Chapter Text
'Alright, Room 420, (how unfortunate). I should be there in 5 minutes.'
You walked down the hall flipping through the clipboard with your new patient's information. Male, young adult, birthday May 24th, nationality Japanese. He was just admitted today a few hours ago, had recently come out of emergency surgery, last seen unconscious.
From what you know, he's pretty badly injured with many ruptures and broken bones. It was due to car collision that was nearly fatal, the circumstances and details were unknown so far.
The patient seemed to be in terrible shape, so you were a little nervous to see him. As a mere newbie, you weren't the sturdiest nurse here. And handling someone who sounded THAT fragile hopefully wouldn't be too difficult for you. But his current condition was a major one. Possibly in a coma, no less!
'Why does my first patient have to be in such bad condition? I don't think I'm ready for taking care of someone like this....'
You were willing to accept the hardship of nursing, especially after the trials of nursing school, but this was a big case! You didn't think you'd ever so much as touch a patient at this level until you had more experience, (and confidence).
'I hope the patient is nice, at least....' If he had come to, that is. Then again, he'd have an excuse not to be polite. Who'd be concerned with mannerism when their ENTIRE body was broken?
From the records, he wasn't much older than you. It must feel awful to have been so close to death at such a young age, (not like you would know, though). Maybe he was doing something rash before the accident, just looking for youthful fun.
Oh well. The only thing you could do was smile and help him to the best of your ability. Even if he wasn't awake, you still wanted to have a positive attitude.
You reached the door your patient was behind and took a deep breath. 'You can do this. Just smile.'
You put on your best smile and opened the door with confidence.
It was a great reassurance for you to see that he was finally awake. You sighed in relief to yourself before speaking in the friendliest tone you could. "Hello, Mr. Matsuno?"
The patient had both legs and his left arm wrapped in splints, as well as a bandages on the top of his head and large bruises on his face.
Surprisingly, though, he was wearing sunglasses... Indoors... In a hospital.... Where he got them while he was in here was the biggest question on your mind, among many others.
All you could think was, 'Woah.....' Is this what nurses have to deal with usually....?
It was almost impressive how he could wear something like that at such an inconvenient time...!
His attention wasn't on you, however. When you came in, he was struggling to reach the remote, since the TV was on a children's program. But it was just barely far enough for him to not reach. He seemed to be extremely frustrated with it. Oh, man.
"Umm... Would you like some help with that, sir?"
He looked up toward you and, quite literally, his frown turned upside down. He raised his eyebrows that were previously furrowed in concentration, and he gave you a cocky smirk. The exact opposite of what you'd expect from someone in his state.
"Heh! My goddess has come! I have awoken in heaven!" WOW. Pretty....bold for a man with only one working limb.
"Um...wow, OK. Sir, you aren't dead, you're in a hospital."
"Ah, I see! Then, perhaps this must be fate? Heh! Lady Luck has smiled upon me and granted a sinful man 2 miracles!"
"...Two?"
"Why, the miracle of life and the miracle of meeting an angel!" How could he say something like that so seriously to someone he just met??
"Uh, thank you, sir...?" Thanking him was the only thing you could do, really...
"Now, would you please put on my favorite drama? The remote is unfortunately...out of my grasp." At the last part, he sounded a little embarrassed and his smug expression faltered slightly.
"Sure," you gave a warm smile and handed the remote to him.
"Ah, thank you, my darling!"
".... Um, you're welcome...." This man was pretty straightforward... It was very embarrassing, but you tried not to show your surprise.
"Is there anything else you need, Mr. Matsuno?"
"Heh! Please, my flower, you can call me...." He paused to take off his sunglasses swiftly. "Karamatsu!"
"Oh, um...I'm sorry, but...that's a little unprofessional," you laughed awkwardly. 'And sudden.'
"Fret not! I don't mind!" He dramatically gestured with his working hand.
"Haha, I'm afraid that wouldn't look too good with my coworkers."
"Then, how about Bad Boy?" He flirtatiously wiggled his eyebrows.
You shook your head, "Ha, that would look even worse, sorry. But, um... may I ask you something?"
"Anything at all, my honey!" Will he ever run out of nicknames....??
"Where did you...get those sunglasses?"
He looked confused for a moment before grinning again. "Ah! I see! You would like to mimic my image? Heh! I am touched!"
"It's not that," you shook your head. "I mean, where did you get them from while you were in here?"
"Oh, I arrived with them by my side the whole way!" Seriously...? "They are a part of my SOUL!"
"Ahah, I see...." You didn't really know how to respond to that statement. He managed to keep sunglasses on after getting hit by a car. The whole way here. What a strange man...
Maybe because he was wearing them, he couldn't see too well and got hit? The time of the accident happened pretty late in the evening, after all. He had no reason wearing them without, y'know, the SUN! Oh well, you were just a nurse, diagnosing wasn't your business. That was too ridiculous of an assumption anyway.
"Well, I came to give you your medicine, Mr. Matsuno," you stated, holding up the small cup with a handful of pills.
"Heh! Pain killers? I don't need such things, my dear! For I, Karamatsu, am in no pain!" He gave you a wide grin to prove his point.
You looked over to his pain chart. He circled 8 out of 10. You turned back to him. He still had the same expression, moving his eyebrows up and down.
"I have dealt with many pains in my life! But none can compare to the pains of my lonely heart." He clenched his chest and dramatically let a teardrop fall down his face slowly.
Did he think this was a hospital TV drama...? Maybe the man was just an enthusiastic struggling actor. You didn't recall reading about any jobs on his records, but it made sense.
You laughed a little to yourself and tried to cover your mouth. He looked at you with disbelief immediately when he heard giggling, as if he didn't expect that at all. His brows knit in confusion and his cheeks were turning pink. 'Oops, I think I embarrassed him!'
You tried to apologize between small persistent laughs, "I-I'm sorry, sir. Umm... Are you sure you don't need the medicine...?"
His expression quickly returned to a confident simper. He pushed up his sunglasses with one finger and sat up a little. "Heh! I do not need-bleh!"
He coughed up a small amount of blood mid-sentence...
"Mr. Matsuno," you instructed. "You shouldn't move too much. You were only injured a few hours ago..."
"M-my apologies..." He lowered himself back down, wincing from the pain.
"I'm going to call the other nurses to check that you haven't damaged anything. I'll come back later, okay?"
"....Heh! I'll wait with bated breaths until we meet again, my dove!"
"Haha, alright.... You'll take the medicine next time, right?"
"...Ah, your beautiful heart has worn down my willpower! Very well! If it is what you desire, my precious, I shall eat anything!"
You smiled and gave him a nod before leaving the room.
'He wasn't so bad a first patient. Very sweet, although a bit too affectionate. I wonder if he talks that way to all the other nurses...'