2026-07-04: Change
- Log: Change
- Cast: Hana Fukami, Shinichi Nagisa
- Where: Shibuya Station - Buchiko Exit
- OOC Date: July 04, 2026
- IC Date: December 04, 2012
- Summary: Hana Fukami goes to the hospital for a routine appointment--and is admitted for an illness she didn't realize she had. Stuck alone in a hospital room, she's well aware she's being avoided... until Shinichi Nagisa is pressed into keeping her company for a while, even with visiting hours over. Trigger warnings: blatant and subtle transphobia.
(|====================== Shibuya Station - Buchiko Exit ======================|)
-====================================================== Tokyo/Shibuya Ward ====-
Day in, day out, throngs of people choose to pack themselves inside shining
metal behemoths called "trains" that then hurtle them towards a set destination.
They then get out at these "station" nodes, acting as if it were entirely
normal! This particular one is a confusing, winding labyrinth that seeks to
distract them from escape with underground malls, juice stands, and offers of
gainful employment. Eventually, one solves the maze and ascends to see the
sunlight once more.
The square above is just as full of humanity, from down-on-their-luck teen
buskers looking for their big break, politicians in front of restored train cars
making speeches that speak to the history of this place, and even smoky booths
cordoned off by glass to make certain no one should suffer from their vice. A
statue of the loyal pup Buchiko stands here enshrined like a local god,
surrounded constantly by tourists. Go further, and you'll see the busy checkered
crosswalks and looming screens above that demand the attention from all who
pass, showing them what the powers that be demand they focus upon.
Welcome to Shibuya.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
It's Tuesday evening, and Hana had been planning to go home and see Emisa, maybe... but instead, an appointment for her medication has turned into an admission, and her having not felt well for the past while now has an explanation. With some disappointment, Hana followed her doctor's orders--of course she did--and went back into the room she was going to be stuck in for a while now.
Thus: beep, beep, beep. The machines hooked up to the tall woman to monitor her make their quiet noises, and Hana sits with her hospital bed adjusted to keep her upright. She hasn't had a lot of company since; Teruo's busy, and it's past visiting hours anyway...
At least she did get her hormones today. Hana is thus here, her black hair about around her chin, her red eyes staring into nothing in particular. She's thin--almost frail-looking, especially in a hospital gown--with a small chest and blankets about her lower body. She's still wearing her makeup, but...
Well, her records all say 'male', despite how she looks. That's part of why she isn't exactly thrilled to be here.
She has an IV in her hand, and a book on her lap that she isn't actually reading at the moment.
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
It's 19:00 hours, which means the next shift comes on and assignments are made, report is given.
One of the younger nurses, complains to the nurse in charge, "... But why am I getting stuck with the weirdos?"
"She's a TV celebrity. There's nothing weird about that."
"You say that as if the 'she' part wasn't the whole issue! Let me trade with Hanako-san, please. My husband wouldn't like me taking care of someone like that."
"Well you can't tell him anyway. You're new here, and have to pay your dues. Just do a good job alright? If a celebrity complains our whole unit will come under fire."
"Nnnngh- fine!"
It wasn't long after that a teenage transporter was wheeling a patient back from a CT scan when-
"Oh! Shin-chan! You're off pretty soon right?" "Uh- yeah. After this." "Can you do me a big favor? I just need you to keep one of my patients company for a while. Pleassseeeee help me."
"Of course-"
It was only after he dropped off the patient back to their room that he learned the details.
"... I think my Mom watches that show." He noted, "Uh! I haven't met anyone like that. Is there anything I have to do?"
"Just be sure to be polite and do whatever 'she' needs. And act like they're a real woman no matter what... even if you and I know better."
"... Well, alright. Okay. I can do that."
"I knew I could count on you, Shin-chan~"
Soon after came a knock on the door frame. Shinichi Nagisa had no idea what to expect, "Hello Ma'am. I'm a volunteer here, who was asked to come check on you. May I come in?"
But you know, whatever horrible thing anyone thinks they are. They can't have done anything as horrible as him. That's perhaps how he treats any encounter with someone who's in a group he's unfamiliar with.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
19:00 hours... Objectively, Hana hasn't been here that long, but still.
She's seen the looks; they've been clever enough that she hasn't heard the whispers, but she knows what soem of them are thinking. Her mood is pretty low as a result--until there's a knock at the door.
Knock knock. "Mm?" comes the voice from inside, and then she hears him. "Sure," Hana answers. "Come in."
She waits--and she'll look with some curiousity at him when he makes his way into the room. Young...
"I'm surprised," she says. "They found someone willing to talk to me after all."
Pause. "...Sorry. I shouldn't say such things. Do you need anything from me, or were you just checking on my condition?"
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
Shinichi comes in, and gently shuts the door behind him. "Oh... uh." Shinichi freezes for a moment, then shrugs, "... Well I'm not gonna try to smooth things over and say you're wrong or anything."
Nurses always underestimate what patients have figured out about their care- or have overheard.
"I'm just here to check up on you. And well, if you want someone to talk to- I don't mind. I know it gets pretty lonely when nobody is."
Which is why he feels all the worse for having only rarely visiting Yanagi, because he learned later from talking to people how isolating the experience is.
"Let's start simple maybe? I'm Shinichi Nagisa. I'm... well I'm a transporter here. And a second year in High School. You're Fukami-san, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
When Shinichi freezes, Hana gives him a lopsided smile. "Thanks," she says. "I like it when people are honest with me. ...It's the ones who won't say it to my face that bother me more."
Pause. "But that's not your fault." Hana tends to be sensitive to such things; she's familiar with them, after all. Even before she came out as a woman...
"Hmm, OK. Well, the IV doesn't itch too much, and I'm kind of tired," Hana answers. "...But I could use somebody to talk to. I was supposed to go out with a friend tonight."
Starting simple, is it? Hana looks over Shinichi thoughtfully. "So keeping me company isn't your job, exactly," she points out. "Second year... That's a difficult time. You're really trying to figure out who you are around then--and it's before your third year, where you'd better know already."
"I'm Hana Fukami," she answers then. "Well, come have a seat if you're going to stay with me. Don't worry--I'm not going to complain."
Yua Ijuuin has arrived from The Rooster Inn.
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
"Well." He clears his throat, "I guess I can understand that. I wouldn't say I'm the same way though."
As he steps closer inside, "I mean I do prefer to know where I stand but- I think if your honesty is just being needlessly cruel to someone, then it's better you just not, you know?"
He learned that lesson the hardest way.
"Sorry you're stuck in a hospital bed then. Good friend of yours?" He doesn't sound like he's trying to pry some info out of her at least, just asking because he's genuinely curious.
"Well not exactly but- being a transporter isn't exactly a job either. I volunteer and- that's the kind of thing I'm allowed to do in high school."
He says with a thin smile, "I actually kinda like doing this kind of thing more, talking to people, getting them warm blankets- water, you know, the little things."
She notes that it's a difficult time, and well- "Well, I've got a pretty good handle on what kind of guy I am, I think? But yeah- I won't say it's not tough."
When offered a seat, he takes it, pulling the chair up a little closer to the bed. "Nice to meet you. I think my Mom watches your show? Though I won't claim to be sure of that? I don't watch enough daytime television to know what my parents watch for sure."
Well, at least he's not lying about that either and claiming she's a big fan, or saying anything that indicates he volunteered only because she's a celebrity.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
Not the same way, Shinichi says, and Hana will at least hear him out. She nods, after a moment. "I see. Well, it's normal not to want to 'rock the boat'," she says. "Did you know? There's a rule. 'If they can't fix it in about a minute, you shouldn't say anything.' It mostly applies to things like someone's haircut being bad or their shirt being buttoned wrong... But it can apply to other things, too."
He sympathizes, and Hana appreciates that, dipping her head in appreciation. "Yes. I spend a lot of time with her. ...Even if she is my boyfriend's ex," she says with a faint laugh. "Adult relationships get complicated," she offers.
But... that's how it is. Hana tilts her head imagining the 'job' such as it is. "Hm. I guess they wouldn't let you do much more... What makes you want to volunteer at a place like this?" she wonders.
Then she smiles. "That does sound nice. I like talking to people, too."
He does have a good handle. "Good!" Hana answers. "By your third year, if you want to go to university you'll be too busy studying to do much introspection."
"It's nice to meet you too, Nagisa-kun. ...And that's fair; you'd be at school when we're on. Your mom works in the home, then?"
"..."
"I'm not going to complain, you know," she says. "I don't want trouble."
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
"I've heard of it. My ex-girlfriend got mad at me once about it." He says as he clasps his hands together, "It was the first time I learned there was a rule of thumb like that."
He knows well about how their society is 'don't rock the boat'. But- he doesn't think all rocking is bad, it's just more when they're trying to hurt someone purposefully.
"Oh." He blushes a little, "I imagine office romance gets a lot of that in show business." He murmurs.
She clarifies about his position, and he nods, "That's right. Not much more at least. I don't have any credentials after all. But I do sometimes help them get someone up- and I know how to hook someone up to a monitor for a nurse. Stuff like that isn't really going to get anyone in trouble."
He does learn some! They do teach him some things, he just can't do them himself.
"Ah. It's- well, I think I just came to that point in my life where I found my calling. I want to care for people."
He thinks about whether to tell her or not, then figures she isn't likely to laugh at him. Though, maybe? Ah well, he'll just tell her.
"My plan is to become a nurse one day."
She acts like it's a good thing to have a handle on who he is. And he just smiles back, vaguely. Because well-
The handle he has is the self awareness that he's a terrible person. The best he can do is try to make up for growing up to be someone like that.
"... Yeah, I've already looked into it. What I saw sure seemed like a nightmare." He says, maybe too honestly in that regard, "I could do cram school but, then I'd have to give up volunteering here and- I don't want to really."
She asks about his Mom and- "Nah, I mean- she does housework of course but, she works as a museum curator and keeps odd hours."
And then she notes she's not going to complain, that she doesn't want trouble. "... Well, if you're sure. I don't mind giving you the info on how to contact a patient advocate?"
He says, and it's almost like he's not really that invested in her not complaining, "But I get not wanting to make waves. Your nurse isn't... a bad person, really. They're just stressed out- sometimes when you're like that it's easy for someone to forget that everyone deserves proper care when they're sick."
He doesn't need to make excuses for her either. But- well, he does regard most people as better people than him, so he does at least try to say something on her behalf.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
"Good for her," Hana says with some amusement. "Your girlfriend getting mad at you now and then is a great way to learn important things."
But Shinichi blushes, and Hana smiles good-naturedly. "It does," she says. But he's too young for the details, especially with a blush like that. That's more than enough context to understand why she was looking forward to seeing her friend.
"Yes, I see. Well, go ahead and check my hookups, I suppose. I have that thing on my finger..." The oxygen reader? Whatever it is.
Still--he found his calling. "Oh!" Hana says then. "That's wonderful," she says of being a nurse, quite the opposite of laughing at him. "Caring for people is a great calling. And I suppose by volunteering like this you can get your foot in the door right off, mm? It's a good plan."
She doesn't even ask 'why not be a doctor instead?' because it doesn't work in her mind like that.
"It's not so bad," Hana says of studying, when he shows 'nightmare' is his impression. "It's hard work, but it's doable. And if you're volunteering here, you're probably used to hard work."
Pause. So that's what she does... "Ahhh, I see. Many of our viewers are housewives, so I assumed. But that's very nice. I love museums."
A patient advocate... "I'd just get a reputation as a difficult patient," she says, shaking her head. "The doctors know what they're doing. And in any case, it's not like they're wrong. I'm 'halfway'," she says with a sigh. "People outside the right circles... they don't really understand."
"What about you?" she wonders. "Do you know why they talk about me like they do?"
Not a bad person... "I'm sure she's not," Hana agrees. "And she's still doing her job right. It's... normal, to expect the average person not to understand."
"Unfortunately."
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
He looks sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck, "In that case, I'd say I learned a whole three semester's worth from her." It's not that they didn't get along though. In fact, they got along so well that- had he simply chosen something different, then they'd probably still be together.
But she deserved better.
"Sure. ... Pulse Oximeter. It reads your oxygen and heart rate." He gets up from his seat, then looks at the monitor, its alarms, then back at her. "Looks all good. It'd be making a terrible racket if they weren't reading right."
As he sits down, he smiles, "Yeah... glad you agree. It's- yeah, but it's also more that I can start the 'caring' part right away, whether I make it as a nurse or not."
Does he think there's a chance he might not? Well- yes, of course. Being a male nurse is weird enough that he assumes it might have issues along the way.
Not to mention getting the grades for a college program.
"... I won't say you're wrong. I've just- well I've always been 'alright' at classwork, just not- so alright that I'm completely confident."
There's a weak chuckle, "Well, my mom likes the work, finds it fulfilling. She's- spent enough time away from work that she likes to give it her all. But- she has a weakness for daytime TV and Soap Operas from back when she was away from work all the time." As he explains, without explaining 'away from work because my deceased sister was in the hospital all the time.'
"I get that." He says with being regarded as a difficult patient. "Sometimes it's hard to get people to tell me what they want because they don't want to be seen as 'needy'."
He tilts his head at the word, furrowing his brow, "Halfway?" He can't figure out the context from that one, just from what little he knows.
She asks what he's heard and well, honesty. So he tries to be as honest as he can be while staying polite, "They said you're 'toransu'." He says, as he tries to use the word he knows, "I don't really get it- but- I figure you've got your reasons. Given how people treat the- well the 'nail that sticks out'-" As he uses the old idiom, "-I can't imagine it's easy to live like that."
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
"Ahah... I hope it didn't end too badly," Hana offers. It's something she's internally a little more delicate on; it was a good way to learn about women, back then... But then, sometimes, 'disagreements' can be much, much worse.
Pulse Oximeter. Hana looks down curiously at the little clip on her finger. "All that from my finger? Hmm." she seems to show interest, at least. But as he looks, she nods. "That's good, then."
Whether he makes it or not...? "Don't count yourself out before you've even started," Hana gently advises. "It'll be hard, but with determination you can go a long way."
She doesn't comment on the gendered profession... yet. "Ha," Hana says, but it doesn't have enough heart to be a real laugh. "You won't say I'm wrong, but you think so," she points out. "Well, overconfidence is bad too, I suppose."
There are many reasons a woman would spend time off of work; Hana doesn't need to ask which ones. "Fun! The soaps are fun, too--but a lot of work, on the actors' end. They do those every day..."
He gets it. "Mm. That makes sense. You offered what I needed, though. So I suppose I'm still being needy..."
She sighs. But she doesn't answer immediately about 'halfway', instead waiting for what he's listened to so far.
"Mm, I see," she says. "Transgender, they call it. It means I was a man, and now I'm a woman. ...Well, it means different things to different people, but that's what it means to me. Except... I haven't gone 'all the way', yet--my records are still 'male'."
"That's why they think I'm strange. But I'm happier this way. And it's not as if it hurts anyone."
"So no, it isn't always easy, but it's still..."
"Well, I'd rather live this way than how I was living before."
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
"... Could have been worse." Shinichi says, perhaps too honestly in that moment. Because as far as she knew, she didn't do anything wrong. It was him, not her.
"Yeah, the red light inside measures it- somehow. I think they said it was infrared technology."
He grins at her, "Oh trust me, I haven't. I'll give it my all. Just- gotta keep expectations realistic."
He's a gifted athlete who doesn't play sports anymore. He was never half as good at schoolwork.
Needy? "Oh not at all. I like doing this whole thing. Sitting, talking to people." People his own age barely talk to him anymore. His whole social life is kind of here right now.
Hana begins to explain and- he furrows his brow, seeming a little confused, still he nods, "Huh. Well. ... Alright. I don't really get how- you can do that. I mean- why do that? Because you were unhappy as a guy? I can't see the way most people treat you now being a... 'happy' thing."
A pause and-
"Sorry if that's a rude question. I just want to try and understand something that doesn't make a lot of sense to me."
He doesn't address the part of 'all the way' or not yet, he knows there are surgeries for 'sex changes' but not much more.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
"Ah." Well, that's ominous.
Infrared technology. "That's interesting," Hana says, and looks down at it again much like someone might look at a ring on her finger. She doesn't linger after that. Instead... She smiles, because Shinichi has reassured her about his plans. "All right," she says. "Sometimes people say 'realistic' and mean 'pessimistic'. So you can see why I'd be concerend."
Talking to people... "It is nice, isn't it?" she asks. "I feel like I'm the one being interviewed this time, though." Hana leans back her head onto the pillow, looking into nothing in particular for a moment--and then she looks back to Shinichi to explain.
"How? Well, 'how' is with a lot of counseling, the medications they gave me earlier, and so on. It's very complex. But 'why'..."
She smiles, and it isn't entirely wan.
"It's okay," Hana says. "I invited you to ask. ...You see, a lot of people do treat me badly. But not everyone. My friends... the people who 'get it', too. The way they treat me makes it all worth it. With them, I just... am who I am. And I like who I am."
"If not everyone gets it... I can live with that. For those times with the people I love. For the ones who do. Does that make sense? It's not that I need everyone to understand. But the 'good' outweighs the 'bad' for me."
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
Well he was a middle schooler. That's young even to begin dating! But- hey, if his middle school sweetheart turned out to be someone he eventually married that'd be incredibly uncommon.
Pessimistic- isn't wrong, but he's not about to explain why. The pessimism is less towards his goal though. That's the one spot of optimism in his life.
One way or another he'll work in a field where he can care for people.
"Oh?" He sits up straighter, "Uh- well, I hope you don't feel like I'm a tough interviewer. Though- just trying to make conversation."
He says as he shifts in his seat, the last thing he wants is for her to be uncomfortable because he's pressing a celebrity for her life story.
He tries to nod along- counseling, medications- it at least sounds like something that requires a lot of expert knowledge. Like- why would there be 'sex change' operations if there wasn't a medical reason behind it?
Then again there's also plastic surgery and the like, huh.
"... I think it does." He pauses, mulls it over, then eventually, tries to explain it in his own way. "If you're not living in a way you like, it makes sense to try to change yourself for the better. And well, I have to believe that people can change themselves to live better lives."
If he doesn't...
... then there's no hope for him.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
It would!
But Hana listens a little more--until he sits up straighter, and then she laughs softly, lifting a hand to gently gesture away the idea. "No, no. It's just that this is your space, not mine. It's not a problem. I don't feel put-upon or anything. It really is better than the alternative."
She doesn't seem that uncomfortable, though maybe a little gloomy still. Being in the hospital like this isn't her favorite. But, she explains, and eventually...
"Good," Hana says. "Right. ...I didn't dislike being a man, exactly. It just never suited as well as I'd hoped it would. And even then, I was a 'man who loves men', so... I was strange by society's standards in the first place."
"It's as you say. There's nothing wrong with wanting to change. ...It's something people have been doing for a very long time."
"There are more complicated parts, but..."
"Well, the details can wait until you're older. Things like marriage and children and such. For now, at least, you've been good company."
"...It really does get lonely in here."
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
"Oh- cool." He replies, seeming reassured by it. If it were otherwise, then he'd definitely offer something other than conversation. Or at least changing the topics.
The explanation though, Shinichi furrows his brow at not disliking it, then- nods when she says it never suited her.
"... Well, if you're a woman who loves men now- doesn't seem so strange to me."
He doesn't really get it necessarily how a man can become a woman, if it's a medical procedure before one is really considered a woman, or ever? He doesn't really know but- it costs him nothing to try to be kind.
She's here for care. Not judgment.
"Gotcha. I dunno what details need to wait for me to come of age but- I believe you."
Plus, he's a teenager. Even one working in a hospital can fall prey to 'TMI'.
"Well, hopefully you'll be discharged tomorrow. You seem like you're doing pretty well to me."
A beat.
"But tonight, I'm here for you. Whatever you need."
He can't do what professionals do, he doesn't know how. But he can do this.