Chapter Text
"Welcome to Magnolia Central Hospital!" A booming voice echoed as a group of new surgical interns pushed through the doors of the OR. "This is where you'll be spending year after year after year, so better get familiarized with it quick!"
The voice belonged to an elderly man with a mischievous grin, sitting on the operating table as if he owned the place. He leaped off the table with surprising energy and gave a theatrical bow.
"My name is Makarov Dreyar, and I'm the Chief of Surgery. That means, for the next while, I’m your boss! Fun, right?" He chuckled heartily, circling the interns with an eager, almost childlike excitement. "A lot of you will drop out. Some of you will stick it out. But only a few of you… will become legends," he added, his tone turning slightly more serious as he nodded towards a few of the interns. His eyes twinkled as he skipped to the door of the OR. "Like the legends we have here on this sacred surgical floor!"
He paused at the door, casting one last glance over the group, as though deciding who might be up to the challenge. "Now, go to your locker rooms, change into your scrubs, and meet your residents. They’ll be waiting. Move, move!"
With that, he opened the door wide, and the interns hurried off to begin their journey.
"Hey, you with the droopy eyes! What's your name?" A demanding voice echoed through the locker room, causing several interns to glance up in surprise. A pink-haired intern, standing with his arms crossed and a cocky grin plastered across his face was staring directly at the other intern.
The other intern, a tall young man with slightly drooped eyes, slowly looked up and grumbled under his breath. "Who did you call 'droopy eyes'? Look who's talking with those squinty eyes of yours."
The pink-haired intern's grin only grew wider. "Huh, you look like you wanna cry and go home to mama with eyes like that," he taunted, taking a few steps closer.
The tall intern scowled. "Can you even see me with those eyes that are squinting so much?" he shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"You wanna go there, huh?" The pink-haired intern's posture shifted as if he were about to take the challenge head-on. "You started this first!"
Before things could escalate further, a sharp voice cut through the tension. "Hey! Stop fighting!" Lucy Heartfilia, one of the interns, appeared at the entrance of the locker room, her arms crossed in frustration. Her sharp gaze was fixed on both of them and despite the irritation in her voice, her stance was professional. "We're here to be doctors, professionals, not some teenagers who can't control their testosterone." Her voice rang with authority as she glanced between the two, the anger in her eyes more than enough to make them both hesitate.
The two interns exchanged a brief, tense look before backing down, their bickering momentarily forgotten as they both turned their attention to Lucy. The brief silence that followed was almost palpable, the weight of the situation hanging in the air before they all silently returned to changing into their scrubs.
After a few moments of awkward silence, the door to the locker room flew open once again. A tall, muscular nurse stepped inside, his sharp gaze scanning the group of new interns. He wore a casual yet authoritative air, his demeanor calm but commanding.
"Reedus Jonah," he called out, his voice clear and firm, "I'm here to assign you all to your residents. Listen up!"
The interns, who had just finished changing into their scrubs, stood a little straighter. Reedus quickly started calling out names.
"Alberona, Heartfilia, Dragneel, Fullbuster—you're with Dr. Lockser. She’s the one at the reception desk."
As soon as Reedus finished, a familiar voice broke through the room with disbelief.
"What!? I’m with him?!" The pink-haired intern, Dragneel, nearly shouted, his face scrunching up in surprise and frustration. His arms flailed slightly, as though he were ready to object.
The droopy-eyed intern, Fullbuster, couldn't help but snicker in response. "Oh, like I wanted to be with you," he retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Reedus shot them both a warning glance, his arms crossed over his chest. "You’re all here to learn, so keep it together. No more of this." He turned to leave, but not before the brown-haired intern, Alberona, intervened with a half-smile.
"Now, now, guys," she said, stepping between the two feuding interns and throwing an arm around each of their shoulders. "Let’s try to be friends here. We’re stuck with each other for at least a year, you know?" Her voice was calm, but there was a hint of amusement in her eyes as she gave both boys a playful squeeze.
The tension in the room seemed to deflate, just slightly, as both Dragneel and Fullbuster reluctantly nodded, each aware that their bickering wouldn't get them anywhere. With a final glance at Reedus, the three of them made their way toward the reception desk, preparing to meet their assigned resident.
"Hello, you must be our resident! I’m Lucy Heartfilia. Nice to meet you!" The cheerful intern, Lucy, extended her hand with a bright smile, eager to make a good first impression. However, her hand hovered awkwardly in the air when her assigned resident, Dr.Lockser, didn’t reciprocate the gesture. Instead, Dr.Lockser merely glanced at the outstretched hand with an impassive look, not moving to take it.
Lucy’s smile faltered slightly, but she quickly recovered, giving a polite nod as she retracted her hand.
"Juvia's name is Juvia Lockser," the resident finally spoke, her voice calm but strangely detached. "And she will be overseeing her intern's performances. Juvia has high hopes her intern will not disappoint her." The third-person phrasing was unexpected, and the other interns exchanged bewildered glances, not sure how to respond to this peculiar introduction.
The pink-haired intern, Dragneel, couldn’t contain himself. "Okay, so we’re stuck with a weirdo," he whispered loud enough for the others to hear, earning a couple of chuckles despite the tension in the air.
Juvia’s expression softened slightly as she tilted her head, as though considering something before speaking again. "Juvia is sorry for not accepting the handshake, Dr. Heartfilia. She doesn't want to get close to her interns just yet." A small, understanding smile tugged at Lucy’s lips as she nodded.
"It’s okay," she said quietly, although she still found the whole situation a little strange.
"Now," Juvia continued, her tone taking on a more authoritative edge, "this hospital still uses the paging system, so all of you better familiarize yourselves with it quickly." She pointed to the pager clipped to her uniform. "When you get a page, you’ll run to answer it. And when Juvia moves, you move with her. This will only get harder, so no complaints from any of you." Her eyes sharpened, as though daring anyone to protest.
The interns glanced at each other, a mix of apprehension and determination in their eyes. No one spoke up, but they understood that the training ahead would be grueling. Lucy, although a little confused by Juvia’s odd mannerisms, nodded resolutely, ready to dive into the experience.