Hearing The Heartbeat (Sequel to 'Broken Perfection')

Decade

"Welcome to Meijo Hospital, Yuriko." The hospital director, Hamasaki, smiled, shaking her hand. Katsumi shows no emotion whatsoever as she shakes his hand, not even bothering to smile as she mutters a 'thanks' and walks off.

Katsumi heads to her new office, changing into her uniform, which was just a black pencil skirt and a light pink, elbow-length sleeved sweater. Tying her hair into a ballerina bun, Katsumi sighs as she settled in her new office.

As she looks around the bland, cream walls of the rather spacious room, her eyes involuntarily drift to the only picture frame sitting on her desk. Her eyes lock with Keiichi's who was staring at her through the picture.

The picture was framed in a fancy golden one, showcasing the picture of which Keiichi and Katsumi stood side by side, his arm around her shoulders with her arm around his waist. It was the picture, or rather the selfie, the two had taken after they got engaged.

Smiling bitterly, the doctor tears her gaze away from the memory when a knock on her door sounded. "Come in," she grabs a folder with files and begins to organize them as a nurse comes in.

"Dr. Yuriko? The director wants to speak with you at a meeting at 10:30 this afternoon." she says, pushing up her glasses, which were framing her sharp eyes.

"Tell him I'll be there." Katsumi nods,  glancing to the clock for a brief moment to confirm the time of 9:45. She had some times to spare.

After the nurse leaves, the raven haired woman sighs once more and leans back into her chair. None of the gang knew about her new job here yet, she was planning to tell them soon... But maybe not now.

Then, another knock sounds. "Come in." she calls again, and Katsumi looked down to her files, but snapped her head up when she heard a familiar voice.

"I knew it..." he muttered and Katsumi looked up to meet the eyes of Homare, her apparently new colleague and house-mate.

Yeah, Katsuki, after catching his sister attempt suicide almost three times, decided it was best for her not to live alone, thus leading to her new rooming life with Homare at his manor, with his little sister Yui.

"Midorikawa? So this is your hospital?" she chuckles, brushing hair away from her face.

"Yeah," he replies, frowning. "What are you doing here? You're a lawyer."

"Not 'nymore," she replies, closing the files and placing them aside. "I quit last week and since I already had studied and medical school in Britain, I was qualified to be a doctor."

"Why'd you leave law, though?" he sighs, ruffling his hair. "That's what you wanted to be the entire time."

"I find no purpose in that career any more." she replies, making Homare furrow his brows. She was a great lawyer... She had clients lining up just to get her service, she won all her cases, not one lost by far. "Besides, this is the only way I can say sorry..."

Homare bites his lip when he hears her quiet mutter, "What do you mean?" Though he already knew the answer, he asked anyway, praying it wasn't the reason he was thinking it was.

"You know what I'm talking about, Midorikawa." she flashes her ring in his face, staring at it. "Anyway, I have a meeting to attend." She noticed it was already 10:20 and she had to go now. 

"I'll see you at home later. I'll cook dinner tonight."

~*****~

After her meeting with the hospital director, Katsumi just made a few rounds and organized her files, no patients today.

She managed to head home by 5:30, arriving by 6:00. Opening the door she was greeted by the ever happy Yui, who was reading a book by the fireplace. "Welcome home, Kat!" the high school student greeted her with wide smile.

"Hey, Yui." Katsumi smiled, placing her jacket and bag aside. "Any mail or packages?"

"No, there was a salesman who came by earlier, but I didn't answer the door." "Smart girl, Yui." Katsumi ruffles her hair.

"I'm about to cook dinner, any requests?" "Can you cook stew tonight?" Peeking into the fridge, Katsumi frowns. "No ingredients.... I'll call up Homare and tell him to bring home the food, mind waiting?"

"No, I can wait... But do you mind if I go take a bath?" "Go ahead, just make sure it's still clean because 'll be using it next."

"Alright, no problem, just call me when Homare's home." "Of course."

~*****~

"I'm home! Katsumi, is this what you were looking for?" Homare calls once he returns home. The female peeks into the bag of vegetables and spices, nodding with a small smile. "Yeah, thanks. And by the way, Yui needs help with her homework, mind helping her out? It's the human body anyway."

"Okay." Katsumi listens as his footsteps fade upstairs. She heard a door opening then closing as she began cutting up all the ingredients.

She waited for the food to simmer in the pot as she sat in a nearby arm chair in the living room. She set a timer for about 20 minutes as she opened some patient files. Already, she has been assigned some patients, meaning tomorrow work starts for her.

Rubbing her slightly tired eyes, Katsumi stands and walks to the bath room to splash some cool water on her face. She hurries back to the kitchen and gulps down a big glass of water.

Surprisingly, there was already someone there. Homare was beginning to cook the stew, Yui by his side, cutting up fruits for what looked to be a fruit salad. "Okay, good, nothing burnt..."

"Any help needed?" Katsumi asked, and Homare nodded to the stairs, gesturing to upstairs. "Go tale a shower, you still haven't taken one, yes?"

"Let's finish cooking dinner first, how about that?" "It's fine, Kat! Just go do it! It'll be ready by the time you come downstairs."

"But-" "Just go, we'll be fine!" Katsumi sighs and rushes upstairs to hurry so she can at least hurry to help.

~*****~

"What...?" Katsumi opens her eyes slightly, looking around the bedroom. "Oh, you're awake?" Homare enters the room with a tray of warm food. She noticed she already was in her pajamas.

"What happened?" "You somehow fell asleep in the tub..." he replies, placing the food on the night stand beside the bed where Katsumi laid.

The doctor flushed red... "W-What...? How did I get into...?" "I just got you out the tub, I didn't see anything since Yui was watching me so closely, and that was just plain wrong if I did that, Katsuki would''ve probably killed me."

"Okay... good..." she mutters, sitting up. "Thanks, though. Did I miss dinner?" "It's already 10:30, Yui's asleep. I reheated diner here." he gestured to the food.

"Thanks..." she smiles, reaching for the spoon. "But anyway, I'll be working a late shift tomorrow. My shift'll start at noon. Will you be able to pick up Yui or do we get someone from the gang to pick her up? Well, except for Kanji and Yasuto... Taketo's in town today, and his apartment's near the school... Nagisa has nothing tomorrow, neither do  Chii and Naka."

"My shift will start at 5:00 am tomorrow, it'll end by noon so I can go pick her up."

"Then why are you still not asleep?!" Katsumi scolded the doctor. "Go to bed. I can take care of Yui for tomorrow morning."

~*****~

Homare walks back to his room and changes into sweatpants and a normal shirt. He climbs into his bed and lets out a breath, thinking abut Katsumi.

He still loved the girl, but he knew she wasn't ready for another relationship. Hell, he wasn't even sure she loved him like she did long ago...

But he knew she cared.

She cared for him... But it wasn't the way she cared for Keiichi, or the way she cared for him almost a decade ago.