This vignette was inspired by a prompt from the now defunct promptsfordays on tumblr; the prompt was for a vigilante AU using the opening dialogue of "You can't keep coming here with injuries! I'm not a doctor, damnit!" I tweaked things for my own purposes somewhat. Enjoy!

(Readers of my story Embracing Fear, please see the notes at the end.)

"You can't keep showing up like this. I'm a veterinarian, not a doctor, damnit!"

Despite her complaints, Higurashi Kagome ushered the man off her balcony and into her apartment, sliding the door shut and closing the curtains quickly.

When he remained silent, she waved toward the kitchen and snapped, "Well, go on then. Surely you know your way around by now."

Roughly three months ago, she'd found a strange man crumpled in the dark corner of her balcony, unconscious. Contrary to all common sense, she hadn't immediately called the police and had instead dragged him inside—no small feat by herself—and patched him up. He'd disappeared without a word sometime in the night, leaving only a hastily penned thank-you note and several large bills on the kitchen table.

But he'd returned at least four times since, each time injured and needing medical attention. In that time, she'd learned nothing from him but his name: Rikuo. What she could observe was he was probably around her age, mid to late twenties, had long bicolored white-and-black hair, crimson eyes, and a propensity toward bleeding on her floor. He typically wore a black suit, dress shirt, occasionally a tie—though by the time he reached her apartment, the tie had usually been loosened at least or was haphazardly draped around his neck. Given what seemed to be a rather perilous line of work, she wondered why he risked attire that someone could potentially use to strangle him. When she'd asked, he'd simply shrugged and said, "Depends on the job."

Tonight, Rikuo's feet dragged as he shuffled into her brightly lit kitchen, and she noticed a trail of blood following him. Not for the first time, Kagome thanked whatever gods were listening that she had easy-to-clean hardwood instead of carpet.

"You're lucky I don't send you a cleaning bill," she called after him as she retrieved her first aid kit, one she'd supplemented with items from work when it became apparent he would be a repeat visitor.

When no snarky rejoinder came in response, Kagome quickened her pace. Rikuo was usually only this quiet when he was in a lot of pain.

"So what trainwreck have you brought me tonight?" she asked when she met him in the kitchen. He'd taken a seat in one of the chairs at her small dining table but had his right leg stretched out awkwardly, blood pooling beneath it. He had several bleeding cuts on his face and was breathing shallowly, his eyes glassy and a thin sheen of sweat on his skin.

"Damn, you're hurting pretty bad, aren't you?" she said softly, adopting the same calm, level tone she used for frightened animals in pain at her clinic. "All right, big guy, can you take your pants off for me to get a look at that leg?"

"I think… Maybe…" Rikuo said through gritted teeth. As he shifted to undo his belt and attempted to slide his pants off, he swore and gripped the side of her table, knuckles white.

"What if you lift up and I pull them off?" Kagome offered. "Can you manage that?"

When he only gave a sharp nod, no innuendo-laden quip about her getting his pants off, Kagome's concern increased. Whatever annoyance or attraction she felt toward the handsome idiot who kept showing up here wounded faded away, and her inner clinician took over.

Once they'd maneuvered his pants off, Kagome winced at what was most likely a bullet wound in his leg. Fortunately for him, it appeared that it hadn't hit any major arteries or bone and had passed cleanly through.

"Got lucky on this one, though I'm sure it hurts like hell," she murmured.

A grunt, presumably of agreement, was the only response she got.

"I'll clean it and bandage it, and then we can take a look at the rest of you. And give you something for the pain."

"'ppreciate it, Doc."

One bandaged leg, a few stitches, ice packs for his ribs, and several painkillers later, Rikuo limped toward her balcony door.

Kagome clicked her tongue in irritation. "You jump down off that, you're liable to start bleeding again. What have I told you about undoing all my hard work?"

"Something something 'I'm licensed to castrate, you don't want to make me angry'?" he supplied, one side of his mouth tilted up in a crooked grin.

She pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation but was unable to keep a small smile off her face. "I see the pain meds have kicked in. Of course that would be the part you remember."

Rikuo's smirk widened. "Not every day a beautiful woman threatens to cut your balls off. Least not for me."

Kagome felt her cheeks warm at being called beautiful. It wasn't the first time he'd flirted with her, but she could never really get a read on whether he was being sincere or not. She'd always assumed it was just another part of his job…whatever that was…but she couldn't deny a certain attraction to Rikuo. No wonder Inuyasha says I have terrible taste in men…who knows what kind of shady things this guy is mixed up in.

Clearing her throat awkwardly, she made a shooing gesture with her hands. "All right, go on then, get out of here, you menace. I've got a floor to clean."

"Thanks, Doc." He gave her a jaunty salute and slipped out the balcony door, sliding it closed behind him.

Kagome sighed, wondering yet again just how she'd gotten herself into this mess.

Several weeks went by without Rikuo making an appearance, and Kagome found her thoughts wandering to him more often than she cared to admit. Was he okay? What sort of job did he have that had him injured all the time and not going to an actual hospital with actual doctors but the apartment of a small animal veterinarian? Clearly it was something dangerous—was he dangerous? She'd never felt scared of him, but should she be? Would she ever see him again? Was he single?

Whoaaaa, girl, pump the breaks.

She rubbed her hands down her face, exhaling audibly. It had been a long day, with several rough cases, and the last thing she needed was to go down that line of thinking. She needed to go home, have a hot bath, and put her feet up. Watch a stupid movie and turn her brain off. Thankfully it was Friday, and her business partner and former roommate, Sango, had this Saturday's shift. They'd known each other since college and had gone into practice together a few years back. Sango moved out when she married their mutual friend Miroku, so Kagome had downsized to a single-bedroom apartment rather than trying to find another roommate. She loved Inuyasha dearly, but there was no way in hell she could live with him. Plus he already had a roommate, even if sometimes she wondered if he and Kouga would wind up on the news as some sort of murder-suicide. They had an…interesting dynamic, to say the least.

Kagome got takeout on the way home, and after luxuriating in the hot bath she'd been craving, she plopped down on her sofa with her carton of takeout and a glass of wine and flipped on the TV. She'd just turned to some fluffy and mindless romcom when she heard the telltale sound of someone on her balcony.

"Oh no…no no no, not tonight," she groaned. She glanced down at her attire—no bra, a soft T-shirt from vet school, and a pair of very comfortable yet rather short shorts. Welp, too late now.

A tap on the glass. "Heeeey, Doc, ya in there?"

"Will you go away if I say no?"

A low chuckle, if somewhat pained-sounding. "Prob'ly not…"

Kagome sighed and pushed the curtains aside to unlock the door. "This is not how I had planned to spend my Friday night, I'll have you know."

Rikuo stumbled inside, and although there were numerous bloodstains and a large tear in his white dress shirt, he didn't look nearly as worse for the wear as the last time she'd seen him. "Wha's that mean? I'm an awesome date, 'll have you know." His words were slightly slurred, and Kagome wondered if he were drunk.

Then she saw blood staining his white hair, and she sighed. "Did you get hit in the head?"

"Oh, couple times, I think," he drawled, giving her one of his best grins, and gestured to his arm. "And a…uh…dog bite. Figure you know all 'bout those, Doc."

"For fuck's sake…" she muttered. "All right, idiot, let's take a look at you. You know the drill."

His gait was somewhat wobbly as he made his way to the kitchen, and she worried that he might have a concussion. "They certainly didn't teach us about this in vet school…" she said to herself dryly as she got her first aid kit. I really should just start keeping it in the kitchen.

The sounds of retching reached her ears as she walked back down the short hallway, and she bolted. "So help me, if you threw up on my— Oh."

He'd managed to grab the trash can in time and was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand when she entered the room, looking distinctly embarrassed. "S-sorry about that. Figure this was better than the sink?"

"Ew, yes, definitely better. I do not want to clean puke out of my drain, thank you very much. Here." She handed him a glass of water to rinse his mouth out. Once he'd done so, she pointed at a chair. "Sit."

"Sure are bossy t'night, Doc."

"And you sure are a pain in my ass. Roll your sleeve up." She inhaled sharply at the wound on his arm. "Damn, Rikuo, what the hell kind of dog bit you?"

"Big."

"Yes…I meant what kind… You know what, never mind," Kagome said, rolling her eyes and focusing on the task at hand. Once she'd thoroughly cleaned and bandaged it, she looked at his head, where there was only a small cut that needed little more than cleaning and ice. There didn't appear to be any other injuries, but there was the likely concussion to deal with.

"Rikuo?"

"Mmm?" He lifted his head, apparently having dozed off while she'd tidied up her supplies.

"I'm pretty sure you have a concussion, but as I've explained a million times—I'm not a human doctor, and my patients rarely get concussions. You probably need to go see an actual doctor, like for people, not pets."

Rikuo frowned. "Told ya before, Doc. Not quite that simple for me." He started to stand and gestured toward himself. "Thanks…thanks for patching me up again. I'll leave you to your Friday night."

Kagome grabbed his arm before he could move. "Do you have someone who can monitor you? You need to be woken every four hours or so to make sure you're still coherent."

His lips curved in a teasing smile. "Thought you didn't treat people."

"I don't," she snapped, "but I've watched enough medical shows on TV to know that much. Plus I looked it up online." She hesitated, unsure of what she was about to do, and then just plunged ahead. "Listen, if you need somewhere to stay the night… You could stay here…I can…wake you up as needed."

The smile dropped from his face, and he stared at her, dumbfounded. "You'd…you'd do that for me?"

Kagome felt heat creeping into her cheeks, and flustered, she said, "I mean, only because…you know…it's a matter of pride. Can't have you die on me or anything…"

What the hell, Kagome? That's the best you could come up with?

"Are you…s-sure?"

"Oh, just go lie down on the sofa before I change my mind, idiot. I'll wake you up in a few hours."

Rikuo did as directed and must have been exhausted, as he passed out immediately. Kagome covered him with a blanket and curled up in the armchair, unpausing the movie she'd been watching before he showed up. She set an alarm on her phone in case she too fell asleep and then tried not to think about the very good-looking man lying on her sofa.

Four hours later, she said his name and touched his shoulder gently. Rikuo jerked immediately upright, eyes wide, hand reaching for one of the weapons she knew he carried. She held her hands up and backed up.

"Hey, hey, whoaaa there, big guy. It's just me. Kagome."

He dropped his hand, and even in the dim light of the living room, a dusting of pink was visible across his cheekbones. "Shit, sorry, Doc."

Her heart was pounding, but she shook her head. "I should've been more careful." She perched on the sofa next to him as he sat up and asked him several questions to confirm that he was coherent. All were answered correctly, which relieved her greatly. She hadn't been sure what she'd do if he wasn't.

"Whatcha watching?" Rikuo asked.

"Hmm? Oh, just some dumb romcoms, something brainless to take my mind off the day."

"Rough day?"

Kagome shrugged. "A few bad cases, nothing abnormal, but just…mentally and emotionally draining." She smiled wryly. "Can't be as bad as yours though."

He scowled. "A few…hiccups in the original plan, but it all worked out in the end."

"Oh? And was getting a dog bite and concussion part of your plan?"

"Tch. Hardly. But nothing I can't handle," he scoffed.

"While I'm sure that's true, you can't take these things lightly. Get some more rest—I'll wake you up in a few hours." She stood, intending to return to her chair, and he grabbed her wrist loosely.

"You can…you can stay here if you want…" he said quietly, eyes not meeting hers, his cheeks rosy yet again.

She sat back down but couldn't resist pointing out, "And how are you going to lie down if I'm sitting here?"

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, mumbling something under his breath that she couldn't quite hear. Had he said…lap?

A wicked impulsivity rose within Kagome, probably the same recklessness that had led her to ask a veritable stranger to stay the night in her apartment, and she asked playfully, "Surely Mr. Big Bad I-Can-Handle-Anything doesn't want to lay his head in my lap?"

Rikuo flushed scarlet to the tips of his ears, and Kagome couldn't help laughing.

"Mean as hell, Doc…"

"Payback for interrupting my self-care Friday." Then she settled back into the sofa cushions and waved her hand at him. "I'm giving you a hard time, but go on if you want. It won't bother me."

Inuyasha did it all the time, as did Kouga, and occasionally Miroku, though not since he'd married, and when he was younger, she'd had to be wary of wandering hands. Although… Butterflies fluttered in her stomach nervously. This is somewhat different than one of my guy friends…

Rikuo took the offer and lay down, resting his head in her lap carefully. Initially tense, as though he wasn't completely comfortable, he eventually relaxed and his breathing evened out. Kagome looked down at him and sighed. What am I doing… I barely even know him. And he is very clearly involved in things not exactly safe…and possibly not even legal.

Regardless, she was definitely attracted to him.

Without realizing it, she let her hands run idly through his hair, the soft strands of his white-and-black hair slipping through her fingers like silk.

"You petting me, Doc? Like one of your patients?"

His voice startled her, making her jump, and his low laugh rumbled against her thighs.

"Shut up, idiot. You are kind of like a stray cat, you know. And my dumb ass keeps encouraging you to come back."

"Oi, oi, so rude…"

"So is bleeding all over my house. Not to mention you cost me a small fortune in medical supplies," she retorted, though without any heat.

"Couldn't you like…write that off as a business expense?"

"That is not the point."

"You were so already planning to, weren't you?"

Perhaps, but not that she'd tell him that. "So…what exactly is it you do that you get hurt all the time?" she said, finally voicing the question that had been haunting her for months.

Rikuo sighed, sitting up and facing her. He ran a hand through his bangs, which hung messily in his face. "I knew you'd ask eventually. More importantly, why the hell do you keep letting me come around?"

"What can I say? I have a weakness for strays," she said with a short laugh.

A tiny smile flickered, but his expression mostly remained serious. "You sure you want to know?"

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Why, is this one of those 'If I tell you, I have to kill you' kind of things?"

He snorted. "I mean, technically, kinda, but I'm pretty sure I can bend the rules for you."

Her eyes widened. "Wait, seriously? What are you, some sort of assassin? Mafia boss?" Rikuo opened his mouth to reply, but Kagome held up her hand. "You know what? I actually don't want to know. At least…not tonight. It's late, you have a concussion…let's just table this for now, okay?"

Rikuo seemed relieved, but then a mischievous glint shone in his crimson eyes. "For now… That mean you want me to come back, Doc?"

She averted her eyes, fiddling with a lock of hair that had come loose from her ponytail, trying to ignore her racing heart. "Yeah…I guess so…" Then she shrugged and finally lifted her gaze to meet his, a smile forming. "After all…I told you I have a soft spot for strays."

Author's note: Thank you for reading! This was just a very silly little writing exercise to get the creative juices flowing once again as I try to get back in the writing saddle, but I do hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed being back in the Kagome/Rikuo sandbox. I'm currently in the process of very slightly revising Embracing Fear as I tweak some plot elements to adjust things to work with changes I wanted to make for future chapters. I'm also finishing the next chapter and getting an outline done for the one after that, so hopefully you'll have a new chapter in less than *checks notes* two and a half years? Thank you all for your support and patience. ( ˘ ³˘)