Over at Tokyo General Hospital they connect you to be a bunch of wires and run some tests.
Awaiting the results, they carted you into a room over at emergency care for the time being.
As the bright light coming in from the window seems to intensify your headache, you spend the next half hour squinting.
Eventually, a doctor becomes by and he tells you something you didn't want to hear.
"Stay overnight!?" you cry, "Doctor (Sensei), I can't! I have a lot to do back at the office."
"Calm down, Nagata-san," replies the doctor, glancing over the clipboard in his hand, "Internal injuries can develop as late as eight hours later, we don't want to send you home just yet."
"Can't you do a scan or something," you ask, "Like they do on TV?"
The doctor sighs, "It'll be difficult to get access to the equipment for that on such short notice. For a non-emergency case like this," he says.
You've got the fallout of Enatsu's debut the manage, you need to make sure all the various idols are at ease, you've got the prepare for Chigusa Iki's debut, your brother is stopping by today, you've got to chat with Watase Yoko on what Kaiba thought she heard, and so much more.
"Doctor, I really can't stay," you say, pleading.
"Nagata-san," replies the doctor in the weary tones of somebody at the end of a twelve-hour shift, "You've also got a light concussion. I need you to understand that if you had been any less lucky, then you would've been in here for weeks. Those blows you took will likely end up little more than bruises now, but things could've ended very differently for you."
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You swallow, point taken.
"But I was lucky, right?" you ask, "So, I get to leave tomorrow?"
You're probably being an awful patient, but Chigusa Iki's debut is tomorrow.
You can't miss that.
Maybe Matsui Tomo could oversee it, but still, you'd feel better if you're there personally.
"Pending test results, but not likely," replies the doctor as he checks your chart, "Somebody will come by later today and retrieve you for some other check-ups."
A nurse enters the room carrying a tray with a cup of water and some medicine.
"For your headache," says the doctor, then gestures towards the nurse, "This is Kuchiki Cho, she'll be overseeing your care for the remainder of her shift. If you need anything, you can ask her."
To call her stern-faced would be putting it mildly.
She has an expression that seems carved out of stone.
You nod amiably, "I'm Nagata Miho,' you say, "A pleasure."
> Decision
> >1 - He said you're mostly fine. Sneak out the hospital. You've got work to do. (1d100)
> >2 - Fine. You're staying for now. (Might miss Chigusa Iki's debut, Matsui will handle it)
> >3 - Stay, but call Kitabayashi and ask if she can bring something like a laptop.
> >4 - Write-in
>
> Winner
> >4 - Stay, but call Matsui and ask if she can bring something like a laptop.
The nurse, Kuchiki Cho, looks down her nose at you, "I trust you won't be causing any problems?"
"I just have a lot of work to do," you say, "I feel fine. I'd like to leave."
The doctor groans and gives Kuchiki a knowing look, then waves you goodbye using his clipboard, "I'll be off," he says, "Get some rest. Stress and the blood pressure that come with it won't do your damaged blood vessels any good."
"I understand," you say, "Thank you, doctor."
Kuchiki Cho keeps glaring at you even after the doctor leaves.
"I'll be a short distance away," she says, eyes narrowing, then points towards a small remote, "Press that button if you need anything."
You nod, "Thank you, Kuchiki-san."
The nurse departs.
You wait for the sound of her footsteps to fade before reaching for your phone.
Phone in hand, you stare at Kitabayashi's number in your contact list.
You haven't really spoken since her birthday party, which ended on a strange note.
Still, both sides ended up backing off, right? Just a spur of the moment, drunken thing.
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You call her number and although Kitabayashi usually answers right away, she seems to take a long time to pick up.
But eventually she does answer.
"Hey, hey, Miho," says Kitabayashi's voice in her usual cheerful tones, "What's up? That debut of that idol of yours was today, right? How it'd go?"
"Hey, Yui," you reply, then sigh, "Well, a lot happened. I'm in the hospital right now, I was wondering if you could bring over a laptop from the office. IT should have them. I'd like to get some work done, but I can't leave right now."
"The hospital?!" cries the voice of Kitabayashi, "What happened? Who got hurt?"
It has been less than an hour since the event, so it's not strange that she doesn't know yet.
Might she actually have gotten some work done for once?
"Eh... Well, me, I guess," you reply.
Kitabayashi laughs on the other of the phone, "Let me guess you, who hasn't exercised in like forever, tried to play alongside the teenage girls?" she says, "Miho, you should know better than that. I bet you didn't even stretch or warm-up. What were you thinking? Did you sprain something?"
"Not quite," you say, "Some fan recognized the location from the stream and decided to drop in. He didn't want to leave and we had to get the police involved. He was after Handa Ako, one of the idols in the event, so I had to stop him somehow. He hit me a few times, but I'm okay. The police got there later and arrested him."
There's a moment of silence.
"...What?" says the voice of Kitabayashi, tinged with disbelief, then panic, "Miho? When did this happen? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, like I said," you reply, "I'm on the phone with you, right? Anyway, they want to keep me here for a little while for observation and tests and the like and it's taking forever. Could you get me a laptop? I need to check some things."
"...Oh? Ah. Yeah," replies the voice of Kitabayashi, "Where are you staying?"
"Tokyo General," you reply, then glancing at a little sign you spy just outside the door, "Room 54."
"Ah, alright," replies the voice of Kitabayashi, "I'll be there in a bit. Bye, bye."
You smile, "Thanks, Yui-chan," you say, "See you soon, bye, bye."
With this you'll at least be able to check on the fallout of today's event.
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At the very outskirts of Tokyo, stands a two-bedroom house that hosts an eight-person family.
"I'm home!" shouts Enatsu Mari.
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"Ah?" shouts a voice from the kitchen, who then walks in the hallway as she's cleaning a plate.
Enatsu's mother.
"Welcome home, Mari. How was work?" she says, "We tried to watch, but the video cut out."
A great Pyrenees dog with a large, white coat lumbers into the hallway, tail wagging.
"Hello, Hancho," says Enatsu as she pets the dog, then looks back up to her mother, "Yeah, something with the camera, I think. They got it working later, but just to end the show."
"Oh, I think I missed that then," says her mother, seeming ashamed, then smiles, "Still, I can't believe my little girl was on TV."
Enatsu blushes, "It wasn't TV, mom. It was on the internet."
Hancho, the dog, lazily plops onto the floor, then slowly rolls over onto its back.
Her mother looks lost in thought for a moment, then seemingly decides on something.
"It's all the same to me," says her mother, "Just another screen, but it went well then?"
"I think so, yeah," says Enatsu, scratching Hancho's belly, "At least that's what my manager said."
"That's good, then," says her mother, "You better wash up and take a hot bath. Dinner will be ready soon."
"Eh?" says Enatsu, "You mean...?"
Her mother nods, "We finally got the boiler fixed," replies her mother, then looks embarrassed, "...Thank you again, Mari. You know you didn't have to, right?"
"I know, but I want to," says Enatsu, "It's everyone's money."
"No, it's your money, but okay..." says her mother, "You better hurry or it'll get busy. Your brothers will be back from baseball practice soon. Dinner after, okay? I made your favourite. To celebrate," she adds, "The start of your career as an idol."
Enatsu offers up a tired smile, "Okay..."
She called in sick to work the following day.
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Kitabayashi arrives almost an hour later, entering with her usual smile and her wild green hair bouncing all over the place.
"Sorry, sorry," she says, "Traffic was a mess and parking at the hospital is a nightmare."
Her smile only trembles for a moment once she gets a good look at the state you're in.
"Uwaa..." she says, holding a hand in front of her mouth, "He got you good, didn't he? Oh, I need your keys."
"I guess," you say, laughing as you reach in your purse and hand her the keys to your house, "What you need the keys for?"
"To feed your cat, dummy," says Kitabayashi, "Since you'll be staying overnight."
"Oh, right..." you say, then pause, "...How do you know I'm staying overnight? Where's the laptop?"
The sliding door opens, Kuchiki Cho, the stern-faced nurse, is back -- looking smug.
She's holding a tray with some medicine.
Kitabayashi pockets the keys to your house and her joyful mask finally falls apart.
"Look at yourself!" she shouts, eyes watering up, "Bruised and bloody! Did you really think I would allow you to work in this state!? Get real! Get some rest you damn workaholic!"
She hastily swipes her eyes with the back of her hand, "I can barely look at you..."
"Yui-chan, I'm fine!" you say soothingly, "I'm just staying for observation. Precautions!"
"Fine? Fine? You're not fine!" says Kitabayashi, turning away angrily, "I come walking in here like an idiot with a laptop, asking for directions, only to be told you need rest since you got punched in the head so many times it's a miracle you're not eating your food with a straw!"
"A hit two more inches towards the side and we would've had to saw open her skull to take the resulting pressure of her brain," says Kuchiki Cho sagely.
Kitabayashi gestures wildly towards the nurse, "You hear that!?" she shouts, "I can't believe you tried to get me to bring you a laptop!"
"But it wasn't two inches more to the side..." you say lamely, "And so I'm fine. I got lucky!"
Kitabayashi's nose wrinkles in disgust, "I can't believe you," she says, pointing an accusing finger at you, "Don't you DARE show up at work tomorrow or I'll have security throw you out!"
"...If it was up to me then she'd be forced to bedrest the entirety of the weekend," says Kuchiki Cho.
Once again, Kitabayashi gestures wildly towards the nurse, "You hear that?! Rest!" she says, then stomps towards the sliding door to your room and stands in the doorway, "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"
She exits and slides the door shut, aggressively. Bang.
Then opens it again.
"Sorry," she says, then closes the door gently.
There's a moment of quiet.
You give nurse Kuchiki a flat stare, "I suppose you're happy."
"I am," replies nurse Kuchiki.
"What's that?" you say, nodding towards the tray.
Nurse Kuchiki smiles.