Tokyo, 1994, starting with medical training

Chapter 1 Medical Malpractice

December 14, 1994, Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, Kanto Region, Japan.

After finishing his 24-hour shift, Kiryu Kazusuke walked out of the hospital.

The cold winter wind felt like knives scraping his face. He exhaled a puff of white breath and instinctively wrapped his coat tighter around himself.

As a medical trainee, such high-intensity work is commonplace.

People were coming and going at the hospital entrance.

There were patients' family members rushing over, colleagues who, like him, had stayed up until their eyes were bloodshot, and the siren of an ambulance approaching from afar before speeding away.

Kiryu Kazusuke glanced at it and continued walking towards the station.

This isn't because he's cold-blooded.

Before his stroke of good fortune in his previous life, he was a doctor. He had seen so much that he had become accustomed to it and numb to it.

Seven days have passed since he opened his eyes.

He rubbed his temples, which were throbbing from exhaustion.

"Kiryu-kun."

Just a few steps out of the hospital, a voice rang out behind him.

Kazusuke Kiryu stopped in his tracks.

Turning around, I saw a woman wearing a beige coat, a thick cashmere scarf around her neck, and exquisite makeup on her face.

Ayaka Nagata.

The nurse from the First Surgical Department was the senior who gave the original owner hope and then destroyed it.

"Is there something you need?"

Kiryu Kazusuke put his hands in his pockets to warm himself up.

"Well, there's something I'd like to talk to you about."

Ayaka Nagata smiled, a smile as warm as the winter sun.

"I know you're tired after get off work, but this is really important to me. Could I take a little of your time and buy you a coffee?"

As she spoke, she pointed to the family restaurant across the street.

Kiryu Kazusuke stared at her for a while.

He knew exactly what the other party wanted to talk about.

During the 24 hours he was on duty, a medical accident occurred in the hospital.

The nurse who performed the procedure at the bedside at that time was Ayaka Nagata.

Kazusuke Kiryu, a junior medical student, was present throughout the entire event.

"Let's go."

Kiryu Kazusuke did not refuse, mainly because he also wanted to know how his senior would try to justify himself.

……

The heating in the family restaurant was on full blast.

The two found a booth by the window and sat down.

Ayaka Nagata took off her coat, revealing a light pink wool sweater underneath.

She poured a glass of water for Kiryu Kazusuke first, and then poured one for herself.

"Kiryu-kun, do you remember when I was the one showing you around?"

"Yes."

That's true.

In my memory, Ayaka Nagata has always been the kind of gentle, considerate, and understanding senior.

From the moment he joined the First Surgery Department, they have always taken good care of him, the newcomer.

She would take the initiative to show him around, comfort him when he was scolded by his seniors, and bring him homemade lunches when he was on night shift.

Which young person can withstand this test?

The original owner quickly became trapped.

Nagata Ayaka continued casually, "Back then you really didn't know anything. You couldn't even find the door to the pharmacy. I had to teach you step by step. Time really flies."

Kazusuke Kiryu did not respond.

He ordered himself the cheapest mixed coffee and waited for the other person to get down to business.

after awhile.

Nagata Ayaka, holding her water glass, sighed softly: "The hospital has already begun an internal investigation into what happened yesterday."

"This afternoon, the head of the nursing department even spoke with me specifically, saying that it was my operational error."

"But Kiryu-kun, you were there the whole time."

"You should know that I followed the standard procedure exactly, and there were no problems at all."

As she spoke, her voice lowered, tinged with grievance.

Sitting across from her, Kiryu Kazusuke took a sip of the coffee the waiter had just brought over.

It was very hot, and the taste was just so-so.

His sense of taste is rather dull; he can't tell the difference between hand-ground and instant.

He put the cup back on the table and looked out the window.

The trees lining the street have mostly lost their leaves, leaving bare branches pointing towards the gloomy sky.

Kazusuke Kiryu graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at Gunma University.

After passing the national medical examination, he naturally joined the First Surgical Department of the university's affiliated hospital as a resident physician.

However, just a week ago, the original owner of this body took the desperate path of committing suicide by burning charcoal.

What are the reasons for this?

It's very simple, and also quite cliché.

On Thanksgiving night, November 24th, I saw my admired senior get into a Toyota sedan at the hospital entrance, and it wasn't until the next day that I saw him return with an unnatural gait.

In despair, the original owner chose to end her own life.

Now, Kiryu Kazusuke, who has been reincarnated, can only helplessly accept reality after the initial adjustment period.

That's such a pity.

This isn't because he's empathizing with the original body.

It's simply because the entertainment industry in this world hasn't reached a turning point yet.

There's Haruki Murakami's trilogy of youth, and "Tokyo Love Story" defined the glory of "Getsu 9 dramas" in 1991...

More importantly, he did not awaken any profound memories.

I picked up my pen and sat at my desk for ages, but all I could manage to squeeze out were sentences like, "My high school grades weren't great"...

Relying on plagiarism to reach the pinnacle of life is a shameful but easy path that will not work.

A few seconds later.

He then turned his gaze back to Nagata Ayaka's face.

Is that really the case, as she says?

of course not.

The elderly man had chronic heart failure complicated by severe left ventricular dysfunction, so he needed strict control over the rate and dosage of fluid resuscitation.

When administering the intravenous injection, Ayaka Nagata manually increased the drip rate of the infusion pump.

This is a major taboo in routine procedures. For elderly patients with fragile bodies, a large influx of fluid in a short period of time will drastically increase the burden on the heart, causing blood to rapidly accumulate in the lungs.

And indeed, the patient's condition developed in this way afterward.

The elderly man quickly developed severe difficulty breathing, coughed up pink frothy sputum, and his blood oxygen saturation dropped sharply.

If he hadn't reacted quickly, identified the problem immediately, and organized a rescue, that patient might not be alive today.

He said nonchalantly, "Senior Nagata, the hospital's investigation will be professionally conducted, and I trust they will find out the truth."

The meaning is quite clear.

He handled everything strictly by official procedures, answering whatever the investigation team asked.

Ayaka Nagata's expression changed slightly: "Kiryu-kun, this investigation is very important to me."

"If it is determined to be a medical malpractice case, I will not only be disciplined, but may even have my nursing license revoked."

As she spoke, she leaned forward slightly.

She values ​​this job very much.

While in college, she vowed to live the life of those well-dressed, impeccably made-up women in department stores.

However, reality soon showed her what reality was.

I graduated right when the economic bubble burst.

Nursing is a tough job, and her salary is barely enough for her to make ends meet.

So she realized that she couldn't rely on herself alone.

Even divers need the rebound force of the springboard to jump.

She's the same.

The man before her, Kazusuke Kiryu, was originally one of the stepping stones she had chosen.

Although I am currently a medical trainee, in a few years I will grow into a chief surgeon at the operating table where money is plentiful.

Ayaka Nagata stretched her arm forward.

She grasped Kiryu Kazusuke's hand and said earnestly, "So, I hope you can put in a good word for me when you're being investigated."

"Just say..."

"My procedure was completely in accordance with regulations; the accident was caused by the patient's own condition, okay?"

"You are a top student who graduated from the main campus. Your testimony carries a lot of weight. As long as you speak, they will definitely believe you."

As she spoke, her eyes reddened, and she looked as if she was about to cry.

This is her trump card.

In the past, whenever he showed this expression, Kiryu would immediately soften and agree to any request, no matter how unreasonable.

This time will definitely be the same.

However, Kiryu-kun didn't say anything, neither agreeing nor refusing, but just quietly looked at him.

Ayaka Nagata was stunned.

After waiting a few seconds.

She blinked and looked at Kiryu-kun in front of her more closely.

It was still that familiar face—clean, handsome, and with a touch of youthful innocence.

But there are some differences.

In the past, Kiryu-kun was always somewhat reserved and shy in front of me, and he didn't even dare to look me in the eye when he spoke.

This made her feel a little uneasy.

Nagata Ayaka lowered her head, her voice filled with grievance and disappointment: "Regarding Professor Mizutani, he kept pestering me, and I had no choice but to agree to his request..."

As she spoke, she raised her face again so that Kiryu Kazusuke could see that her eyes were already filled with tears.

A girl's youth is limited.

Although Kiryu Kazusuke is a promising prospect, she doesn't want to wait any longer.

Professor Mizutani was actually just an assistant professor in the First Department of Surgery. His full name was Mitsuma Mizutani. He was in his forties and had a family, but he was content as long as he spent money lavishly.

When the shortcut was presented to her, she made her choice almost without a moment's hesitation.

Even if I can only be a mistress who can't be seen in public, it doesn't matter.

As long as I can live with dignity, that's enough.

Yes, in the process, she got a little carried away and didn't care much about Kiryu Kazusuke's feelings.

In fact...

Kiryu Kazusuke was simply looking at the pale red light screen in front of him, and the few lines of text clearly visible on it.

The "Wicked Woman Worldline Convergence Plan" has been launched.

[Monitoring in progress]

【…】

[Nagata Ayaka: It's all that old man's fault! If I wanted to die, I should have died in another hospital! Ugh, Professor Mizutani hates troublesome women the most. I absolutely have to get Dr. Kiryu to cover for me in this accident!]

[Can converge world lines]

[Fork in the road: You choose to play it safe and claim ignorance when questioned by the medical department. (Reward: You can spend the night with her tonight.)]

[Branch 2: You decide to cover it up for her and assure the medical department that Nurse Nagata's actions were without fault. (Reward: She will become your lover for two months.)]

[Branch 3: Your conscience is at play. Uphold medical ethics and report the truth. (Reward: 100,000 yen increase in bank deposit)]

[Fork in the Road 4: You are vindictive and will not only report her, but also fool her before doing so. (Reward: Kirschner wire fixation - Perfect)]

Let me explain a few issues.

1. Correspondence. Generally speaking, Training physician: Residency training; Specialist physician: Resident physician/Chief Resident; Specialist physician: Attending Physician; Supervising physician: Senior Attending Physician/Teaching Physician; Assistant Professor: Deputy Director of Department + Associate Professor; Professor: Department Director + Chief Physician + Doctoral Supervisor + Discipline Leader

2. Salary Issues. University hospital doctors' income consists of two parts: salary and side income, roughly in a 6:4 ratio. However, lower-level resident doctors earn very little, sometimes less than convenience store clerks, as some even work for free (no pay from the hospital administration). This situation only improved after the 2004 healthcare reform. At that time, there was also the "Arubaito phenomenon," which refers to people working part-time at other hospitals on their days off to supplement their income.

3. Tuition fees. Tuition fees at national universities can be several hundred thousand yen per year. If you don't have the money but want to attend a very expensive private university, there are student loans available.

4. Surgical authority. In 1994, the old clinical training system was still in place. Trainees could perform minor surgeries such as appendectomies independently in their first year of training. In some hospitals, they could even handle emergency wound cleaning and suturing, and fracture reduction independently. The primary person responsible was also the surgeon.

(End of this chapter)