Sweet Symptoms

Prologue: Another 'Normal' Day at the Hospital

Jesse entered the hospital, prepared for yet another busy day. He let out a soft sigh, preparing to head to work. Or well, a bit of a side project. It was something he'd do when he wasn't swamped with surgeries. He preferred doing it before huge operations, as they would leave him too tired. The work he was doing required a lot of attention, to say the least.

Before he could enter one of the many corridors of the hospital, he was suddenly interrupted by a sweet, female voice.

"Doctor Thornhart! Good morning!"

He turned around, spotting a familiar young woman with red hair. She trotted on up, her hair swishing behind her. She had a bright yet warm smile on her face. Jesse knew her particularly well, as she was the main post-operation nurse. She was a little anxious sometimes, and was known for being a little quick about changing in and out of uniform. There was a rumor that she was insecure about her appearance, but no one ever asked her about it.

"Ah, good morning, Kitsune." Jesse greeted her, chuckling at her formal speaking. "I told you already, you can just call me Jesse."

"Oh, right." Kitsune chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Good morning, Jesse." She corrected herself.

Jesse smiled to himself. "How's your morning so far?" He asked, beginning to walk alongside her down the white corridors of the hospital. 

"Uneventful as ever." Kitsune shrugged. "I nearly poured salt into my tea this morning. I didn't really sleep good." She confessed.

"Oh, that's no good.." The doctor frowned slightly with concern. "Do you think it's due to stress of any kind?" 

"Possibly? I'm not fully sure, it might be the line of work. We've had a strange surge of deaths lately... It just makes me feel kinda guilty, y'know?"

Jesse hummed, nodding as he lightly patted her back. "I understand. I will admit, it's a little frightening. Though, what matters most is that we do whatever it is that we can." He assured her.
"So try not to feel too bad about it, alright?" 

Kitsune nodded, a soft smile on her face. "You're right... Thanks, Jesse."

"No issue at all." Her friend chuckled. "Well, I have to get to work. I assume I'll be seeing you later?" 

"Oh, of course! See you later, Jesse." The redhead waved, trotting farther down the hallway to the recovery ward- preparing herself for work for the day.

Jesse quietly exhaled, the smile from his face fading. Right then, time for him to get to work as well. He needed to be serious. He walked down the corridor, slipping in to one of the patient's rooms. 

The room was a little dark. He had told any nurses not to turn the light on, as it would cause the patient a great amount of discomfort. Seeing as Jesse was one of the most trusted surgeons in the whole hospital, no one thought twice. They just viewed it as him caring about the patient's comfort.

This... wasn't completely true.

He just didn't want them seeing his experimental operations, and the marks they left behind.

Laying in the hospital bed was the unfortunate test subject he had selected. It only made sense for Jesse to select him, as he had no living relatives. If it failed, while definitely annoying, it just failed. If it succeeded, then he'd be considered a hero, perhaps. If this worked, then he would've done the impossible- bring someone back from the brink of death. Maybe even death itself!

Ah, but he was getting too ahead of himself. First thing was first- he had to check the current results of the last test. From there, he could figure out what to do from there. He picked up his notebook, getting ready to jot down any new notes.

Just another day of work at this hospital for him... Not that anybody needed to know that.