Battle Front 3:

The apartment Kaoru was assigned was fairly nice. It was a two bedroom apartment with a tidy kitchen, two baths and a spacious den. Her belongings had been placed in her bedroom for her while she had worked at the clinic. It turned out that her roommate was none other than the doctor Megumi. The elegant doctor didn't bother to greet her that evening or the next morning.

Megumi's boyfriend did however manage to introduce Kaoru to the kind of privacy one experiences in the Army. Kaoru was relaxing in the shower, letting the steamy water ease the tension from her muscles the following morning and wake her up. There was no lock on the bathroom door, but she figured that since it was connected to her bedroom she wouldn't have to worry about it. The sound of the bathroom door opening quickly snapped her out of her dazed state.

She heard the toilet seat being lifted and the tell-tale sound of trickling water hitting porcelain. Then the seat was closed and she could see the shadow of a large man standing in front of the sink, washing his hands. Her heart began to race. He seemed to turn in her direction from the sink and cleared his throat. Kaoru lifted back the corner of the shower curtain, making certain to hide her body behind it.

The man grinned at her, emerald green eyes twinkling as he did so. "I apologize for barging in like this, but Megumi locked the door to her bathroom and it was an emergency. I'm Katsu." He extended his hand as if to shake.

Kaoru just starred at him blankly.

Katsu withdrew his hand and scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Be sure to flush the toilet when you get out, I didn't want to scold you." He turned towards the door and placed his hand on the knob. "Sano didn't do you justice in his description of you," he told her mysteriously before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

Kaoru tried to catch her breath. She had never had someone just walk in on her while taking a shower. And the way he seemed to look right through the shower curtain at her. She looked down and groaned.

The curtain was clear.

She hurried to finish her shower, no longer finding it relaxing. She remembered to flush the toilet and after she was fully dressed stomped towards the den with determination. She was going to give both Katsu and Megumi a piece of her mind for invading her privacy.

Unfortunately, neither were present.

She would just have to ignore her embarrassment and focus on her patients. Kaoru had just stepped through the front door when one of the nurses pulled her aside to explain a situation.

"Doctor Kamiya, do you think you could see Mrs. Williams this morning?" Nurse Felis asked, nervously tugging on her prematurely grey hair.

"I guess so, is she on my roster?" Kaoru asked. She could see the young Mrs. Williams standing in the lobby area, holding a small child to her and looking upset. "Nevermind, I'll see her now and put her in a room myself."

Kaoru walked past the relieved nurse and smiled at the young woman. "Mrs. Williams? I'm doctor Kamiya, would you follow me?" The child reached for Kaoru and she welcomed the young boy in her arms. One look at his matted pink left eye and she knew what the trouble was. He put his arms around her neck rubbed the right side of his face against her white coat. So much for sterile environment.

After leading the family into the room Kaoru shut the door and sat on the examining table herself holding the boy in her lap. The mother reached for the box of tissues and dabbed at her eyes. "I'm sorry. I just couldn't deal with that horrible woman anymore."

"That's fine," Kaoru assured her, not having any idea what the young mother was talking about. She looked down at the boy. "So what's your name, handsome?"

"Tommy," the boy answered with a solemn expression. He pointed to his left eye. "My eye feels funny. Like it on fire."

"I bet it does, Tommy," Kaoru agreed. She looked over at the mother. "Mrs. Williams, how long has his eye been bothering him?"

"About two days now," Mrs. Williams answered. "He's had this gross green crusty stuff in the mornings."

"Yeah, it's probably bacterial conjunctivitis." She glanced back at the mother. "Pink eye." She used her opthalmascope and checked out the boy's ears, nose and throat. "Can I listen to your heart?" she asked, slipping her stethoscope into her ears. Tommy nodded his head and Kaoru listened to both his heart and lungs.

She turned towards his mother. "I'll give you some antibacterial eye drops. This is a self-limiting condition so it will resolve on its own from a week to ten days. These drops will certainly help to relieve the irritation though." She grinned at Tommy. "Little man you have to make sure you don't rub that eye and make sure that your hands are very clean, okay?"

Tommy nodded his understanding and Kaoru lifted him in her arms and tried to hand him back to his mother, but he clung to her. "Can't I stay with you?" Kaoru gave him a soft smile.

"Come on, Tommy, the nice doctor is a busy lady." Mrs. Williams pulled her boy out of Kaoru's arms. "Thank you, doctor." She and Kaoru walked towards the front where Kaoru handed the chart and the drug prescription to the receptionist. Mrs. Williams gestured towards Megumi. "I'm so glad you're here so that I don't have to deal with that horrible woman."

Kaoru really wanted to ask what happened, but bit her tongue and offered a smile instead. "No problem, it was a pleasure meeting you Mrs. Williams." She extended her hand for Tommy and he shook it carefully. "You get to feeling better, Tommy."

Kaoru walked to room one and read the chart of her next patient. It was going to be a long day. Luckily her next patient was an easy fix. Apparently he had an allergic reaction to a certain kind of soap and it had led to the development of a terrible itchy rash. He looked at her as if she were a genius when she suggested that he discontinue the use of the offending soap. After a tube of anti-histamine cream to stop the itch he began to call her a goddess.

Time seemed to fly by and lunch arrived unexpectedly. Kaoru was about to ask for her next patient when she noticed that there were no more. She gathered her small lunch and went out the gazebo to enjoy some solitude.

"Kaoru!"

She looked to see Yahiko running towards her. He stepped into the gazebo with her and eyed her lunch with disdain. "That looks pretty gross," he commented. Kaoru took a defensive bite out of her pimento cheese sandwich and didn't comment. "I brought you a picture of my fiancée."

The picture revealed a Yahiko with unruly hair standing beside a lovely young woman with a bright blush on her cheeks. "She's bashful," Yahiko explained.

"You two look very nice together."

Yahiko gave the picture one last glance before tucking it back inside his jacket and taking out his own lunch bag and sitting beside Kaoru. He handed her an apple. "Here, at least this way I know you're eating something edible." He snickered when Kaoru yanked it out of his hand and took a large bite out of it. "So, I hear you met Mrs. Williams."

"I met Tommy. Mrs. Williams seemed nice enough," Kaoru corrected. She almost asked if he knew why Megumi and Mrs. Williams seemed to hate each other.

Yahiko was watching her closely. "Why don't you ask?"

"Excuse me?"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll tell you anyway. Carol Williams got pregnant with Tommy when she was in high school. She and Lt. Williams got married when they were juniors because he didn't want to have a son grow up without a father. The Lt. joined the Army and now the whole family is here."

"What does this have to do with Megumi?" Kaoru asked biting into her sandwich again.

Yahiko looked over the lifeless landscape, making sure they were alone before he continued. "You see, Megumi was in a similar situation. When she was in high school she had been dating my cousin, Bill." Yahiko leaned closer. "My cousin wasn't the best of guys when he was a teenager."

"Okay," Kaoru answered, this time taking a bite from the apple.

"Bill was seeing two women. Megumi and him went to the same high school and were sweet hearts. But, he cheated on her one weekend while they were in high school and got the girl pregnant. He married that girl."

Kaoru gasped. "Poor Megumi!"

Yahiko nodded. "I told you my cousin wasn't a nice guy. However, he's a good guy now. He and Gabby have been married for twelve years now and have three lovely children. But, you can probably understand why Megumi doesn't care for Caroline."

"Because she sees the situation too similar to her own?"

"Exactly."

Kaoru thought about the situation but then decided she wasn't about to feel sorry for Megumi. Carol's relationship with her husband had nothing to do with what happened to Megumi and her highschool sweet heart. "Well then she should be more considerate of other people."

"Huh?"

"Her boyfriend just walked in on me this morning while I was taking a shower!"

Yahiko snickered. "Katsu?" He shook his head at her. "If you thought Sano was bad, he's nothing compared to Katsu." Kaoru's face was growing red. "Don't worry though; he's a good guy under it all."

oooooOOOOOooooo

"I'm telling you Sano, that girl could be in Hollywood." Katsu kicked his feet up on the chair across from him as he continued to smoke on his cigarette.

"The missy?" Sano asked carefully. He had thought the story was funny when his best friend told him about walking in on Megumi's new roommate. At least it was funny until he realized he was talking about Kaoru.

"You said she was pretty and a heck of a kisser, but that does little justice when you see the whole package." Katsu's green eyes twinkled mischievously. "And then when she put the shower curtain around her and it just molded to her curves. It was all I could do not to jump right in with her and help with all those…hard to reach places, you know?"

"Yeah," Sano replied quietly. Usually he'd laugh his head right off when Katsu would tell him such a story. This time he was having the uncomfortable feeling of annoyance and even anger at his friend. He barely knew Kaoru, but he was feeling somewhat protective of her. "How about you not walk in on her when she's taking a shower?"

"What's wrong?" Katsu asked, no longer laughing. Sano was cracking his knuckles, just like he did before he proceeded to bash someone's brains in.

"Nothing, just, don't mess with Kaoru, huh?"

"Fine," Katsu agreed. He gave Sano a wicked grin. "I'll leave her for you. Besides, Megumi is almost more than I can handle as it is."

"Yeah, I bet," Sano answered gloomily. He rose to his feet and ignored the pain in his ribs. "I got to go. That warlord Saitou is keeping me busy."

Sano was walking towards the mess hall to see if he could help with the clean up. Another couple of weeks and he'd be back to active duty. He really didn't care for the busy work he was doing in the meantime. On his way he ran into Captain Yukishiro.

"Sano."

"Enishi."

"What are you doing?" Enishi asked glancing at his watch. Of all people he could run into he wouldn't expect Sano to be one of them.

"Just going to the mess hall," Sano said.

Enishi's brow rose. "Why are you heading towards the clinic then?"

"It's none of your business." Sano tried to hide his own surprise. It seemed his subconscious mind had bested him.

Enishi crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn't about to let Sano pass by so easily. "What do you think of that new doctor?"

Sano shrugged carelessly. "She's all right."

"I guess. I don't trust her though," Enishi said with a scowl.

"Why not?"

"Something about her bothers me. And she's hiding something," Enishi answered cryptically.

"Have you asked her what she's hiding?" Sano asked, interested in the topic.

"I haven't talked to her." Enishi narrowed his dark eyes. "Well I have, but not about her."

"What about then?"

"She tried to convince me to get the influenza vaccine," Enishi said. Sano gave him a blank look. "She's trying to get me sick so that I have to come and see her. It is quite obvious."

"She's supposed to recommend that everyone get the flu shot," Sano informed him. "Even I know that," he explained with a self-deprecatory smile.

"You shouldn't put so much faith in her." Enishi walked past him, leaving Sano to stare after him in bewilderment. Why was Enishi even in the clinic? Sano took a deep breath and continued on his way towards the clinic, having realized he passed up the mess hall several minutes before.

Kaoru was just leaving the clinic when she and Sano ran smack into one another—a bad habit she seemed to be developing. "Sano, what are you doing here? Did I hurt you?" Immediately her fingers reached out to touch his ribs.

Sano reached down to trap her fingers against his ribs. "I'm fine. You've a magic touch, missy." He grinned at her, feeling ridiculously pleased with himself when she blushed. "I just ran into Captain Yukishiro."

Kaoru pulled her fingers away and let out a frustrated sigh. "That man is insufferable. It was as if he came to check out the clinic today only to criticize." Her sapphire blue eyes grew dark for a moment. "I take that back, he came to the clinic to criticize me and flirt with all the nurses."

"Oh?" Sano was interested in this line of conversation. He had never heard of Enishi flirting around any of the nurses before and he had known the man for a few months now. He thought he might have been asexual or something kind of like one of those amoeba things. "Any one in particular?"

"Only the stupid nurse. I swear Sano, this LV is a total airhead. She is almost pretty in that blond-bimbo sort of way. Of all the people to be attracted to though! I wouldn't have cared if it had been one of the intelligent staff, but no! He seemed to pick the only person on the staff that annoys me to death! She mixes up the charts and I can't trust her with any vaccines. She'd probably give my patients the Ebola virus and then apologize with that annoying giggle of hers."

Sano stifled his laugh. It was almost comical to see Kaoru so riled up. Her face was flushed with anger and he could practically see steam coming from her ears. "Maybe she has better qualities elsewhere."

Kaoru shot him a cold look. "I'll bet." She grabbed hold of Sano's wrist and pulled him alongside her down the hall. "I need you to help me install a lock on my bathroom door. Some man just walked in this morning when I was taking my shower. Something serious could have happened!"

Sano chose not to mention that he had heard about this story already. It would be better if Kaoru didn't know the man in question was his best friend. "All right, we'll swing by the hardware store on base first then."

"I wish I could fire that nurse. She's so incompetent. And honestly, who names their child Bambi!" Kaoru continued to whisper to him vehemently, making certain she wasn't overheard. She didn't need to be the source of any gossip. "And that stupid Captain, when I told him he should get the flu vaccine while he was there he looked as if I had accosted him!"

Sano couldn't help but laugh at that moment. "To answer the first question, maybe her parents liked the Disney cartoon." He pulled his hand out of Kaoru's grasp and slipped his arm around her shoulders and pressed her to his side affectionately, ignoring the brief stab of pain. "Don't worry missy, hopefully he'll get the flu and when he goes to get the medicine to make it go away faster Bambi will accidentally give him the Ebola virus." Kaoru snorted at the idea and Sano grinned broadly.

An hour later, Kaoru and Sano were sitting in front of her bathroom door installing the brand new lock. Sano put aside the drill and tried the lock. "No more unwelcome guests," he assured her.

"Thank God," Kaoru breathed, smoothing back her hair. She smiled at Sano. "Thanks, you're now my hero."

Sano wiggled his brows. "Really? Can I get the hero's reward?"

Kaoru rolled her eyes, but played along. She linked her fingers together and raised her hands to her chin while leaning towards him and batting her lashes. "My hero!" she cooed dramatically before giving Sano a quick kiss on the lips.

Sano gave her a cocky grin. "Being heroic certainly does have its perks."

Kaoru stood up and offered her hand to help him to his feet. "Let's order pizza, my treat."

Sano glanced towards the den, not sure that would be a good idea. "What about your roommate and her boyfriend?"

Kaoru pointed towards the television on her dresser and the large queen sized bed in the middle of the room. "We can hang out in here."

"Really?" Sano smiled seductively at her. Kaoru hit him hard on the shoulder and he yelped in pain at her strength. "I'm just playing, missy! I decided to be heroic, remember?"

"Just remember that," Kaoru warned, biting her lip trying to ignore the concern she felt for hitting him. She gave up. "Are you okay?"

Sano burst out laughing as she lost her inner battle. "Kaoru you need someone to look out for you, you're too soft."

While Kaoru was calling in the pizza he wandered around her room. There were very few personal affects and even fewer framed photos. One was of her and a woman that looked very similar but with green eyes, hair a few shades darker, and a couple of inches shorter. "Must be her sister," he surmised when he read the design on the frame saying 'Sisters.' It was the other two pictures that especially caught his attention.

One seemed a few years old and looked like a college graduation picture of Kaoru and a tall man with pale blue eyes and dark hair. The man had his arm around Kaoru's shoulder and her arm was wrapped around his waist. He was smiling down at Kaoru and she was grinning up at him, it looked as if they had just shared a secret with one another and someone had shot the photo without them being aware. It was a beautiful picture really.

It was the third picture that really drew his attention though. It was of Kaoru and the same young man again. This time they were at the beach and Kaoru was sitting on the man's broad shoulders in the waves. Both were laughing and wearing nothing but their swim suits—he a pair of dark blue trunks and she string bikini of the same shade.

When Kaoru returned to her room to inform him that the pizza was on its way she saw him holding the third picture with an odd expression on his face. "Sano?"

He turned towards her. "Who's this?"

oooooOOOOOooooo

Enishi put aside the medical book. How dare that Kamiya woman try to talk to him as if she knew more than him about medicine! He knew perfectly well how the influenza vaccine worked. It wasn't for certain that the strain in the vaccine would be the circulating strain. He knew it was a dead vaccine. He knew that the flu mist taken intranasal was the live vaccine.

He did go to medical school after all.

It was typical for doctors to think they knew everything. It was part of that god complex that had resulted in his sister's current state. She was practically a vegetable. She had so many dreams and they were all crushed because of one fall.

All her aspirations were ruined.

He wouldn't be responsible for extinguishing the hope in someone like her doctors had. They had told her that she would never walk again or have a normal life. They practically told her to give up and die.

But she didn't die.

She wasn't really alive either though and he knew it.

He was glad that he'd be flying out again the next day. He needed to get away from the base. Perhaps he should have chosen a different field. He was torturing himself by working so closely with the medical personnel. It was his own way of punishing himself for not being able to help his sister.

The one time she needed him he wasn't there. If he had been visiting her that weekend like she had asked she probably wouldn't have fallen. But he was on his surgery rotation and he couldn't miss a day of that for her.

Enishi also hadn't thought that of all the cases he would be scrubbing in on that his sister's own trauma would have been one of them. He didn't tell anyone that it was his sister. They didn't have the same last name, why would they think it was his sister?

He did everything he was told to do during the surgery. He had even mentioned to the surgeon one of the new procedures he had just read about. The surgeon hadn't listened to him. He told him to scrub out for interrupting his train of thought, but the first assist had told him to stay.

If he had been silent then perhaps the surgeon and first assist would have worked together better. If the team work had been better then perhaps his sister would have recovered.

His phone rang, breaking him out of his bitter memories. He looked at the caller ID and ignored it. He shouldn't have gone to the clinic. And of all the women to choose, Bambi was the poorest choice. He knew she had a thing for him and it wasn't hard to use her as an excuse to watch Kamiya in action.

The woman really was rather efficient. The children seemed to cling to her, abandoning their parents in favor of the doctor. He would have thought such behavior would have annoyed the parents but instead they looked relieved. It was as if she knew exactly how to make everyone comfortable.

Bambi had told him how popular she already was. Patients were requesting to change their appointments from the other doctors so that they could see her instead. She saw nearly three times as many patients as the other two doctors and yet she still managed to spend more time with each patient one-on-one. He tried to ignore the respect he felt toward her for giving up her lunch hour and going to work an hour earlier and staying an hour later in order to meet her patient demand.

Bambi was his excuse to be there. He wasn't spying on Kamiya. She just was interesting. In her he was reminded of the reasons he originally wanted to go into medicine. It was to provide hope in people who needed it.

He listened as Bambi left her message for him and turned over on his couch. He buried his head under his pillow and groaned. He couldn't wait to be sent out on his next mission. Maybe he'd get to blow something up?