InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ One Last Dance ❯ Doctor Doctor ( Chapter 2 )

Rin slowly opened her eyes, instantly regretting the action as blinding light filled her vision. Reaching her hand up to try to block out the hellish light, Rin felt the familiar tug of an IV in her skin. She grimaced, why was she in a hospital? Then it hit. Not the realization, but the pain. She felt as if someone had just taken a sledgehammer to her head. The familiar groggy feeling told her that painkillers were at work. She sighed; Rin always asked for no painkillers, she hated this half awake, half asleep feeling. It made it impossible for you to hold a witty conversation. Such a shame.

 

Looking at the clock she waited for the doctor to come in. Then, turning her head, Rin took in her surroundings and couldn't help but smile softly. Everything was so familiar, even though Rin was positive she had never stepped foot in this room before. Then again, it was a private room in the emergency room, so they all looked the same. These rooms were saved especially for patients that the press might find interesting to photograph whilst in a drug-induced sleep. Why anyone would want to look at a celebrity while they were on conscious was beyond Rin, but that didn't stop the paparazzi from snapping pictures of them.

 

The SP rooms, which stood for “special patients”, were mostly all a like. Save for the wallpaper. This room was painted in green pastels with little birds flying off somewhere. Tapping her fingers against her stomach, Rin was already bored with being in the bed. Call ADHD, but Rin was never good at sitting still for long periods of time. Thankfully, Rin had begun to get use to the throbbing pain that pierced through parts of her body. Sliding over to the side, she slipped out of the bed and onto the freezing cold floor. Rin had already come to the conclusion that hospital deliberately made their floors so cloud so patients wouldn't escape. Ignoring this discomfort, Rin walked over to the wall, placing her hand on the picture of the birds, the corners of her lips tilted upwards into a soft smile, her eyes unfocused as she began to reminisce.

 

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Sesshoumaru stared at the clock in disbelief. It seemed far-fetched to think that he had really been at the hospital for fifty-two hours straight, demon doctor or not, that was a long time. It felt like less. Sesshoumaru schooled his expression back to the blank mask he normally wore as he thought. First he had gone into the lab at some ungodly hour in the morning, hoping to get more work done on his thesis before he left, and the next thing he knew it was ten pm. It was all Jakan's fault. If that pathetic toad of an assistant could actually do something besides brake things, ask questions, and brown nose, Sesshoumaru might get something done. The man bristled at the thought. Sesshoumaru really needed to find help that was less incompetent. Starch that. He would just do it himself. Having someone delay his work any longer was the last thing Sesshoumaru needed.

 

Another thought crossed his mind, and it was a rare type of thought indeed. A non-work related thought. He had missed dinner with the group again. They had been on for dinner at the Hinichi at seven. Inhaling deeply through his nose, he turned around. His brother would be angry again, tonight was the night that Sesshoumaru was suppose to meet InuYasha's girlfriend. Apparently, InuYasha was pretty serious about this one. Which had initially surprised Sesshoumaru. His half brother normally had problems letting people get close to him; he had always been stubborn, which resulted in shoving people even further away. Not this girl, though. The big shocker was the fact that they had been dating for almost a year. Sesshoumaru frowned, just a little, at this. It seemed like Sesshoumaru should have known about her before his brother decided to get serious. InuYasha claimed that he had told Sesshoumaru all about her, many times. Yet Sesshoumaru only had vague memories of his brother ranting about something. If it had been a girl or even a crime, Sesshoumaru had honestly no idea. InuYasha had even said he arranged dates so that his elder brother could meet the girl, but every time Sesshoumaru had blew them off. Angered by this, Sesshoumaru had disagreed, which had launched the two Inu brothers into another one of their infamous fights.

 

Sesshoumaru grabbed the logbook. Even after the fight, Sesshoumaru still hadn't believed his younger sibling. That is, until he had checked his calendar. Ten times InuYasha had planned meetings with this girl. How had Sesshoumaru missed this? He pondered this for a minute or two, until he was shaken from his thoughts by the pestering of another doctor. Sesshoumaru turned abruptly and glared at the person who had spoken.

 

“What?” He snapped at her, only to realize it was one of his colleagues, and at one time, girlfriend. His gaze didn't soften, but he did apologize. “Forgive me, Ukina-sensei, what is it you wanted?” He didn't use her first name. They weren't dating anymore, and since she had left him, all formalities were back.

 

Her lips turned up, ever so slightly. Despite the breakup, she had always had a soft spot for the man, and could tell that he hadn't slept in a while. Then again, who wouldn't grow attached to him? Toshio Sesshoumaru was no doubt on of the best doctors in Japan, possibly the world. Having been published many times while still in school, an compliment almost unheard of, he had been quickly hired right out of collage. From there, the fact that most of his research projects had been heralded as “Medical accomplishments of the modern world” was beyond impressive. Not to mention that Sesshoumaru already came from one of the most well known families through out Japan. His father owned Toshio Inc. a huge technology developing corporation, which some consider a mini-monopoly of sorts—due to just how much the Toshio's actually control. As if that wasn't enough to get girls looking, Sesshoumaru was also uncannily handsome. Long silky sliver locks which the man tied back during work hours. Kagura knew that his hair fell all the way to his rear. Odd for a man, and some may even say feminine, but the man standing before her was no more feminine then she was masculine. His strong chin, and slightly pointed nose off set the delicate shape of his eyebrows, making it clear that he was indeed male. Add the fact that he was easily pushing five eleven (tall for a Japanese male), with broad shoulders and a lean frame; this was defiantly a man standing before you.

 

His eyes were another story. Bright burning orbs of gold once held a passion in them, that when sparked, could rival even the sun's hottest flames. He hadn't always been this cold emotionless basterd that so many now avoided at all costs. True, he had always been quiet and aloof, but once you broke past that, you were faced with a compassionate man who enjoyed going to dinners in cafés, staying up all night talking with his friends, Not really enjoying, but still watching overtly violent movies with a boys, and a man who could be surprisingly romantic when you least suspected it. Obviously that had changed.

 

Kagura bristled at the thought. It was his work. He had berried himself in it when he had come up with a new theory. At first it hadn't been so bad, but it never stopped—the late nights, the irritability, the glares. It had only been recently that Kagura had figured out this research was in vein to save the last connection Sesshoumaru had with his father. Kagura had been meaning to say something to Sesshoumaru about that, but now was not the time to get personal, and Kagura turned her attention back to work. She handed him a clipboard.

 

“Could you take a look at this? The patient's normal doctor went home about an hour ago. All I need is for you to just take a look at her and make sure she didn't break anything,” she said, handing the stoic man beside her the clipboard.

 

Sesshoumaru took it, making it a point not to touch her hand as he did. Flipping the page up, he scanned the contents. Not taking his eyes away from the page he asked, “Why would she have broken anything?” His eyes finally lifted from the paper. His thoughts reaming solely on the work ahead, it was no time to get desecrated by the past. Although, as far as information went, these papers told him absolutely nothing about the girl, save for her name and that she was allergic to most sedatives, and not to use painkillers. From the SP stamp on the page, Sesshoumaru guessed that this girl was someone who didn't want her ailments getting out to the press. Which basically meant that all doctors, save for her own, were kept in the dark. This made it increasingly hard to tell if something was wrong.

 

“She fell off a stage.” Kagura said, giving him a look that said she was suspicious about the whole thing. Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrow. That wasn't something you heard every day. He turned his gaze towards the door. He knew that the look Kagura had given him meant that she wanted him to tell her who exactly was in there, and what was going on. Kagura hated being uninformed, and if it weren't for her own overload of cases, she would be in there finding out everything about the girl. The fact that Sesshoumaru was better with confidentiality, meant he was chosen more often to visit the SP rooms. Much to Kagura and the other doctors dismay.

 

Without another word, Sesshoumaru turned toward the SP ward. He had never told her much about the people in these rooms, and he would be damned if started telling her anything now. Sesshoumaru wrapped his knuckles on the door, before pushing it open. His gaze landed on the bed, only to find it empty. He froze. Losing your patient was bad. About to turn and call for security, he suddenly noticed the girl by the wall. He released a breath. At least now he wouldn't have to fill out the paper work. Coming into the room, he closed the door, an eyebrow raised as the girl still stood staring at the birds, unfazed by the fact that he had just entered the room. Clearing his throat, he waited for her to turn around, but she stayed still, watching the wall and rubbing it, as if it were a cherished pet. He took note of the easy movement of her limbs and, turning to the clipboard, wrote that she didn't appear to have broken anything, but seemed to be a little out of it.

 

“Don't they look like they could really fly?”

 

If Sesshoumaru had been anyone else, he might have jumped at the suddenness of her question, but as it was, only his eyebrow twitched. Why hadn't she responded before?

 

“Excuse me?” He said, trying to keep the disdain out of his voice as he scratched out the “unresponsive” part. The girl laughed, a sweet sound, like chimes in the wind, causing him to look up at her.

 

“The birds… On the wall? Don't they look as if they could fly right out of the wall?” She paused “I think they would go to the beach. I love the beach, Although, I've never been to the beach in Japan. Isn't that funny? I've lived here on and off my whole life, and I've never been to the beach on an island?” That laugh again, and a smile. Sesshoumaru was slightly taken aback by all the information she had given him. Glancing at the sheet of paper, he noticed they had put her on painkillers against her request. Maybe she got loopy on them, which is why she had asked not to have them. That could explain why she was so…bubbly was the first word that came to mind, deranged being the second.

 

“It's just wallpaper” He said, signaling to her that he wanted her on the bed. Glancing at the wall, he had to admit that he had never noticed the birds before. He had been in this room hundreds of time, and yet he had never seen them. He frowned at that thought. What did he care? It was only paper. “Tell me about falling off the stage,” He said aloud, poised to write down her response.

 

Rin watched him as he scribbled away, obviously irked by something she had said. When he made the motion towards the bed, she had complied; hopping on the thin rock they called a mattress. She tilted her head to the side when he said that thing about the wallpaper. Pausing, she watched as he moved to take her blood pressure. Holding out her arm for him, she studied him for a moment before replying.

 

“I guess I must have passed out from over working myself,” Rin smiled at him as she continued, “I tend to do that a lot. Plus I haven't eaten anything for, well, a while. Maybe breakfast.” Sesshoumaru nodded as he jotted done her blood pressure score and her answer. After another pause, Rin continued. “It doesn't matter if they're just paper… The Artist captured the life that the real objects hold. Bringing out the animal and its sorrowful joy” She saw him pause and look up at her.

 

Was she on crack? That was the only question that ran through Sesshoumaru's mind. He really needed to stop talking to his neighbor, Shippou. He was picking up the younger man's habits, and beginning to use the same phrases. Still, Sesshoumaru jotted down that he wanted to run a tox screen on her. Just in case. Reaching over to the drawer, he didn't break eye contact with her. Opening the drawer, he pulled out the thermometer and, handing it to her, studied her as she stuck it under her tongue. After it beeped, he took it away and recorded that her temperature was normal.

 

“That's an oxymoron. Sorrowful joy? That makes no sense,” He finally said, causing Rin to frown at him. He raised an eyebrow. What did she want from him? The truth? Okay, he thought she was in a drug-induced high and would do better if she had just stayed unconscious, would that have made her happy? No, which, in addition to the fact that he rather enjoyed the lifestyle his job afforded him, is why Sesshoumaru refrained from saying that.

 

Rin sighed, crossing her legs and shaking her head. “It's symbolism, it doesn't have to make sense.” She pointed at the picture, “See how the birds are painted so that most of the detail is gone? They used a palate knife, It's done that way so that we aren't focused on the unimportant parts of the picture…So you can get the feel of it,” Sesshoumaru looked at the picture as she spoke, not fully understanding why he was even looking at the wall in the first place.

 

Shaking his head, he turned back to the girl. He would be adding to the clipboard that “no painkillers” shouldn't just be a request; it should be a demand. “I don't see what you're talking about. They're just drawings. On a wall. In a hospital. That's…” He was cut off by Rin's aggravated sigh, and suddenly having her head turned forcefully back towards the wall.

 

“The birds are white, and most likely doves which signal remorse and freedom. Freedom from something holding them back, Remorse from finally leaving behind whatever held them back. I wish I could go to the beach, and fly like them” Rin spoke, a small smile on her face as she looked at them. Sesshoumaru, fully peeved that this girl had yanked his head towards a meaningless picture and rambled on about something that, although, did make sense, seemed to have no relevance what so ever with the her reason for in the hospital. It seemed about time to call the psych department in for a consultation. Yet something held him back.

 

Turning around, he was about to lose his temper, hardly an unusual thing, but considering it was with a patient it would be a first for him. But when he turned he hadn't realized how close she had leaned in. So close were their faces, that Sesshoumaru could feel her breath against his lips. He struggled to remain nonchalant. The girl in front of him seemed to have no issues with personal space. She also had this far off look that sort of disturbed him. He didn't know why, but he suddenly wanted to shake the girl, make that look disappear, that vaguely sad expression that became almost haunting with that smile of…something. Sesshoumaru couldn't place it. Whatever it was, the look seemed…old. As if this girl, who could only be a few years younger then he was, knew something that he couldn't even fathom. As if she knew a secret that was only revealed with time. This bothered him. Sesshoumaru pulled away from her, and continued the examination in silence.