* Long Chapter Alert!
[KIYOMI]
The name on her scrubs made her giddy as hell. It was like she had found the perfect recipe for happiness, the one thing that had long seemed to evade her. Oh, but this was nothing like she had felt before and she was not going to let go.
"Even the blind can see your wisdom teeth, Kiki," Elif teased, her voice snapping her best friend back to reality. They were currently at the hospital, in Kiki's old office that had been given back to her.
"Maybe that's because I got something stuck in my mouth," Kiki said with a laugh as she turned to see her friend who was equally happy. It wasn't that hard to tell that their happiness was somewhat tied to each other.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever… anyway, I think you will need to see this," Elif said looking outside.
"Are there protests against? They should know by now that I am not going anywhere," Kiyomi sighed. For the past seven months, she had seen people try to get her out of the hospital. Most of them had been Lycans who wanted her vulnerable.
The idea that the Lycan queen was out here for her rogue of an erasthai was not something that sat well with many and retribution was bound eventually. They had tried everything, but even with all of that, they had been smart enough to know not to touch Kiyomi.
The good doctor was out of limits for everyone in both realms unless they wanted to be murdered by the mad queen, something that she loved doing on most days. Then again, that did seem a little hard seeing as Saki had lost time anyway.
"No, this is worse. I think only you can deal with this one," Elif said and when Kiyomi walked over to her window to see for herself, Elif stood in her way, almost like she wanted Kiyomi to walk out the door and see it for herself.
The good doctor didn't see a reason to distrust her friend because there were days when Elif just did things without reason. She figured this was one of them. And so, she stepped out of her office walking beside Elif who was excitedly chatting her ears off.
Kiyomi on the other hand was curious, though this time, she wasn't scared. Her fear had managed to disappear in the months she had spent with Sakra beside her. It was like the mad queen lived for her, and while that scared Kiyomi… It also made her feel special.
She was the girl the psycho had chosen to live for. The woman that the wildling had made a sworn promise to keep safe and protect. Granted, the Bodyguard lycan swerve still looming over Kiyomi, but even then, she wasn't scared of them.
It was a strange development, but then Kiyomi Kimura was no longer just a Kimura. She was someone different. She belonged to someone else, someone who would burn everything in her wake just for the girl she was.
She was a Kimura-Watanabe.
She was a Watanabe.
She belonged to Watanabe.
"Is this necessary?" Kiyomi whined when she realized that everyone in the hospital was staring at her. She had come to work earlier today and hadn't encountered anything, and while she wanted to relax, she had a feeling that this wasn't the time for that.
"Honestly, there is only one person who could put an end to it. And besides, you're the one with her name on your scrubs. If I told you what was happening, you would have not come down," Elif shrugged and Kiyomi stopped moving.
"Saki?" she asked, unsure of what she had just heard.
"If you make her go home, I swear I won't wake up singing for an entire week," Elif said and Kiyomi stared at her, wondering if whatever her erasthai was doing was that bad. Surely the queen wasn't losing her mind too, right?
"You have never sacrificed your 'singing career' even for me and now you want to give it up for Saki?" Kiyomi asked, her curiosity taking over. Her best friend was always a nuisance that she loved and would protect, but this was strange.
"Come on, Kiki. You're supposed to love me, and see me happy—"
"A month."
"What?"
"No singing for a month… or I'll just walk back to my office and wait for my next appointment. It would be fun seeing the humans try to get her out of the hospital," Kiyomi said and Elif glared at her like the woman was striking a hard bargain.
"A month? Girl you can't be serious!" Elif whined a little too loudly and the staff stared at her like this wasn't the way for them to do this. Then again, most people here already knew Saki as part of Kiki's life, and they also knew not to mess with that.
Besides, it wasn't like Sakura was causing havoc in the hospital. If that had been the case, Elif would have been frantic, and even she could have felt Saki's turbulent presence in their space.
"Well then. Good luck. I'm going to check on my patients in the ICU—"
"I hate you."
"Your call, sweet sister. As for me, myself and I, we will be out," Kiki said walking away.
"Dammit… fine. A month of no singing… happy now?"
"That sounds more like a threat than an agreement. I don't want it."
"Pleaseee Kiki. I will be nicer to her, I promise. Just convince her to get out of here."
"That's interesting... Why do I feel like this is more about you, than me?"
"Well, I may or may not have given her the wrong popcorn recipe."
"Popcorn has a recipe?"
"Now is not the time, woman… The bottom line is, if you don't help me convince her to go home, she will have my head. Aren't you supposed to love me unconditionally… I won't sing for six weeks, just please," Elif groaned in defeat.
However, before Kiyomi could tease her even more she heard Saki's voice and it sounded like she was out for Elif's blood for real this time. The attention was on both of them and the woman outside, who had just begun the chaos.
"Doctor Elif… It's me, your favorite sister. Won't you come and see me?" Sakura said in a singsong voice, and Kiyomi snorted while Elif stared at her horrified. There was no knowing what Sakura would do to her, and that scared the shit out of her.
"I have another condition," Kiyomi said with a laugh as she stared at Elif.
"What is it now? I thought you said you loved me?"
"You will help her with the right recipe after the month ends, otherwise she won't forget and will keep taunting you about this," Kiki said and Elif stared at her like this was not what they had agreed to.
Standing beside Sakura Watanabe in the same kitchen was already a death sentence, the idea itself was absurd and needed a rest button somewhere along the way. But at the same time, this was not negotiable, judging by the look on Kiki's face.
"Doctor Elif, please come to the reception. Doctor Elif, please come to the reception," the intercom sounded and Elif felt like her life was domed. All because she had offered to help with a nutjob in the kitchen. What if she lost her neck after a month?
"Looks like you're needed, sister. Make your choice, fast before I get paged too," Kiki said with a laugh and Elif groaned again. This wasn't how she had imagined her shift at the hospital turned out but then fate was a bitch, wasn't it.
"Fine. Agreed. Whatever you want. Just please save me," Elif pleaded.
"Alright, let's go out there. Hopefully, I won't be getting punished on your behalf," Kiki said and Elif made a gagging sound like she didn't need to know the basics of the nourishment, or maybe she had been exposed to it and she wanted no more of that, right?
"I'll attend to the patients, just please, save me," Elif said and Kiyomi sighed, agreeing. Elif didn't even wait for Kiyomi to change her mind, because she made a run for the awards, literally, making Kiyomi chuckle softly.
As much as she wanted to think that Sakura had come to the hospital for Elif and the improper recipe, Kiyomi could feel that there was more to it.
Over the months that they had been together, she had watched Saki space out more than once. She had wanted to ask her about it, but then each time it felt like Saki was living inside some sort of a loop that she was unable to break.
It had shocked Kiyomi but over the seven months, she had realized that Sakura had only held onto the happiest moments of their interactions. That was something that even her history in medicine hadn't helped her unravel.
It was like Sakura Watanabe was scared of something taking their time away from them and the queen had resorted to shutting everything out that didn't involve Kiyomi. Sakura had been desperate and Kiyomi had seen it all.
But the only issue was that Kiomi was scared of asking, and Sakura was too trapped in her happy moments to even snap out of it. Maybe she did it today? But what would that mean for the both of them given the woman was the Lycan queen?
"Doctor El—" the receptionist said and Kiki interrupted her.
"It's alright. I'll handle this, thank you."
"You sure, doctor? She looks—" the receptionist began, but Kiki wasn't listening.
"She's MINE. Go back to doing your work," Kiyomi interrupted fiercely, defensively, and with a tone of finality. Everyone seemed to get the memo because the hospital was once again bubbling with life, and then they were stealing glances at her.
But then that didn't matter to Kiyomi because the woman who was on the other side of the Odanera city hospital doors was her greatest priority right now. She wouldn't let anyone talk shit about the love of her life, even if Saki looked too different today.
She was disheveled, almost like she was just another woman on the streets who tried to seek asylum in Odanera Hospital but didn't have the resources needed for admission there. But even then, Kiyomi saw a queen.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry. I cleaned and tried cooking and well… I'm really sorry," Sakura mumbled her apologies when Kiki got to her. She looked genuinely worried about what Kiyomi would say, which was the opposite of what Kiyomi was wearing on her face.
"Oh, baby. You finally came back to me," Kiki said as she pulled Saki into a tight hug.
"Y… You knew?"
"Of course, my precious. I love you, remember? And love is patient, and safe, my rebel."
"But—"
"You may be their queen, but you'll always be my baby," Kiyomi reassured before she created a portal back home, and went through to it, while still hugging Saki so tenderly and tightly.