Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Curative Career of Kaori the Ninja Nurse ❯ First Reading ( Chapter 3 )

First Reading

 

After finishing her rounds with the regular patients, Kaori headed toward Kakashi's room, her last stop before tackling the new pile of paperwork that magically appeared whenever she was not around.

 

There he lay, just as he did yesterday, in the exact same position, but the little troubled crease between his eyebrow was back. "Good morning Kakashi-san," Kaori said brightly. "It's another lovely day in Konoha. Let me open the shades and let in some light." She adjusted the blinds to a comfortable level, wondering if coma patients could sense light. She checked the monitors, no change, as expected.

 

"Has Sakura-san been by to visit you? I asked her to talk to you or read a bit, but she said she was busy today. She mentioned you liked romances. I happen to be reading a new book called 'Gone with the Wind.' It's a romance about a girl from Wind Country and a boy from Fire Country and how war affects their relationship. It's amazing how quickly some writers can turn out a novel. I mean, the last war was only a month ago and someone's already capitalizing on it. If you like I can read some it to you. It's actually pretty good. Even though some parts are rather contrived, the characters are well developed. It is rather typical, warring clans, star crossed love, you know, that sort of thing, but it's a good read."

 

Kaori took out her book, which she grabbed when she passed her desk on the way to the adult wing, and started to read. She was already about halfway through. She usually read a bit during her lunch hour, or rather half hour, and before she went to sleep. It was actually kind of nice to be able to read during official work hours. In fact, she could probably read for a whole hour or more and none of the medics could complain, as this was a rather special assignment. That small rebellious thought made her smile and she read out loud with greater enthusiasm, even giving the characters different voices, but she skipped the R rated scenes.

 

After nearly an hour of reading, Kaori felt her voice giving out and decided to stop. "Well, stay tuned for next time. Back to paperwork for me, but I'll drop by later," she said to her sleeping prince.

 

Back at her desk, Kaori saw junior nurse Otoha who had just arrived for her shift. As a relatively new employee, Otoha should have had the graveyard shift but she somehow convinced the hospital director to give her the 11AM-7PM shift, which allowed her to party after work till late. No doubt her boobs did the convincing.

 

The younger woman smiled and greeted her coyly. "Good-day Kaori-sempai. I hear you've been assigned to watch over Kakashi-sensei. You're so lucky!"

 

"How is that lucky?" Kaori asked indifferently.

 

"You get to sneak a peek at his face. He's really hot isn't he? Or is he hideously deformed?"

 

"The former I guess."

 

"I knew it! Please let me take a look, please?"

 

"No."

 

"But I'm a nurse too..."

 

"No, it says in his file the mask stays on unless it's an emergency."

 

"That's ridiculous!"

 

"Maybe so but that's the patient's wish."

 

"But you got to see..."

 

"Only when he first came in. The mask stays on now."

 

"You are such rule sticker. Who's going to know? What harm can it do?"

 

"I'll know. And when he wakes I won't be able to look him in the eye if I betray the trust between a medical professional and a patient,” Kaori said firmly.

 

"Sigh, fine whatever," muttered Otoha who then added to herself, 'I'll wait till she leaves...'

 

"And no peeking when I'm not here!"

 

"Huh? I wasn't thinking anything like that!"

 

"I'm sure you weren't. If I find the patient's privacy has been violated, I'll report you."

 

"I'm not going to do anything, okay." Otoha flipped her long luxurious black hair back angrily as her blue-gray eyes rolled in their sockets. 'Anal retentive bitch,' she thought, `always lecturing me on medical ethics. She needs to get a life, or rather get a man, or rather just get laid!'

 

Otoha then saw Kaori's book. 'Hey, what's that book you're reading?" she asked curiously.

 

"I've been reading this to Kakashi-sensei. They say it helps stimulate the brain of coma patients," Kaori explained, blushing a bit.

 

"What are you reading?" Otoha asked again.

 

Kaori showed her the book.

 

Otoha laughed, "That's not the kind of book he likes!"

 

"What do you mean? I heard he likes romances and this one's pretty good," Kaori replied defensively.

 

"That's like a Harlequin romance! Everyone knows he likes..." Otoha leaned over to whisper in Kaori's ear. Kaori's faced turned beet red.

 

"How do you know that?" Kaori demanded.

 

"He doesn't hide it. He reads that stuff in public. Really Kaori, if you didn't have your head stuck between tongue depressors and bandages all day and just socialize a bit, you'd know all the shinobi gos…I mean news... you would know important stuff like that."

 

Kaori went silent. What kind of man was this Kakashi? Not another pervert!

 

"Was the matter Kaori? Burst your bubble? Did you fall for him? No surprise, so have half the women in Konoha. And he's probably had half of those as well. He's a notorious ladies man!" Unbeknownst to poor Kaori, Otoha was a notorious creator and spreader of shinobi gossip.

 

"Really?"

 

"Of course! He must be - look at the books he reads. Only bad bad boys read those, especially in public," Otoha maliciously speculated.

 

"Er…so what exactly does he read?" asked Kaori tentatively.

 

"The Icha Icha series - there's already a movie out based on the first book. The second one is in the works. The movies are rated R but the books are more explicit."

 

"So you've read them?"

 

"Well...yes...they were on the Konoha Times' best seller's list. They're really quite romantic. Not as bad as some prudish people make them out to be," the younger woman added pointedly, thinking how Kaori fell into that category.

 

"Well, I'm sure what I'm reading is fine. I'm not going to read smut books out loud!"

 

"You are such a prude. What's the big deal? It's just you and an unconscious patient. You should read them for yourself. I mean considering..."

 

"Considering what?"

 

"Your lack of action..."

 

"What the hell do you mean?"

 

"Well, when was the last time you got any?"

 

"Any what? You mean going out on a date?"

 

"I mean being really really intimate with a guy."

 

Kaori's face returned to the deep red color. "None of your business!"

 

"All I'm saying is those books are good company when you're not getting any other action."

 

Kaori seriously considered Otoha's advice. What harm could it do to read just one?

 

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