A/N: Whilst the ex-lovers faced internal conflicts about their feelings and emotions, a brewing turmoil is stirring within the hospital.
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AN APPLE A DAY Chapter 8: A Trickster
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"Yes?" A raspy voice greeted, while another asked for permission to deliver news from the other line. "Okay, go."
Asakura Yohmei straightened up, planting the tip of his golf club on the ground as he listened to his employee go through the report. His face that was once knotted with a frown lightened up after he received the full details.
"Ah. Good. Thank you for your service."
His secretary, who had an umbrella raised above his head and had the phone pressed against his ear, withdrew the device, and bowed curtly after she ended the call.
Yohmei's colleagues watched him in curiosity while they waited for the old man to take his turn in hitting the ball.
"Looks like you have received good news, chairman. Will you tell us during the conference?" Tao Ching, one of the major executives of the medical foundation, delivered his remark with a hint of sarcasm hidden behind his grin.
"Now, now, let us not spoil the chairman's good day with work stuff, Tao-san." Oyamada Mansumi, Director of the hospital's business relations, interrupted the other with a malevolent glint of interest in his eyes.
On the other hand, Yohmei was feeling all giddy from learning that his grandson has been spotted coming home with a certain Jeanne Lasso last night, so he didn't have time to care for his companions' sly comments. He considered the first part of his mission, accomplished.
The Asakura patriarch threw them a relaxed smile as he took a jubilant swing that had the golf ball flying across the field. He then sheathed his club inside one of stand bags close to them as he started to walk away, his secretary all prepared to usher him with a wheelchair.
"A good day, indeed."
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"What… the… hell?" Tao Ren muttered to himself as he stood dumbfounded in the middle of the emergency department.
Something did not sit quite right.
The enormous room appeared even more spacious. Despite being almost at full capacity, everything seemed peaceful and systematic. There were no obstacles in the way, the medical equipment were tucked neatly which gave enough visuals on the floor which was meant to be walked on freely. Files and stationery were not left scattered on the desks in the nursing and medicine offices. Curtains were drawn closed for the occupied sections and a couple of empty beds were neatly done. The clinical staff went on to do their business without constant shouting or running. Nurses executed follow-ups and bedside care, and the doctors and the patients were triaged orderly along with their companions in the waiting areas.
Ren had his mouth agape as he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He even had to check twice if he entered the correct place. Part of his plan was to locate Yoh first thing in the morning before attending the Annual Directors' Conference, but the scene before him piqued his interest. Soon, he saw a familiar face.
"Hey, Pirika."
"Oh, hi, Dr. Tao." Pirika waved to acknowledge Ren's presence. Her other hand was occupied with carrying a toolbox-looking container, and she looked considerably lovely despite wearing scrubs.
"Please, call me 'Ren'," he replied, baffled with her sudden formality.
"Oh, no probs, doc. Here, let me show it to you," she replied with an awkward chuckle. Ren got more confused until Pirika subtly dragged him with her, speaking in a hushed tone. "Play along, will you?" They both reached a quiet corner when she started to explain herself, looking around nervously. "I just needed to seem professional out there. You can't believe how some quality advisors are doing random 'spot checks' and evaluations on employees these days."
Ren raised his brow at Pirika's revelation. "How come I haven't stumbled upon any of the said 'quality people'?"
"That's because you're a Tao, silly." Pirika said it so casually like if it was the most normal thing in the world. Ren could only clear his throat to ease the awkwardness from her statement.
"Anyway…" Dr. Tao attempted to change the topic, "have you got any idea how the ED has transformed like this?"
"Hmm, all I know is that today, Madam Eliza is leading the Nursing team and for the Medical team, well, I think it's Anna," replied the lady thoughtfully.
'Damn. That explains things.'
"Great. Do you know where Yoh is, then? Your brother told me they were meeting here," he inquired. He was also looking for HoroHoro, but then he knew that the intern was bound to Dr. Kyoyama's tutelage. For the past months, wherever Anna went, Dr. Usui followed. Ren was quite impressed that no gossip has started about those two yet, seeing how seemingly close they have become over time.
"Not sure but I think I saw him heading to the doctors' lounge about ten minutes ago."
"Cool. Thanks."
"Anytime."
Dr. Tao exited the area and pulled his mobile to ring Yoh for the nth time that morning, but still to no luck. He cursed the Asakura under his breath until he caught a glimpse of him walking down the main lobby next to the Chairman, Yohmei, and the other members of the Asakura family. Other members of the executives also tagged along including his grandfather, Ching, and his father, En. He also saw Manta and Manta's his father, Masumi, along with a strange looking young man with dark hair and a devious smirk on his face.
Various security personnel were stationed everywhere.
Ren dropped the call in an instant.
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"G-good morning…" Oyamada Manta cleared his throat. Stage fright suddenly enveloped him after seeing the VIP-studded audience. "Welcome to our precious board members and future leaders." He bowed respectfully towards the executives present in the auditorium. His nervousness ebbed away after he saw Yoh flashing him a 'thumbs-up' as he sat at the second row, behind his family members. "We have gathered today to discusse our future expansion plans, starting off with the proposed 'Shimane Children's Hospital'."
Meaningful looks were shared amongst the board members at the mention of the topic. Manta continued when no one dared to speak. "Various diseases associated with children have emerged and the number of the inflicted has multiplied drastically over the years. And as initiated by my father, Mr. Oyamada Mansumi, not long ago, here are the bullets for the V.I.P. tower that shall be built in conjunction with the children's hospital." He held up a remote to switch slides through his visual presentation on the wide screen in front of everyone. "The tower, A.K.A. 'The Star', will be the main essence of our business—"
Someone interrupted whilst clearing their throat into the microphone, and all eyes went to Asakura Yohmei who was sitting at the middle front of the conference room. "Apologies for the interruption, Oyamada-san. I appreciate all your efforts in presenting today." Manta bowed respectfully at Yohmei. "However, could you please tell us the main points as to why there is a need for a separate V.I.P. tower for the children's hospital instead of just the one originally proposed? I believe—"
"If I may, Chairman…" another one intercepted and gazes turned to Oyamada Mansumi. "I think it is quite obvious that it is for our corporation's profits."
A number of people quietly snickered in the background. The older members of the Tao and Asakura clans straightened-up upon feeling the friction.
Masumi continued. "The costs in running a hospital have increased significantly over the years. The government will definitely have reservations if we keep increasing our medical fees and passing the burden to all our patients. Do not even get started with the SHI and NHI."
Asakura Yoh was too tired to care about what the executives were rambling about. He didn't get enough rest last night and his memories revolved around a certain blonde who was snuggled up all comfy in his arms last night.
"Psst, oi." The discussion continued from the background whilst Ren carefully scooted next to the dreaming Asakura.
"Ren! When did you get in here?" Yoh's remark went a little louder than intended resulting into someone hushing them. The two men cringed when they saw Asakura Keiko's narrowed eyes that were intently fixed on them as a warning.
"Lower your voice, idiot." Ren whispered nervously.
"Sorry."
"I'm still waiting for you to tell me about the mishap with Jeanne."
"What about her—oh. Congratulations to the two of you. Seriously, you could have at least told me before you proposed."
Ren had to take a deep breath to control his annoyance. "Not that silly! What did you mean by 'Jeanne has a poser'?" His tone elevated more than a whisper while he was waving his phone that displayed Yoh's text message to him from last night.
"Excuse me, is there anyone else who would like to share something about today's subject matter?" This time, it was Faust who grabbed the microphone from his table and the occupants of the room remained silent.
Amidst the crowd, they noticed a frantic Asakura Yoh with his arm circled around a flushed Tao Ren, his palm planted against the latter's mouth.
"Sorry, everyone. Dr. Tao here is just too passionate about his patients that he couldn't wait to discuss about their care." Yoh chuckled anxiously as he continued to tighten his grip around a fuming Ren. "Lower you voice," he whispered lovingly towards his friend while he beamed at everyone else.
Ren's eyes sent daggers against Yoh, but he didn't have a choice but to lay low.
"As I was saying… Oyamada-san's logic may be too harsh. First of all, our medical foundation is still earning decently coming from its multiple departments. We have a number of surgeons, specialists, and doctors who've been making quite a buzz recently, attracting more patients to come to our care. Not to mention, our top tier service is truly worthy to be delivered to all, V.I.P. or not. And with all due respect, parents will be coming to our hospital because of their sick children, and not for a vacation." Faust paused as Mansumi lifted a brow at him. "I guess what I am trying to say is, classifying our type of service based on our patients' social status may be quite extreme."
"And it does not sit with our foundation's core values," Yohmei reiterated as he acknowledged Faust. The latter nodded in return.
Mansumi clenched his jaw in frustration, but he remained civil. Manta appeared torn between pleasing his father and following his morals. The other members of the board became uncomfortable with the tension building up despite being situated in a massive room.
Yohmei proceeded when no one else argued. "We are doctors, we value our patients more than how much they could pay for our services, and we refuse to make our hospital become just a common business enterprise."
"Chairman, are we not concerned about this principle possibly leading to bankruptcy?" Tao Ching asked.
"This is why we have come here to cast our votes about the budget allocation within the hospital, Tao-san." Asakura Keiko answered for her father.
"Sigh, I really hate politics." Yoh muttered to himself as he sulked further into his seat with a bored expression.
"So, who is it?" Ren shook him out of his daydream once again but still with a hushed tone.
"Huh?"
"Yoh, I swear if you continue playing dumb, I won't care if your family sees me strangling you in front of them."
"Ren, I don't think this is the right time and place for me to tell you."
"Who is it, God da—"
"It's Anna."
"WHAT!?"
The whole room fell silent once again with everyone eyeing Ren and Yoh suspiciously.
"Ah, yes!" Tao En broke the silence. "We were told that our young Doctor Asakura is presenting that today—about the new budget schemes, correct?"
All eyes turned to the aforementioned.
Yoh's sweat went cold as he froze on sight.
About a week ago, his grandfather asked him to help out Doctor Faust in presenting a proposed budgeting allocation due to first, the Pediatrics Department will be largely involved in the establishment of the Children's Hospital, and second, he is an Asakura.
The only problem is… it slipped his mind.
He winced inwardly.
His week was too eventful that it was quite normal for him to become preoccupied, right? There were endless consultations, surgeries, blind dates, Anna— he shook his thoughts.
"Uhm, err, regarding that, actually…" he started, while formulating an escape route within his head. Luck was still on his side when his pager vibrated. He carefully slid a hand in his pocket to take a peek and he felt that he hit the jackpot when he saw the emergency surgeries ward number. Raising his hand with his index finger pointing up, the conference attendees all waited persistently for him to speak.
"Ladies and gents, apologies, looks like I would have to reschedule the presentation. We have an emergency case that needs my attention urgently. Thank you for today. Please carry on." And with that, he exited the conference hall like a whirlwind.
Others chuckled, taken by Yoh's charm, including Faust. Ren face palmed in second-hand embarrassment, but smirked, nonetheless. Yohmei, however massaged his forehead as a hint of disappointment which was not missed by the other seniors, particularly Oyamada Mansumi, who snorted in disgust.
Asakura Keiko detected the pressure in the atmosphere, so she took the opportunity to introduce a new topic.
"Well, everyone, I'm sure our young Doctor Asakura will come back to us with a worthy presentation next time. Moving on, I'd like to present to you our two new Anesthetists in training…
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Tamao sighed.
Jeanne sighed.
"What is wrong with you two?" An apathetic Anna muttered while she sipped her drink. The three of them where waiting for their lunch at the hospital cafeteria.
"You don't know how unnerving it was to be introduced to the executives on your first week." Tamao replied with a flushed face.
"Where were you, anyway? Why weren't you at the conference?" Jeanne pouted, scanning the blonde from head to toe. "And why do you look like you're in yesterday's clothes?" she added.
Jeanne wasn't wrong, though. Anna was indeed in yesterday's clothes as she didn't exactly have the luxury of time to sort things out in the morning. She chose to ignore her friend's second remark before embarrassing memories came crashing to her.
"Excuse me, I was trying to run an empire at the E.D earlier. Besides, I'm not exactly a 'hospital royalty', you know."
"Ooh, someone's being salty," Tamao commented.
"Salty? Don't think so. I bet she had a sweettime last night and—" Anna threw a threatening gaze against Jeanne upon taking a hint of what information she was about to divulge, "and I, myself happen to have sweet news, too!" Jeanne switched topics as quickly as day.
Tamao became confused but turned her head towards Jeanne to receive the French lady's story of the day. Jeanne, in turn, pursed her mouth to hide an excited squeal.
Anna arched a brow at Jeanne who was obviously stalling. "We're waiting," she finally spat.
The platinum-haired lady giggled at her companions but disregarded their dwindling patience by bringing her teacup close to her mouth using her left hand to sip her tea. She resorted to swaying her ring finger that hosted a vintage setting engagement ring with what seemed like a four-carat center diamond.
Tamao and Anna's eyes bulged.
"No way!" The pink-haired doctor squealed. "Oh, Jeanne! Congratulations! Wait, we haven't even met the lucky man."
"Hmm, I didn't think 'Mr. Spiky Tao' was capable of this kind of thing. Anyway, congratulations to both of you." Anna joked.
Jeanne and Tamao blinked at her for a few times before freaking out.
"How did you know it was Ren!?"
"Wait, you mean it's Ren!?"
Some people from the cafeteria started staring at them for their scandalous reactions. Tamao ended up burying her face in her palms and Jeanne sank from her seat.
"I deduced it when I smelled your perfume on him and his on you. It was a no brainer 'cause only the two of you use those kinds of scents in this place." Anna continued while she watched her friends with mouths agape. "Also, there were a few times when both you and Ren disappear at the same time."
Jeanne and Tamao were speechless. They had plenty of questions in their brain, but they were too shocked at how Anna seemed so cool about the whole revelation.
"Madaaame!" A voice sort of familiar to Anna came from out of nowhere.
A man with soaring height and weird hair approached the three women's table holding a tray filled with food. His face was hidden with a face mask, and he wore something that looked like a cook's attire.
Anna gave a skeptic look after he placed the scrumptious feast on the table. "I'm sorry, we didn't order any of these," she said mundanely.
The man made the doctor spring up from her seat when he removed his mask.
"YOU!" Everyone else flinched when Anna yelled, pointing an accusing finger against the newcomer.
"Me?" the man replied in surprise.
"I know you!" A group of familiar individuals arrived and stood behind the man with weird hair. Anna's face showed contempt upon sighting them. "What are you all doing here?"
"Please, madame. We come here in peace." The guy raised both his hands and regarded Anna as gentle as possible. "Umemiya Ryunosuke, at your service." He bowed courteously before gesturing to the other guys. "This is Muscle Punch, Apache, Space Shot, Free Day, Death Machine, Blue Chateau, Junk Food, Silver Sun and Ball Boy." Each member bowed after their name was called.
"Get to the point and tell me why you're here." Anna retorted with arms crossed in front of her chest.
The group members looked at each other and as if on cue, they all kneeled in front of Anna, bowed at her with arms stretched forward, and heads almost touching the ground. By this time, they were all garnering the attention as several curious watchers pooled around the area.
Tamao and Jeanne had their hands covering their mouths. Even Anna was rendered shocked.
"We are here to formally apologise about everything we have done to you during our first meeting, beautiful madame. Please accept our deepest apologies." Ryu's pompadour hair bobbed as he spoke against the ground.
"Please forgive us, madame!" The rest of the members lowered their heads even further with their plea.
Everyone's eyes went towards Anna, waiting for her reply.
"Madame, please—"
"Okay, fine! Fine." Anna finally spoke with shut eyes. She lowered her hands to her sides and exhaled. "Now, can you all please just stand up? I don't plan to be part of a circus spectacle here."
Ryu and the former gang members lifted their heads to take a glimpse of Anna's countenance before they all gradually stood up. They weren't expecting it to be that easy.
The pompadour man beamed happily as he caught Anna's eyes that reflected sincerity. His friends threw their fists in the air and cheered in rejoice. The gossipers around them clapped their hands as if they witnessed a successful marriage proposal.
Anna massaged the space between her brows due to the ruckus.
"And we are here because we are now proudly employed at this lovely hospital which we now call our 'Best Place'!" Ryu waved his hands dramatically. When he was met with awkward silence, his face once again became serious. "All thanks to our handsome and charming new boss—" he stopped himself when he saw the look of questioning from Anna, "whom we cannot reveal who until he says so— we are given the chance to be useful citizens of this country. Also…" he gestured at the food, "the boss gave me very specific instructions about making sure you eat good food whenever you are working here. He says you have a habit of missing your meals when you're busy."
A soft "aww" was heard in the crowd including Jeanne and Tamao who had their eyes sparkling at the idea of this mysterious 'boss' whom Ryu was talking about.
Surely, they could only speculate who it is.
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Anna stared at the blank, white wall whilst the sound of running water emitted from the background.
She was performing a surgical handwashing prior to an upcoming surgery which she will be assisting in.
Recalling the events at the cafeteria earlier, she continued her task absentmindedly while she pondered about who could be this mysterious 'boss' whom Ryu has mentioned.
A sigh escaped her lips as her thoughts wandered further through her memories of today's morning.
She felt warm.
There was also a rhythmic sound of breathing that mirrored her own.
She wanted to remain basking in the satisfying security that she felt upon waking up, but some hair strands were tickling her nose. Her hand came in contact with her face and the gesture told her still sleepy brain that none of her hair were touching her nose because she didn't feel anything on her scalp when she tugged on the wisps.
She forced her eyes open.
Her vision was met with what seems to be a person's chest, a well-formed one at that. Gulping at the sight that welcomed her, she raised her line of view and was met by the person's throat which bore an 'Adam's apple'.
So the person was a male. Great,
Looking past the guy's angular jaw, she prevented herself from shifting too hard for she felt the person move, pressing her further into his embrace and zeroing the gap between them.
AHer nightmare continued when she confirmed who her slumbering 'captor' was.
Anna winced inwardly. A silent curse escaped her mouth
The stronger noise of water splashing against the metal sink woke her up from her reverie.
"Sorry, did I startle you?" came the voice of the person whom she was trying to avoid all day. He must've finished his emergency surgery just now.
Anna wanted to scream.
"No, it's fine." Her reply was almost like a whisper, her eyes remained on her hands, being extra careful not to meet his.
A moment of silence passed between them.
"You were gone when I woke up. We could've gone together to work if—"
"No, it's fine," Anna immediately countered as she looked up to meet Yoh's concerned face. Her vision dropped towards her hand scrubbing again when she had difficulty maintaining her gaze against his. "I was called for an emergency case. I didn't want to bother you so…" She didn't finish her sentence.
"Mmm…" It was the only sound that Yoh made in acknowledgement.
The blonde exhaled. "Yoh, about last night—"
"Don't worry about it." The brunette interrupted. "It's—I made sure you were asleep before I tried to leave, but I guess I didn't notice that I fell asleep on the sofa too… next to you. Sorry." He searched for her eyes as he spoke with a light chuckle. "I mean, no 'funny business' happened, right?"
At this point, Anna felt her hands grew itchy due to the prolonged and excessive scrubbing she was doing whilst in the presence of her ex.
"Of course. When I woke up, you were in deep sleep next to me." Anna didn't sound convinced with her own lies, so she added, "but with the pillows in between, so..."
God, that sounded so stupid.
Yoh could only smack his lips in return. Anna wanted the earth beneath her feet to open up and swallow her whole. They both glided their upper limbs towards the running taps before them to finish up with their handwashing.
"Oh, by the way." The Pediatric Surgeon beamed with renewed energy. "Are you now ready to tell me about the whole Jeanne disguise drama?"
Anna rolled her eyes. "Over my dead body."
Doctor Asakura bit his lower lip to hide his smirk. "Well, that's fine. You know, if you really just wanted to go on a date with me you could've just said so."
The blonde gasped then threw him an incredulous look for his audacity. The previous tension between them disappeared almost immediately.
"You wish, Asakura." Anna sneered.
Yoh shrugged with a pout in return. "That's fine. I know that Jeanne is your friend and that you would never be a snitch against her. I guess I could just make a list of things I could ask for in return instead."
"Are you seriously thinking of blackmailing me? Because you know that isn't gonna work."
"Ooor, I could just simply tell grandpa that I went on a date with a fantastic lady who is NOT Jeanne, so he doesn't have to keep—"
"No, don't!" Anna made Yoh jump when she suddenly raised her voice. "I mean, you know Jeanne will get in trouble if your grandfather tells Marco, right?" The brunette's stare softened at how concerned Anna appeared for her friend. "And you… what will your family say when they find out that you went home with your ex-fiancée whom they so happen to depise?"
She took off her foot from the pedal below the sink, which in turn turned off the tap. Her once dripping hands remained suspended in the air after she has dried them.
"My family does not despise you."
"But that's beside the point, Yoh."
Both of them stopped. They stopped before things resulted into a heated argument once again. They stopped with their truce and promise of friendship in mind.
After gazing into each other's emotive orbs, Yoh turned off the running water the same way Anna did, but he just let the droplets from his hands fall into the sink as he flashed her one of his carefree smiles.
"So, it's settled then?"
Anna could only blink at her companion. She wondered if she missed anything from their discussion.
Yoh felt a little uncomfortable tyring to hold something against Anna's will. But he had a plan, and he was quite determined about executing it, so he proceeded when he didn't get any verbal response. "Call me a petty jerk, but bottom line is, you still owe me an explanation so... just three things, Anna." He held his middle, fourth, and pinky finger up against the blonde's flabbergasted face. "Three things that I can ask from you which you cannot say no to. Don't worry, I won't ask for anything out of this world." He chuckled.
The female doctor stood speechless. It took a full minute before she inhaled air coupled with exasperation in order to say something, but Yoh was clever enough not to let her speak.
"First on the list… accept the car. It's parked outside. I already gave Faust the key." Yoh pulled a childish act by flicking some water from his wet hand on to Anna's face. He giggled at her adorable reaction of shutting her eyes and crinkling her nose before he grabbed some paper towel to dry his hands and walked away with a smug disposition.
Anna couldn't believe it. For the very first time again in many years, she was rendered powerless by Yoh.
'Since when did that idiot become such a trickster?'
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A/N: Shorter with less romance, I know. But these events are quite vital to the upcoming bigger chapters. Plus, I did update more quickly as promised, right? Let's continue this trend.
Review to send me some love! :3
Medical Terminologies/ Abbreviations:
The NHI – National Health Insurance and SHI – Social Health Insurance are part of the Japanese health system provided by the state. According to research, these are required by the state amongst their citizens.
Surgical handwashing - the most stringent type of handwashing. As the name suggests, this is acleaning procedure that is used prior to sterile operations, including surgical procedures.