Chapter Text
Seven years ago, Kyoto University
After their other friends had left the party, Keisuke closed the door behind them and faced Miyako, standing a few feet away from him. “So it’s just you and me now, huh?”
Miyako nodded. “Yup. Noko-chan asked me to stay out of the dorm until midnight so she could hang out with her boyfriend. So that’s…” she looked at the clock on the wall, then pouted, saying, “...only one more hour?”
Keisuke frowned. “That’s only enough time to clean up, isn’t it? We’d better move fast.”
“I think we could make it thirty minutes if we really put our minds to it.” She picked up a paper plate from the floor, then folded it and dropped it in the trash can. “Plus, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind an extra hour or two to do… whatever she’s doing with him,’ she said with a joking grimace.
Keisuke stacked some used cups, sitting on the floor. “Hey, I’m sure she wouldn’t complain. Let’s get to tidying. We could watch a show after.”
“Ooh, don’t tempt me with a good time, Keisuke!” Miyako walked past him, brushing against his side with a smile. Soon enough, Keisuke’s apartment was spotless, and the duo’s efforts were rewarded with a Grey’s Anatomy binge. The two of them knew the show had quite a few medical inaccuracies, but Miyako insisted that “learning the English terminology would benefit their studies.”
During a Meredith monologue, Miyako reached over Keisuke and paused the show. “So… I have another gift for the birthday boy.” She stood up, walking over to the closet.
“Oh, go get it. I saw you shove it in there before the party started. I’ve been dying from the suspense.”
“Seriously? You saw that? I can’t get anything past you, huh?” When Miyako returned, she noticed Keisuke staring at her skirt. “It’s cute, right? Souta got it for me a while back. He said his sister helped him pick it out!” She twirled, her skirt fanning outward as she spun.
“Remind me to thank him,” he mumbled, a smile on his face.
She snapped her fingers in front of him. “Hey! Eyes on the prize!” She handed the box to him.
“You didn’t need to do this, you know. That cologne you got me was such a nice gift already.” Keisuke started to pick away at the gift wrap, red and patterned with bandaids and stethoscopes.
“Oh, this gift isn’t nearly as fancy, don’t worry. I just wanted to be the only one to see your reaction.”
“Okay, now you’re scaring me, Miya-chan,” Keisuke said. He finally pulled off the wrapping paper, folding it into a neat square. Then, he turned his attention to the gift before him. “Wait… is this Operation?” He shook the box gently. “Like, that ridiculous game with the forceps? And taking every organ out of the patient’s body? This game is ancient!”
Miyako gave him a smug smile. “I figured you could start manifesting. Every future surgeon should have this game, at least on principle alone. Come on, let’s play!”
The two of them worked diligently on the game, switching shifts and even pulling out the stopwatch at some point. “Miya-chan, this is great! But do you have Operation? According to your logic, you should have one as well. On principle, at least.”
She shrugged. “Well, I figured we could share. Would that be okay with you, Keisuke?” She batted her eyelids.
Keisuke rolled his eyes. “Come here, you. Of course.” He tossed the forceps to the side, letting the buzzer ring out incessantly as the two of them laughed and hugged on the couch, Meredith Gray’s serious face hanging over them, forever mid-sentence.
Present
Miyako’s hand shook, the mascara wand trembling as she brought it up to her eye. “This is no good,” she mumbled as she stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. Her under-eye concealer had taken longer than usual, so she was in quite the rush to get up and out the door. Being late on her first day wouldn’t do her any favors, makeup or not. “Screw it.” She capped the mascara tube, then brought the length of her finger up to disperse any clumps. “This will have to do,” she said to herself, grabbing her bag and jogging through the halls.
Don’t mess up your hair, Miyako. Grab breakfast and go. Still, she stopped at the kitchen counter, looking over it to see her father, asleep on the couch, his arm hanging over the side. The TV remote had slipped out of his hand, and morning news had already started to play. With a sigh, she walked over, took the remote from his hand, and pressed a kiss to his forehead. She took off his glasses, setting them on the coffee table along with the remote, after shutting the TV off. From her breakfast plate, she took one slice of toast, leaving the other slice for her father. “Bye, Dad,” she whispered. She pulled her heels on, then before leaving, bowed down to the shrine by the door. “Love you.”
The commute to the VitaHealth Hospital was long enough for Miyako to pick at herself in her pocket mirror, perfecting her appearance, but short enough for her to stay in a focused headspace. She practiced her smile a few times before closing up the mirror and gazing out the window. The bus was now passing through the urban sector of the prefecture. Miyako gripped the bus handle, watching the bustling street and its pedestrians. She smiled to herself as she watched a salaryman hoist two hefty briefcases up the front entrance’s stairs, then at a mother bringing her children out for ice cream, then-
Is that Souta-kun? She saw a flash of auburn hair on a cyclist zipping by a crosswalk, weaving past pedestrians as they stared at him momentarily. She gripped her purse a bit tighter, jaw subconsciously clenching as she watched the cyclist stop and take off his sunglasses, revealing a teenage boy bringing a parcel to the doorstep of a bank. She sighed in relief. “Of course not,” she mumbled, returning to her routine. She fiddled with her earrings, some diamond studs she’d gotten from her grandmother as a graduation gift from high school. She tightened them, then loosened them. Whenever they would particularly start to hurt, Miyako would let them rest in that position for a few seconds, then provide some relief.
Soon, the bus arrived near the hospital, just in time for Miyako to cease any unwanted thoughts that were starting to arise. She ducked her head, thanked the driver, then quickly walked behind the hospital, stepping over jagged sidewalk cracks and potholes hidden behind the building’s study silhouette.
“A lady could seriously break a leg back here.” As she spat this out, she looked up at the back entryway to see an older man with a hospital badge watching her with an amused glint in his eyes.
“New hire? Inoue-san?” he said, tilting his head to the side. His glasses fell a bit lower down his nose.
Miyako shook her head, waving her hands, which were already starting to shake a little. “Wait- I didn’t mean to say-”
The older man stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Hey. You can calm down, Inoue-san. What do the kids say… was it… ‘take a cool pill?’” He scrunched his nose.
“A chill pill,” Miyako said softly. She stepped back from the older man’s hand.
“Oh yes. Sorry about that. You can take a chill pill.” The man pulled his hand back, placing it awkwardly into his pocket. “Hey, I mean… I fall on my bottom nearly every time I come by here. That’s why I pack an extra pair of pants, for the grass stains I get.” He chuckles, his laughter hearty like a warm stew. Miyako’s stomach twirled for a moment.
“Oh, that’s good to know,” Miyako breathed out.
“Speak up, Inoue-san! I’m sure you have plenty of useful things to teach me about this younger generation and their slang. Just like I’m going to mentor you for your job training, you will mentor me in understanding this newfangled youngster speak. Sounds like a deal?” He held his hand out for a handshake again, his hand faltering slightly with the action, as if he was unsure of what he was doing.
That earned a giggle from Miyako. “It’s a deal, um… ” She tentatively reached out her hand to meet his, trying to read off his employee badge.
“Saito Mamoru. Pleased to be working with you.” Saito-san gripped her hand firmly, shaking it with vigor. “Let me show you around and get your badge set up.” He scanned his badge, then held the door open for Miyako. “After you, Inoue-san.”
This wasn’t the first time Miyako had stepped into a hospital’s staffroom. Having been here before, she knew what to expect: the caffeine fridge, the spare uniforms of the nurses and doctors, the snack stockpile in the corner… everything felt very ordinary, including the light-blue painted walls, patchy from the years of usage.
Saitou-san brought her over to the lockers. “Every staff member here gets their own locker to keep their items! Everyone from the head surgeon to the custodial staff. How lovely is that?” He rapped on a locker with his finger, the metal clinking under his fingernail. “This one is yours, Inoue-san. You can leave anything from a bag, extra shoes, to even a furry friend!” Before Miyako could narrow his eyes at him, Saitou let out a guffaw. “I don’t mean to mess with you, Inoue-san, except it’s far too amusing! Of course, we do not allow animals in the building. Pretty much anything else goes. Smoke breaks are outside, you’d just have to hop, skip and jump over the sidewalk cracks, just as you did earlier-”
“- I don’t smoke.”
Saitou-san tilted his head, then smiled kindly. “I didn’t say that you did. I just tell every new employee. I wouldn’t want someone to feel awkward about asking, anyhow.” He waved his hand. “There’s no shame in it, of course.”
Heat rushed to Miyako’s cheeks. “Right, sorry. Thank you, Saitou-san.” She opened her locker, placed her bag inside, then closed it. “What’s next?” Avoiding Saitou’s gaze, her eyes skimmed over some of the names on the lockers beside her. Inoue, Kuroda, Saitou, Kazuki, Miyata, Himu-
Saitou smacked Inoue’s locker, letting the metal clanging sound resonate. “Ha, I’m glad you asked! Next is your ID photo.” He led her over to a spot on the wall with a white paper background. “Genius, right?” Saitou brought a hand to stroke his chin and raised his eyebrows with a grin.
This is the cheapest ID setup I’ve ever seen. “...quite clever, Saitou-san,” she said, stepping over to center herself in the frame.
“See? You’re a natural already! Have you considered, ah, what do they- oh! Going pro!” Saitou got the camera ready.
Miyako couldn’t help but roll her eyes with a smile spreading across her face. “You’re hilarious-” She was interrupted by the shutter of the camera clicking. “Hey! Did you take a photo of me mid-sentence?” she protested. “That won’t be a good ID photo, will it?”
Saitou turned the camera around and looked at it with a warm smile. “Perfect. This won’t be your ID photo, of course. The director of reception wants to build morale, so he said we should try and get some fun photos of the staff to keep around.”
“Oh, that’s… really sweet, actually.”
“He’s a clever guy.” Saitou offered the camera over to Miyako. “Here, take a look. I’ll delete it if you want me to, but I do believe I took a mighty fine picture.”
Miyako took a look at the pixelated image of herself and immediately said, “My eyes look uneven here. It’s kind of a weird picture. That’s not your fault, Saitou-san. Maybe we could do it again?” She offered the camera back to him before he held it in place and pointed at it.
“Inoue-san, of course your eyes look uneven. You’re laughing. I think I captured the moment perfectly. Can’t we keep this one?” He made puppy-dog eyes at her. For a middle-aged man, he was doing a pretty great job at that.
She sighed. “Okay, fine.” She shook her head. “You’re far too convincing. Have you…” she swallowed, “considered going pro?”
He guffawed. “There you go!” He clapped. “There we go. That’s reception for you. Making people smile! You’re going to do great things here, Inoue-san, I can tell!”
Great things. She swallowed down a lump in her throat. “Thank you, Saitou-san. I’m very happy to be here.”
“I’m glad. Now, let’s take that ID photo. For real, this time.” Saitou raised the camera again.
Miyako composed herself, staring straight into the lens. She felt the muscles in her face relax, her smiling mouth dropping into a neutral position.
The shutter clicked a few times, and Saitou dropped the camera down. “Perfect. Thank you, Inoue-san!”
“Don’t you have to look at them first before you approve them?”
“What? No. That’s fully unnecessary. I’m the best photographer I know, so I’m sure the photos came out just fine!”
“Your confidence is… inspiring.”
“Ha, I do my best!” He placed the camera up on a shelf. “Alright. Now that your ID is all sorted out, we can go on and get you familiarized with the software we use.” He led her over to a door, eventually walking her through the halls to reception. Miyako walked past white, white, and – how interesting! Even more white. Eventually, they reached the department Miyako would be starting in: surgery. The two of them walked behind the desk, where there were two computers: one occupied, one vacant.
Saitou patted Miyako on the back. “There. Go ahead and take a seat there.” He pulled a chair out for her.
Miyako slowly sat down, then got a closer look at the receptionist next to her. She was a young woman who appeared to be fresh out of college. Her milky brown hair was tied up in a bun, with bangs cascading down the side of her face like rivulets of warm, soothing tea. Her round eyes, similarly shaped as Miyako’s, danced with light.
“Inoue Miyako, this is Kuroda Arisa.”
“It’s so nice to meet you, Inoue-san! I’ve been so excited to finally have a girl with me on the surgery front desk side!” Kuroda bowed her head quickly with a smile. “Let’s do some great work together!”
So bubbly… ! Miyako bowed her head in return. “Yes, thank you. I’m happy to be working with you, too.”
Saitou and Kuroda briefed Miyako on the administrative software the hospital used, and after a short session of cursing out the PC and shutting it off and back on again, Miyako was fully comfortable with the software. She’d used a similar one at her previous job, and she always caught onto things quite quickly. Pleased, Saitou patted her back and went to do his own tasks.
Miyako leaned back in her chair, satisfied with her work as the dimmed lights in the hospital flickered to life. She turned to Kuroda. “Are we opening for patients now?”
She nodded, still setting up her application windows and tab groups for the day. “Yep! Pretty soon, we’ll be called over for the morning meeting.”
“Oh, so I’ll be meeting all of the reception and administration staff from the different departments, right?” Miyako brushed off her skirt.
Kuroda laughed. “No, that would take way too long. I mean, this hospital’s huge. We have that meeting monthly. Every day, we meet with all the staff in the surgery department: reception, nurses, surgical assistants, and surgeons. That way, we all can have a gameplan together!”
Inoue placed her chin in the palm of her hand. “Hm, I’ve never worked anywhere that did morning meetings that way. It’s definitely different.”
A bell chimed on the intercom, and Kuroda stood up. “That’s our cue, Inoue-san. Let’s go to the meeting spot!”
Kuroda led Miyako to the meeting spot, which was essentially the intake nurses’ station. Around twenty or so personnel stood in a semicircle-type formation, with Saitou-san and a middle-aged woman in scrubs, likely the head surgeon, in front of them. Miyako and Kuroda joined their ranks, scuffling to the side closest to the reception door. As the staff chatted with each other, Kuroda whispered, “Saitou-san will probably introduce you to the rest of the staff. Just letting you know. It’s nothing to worry about, really. It’s just, at surgery, we try to get to know each other super well. Helps with team synergy. Saitou’s really big on synergy. He thinks it’s, like, gonna change the modern workforce or something.”
Miyako felt her eyes naturally start rolling upward. “Let me guess, he thinks it’s what the hip youngsters are into right now.”
Kuroda grinned. “Hey, you’re catching on quick!”
“It’s what I do.” Miyako felt her worry melting away from her for a moment. She fit right in with Kuroda. Her workplace seemed alright, and, hell, maybe even a little fun? Maybe this place could be her forever job. It felt homely already. She even smelled her favorite tuna onigiri that someone was eating for breakfast. That’s something to bond with a coworker over.
A loud clapping sound cut through the chatter. Everyone turned to look at Saitou-san. With a laugh, he waved his hand. “Good morning, everyone! It’s another wonderful Tuesday, and we have an excellent team here, if I do say so myself. How are we all doing today?”
A fledgling chorus of “goods” and “wells” responded.
“Excellent!” his voice boomed. “This is going to be our best Tuesday yet!”
As he rambled on, Kuroda whispered to Miyako, “He says this every Tuesday. Don’t get too excited.”
Miyako steeled herself. Stop talking to me, I don’t want to look bad! Luckily, no one had noticed Kuroda’s comment, or, more likely, they didn’t care. Miyako wiped at her palms, willing her sweat glands to stop overworking themselves. Please, please, please-
“You might have noticed a new young face here! I would like us to give a warm welcome to our newest receptionist hire, Inoue Miyako-san!” Saitou immediately started clapping, and the other lady next to him beckoned Miyako to come forward.
Miyako swallowed, then stepped over to the front. The clacking of her heels was drowned out by Saitou-san’s thunderous applause. She faced the front, then gave a small, graceful smile and a polite bow. When she raised her head again and the applause started to die down, she heard a startled voice.
“Miyako?”
Heads turned to the lone voice near the other side of the crowd, belonging to a dark-haired man with squared glasses and a tall, lanky frame. Miyako did a double-take, unable to believe her eyes. Keisuke?
There he was, in the flesh and all, dropping an onigiri wrapper in the trash can behind him while he became the center of attention. How discreet.
The lady smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you know Inoue-san? You did use her given name, after all.”
Keisuke glanced at Miyako, and she felt her throat tighten. “She and I went to the same school. That’s all, Inukai-san.”
She nodded. “That makes sense. You did go to a smaller high school than a lot of us here. I’m sure the atmosphere is a lot more communal there.”
“Exactly. I’ll make sure to refer to her professionally-”
Inukai waved a hand. “Whatever, we don’t mind what you two call each other. Right, Saitou?”
“She’s right. Be friendly with each other! As long as it doesn’t interfere with your work. We couldn’t be less concerned about this, given the recent synergy initiative we’re running.” Saitou laughed heartily.
“... right.” Keisuke aimed his gaze at Miyako. Hesitantly, he said, “It’s great to see you again, Miyako. I’m glad to work alongside you.”
The words were lost on Miyako. All she could hear from Keisuke’s greeting was the subtle shyness, the pondering, and the tinge of hurt. She pressed a gleeful smile to her face. “It’s great to see you too, Keisuke. I’m happy to work with you.”
Liar.
Saitou clapped his hands. “Well! That about concludes our morning meeting. Remember to provide Vital Customer Service™, no matter your job position!”
Inukai spoke up. “Bedside staff and surgeons, scrub in. And, for the love of all things holy, Himura-san, please pop a mint.” Upon hearing this, Keisuke nodded and went over to his station.
Kuroda smiled. “Inoue! Let’s get settled, okay?” She led Miyako back to the front desk. “That was quite the introduction! That’s probably the most interesting new hire intro we’ve had since Kamisato-san. Her ex-best friend was the new hire, and the two of them fought at the meeting.” The two of them sat down. “Let’s just say, we started medical care a little early that day.” Kuroda shrugged.
“Oh my goodness.” Miyako’s eyes widened. “Did they get fired?”
“Yep. Actually, Kamisato ended up pressing charges against the ex-best friend for assault. I guess she’s in a better place now.”
“... you’re saying it like she died.”
“I mean, I’m sure a part of her did. Having her ex-best friend ruin everything she’d worked for.” She tapped her nails on the counter. “But enough about history! What’s going on between you and Himura-san? Do you not like him?”
Miyako waved her hands. “Wait- where did you get that idea?”
“Girl, you looked so uncomfortable with that whole interaction. Like, you didn’t wanna talk to him. Oh wait, don’t tell me!” She raised her index finger with a gasp. “I bet he was like really a chuunibyou in middle school and you can’t look at him the same anymore. Or was he one of those alpha male types who thought you would just date him or do whatever he wanted.”
“Of course not, Keisuke is one of the kindest, most caring people I’ve ever known in my lifetime.” Miyako shook her computer mouse, waking up her monitor.
“Oh, so he’s your ex!”
Miyako lurched forward, her heart pounding. “What? Kuroda-san, are you trying to start rumors?” she hissed out.
“Oh, I didn’t know I was being that loud. Sorry,” she said, making an effort to lower her volume. She seemed to struggle with the skill. “So, I’m right, aren’t I?”
“No.”
“Gosh, what happened between you two? If you’re acting like that, he must have done something awful.”
“Kuroda-san, please stop. None of this is any of your business, and I’d rather stay off that topic.” Miyako raised a hand, as if placing a barrier in between herself and Kuroda. “Let’s just do our jobs, okay?”
Kuroda cleared her throat a little. “Oh, right. Sorry.” The two of them turned toward their own computers and went over the appointments for the day.
“Kuroda-san?”
“Yes?”
“Keisuke never did anything wrong to me. Please don’t think badly of him just because of something I did.”
“Something you… did?”
Miyako fell silent.
“Do you want to tell me more?”
She shook her head.
“Okay.” Kuroda dropped her chin and returned back to her computer work.
He looked… sad, almost. Hurt. The look on Keisuke’s face hung in Miyako’s mind like an impenetrable fog. Congratulations. You’ll get to watch him hide away from you until one of you leaves this place. Miyako tried to shake these thoughts from her head. Unsuccessful, she began to type, in an attempt to push the obnoxious clacking of the keys in, and the visual of Keisuke out. Even if that image was just as enchanting as it was six years ago.