on Sanosuke Sagara to leave you room to think for yourself instead of forcing you into something that you obviously weren't ready for yet. Although he did sometimes grate on her nerves because of his violent tendencies and his overprotectiveness—especially when they'd be drinking together in their favorite bar without Kenshin's presence, she had to admit that watching him threaten and, occasionally, start beating random guys who looked at her in the wrong way into submission was amusing. Especially since Sano had the wonderful ability of fighting without injuring his fists too much.
For particularly insensitive brutes, Sano made sure to break a couple of bones or so just so he'd be sure that the pests would show up in the hospital to ask for his assistance. Seeing the patients' faces upon realizing that the same guy who was responsible for breaking their bones would be in charge of healing them was priceless, and the two of them have spent a lot of time laughing and re-enacting those instances. Of course, it made it a bit difficult for them to look Hiko in the eye the next day when he would ask them if they had anything to do with causing the injuries in the first place.
"Oh, hey, lover boy's here." Sano mumbled as he raised his hand to wave his friend over. "Oi Kenshin! We're over here!"
She chuckled when she saw Hiko throw the loud surgeon a scornful glare at the commotion he was making. She knew that the redhead was probably worried about how she was going to react to seeing him after what happened between the two of them the previous night, but talking to Kamatari and Hiko about what was happening between them put things into perspective for her. Kamatari had a point when he said that she should view his unintentional discovery as a good thing, and since Hiko had no ill feelings against the arrangement they had now, she couldn't really see a reason to push the man away. She enjoyed his company, and she has always been someone who went after what she wanted regardless of the consequences. Live in the now, was her philosophy.
"Good morning." Kenshin greeted as he came closer, standing between Sano and Kaoru as he gauged the mood of the table he was about to join.
The three surgeons nodded back at him, Kaoru making sure that her face betrayed no emotion as she waited for what he was going to do next.
"I uh… I figured you wouldn't have had breakfast yet." He said carefully as he looked down at her, gently offering her the brown bag he held in his right hand. "So I brought you a couple of bagels from the café downtown. They're blueberry. Your favorite."
She quickly glanced at the amused faces of the two men who were sitting with her. Grinning, she stood up and locked her gaze with the redhead's, mischief shining in her sapphire orbs. "Thanks, but I'm already full. I think Sano's hungry, though." She grabbed her things and bid the three doctors goodbye as she walked away.
"See you in surgery." She winked at Kenshin's surprised face.
She may have had a few realizations that morning but that didn't mean that she'd stop having a bit of fun before she gives in completely.
"I heard something from a little birdy." Sano sang as he fell into step beside her.
Their surgical team just finished the briefing and speaking with the patient for their major procedure that afternoon, and Kaoru was making her way up to the surgical floor to start scrubbing in for the surgery. Sano was apparently due for his own procedure, so she let him walk beside her. Besides, it wasn't like she minded his company in the first place.
"Oh?" she chuckled. "And why should I be interested in your petty gossip?"
"Because it involves you, of course!" He gushed, placing his arm around her and leaning down to whisper conspiratorially into her ear. "I know your secret."
"What?"
"Well, two secrets really." He grinned. "First off, I didn't know you were French. Although I should've suspected it based on the thing you have going on with Honjou. You'd have to be French to be able to keep up with that guy… or girl. I never really know which gender to consider him as." He mused.
She sighed as she listened to him drone on, already knowing what secret he was referring to. The possibility of Sano finding out so soon wasn't really that unexpected since Kamatari was aware of the friendship that blossomed between her and the rambunctious surgeon. That, and Kenshin's discovery was really bound to slip out to someone else sometime soon. She wasn't really worried of it spreading out to anyone else though, since the three people she considered important to her were already aware and she knew that they wouldn't risk her anger by telling anyone else.
"But more importantly," he continued. "I never would've pegged you as an artist, you little secret keeper, you."
"That's really none of your business, Sagara." She said.
He gave her an exaggerated gasp. "I am hurt! I am hurt that you would think that I wouldn't be concerned with my little Missy's business!"
She scoffed. "Why should you be? It's of absolutely no relevance to your life."
"Of course it is! See, I think it's very important to know all about the chick who's dating the little redhead." He grinned.
"We're not dating."
"You say that now, but my little birdy says that you will be soon." He pointed out. "And that little birdy is very credible."
"Your little birdy's name is Kamatari and he's going to die by my hands soon." She growled.
"And I'll be right there to fix him back up. You don't get to ruin the masterpiece I created, Missy. I worked hard on fixing your buddy's bones."
"Yeah and I'm so grateful for you for doing that."
He laughed. "Well it's about time I got some credit! You are very much welcome, sweetling."
The two doctors turned and stepped into the stairwell that would lead them to the surgical floor. Another thing that they had in common was their affinity with taking the stairs instead of holing themselves up in an elevator with a bunch of strangers. Although Kaoru didn't really understand why he felt the same way as she did, but she didn't bother asking him lest he ask a question himself.
"You do know I'm being sarcastic, right?" She remarked as she pushed his arm off of her shoulders and started going up the stairs.
"Nah. You're just saying that 'cause you're feeling a little shy." He said with a huge smile on his face. "Don't worry, I've learned how to read you, sweetling. I know what your heart really says."
"Call me sweetling one more time." She growled.
"Oh, you don't like it? What about darling? My little birdy did say you like that nickname a lot."
'Kamatari, I swear to God—' "Shut up, Sanosuke."
"How about love? Or is that going to be reserved for sweet little Kenshin now?"
"I'm warning you—"
"Sweetheart? Pumpkin? Sugar face?" he teased.
She huffed and turned to face him, making him freeze in his steps at the menacing glint she had in her eyes. "Sanosuke, if you don't stop, I'm telling Tae you have a liver disease that you're trying to keep under wraps so she won't serve you any more alcohol. Ever."
"Hey, no need to be so impulsive now." He gulped.
"Didn't the little birdy tell you, Sano?" She grinned. "I've always been impulsive."
Their banter was interrupted by a familiar voice that rung out in the stairwell, and they both paused as they listened in on the conversation that was being held on the platform above them. They weren't really the kind of people who would eavesdrop on what was clearly a private conversation, but the current setting gave them no choice. The door to the surgical floor was one flight of stairs up from where they were now, and there was no way that they were going to waste their time by going back down the stairs and taking the elevator instead.
"She's clearly punishing me!" A frustrated female voice exclaimed. "I don't know what that bitch's problem is, but she's clearly taking out whatever the fuck she's dealing with on me! She's been doing that since day one!"
Sano raised a brow at her when they both realized that it was Megumi who was currently ranting her lungs off at someone. The question now was who would be willing enough to listen to her throw a fit? The two shared amused glances as they paused and listened in on the loud conversation.
"Don't you think you're overreacting a bit?" another familiar voice replied.
Confusion filled Kaoru's head as she listened to Kenshin speak. What was he doing talking to Megumi? She knew that he used to work with her a lot prior to her employment as chief resident, but she didn't know that they were close. Throughout all the times that they've spent discussing her attitude, the redhead never gave any inclination that he conversed with the snooty surgeon often. Also, he's shown her nothing but support for the way that she was dealing with her residents. So to hear him willingly listen to Megumi complain about her was a bit weird if not altogether suspicious.
"No!" Megumi screamed. "I'm a surgeon, damn it, and I'm a good one at that! I deserve to be in this surgery, and I deserve to be taken seriously! I haven't even gone on any major surgeries ever since that woman stepped into this hospital! What right does she have to—"
Kaoru was highly amused at hearing what the younger surgeon thought of her and she was struggling to keep her laughter in as she continued to listen to the conversation. It wasn't rare for her to encounter people who didn't exactly approve of the way that she went about with her responsibilities. In fact, she'd already had one too many confrontations about it before. It was a good thing that she knew when what she did was either right or wrong, and in this case, she was obviously doing the right thing with the way that she was treating Megumi Takani. So far, none of the people who really matter have ever berated her, so she believed that her first move with the girl—to bring down her arrogance in the OR—was the right step to take. Sano clearly felt the same way, if the grin on his face was any indication.
"She's your chief resident, Megumi." Kenshin explained patiently. "She has every right."
Megumi scoffed. "Don't even get me started on that. I don't know what the hell possessed Chief Seijuro to bring that ditz into this hospital. Much less put her in charge. I mean, she clearly has no clue what she's doing around here and I don't appreciate being placed under the tutelage of someone like her."
"She's a very talented surgeon, Megumi. I can assure you that she's more than qualified to be here and she's fully capable of running all residents." The redhead replied. "You may not like her right now, but she knows what she's doing."
"Why are you taking her side anyway?" Megumi grumbled. "Come on, Kenshin. It's just the two of us here. I've heard about how much of a bitch she is to you inside the OR. I honestly don't know why you keep hanging around her. It's clear enough that she's too much of a stuck up prude to realize that you're just trying to help her adjust to the hospital. You can tell me you hate her."
Suddenly extremely interested in what was being said, Kaoru strained to hear Kenshin's voice as he replied to the irate woman.
He sounded amused as he spoke, and she fought to keep the grin off of her face for fear of receiving more of Sano's merciless taunts. "I'm not taking sides. I'm just telling you, as an attending, that Dr. Kamiya knows what she's doing in this hospital and you should really trust her more to lead you in the right direction. Besides, she's my… friend. I like hanging around her."
"Is that why I haven't seen you around ever since she dragged herself in here?" The resident replied accusingly. "I bet that little hussy's been trying to sleep with you, isn't she?"
Kenshin's laughter rang all around the relatively silent stairwell, and both Sano and Kaoru struggled to keep their own chuckles as silent as possible. This girl was just too much for Kaoru. This was the best entertainment she'd ever gotten since she landed in New York!
"What? She has, hasn't she?" Megumi huffed. "See? I told you that little bitch is more trouble than she's—"
"I can assure you, Megumi, that she hasn't been doing anything that she shouldn't have been. Besides, what she does—what anyone of us does during our free time shouldn't concern you." Kenshin chuckled.
"Of course it concerns me!" She paused, and the three doctors' laughter died down as they all listened to what the resident was going to say next. "You haven't been answering my calls or any of my messages, and we haven't gone out in a month." She sighed. "I miss you."
"Megumi." Kenshin sighed as well, his mirth completely gone now. "You know I told you that—"
"I know, I know." She grumbled. "You don't see me that way, and I'm your resident, and you're my attending, and we work together. I understand that. But that doesn't mean I can't still be your friend. Just because we went out and it didn't work out doesn't mean that things have to be awkward between us."
Kaoru's eyes widened at what she heard and she immediately fixed Sano with an accusing glare. Sano, on the other hand, shook his head and pointed up—a gesture to listen to what the redhead was going to say next.
"Megumi," Kenshin said gently. "I'm sorry if I ever gave you the wrong message, but we didn't go out. We shared a few drinks, and we spent a bit of time together, but that's something I do with all of the residents I work with. You shouldn't—"
"Oh stop being so insensitive, will you?" She said angrily, her denial clearly overriding her sense of propriety. The two fell silent and Sano and Kaoru waited for the sound of the door opening and closing that would signal the two doctors' exit from the stairwell. They were understandably surprised when they heard Megumi speak again after a few minutes.
"Look, whatever. Just—do you want to go out tonight? We can grab a late dinner and I have a nice bottle of wine back at my place."
"I can't. I have plans tonight."
"What? With that whore again?" Megumi replied scathingly.
Kaoru rolled her eyes as she got fed up with all the names that she was being called by her subordinate, and she nodded her head at Sano as a signal for them to start making their way up the stairs. Sano shrugged and grinned as he softly hummed the Jaws theme song while walking behind her.
"Ba-dum, ba-dum ba-dum, ba-dum ba-dum ba-dum baaaa"
She made sure that the click-clack of her heels was audible as she climbed her way up the last flight of stairs that would bring them to the platform that Kenshin and Megumi were on. She wasn't surprised when the two surgeons turned wide eyes onto her and Sano's unexpected presence, and she cleared her throat as she stepped closer to where they were.
She gave Kenshin a short nod as a gesture of acceptance for the apologetic smile that he cast in her direction. Sighing, she turned towards the seething resident.
"You were eavesdropping?" Megumi hissed menacingly at her.
Fed up with her insubordination, Kaoru mustered her anger and threw it all into the glare that she was sending back at the younger doctor and into the steel in her voice as she spoke. "It couldn't really be called as eavesdropping considering you were practically screaming every word you said to Dr. Himura, and this hallway isn't private so Dr. Sagara and I had every right to be here."
She saw Sano school his features into a more neutral expression as he made his way over to Kenshin's side of the platform. It was clear that he and Kenshin had no intention of interrupting her, and she was grateful for their trust in her method of disciplining her resident.
"That doesn't give you the right—"
"Oh it gives me every right, Dr. Takani." She hissed. "I think you seem to have forgotten the fact that I'm your superior, and that I have every right in the world to deal with you as I see fit. I don't know how you were brought up, but where I was from, respect was highly valued in the workplace, and if you don't know how to show respect, then you shouldn't expect to receive it.
"I am tired of hearing you complain and gripe every day, Dr. Takani, and I am warning you right now that if you don't change that attitude of yours anytime soon, I will have you kicked out of the program." She warned, silently pleased at seeing the younger doctor's face pale and her eyes widen in surprise and slight fear at the threat. This was something that she's never even dared to mention before, but clearly things were getting out of hand if Megumi thought that she was free to say anything about her behind her back without having to deal with its consequences.
"You can't do that." The resident said stubbornly.
"Can't I?" Kaoru replied with a raised brow. "I'm not just some bitch or hussy or whore, Dr. Takani. I assure you, I can."
She smirked at her subordinate's stunned face and turned to walk away from her and make her way into the OR that they'll be using that afternoon. "If I remember correctly, you're supposed to be doing post-ops and pre-ops. Given your preoccupation with Dr. Himura here, I highly doubt that you've done anything that you were supposed to be doing over the past hour. If you're done with your tantrum, I need you to check on Mr. Honjou in—"
"4425, I know." Megumi said.
Kaoru chuckled. "I was just reminding you. Seems to me like you've been awfully forgetful recently. You should get that checked out."
Calmly, she followed the two attending surgeons out into the hallway that would lead into the operating rooms. She smiled at Kenshin as a thanks for holding the door open for her, and he nodded back. As soon as they stepped out of the stairwell, they shrugged the event out of their heads and focused on what was going to happen that afternoon.
"Harsh, Missy." Sano commented from his spot beside her. "God help that girl for messing with you, eh?"
She sighed. "I just hope she learns from this. I can't risk her becoming careless just because she can't deal with me being in charge of her now." Suddenly remembering one part of the conversation that they overheard, she turned to Kenshin who flanked her opposite side. "You never told me you and Takani went out."
Amused, Kenshin looked back at her. "We didn't, and I didn't think it was important." He paused and smirked at her. "Why? Jealous?"
"You wish." She scoffed.
Author's Note: Wow. That was long—longer than usual for this story, anyway. When I started writing this chapter, I just had so much fun that I didn't even notice the length anymore. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this.
I actually had more notes for this chapter, but I figured that I'd just cut it here and leave the rest for the next update—which should hopefully be up soon since the outline's ready to go.
To all my readers and faithful reviewers, thank you so much! Right now, I'm kind of thinking about setting up a schedule for my updates since I have three stories that I'm currently working on. But then again, we'll see. After all, I mostly only write when I feel like it or when I'm suddenly hit by inspiration or an intense desire to do so.
Thank you thank you thank you so much for all the feedback and love! I'm looking forward to hearing what you think about this one!
Cheers!