Scintillating - SemiShira ✔︎

Chapter 1

It was confusing and extra hazy but scary all the same. One moment Shirabu Kenjirou was crouched on the ground tisking at the man who had a suspicious bloody gash and the next he was running down the street with energy composed entirely of adrenaline and caffeine.

He had been on his way home at a cursed three AM after attending an emergency surgery, casually minding his business but the further he strolled in the direction of his home, the more he noticed the red dots on the sidewalk that looked suspiciously like blood. Which was, quite frankly, unsettling.

They started off small and innocent but as he continued examining them, he was mortified to see the droplets gradually turn to a stream. Gut-twisting, although he saw blood on the daily. So utterly mortifying to finally see the ends of the blood finally connect to a single human haphazardly sprawled on the ground.

"What the fuck?! Hello?! Sir?! Should I call an ambulance?!"

The man looked up at him with a tired smile, eyes drooping and Kenjirou wondered how he managed to move when he lost more than enough blood. More importantly, why did he, as a Doctor, act so panicked and ask about the mans well-being if he expected him to be passed out? That was not ethical and professional behaviour he was experiencing and it fucked with his burnt out mind more than it should have.

"Nah. If you could stop the bleeding that'd be great but that would leave you permanently attached to me. Except you already saw me so it'd be no different since I'd have to keep an eye on you anyway,” he rattled on a bit loopily, eyes fixated on Kenjirou’s face. A lopsided grin was formed, one that made the copper-haired Doctor want to sedate him and flush him with blood. “Help?"

Kenjirou was on the verge of freaking out. Not at the blood, not at the plea for help, but at the fact that this man was still conversing as if it were a fine Tuesday morning. He was a fully-fledged Doctor for crying out loud! Blood didn't scare him but when a patient infinitely stronger than normal came in, that terrified him.

"Okay, I'll have to remove your shirt though, okay?" Kenjirou explained, already kneeling on the bloody ground and unbuttoning the long sleeve. He was met with a delightfully tattooed yet muscular abdomen and chest but a horrifying gash─ which was obviously a stab wound─ surprised him. "Dear hesus! What happened here?! Don't speak! Just relax and prepare because this needs stitches and you don't want to go to the hospital."

Pulling out equipment from seemingly nowhere, Kenjirou sterilized the flowing gash and quickly prepared his needle, warning the man just a second before the needle pierced the skin and he let out a yelp.

"Fuck! Don't you have anaesthesia considering you have all that in your bag?!" The man gasped, eyes wide as hands attempted to grip the sidewalk.

"Certain types of anaesthesia warrant a license and there's no way I'll drag around drugs like that just because I may potentially run into a dying man."

The man's eyes screwed shut, Kenjirou's hand never faltering as he repeatedly pierced the skin. It felt like a swarm of wasps were attacking at once, shoots of pain so great flooding his body but he steeled himself because he had experienced greater pains before and stitches fell nowhere near the worst pain.

"Where the hell do you even work? Why do you just know how to stitch people up?"

"Look around, we're in Durango Mexico, home to thousands and surrounded by the Cartel. I'm obviously a Doctor saving people like you who get into petty street fights. Now promise me something, either behave and stay off the streets or we report this."

The man stared at him in complete amusement, slowly nodding as he answered, Kenjirou ending the stitch with a secure knot.

"I'll stay off the streets, Doctor."

"Good. Now, what's your na-"

Before Kenjirou could even finish his basic question, a set of blinding neon headlights flashed over them, the yellow street lights getting washed out by the bright white light. Kenjirou thought nothing of it at first, figuring it was a late-night partier until the man sat up so suddenly, Kenjirou swore his stitches ripped out.

"FUCK, FUCK, FUCK! GET OVER THE FENCE!"

Kenjirou stared at him puzzled, having stood up out of instinct to follow the stranger's actions but the moment he felt his much too light body get thrown over the chain link fence, he knew it was serious.

"What's hap-"

"Shut up! Hurry up or we'll both die!" The man yelled, running through some person's yard as angry dogs barked, but that could hardly matter when Kenjirou could clearly hear gunshots going off behind him. "Do me a favour, yeah?! Run until you can safely swear you won't be caught but DON’T go home, got it?! Now go, go, go! I can handle myself and distract them from you so thanks for the stitches!"

Kenjirou was shaking but he listened, they were still in the yard, his breath coming out ragged because, come on, he just finished a surgery and had the running stamina of a walnut. The man threw him over the fence again, this time he landed on a new street and right behind, the man tumbled over as well. The long sleeve shirt had moved to tighten around the stitches, his entire right arm revealing a sleeve that merged with his chest and entire back. Ash blond hair fell over his face and for the first time, Kenjirou noticed the steel and venom behind the strangers' eyes and the scars that littered his torso.

"Stay safe," Kenjirou muttered, unsure if he could even say that to the man who was obviously mixed in some type of bad blood.

His lungs burned and legs shook, head swam in exhaustion and to make it worse, the fucking potholes in the back roads hardly helped. He was in the North East of Durango, a damn cursed place if he wanted to experience hell on Earth. The air was hot and humid, forehead dotted with sweat due to exhaustion and anxiety. For fucks sake! He had been a Doctor for roughly two years and the way he felt made him want to resign already. Why did they have to call him in? Why couldn't they have called in a more experienced Doctor that had been working already when he was just born? He would never have gotten into such a mess or mayhaps they should have called in another new Doctor instead of him!

He ran as had been instructed and by the time he was done yelling at himself internally, he noticed he was completely and utterly lost.

He swore he'd rather be shot at than wander around like a stray dog but nevertheless, he slowly made his way to a motel that appeared in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly, he was glad life went his way even if it was just for a minute in the form of a resting place.