𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 || Alternate ending

The Nurse | 5

Art Credit: atlasxart (twt)

Along with the young boy, you were brought to the nurse's office. Everything seemed calmer now, but the atmosphere was awkward between the nurse and Scaramouche... or was his name Kunikuzushi?— at least, that was the name the nurse referred to him as. The nurse, a beautiful young maiden with hypnotizing violet eyes and silk peach hair was a close acquaintance of the principal. Thus it was no surprise that the principal's son and the nurse were familiar with each other. However the more you observed them, the nurse— Yae Miko seemed almost as if a second mother to Scaramouche.

There was a coat of worry in her eyes behind that cunning smile across her face. She teased and poke fun at him, but nevertheless, it was evident she cared for the young boy.

"Kunikuzushi, I'm going to run out of medical supplies if you keep getting yourself Injured like this." You overheard the nurse scold Scaramouche whilst you sat in the waiting room. "As if you don't have the money to buy more," he argued back.

She sighed, "you know, you're starting to worry your poor mother. Gosh, I can still hear her ranting voice in the back of my head. 'My son that' 'my son this!'" Yae Miko complained as you could hear her rummaging through a sort of fridge. "Here, keep this against your cheek. It'll reduce the swelling." The nurse pressed the bag of ice against the boy's stinging cheek— causing him to wince in pain. "I know, I know," Scaramouche uttered, and you could hear as he scrambled to get away from the nurse.

"You're Ei's son. I know you're strong enough. But you act like a bird refusing to use its wings and you don't fight back. It's no surprise you keep getting injured. You keep allowing others to squish you like a bug!" Yae Miko lectured, but Scaramouche groaned irritably. "You've told me this already, I. know." He stated, clearly not wanting to stay any longer.

There was a brief moment of silence before you suddenly heard footsteps coming your way. "Y/N, is it?" The nurse's head peeks out from inside the room, startling you as you jolted back. "Uhm... yes?" You answered while Yae Miko greeted you with a smile. "There's no need to wait outside here all alone, come inside," the nurse invited you in.

Reluctantly, you stood up from your seat to follow the woman inside the room. Looking around, your eyes instinctively gazed at Scaramouche, who was sitting atop one of the few beds in the room. "Alright, I'm done taking care of you. Hopefully for the last time today," she stopped to talk to Scaramouche. "You can finally go back to your dorm room with your little girlfriend, aren't you excited?" Yae Miko whispered in his ears.

His face immediately flushed a bright red and he jumped up from his seat, "what?! No, it's not like that." He retorted, but only seeming to amuse the nurse even more. "Not like what?" You questioned obliviously and Scaramouche's head turned towards you in a panic.

"Well now, off you go," she slightly nudged him forward towards you, "I better not see you again in my office this week," Yae Miko told Scaramouche before waving you goodbye. But her words didn't reach him as he had already left the nurse in a hurry, and out the door. Though you followed behind, you suddenly stopped at the doorway and glanced back at the nurse. "Is there anything I can do?" You asked with a pitiful look in your eyes.

She chuckled, "aww, don't give such a sad look. The students here are cruel, especially to Kunikuzushi... honestly, I do worry. But there's not much either one of us can do. After all, you're just a student and I'm just the school nurse. The only one who can fully solve this issue is Kunikuzushi himself. All we can do is support him from the back," the nurse sighed as she walked up to you.

She placed a hand on your shoulder, "Though Kunikuzushi is easily seen as blunt and rude, he's a good kid. But staying near him is equivalent to asking to ruin your reputation. Here, I'll give you two choices."

"Trade your reputation in exchange for helping Kunikuzushi from the other students, or don't befriend Kunikuzushi, and keep your reputation. But in doing so, you'll have to do nothing, and watch the others torment him the back."

"As his roommate, I hope you will choose wisely." The nurse whispers in your ear and you could feel your skin crawl.

"And say if I did chose to befriend him, what is there's anything I could do? I lack in physical strength when it comes to fighting against large numbers of students, and I especially can't against an entire school." You stated, gazing back at the nurse.

"Who said anything about fighting?" She laughed and you became flustered in embarrassment. "Befriending him will already be more than enough for Kunikuzushi. But if you want to run the extra mile, you can always help him out in the garden." The nurse stated, lifting her hand off your shoulder— and you could feel your tensed body begin to relax. "Gardening? So he really is the gardener..." you muttered to yourself.

"But he doesn't seem like the guy to like plants. What it really mean that much if I helped him grow a few flowers?" You asked, and Yae Miko clapped her hands as she agreed to your comment. "Correct, Kunikuzushi isn't quite fond of flowers and plants at all! In fact, he despises bugs. But here, let me let you in on little a secret..." She gestured for you to get closer.

"...The garden originally belonged to Makoto— Kunikuzushi's aunt. She always took care of her Violet Garden and she loved flowers just as much as she loved Kunikuzushi."

"Thinking back, they were relatively close. Makoto was like his second mother to him when Ei and I were too busy with work. But after her passing, there was no one left to take care of the garden. And when Ei refused to do anything, Kunikuzushi, not wanting to abandon the garden his aunt loved so dearly, took Makoto's role as gardener and still takes care of it till this day."

— Yae Miko explained with an unfazed smile. "Ei hates it whenever I mention Makoto. So keep this a secret between you and me." She placed her finger against her lips.

Glancing at the clock, the nurse suddenly pushed you forward and out the door. "While now, I have work to do. I can't just spend the whole day chatting, can I?" The Nurse stated. "You have your own little meeting to attend to with Kunikuzushi so that you can both move into your new dorms. I look forward to meeting you in the future. Come back if you have any more questions to ask later- bye-bye now!" she waved before going back inside her room.

You placed your hand on your chest and it felt as if your heart was pounding from the inside out. Now you finally understood why Kunikuzushi wanted to avoid going to the Nurses office. You felt on edge the entire time that is was almost draining

Despite the nurse's seemingly friendly smile at first glance, her personality was almost the complete opposite. But it was reassuring to know there was at least someone who cared for Scaramouche in this school among all these students. However thinking back on the nurse's words, your curiosity about the young boy seemed to increase. And walking out of her office, you were surprised to see that Scaramouche had waited for you.

His arms were crossed as he leaned against the wall, "you sure took your time," he grumbled, pushing himself off the wall as he walked past you. "Let's go," Scaramouche uttered, and you quickly follow along from behind.

'she loved flowers just as much as she loved Kunikuzushi.'