Dawning Skye

535 Quack

***CONTENT WARNING: LANGUAGE***

Toshinori had collapsed just a few feet from the entrance to the medical clinic that he had been attempting to get into. The flow of people was always steady going in, so when no one came in for a few minutes, the receptionist tried looking outside. There had been a commotion a little while beforehand, but since it didn’t involve her, the woman had ignored it.

However, with the patients decreasing so drastically, the receptionist had felt inclined to look..

The door was blocked by something heavy on the outside, so the receptionist went and got the two head doctors. When they couldn’t easily get the doors open, they started to use their full body weight as they pushed. When Skye released her magic and the barrier crumbled, the two doctors had tumbled out of their clinic.

One had caught himself, but the other had fallen to his knees, and had gotten covered in muck and dirt. With scrapped palms and a now-soiled doctor’s coat on, the man had looked up to see Mei and Peggy crouching behind what looked to be a foreign noblewoman. Her hair was the color of gold, and her dress was made of expensive fabric.

She was obviously the source of the commotion, while the two behind her looked like servants. He couldn’t make out their faces due to them moving around, and obscuring his view. But the way that they hunched and depended upon the most-likely wealthy woman assured the doctor of his assumption.

With his ire joining hands with his greed, the head doctor marched forward and yelled; “What is going on out here?! Who are you, woman?! And what do you think you are doing outside of my clinic?!”

Skye whipped her head around at the angry tone, and stared at the man in question with confusion. His comment was the polar opposite to the rest of the people’s sentiments. But a few in the crowds began to explain his presence..

An older man near the front turned to a confused young man, and spoke without prompting; “That is Doctor Fan Dang, and the middle-aged man behind him is his son, Doctor Chen Dang. They basically own this clinic since they are the majority share holders for it.”

.....

Skye very badly wanted to turn and ask the old man what he meant by ‘share holders’, but the situation in front of her was too volatile to turn her back on. The doctor before her reminded her of the herbal healers that she had run into in Alcon’s Capital. She could sense no magic from him, but there was traces of it on the son..

‘He’s probably a healer, and his son be a Shaman.. If the elder was right, then I basically just blocked everyone in the building from the main exit.. Dammit! First day of bein’ a diplomat, and I keep runnin’ in ta shite situations..’

As Skye inwardly lamented, the man took another step closer, and barked; “Well woman?! Explain yourself!”

Skye narrowed her eyes on him, but didn’t get a chance to speak. Mei and Hana bowed respectfully, then introduced themselves to the two doctors. The younger one kept back and silent as his father bowed in return, then started to berate the Senator’s daughter.

He was in the middle of explaining how he believed that he was due compensation for them blocking the entrance to his clinic when Skye huffed..

Walking over, she stopped next to Mei, and spoke; “Do I hear extortion afoot? Because it sure sounds like extortion.”

Doctor Fan Dang looked at Skye with rounded eyes before flipping back to anger; “E-Extortion?! How dare you! I merely wish to be compensated for lost wages due to your shenanigans! How dare yo-”

“Yes, yes. How dare I save a life right in front of your clinic. There are tens of people here: I doubt that you will have any loses from healing one person.. Besides, I thought Sai had universal health care? How Can you profit?”

The son shrank back slightly before he tried to gain his father’s attention by gently grabbing his arm. But Dr. Fan shook him off with a scowl, and glared at the impertinent foreigner. Dr. Chen wanted to say that they were initially angry about their entrance being blocked, but his father was furious for another reason..

The old doctor smiled sardonically; “Of course a foreigner wouldn’t understand. Everyone in Sai has a limit to how much medical care they can receive a year. After that, the doctors are free to charge our patients. Our citizens are responsible for themselves! Not our government!”

Skye smirked; “Oh really? So the government that is run and Funded by the people of Sai isn’t responsible for taking Care of the people of Sai? Even when nearly sixty percent of their pay gets taken for such purposes? How does that make any sense?”

The doctor began to fumble his words, saying that the government also maintained the roads, covered all school costs, and paid for other programs of those natures. That most medical expenses that surpassed the limit were due to unhealthy lifestyles, therefore were rightfully the responsibility of the patient. He also went off about how patients were generally ‘ungrateful’, even though he ‘saves them out of his sense of honor’.

As Skye listened, she didn’t know whether she wanted to laugh, or cry at the old doctor. His reasoning was ridiculous, and his babbling made little logical sense. Even his son was listening with an apparent cringe on his face.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Skye chose simmering anger as she shot back at the greedy doctor; “So genetics, environment, nutrition: none of these things impact health? What kind of a doctor are you? The ancients had a word for medical professionals like you: a quack.”

“How Dare Yo-”

“Oh, I fucking dare!” Skye snapped at the doctor; “Do you honestly think that people can Control what their bodies do?! What sicknesses and diseases they get?! That’s the most Asinine thing that I have ever heard!”

“Do you think that you’re special just because you Chose to be a doctor? Well guess what: you’re not. Especially when you obviously see the Duty of being a doctor as nothing more than a fat paycheck. Choosing to be a doctor because you can get wealthy from it is your choice, but don’t you Dare criticize patients for getting sick! Everybody gets sick at some point!”

“Well, I have never been sick,” the doctor muttered.

It was at this point that Toshinori stepped in between them; “Now is not the time to be lying, Fan. You got sick last month. I know this because that was the excuse that you gave me for rescheduling for today. Or were you lying to me?”

A deep flush crept up the old doctor’s neck as he stammered. Dr. Fan didn’t want to irritate the old man, and have himself harassed with an audit. Toshinori Yagi had connections to over half of the senators due to his past, and could bring ruin to his clinic if they ordered his finances investigated.

His son had no idea that he had been skimming a few yenlong from every other patient for decades now. As long as they weren’t too wealthy or too poor, then he would tact on a hidden fee in their bill that most people never paid attention to. The totals were usually so outrageous that their concern was aimed at the whole of the bill, not each individual charge.

Sai had made it mandatory for all medical professionals to make an itemized bill for each patient. It was part of a full-disclosure bill that the Senate had passed, to help stop rampant debt from taking over the civilization. They knew from ancient tomes and records that many powerful kingdoms and countries had collapsed after their wealthy citizens had taken over.

Since they only cared for personal profit, crime and poverty statistics soared, and the country’s population turned on itself for control of it’s limited resources. Decades of turmoil followed, and many people had died horribly. Some theorize that their dire circumstances led to the Great Shift, but no one knows for sure.

‘And tis men like him that destroyed those civilizations..’

As the thought passed, Skye added; “Whether you have ever been sick or not is irrelevant, although blatantly lying about it in front of all of these people probably won’t do you any favors..”

While Doctor Fan Dang glanced around in dismay, Mei chimed in; “We apologize for blocking the entrance to your business, but it was a medical emergency..”

Seeing the timid way that Mei had spoken to him, Dr. Fan turned his anger and embarrassment on her; “You are lucky that your father is not here to witness this shameful situation! I Demand to be compensated for this! This-this Woman has No Right to talk to me-”

“As a diplomat from the Alconian Kingdom: I believe she does have the right. Or would you like to disagree with Me?”

A deep, sharp voice called out from the crowds, which were parting like waves on the ocean for him as he strode forward. His tall, lean, muscular figure cast a long shadow as it approached the front of the clinic. Dressed finely in an elegant hanfu, the man smiled at Mei and nodded as he came to a stop a few steps to her side.

Hana and Mei both seemed surprised as the man started to give the two doctors a lecture on respect. Seeing confusion cloud her features, Toshinori commented; “That is Senator Hang Zhao. He is the head of the financial department for Sai’s Internal Revenue Service, as well as Mei’s husband. Have you not met him yet?”

Skye whipped her head back to stare at the man in question. His dark eyes and strong jawline were complimentary to his fame and build, and his hair was neatly tied back into one of the longest braids that she had ever seen. As he put the doctor in his place, Mei fidgeted while glancing nervously at Hana.

When the three’s conversation had finished, Hang Zhao turned towards his wife with a stony expression. Mei immediately looked down at the ground, which seemed to annoy him into saying; “Will my wife be gracing me with her presence at dinner tonight? Or am I to dine alone again like a bachelor?”

Without thinking, Skye said; “Well, if you would’ve attended dinner with the rest of us last night, then maybe you would not have felt lonely.”

Hang Zhao kept his face placid as he turned towards Skye, bowed to her and her group, then replied; “I did not wish to intrude upon your reunion, but if you would like, I can arrange a dinner tomorrow night. I will even invite my Father-In-Law and Uncle Jin if Mei would like?”

Still avoiding his eyes, Mei nodded her agreement while Hana stood at her side; looking as still as a statue. He smiled and nodded to her, then received the same gesture in return. As the air around them grew thick with tension, Skye wondered what exactly was the relationship between the three..