A/N: Mai Hime/Otome is not mine, kids and adult, please, this is a fanfiction, which is a fiction written by fans. Its a fiction, mean that its a product of human imagination and ideas, so, don't mixed it in reality.
Again...this is a work of fiction. It does not related to any places, events or peoples except in my version of Mai Hime/Otome universe, as if it ever exist in the first place. Read at your own risk!
Again...thank you beta-chan!
"I've found the most lonely place in your eyes, yet that's the place I want to live"
Chapter 10 - Distant
Silence, that's all she could hear. Her eyes trailed along the lines, the words took shape as her mind began to dream of a picture being drawn in her mind. Natsuki found this state to be her place of solitude, a place where she could escape the harsh realities of the world around. A small grunt escaped from her lips as she closed her book, her eyes being drawn towards the woman entering the room. As she placed her book on a nearby table, she got onto her feet as she walked to her bed while waiting for the doctor to finish reading her file. She never took the interest to read those files, even though it was about her own health condition. Most of all, she didn't like how doctor's handwriting looked like. It was hard to differentiate between the letters written by them. How they could understand other doctors handwriting is beyond Natsuki's comprehension. Human minds are full of miracles. "Anoo, sensei?"
"What is it, Kuga-san?"
"It been long since I last saw Dr Fujino."
"Fufu, do you miss her already? I told you, she has been temporarily transferred to another department."
Natsuki felt disappointed by the doctor's answer. Sometimes when she's alone, she would remember all those times when Shizuru would check on her, she felt something stuck in her heart that she couldn't put into word "Why? Is it because of me?"
"No, it's not because of you." Yohko kept her tongue silent, turning her attention to her patient.
"Let just say that, the Fallen Angel is not ready to return to heaven yet. She's still bounded to the human world. Now, do not think too much on other people and focus on yourself. I can see your health has stabilized. So, the medication period is over. But, we will continue on another stage of medication that will focus on your... illness."
"What?! More pills?" Natsuki whined, holding her arms close to her chest with them crossed.
What's with the 'fallen angel' thing? I don't understand it at all.
"No complaining, save it for Dr Fujino, I'm sure she will be glad to entertain you. I have contacted the civil office and located your next kin. I will be having an appointment with your mother tomorrow. She will come visit you and sign a few documents needed for donor and surgery"
"I bet she will..." Natsuki just answered nonchalantly. It's not important if her mother would visit her or not. It's just the same for her.
"I'm sure she will, I'm confident with my persuasion skill."
"What makes you think you can convince her?"
"You are a psychologist and I was a psychotherapist. We are somewhat in the same field of psychology, so you tell me" Yohko-sensei grinned showing her small fang.
"Not interested." Natsuki just dismissed the playful manner of the conversation.
"Being indifferent and not interested is such an interesting way to escape from fact and facing disappointment. You are more stupid than my apprentice" she pointed her pen to Natsuki's nose but Natsuki immediately pushed the pen out of her vision.
"Stop comparing me to her. She's a damn... I don't know... crazy, maybe" she mumbled silently but Yohko still managed to hear her.
"Wow! Nice vocabulary you've chosen. I'm impressed you called the person who saved you a crazy. Now I feel sad for Shizuru after what she had done, like traveling all the way to Egypt just to find me and staying up late every night to find your illness, reading all those test results and files. My poor apprentice. I never thought I will see her fall from the wise and dignified Fujino into a stupid student by me, and crazy person by you. Poor Shizuru."
"If I'm not mistaken sensei, you are currently trying to enforce the guilt onto me by shifting the faults onto me"
"I can see you are not a bad psychologist. But... dense." Yohko stared up at the ceiling in a thinking manner "...and stupid." She chuckle. "Do you know who the Fujinos are?"
"What?" Natsuki raised her tone questioningly.
"You know, we doctors don't stupidly travel to the other side of the world just for a patient, let alone if the work becomes too difficult, even if we feel responsible for the faults we cause sometimes. For a Fujino, it's a hundred years if they would think of any hardship. Humans make mistakes. It can't be avoided. Well...maybe you are right. She is crazy. Crazily in...hmmm...never mind"
"What are you trying to implying, sensei?" Natsuki enquired.
"Let me give you some advice, don't be too hard on Shizuru. Be nice to her, it's not every day you could find someone who does any thing just for you, moreover, I think you don't need me to tell you your own psychological condition. You already know it yourself. Believe me, there's no harm in trusting people. If they stay on, you have a companion, but if they don't, you earn an experience. And not all people are the same. You know that too, so don't be too guarded, okay?"
Although still clueless on the doctor's advice, Natsuki just had to agree with her. Furthermore, she knew deep in her heart what Yohko-sensei said was true.
'No harm in it. Is it?' With that said, she just tried to understand and open herself to another person. She could accept Yohko-sensei, but Dr Fujino was a different case. Obviously, she and Yohko-sensei have some knowledge in psychology making their relation is more on a professional term. They have something in common. 'But with Dr Fujino, how should I begin? What can we talk about?' That's another thing she had to figure out. 'Clearly, this Yohko-sensei managed to manipulate me into being nice to Dr Fujino. Was I being too hard on her'?
"Sensei, when can I see Dr Fujino?"
"Haha…" her doctor just laughed her off. "Impatient aren't we? I know you are ready to see her anytime, but I don't think it's the same for her. Give her some time."
"May I know why?"
"Like I said, the fallen angel is still bounded by the world's beauty that she become crazy"
"Sensei, would you stop answering my questions in a metaphorical way? I'm an objective and theory type person, so it's hard for me to understand what you mean unless you say it directly, and stop repeating my word in the wrong way."
"Not my place to tell you. You'll find out eventually. Anything else you need beside Crazy Shizuru?"
"I don't need her" she grumbled. "...and I need new book to read."
"Okay, I'll put it in my notes." Yohko replied as she made a mental note of Natsuki's request. "Kuga-san, books indeed are interesting to read, but they don't have any emotion and it's just a one way communication. Human beings live by interacting with other living things as a basic need as said by Maslow. Even if that other person is crazy. See you next check-up, Kuga-san."
"Okay...and quit with the crazy thing, baka!" Natsuki pout.
'Human beings live by interacting with other living things as a basic need' you said? Since when do we live by the Maslow's theory nowadays? It's just a theory from an old man who lived a hundred centuries ago. Baka theory. Baka need. and... Baka Shizuru!'
With that said Natsuki reached for her book nearby and resumed reading it. Silence once again filled the atmosphere, save for the ticking sounds coming from the clock hung up on the wall. 'Hmm...' Emerald eyes drifted along the sentences in her book, her mind slowly began to wonder away from the book. 'Human psychology is like an iceberg. Part of it is under the water which is hard to see and measure. Part of the human mind... I already knew this theory. Sigmund Freud...'
'I wonder what the time is?' Her eyes looked up from her book, checking the clock. '3.40 pm. The afternoon shift will start in twenty minutes. The hallway sound rather quiet today. What happened in this unit? Ah… I forgot, I'm in the special unit and elite division. That means, less patients here since they also prioritise a patient's comforts'
tick...tick..
'Iyaahh... I just need to finish reading this book as soon as possible so I can proceed to reading the new one I've been asking Sagisawa -sensei to get.
-Half an hour later-
'What did Sagisawa-sensei mean by Fallen Angel? Should I look them up in the dictionary? I've never heard the term before been used in any psychology theory, or in any written research. Unless it's the new theory that I haven't read yet. Where did she get those terms from? Fallen Angel, ka? Is it by any way related to Dr Fujino being transferred to another department? Dr Fujino...
tick..tick..
"What happened to her? The last time I saw her was that morning. She had promised to take care me, Gah! Why would I want that? I've been alone for a long time and why would I want someone to change that? Baka!" she asked herself, ignoring the fact that people could hear her almost screaming at herself. "I can't take this anymore!" Natsuki pulled her hair in stress. "Baka woman! Devil woman! Baka, baka, baka! Where the hell are you? What happened to you? Why wouldn't you visit me?" with that Natsuki stormed out of her room.
The hallway had apparently less people today, Natsuki walked silently towards the exit of the department, following the signboard until she reached a junction.
Clueless on where she should go, she found another board on the left of the junction wall. The board was written with the list of doctors in the department and their room number. There were only fifteen doctors and specialists in the special unit department where every doctor specialises in their own field.
'Ummm... What is Dr Fujino's field?'
Reading from top of the list, she found Professor Sagisawa Yohko as the head of department and specialist in Diagnostic Medicine.
'If I remember correctly, she said that Dr Fujino was her apprentice. Hmm...'
She was right. Dr Fujino Shizuru's name was written under Dr Sagisawa name as the deputy head of the department, who also specialised in Diagnostic Medicine.
'Wow! She was right when she said that she is the second in person in charge to refer to when in terms of an unknown case.'
"Errmm... excuse me, miss. May I help you?"
Natsuki jump as she heard a soft voice from behind. "Ah, anoo... I, erm… I was looking for... Dr Fujino's office." Natsuki answered, averting her gaze elsewhere.
"Ah, if you are looking for Dr Fujino's office, it's on the left side at the end of this hallway. Just walk straight until you found Dr Sagisawa's Office, and Dr Fujino's office is on its left." the nurse smiled while pointing the way.
"A… arigatou..." Natsuki bowed, thanking the nurse before she started walking the path.
"But..." the nurse's voice stopped her in her tracks "If you're looking for Dr Fujino, she's not in her office now. She's been transferred to the Emergency Room. You can find her there."
"Emergency Room?" Natsuki turned back towards the nurse.
"If you need to look for Dr Fujino, the Emergency Room is at the second building. But, I don't think you should go there. It's like a living hell out there."
"A living hell?"
"Blood is everywhere, people dying and injured. Just a typical, hectic Emergency Room. Every hospital is like that"
"Erkk! A… arigatou." again, Natsuki bowed, but now she just stood in her place, thinking should she go there to look for Dr Fujino.
"Douitashimashite..." the nurse bowed and left her in the hallway.
Natsuki continued her venture to her destination, entering the second building of the hospital. Even standing in front of the closed doors of the Emergency Room, she could clearly hear the commotion inside. People screaming of pain, crying, nurse and doctors shouting in panic. All of that noise was making Natsuki nervous in revealing what's happening on the other side of the room.
Taking a step forward, she pushed the doors open and was immediately greeted with such a chaotic view of the dark side of the hospital. There's nothing alike in her elite department where the surroundings are quiet and peaceful. Blood was splattered everywhere,injured patients were being cut open or sewn back without painkiller, or maybe the painkiller wasn't working anymore. Death was everywhere. Families screaming and crying, it just like the nurse had said, a living hell. Looking around, Natsuki immediately spotted Dr Fujino tending to a patient who looked to have been involved in an accident. She was in the middle of doing something when suddenly blood was gushing out of the patient's mouth, tainting Dr Fujino's lab coat which made no difference on her coat as it looked to have lost its white colour a while ago from all the work. Her hands were drench in red blood. Some of the blood smeared her neck and cheek as she wiped them with her sleeve. (Warning: This is a work of fiction. The real Emergency Room is not like this. I just want to make it dramatic, thats all!) Hiding behind the curtain, she could see clearly Dr Fujino had dark circles under her eyes, her face couldn't hide the tiredness and lack of sleep and her appearance was unmanageable. Whatever has happened to her, it showed that Dr Fujino was having the worse time of her life out there. Her voice no longer sounded composed; there was no tilting, flirting voice or those same playful red eyes that stared deeply into her a while ago. Now her eyes just showed no emotion, they almost seemed lifeless and soulless.
Natsuki had seen enough. She never dared to step forward and close the distance. Instead, she retreated and hurried away from the Emergency Room, leaving Dr Fujino behind to fend for her life.
Again with the stupid Author note:
Diagnostic Medicine - as in Dr House department :P (hey! it be interesting..wonder if Dr House will also appear in this story.."
Honestly...I hate this site auto-checked..it always deleted certain words from my story, and I have to repeatly re-read my story to make sure nothing change.