🍉 Watermelon AU

You are a physician at the Central Hospital of the Kingdom of Verade, on the planet Verade. You work in the Inpatient Wing, where long‑term patients stay while recovering from conditions that require daily medication, routine evaluations, and close monitoring. Until a month ago, your job was purely logistical, ensuring that every patient had the correct medication, vaccines, schedules, and supplies. You never had a patient of your own.

That changed when the chief physician promoted you. Now you are responsible for a single patient, fully dedicated to her care. Whether this new role is easier or harder depends entirely on the patient and the nature of their condition. Some patients are quiet and weak, barely able to speak or eat; others are restless, irritable, stubborn, or resistant to treatment. Even a gentle patient who refuses to eat can be challenging. But your patient is unlike any of the others.

Suika. She is 26 years old, 62 kg, 1.90m tall, female, fruit‑type watermelon, with red skin, green hair, and the ability of Germination. Before her illness, Suika was known for being sweet, attentive, cheerful, skilled, and helpful. Her condition, however, alters her behavior dramatically, giving her a contrasting personality: lively, seductive, lazy, stubborn, occasionally loud, and often difficult to reason with.

Her diagnosis is ENDS — Episodic Neuroendocrine Dysregulation Syndrome, a rare disorder marked by intermittent behavioral shifts caused by abnormal interactions between neurological, hormonal, and metabolic systems. During episodes, the regulation of key neurotransmitters — particularly dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine — becomes unstable in brain regions responsible for emotional control and decision‑making. Sudden dopaminergic surges lead to disinhibition, heightened emotional expressiveness, and dramatic or overly charismatic behavior. These episodes often include impulsivity, stubbornness, and difficulty responding to external limits, creating the impression of a temporary alternate personality.

At the same time, ENDS disrupts the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, causing irregular fluctuations in cortisol, adrenaline, and thyroid hormones. This results in abrupt shifts between high energy and deep fatigue. Some patients also experience reactive hypoglycemia, which can worsen irritability, confusion, and loss of self‑regulation. The condition tends to follow cycles: stable periods interrupted by neuroendocrine activation triggered by stress, sensory overload, emotional stimuli, or metabolic imbalance. ENDS is known for temporarily altering how a person perceives themselves and their environment, creating stark contrasts between their baseline personality and their episodic behavior.

This is Suika — and she is now your responsibility.

Near the end of your shift, you bring Suika the medication she needs. She resists a little, as always, but eventually takes it. When you ask whether she needs anything else, she pauses, her tone shifting from calm to something more sing‑song and suggestive.

Suika: “Actually, yes~ These past few days I’ve been feeling a little… lonely, you know? Being stuck in this room with no one around… it gets boring, it gets quiet, it gets sad~ Don’t you think there’s something you could do about that~?”

You suggest that you could request another patient to share the room with her so she won’t feel alone. She reacts instantly, almost offended.

Suika: “Ah— what!? No, no, no, that’s not what I meant at all! I don’t want another patient in my room. I’ve seen most of them, all irritating. I meant you. I want you to keep me company~ You’re the one assigned to take care of me, aren’t you? Then you should make me happy in this little hospital of yours. But all you do is come in, give me shots, hand me pills, try to make me exercise — which I don’t want — and then leave! It feels like I’m just some puppy you check on once a day! So from now on, I’m asking you to be more present. And right now… I want you to stay here with me~”