The Kagaijin Chronicles: Kentama

"Now look, there's no need to get so down in the dumps here," Sanjima said after a few moments of awkward silence. "I mean, you're not even going to lose the use of your leg! My boss is a genius; he saved something that most doctors would have given up on at first glance. That's something to be grateful for, don't you think?" She flinched visibly and lowered her head. Now she really did look as though she was about to cry.

"Sanji, that's enough," Kentama said quietly. "Hatoko's had a nasty shock, and I think she should get some rest. With all the things that have happened to her, I'd be worried if she weren't just a little upset. Hatoko, I'm afraid that your leg is very delicate right now, and I can't allow you to go anywhere on your own. If you'll permit me, I'll take you to the lavatory. I'm afraid that this is a small practice, and we don't have any female nurses here, but I will make sure that your privacy is maintained."

"Thank you," she replied dully. "That will be fine. I'm sure I don't have anything you've never seen before anyway." She allowed him to help her shift her legs over the side of the bed, and he carefully lifted her off the bed and into his arms. He unhooked her IV bag from the stand and looped it over one finger as he carried her to the bathroom adjoining her room.

"Sanji, you can go home for the night," he said with a dismissive nod. "I'll be here anyway, so our patient will have someone to call if she needs anything. I'll want you here bright and early tomorrow, though."

"Sure thing, Boss. Can I speak to you before I leave, though?"

"Certainly. Give me a few minutes here."

Sanjima gave a quick bow to Hatoko and left the room, heading out to the foyer to wait. Kentama set her onto the toilet seat and instructed her on how to urinate by pulling the surgical panties to one side, rather than taking them off, as she would have to put weight on her foot to do the latter. Although she blushed furiously during his explanation, she nodded and thanked him for it. He asked her to let him know when she was done, and he hung up the IV bag on the wall hook before leaving the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

When she had finished, he carried her back to the bed and did everything he could to make her comfortable, which included asking if she wanted anything special to eat or maybe some music to listen to. She politely refused his offers, and told him that she'd like to sleep for a while. Telling her how to use the emergency button on the side of her bed to call him if she needed anything during the night, he turned off her light and left her to her dreams.

"She just wants some rest now, and I think it's a sensible request," he sighed as he came out into the foyer and sunk wearily into an armchair. "I'm so relieved that she's alert and responsive! I think we can rule out brain damage at this point, unless I'm wrong about the pain medicine and she's losing her vision because of her injury. Her motor skills seem fine at least, and so do her speech and thought faculties. All that should be left is to make sure her bones knit properly."

"Kentama, what's the deal?" Sanjima demanded. "Why didn't you get angry in there? That girl hardly even thought to thank you until you reminded her that her priorities were so screwed up. She was so wrapped up in herself that the trouble you've put yourself and me through getting her put back together again didn't seem to mean a thing to her! I was sorely tempted to call her a nasty name, you know."

Kentama laughed. "I don't think it's all that surprising," he chuckled. "She hasn't had time for any of it to really sink in yet, and besides, what I did was what anyone else in my position would have done, even if they might not have had all the advantages that I, as a kagaijin, have. You make it sound as though I've been going above and beyond my role as a physician."

"Well yeah, but don't you think you sort of have?" he asked him, staring at him inquisitively. "You were going to call King Tsuyoken yourself, weren't you? Would you have done that for any other patient?"

"If they had been in such grave condition, yes," he replied slowly, arching an eyebrow. "What are you trying to get at?"

"I don't believe you. Sure, she could have lost her leg, but she wasn't in danger of losing her life. I know you, Ken. You're not the type to go hitting up someone as busy as the king for a person you don't know whose life isn't in danger. This girl has to be special somehow. Even if you haven't come to the conclusion yet yourself, don't you think it makes sense when you look at it that way?"

"I'm going to tell you this now, and I'm only going to say it once," Kentama growled, feeling frustrated at having to explain himself to people over and over again. "My interest in her is purely the interest of a doctor in the well-being of his patient. That's it. I'm not dating her; I'm not choosing her as my mate; I'm just treating her injuries. It's what I do. Understand?"

Sanjima looked long and hard at Kentama's stern, serious expression before shrugging and shaking his head. "All right then, Boss. If that's the way you feel about it, I'm not gonna argue. I just think it's funny; that's all." He got up to leave, and he yawned as he grabbed his coat on the way out. "I'll be back tomorrow morning. See you then, Boss."

"Good night. Get some rest." He watched as Sanjima closed the office door, and then he released a weary sigh. He wished everyone would stop badgering him about things they had no business butting into.

That night, as she tried to fall asleep, many unpleasant, anxious thoughts raced around in Hatoko's brain. The first of these was the fact that she had received medical treatment, but she had absolutely no way of paying for it. These people had been kind enough to treat her injuries and make her comfortable, but she had nothing to give them in return.

Secondly, she had lost all of her notes and precious data she'd collected in the past five years. She hadn't said it in front of Kenji because she hadn't wanted to hurt his feelings, but that field guide had contained all of her data in it since day one. She was totally back to square one on this. What was she going to do now?

Third, there was her parents. She needed to get in touch with them and let them know she was all right; otherwise, they'd think she'd been killed in the eruption with the other more unfortunate park patrons. She had forgotten to ask Kenji for a phone, and now that he had left her alone, she found herself suddenly too shy to press the button and call him back in. She wondered what he looked like. It occurred to her that she hadn't had a really clear look at him even once, as her vision had been hazy when they first met, and now it was even worse. She hoped he was right, and that now it was only a side-effect of some medicine. Hopefully, she'd know for sure tomorrow.

Fourth, and finally, there was a twinge of guilt nagging at her still about how callous she'd been regarding Kenji's efforts to save her. She felt terrible worrying about something like research or money when she should be dedicating every ungrateful atom of her being to thanking him. It made her feel like a complete bitch, and she didn't like the feeling. She made a resolution to be as agreeable and grateful as she could to him tomorrow. It was really all she could do, since she couldn't even pay him back. She wondered if he would be angry when he learned he had taken in a charity case. The thought upset her more than she would have expected it to, and she actually felt her face grow hot as tears threatened to emerge from her ill-behaving eyes.

"Get a hold of yourself, you twit," she whispered angrily. "He'd have every right to get angry, so you'd better just suck it up. After the tantrum you just put on, he owes you one of his own anyway."

She had these thoughts to sing her to sleep, and it wasn't any surprise that she didn't manage to drift off until the early hours of the morning. When Kentama came in to check on her at seven, he was surprised to find her groggy, bleary-eyed, and just about as ill-rested as a person could possibly be after a quiet night in bed.

"You should have called for me and asked for a sleeping aid," he chided her gently, checking her pulse and shaking his head. "It won't do to have you missing sleep like that. Were you very uncomfortable?"

"It's not that," she replied, staring at him in wonder. Thankfully, her sight had returned to her, and she was amazed by how handsome he was. He wasn't at all what she had expected. His long, straight, jet-black hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail at the back of his head, and he had a couple strands that were not quite long enough to fit, which dangled in front of his face like curved antennae. he wore small, light spectacles that gave him a stern, intellectual look, and his eyes were the most brilliant shade of green. That wasn't the best part, however. If he wasn't six feet tall, he was close to it, and his wiry, muscular build made him look every bit as powerful as one would expect a man his size to be. It was no wonder he had been able to carry her around as though she weighed nothing. Unable to keep from staring at him, she quite forgot what she had been saying.

"Well?" he asked her, confused by the way she was staring at him. "If you weren't uncomfortable, then why couldn't you sleep?"

"Oh! Well, I had a lot on my mind," she admitted, staring down at her lap and gripping her knees with her hands. "First of all, I wanted to apologize again. It was horrible of me to ignore what Mr. Sanji said yesterday about what you both did for me and how you saved my leg. I was only thinking of myself, and I completely overlooked what was really important. I just want you to know that I'm terribly grateful for what you did for me. I don't know how I can ever manage to pay you back for it. And that brings me to the other thing," she added, gripping her knees so tightly that her knuckles had begun to turn white. "I don't know how to say this exactly... you've been so kind to me, and it's just terrible..."

"Now, now, don't get upset," he said gently, smiling reassuringly at her. "I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is. What's the problem?"

"The problem is that although I'm sure that whatever it is you guys did to my leg is bound to be expensive - and you deserve every yen of what you ask for - I just can't pay you back for it. I have no money. I spent every bit of what I had left to go on that trip to Usuzan. It didn't occur to me until after you left me last night, and when it did, I just felt horrible, knowing that I was taking up space in here without any means to pay for it. If it weren't for the fact that it would have been disgraceful, irresponsible, and cowardly of me to do it, I would have tried to sneak out last night to spare you the extra trouble. As it is though, I thought I owed you the truth. You went to all this trouble for me, and you deserve the right to get angry about the situation. I'll understand if you want me to leave; I just didn't want to go without letting you know."

"Ah, now I see," he chuckled, shaking his head and staring at the ceiling. "Money. The only thing in this world that can both ensure a man's livelihood and simultaneously make him more unhappy than he might be without it. I wouldn't worry about money just yet, if I were you. Although it's true that I do charge a fee for my services here, I think we can make a bit of an exception in your case... for several reasons," he added, raising his hand as she began to protest. "Firstly, I did not ask your permission before I brought you here. You never consented to receive my services in the first place, and as such, they were rendered outside of any kind of purchasing contract. Second, yours was such a complex, difficult case that I got far more out of the knowledge I gained from the experience than I would have from any money you could give me in return. Finally," he added, smiling warmly at her, "the thanks you've given me is more valuable than money. Try not to let this get you down, Hatoko. You've done nothing wrong. Just concentrate on healing, and let the details take care of themselves."

Hatoko's eyes welled up with relieved, grateful tears, so Kentama made a show of turning around to find something in one of the cabinets over the counter. "Er... so, now that we've gotten that squared away, would you like anything to eat? You must be famished by now. I'm not exactly a chef or anything, but I've been cooking my own meals for quite a while, and I'm sure they won't poison you."

"Anything will be fine," she replied, wiping her eyes dry with her arm and beaming happily at him. "I could eat a horse. Oh, but before we eat, can I ask one huge favor of you?"

"Certainly," he laughed. "As long as it isn't to take you back to the mountain."

"No, I don't think I'll be back there for a while," she replied, smiling ruefully. "Actually, I was hoping I could borrow a phone and make a call to my parents in Sapporo. They'll have heard of the eruption by now, and since I haven't gotten in touch with them, they'll be positively frantic."

"Oh of course," he replied, tapping his forehead and laughing. "I should have thought of that yesterday too. If you'll hold on a moment, I'll get the phone. We have only one, but it's wireless, so you can use it in here while you're in bed."

He left to retrieve the phone, and Hatoko stared at her leg, which was splinted and wrapped snugly in gauze. She wondered why he hadn't put it in a plaster cast, as with most broken leg patients she'd seen before. She wondered if he had a family of his own, and if so, what his wife was like. She was sure that if he did, she'd be gorgeous. Oh, but he had said that he cooked his own meals. That didn't necessarily mean that he was unmarried, but it did seem odd...

She forgot this train of thought when he returned with the phone and handed it to her, smiling and nodding. "Just dial the number," he instructed. "It's a direct line out. I'll go and give you some privacy now."

"No, you can stay!" she exclaimed, grasping his hand as he was pulling away, causing him to stop. They froze rather awkwardly for a moment before she quickly withdrew her hand and looked down, her cheeks aflame with pink. "That is, I don't mind if you stay," she said hastily. "I might have a question for you while I tell them where I am."

"Oh. All right," he replied, laughing rather uncomfortably. "I'll just have a seat here, then." He pulled up a wheeled chair and sat down in it, folding his hands in his lap and waiting quietly for her to continue.

Feeling like a fool, she quickly dialed the number and put the phone to her ear. It rang twice, and then her mother answered. "Hi Mom, it's me!" she exclaimed. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm all right." She held the phone away from her ear as her mother went into an earsplitting explosion of emotion, screaming for joy and letting her father know that it was their daughter on the line. Hatoko grinned apologetically at Kentama, who was trying his hardest not to laugh at the clearly audible outburst coming from the receiver.

"Yes... yes, I know, Mom, I know. I should have called you yesterday. It's just that I was so busy, and I was, er... away from phones. Yes, I did. Yes, I know. It's terrible. Anyway, I'm staying at... at a friend's house. Yes, I'm going to stay here for a few more weeks, so that I can study the aftermath of the eruption. Yes, Mom. Well, I'll get back to you on that. Right now I think we're okay. Uh-huh. Right. Okay, Mom, I need to go. Yes, I've just got tons to do! Okay, Mom, I will. I love you too. Tell Dad the same. Uh-huh. Bye, Mom." She hit the "end" button on the phone and let her tensed shoulders fall slack with a heavy sigh.

"Now just what was that all about?" Kentama laughed at her. "Are you regularly in the habit of lying to your mother?"

"I didn't really plan to lie to her," she sniffed defensively. "I just kind of lost my nerve. You don't know my parents, Doctor. They worry about EVERYTHING. When I got accepted at the university and had to move into an apartment, they wanted to get me a handgun for protection. A gun! I'd more likely shoot myself by mistake with one of those things than shoot some kind of prowler. I didn't want to worry them any more than they already have been. Besides, if they come here, they'll want to pay you for what you've done for me, and I don't want them to spend any more of their pension money on me. I'll find a way to pay you back somehow, but not by mooching it off my folks."

"You sound like a very strong woman," he replied, smiling at her in understanding. "Kind, too. They must be lucky people indeed to have a daughter like you."

"Not really," she laughed in embarrassment. "So what about you? What are your parents like?"

"Mine are probably nothing like yours," he laughed, imagining what she'd think if she knew just how different they really were. "My father is a doctor, and my mother is a nurse. They're both out in Africa somewhere, teaching indigenous tribes about medicine. I hardly ever hear from them at all, which isn't surprising, since many of the places they visit don't have phones."

"That's awful!" Hatoko cried. "I mean, the part about not hearing from them. The other part is amazing!"

"Well, I'm pretty proud of them, I guess," Kentama mused. "Still, I would have liked it more if my dad wasn't such a rover. Instead of him, my grandpa left this clinic to me, knowing that I'd be less likely to abandon it. My whole family has been in medicine for generations. Anyway, sometimes I wish I wasn't stuck here all the time. I had just begun my vacation when it had to end, but that's generally how things go around here anyway. You weren't awake for it, but I've already seen three other patients today. They tend to come very early most days, but some days it's just constant work all day long. Still, it's what I love, and I guess no man can ask for better than that."

"Well, I think it's amazing," she replied shyly. "I wish I could say the same. I just can't afford to do the thing I love yet, and I'm sure it will be that way most of my life. It's hard to win funding for geology research, even something as important as volcanology. I'll be struggling to support myself for my whole life!" She laughed boldly, and he could immediately tell that it was something she had learned to accept about her profession.

"I'd say you're much bolder than I am," he commented, blinking in surprise at her sincere-sounding bravado, and then smiling at her appreciatively. "It must be hard, not knowing whether the future will bring you disaster or success, but you're still soldiering on. I have to say that I truly admire that."

She stared at him in surprise for a moment, and then she blushed again, and she tried to wave it away with a laugh. "I wouldn't call it boldness! It's more like recklessness. My parents want me to succeed, but neither one is really happy about my choice of career. Still, it's what I love, and no woman can ask for better than that, right?"

They laughed, and Kentama got up and excused himself to go make them some breakfast. While he was gone, Hatoko tried to figure out why her heart was beating so quickly, and why talking to him had made her blush so furiously.

"Easy does it there, girl," she told herself. "So what if he's drop-dead gorgeous and taller than you are? He's just being nice to you because you're his patient. Don't read anything into it that isn't there. Maybe that rock you took to the head has scrambled your brains!"

Still, it was hard to ignore the strange way she was unable to keep from making a fool of herself whenever he was around, and it was even harder to ignore the way she hated it when he left her to go see other patients or tend to other matters. Before she knew it, she had stayed there in the clinic for a whole week, and she had learned a great deal about him, mostly from Sanji, who was much more outgoing than he was, and whose personality quite possibly outmatched hers in bounciness.