Julius's eyes slowly opened. It felt as if he was waking from one of the best rests of his life. Full of life, perfectly hydrated, perfectly rested. He was currently lying on a medical table, the kind found in doctor's offices. The room around him was cramped and bright white, very clinical. Acting as a sheet to his bed was some odd parchment paper. The walls were hardly decorated. He saw some sort of wall art with numbers and letters, a weird box with cables dangling from it, and a set of cabinets and a sink. It was as if he was in a doctor's office because, well, he was in a doctor's office.
An IV was attached to Julius's arm, its contents seeming almost empty.
A man sat in the corner of the room. He was on the smaller side, with stark grey, slightly wavy hair. His face, neck, and hands were littered with scars, but dashing features were visible beneath. His eyes were a dark brown, almost appearing black. He was wearing a bright blue Hawaiian shirt, khaki pants, and loafers. Beside him was a finely crafted wooden cane, bearing distinct Japanese decals. He was scrolling on his phone, the sound of the occasional crude American political joke filling the air.
The man looked up, catching Julius's eye.
"Good morning, sunshine!" the man said in a weathered voice. He began dragging himself towards Julius, using his feet to steer the rolling chair he sat in.
"Um, good morning..." Julius responded. "What time is it?"
The man looked down at his watch.
"Half past the witching hour."
"What?"
"It's about 3:30 AM... How do you feel?"
Julius paused for a moment.
“Um, pretty good actually.”
“Makes sense, you’re young, plus the IV... Give it a few more years for the hangover to kick in... Though I wouldn’t really know. A buddy of mine said a girl broke your heart and you started to drink more than you should; said you never even touched the stuff before. You’re lucky you were in good company, kid.”
The doctor pulled the IV out of Julius’s arm. A slight red glow wiped the tiny hole from his arm.
“Oh yeah, I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. You’re young, never drank before, and you’re overwhelmed by heartbreak. That can turn the sanest man crazy... When I said you were in good company, I wasn’t saying you were lucky to be around people willing to get you help, that’s a given, but that you were around people who understand your plight and won’t judge you... Now, let me just give you a little checkup before I dismiss you. Don’t want Maria to chew us out, now do we…”
“You know my mom?” Julius asked.
“Of course, that red supernova was... a good friend of mine...”
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“What’s your name?”
“Oh, most people just call me 505.”
“Why’s that?”
“‘Cause I’m five five…” The doctor said, hitting Julius’s knee with a little hammer. He did it twice, the first time inciting no reaction, the second time the hammer had a small red glow to it and caused Julius to reflex.
“What is this for?”
“Reflexes.”
“Yeah, but why? Is that standard procedure for something like this?”
“No, this is for something else.”
“Which is?”
“Snubbing, Ooshiba. So don’t worry about it,” 505 said, pulling something from his pocket, “Put this in your mouth.”
He handed an object that looked like a litmus test to Julius.
“This looks like a litmus test,” Julius said.
“It is, of sorts. Just put it in the corner of your mouth for a bit…” 505 said with a nonchalant tone. “Anyway, I heard you’re going to be joining the KGF program this October.”
What’s with this school and acronyms?
“What’s the KGF program?” Julius asked, as he was balancing the strip in the corner of his mouth.
“Kyoto’s Guardians of the Future… It’s a lame acronym, I know; though, I like to call it something even lamer: Magic ROTC,” he said, dividing his hands in the air in an imaginary revealing motion.
“Well, whatever you like to call it, I’m not officially joining it…. I’m just checking out the program because of my dad. The summer was rough, so he wanted to force me out of my ‘nest,’” Julius said with an encroaching somber tone.
“So, I’ve heard.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“I told you; I know your parents.”
“You said you know my mother.”
“If I know one, can’t I know another?”
“You make a fair point. Are you from New York?”
“Yeah, can you hear it in my voice?”
“Slightly, it’s very subtle, but I’m catching it now and again.”
“Good ear. I’ve worked hard to speak properly. Most people only catch it when I say water.”
The conversation died as 505 continued his checkup on Julius, checking his ears, breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate. All were in phenomenal condition except his blood pressure, which was especially low. But that wasn’t new for Julius.
“I feel like I know you,” Julius said, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, we’ve been talking for a bit now.”
“No, not that. Like your face is so familiar.”
“Of course it is... We’ve been talking for a while.”
“Ha, ha. No, I mean I’ve seen it before…”
“Have you ever been to Central Park?”
“Of course.”
“Then you probably saw me there... Or on YouTube or something.”
“What do you... Oh my god! You’re The Phoenix!”
“I was The Phoenix. Now, I’m just Dr. Holmes. Professor and medical supervisor of Kyoto University.”
Mark yanked the small strip from Julius’s mouth. He inspected it for a moment, his hand glowing red as he did. A small smirk broke through the doctor’s poker face.
“Okay, Mr. Hatanaka, you are good to go.” Mark said, smacking at Julius’s shins with his cane.
“Really? Great... By the way, what was that test thing for?”
“Just seeing what you’re capable of... Anyway, I look forward to seeing you in a month, Mr. Hatanaka. Now get going, your parents are waiting in the lobby.”
“They are!?” Julius said with a terrified tone.
“Of course they’re here. They’re your emergency contacts. Next time don’t drink half a bottle of tequila... Alcohol ain’t a tool for fools. I hope you will learn from this,” Mark said, holding in laughter.