An Unexpected Ally

[Angel]

It was a busy night for the devil police officer as he worked on cold cases, and on one corner of his desk there were piles and piles of files stacked up high. He had checked in with his daughter Sophie to see how she was doing, got his caffeine fix for an extra boost of energy, and was just about to switch gears delve deep into the Justice Peak incident with refreshed eyes when he got a call from Mitsuko. Angel was so surprised that not only did she call him but she was out and about late at night.

There was no point in speculation since he could just ask the resident angel herself, as to what she was doing out so late at night, but to be more polite about it, he made it a point to ask her how she was doing. The incident at Justice Peak was not only terrifying but concerning that the nurses went through hell at a place he was responsible for. It wasn’t unheard of that nurses these days were put at risk for increased incidents of violence from patients, but working in Veyyard in particular, violence and other crime was the norm. But Angel still felt so bad at what happened, and unfortunately, as much as Mitsuko’s bounty hunting family demanded answers, the police officer was just hitting a dead end.

So when he answered the phone Angel made sure to ask how Mitsuko was doing, but as if by instinct he asked if she was okay instead. “Hi Mitsuko. Are you okay?” He listened intently to the tone of her voice-paying attention to any signs of distress.

[Mitsuko]

“Angel? Oh thank god.” She breathed a sigh of relief when he picked up. “Please listen and listen to me very carefully.” She then starts coughing. “I was on my way to the hospital to see my doctor as I’m really not feeling well. But my car broke down on the way. Zero’s spending time with Jean and helping out with a bounty since he needed a hand, and I’d rather not worry him. I may have contracted pneumonia. My check up was okay when Zero got me to the hospital right after he picked me up from the prison and there were no signs that I had caught anything. It was mostly dehydration, and lack of food from the poor working conditions. It has almost been a week now and I’m starting not to feel well. I rather see a doctor now before this gets worse.” She then took a drink of water to keep her fluids up to snuff. “I was feeling well earlier today. Until now, which is why I’m driving myself to get medical assistance.” Mitsuko also remembered that Zero had stated that she was never alone if she needed help with anything then there were people that will help her. So that is what she was doing.

As much as her first instinct was to reach out to Zero, her husband deserved a breather, so Mitsuko was reaching outside her family for help. Mitsuko has helped many people for a very long time, inside the Domain, outside of the Domain, in her profession. Mitsuko was almost everywhere, that at this point in her life, it felt that she was now in situations where she’d have to reach out for help more often then she was comfortable with. Normally, it was Mitsuko helping people, checking in on them, showing love and care, but right now life was testing her a little. And earlier today she was studying for her basic life support examination, and CPR course to keep her nurse certifications up to date, as they were just about to expire, so she had to get right on that. "Thankfully I'm only a block away from the hospital."

Mitsuko was a more independent person. Motherhood and her marriage had helped her to be a lot stronger, but situations like this one, made her feel a little down on herself since she didn't want to burden others.

[Angel]

Angel then responded as he got his keys. “Say no more. I’ll come assist you. Are the kids at home?” Mitsuko responded that May is with them. Angel then drove to where the resident angel was located. When he arrived he saw that her engine was smoking. The good news is it could be repaired. The bad news was it had delayed her in getting medical attention. When he heard her coughing it concerned him. He could hear it coming from her chest. “Jesus..” He then went over to her, to rub her back. “Come on..let’s get you to the hospital. I’ll take care of your car, so that no one assumes that you were met with foul play. And yes I’m referring to your husband. He and I already aren’t on good terms right now due to the Justice Peak incident.”

[Mitsuko]

Mitsuko knew that there was a lot of tension between Angel and Zero since Justice Peak, but her husband was mature enough to put their differences aside, especially if his wife needed assistance, and Zero was unable to aid her in time. With Pneumonia, Mitsuko needed an X-ray of her lungs so other medical professionals can diagnose her properly, see how much fluid is there, and to be prescribed antibiotics to dry up the fluid. This is an illness that needed to be acted upon immediately, and with her car breaking down, well that only added to the stress of the situation. The angel went into Angel’s cop car and when he joined her she assured the officer not to take Zero’s reaction to him personally. As a husband and father Zero’s feelings were understandable. Zero won’t be too happy that she had to ask Angel for assistance, but he’ll understand. Mitsuko believed in him.

[Angel]

As Angel drove quickly to the hospital Mitsuko started to feel really tired, so she couldn’t continue with a conversation, and when Angel arrived at the hospital, he led Mitsuko inside, and the nurses took over to tend to their colleague, and led Mitsuko to get a chest x-ray. For good measure as Angel stayed in the waiting room, he called Jean and when the older bounty hunter picked up Angel explained the situation. “Jean. It’s Mitsuko. Listen I’ve brought her to the hospital, because she started developing symptoms of Pneumonia. She recognized the symptoms thanks to her medical training, and got in her car and started driving to the hospital until her car broke down, a block away. She called me and asked for help. Please let Zero know that I’m not trying to step on his toes, but she needed help immediately, and did what was best because of the circumstances.” With that Angel hung up.

[Jean]

Jean stared at his phone, the dial tone now could be heard on the other end. “I don’t even get a word in? Not a good look for you at the moment Angel, but at least you are direct about it.” Jean went and got Zero from his office, explained the situation and the two of them made their way to the hospital. When they arrived the men stated who they were to the receptionist and they all sat in Mitsuko’s empty room while she was getting her chest X -ray. “Since you hung up the phone before I could ask you any questions, I’ll ask this one now. Where’s her car Angel? When Zero and I drove past the area we didn’t see her car. I need to know where it is, so we can get it towed and fixed for her.”

[Angel]

“I hid her car using my abilities so that people wouldn’t assume that she met with foul play. I’ll take you to the location later. I know you two aren’t happy with me right now, the tension is building between all of us, and it’s obvious that I’m the last person you both want around Mitsuko because of what happened at Justice Peak. But I’m doing the best I can here.” Angel replied curtly and with a bit of an attitude too since the tension was getting to him, and he felt he was being spoken as if he was being interrogated, but then again Angel had to understand this was Mitsuko’s family. She was in a place that did make her get seriously ill a week later.

[Jean]

Jean felt irritated by this man, with the way that Angel just called him up and just hung up without even as much as proper conversation. He just delivered the message and that was it. “Do you understand what Mitsuko and her colleagues went through for hours before she was able to contact us? She’s a nurse. A NURSE." Jean went on to share Mitsuko's personal nurse manifesto, and she embodied the spirit and the heart of a loving nurse, even with her own children for when they got sick over the years. "A person that’s exposing herself to many illnesses as she helps people get well. A person that to many can be someone’s only friend, a person that’s a patient’s janitor, a person that will stay up all night talking to you if you need company. A person that will help you with your hair if you ask her, a person that will bathe you when you are so unwell that you can’t do it yourself. That’s a nurse. That’s Miki. So I’d appreciate it if you understood where we are coming from as a family.” Jean paused, a slight dark tone to his voice. “As careful as she is, she can still pick up something at work, but without nurses people wouldn’t have the help they need to get well in the first place. So pardon me if I’m still pissed off that there was no proper protection for her, or that you out of all people don’t know how that fiasco could have happened.” Jean crossed his arms closed his eyes.

In the brief moment of quietness Jean remembered the time when Mitsuko found out about the status of Zero's arm that had been impacted by a gunshot wound when he was little. The damage was immense so there were many talks about the possibility of it being amputated if there was nothing more the medical professionals could do. The angel had found this out after she had returned from her studies upbroad and Zero had talked to her about his doctor's appointment. Mitsuko and Jean remained at Zeros' side for all of his medical appointments, and with her training as a nurse Mitsuko helped Zero as much as she could.

[Mitsuko]

With the assistance of a colleague Mitsuko was escorted to her room when she saw her family and Angel there. What was concerning was that she could feel the tension as soon as she walked in and started to cry. She felt like for the last few months, she had been relying on her family so much, from her depression, to the justice peak incident, and now her car breaking down while she was on her way to get medical attention for contracting pneumonia, while doing her job. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, and now you all are fighting with each other..”

[Jean]

Jean went into father mode immediately and when Mitsuko sat down on her hospital bed, he went and sat in front of her on his chair. “Listen little one. This is not your fault. What’s happened for the last few months isn’t your fault. You were going through a hard time, and you still are a little bit. “ He strokes her golden hair and tucks some strands behind her ear. “When the world outside the Domain shut down a few years ago, you went and helped as an essential worker. It’s been a rough few years for everyone, and only now are we all trying to find our footing. This isn’t you being in crisis mode, this is just you having to deal with something that occurred while you were helping others. You tried to help yourself by driving to the hospital. Your car broke down, and instead of calling Zero in a panic, you were calm and knew what had to be done.” Jean took both of Mitsuko’s hands in hers comforting her. “Tough times can last for a few months to a few years depending on the situation, but you can’t blame yourself Miki. You can do everything right and still get sick with something. Zero nor I will never be angry at you for catching an illness.” Jean then went and got a box of tissues and wiped Mitsuko’s eyes with it.

“You know what’s special about you? You thank people often, when they listen to you, when they give you helpful advice, you never ever forget to thank people when they are there for you, or even when they reach out to say hello to you. You thank them. That’s a special quality.”