Say Hello to Black Jack 9

Say Hello to Black Jack, Volume 2, Chapter 9 (pp. 25~44)


<25>
=Look,
=To be honest, Eidai's cardiac surgery department is no good.

=If you're serious about saving Mr. Miyamura, then you need to transfer him to a hospital with better surgeons.
=Understand?

=...Yes...

=Then how about this!?

=The implication of you, an Eidai doctor, transferring a patient to another hospital...


<26>
=That's...
=Serious treason against Eidai.

#9: Saburo Kita


<27>
[x3]GATHUCK

=There's a cardiac surgeon working at a hospital about a 2 hour train ride from here.

=He's never been part of a medical society, and makes a living solely off of his own surgical skill.
=A "lone wolf" if you will...

THUMP..

=This doctor performs over 250 bypass surgeries per year...
=Eidai's 12 doesn't even come close.

=Well?
=I'll introduce you if you're interested.

THUMP..


<28>
=I'm sorry...
=Please lend me 30,000 yen
BOW

=Huh?

=I still have to sort out records and prepare for tomorrow's meetings.
=It'll take me 2 more hours no matter how quickly I work.

=Wait...
=What are you talking about, Dr. Saito?

=It's 10:30 right now.
=Even if I finish at 12:30, there won't be any more trains, and I only have 860 yen in my pocket...


<29>
=I'll pay you back, I promise!
=Please lend me the taxi fare I need to get to that hospital!!
BWUSH

=What are you talking about...?
=I said I'd introduce you, but it's this late already...

=There isn't much time...

=Mr. Miyamura is going to be transferred to the surgical ward tomorrow...

=When that happens...
=I won't be in charge of Mr. Miyamura anymore...


<30>
=Come tomorrow morning,
=Mr. Miyamura's going to be forced to undergo surgery at Eidai!!

=I can't.
=You sound ridiculous.

[x3]TREMBLE

=Ugh—!!
=Fine! You're making me look bad—!!


<31>
[x7]SCRIT

=This isn't treason against Eidai...

=I just...
=Want to save this person's life...


<32>
THUMP...


<33>
=That'll be 14,000 yen

BATHUMP

=He'll be at a bar called "K" in front of the station.
=I talked to him on his cellphone.


<34>
=Welcome—
TI-TI—NG

=Huh? You're looking for someone?
=Dr. Kita?

=Oh,
=That's him! See...? The one singing...


<35>
=Huh...?
=That's the lone wolf? The expert surgeon...?


<36>
=Nice to meet you.
=I'm Eijiro Saito, the intern from Eidai Hospital introduced by Ms. Akagi.

=Right... Saito-kun.

=I've been singing that same song each night for so many years.
=But I've never been able to sing it the same way twice.

=Hearts are the same.
=I've operated on thousands of hearts, but none of them have been exactly alike.


<37>
=Nice to meet you.
=I'm Saburo Kita of Minrinkan Hospital.

=I see...
=So you're asking me to operate on Mr. Miyamura.

=Y... Yes!
=I'm sorry for disturbing you like this outside of work.

=No problem... I like a kid who cares about something other than money...
=But you know...


<38>
=If you aren't doing the same thing in 5 years...
=Then... You're a fraud.

=Y-Yes...
=So... About the surgery...

=Thing about heart surgery is...
=The results always come right at your face...


<39>
=Different kinds of surgery...
=Let's say a surgery to remove cancer, won't kill a patient on the spot.

=No matter how badly the surgery goes, the patient will still wake up from the anesthetic...
=But...

=With heart surgery, we make the slightest mistake...
=And they die right on the spot...

[x2]TOCK TOCK TOCK

=Kiddo...
=You know what the most important thing is for a surgeon...?


<40>
=Is it skill?

=Skill is a foundation.
=Imagination is what's more important.

=The day before, I imagine.
=Every single aspect of the surgery, from opening the chest to closing it back up.

=I visualize tons of hypothetical hearts in my mind.

=But the heart in the real surgery is always different from what I imagined...
=Expecting a vein to be one place, but not finding it there. That's normal.


<41>
=But even if the vein is missing, the surgery's already started.
=The longer it takes, the closer the patient gets to dying.

=But I've already imagined this situation,
=So I'm able to hold firm and keep myself from panicking.

=Then the bleeding begins, and then arrhythmia.//If I give up, the patient dies.
=I desperately fight the urge to turn and run away.

=In the end, song and surgery are both about coming to terms with yourself.


<42>
=The most important thing...
=Is the strength to overcome your own weaknesses...

=He's totally different from the doctors at Eidai...

=Maybe this doctor...
=Will be able to save Mr. Miyamura...

=Maybe he could really...
THUMP


<43>
=I've got to see it...!!

GATHUCK
=P...
=Please...

=Please!!
=Please perform surgery on Mr. Miyamura!!


<44>
=I'm sorry, but I can't operate on that patient...

=You see...
=I'm no longer a surgeon...