Battle Front: Chapter 2

After the minor crisis had been averted and all the patients brought in on the helicopter were stabilized Kaoru took a break. The clinic now had a slow, but steady stream of regularly appointed patients in for well-child checks, physicals, and the occasional head cold. The intern found herself wandering outside of the clinic in the unforgiving heat of the desert sun.

There was a small amount of shade offered by a little rest area created by a recently constructed gazebo. Wearily she settled herself on the railing of the wooden structure and gazed at the endless sands. Six long months of this kind of life stretched before her. And she wasn't feeling very optimistic about it.

With the exception of the young private that she met earlier, Yahiko, there didn't seem to be a single friendly soul at the base. Everyone was rather sharp with her and seemingly self-absorbed in their own tasks. They didn't have time to make the newbie feel welcomed and they didn't do anything to disguise this fact either.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed. A sense of homesickness began to overwhelm her as the sounds of planes flying in the distance kept her company in her solitude. She wondered about her younger sister, Misao and how she was coping with her being so far away. Soujiro, Misao's fiancé was supposed to be transferred to this division in the next two weeks.

At least when Soujiro arrived she would have someone from home to talk to. She also would have loved to have called her best friend from both college and medical school. Aoshi had been her friend since they met at Freshman orientation, not one month after high school graduation. She came from a large public high school and he came from an elite private school. Surprisingly they had clicked. They signed up for the same schedule of classes and were study partners through out all four years of undergraduate school. He wasn't a very social person but he could always be coaxed into going places with her.

All she had to do was ask and he'd agree to learn how to jitter-bug with her every Tuesday night for an entire semester. Or he'd come with her to some fraternity party and they'd keep each other company while everyone else got completely drunk since neither of them could hold their liquor. He did nix rather forcefully her idea of them actually joining respective fraternity-sorority societies during that first week of freshman year. But other than that one instant he had never denied her anything.

They had studied obsessively for the MCAT together and had later both been accepted into the same medical school. She smiled fondly at the memories of sharing a house together those past four years during medical school. That 'great deal' of a two story 'historic' home had caused the two to share many-a-nights under the same covers. A sly smile crossed her lips as she remembered how safe she would feel waking up with his arms around her, the foot of the bed covered with medical books, and him muttering off signs and symptoms of strange diseases in his sleep.

He too had signed up for the Army to fund his medical school. Unfortunately they had been assigned to different stations. But then what sane hospital staff would want to hire two inexperienced doctors at the same time?

Had it really been a month since she had last seen him? And nearly that long since she had last heard his voice. That was another bummer about working with the Army. You had limited access to the telephone and internet. She missed him more than anyone.

She failed to notice the shadow that now fell over her. "Deep thoughts?" a deep, cold voice interrupted her musings. Kaoru gave a jump in surprise but quickly composed herself, her cheeks only going a little red in a slight blush.

Enishi leaned against the railings across from Kaoru and gazed off into the distance behind her. Kaoru swallowed hard, unsure of what to say. He had asked a question— sort of. "I was just thinking of home," she answered truthfully.

The white haired man lifted his hand to the earpiece of his glasses and adjusted them slightly as he turned his attention towards her briefly. "Most of us do when we're stuck out in this wasteland." He crossed his arms over his chest and continued to stare off into the distance. His stance indicated that he no longer cared to discuss matters with her.

"So…"Kaoru drawled. She wasn't sure how to get on this man's good side. He already had a grudge against doctors and yet he chose a profession where he worked with them daily. Also, he was in medical school himself before he joined the Army. He really didn't have any right to take out his anger over his sister on her. She had been spoiled by her relationship with Aoshi that she had forgotten how to approach a standoffish man.

A snowy white brow rose at her in response, but he remained silent.

"When do you fly back out?"

A cold smile stretched across his mouth. "Ready to send me off to my doom so soon?"

Kaoru's eyes bulged at his assumption and she quickly rose to her feet in her own defense. "No! That's certainly not what I meant! I just was curious how often you'd be around is all."

Enishi slid his glasses down his nose at her and glanced at her over the top of them with the coldest look imaginable. "Don't worry, doctor, you won't have to deal with the likes of me any more than necessary." Those were his departing words, for he did an abrupt about-face and left the young doctor to gape at his retreating figure in complete bafflement.

"What was THAT about?" Kaoru asked herself as she sat down heavily back on the railing. She took a deep breath and stared off towards the east, missing her friends and family more than ever.

oooooOOOOOooooo

Misao grinned at the woman she was helping. It was remarkable. The progress she had made in just the last two months was simply astonishing.

The older woman smiled lopsidedly at the physical therapist. Her face was half paralyzed on one side, but with determination she was making progress in a recovery that all doctors but one told was a hopeless situation. They had said that she would never walk again. She would never regain full function on her utterly useless half-body. The stroke she had suffered four years before made such a recovery impossible.

And yet here she was, gripping the device in her hand with a muscle strength that was almost normal. She wasn't quite walking yet, but when she smiled, her smile was becoming just a little more even.

"Mrs. Himura, this is amazing! You're doing a fantastic job!" Misao encouraged. The woman's dark, sad eyes had some light return to them at the praise.

"I—" Tomoe took a deep breath, concentrating very hard on her speech. "I want to be able to walk on my own by the end of six months."

Misao smiled at her, not wanting to upset the woman by pointing out the obvious. Such a goal was unrealistic if not impossible. "Why six months?" she asked instead.

Tomoe offered another small, lopsided smile. "My brother will be home for leave by then. I don't want him to see me like this," she gestured to the weakened half of her body with her unaffected hand. She looked down at the wheel chair that she had grown accustomed to over the past four years. "I don't want to be sitting when he gets off the plane."

Misao silently gathered the tools for the other muscle building exercises they would be doing next. For years Tomoe had been coming to these therapy sessions. Misao had always just been the student, but now she was the therapist. And for years, Misao had watched as the proud, yet sad woman allowed her body to be manipulated so the muscles wouldn't waste away, though the power to control the muscles was vanquished.

Then, just a few weeks ago the woman had made a decision. It was like a light switch had been thrown and her spirit had returned. Instead of the empty shell of a woman she had been, she had arrived to her therapy session with a fierce determination and passion.

"I want to walk to him when he gets off the plane and embrace him on my own two feet," Tomoe declared. "I want to be his strong older sister."

"We'll certainly do our best," Misao agreed, her heart swelling for the other woman.

A frustrating two hours later, a somber man came to pick up his debilitated wife. Kenshin smiled in greeting at Misao. Tomoe was receiving the hot packs from a physical therapy assistant in the back. "How did she do?" he asked, looking apprehensive about the answer.

Misao shook her head sadly. "She came in with so much enthusiasm. I know she really wants control of her body again. I've never seen her like this. It's like she woke up." Misao searched the lavender eyes of the man standing before her.

"It's going to be a slow process," Kenshin answered softly, his gaze going towards the closed door where his wife was behind.

"What I want to know is why is she so determined NOW to regain her functioning?" Misao asked reaching out for Kenshin's forearm and squeezing it hard.

Kenshin gazed down at her fingers that had turned white under the pressure and sighed. "We had a fight. I told her that I wanted my wife back, the woman I married. That I would leave her if she didn't become more than the empty shell she had become."

"You told her that?" Misao gasped, her hand falling away from his arm as she quickly glanced towards the room Tomoe was in. She looked back at Kenshin with a sly smile. "Well it's about time! I just wish you had gotten her pumped up about this years ago! She doesn't need to be coddled. She needs to be inspired!"

oooooOOOOOooooo

Kaoru pushed around the mashed potatoes on her plate. The food was…unappealing to say the least. After returning to clinic after her odd encounter with the mysterious captain her afternoon had been incredibly hectic. The other doctors all had 'pressing' matters to attend to and she was stuck running the entire facility flying solo.

It wasn't that she didn't have confidence in her abilities. She was one smart cookie! It was just that the nurses weren't particularly helpful to her and seemed to be going out of their way to make her life more difficult. She didn't understand. During her rotations she always got along great with the nursing staff. So she knew it couldn't be her personality. She really wished she had someone to confide in here.

It was then that a tray was sat upon the table directly in front of her, jarring her from her thoughts. The large man with the messy dark hair grinned sheepishly at her for having made her jump. "Sorry missy, didn't mean to scare you," Sanosuke greeted. He glanced around the nearly empty mess-hall. "I always seem to miss the action now that got myself kitchen duty."

"How did you manage that again exactly?" Kaoru asked sincerely curious. This time it was Sano that jumped in surprise. He hadn't actually expected her to care.

"Well," Sano began, placing his elbows on either side of his tray and leaning toward her over the table, looking ready to divulge a deep secret. "Come closer, I really don't want the others to overhear."

Kaoru too, placed her elbows on either side of tray and leaned over the table, her face a few inches away from Sano's. She totally didn't see it coming. The dark haired man closed the distance and kissed her fully on the lips. He drew back with a smug expression on his face and then turned side-ways so he could prop his feet up on the chair next to him and cross his arms behind his head. "Yeah, Kamiya, I think this may be the start of a beautiful relationship."

She was livid. She reached for the untouched glass of milk that was sitting beside her tray and dumped it without remorse on the soldier's head. Satisfaction was her reward when Sano jumped in surprise at the feeling of cold liquid on his head and fell out of his chair.

Kaoru was about to walk out without a backwards glance when she heard the man moan. It was then that she remembered he had two broken ribs. She groaned at her own soft-heartedness and approached his side. He glared at her with annoyed brown eyes before they twinkled with mirth. "I guess it serves me right, huh?"

"Yes it does," Kaoru answered, helping him to his feet and handing him a napkin to attempt cleaning off his hair.

He ran his fingers through his damp hair and sighed. "Guess this means I'll have to take a shower now."

Kaoru arched a brow at this. "Guess so," she agreed, sincerely hoping that his comment didn't imply that he seldom took showers.

"Want to join me?" he invited, placing his arm around her shoulders after she had put her arm around his waist to help him walk out of the mess-hall. She was about to elbow him in the ribs when his hand clenched hard on her shoulder. "They're broken, remember?"

"Be careful that I don't decide to break some more ribs," Kaoru warned, ignoring the interested looks they were getting from all the people they passed leaving the mess-hall.

Sano remained silent, only speaking to instruct Kaoru of where his barracks were. When they reached the front doors he squeezed her shoulder again before opening the door. "You're one hell of a kisser, missy. If you change your mind about that shower you know where to find me." He gave her a wink and then left, leaving her to gape after his audacity.

Kaoru stood there with her fists clenched at her sides. She couldn't believe that some man had actually come on to her so brazenly. Well maybe she could, because always before Aoshi had stood at her side, serving as a silent warning to any who might consider.

She really didn't want to analyze the situation any longer. Aoshi wasn't here now. He had told her the last time they had spoken over the phone that he felt their separation would actually be good for them both. They had become a crutch to one another. If they were ever going to find a healthy relationship they'd have to spend some time apart. But, they had both wondered if their relationship was 'the one.' Which is why he had insisted that it was a good thing that they wouldn't be seeing each other so often.

So lost in her musings, Kaoru didn't see the figure that was turning the corner the same time as she, but from the opposite direction. It wasn't until she crashed head-on into a firm chest of an equally distracted person. She would have fallen flat on her back if a pair of strong arms hadn't banded around her waist. She looked up, only to meet a pair of coal-black eyes that she had only seen hidden behind blue spectacles before.

"You should pay more attention, doctor. I'd hate for you to make a careless mistake when you're doing surgery on one of my men," Enishi sneered, releasing the woman from his grasp.

Kaoru moved out of his way and let him pass. "I wasn't the only one that was distracted, captain. I'd hate for you to make a careless mistake while transporting my patients."

Enishi paused and then turned around to stare at her silently. He then stalked back towards her with a predatory pace until he towered over her. "You know nothing about me," he hissed.

"Don't presume you know me either," Kaoru answered, not backing down, despite the fact that she was craning her neck to look him in the eyes.

"A status I'd prefer to maintain." Enishi turned away from her and stormed down the hallway leaving a baffled woman to stare after him.

A throat cleared behind Kaoru, causing her to jump. She turned around to see the private she had treated earlier shaking his head at her. "I heard about what happened in the mess-hall," Yahiko explained. He walked closer to her and offered his arm that wasn't in the sling. "Allow me to escort you to your apartment before you get accosted by any other men."

"I am so glad to see you," Kaoru told him with evident relief.

"Yeah, yeah, that's what all the pretty women say." Yahiko shook his head in mock weariness. "It should be a crime to be as devastatingly handsome and attractive as I am, but I try to break as few hearts as possible."

She couldn't help it. It felt good to laugh. And for the first time all day she wasn't home sick.