Notes:

I apologize if this fic contains errors, English is not my original language.

If you feel that the translation is not understandable, I invite you to read the original version in Spanish on this same platform.

️🔞WARNING: The following chapter contains mentions about the death of some animals such as dogs due to different situations such as abuse and negligence on the part of the owners. There are also mentions about family problems.

DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Chapter 1. Losing faith

Faith moves mountains, the wisest would say. But sometimes, the people who give the most for others by doing acts of pure kindness, which the holy scriptures say will be rewarded in immortality, are mostly the worst punished people in life.

And that was being verified by Fushiguro Megumi, that recent graduate of the Veterinary career, who was losing faith in that superior force that he once believed so much.

That veterinary clinic felt pretty tense. And it was not for less, and more when you try to save the life of a defenseless being and who cannot communicate with words but with looks, noises of pain and tears full of suffering, that empathy is one of the most painful than a person with a good heart can experience.

Only in this way do animals manage to communicate, those beings that a divine force created to keep man company. Those the purest and most innocent beings that could be created.

"Curse! I need more gauze, the bleeding won't stop! What idiot would do this to a dog?" Said the veterinarian Megumi, who was healing care of a stray dog, which had arrived in a very serious condition.

"Only a heartless demon could do this to a being like that!" replied his assistant, who kept passing him the surgical material.

That animal had been a victim of animal cruelty, had enough blows all over its body and a terrible stab wound near the neck. That stray dog had been left to its fate outside any house, but a kind soul had found it dying and had taken it to that clinic.

Megumi, that graduate with honors from the veterinary medicine career, was doing everything in her power at that moment to save that creature. That case was one of the worst he had seen in his short professional career, due to the terrible cruelty with which they had beaten that animal and the depth of his wounds.

—If there is a superior and miraculous force, this would be a good opportunity for you to help save this dog! —I mentally shout —It's not fair that a being like this dies like this!— He said through his teeth, he could not stop the bleeding in the head of that poor animal.

The minutes passed but no one answered his prayer.

"Please! This can't be happening!" He was too frustrated and even more so when that being stopped breathing.

Megumi could only see how the brightness in the crystalline eyes of that being faded and was lost in those dark pupils, just as the darkness consumes the light, as well as the disappointment and the harsh reality consume the faith of even the most believer.

Megumi had just lost the faith he had left before such a cruel act where not even a miracle could happen to save such an innocent being... as it happened in his childhood.

That young veterinarian not only had to deal with the clinical cases and the losses of his voiceless patients, but also had to deal with the owners, who were sometimes irresponsible people.

That day was being fatal for Megumi, since not only that case of that dog that died due to animal cruelty had made him lose his faith, but that day, it was the straw that broke the camel's back in his patience against humanity.

"I'm sorry, I tried to do everything possible, but your dog was already in very bad shape, his kidneys had been failing for a long time and his malnutrition only made everything worse" Megumi explained to a man.

"NO! You just killed my dog! I came here to save him, not to kill him!" that owner yelled "You are irresponsible!"

In Megumi's words, that owner was a narcissist and arrogant who would not assume his lack of responsibility in the case.

But that vet was not going to be intimidated so easily.

"The only irresponsible person here is you!" Megumi exploded "The poor diet that you gave your pet, cheap and full of excess salts, accompanied by the little physical activity that you gave it because you didn't take it outside walking, as well as his very poor oral hygiene and all this accompanied by the stress and anxiety that you caused it with the scolding and beatings that you surely gave him as punishment for enunciating your stupid expensive rugs, only aggravated his illness!" the how veterinarian had noticed that that dog was also a mistreated being.

This was detected by the fearful behavior that animal had towards its owner during his consultation and, above all, he verified it when he was physically checking it before it collapsed, when he noticed that what that man was saying did not coincide with those blows to the animal's body.

"Its kidney failure was only made worse by YOUR carelessness as an owner in ignoring the signs that YOUR dog was suffering and all of your irresponsibility caused your faithful companion to end up in this tragic way... A dog is not just an accessory you can have as an ornament, it is a being to whom you should have paid the most attention in the world, just as you pay it to yourself to keep your fucking body in shape!" He answered too annoyed.

"What are you trying to say, stupid? Are you saying it was my fault that my dog died?" Shouted that man with too much fury, holding Megumi by the neck of his medical gown.

But Megumi's hand went directly to that guy's wrist.

"That's right! It was all your damn fault your dog died! It was your fault for being a bad owner! You're an abuser!" Megumi raise his voice "If you weren't going to take care of him, you better not have had anything!" Megumi's grip was strong against the wrist of that guy, who was hurting by the force she was applying against him.

Megumi Fushiguro was also a subject who did not allow himself to be intimidated or threatened so easily.

That veterinarian had lived most of his life defending himself from the physical abuse that his father Toji Fushiguro, a mechanic who spent most of the day drinking and gambling, exercised against him and who made his life impossible due to that Toji blamed his own son for his wife's death.

So that boy with black and wild hair, spent a large part of his childhood and adolescence learning to dodge blows and defend himself physically, as well as to always be on the defensive and try to be mentally strong in order to defend himself and his sister older, named Tsumiki, who raised and cared for him during those years.

Megumi in his childhood had asked heaven a lot so that his life situation would improve after the sudden death of his mother, he desperately asked for a miracle so that his father would change for the better... but it seemed that that divine force, which supposed to be "all-seeing", he had given it up years ago.

"Please enough! I'll call the police!" A girl from the reception intervened.

That man took out his cell phone and began to record "This clinic will pay me for it! And especially you! This won't stay like this, I'm suing this place that only kills pets! Don't bring your pets here! This man just kills them and takes all the money from him! This clinic is a fraud!" That man released Megumi, while he screamed at the top of his lungs and threatened everyone in that place before leaving there.

Some interns, as well as the other veterinarians who came out to see what was happening, as well as the assistants and the other clients who witnessed all that ruckus, only remained silent while their eyes focused on Megumi, who only judged and crossed out of being a bad vet.

Like sinners judging saints, that boy with wild hair managed to hear the murmurs that spoke about that incident and how he was accused of being an animal killer.

Because it is always easier to believe the liar than the kind one.

Megumi just made fists with her hands in the face of such impotence and decided to take a moment, so she went directly to the area of the lockers that that veterinary clinic had.

He sat on that bench that was leaning against that cold wall, put his elbows on his knees and put his hands together in a sign of prayer, intertwining his fingers and sticking his hands on his forehead.

"Lord, why don't you ever listen to my prayers? Lord, why have you forsaken me? Why did you first take my mother and now you take all the animals I'm trying to save? Why is this happening to me?" he asked too frustrated, squeezing their entwined hands tightly.

"I feel that I have asked for faith in everything and my hands, more than saving, are now finished with all the life they touch..." he sighed tiredly.

"He couldn't take it anymore... It would be better if you end my life soon, that way you would put an end to my suffering and unhappiness..." he said in a low voice and with his eyes closed, as he felt, peeking through his medical gown's neck, a small necklace with a silver cross.

The only memory he had left of his mother.

That day, Fushiguro had completely lost faith in everything he believed in and that dream of studying that profession that as a child filled him with illusions and at first made him happy, now made him miserable.

When a man loses his way, the demons of his mind are ready to come after him and destroy him utterly. Megumi's mind was filling with bad and self-destructive thoughts.

And while I was asking heaven for an explanation of all that, another person entered that dressing room. A somewhat older man named Takeda, who was the director of that clinic, had come in to talk to him.

"Fushiguro..."

"Are you here to see me off? I guess you already heard everything that happened, right?" Megumi asked, letting go of his praying pose and staring at his boss.

That man sighed and handed him a bottle of water. "Yes, I just heard everything and right now I can't fire my best veterinarian, since since you entered this clinic as an intern, you have solved more cases than any other and It even seems that you can understand animals better than anyone. You have saved the lives of countless pets and have given both comfort and relief to owners alike. So I'm not here to fire you, actually I'm here to talk to you about something else" he commented, sitting next to that boy.

Megumi took that bottle of water and took a sip to clear his throat. "So?"

"I am here to suggest that you take a few days off" Takeda spoke seriously "You look too tired and stressed, I already found out that you have been doubling shifts to give consultations and do operations, I have also found out that you have made night shifts to take care of of the animals that stay hospitalized here, so I'm worried about both your mental and physical health" He continued speaking even after seeing the annoyance that Megumi had made at such a work topic.

This man was aware of Fushiguro's family situation.

"I understand that you don't want to be at home because of the problems you have with your father, but you should also rest from so much workload, Megumi. Also, after everything that happened today with that stray dog and with that owner who just threatened, I feel that the best thing you could do is take a few days while things calm down" Takeda looked seriously at Megumi. That man in quotes cared more about him than his own father.

"If I've been doubling shifts it's because I need the money to finish paying off my debt with the university and incidentally, I also needed it for now" he emphasized that word "I Help Tsumiki pay for her studies and incidentally to bring money home" His shoulders tensed "It's not like I can take days off because we can't keep up here at the clinic" Megumi sighed at such a topic.

Money was a topic that worried Megumi too much.

Now he had to help Tsumiki with her nursing career, since she fell behind in her studies because she started working after she got out of high school so she could give her brother the opportunity to study in a good university. The scholarship that Megumi had been given had only covered 50% of his career expenses and now he had to settle the rest.

He knew that he had a great load on his shoulders and more than that he had to make the money work very well for all the expenses they had at home and, incidentally, hide it from his father in view of his habit of betting. Because unfortunately, Megumi had also had to pay off her debts for a while.

"I know, but if you don't take at least a three-day break, we could get into more trouble than we've had this day..." Takeda crossed his arms as he said that.

"Are you trying to say that I'm causing too much trouble, Mr. Takeda?" Megumi felt offended "Are you saying that I'm being negligent with my work and that because of me they closed us down?"

Takeda pursed his lips before continuing to speak. "You're not bad at what you do, on the contrary, you're the best of your generation. But simply right now we can't get a lawsuit for medical negligence and what happened with that owner puts you on the tightrope." Takeda sigh and look seriously at Megumi. "Also, there is also the case with that stray dog that was brought to you to try to save it, but unfortunately it died in your hands. I feel that this terrible case has affected you very much.

"I know that two dogs died this day during my shift, and I know that days ago I also had problems with other animals that died due to the terrible conditions in which they were admitted..." Megumi raised his voice a Little "But I can assure you that I feel fine mentally. Please Mr. Takeda, don't send me home!" Megumi pleaded. He felt frustrated with all that and more than days ago, also on her shift and office, unfortunately, two other pets had died.

Also, the case of the stray doghad caused him a great personal conflict and more than had caused one or another bad memory from his childhood to come back to haunt him from the depths of his subconscious.

Takeda just sighed. "I'll give you a week of mandatory rest with your full salary, if after that you decide to take more days off, the following days will be granted but with the payment of half your salary." He stood up as he put his hands into his white coat. "Really, whether you like it or not, you need to rest Megumi, so this is an order I'm giving you, both as your boss and as your teacher."

Megumi just sighed in frustration and kept silent as she clenched her jaw in anger at everything that was happening to her.

"I also want to give you this, take it only as a recommendation from colleague to colleague" Takeda took out a small business card.

Megumi took it and read aloud. "Psychiatrist Shoko Ieiri."

"I'm not crazy..." thought the young man, very annoyed by that card.

"This job also has its downside that often ends up seriously affecting our mental health, so take this as advice from your dear teacher who cares about you..." Takeda said that with a slight smile on his face. " You could go see this psychiatrist, who is very good at her job. Even she has already helped several veterinarians here." he didn't take his eyes off Megumi. "You know that this job is not easy at all and the losses as well as the most crude cases tend to affect us mentally and make us lose all hope, although there is also the option that you could go where your faith guides you" Takeda comment pointing to the cross that protruded from Megumi's neck.

That boy hid that cross quickly. He didn't want to know more about divine things for a while. "Thanks... I'll keep that in mind..." he replied curtly, while he got up to take his things from his locker.

Notes:

I hope you liked this first chapter, the truth is that it is the first time that I write about this topic of animals and more than that I worked for a year in a veterinarian where I had to see various cases and some very sad. Also, that this is a very difficult profession in addition to being one with higher rates of people in depression.

And by the way, it's also the first time I'll write about a ship homo. I hope to do well.

Itadori will appear in the next chapter ️