Doctor In The House (Dr. STONE Fanfiction)

The Prior Encounters

For as long as he could remember, there was only one female - besides his precious sister - who stayed in his mind the longest; the one whose eyes were as vibrant as sapphires, and hair as black as rough coal. It all started back at the beach six years prior to the petrification, the day when he was collecting seashells along the beach. He could still remember that stinging pain on his cheek as he tumbled to the ground with the shells splayed around him. He even remembered the humiliation he felt, the thought that he had failed to be the brother of a little girl whose only wish was to be a mermaid. Was it wrong for him to do such a small favour for his sister who was about to undergo surgery? He would never know. This was truly a cruel world.

"What's going on here?" came a female's voice, followed by soft footsteps approaching the scene. The boy's attention immediately went to the stranger. Letting out a quiet groan, he pushed himself up to see who it was. There stood a girl who appeared to be merely a few years older than him, dressed in a light yellow sundress and wore a pair of beige flip flops. But what he was focusing on was the bag of seashells in her hand. So she had been collecting seashells like him, too.

"The hell you doing here?!" sneered the drunk man, whose glare was now diverted at the unfazed girl. "You're trespassing my land!"

"Sir, with due respect, this beach is public property." rebutted the girl calmly. "You may have a permit to fish in this area, but it does not state that you are the owner of the beach. That means the boy and I have the same rights to collect seashells at the appropriate amount. If you may, we would appreciate it if you let us attend our own matters as we leave you in peace."

Tsukasa could tell that her explanation only made the man angrier as he was clenching fists, but he was too hurt to even get up to protect her. "Shut up!" The poor boy could only anticipate for the worse, as he begged for the man to stop. But what he didn't expect was for the girl to turn around, stepping away from him as she pulled him towards her by the man's wrist. Once she got him off-balance, she grabbed his arm and placed her bottom to his hips. And the next thing the boy knew, the man was flipped onto the ground. The girl sat next to him and twisted his arm, eliciting a painful scream which she was barely fazed by. Everything happened so fast, the boy wasn't even able to follow her movement.

'Amazing.' was the young Tsukasa's thought, as he looked at her in awestruck.

"Excuse me." she called with a closed-eye smile. "Could you wait for me on by the coast? I'll meet you there in a while."

"Okay." he stammered. Though he struggled a bit, the boy was able to get up on his feet and make his way towards the coast. He didn't know what happened to the man, and he could care less about that. What's more important was that the girl - thankfully unharmed - approaching him after he'd waited for a short while.

"Follow me." She led him to a nearby bench, where she took out a small pouch from her sling bag. He realised it was her first aid kit the moment he saw the contents. The girl took out an instant cold pack, squeezing it tightly and then shaking it, before handing it to him. "Place it on your cheek." Without hesitation, he did as he was told; although he flinched at the sudden coldness. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"No." was his shy reply.

The girl let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear." she said. "I wish I could stay longer to keep an eye on the bruise, but I need to get back home now. Make sure to put a warm towel on it tomorrow onwards, okay? Before I leave, I have something to give you." She reached into the other bag that contained the seashells and pulled out a smaller pouch. "Here. I hope it's enough for whatever you plan to make out of them. I'll see you around, I guess." Giving him one last smile, the girl began making her way towards the staircase, leading her to the street that she often took to go home.