Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It wasn’t the first time.

It wasn’t the first time it had happened to her, it was almost a natural occurrence, actually. Standing in the train, a hand up to hold a pole, when it would suddenly just stop and send her off her footing, dropping to the ground.

It wasn’t the first time that she had been stuck in commute. It was actually the third.

“Again? This week?” She heard a murmur from her right, “Isn’t this the third time this week?”

She’d only ridden the train to Nishi-Funabashi three times.

She placed the earbud back in her right ear and tried to stand, only when she did, the train moved then stopped abruptly.

She readied herself for the fall, probably with a bruise this time, but it never came.

All she felt was something holding her up from her arms and a hard but warm object pressed against her face.

“Are you alright?”

She nearly jumped when the object vibrated and she heard a deep voice of a man despite the music going on.

“Ah! I’m so sorry!” She pulled away from the object and looked up, only to see a man with his right eye covered but his left staring back at hers, “I didn’t mean to fall for you-, I mean, fall on you.”

She removed her earbuds, but she really just wanted to act like nothing ever happened. It wasn’t like it was embarrassing to fall over to a man’s torso at a packed transit filled with complete strangers. Nope, definitely not.

“It’s okay,” the man responded, “But are you okay?”

She nodded despite the sting that she was feeling on her knee, “Yeah, it’s fine, don’t worry about it. It’s not hurting much.”

“Are you sure though? You have a scrape wound on your knee,” he pointed out, “Do you want me to find you a seat?”

“No, no, it’s fine! I can stand. Really,” she declined, “But thank you for the concern,” she muttered out the last part.

He nodded without another word.

A brown headed child sitting in front of her rummaged through her bag and pulled out a square band-aid with a pink checkered pattern and a happy face drawn on it. The child stood and reached it out for her.

“This makes me feel better when I get a wound,” the child said with a sweet smile, “I hope you feel better soon.”

She smiled weakly at the child, thanking her for her generosity.

She peeled off the paper keeping the adhesive from sticking together and stretched her right leg just a little bit. The man grabbed the band-aid from her hand and knelt down, putting the band-aid on her injured knee.

“You should clean this up when you get home,” he advised, “It’s not good for wounds to be open and unclean.”

She wanted to scream.

What was he doing? Why was he so nice? Was this his natural self? Was he naturally so kind? But to strangers? It was odd, very odd, for someone to go out of their way to help some klutz stranger. They didn’t even know each other’s names for Pete’s sake! So… why?

She took a deep breath and held on to it. It wasn’t everyday that strangers were so kind to her. He was too kind though…

The man got up and stood next to her, completely unaware of the tons of questions she was screaming in her mind.

The train slowly started moving again and she quickly looked around to see if there were any poles nearby that she could hold on to (the one that she previously held on to was so far now with all the falls she had). With nothing nearby, she held onto the hope that she wouldn’t fall again.

“Highly unlikely.”

She felt a hand grab her wrist before it was pulled up to hold something. She looked up to her left and saw that the man had placed her hand on his arm which was holding on to the railings above. She blushed furiously at the sight.

“What is… what’s this guy doing?!”

She looked away and bit her lip, face turning as red as the jacket she wore.

“Please don’t let it be obvious. Please don’t let it be obvious. Please don’t let it be-.”

“Are you sick?” The man asked, “You’re turning a bit red. Are you getting hot because there’s so many people in here?”

“N-n-no,” she muttered, “I’m fine.”

There were no more words. When the train finally came to a halt at her stop, she brought her hand down, and faced the man.

“Th-thank you,” she told him, “For helping me. And catching me. And putting on this band-aid. And being my pole to hold on to.”

“It’s no problem,” he replied then turned around.

“Will I ever see you again?” She blurted out before she could think about asking it.

“What did I just say?!”

He turned around, a curious look on his face.

“I-I mean, it just… do you think we’d see each… other… around…?” She repeated like it wasn’t the most humiliating thing she had ever done.

“Well…” he started, “This city’s big.”

She frowned a bit at the response. She shouldn’t even be though. He was just another person at the train.

“But I guess we live in the same place so we’ll see each other someday,” he continued.

“Oi! Iishiro!” Another man called from behind him, “We gotta go!”

The man nodded at the other before leaving her on her own, still standing inside the mix of crowd.

The doors of the train closed as soon as he had walked out, her eyes still trained at his back.

“Please turn around. Please look at me again. Please. One more time.”

He turned back around and their eyes met for one more second before she snapped out of the stupor, breaking eye contact.

The train moved once more and an announcement that they were headed to the next stop was heard.

She held a breath that she didn’t know then peered outside again, seeing the signs outside.

Signs welcoming people to Nishi-Funabashi.

“Nishi-Funabashi!” She shouted, “This is my stop! This is my stop!”

•••

After all the convincing she did to almost every staff in the train and apologies to all the people, she was allowed to go off the train and not miss her stop. She sighed deeply then started walking away from the tracks when she was called.

“Reimi!” A brunette looking a few years older than her called, a wide smile on her face, “Reimi over here!”

She grinned wide and ran over to the woman calling her, “Eiko! I missed you so much! It’s nice to see you here.”

“I was waiting for someone and then I saw you,” Eiko answered, “Are you getting the hang of the job?”

She nodded, “I really really love this job. Thanks for referring me.”

“Let me see the letter,” Eiko said, reaching out her hand.

Reimi pulled out a white envelope from her duffel bag and handed it to Eiko. Once the brunette saw it, she frowned.

“You…” Eiko started, “You’re off by one station. This letter’s for Fuchūhommachi.”

“What?!” Reimi snatched the letter from her friend’s hand, reading the text on it, “B-but it says-.”

“Fuchūhommachi is a nearer stop than this one. You have to go around just so you can deliver this,” Eiko replied.

Reimi groaned in frustration, looking back at the empty tracks, “I knew it! It was going too well.”

Eiko patted Reimi at the back, “It’s okay. I was once like that too. You’ll get the hang of it.”

“I only have a few things that I have to deliver and yet I can’t even do it right,” Reimi pointed out.

“But you will. Somehow.” Eiko gave the girl a smile, “You always do. I trust you with that. Cheer up, Reimi. You’re still doing good.”

Reimi sighed again before giving back a small smile, “Well I better get going. Have to deliver this today. Thanks, Eiko.”

•••

“So what was that?”

“What was what?” Iishiro turned to the younger man.

“Don’t act like you don’t know. The girl in the train,” the man replied.

“Who?” Iishiro asked.

“The cute girl with the red hair and the red jacket! Don’t act like it happened last decade,” the man replied.

“I was just being helpful, Haku,” Iishiro responded, “Can’t I be nice?”

“Okay.” Haku chuckled, “First of all, you’re not nice.”

This earned the younger man a glare, “I am nice.”

Haku rolled his eyes, “Second, you don’t just talk to anybody. You’re… it was really odd.”

“Reimi!”

The two men turned to their right and saw the girl from the train with the red jacket.

“Reimi over here!”

“So her name’s Reimi,” Iishiro muttered.

“So her name’s Reimi,” Haku imitated with a teasing tone, “You’re interested in her.”

Iishiro turned around then continued walking, “No I’m not.”

“Oooof course you aren’t.” Haku smirked, following Iishiro, “I feel so honored to be the first one to see you like this.”

“Like what?” Iishiro asked.

“To see you so in love,” Haku teased.

“In love? With who?” Iishiro questioned.

“The girl!” Haku replied.

“Which girl? I saw a lot of girls today,” Iishiro responded.

“Reimi! The cute Reimi whom you met at the train! The one that fell over and you helped her and you patched up her wound,” Haku explained.

“Oh, Reimi,” Iishiro paused, “What about her?”

Haku groaned in frustration, staying silent instead.

Chapter Text

Reimi had her earbuds in, music set to the loudest setting, and was having the time of her life, having just delivered her fifth package of the day. Her side job made her feel more relaxed with all the travelling she did. True, her weekday job didn’t offer much variety or opportunities besides in the four corners of the classroom, and routine made her drained so she was so thankful to have been offered a job of travelling throughout the country to deliver a few letters for some friends.

She was about to go to the cashier to cash out all her purchases but she felt the chill from the frozen food aisle.

“An ice cream or two wouldn’t hurt.”

She turned her cart around and immediately felt that she bumped into something and the something dropping to the ground.

“Oh my gosh I am so sorry!” She abruptly apologized as soon as she realized that she hit a person in the back of their knees.

“I-it’s okay,” the other person uttered then turned around to face her.

“It’s you!” The two of them said simultaneously.

“Nice bumping into you here.” Reimi grinned wide before she realized her choice of words, “No, wait, it’s not nice bumping into you here, n-no, I mean, I’m sorry I bumped into you but it’s nice to see you here.”

“It’s okay,” the other person replied.

“I’m Reimi,” she introduced, “I know you’re not asking but-.”

“I was about to ask,” he interrupted, “So Reimi… you have a nice name.”

“Thank you!” Reimi beamed brightly at the compliment, “I like your name too. Iishiro’s a very nice name.”

“Thanks,” Iishiro responded, “Is your knee feeling better?”

“Yep! It’s getting well,” Reimi replied, “Thank you for that.”

Reimi looked around, and spotted the ice cream freezer. She pointed at it, looking at Iishiro with a spark in her eyes.

“I’ll treat you to some ice cream for all the trouble I gave you. Come on.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the huge freezer.

“There’s really no need,” he said but Reimi didn’t listen.

She opened the door and smiled at the wide variation of ice cream available. There were all the flavors she could ever think of and more and the sight made her so happy.

“So what do you want?” She asked, “I personally prefer strawberry, but you look like you’re a vanilla kind of guy.”

Iishiro raised a brow before pointing at the green tea flavored ice cream, “I prefer this one, but thank you for the insight…?”

Reimi nodded before picking the two out of the fridge. She placed it in her basket before Iishiro could counter.

“I plan on paying for that,” he pointed out.

Reimi shook her head, “A big nope. This is thanks for helping me earlier.”

“It’s really no big deal, Reimi,” Iishiro replied, “It’s not even worth you spending money for me.”

“Nuh-uh, no buts,” Reimi rejected his advances to pay for his own ice cream, “Just… maybe think of it as something to remember the klutz in the train.”

Iishiro couldn’t help but crack a smile, “The klutz in the train?”

“Yeah, that’s me!” She grinned, heading over to the counter and purchasing her products, “Here’s for y-, wait, I have a better idea.”

She grabbed the two ice creams then offered him the strawberry flavored, “For a something better to remember me by, would it be okay for you to swap? I’ll try your cone while you try my drumstick, the ice cream I mean.”

Iishiro nodded, grabbing the strawberry drumstick from her hands, “Thank you for this. I also love strawberry besides green tea.”

“It’s really a thank you for you to be honest.” She chuckled as she paid for her purchases, “Well, I’ll be going.” She bowed to him, “Thank you for everything, Iishiro.”

Iishiro tipped his cap towards her. She turned around, bags of groceries in her hands and walked away towards the traffic. Iishiro made sure to keep an eye on her until she had successfully crossed the street. Afterall, she was still the klutz he met in the train and she had a knack for bumping into things.

When she was on the other side of the road and was walking away, Iishiro turned to go back inside the store, only jolting in surprise when his friend yelled his name.

“Iishiro! There you are!” Haku called, “I’ve been looking for you! You said you’d only grab something from the frozen products aisle and then come back. Well guess what, you forgot about me, whom you’ve left waiting at the counter!”

Oh that was right. He was on his way to grab some frozen seafood mix when Reimi bumped into him. Literally.

“I forgot,” he uttered, “I didn’t see anything and then I forgot that you were waiting for me. Did you pay?”

“Of course I did,” Haku responded, “Where were you and what took you so long?”

The younger one spotted the strawberry ice cream drumstick in Iishiro’s hand.

“You don’t like strawberries,” he pointed out flatly, “What’s up with you?”

“I like them though,” Iishiro countered, “Well, if you have everything, let’s go. The hospital might be waiti-.”

The phones of the two suddenly beeped loudly. They brought the gadgets out of their pockets before running to the car. Iishiro hurriedly revved the engine and drove off at the maximum speed available for them.

There was an emergency situation today. And to think he was about to say how peaceful the day was.

•••

As soon as he arrived at the hospital, Iishiro ran to the operating room. He shrugged off his coat and removed his cap, the nurses around him readying him for whatever he was about to do. He raised his hands up and a nurse helped him with his gloves, another tied the face mask to his nose and mouth.

“Is Doctor Kosato (Eosinophil) around?” He asked.

“Not yet,” the nurse answered, “We’ve been calling her for an hour but she hasn’t responded yet. Do you want me to call her?”

“No, get Doctor Haku ready,” he ordered.

“What?” The nurse looked at him like he had grown two heads, “D-Doctor, Doctor Kinta (Killer T) is in, do you want me to call him?”

“Is Doctor Kinta the same as Doctor Haku?” Iishiro question.

“No doctor, but Doctor Haku is a beginner as of the moment and this is a dangerous operation,” the nurse reasoned.

Iishiro sighed. If he could, he would’ve ran out of the room to call his friend himself but he couldn’t, not after being equipped and dressed for surgery.

“Call Doctor Haku,” he repeated, “He has to start sometime, right?”

Iishiro entered the operating room, leaving the nurse with no choice but to call the doctor Iishiro was asking for.

As soon as he had walked in, Iishiro saw his close knit of friends. Reiichi (2001) , their anaesthesiologist; Shiba (2048), his operating assistant; and Niroku (2626), the head of his Scrub Tech together with his team. Nurses gathered around the place with Circulating Tech on standby.

“We’ll have a new face in our operation today,” Iishiro announced, “Doctor Haku’s going with us this time.”

His three friends looked shocked at the same time amused.

“You got the staff to let Doctor Haku operate?” Shiba asked, “That’s new.”

“He has to grow up some time, right?” Reiichi commented, “It’s good for him.”

The doors opened and in came a slightly trembling Haku.

“Why am I in here?” He nearly yelled, “I thought I wasn’t doing surgeries until my second month?”

“I understand that you’re young but you have to learn,” Iishiro responded, walking over to their patient.

“Welcome to the club, brother,” Niroku greeted giddily, “Now come on. We have a surgery to finish.”

•••

“It wasn’t such a hard surgery afterall,” Iishiro said as soon as he went out of the operating room and was out of his scrub suit, “We’ve had worse.”

“True,” Niroku responded, “But how afe you doing, Haku? Feeling fine?”

Haku stood silently, watching all of them act so normal after the surgery. Sure it took about 5 hours, but how it felt to him, that he wasn’t quite sure of if it was the correct feeling.

“It was…” he muttered, “Awesome! It was so nice when we started opening the body and then I got to see internal organs which was so cool and I got to be an assistant today!”

“I bet you’d perform your own surgery soon,” Shiba commented.

“That’s true,” Iishiro pondered, “Don’t steal my team though.”

“No! I wanna be with you guys!” Haku grinned brightly.

“That’s nice, Haku,” Reiichi spoke, “But here comes the best part. Go tell the family that the surgery went well.”

Haku nodded diligently before leaving to the waiting room. He grinned brightly at the awaiting group of people outside. They all looked worried and restless, he noted.

“I have good news,” he started, “The surgery went well. The patient will be moved back to her private room soon.”

He looked at all the people waiting and spotted a certain bright red headed woman amongst the crowd.

“Excuse me for one second,” Haku said before going back to his friends. He grinned mischievously towards Iishiro before urging him to come out with him.

They did so and Iishiro couldn’t help but flash a small smile, “We have a thing for crossing paths now, don’t we, Reimi?”

Reimi frowned before pointed at Iishiro, “Y-You’re a surgeon here?”

“Yes, but I sometimes go out to help those who are klutz in a train,” Iishiro joked, “Well, Ms. Mariko (Macrophage) will be brought to her room soon so don’t worry anymore.”

“Thank you!” Reimi smiled wide, tears poking out from the corners of her eyes, “You don’t know how worried I was when I heard that Ms. Mariko was sent to the hospital for an emergency surgery but I feel better now, thanks to you.”

As the two talked, the other doctors went out to find out just why Haku would call Iishiro specifically. They furrowed their brows when he was… happily… chatting with a girl?

“Did you bring back the right Iishiro from the store?” Shiba asked, completely confused as to why Iishiro was acting differently.

“We met her at a train,” Haku explained, “Well, more like she fell on him and then he helped her by a lot and then, I don’t know. He left me at the counter for so long, which was rude, and when I saw him, he was holding a strawberry ice cream which he doesn’t like. He likes neither strawberries or ice cream, right?”

“Uh-huh,” Niroku muttered, “So how does the girl get in the ice cream story?”

Haku shrugged, “I was guessing it was her who bought that for him. She looks like the type of girl who’d like strawberry ice cream.”

Reiichi shook his head, “You’re too young to understand, all of you.”

“Excuse you? You’re only two years older,” Haku responded, “And it’s not like you’re the eldest.”

Reiichi tsked, “That’s not the point here.” He looked at their other friend, “If it’s true that she bought him that ice cream, and, yes, for the entire ten years I’ve known Iishiro, he’s never had a thing for ice creams, then he still doesn’t like ice creams.”

“So what’s your point?” Shiba deadpanned.

“He might not like the food itself,” Reiichi continued, “But he likes the one who gave it.”

“Oh!” The three said simultaneously.

“I knew that though.” Haku laughed, “He likes her, it’s obvious.”

“Question is, does she like him back?” Niroku asked which silenced them three.

“We have work to do,” Reiichi interrupted their train of thoughy before it could go to trouble making, “Stop acting like detectives. You’ll know it if and when it happens.”

Reiichi left the other three to go back to his office. Shiba, Haku, and Niroku looked at each other then back to Iishiro and Reimi. They nodded before going back to their office to clean up and rest for the day.

And maybe plot an interrogation or two.

•••

Iishiro really dreaded cold and sweet food. He wasn’t fond of them since he was a child, and he wasn’t fond of them now. But somehow, a strawberry ice cream drumstick tasted a bit nicer compared to the others that he tasted throughout his childhood.

Once he was done with the treat, he rinsed off the stick and put it in a small ziplock bag. He placed it on his desk and stared at it for a moment before dropping it into his upper right side drawer.

Something to remember her by.

Chapter Text

It was long enough when they noticed that nobody else was around them, too immersed in their talk. Reimi looked around, looking for the people who were with her in the waiting room a while ago.

Reimi frowned. If there was one thing that would probably happen, it would be that she’d get lost; the hospital was pretty big afterall.

“I’ll take you to the room,” Iishiro offered, “They’re all probably there now.”

Reimi nodded, following the doctor as he walked through the halls.

“How long have you been working here?” Reimi asked, genuinely curious that this stranger that she met was a surgeon in a hospital.

“About three years now,” Iishiro answered.

“It must be so cool to be a surgeon,” Reimi stated.

“Yeah,” Iishiro agreed, “But not at all times. Sometimes… there are just losing battles.”

Reimi frowned, “Oh. I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be.” Iishiro let our a breath, “It’s normal, it’s life afterall. It’s gonna end sometime.”

“Doctor Iishiro,” A nurse called, stopping the two in their tracks, “Your patient from two months ago came back.”

“You can send them to my office. I’ll attend to them as soon as I bring my friend to a patient,” Iishiro responded, gesturing to Reimi, “You can let Doctor Shiba attend as well. He knows all the procedures.”

The nurse nodded then went on her way. The two started walking again towards the way of Ms. Mariko’s room.

Reimi whistled, “So, Doctor Iishiro, huh? Should I start calling you Doctor Iishiro too?”

Iishiro let out a low chuckle, “No need. Iishiro’s fine. We’re here.”

Iishiro knocked on the door then opened it, seeing the guests in Ms. Mariko’s hospital room. They all turned their heads towards the door once it swung open and in came Reimi.

“Thank you, Iishiro.” Reimi gave the doctor a sweet smile, “For everything. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost Ms. Mariko.”

“Just doing my job,” Iishiro stated before taking it back, “I mean, you’re welcome, Reimi.”

Reimi laughed weakly, “See you around! Oh, by the way, you have good taste with ice cream.”

Iishiro smiled at her then waved goodbye, closing the door. Reimi turned around to see the judging stares by the other people in the room.

“Who was he?” Eiko asked, “And why were you using first name basis?”

“Oh I met him at the train earlier today. And then I bumped into him at the grocery. And now he’s apparently a surgeon,” Reimi explained, “But he’s a friend. It’s okay.”

“Don’t you think you’re being too informal so quickly though?” Eiko questioned, “You don’t call each other by the first name on the first day you met.”

“Well he saved me from tripping, he even put this band-aid on me.” She pointed at the band-aid still stuck to her knee, “He’s kind and I don’t really mind.”

“You do look cute together though,” one of the other people murmured.

“We do?” Reimi raised a brow, “No we don’t. Maybe you’re just tired. Maybe you all are tired. You can go ahead. I’ll watch Ms. Mariko.”

“Aren’t you tired though? You’ve been travelling all day,” Eiko said, “It’s okay, Reimi. We understand if you’re the one who’s tired.”

Reimi stretched, “I’m fine! I’ve gotten so used to working all day. I have the stamina for it. No go on. Go home everyone. Ms. Mariko’s fine now, we don’t have to worry.”

“Well… if you say so,” Eiko agreed then squinted her eyes, “This isn’t just so you could stay longer at the hospital so you’d see that doctor, right?”

Reimi laughed, “Eiko, what in the world are you talking about? He’s a friend whom I met today and will probably not meet ever again. Plus, if you were thinking about it, no, being a full-time teacher doesn’t give me much time to date.”

Reimi opened the door for all of them, “I’ll call if I get tired or if I need to go home, okay? I know how tired you all are. Thanks for taking care of Ms. Mariko while I wasn’t around.”

All except of Eiko filed out of the room. Eiko walked up to Reimi then gave her a light hug.

“I know how hard this is for you, but she’s gonna be fine. Surgery’s successful, she’s recovering, Ms. Mariko’s fine,” Eiko whispered to her ear, “Now don’t strain yourself, okay? You have to take care of yourself too.”

Reimi nodded before the woman went out. Once the door closed, her smile dropped. It was true, she felt completely relieved that Ms. Mariko was fine now, and there weren’t much to worry about, but she couldn’t just drop her everyday life to take care of her, even though she wanted to so badly.

Reimi sighed, sitting down on the bench intended for visitors and staring at the patient sleeping on the bed.

“She’s fine now,” Reimi told herself, “Ms. Mariko’s fine now.”

•••

A blonde woman ran through the pristine white hospital halls, both trying to catch her breath and rushing to get to her destination. She hurriedly and sloppily wore her coat on the way until she arrived at a nurse’s station, breathing heavily.

“Where’s,” she panted, “Where’s the patient?”

“You mean the patient you were supposed to operate on?” The nurse asked, “She’s fine. The operation went well. Doctor Iishiro lead the group. The patient’s doing good now.”

The woman sighed in relief, “Oh thank goodness! Doctor Iishiro, where is he?”

“He’s in his office,” the nurse answered, “I know that I’m not allowed to ask this but, Doctor Kosato, where were you? Everyone was looking for you.”

“I know, I’m sorry, I got held back by a patient in the other hospital,” Doctor Kosato exhaled loudly, “It’s hard when your residency and another hospital calls you.”

The nurse gave the woman a smile, “It’s okay, we all understand, doctor.”

Kosato gave a sigh of relief, hearing those words from the nurse.

“Oh, there’s Doctor Iishiro.” The nurse pointed at the doctor who was doing his rounds.

Kosato looked at where the nurse was pointing then spotted the white clad doctor, talking to some visitors. Kosato walked over to the other doctor, waiting for the visitors to go before talking to him.

“We were looking for you,” Iishiro said flatly.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Kosato replied, “It was a bad operation at the other hospital. I really wanted to operate with you.”

“Well, at least you’re here now,” Iishiro responded, “There’s one good thing that came out of it though. Haku had his first chance to assist.”

Kosato smiled, “Really now? That’s great for him! Gosh, I wish I got to watch him!”

“He’s a natural,” Iishiro commented.

The door between them opened and out came a visitor who looked at Kosato then to Iishiro, then back to Kosato.

“Is there a problem…?” Kosato asked, “Do you need any assistance?”

“Reimi, how’s Ms. Mariko?” Iishiro asked, tone changing.

The other woman, Reimi, smiled at Iishiro, “She’s doing well, thanks to you. I, uh, can I ask for a favor?”

“Anything,” Iishiro quickly answered.

“Would you mind watching Ms. Mariko for a second? I’m just gonna go grab coffee and then I’ll be back,” Reimi said, “If you’re not busy that is.”

“No, I’m just doing my rounds,” Iishiro answered.

“Okay, thanks!” Reimi responded, “Want anything?”

“You’ve been spending an awful lot of money on me lately,” Iishiro pointed out.

“Green tea it is,” Reimi said before turning around to the nearest vending machine.

Once the red head was out of sight, Kosato raised a brow at Iishiro.

“You know her?” She asked the older doctor.

“Yeah I met her today,” Iishiro said, “She’s kind.”

“And you already have something to say about her?” Kosato smiled, “That’s really nice of you, Iishiro.”

“Back!” Reimi announced as soon as she arrived.

She handed the hot tea to Iishiro and a cup of coffee to Kosato who looked shocked.

“Um… thanks,” Kosato said as she accepted the drink, “You are nice.”

Reimi smiled in response then entered the room, closing the door behind her.

“Like I said,” Iishiro declared, “She’s nice.”

“I thought you liked barley tea more?” Kosato inquired as the two of them started walking away from the door.

Iishiro shrugged as he took a sip, “There are things that are better just to be accepted. You wouldn’t mind if I did my rounds, right?”

Kosato shook her head no, “You don’t need to do this though. There are enough nurses to do the rounds.”

“I like to keep my patients in check personally,” Iishiro responded.

“And you never get tired?” Kosato raised a brow.

“Why should I be? I’ve dedicated my life to this,” Iishiro answered.

“Huh, no wonder you’re single,” Kosato muttered.

Iishiro turned to the other doctor. “What was that?”

Kosato let out a weak laugh, “Nothing.”

•••

The hallways weren’t as bright as when it was during the day or during the early hours of the night, Iishiro noted. It wasn’t new to him though. He was used to the chilly atmosphere, dimmed scenery, and silent paths during the very late hours of the night.

Iishiro took a quick glace at his wrist watch.

“1:35.” he read weakly then continued walking around, doing his rounds.

It had been a habit from when he started, and now he couldn’t avoid it, even if he was too tired. Doing rounds wasn’t necessarily a bad thing but he wasn’t supposed to do it in the first place. His job as a surgeon was mostly to attend to his patients at least once a week or to stay in the operating room where he truly belonged, not going around the hospital to check up on people any time of the day. He hadn’t changed at all, even from his early days as a new surgeon. His ways of taking care wasn’t faltering any time soon.

He stopped at a particularly new name on the wall, staring at the number and the name of the patient inside, and remembering the long hours of surgery the patient required. He let out a weak sigh before knocking, completely guilty if ever he was interrupting the sleeping people inside.

He would normally turn around since most people were asleep by this time but this was one thing that was new. The door opened almost immediately and out peeked a red head, a tired look on her face.

“Doctor Iishiro,” she spoke.

“You can drop the ‘doctor’, Reimi,” he responded, “How is Ms. Mariko doing?”

Reimi smiled, opening the door to let him in, “She hasn’t woken up yet, but she’s doing fine, I guess. Nothing wrong has happened since.”

Iishiro checked on Ms. Mariko before Reimi offered him a spot on the seat next to her. He politely took it, the two of them watching the patient sleep on the bed.

“Why are you still up?” Iishiro asked.

“Why are you still doing your rounds?” Reimi questioned.

“Force of habit,” Iishiro answered, “You didn’t answer me though, why are you still up?”

Reimi bit her lip, “I get worried a lot. I’m afraid that… when I close my eyes, Ms. Mariko…”

Iishiro nodded in understanding, “She’ll be fine. She fought well during surgery, I believe she’ll make it.”

Reimi couldn’t help but smile at that, “Thanks.”

A short silence dwelled upon the two of them until Reimi couldn’t keep up with her curiosity anymore.

“What are you still doing here at the hospital at this hour?” She asked, half curious, half frustrated (she battled with herself if it was just plain curiosity or if she was frustrated with something but why should she be frustrated?), “Don’t you have a girl waiting at home?”

Iishiro raised a brow, turning to Reimi, “A… girl.”

“Yeah,” Reimi muttered, “The… the doctor earlier.”

“You mean Doctor Kosato?”

“Mhm,”

She just wanted to disappear when Iishiro just silenced himself. It really wasn’t good to meddle in someone else’s relationship, it should be private. Why won’t the ground just be nice and eat her up so she wouldn’t be stuck in this situation?

She could feel her face burning at the embarrassment she made of herself.

“Nice going, Reimi.”

“We’re not together though,” Iishiro explained, “Well… not like that. And besides, I tend to stay in my own office a lot, not much at home.”

The words rang over and over again in her head.

“They… aren’t together…?”

She could just imagine her tombstone right at that moment.

Here lies Akagi Reimi, the girl who couldn’t keep her mouth shut for five seconds

Cause of death: shame

“R-right.” Reimi murmured.

Iishiro stood up, “You should really get some sleep, Reimi. It’s not good for you to stay up so late at night.”

Reimi nodded. Iishiro gave his goodbye and good night before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

Reimi laid down on the bench, pouting at Ms. Mariko.

“Ms. Mariko, you have to wake up,” she said, “I’m too hopeless in life. Help me.”

Chapter Text

“And so, the Dendritic Cell is involved in communicating between cells. They can come in close contact with the other cells but they can also communicate at a long distance through cytokines,” A red-headed instructor spoke, face cheerful despite the mouthful of scientific terms, “Cytokines have effects on immune cells such as Neutrophils, Macrophages, T Cells, B Cells, and such. Think of it as…” the woman paused for a few seconds, “As the Dendritic Cell giving away photos of the immune cells from their past. Would there be any reactions if your past photos were suddenly shown to everybody?”

“I would be terrified,” a student spoke, “I don’t want people looking at my old photos.”

The instructor chuckled, “Exactly.”

The instructor looked at the watch on her wrist then closed the book placed on her table, “Well, that would be all for now. Read pages 38 to 46. I expect all of you to have an understanding of the immune cells and the types of effects that they have when faced with cytokines. Class is dismissed.”

When all the students fled the classroom, the instructor sat down on her seat, giving a long exhale.

“Done for the day. Finally,” she uttered.

There was a knock on the door that caught her attention.

“Ms. Reimi?” A student peered her head through the door, “I wanted to ask you something earlier but I got distracted and I didn’t get the chance to tell you.”

“What is it then?” Reimi offered a small smile, “Is it something about class?”

“Yes… well, no…” the student answered, “You see I have…” The student groaned, “I’ve seen it all! I’ve seen how this school’s going to get flooded! It’s all gonna happen and I just wanted to warn you. Please be safe.”

Reimi blinked once, “A… flood,” she spoke weakly, “Kioku, there wouldn’t be a flood. There’s nothing saying anything bad about the weather forecast.”

“You don’t believe me?” Kioku asked, weakened by his instructor’s disbelief, “I’m telling the truth, Ms. Reimi. Please believe me.”

“I-, Kioku, maybe it’s another day? I don’t think it would rain tonight,” Reimi responded, “But don’t worry. I’ll take your advice to heart.”

Kioku frowned, “You still don’t believe me, b-but I’m warning you. Please be safe.”

And the student went running out of the room. Reimi sighed, standing to leave before even more of her students returned. She trudged through the halls of the school until she arrived at the faculty room. With a groan, she walked to her cubicle and sat down, closing her eyes.

A loud thud disrupted her rest. She opened her eyes and saw the plethora of paper stacked on her desk.

“Great! You’re here!” A supervisor said, “Here’s your paper work for the week!”

Her supervisor left even before she could protest. With a sigh, she said, “Is this the flood?”

There weren’t chances to push away the work if she wanted to go to Ms. Mariko as soon as work was done. She had to travel for at least an hour, if she was lucky, if she wanted to arrive at the hospital before visiting hours were officially over.

Picking up the first piece of paper on top of the stack and saw that it was the activity that she left for the students when she didn’t come to school.

Reimi sighed, remembering how Ms. Mariko still hadn’t woken up the next day. She didn’t want to leave the hospital so she quickly filed a leave, left an activity for her students, and watched over Ms. Mariko the whole day.

The others had day jobs where they couldn’t simply file leaves and, though it seemed like she was left with no choice, Reimi was more than happy to oblige. But when Tuesday came, she couldn’t leave her obligations and had to come to work, the nurses and doctors promising they’d watch Ms. Mariko the whole day and take care of her.

Reimi was sort of uneasy at that. The nurses and doctors were busy people and they couldn’t just stay in one hospital room, they had to do their rounds in the entire hospital.

“I’ll watch her. It’s my day off,” Iishiro offered.

She knew that the man was busy and restless but he didn’t let her say no to his offer so she was left with no choice but to go to work and leave Ms. Mariko in the hands of her surgeon.

“Don’t think about her, Reimi. I promise I’ll be by her side the whole day.”

Reimi exhaled loudly as she started to check the papers.

If Ms. Mariko still doesn’t wake up, and we all have to keep up with our jobs…

She frowned.

What would happen to Ms. Mariko?

•••

“I think,” Reimi started with a weak voice, avoiding the gaze of the person she was talking to.

In her hands was a piece of paper, with the words Letter of Resignation written on top. She reluctantly placed the paper on the table in between her and the other person, showing it.

“I think I have to resign.” Her throat felt dry her tongue tasted bitter with those words, “I… I love my job, really. I love working here. It’s just that… m-my orphanage mother just had her surgery last weekend and… and there’s no one to watch over her.” She met the strict eyes of the school head, Ms. Michiko (Mast Cell), “I don’t want to leave but Ms. Mariko needs all the help she could get right now.”

Michiko sighed as she signed on the paper Reimi gave her, “Ms. Reimi, you are one of the best teachers that the university has. Are you really ready to let this job go? You know that, if you leave, you’ll have a hard time coming back, what with Mr. Bokkai (B Cell) ready to take on your position any time.”

“I’ll be okay,” Reimi answered, “Ms. Mariko just…”

“I understand,” Michiko said in a caring tone, “I’d also drop my job if it meant taking care of the woman who took care of me.”

Reimi gave a small smile, “Thank you for letting me.”

Michiko held out her hand, “It was nice working with such a diligent teacher like you. I wish you all the best with Ms. Mariko, and if ever you decide to come back, don’t hesitate to call us. You’d never know when a position might be open for you.”

Reimi nodded, shaking the woman’s hand and leaving her office. Once the door behind her closed, she let out a big sigh, both of relief and of worry.

Now, she had more time to take care of Ms. Mariko, but what would happen to her jobless self now?

•••

Reimi sat in the train with no extra bags filled with paperwork or a notebook filled with her lessons for the next day in her hands. It was just Reimi, sitting on a seat she luckily grabbed while the train moved from the city where she worked to the city she treated as home.

The train stopped and Reimi stood up, grabbing her bag filled with the remaining things she had in her past residence.

Starting today…

She got off the train as quickly and as efficiently as possible to arrive at the earliest time she could to the hospital.

I’m coming back home. And I’m staying for good.

The walk to the hospital from the statiom was a mere ten-minute walk along a straight walkway so it wasn’t a big hassle for her, what with her tendency to be directionally challenged. She arrived just a few minutes before visitors weren’t allowed to enter and she made her beeline to Ms. Mariko’s room, now knowing the place like the back of her hand. There weren’t many places she got to memorize but with her stay and the way she had to go to from the cashier back to the room so many times before made her feet walk on their own.

She knocked briefly on the door before opening it and seeing the dimmed room. She placed her bags on the floor next to the door then proceeded to Ms. Mariko who was still asleep. It didn’t seem like she had woken up any time during the day since there were no updates from either the nurses or the doctors.

Reimi placed a gentle hand over Ms. Mariko’s. She just wanted to shake her and tell her to open her eyes, to tell Reimi that she was fine. But that wasn’t the case. She wasn’t given a definitive date when Ms. Mariko would wake up but they told her it’d be "soon’. Whenever “soon” was.

With a soft sigh, she turned to the bench and saw the sleeping doctor who had offered up to be Ms. Mariko’s guardian for the day. A small smile graced upon Reimi’s face as the tired person finally got his well-deserved sleep.

She walked over to her bags and pulled out a blanket from it, draping it over the doctor then sitting down next to him. She watched Ms. Mariko’s chest rise up then down, signalling the state that she was in.

“When are you going to wake up?” Reimi whispered, very much hopeful for an answer, “The doctors said that you’re fine and that you’re okay, but I can’t help but worry. I wanna see you awake and smiling, like you always were.”

Reimi looked down at the ground, remembering all the times Ms. Mariko was there, supporting her and helping her with the warmest smile on her face.

•••

She wasn’t the brightest amongst the bunch of the orphans they had but she was the one that needed the most help.

Reimi lost both parents due to a car crash back when she had just turned four years old. It was a memory that was implanted in her mind until her current days. It was a horrific storm outside and her family had no choice but to go home. They just ate at a restaurant, one of the very rare times that they actually did, and fate just had to be a little bit more playful.

“Honey, I don’t think it’s safe.” The words of her mother still rang in her ears to this day, “Maybe we should wait until the storm passes.”

Her father shook his head no, “It’s okay, I’ll drive safely. I don’t work as an ambulance driver for nothing.”

There was a confident smile on her father’s face and she admired that. A smile during a bad situation was always the best when it comes to calming her down.

The family rode in their car, Reimi seeing the dark street and the water that was starting to rise. Their area didn’t get flooded as often but if there were particularly strong and continuous rains, then flood was inevitable. The water kept rising as they moved along and got closer to their home.

Reimi’s father turned the music up, playing her favorite song, a habit that was often when she and her father rode to school.

omoide ga jikan wo tometa

kyou no hi wo wasureru na to

minareta keshiki nido to narabenai

omoide no michi

(My memories stopped time

As if to say “Don’t forget today”

A road in my memories

Where we’ll never again walk together in the familiar scenery)

Reimi was too busy singing along when a lightning struck.

It happened all too fast. There was a bright light, then there were two bright lights, and then she felt like her head was removed from her neck. She was thrown around in the backseat as the car went round and round. She could feel nothing.

The moment she opened her eyes again, there was only a blur of darkness but she heard herself calling for her parents. She felt so weak, like every part of her body was just a part of her that she couldn’t control. Her mind was hazy, but she could recall reaching out to the two people she loved the most.

yukkuri to arukidasou

kono michi mirai e tsudzuku

sayonara nakanaide

wasurenai yo

hanaretemo ai shite imasu

(I’ll walk on slowly

This road leads to my future

Goodbye, don’t cry

I won’t forget you

Even when we’re apart, I’ll love you)

•••

“Reimi,” a voice called out, snapping her out of her stupor.

Reimi wiped away her tears then looked up to the source of the sound. She gasped deeply, a fresh batch of tears pooling at the corners of her eyes.

“Ms. Mariko!” She responded then quickly grabbed the man sleeping next to her.

The doctor jumped up at the sudden movement then saw Reimi rushing to the bed in front of them.

“Iishiro!” Reimi turned around, a huge smile on her face, “Ms. Mariko’s awake!”

Chapter Text

Iishiro had long woken up since Reimi put a blanket over him. He shifted slightly to give her some space to sit. He kept his eyes closed, not quite wanting to wake up just yet.

Five more minutes. He told himself, Five more minutes and I’ll wake up and leave.

Only his promise of five minutes didn’t push through when he heard Reimi sniffing. He opened his eyes very slowly, fighting the sleep that was pulling him back from comforting the red-head. He was about to place a hand on her back to make her feel that he was there for her when Ms. Mariko moved on the bed and woke up.

Iishiro, shocked, watched as Ms. Mariko opened her eyes then looked at the crying woman beside him. She smiled weakly, and called out the woman, “Reimi.”

Reimi didn’t react quickly. It took her some time before she looked up and realized what was happening. Reimi grabbed his arm, shaking him without looking, then ran to Ms. Mariko, still in pure disbelief that this was happening.

“Iishiro! Ms. Mariko’s awake!” Reimi grinned wide at him. There was still that look of uncertainty on her face, but she was steadily growing happier by the second.

Iishiro nodded, standing up to check up on Ms. Mariko. He did the same common procedures for his patients who just woke up after a long time.

“You’re doing well, Ms. Mariko,” Iishiro spoke as soon as he finished his check up. He walked back to the chair, grabbed the blanket, then placed it over Reimi’s shoulder, “I’ll have you under constant check ups from now on until you leave the hospital. And if you keep on getting better, you can get out in maybe a week or two.”

“Really?” Reimi asked, completely overjoyed about the sudden events, “Ms. Mariko, I hope you get better really soon so we can get you out! The kids are missing you so badly.”

“Everyone went here, Ms. Mariko,” Reimi told the other woman, “Even the ones who went out of the country! Of course they’re not here anymore, they went back because of their jobs, but I’m here! I’ll help you with the orphanage from now on! I promise I won’t leave ever again!”

Reimi suddenly frowned at the realization of her words, “I… I’m sorry that I left in the first place. If I’d known… If I knew that this would happen…”

Ms. Mariko raised a hand and placed it over Reimi’s hand which held the rails of the bed. A warm, comforting smile spread across Ms. Mariko’s face.

“It’s okay, Reimi. I understand,” she said weakly, “It doesn’t bother me that you left, it’s okay. It has always been a part of taking care of you.”

Reimi only cried. Iishiro’s hand immediately flew to Reimi’s back and, like magnets, Reimi went to Iishiro, hugging him and crying on his chest. Iishiro rubbed her back, trying to console her with nothing but contact.

He let Reimi cry to her heart’s desire. He knew that she needed it, she needed to just let it all out. He saw how she’s been trying to act tough but she wasn’t fooling anybody, not even herself. And so he let her cry. Nevermind the soaked shirt, Reimi needed this right now.

The phone in his pocket vibrated and, even if he wanted to ignore it, Reimi felt it. She let go of him, looking at his pant pocket.

“You should take that. A patient might be needing you,” Reimi stated, “Thank you for all the help, Iishiro.”

Iishiro nodded once, excusing himself to take the call. He left the room, picking the phone from his pocket, only to see that it wasn’t a call.

Haku: has anyone seen shiro???

Haku: hes been gone the whooooooole day

Roku: It’s his day off so…

Shiba: I bet he’s still in the hospital

Iishiro sighed, rolling his eyes. It was Haku’s idea to make a group chat with his team. Haku, Niroku, and Shiba were the only ones active on it though but Iishiro dropped by every now and then. It felt nice to make friends with fellow surgeons.

Iishiro: Here.

Iishiro: Yes I was at the hospital.

Iishiro: but I was a visitor today.

Roku: Who did you visit?

Iishiro: Ms. Mariko

Shiba: …isn’t she our patient though?

Iishiro: yes

Iishiro: but I was a visitor.

Haku: i bet ya it’s because of that girl

Iishiro: What girl?

Haku: the girl you met at the train

Iishiro: …I don’t remember…

Haku: gdi iishiro dont do this again

Shiba: What a nice thing to say to your superior

Haku: he always does this though

Haku: he acts like he doesnt know that girl

Haku: even i remember her

Haku: shes the klutz

Iishiro: Don’t call Reimi a klutz. She just happened to fall over when the train suddenly stopped. It’s not her fault. And besides, she’s not always falling down, only twice so far. Which isn’t new in a malfunctioning train.

Shiba: …

Shiba: So do you know her or do you not know her?

Iishiro: Who?

Shiba: Wow that was frustrating

Shiba: I understand you now, Haku

Roku: Back!

Roku: What did I miss?

Haku: are u going to keep doing this, iishiro?

Haku: because one day

Haku: i’m just gonna walk over to her

Haku: and tell her how you feel about her

Haku: it’ll all be over for you

Shiba: But won’t that make them lose the tension?

Iishiro: I have no idea what you two are talking about

Iishiro: But I’m tired and I’m going home

Roku: I FINALLY CAUGHT UP

Roku: You like Reimi???

Roku: Why don’t you tell her?

Iishiro: When did I say that I liked her? I don’t like her like that. I want to keep her as a friend. She’s really nice, even to Kosato. If you knew her, you’d know how nice she is. But I don’t like her like that. And besides, she’s too busy taking care of her patient. And she’s too emotionally strained. I just want her as a friend.

Haku: says the guy who writes essays when talking about her

Haku: just go

Haku: we’ll gossip about you while you’re not around

Shiba: Haku!!!

Haku: he probably knows it already

Iishiro: I actually do.

Iishiro: I’m going

Iishiro: for real.

Iishiro placed his phone back in his pocket then made his way outside, to his car. He entered the car then stuck the key in the keyhole. There wasn’t time to waste, going home. The sun would soon set and he had dinner to cook.

Maybe tonight would bring good rest.

•••

“Ms. Mariko, I was really sad when I heard all about you being here,” Reimi said.

Reimi was now seated next to the bed in a new chair as she held Ms. Mariko’s hands.

“I was actually about to come visit you in the orphanage that day when Eiko called me to say that you had an emergency surgery,” Reimi explained, “The kids were very worried so I had to take care of them for a few hours before I could get a hold of someone to take care of them so I could come visit you.”

Reimi then smiled, “But I’m so glad you’re okay now. The doctors said that you can’t go back to how strong you were before because of the surgery, and that there are some things that you can’t do now, but it’s fine. I’ll help you with everything.”

Ms. Mariko pouted a bit, “Reimi, your eyebags are so deep. Have you been getting enough sleep?”

“Well, I, uh, I’ve been staying here for the past few days so…” she trailed off.

“You know, you have to take care of yourself as well,” Ms. Mariko stated, “You can’t tell me that you’ll take care of me when you’re in a worse position. I won’t allow it, Reimi.”

Reimi nodded fervently, “Yes, Ms. Mariko! I’ll take care of myself so I can take care of you. I want to return the favor for everything that you did for me when I was still a child.”

Ms. Mariko let out a sigh, “You still don’t get it, Reimi. All I was doing was my job. It’s my job to take care of you, to be the orphans’ mother. It’s nothing big, it’s just what I’m supposed to do.”

Reimi frowned a bit, “B-but-.”

“Whether or not I wanted to do it, I had to do it, Reimi,” Ms. Mariko said, “Because it’s my work, to help all of those who lacked the attention of parents. It’s just my job. You don’t have to repay me for something that I’m required to do.”

“I have to,” Reimi said, “I feel like I have to.”

Ms. Mariko only let out a weak chuckle, “Always the feisty Reimi that I know of. Well if you really believe that you have to repay me, then there’s one thing I want you to do.”

Reimi beamed, “What is it, Ms. Mariko?”

“I want you to live your life,” Ms. Mariko answered, “I want you to get out there and be the best you can be. I know that you have love for a lot of things, you have so much love to give, Reimi. Why are you using them all up to those who are already loved? It’s time to share it with those who really need it.”

“I can do that with you in the orphanage,” Reimi reasoned, “There’s no excuse to me to leave you again.”

“The children get plenty of love already, what with the many couples adopting nowadays, I’m not surprised if they all get adopted by the end of the year,” Ms. Mariko answered, “Get out, Reimi. Go to the world. You’ve already started by moving out, why do you have to go back?”

“That’s what you can do for me as payment,” Ms. Mariko said, “I’ll be the happiest person out there when I see you grow better. You can’t always stay under my wing, you have to grow up some time. You still keep stumbling, and I still keep helping you up. I think it’s time that I let you fall down.”

Ms. Mariko furrowed her brows, “I want the best for you, Reimi. Nothing but the best.” She ruffled Reimi’s soft red locks, something that still amazed her even more than a decade later since she first saw it, “I would really love it if I’ll see you be the happiest person who helped a lot, just like your father.”

Reimi choked on a sob.

“I know that this is hard for you, we’ve been together for eleven years now, but you have to understand this, Reimi,” Ms. Mariko spoke, “Trust me on this. I’ve gone through that age and I know the mistakes that I could’ve avoided.”

“You’re turning 25 next month,” Ms. Mariko pointed out, “What are your plans now? You resigned from your job today and your savings will probably last you two months. I have enough to give to you for another month, but what about what follows? What about next year? What about the following five years?”

Reimi frowned even more, “You’re pressuring me, Ms. Mariko.”

“But you need to be certain,” Ms. Mariko answered, “You’re 24, not certain about life, no savings to buy your own house or your own car, no job to put food on the table. You only have companion. You have to learn to love yourself more, Reimi.”

Reimi wiped the tears from her eyes then squinted at Ms. Mariko. She knew where this was headed and Ms. Mariko had lead her on that path and Reimi was falling under the older one’s trap.

“You don’t even have a boyfriend yet,”

Reimi let out a groan and an eye roll, “Ms. Mariko, I told you I’d be successful even without a lovelife. Watch me do it.”

Ms. Mariko nodded, “I believe you. I mean, Eiko’s doing it. My, my, what lovely women I have raised. It’s good that you’re not dependent on men.”

Reimi chuckled, “Ms. Mariko you have to sleep, it’s getting late. The nurses will wake you up if there’s a check up.”

Ms. Mariko smiled at Reimi, “Keep my words in mind, Reimi.”

“I’m taking away the boyfriend part but yeah, I’ll take them to heart,” Reimi answered, “You can rest, Ms. Mariko. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Chapter Text

Reimi held the hands of a woman she didn’t know. What was happening? She couldn’t understand what was happening. Where were her parents? All she remembered was that they were on the way home, it was a bad, stormy night outside, then lights. So many lights.

“Are you okay, Reimi?” The woman asked her.

She looked up to the brunette lady who was giving her a warm smile.

“You smile like papa,” Reimi answered.

The woman giggled at the response then knelt down in front of her, “Well then, starting today, will you treat me as your big sister?”

Reimi looked around, “I have a big sister? Mama and papa didn’t tell.”

“Well, I’m your new *big sister,” the woman answered, “I’ll be taking care of you for now.”

“Where are papa and mama?” Reimi asked.

The woman frowned a bit, “Your mama and papa can’t go to you this time. We’ll see them later but… you have to promise me that you’ll be a strong little girl with me.”

Reimi nodded, “Okay!”

The woman smiled, “Can I see you smile?”

Reimi just beamed at the lady.

The lady ruffled the girl’s red hair, “I want you to always smile like that, okay? No matter what happens, always make sure to keep that beautiful smile up.”

•••

Iishiro visited everyday. Reimi knew that it was just his job to check up on his patients, afterall, he was still a doctor at the hospital and he was Ms. Mariko’s surgeon, so she didn’t take it as a weird thing when he was around. What was weird though was that he would come to the room more than once a day, which, from her general knowledge from outside of her hospital room, didn’t happen anywhere else.

Reimi didn’t have much of a chance to go out and socialize with the other visitors and guardians of the patients, being stuck inside the room all day except when she had to buy food or pay the bills. So now she was just there in the room with Ms. Mariko, talking about so many things the older woman missed while Reimi spent the last few months in another city.

Ms. Mariko listened intently to the girl, not getting tired for even a split second with her stories. Reimi always had this energy that would fill the room with joy. It was so magnetic that no one could avoid getting attracted to her aura. She was different, Ms. Mariko had noted from the very first day she took Reimi in. Reimi was a light breeze that everybody needed once in a while. She was a calming effect and even Ms. Mariko couldn’t understand why. Maybe the reason was because she was Reimi and nothing else.

“And there was this one time when all my students gave me gifts just because I was out for one day because of a cold!” She said, excitement like that of a three year old’s, “It was so fun that day, and I really loved it that they appreciate me.”

“A lot of people appreciate you, Reimi,” Ms. Mariko responded, “We’re all thankful to have you.”

There was a light knock on the door and in came Iishiro on his third round that day. The doctor walked over to Reimi who was waving him over.

“Wait for a sec, Iishiro. I’ll get us some drinks,” Reimi said before rushing off to the nearest vending machine.

Reimi had this habit of giving him random things (and he had to admit that his table was slowly getting full of memorabilia from her, because of his vows of ‘something to remember her by’). Though he didn’t hate it, it was something a little bit too much. He was worried that she might be spending a little too much on him. Afterall, she just resigned from her job.

“Ms. Mariko, how are we doing today?” Iishiro asked, taking Reimi’s seat as he checked up on the woman, “It’s only a few days before you can go out.”

“I feel like I’m getting weaker though,” Ms. Mariko answered, “Is that normal?”

Iishiro frowned, looking down, “We’ve… successfuly did the emergency surgery you needed but I’ve seen your family’s records and your father died due to a cardiac arrest?”

Ms. Mariko nodded, “I’ve had several arrests as well in the past.”

“That’s the problem we have now,” Iishiro responded, “We can’t risk you to go out and have another arrest, your body’s not strong enough to handle it, if it ever happens again.”

Ms. Mariko sighed deeply, “I’ve lived a long life if I reach 52, right?”

“Statistically, no, but with all the effects and help you’ve given to the orphans, I believe you’ve lived a hundred lifetimes as parents,” Iishiro answered, “I don’t want you to make a choice but-.”

“If I ever get another cardiac arrest in the near future, please don’t revive me,” Ms. Mariko interrupted, “If it’s the one thing that will make my Reimi bloom, I’ll do it.”

“I don’t believe that you’re thinking rationally now, Ms. Mariko. Reimi still obviously needs you, and I’m not preparing your paperwork for this,” Iishiro responded, “I can’t do this. Reimi’s going to be hurt.”

“Shouldn’t your patient come first before the feelings of their family?” Ms. Mariko asked.

“Well, patients tend to feel hopeless when in situations where they feel stuck,” Iishiro answered, “You’re going to live longer, Ms. Mariko. You may still feel weak because of all this, and I understand, it’s because of the operation, but we don’t have any reasons to settle such a heavy decision.”

Ms. Mariko weakly chuckled, “I’m really glad that Reimi has someone like you.”

Iishiro raised his brows, “Someone… like me? I don’t understand.”

Ms. Mariko patted Iishiro’s hand, “You’re a good match.”

“Ah, no, we’re not dating or anything like that,” Iishiro explained, “We just met about a week ago and now I think we’re friends.”

“Oh? And here I thought you two were dating behind my back,” Ms. Mariko responded, “I’m sorry for that.”

Iishiro nodded then Reimi entered, offering him his usual tea. Iishiro couldn’t help but look away as she gave it, a light blush crossing on his cheeks.

“Oh, Reimi, why didn’t you tell me that you and the doctor aren’t dating? I thought you finally found time to find love again,” Ms. Mariko said, breaking the heavily awkward silence.

The sentence sent Iishiro to stand abruptly, his tea luckily not spilling.

“I-I didn’t say anything about that,” Iishiro said a little bit too quickly, “I was just checking up on her.”

“Doctor Mikami Iishiro, please proceed to the operating room immediately. Again, Doctor Mikami Iishiro, please proceed to the operating room immediately.”

“A good way to escape,” Iishiro thought.

Iishiro bid the two goodbye, thanking Reimi for the tea, before rushing to leave the room, to the operating room.

Reimi hid her face behind the tiny cup that she held in her hands, “I want to scream.”

•••

When the kind lady made her dress in all black and asked her to behave at the place that they were going to, she felt like something was amiss.

She had been brought to a place without much people, only a few ones Reimi didn’t recognize. The people were either crying or were in the corners, talking to the others in hushed voices she couldn’t make out. The lady brought her close to what seemed like two long decorative boxes designed with so many flowers around them.

The lady stopped walking, making Reimi stop as well. She knelt down in front of Reimi, grabbing her cheeks.

“Reimi,” she said softly, her warm smile missing, “Your parents… they didn’t make it in the accident. They…” The lady let out a breath, “They’re gone now, Reimi.”

The child shook her head, pointing at the boxes. “No they’re not. They’re there.”

The lady ran a hand through Reimi’s hair, “R-Reimi, they’re not here anymore.”

Reimi pouted, tears starting in to well up in her eyes, “N-no they’re not,” she repeated, “They’re there! Mama and papa are there!”

The lady hugged her tight as Reimi cried. She didn’t understand why she cried, she didn’t understand why there was something feeling unfamiliar but so empty. It was a confusing time for her. There were nothing but tears from her part, she couldn’t even feel the warmth that the hug the lady was giving her. It was just… something, but she couldn’t find out why.

It was quite some time until the lady let go of her, her tearducts already too tired of all the crying she did. She sat on one spot in front of the two boxes. She could only see the photos of the smiling faces of her parents, seeming as if they were fake. When were they even taken? How was it that, someone who was smiling there, was also laying down in front of her, not breathing?

She heard a weak rattling sound from beside her, catching her attention.

There sat a boy next to her, looking a little bit older, holding a box of strawberry Pocky sticks towards her. He looked at her with an emotionless look on his face.

“Do you want some?” He asked, shaking the box again, “I won’t mind if you take some.”

Reimi sniffed once then hesitantly grabbed a piece, putting the tip in her mouth. The two children ate in silence, the only sounds heard were the crunches they made as they chewed.

“Is it good?” The boy asked as Reimi grabbed another piece.

Reimi nodded, biting the end off, “It’s good.”

“You can have it.” The boy grabbed Reimi’s vacant hand then transferred the box to her, “I don’t really like strawberries that much.”

Reimi raised a brow, “Why were you eating it?”

“I wasn’t going to,” the boy answered, “But when I saw your hair it reminded me of strawberries so I ate some.”

“What’s your name?” The boy asked.

“Reimi,” she answered, “What’s yours?”

Reimi woke up from her sleep, the most she ever had in the past few days. Eiko had offered that she would be the one to watch over Ms. Mariko the night before, Reimi being left with no choice now that Eiko and Ms. Mariko ganged up on her to get some proper rest.

“Fine,” Reimi said, giving up even if she didn’t want to, “But you’ll call me if something happens.”

“What would happen? Your doctor boyfriend walking in to have a check up?” Eiko asked teasingly.

Reimi only grunted in response, “I’ll see you in the morning, Ms. Mariko!”

Ms. Mariko only offered her the warm smile she always saw from the older woman.

Reimi let out a sigh. That smile, that smile that was identical to her father’s in a sense, was always the one thing that kept her going. She was bullied? There was the smile. She got failing grades? A smile was offered the moment she arrived at home. She was fired and rejected? A smile waited for her. It was something that charged her to make it through another day, through another obstacle in her life.

She turned to her right then picked up her phone, seeing the numerous missed calls from Eiko and a random number. She swiped them all away then read the single message that was sent to her.

Was it possible to feel so alert even if she just woke up?

•••

Throughout the first 24 years of her life, Reimi had only been broken hearted for a few times.

When her first official boyfriend broke up with her for no apparent reason, she cried for days, not bothering to leave her room. She felt like giving up. She was undesirable, meant to live alone forever, and absolutely replaceable.

Am I just another one of his petty little girls?

When she was fired at the first job that she ever had, she was just another employee upon the list of other candidates they could have, maybe even better. She felt like she was just a one-time-use tissue, ready to be thrown away any time it got too dirty.

Am I just going to keep being unstable?

When she was betrayed by the only person she had ever trusted in her life outside of the orphanage, she couldn’t bring herself to trust another soul ever again. She felt like she was just a useless little thing that could only be materialized then it was nothing again.

Am I that hard to get along with?

Nothing compared to this though. She could imagine herself going through hundreds of break ups, firing, and betrayal, but they were nothing. She should’ve known how it felt, but how could she even remember the way it hurt a decade ago?

She ran as fast as she could to the hospital room, not minding the people who were getting angry at the way she pushed to make a clear path. Her breathing was frantic and she couldn’t understand, still.

Ten years ago, she couldn’t, ten years later, still.

She flung the door open, breath hitching as she saw only two people standing in the room. Eiko came running to her, a hug waiting her, but she couldn’t feel the warmth from it. Was she even hugging her? What was happening? She couldn’t understand, not even the tears that she shed, she couldn’t understand, and it made her head hurt.

“I’m sorry.”

Hearing, the only sense that she had left, didn’t let her be so alone afterall.

She looked up to the source of the sound, the face of the familiar doctor somber.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, “She… didn’t want to. If ever it happened, Ms. Mariko-.”

“Why?” She asked weakly. Did the words even come out?

“She wasn’t going to make it either way,” the doctor answered, looking away from her, “Reimi, the surgery was successful but… she let go.”

“No,” Reimi answered, “I’m not letting this happen. Revive her. Revive her, Iishiro!”

She pushed her way from Eiko’s hug, walking up to the doctor. Anger boiled inside of her as she glared at the tall man, ordering that one thing from him.

“Revive her!” She shouted.

“Reimi,” Eiko called, holding her shoulder, but Reimi only pushed it away, not letting down.

“Iishiro, why aren’t you doing it? Aren’t you her doctor? Do something! Revive her! Right now!” Reimi yelled, her voice breaking.

Iishiro placed a gentle hand on Reimi’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated again, “She’s gone.”

“No she’s not! She’s right there, Iishiro!” Reimi contradicted, “She’s right there, why aren’t you doing something?!”

Iishiro pulled Reimi in for a hug while Reimi only slammed her fists weakly on Iishiro’s chest. Iishiro stood still, holding Reimi despite the pain he was getting from her.

“Cry it out,” he whispered, “I’m sorry, Reimi. I’m sorry.”

Reimi cried her heart out, screaming until she was left with no voice and energy to do so.

“Why aren’t you doing something?” Reimi asked weakly, “Please do something, Iishiro. Please.”

“I’m sorry,” was the only thing he could offer.

Chapter Text

Reimi had fallen asleep on his lap. He didn’t intend for the situation to happen, but Reimi didn’t stop crying and he had no choice but to let her rest, even just for a little bit. He didn’t mind though, he was on his break and there was someone else in need of him more than he needed silence. He ran his hand gently through her hair, a calming action that he always loved to feel, and maybe Reimi wanted to feel it too so he shared the sensation.

Ms. Mariko had been brought out of the room quite some time ago, even before Reimi had fallen asleep. It was a struggle not to let her fight for Ms. Mariko’s body. Watching the whole thing was painful, even for Iishiro who was no one but Ms. Mariko’s surgeon. Reimi’s reaction was that of a real child, making him assume of how great of a guardian Ms. Mariko is to Reimi.

There was a light knock on the door then it opened, seeing Eiko with puffed up eyes and a tired expression.

“I already picked out everything and the others are taking care of it,” Eiko said then looked over at Reimi, “How is she holding up?”

“She fell asleep just after you left,” Iishiro answered.

Eiko let out a sigh, frowning over at Reimi’s sleeping form, “She’s always like this. It’s a good thing that you made her fall asleep this time though.”

Iishiro really wasn’t trying to figure out about Reimi’s past but now that it was slowly being revealed to him, she turned out to be more than just a smiling figure in his life. And maybe he wanted to see more of it.

“Why?” He couldn’t help but ask.

“Don’t tell Reimi that I told you this,” Eiko said, grabbing a chair and taking a seat, “Reimi can’t hold extreme emotions really well. She’s very kind in nature and she’s just not used to feeling overly sad, sometimes even happy. Often times, she’d faint then wake up to cry again.”

Iishiro frowned at the information. Reimi seemed to be this jolly go-getter who would just wake up in the morning, all smiles, and ready to conquer no matter how badly things could go, not the miserable one that she really was inside. Okay, maybe Reimi wasn’t so miserable, but still, keeping such a heavy load inside wasn’t good for any one.

“She’s optimistic,” Eiko answered as if reading his mind, “She’s positive that everything will turn out fine so when she’s down she just… breaks.”

“I feel bad for her,” Iishiro answered, “She’s too kind for heartbreaks.”

“She is,” Eiko couldn’t help but agree. Reimi had such a short life but she went through so much already.

A knock on the door signalled that people were coming in. Eiko and Iishiro turned to the door as it opened slowly, three people standing outside.

“They said you’d be here,” Haku said, “Um, we have an emergency operation right now, but I don’t think you’re okay.”

The youngest turned to the other two for help.

“I’ll call over Kosato to lead,” Shiba announced, “Take as much time as you need.”

“No, it’s fine, Doctor Iishiro,” Eiko said, “I’ll take over. Reimi will be fine, don’t worry.”

“Oh, yeah, Iishiro always worry about her,” Haku started, “You know there was this one time when he only went on his rounds twice and he-.”

“I’m going, I’m going!” Iishiro said, slowly removing Reimi’s head on his lap.

“Are you not going to kiss her forehead goodbye?” Haku asked and he swore he saw a murderous look in Iishiro’s eyes.

“Get in the OR. I’ll be there in five,” Iishiro ordered, “And I expect Haku to be in scrubs by that time.”

The three doctors nodded as they rushed off to the operating room. Iishiro turned to Reimi and Eiko before leaving.

“Again, I’m so sorry,” he repeated for the umpteenth time that day, “When Reimi wakes up, please give me a call.”

Eiko nodded and the doctor went off to the operating room.

The moment Iishiro walked in, he was immediately dressed in his scrub suit. The doctors inside the actual operating room were ready, all waiting for him. He pushed the doors open, being greeted by everyone inside.

“Oh, I thought you were taking care of your girl,” Reiichi said as soon as Iishiro walked to all of them, “These three said you were busy so I was expecting maybe it was Kinta for today.”

Iishiro shook his head, “It’s fine.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Niroku stated, “If you’re serious about her, we’ll be happy for you. I can see that you are, afterall.”

Iishiro repressed a sigh, “Let’s start this, shall we?”

•••

Iishiro, Haku, and Reiichi bowed in front of the family waiting for the patient inside. The people cried loudly at the sad news that they bore to the familu, so early in the morning.

Iishiro knew. The moment that he was briefed on the operation, he knew that it was a losing battle. It was a particulary bad road accident. The rider of the bicycle, their patient, was hit and was ran over by the wheels of a truck going down the wrong way. Before the patient was even brought to the hospital, he was revived. It was successful, the part of the emergency responders, but Iishiro got the short end of the stick.

“We did the best we could,” he told the family, looking and feeling apologetic.

When the family soon left, Iishiro and the other doctors gathered inside the operating room now that the body was out. They sat on the ground next to each other, staring at the pools of blood while being covered in the same material.

“So how did Reimi take the news?” Shiba asked, knowing how to make their friend talk.

“Why do you keep on asking me about it?” Iishiro shot back, “I don’t think it’s any of our businesses to know about Reimi’s family.”

“But you like her,” Haku pointed out, “It’s obvious.”

Reiichi sighed, “If Iishiro says that he doesn’t, then he doesn’t. We don’t have to keep doing this to him.”

“Thank you,” Iishiro responded, “I’m just concerned about her now. She’s being taken care of of her friend and I just wish she’ll do better.”

“Well, you can’t help but worry, right?” Niroku stated, “I mean, we’ve all been there.”

“So anyway, there’s this university in the city who’s hiring me to be a professor,” Haku said, ultimately changing the topic, “Do you think I should grab the opportunity?”

“You’re 24,” Shiba pointed out.

“Yeah, I know, it’s my age. But that doesn’t answer whether I should or I shouldn’t take it,” Haku responded, “Do you think I should?”

“Why not?” Reiichi asked, “It doesn’t come everyday.”

“But then I wouldn’t be spending most of my days here,” Haku continued.

Iishiro shrugged, “There are chances that we shouldn’t miss, Haku. That’s all you have to keep in mind.”

“Hey, we should have lunch together,” Shiba offered, reading the gloomy and dark tone their friend spoke in, “We don’t get to have breaks at the same time so often.”

“Sure.” Reiichi nodded.

“So where will we be going?” Niroku asked.

The three started standing up but Haku just nudged Iishiro who was still deep in thought. The older man turned to Haku, looking at him with a curious look.

“Let’s go?” Haku spoke.

“I don’t feel like eating. Sorry,” Iishiro muttered, “I’ll go check up on Reimi.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to give them some time to talk about their situation?” Haku asked, “I know that you’re concerned about her, but you also have a life outside of the hospital and your job.”

Iishiro sighed, “Fine. But if she calls-,”

“Yes you can ditch all of us and go to her.” Haku said, nodding.

The two stood and followed the three out of the operating room. They headed off to their office, Reiichi already cleaning up.

Iishiro walked over to his table, rummaging through his bag for his phone. He turned it on, seeing no messages and calls.

“When are you cleaning your table?” Shiba asked, pointing at Iishiro’s used tea cups, “Why do you even have your used cups? Are you switching over to recycling or reusing?”

Iishiro shook his head, “I’m throwing them away later.”

“There’s this new ramen place across the street and I’ve been planning to go there with all of you for quite some time now,” Niroku said, “So is this our chance now?”

Everyone agreed and left the office, going over to the ramen shop for some lunch.

•••

Reimi opened the door to the orphanage, staring straight ahead. The children ran to her, greeting her.

“Big sister Rei! You’re here!” Ayako (Platelet Leader), a brunette child, greeted, a big smile on her face.

Reimi forced up a smile, together with the tears already welling up in her eyes.

“Hey everyone!” She said, sitting down as soon as she closed the door, “I missed all of you. You’ve gotten so big since I was last here.”

Reimi gathered them up, giving all of them a big hug, as much as she could.

“We missed you too,” Ayako responded, “Are you gonna leave again?”

Reimi shook her head no, “N-no, I’m not. I’m gonna stay. Big suster’s gonna take care of all of you.”

The children cheered loudly at the news. That just meant that they had another playmate in the house, which was always nice. Since the last three months, so many of them have been leaving, reducing their number from 25 to 10, and many were still expected to leave, so having another resident in the orphanage made them all happy.

“Is Ms. Mariko okay now?” Ayako asked, tilting her head to the right.

Reimi frowned, “Ms. Mariko’s… she won’t come home anymore. She’s gone.”

It was almost simultaneous that the children cried. Reimi did her best to keep tears at bay, not wanting to show the kids that she was crying too. She was there to comfort them, and to help them cope with what they would feel. Reimi knew the feeling, having lost her biological parents at such a young age, what more with the children who didn’t even meet their biological parents to begin with?

“It’s gonna be okay,” Reimi whispered to the kids (or was she just reassuring herself?), “It’s gonna be okay, kids. Big sister Rei will be here.”

The door opened and in came Eiko who only offered a weak smile to all of them.

“Come on, everyone, let’s get dressed,” Eiko said softly, “We have to see Ms. Mariko.”

Chapter Text

6:01 am

Haku stretched in his bed as the morning sun’s rays peeked through his curtains. He cursed the sun for waking him up on such a nice day. The wind outside was slowly turning chilly. It brought in a different, happier atmosphere to him. Despite already being 24 years of age, Haku was still so excited for the fall.

When fall came, it meant that winter was coming in soon, which meant that there would be snow. Tons of snow. And something that was very known of Haku was that he loved snow. The white and cold surroundings made him feel giddy and all happy and, though September had just started, he was ready for all of it.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes, then slowly stood to walk to his bathroom. It was one of the rare instances when he didn’t have to wake up as early as he usually did, though he thought that 6 in the morning was still early. He was sort of thankful for the day, given that he didn’t wake up as early as 4 and they didn’t have scheduled operations that day. Sure, he enjoyed the others’ company, and he loved practicing his work, but he also wanted some peaceful day.

And he hoped he didn’t jinx it by thinking that.

“Haku! Breakfast is ready!” A female voice called.

Haku grinned, “Coming, mom!”

•••

5:45 am

A cup of coffee on the way to work was what Shiba always needed. He had the once-in-a-lifetime chance of going into work a little bit later than his usual time of 4 in the morning, so he had extra time to stay in the coffee shop this morning. It was also some more extra time to talk to the cute bartender.

He walked up to the cashier, looking up at the menu as if thinking about what his order will be.

“I’ll have uh…”

“Iced americana?” The smiling bartender asked, a glint of teasing in her dark brown eyes.

Shiba looked to her, grinning, “Can I have that with a side of a cutie pie?”

The woman giggled, “Coming right up, Doctor Hironaka.”

“Call me Shiba,” he responded before he paid for the drinks, “So how many for the drink of the cutie pie? You’re on your break right…” he paused, looking at his watch, “Right about now, right?”

The woman nodded, finishing his orders and giving him back his change. She made his drink as he was on his way to a seat. Once the drink was finished, the woman brought it over, sitting in front of him.

“Thank you,” Shiba said as he grabbed the drink from her, “If you don’t mind, can you fill out a short survey for me?”

“I don’t,” the woman answered.

Shiba nodded, pulling out his phone from his pocket, typing for a few moments, then handing it to her. The woman looked down to his phone and saw the Save a New Contact options with the name, number, and photo slots blank. She looked up at him, meeting his sly smile, as she picked up the phone from him, typing out her details.

•••

6:15 am

Niroku went out of his office, clad in his pure white doctor’s coat. He walked over to the nurse’s station, greeting them all a good morning.

“What a lovely morning with these equally lovely nurses,” he said, a huge smile on his face.

The nurses giggle amongst themselves as the doctor tried to “enchant” them with his words (as he once put it with the others). They all shared a laugh until Niroku felt something slap him on the top of his head.

He turned around quickly, glaring at whoever it was, then saw Reiichi standing there, unamused.

“Iishiro’s going through a hard time and you’re here flirting with the nurses,” Reiichi stated nonchalantly, taking a sip from his barley tea, “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“There aren’t any operations going on,” Niroku stated, “And besides, you’re not doing anything either.”

“I’m stopping you from distracting them from their jobs,” Reiichi countered, “Really, Niroku, don’t you have anything better to do?”

Niroku sighed, being asked the same time and still not having an answer.

“Well what does Iishiro going through a hard time have anything to do with me? We all know Iishiro, he never liked to bring others to his problems,” Niroku explained.

“Didn’t you hear, Doctor Izumi? Doctor Mikami’s patient died this morning,” a nurse told the two of them, “And it’s the patient with the visitor he’s always with. That girl who was always getting lost?”

“Reimi, was it?” Niroku asked Reiichi, turning to him, “Didn’t we just operate on the woman though?”

“Yes but her death wasn’t because of the operation,” Reiichi answered, “Cardiac arrest at three in the morning. They said neither Iishiro nor Reimi were around. I don’t think Reimi’s even here yet.”

The nurse shook her head, “No she isn’t. They tried calling her but she’s not answering. The poor girl’s been here for a few days though, I’d understand if she isn’t awake at this hour.”

“Good morning, everyone!” Junko (Dendritic Cell), the Medical Director, greeted with a bright smile.

All the nurses and doctors around bowed at him, greeting him a good morning back.

“What brings you two here?” Junko asked.

“We were just making rounds, Doctor Hirota,” Niroku answered, “You know, we get inspired very much by Doctor Mikami.”

Junko nodded, “Mhm. Doctor Mikami’s a good doctor. Very good in learning a lot from him.”

“He was just talking with the nurses,” Reiichi said before walking away, leaving a shocked Niroku and an amused Junko.

“I know that,” Junko responded with a weak laugh, “It’s alright to talk to your workmates, Doctor Izumi. Afterall, nobody needs the scrub tech of the operationg room right now. You’re technically free.”

“Well, enjoy the rest of your morning,” Junko said, “And if you see Doctor Mikami around, please tell him that he needs to go to my office. Thank you!”

The director walked away, letting the nurses and doctor breathe again. It wasn’t that Junko was strict, it was just that he was scary. His always smiling and kind demeanor hid a personality like no other, something the workers didn’t want to tap into. Let’s just say that Junko… has his way on “motivating” his workers.

•••

7:12 am

Haku arrived just a little bit before he was supposed to be late. It was really bad etiquette to be late in his workplace, moreso since he was just starting his work. He needed to show everyone that he deserved to stay in the hospital and that he deserved to get the position of being an intern, most especially, Iishiro’s intern.

It wasn’t really much of a big deal to him, but to others, Iishiro was the greatest surgeon they had ever had in the history of the hospital. He was diligent, always on time, did the job right and quickly, and almost always never made mistakes. He was there when called upon, he was there when he didn’t even need to be there. He always went the extra mile. Haku was thankful that Iishiro was his mentor, hoping to someday be as great as him.

He was determined to someday build a team as great as Iishiro’s and be a great doctor everyone admired. His job certainly wasn’t easy, but he loved it, and he wanted to do it since the day he first stepped into medical school.

He greeted some nurses along the way to the office. The hospital staff were kind to him, even though he was just a newbie. They didn’t try to make him do unnecessary things, unlike when he had his student internship. In the real world, he got the opportunities to do real things, such as assist on an operation, so he was very thankful.

Once he reached the office, he opened in and saw the other doctors inside, all too busy reading or being on their phones.

Haku approached Shiba at his table, sitting down in front of the older doctor.

“So why are you so busy?” Haku asked, trying to catch the other doctor’s attention.

“Texting,” Shiba answered as he continued typing, not even minding to look at the younger one.

“You know, we should be working,” Haku reminded him, “Not texting someone.”

“I know, but I got the number of this cute girl from the shop I always go to,” Shiba responded, taking a split second look off his phone to Haku, “You probably won’t understand.”

“No, not really,” Haku responded, “Well, if you’re so busy then I’ll just-.”

The door slammed open and in came Reiichi and Niroku who were both shrugging off their coats.

“Haku, Shiba!” Reiichi called, “Get Iishiro. We have an emergency operation.”

“I jinxed it,” Haku muttered before running off to the most familiar hospital room to all four of them.

Chapter Text

Reimi sat at the front seat, Ms. Mariko’s casket in front of her. The situation seemed too familiar to her, only before, she didn’t know what a casket was. The children were all together being entertained by Eiko. Reimi only wanted silence and solidarity, some things she didn’t always have.

Eiko had to knock some sense into her brain. Reimi couldn’t keep on being miserable now that she was taking care of the orphanage and the children. Nobody else were going to be with her, just her and the kids, so she had to be strong about all of it.

Her phone buzzed as it received another text message from the number she never bothered to save. It had been three days since she received the first message but she still hasn’t responded. With a sigh, she swiped the screen open to see what Iishiro had to say this time.

It wasn’t that Reimi was mad at him, it was just that she didn’t have the energy to respond to his texts or calls. She felt guilty though. Iishiro didn’t deserve this kind of treatment. He was a kind guy who only had the best intentions for her, and now she was giving him the cold shoulder.

She sighed, starting to type up her response, when someone sat next to her. There were so many seats available, why did this one have to sit right there? Annoyed, she turned to her right to see the stranger who was next to her.

“Iishiro,” she whispered, shocked that the doctor was there in the darkest clothing she had ever seen him wear, “What are you doing here?”

“It’s my day off,” Iishiro answered, “And I wanted to pay my respects to Ms. Mariko.”

Reimi nodded, closing her phone and placing it on her lap. “Iishiro,” she whispered, “I’m sorry for not responding.”

“I understand,” Iishiro responded before offering her an open box, “I was looking for a strawberry flavored one but they didn’t have one and that one time you told me that I have nice taste in ice cream so I guessed you like green tea.”

“Pocky?” Reimi asked, looking down at the box.

“You’re someone who likes sweets, right?” Iishiro asked, “I thought maybe it would make you a bit happier if you got something you liked.”

Reimi stared in disbelief. Here was the guy she didn’t bother responding to in the past few days, offering her something to make her happy. How lucky was she to get someone like Iishiro to be her friend?

“Thank you.” She replied, grabbing a piece from the box then he did the same.

“What did you want to talk about?” Reimi asked, not looking at Iishiro.

“The words that she left for you,” Iishiro answered, “I was on my way out of the hospital when she had her arrest so I still attended to her. While Eiko was pulled out of the room, Ms. Mariko… she asked me some favors.”

“Iishiro. Reimi… tell her this… for me.”

Ms. Mariko’s words rang over and over in his mind like the plague. Between the two days that Reimi wasn’t responding, he was thinking of how he would tell her everything Ms. Mariko left to him. It was a precious memory he had to bring and deliver to the person who was intended to receive it.

“She wanted you to take care of the children,” Iishiro said with a small smile, “But I guess you’ve been doing just that?”

Reimi nodded, “I’m planning to be the orphanage mother. No one’s gonna be left behind, and I don’t have a job, so, I guess there’s a career.”

“That’s actually a good idea,” Iishiro said, “There are still… how many?”

“Ten of them. But two are leaving at the end of the month,” Reimi explained, “Problem is, I’m not the best mother around so I don’t know how it’s gonna work.”

Iishiro shrugged, “I don’t think someone as caring as Ms. Mariko would choose you to take care of the kids if you’re not good at it.”

“She trusts everybody,” Reimi pointed out, “Didn’t you notice that?”

Iishiro chuckled, “I did.”

“So what were the others?” Reimi asked.

“She gave me her bank account number. I’ll text you all the details,” Iishiro answered, “And she really hoped that you’d grow better, even if she wouldn’t be around to see it.”

Reimi’s tears dropped down her cheeks, leaving wet trails behind them.

“She really loves you,” Iishiro continued in a hushed tone.

“Did you tell her that I love her?” Reimi asked, keeping her voice to a minimum lest the children would hear her.

Iishiro nodded before he rubbed Reimi’s back, “As a doctor, I always see the visitors of my patients like this. So many people died in my hands, you know? And it always hurt, but you know what they had in common? There was always the willingness to continue living for their relative.”

Iishiro let out a weak sigh, “I know that you just want to be alone for some time, and I really understand, but what about the kids?”

Reimi nodded, “I’ll try.”

“I’m sure Ms. Mariko would love that,” Iishiro said, giving her a smile.

“Iishiro… one last thing,”

Iishiro furrowed his brows. He knew that Ms. Mariko was pushing herself to speak. She shouldn’t speak if she wanted to live. He could handle this easily.

“Help Reimi be independent. But watch her every step.”

“What? I… that doesn’t make sense,” Iishiro muttered.

There was a loud long beep but he felt like he couldn’t hear it. His mind only registered Ms. Mariko’s words and how he could fulfill their promises.

“T-Time of death,” he started off weakly, “Three sixteen A. M.”

He felt like he couldn’t breathe with the horrible memory that somehow overshadowed every horrible memory he had ever had. He wasn’t like this at the first moment he lost a person through surgery. There was guilt behind the first one but it was gone in a few days. But this one, Ms. Mariko’s, it felt like her death made a mark so deep in his heart that it would never heal.

He couldn’t even bear the thought of Reimi actually being there at her time of death. He was very much thankful that Eiko was there that night; he was sure Eiko would somehow accept it easier than Reimi would.

His attention was caught by a child walking up to him, offering him a cup of tea.

“Big sister Eiko said that I should give this to you, mister,” the child said, smiling brightly at him despite the situation.

Most days he envied children. They knew of the situations that they faced, whether they were good or bad, but they somehow always faced it with a positive attitude and with a light, forgiving heart. He wished Reimi would someday have that again.

Iishiro smiled back at the child, accepting the drink, “Thank you.”

“Big sister Rei, are you crying?” The child asked, genuine worry written over her expressions.

Reimi shook her head, wiping away the tears quickly, “No. No I’m not, Ayako. Go ahead and play with the others.”

The child, Ayako, nodded, running off to the other children.

“They’re sweet,” Iishiro stated.

Reimi looked up at him, “The drink?”

Iishiro shook his head no, “The children. I feel like they’ll make life easier for you.”

“Taking care of kids isn’t exactly a walk in the park,” Reimi stated.

Iishiro nodded in agreement, “I don’t think I know so much about parenting but I’m guessing it’s pretty hard.”

“Yeah,” Reimi responded, “But they’re just kids in the end, they can’t take care of each other.”

“Remember that day at the train when we met?” Iishiro started.

“What about it?” Reimi asked.

“When you almost fell down, I wasn’t there to catch you. I saw you stumbling so I went over to help you, but I guess I was a little too late,” Iishiro stated, “But there’s still someone who will be there to help you up. The kids are here, and so is Eiko. I… hope I’ll get to see you stand up again.”

“You can fall down, you can get hurt,” Iishiro said, placing his hands on his lap, “But you have to get up. Promise me that you’ll get up.”

Reimi looked up to meet Iishiro’s eye before nodding. He let out a weak breath before moving to stand but Reimi quickly grabbed his hand before he could go.

“Promise me that you’ll be there when I do,” Reimi whispered, boring her eyes into him.

How could Iishiro even say no to that adorable yet helpless look. He offered her a weak smile before nodding.

“We’ve been bumping into each other a lot before, there’s no way we won’t in the future,” he responded, squeezing her hand, “I’ll be here, Reimi.”

Reimi stood up quickly then threw her arms around him, relishing in the body warmth that the other offered. Reimi was always a touchy person, Iishiro noted. Though he wasn’t one, it didn’t mind him that much. He knew how much Reimi needed it, and since he made a promise to both her and Ms. Mariko, he was ready to play the part.

“Thank you,” she whispered, “And please… please always be here.”

•••

Iishiro was slumped in his chair, staring at the phone that he held in his roght hand. He let out a sigh, still not knowing how to respond to Reimi’s message.

It had been a little over two months since Ms. Mariko’s funeral, and he still can’t shake off the guilt that cane along with it. He couldn’t help but think that he could’ve done something more to prolong the woman’s life, but after everything, he wasn’t God to bring the dead back to life.

Reimi, to summarize it all, had improved greatly. She was still clinging to the thought of Ms. Mariko most of the time but she was getting better and better as she took care of the children. She had seven children left to care for, and five already had pending cases and were getting ready to be adopted soon.

He often visited the children and he absolutely adored all of them, seeing how sweet and caring they are. He could even see a part of Reimi in them, something that they probably all picked up from Ms. Mariko. It was nice to see, in a sense.

“Are you going to respond?” Haku asked, dragging his chair towards the older doctor, “You know, Reimi is really nice and really cute. You wouldn’t mind if I took her out on a date, right?”

Iishiro just gave his fellow worker a tired look, knowing that Haku didn’t really have the guts to do so.

“What’s up with you?” The doctor asked, “I know that you were tired with the event, but didn’t we do this about three months ago as well? You weren’t as tired.”

“I’m worried,” Iishiro explained.

“Worried about what?” Haku raised a brow.

Iishiro shoved his phone to Haku’s hands. The younger one looked down at the screen, reading the conversation.

“There’s nothing wrong with this,” Haku stated.

Iishiro sighed then muttered, “Of course you’re not going to notice it.”

“Well I mean thanking someone is normal,” Haku responded, “So I don’t see why you’re worried.”

Iishiro let out another sigh then the door opened, letting Reiichi enter. He took one good look over at his friend before frowning a bit.

“You should stop overthinking about Reimi,” Reiichi stated, “From what you already told me before, she’s doing her best, and you shouldn’t think so much about it.”

“But I don’t think I can just let her go like that,” Iishiro reasoned.

“Who said that you should?” Reiichi asked, "All I’m saying is that you’re not her parent. You’re her friend, and a potential partner, given than any single male out there is her potential partner.

“You’re not supposed to leave her behind if you don’t feel like it, but you’re also not supposed to help her take every step. Just watch her. Reimi’s a grown woman, she can take care of herself,” Reiichi stated.

Iishiro’s phone dinged once, catching all their attentions. Haku turned to the gadget in his hand then grinned brightly.

“Iishiro!” Haku exclaimed, placing the phone on the table to show it to his friend, “She just asked you out!”

Chapter Text

Reimi would always admit that she was an understanding friend. She knew that Iishiro’s job wasn’t a joke and that he could respond quickly one moment and then don’t respond until five hours later the next. His schedule was an unpredictable mess and she understood if he wouldn’t text back as quickly as she did.

She was about to send another message about bringing the children with her since he looked so fond of the kids earlier when Ayako knocked on her bedroom door. Reimi got up and opened the door for the child and saw her hugging her pillow.

“Can I sleep with you, big sister?” Ayako asked, sniffing all the while.

Reimi gave her a smile then made her enter the room, “What’s wrong, Ayako?”

“I’m sad,” Ayako answered, “Is it true that only me and Akio would be left this month?”

“Well,” Reimi hesitated in answering. She never told the children who were about to be left behind at first, but it only made things complicated so she opened up. At the beginning, it was hard for the children and it was hars for her to see that they were leaving one by one, but if it was for a better future, Reimi wouldn’t give a secons glance. “It’s true. Only you and Akio left.”

“Will you give us away too?” Ayako’s eyes welled up, “Please don’t give me away.”

Reimi carried the child and placed her on the bed, holding her tight, “Ayako, I don’t give any of you away. There are families out there who want adorable kids like you.”

“Why don’t they just get from other stores?” Ayako asked, “They keep getting my family.”

Reimi couldn’t help but chuckle weakly, “Ayako, when you get adopted, it means that you will have a new family but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t family anymore. I can still see you from time to time.”

“But I wanna stay here,” Ayako stated, “I don’t wanna leave.”

Reimi frowned, “Remember the kind lady from yesterday? The one with the really pretty dress?”

Ayako nodded, letting out an ‘Mhm’.

“Well that kind lady is looking for a kid and I can see that she’s a good mom. She already has three kids but she wants just one more little girl,” Reimi explained, running her fingers through Ayako’s hair, “And then I said, I have just the perfect little girl for you.”

Ayako bit down on her lip, “Do you not want me anymore, big sister?”

“No, no, it’s not that. It’s just that… Ayako, I love you. I love all of you, but I’m not your mom, I’m just someone who’s finding a mom for you. And she’ll be coming back soon so she can meet you. I bet you’d be happy to meet her!” Reimi offered a smile.

“But you’re not going to forget me?” Ayako asked.

“No, I’m still gonna love you even if you have a different mom,” Reimi answered.

“Aren’t you going to be sad when you’re alone here?”

Reimi stopped, her frown dropping. Was she? Didn’t she just told herself that she’d dedicate her whole life to be the mother of these kids? What would happen next if there weren’t any more kids?

She stared at Ayako who was still waiting an answer from her. She didn’t snap out of her stupor until she felt her phone buzz from behind her on the bed. She jumped up slightly, looking at the gadget then back at the child.

“Big sister Rei, are you okay?” Ayako asked, placing her tiny hand on Reimi’s.

Reimi forced up a smile, “Yeah! I’m okay, Ayako. A-and I’m not going to be sad because if you all have new families then that means that you’re happy. And if you’re happy, I’m happy.”

Ayako took this as an answer then nodded. She laid down on the bed, before she even asked for Reimi’s permission. Reimi chuckled a bit. Ayako was the closest of all to her, always sneaking in her room so they could sleep together when Reimi was still around at the orphanage. And the habit didn’t die.

“It’s late. We should be asleep,” Reimi said, lying down next to the girl.

Ayako gave Reimi another smile before she closed her eyes, letting sleep redeem her. Reimi frowned then grabbed her phone, only then realizing her message.

•••

In bed, Iishiro held onto his phone, waiting for Reimi to respond. An hour had passed, he got home, got dressed for bed, and was about to sleep. And yet Reimi still had to respond.

He didn’t know what went through Reimi’s head, suddenly asking him out like that, but Haku said that it was probably better for him to take the wheel this time.

“Iishiro, no offense, but I feel like you’re letting Reimi do all the things here,” Haku said and he did make a very good point.

Reimi was the first to offer to buy him something and she’d been treating him nonstop. Reimi was always this kind girl who was willing to give everything to someone.

“You’re right.” Iishiro had an epiphany then as he grabbed his phone and typed out his response, “Should I just text her or should I call her?”

“A text would be fine, so she’d have time to think about it. Well, wait, she wouldn’t ’cause she invited first. Just think of it as time for her to call her friends and spread the good news.” Haku explained.

Iishiro rolled his eyes. He really didn’t want it spreading this early, but was he even ready to say it out loud? He didn’t know if he could and, though it went against with what he wanted his first dates would be like, he had no choice right now. And besides, what if Reimi was asleep?

Still though, it didn’t stop him from holding his phone to his face, waiting for a single text, even just a simple “K” from Reimi.

Or maybe he read her text wrong? Maybe she wasn’t asking him out? Maybe it was just two friends having lunch?

Iishiro gasped at the realization, making him sit down in shock as he geasped his phone, reading the text over and over. In no way did Reimi explicitly say that she wanted to have a lunch date with him. It just said lunch. Two people could have lunch together and not have a romantic relationship. He messed up, and it was all Haku’s fau-.

Ding

•••

Reimi blushed deeply at Iishiro’s message. He just asked her out. What?

She had to suppress a pretty loud scream at this point so as to not wake Ayako up. Biting down on her lip, she typed up a response, only erasing it after a few minutes of staring.

She re-read the message again. He was really asking her out. It wasn’t odd, people have been pointing out that they looked so compatible to each other and she knew that the other doctors liked teasing the two of them so maybe it was bound to happen afterall?

If she had to admit, there was this tinge of admiration that she felt towards Iishiro from the day they met. He was so kind and caring especially to strangers. Maybe it was just his nature, which actually made it better. If someone was caring to people he didn’t know, then he was bound to treat those he knew better, right?

She stared at the screen again, seeing that almost one hour had passed since she started texting and deleting her messages. Reimi took a deep breath, finally settling with a simple “Sounds nice!”.

•••

Iishiro smiled a bit, immediately responding that he was going to pick her up. It wasn’t much of a hassle for him. He had a car and Reimi lived less than thirty minutes away. And besides, it would be easier to wait for her outside of her home than awkwardly staying at a place if in case he came a bit earlier than their expected time.

Still though, it was just lunch. Well, for now. It was lunch that two adults planned to have together.

“It’s just lunch.” Iishiro breathed, finally settling to sleep.

•••

The moment Reimi opened her eyes was the moment that something absolutely unbelievable happened.

She was lying down on her bed, body facing the supposed space where Ayako would be sleeping, only the child wasn’t there anymore.

She stared at the woman lying on the bed, staring back at her with the sweetest smile she had ever seen. Were her eyes deceiving her?

“Ms. Mariko,” she whispered, still not believing.

Reimi wanted to touch the woman but she was afraid that Ms. Mariko would somehow disappear if she did. At some point, she realized that there was something wrong. Ms. Mariko was gone so she couldn’t understand why she was there. Wasn’t she…

“Ms. Mariko,” she repeated, “Are you real?”

“Can I not be real though?” Ms. Mariko responded.

“Ms. Mariko,” it seemed like it was the only thing she could ever say.

“Reimi,” Ms. Mariko responded, “You’re holding on to me a bit too much.”

“I-I’m not holding you at all,” Reimi replied but she only earned a gaze from Ms. Mariko, “I don’t want to lose you.”

“You’re not.” Ms. Mariko placed a hand on Reimi and the younger woman almost flinched, “You’re not going to lose me, ever. But you’re going to lose yourself if you keep this up.”

“B-but I-,”

“Reimi,” Ms. Mariko said sternly, "Reimi, my dear, you can’t hold on to people forever, but you can hold on to their memories.

“You’ve healed well from your parents, and you’re going to heal well from this,” she continued, “I was so afraid to leave you behind, Reimi. I thought that if I wasn’t there behind you, you’d go around getting lost. And you did.”

Reimi could feel tears on her face but they didn’t feel real, “Ms. Mariko…”

“Remember when we found Ayako?” Ms. Mariko offered her sweet smile, "She was so scared. How many three-year olds do you see begging for money?

“She was afraid of the world, she was afraid of us, but she was more afraid of not having to live,” The woman continued, “Do you still remember what she said?”

“I don’t have food to eat and I don’t have a house. I’m scared of people, I’m scared of you,” Reimi recited as if the words were told just a little bit earlier, “I didn’t do anything wrong, please don’t hurt me.”

“But did she give up?” Ms. Mariko asked.

“No,” Reimi muttered, “But she had you to take care of her.”

“Who’s saying that someone isn’t taking care of you right now?” Ms. Mariko asked and Reimi fell silent.

“Eiko’s not around,” Reimi said, “She travels a lot and doesn’t stay often.”

“There’s a brave soul out there waiting for you to stand up again but until you do, they’re sitting right next to you, keeping you company,” Ms. Mariko said, “You don’t want to keep them waiting forever. There are people who are going to stay with you and help with all this. You’re not alone, Reimi. I’m still here.”

Reimi nodded, relishing in Ms. Mariko’s words. It made her feel lighter than what she was experiencing.

“I can’t promise,” Reimi said, “But I’ll try.”

She blinked once and Ms. Mariko wasn’t there anymore.

Reimi felt herself rising to consciousness. She opened her eyes, seeing the dark ceiling. She turned to her right and saw Ayako sleeping soundly. Reimi grabbed her phone and checked the time, seeing that barely an hour passed since she fell asleep.

She let out a deep breath, staring at the dark ceiling.

“It was a dream,” she muttered.

Reimi tried very hard to recall what it was all about. All she remembered was that Ms. Mariko was there. She couldn’t remember what Ms. Mariko said or what she wanted the red head to remember. It hurt her that she couldn’t recall the words but she couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved.

Reimi slipped a small smile as she closed her eyes again to let sleep reclaim her.

Ms. Mariko was watching, she really was. And somehow, everything was going to be fine.