21st Century Necromancer

"Hiromi, do you still remember the boy with glasses who sat behind you back then, the one who always peeked at you during class?" In the hospital room, Yuiko Shiina and Hiromi Jounouchi, sitting by the bed, chatted about amusing incidents from their school days, their faces brimming with content and happy smiles. Stay connected via My Virtual Library Empire

Watching Yuiko Shiina's smile, Hiromi Jounouchi couldn't help but reminisce about her own high school days and laughed along, "How could I forget? His name was Tetsuya-kun, right? Every time I stood up to answer questions in class, he would try to sneak a peek under my skirt and even secretly wrote me love letters. I wonder what he's doing now."

"Who could blame him when you were so pretty back then? 'Fencing Club's First Beauty Legs', I still remember that title!" Yuiko Shiina chuckled, teasing Hiromi Jounouchi while also betraying a wistful expression, "I heard Tetsuya-kun got into a university in the United States and lost touch after he went there. Speaking of high school friends, we've pretty much lost contact with all of them.

Even with you, Hiromi... It took me years to find you, and if I hadn't run into you by chance today, I might never have seen you again."

"What are you talking about! Your disease is just stage three lung adenocarcinoma, which is curable if treated in time. Yuuko, don't think too much, actively cooperating with the doctor for treatment is what's important," Hiromi Jounouchi said to Yuiko Shiina, slightly annoyed.

However, Yuiko Shiina just shook her head nonchalantly, "I've had it checked abroad before. Lung adenocarcinoma is not an incurable terminal illness, but since I have chronic bronchitis, I can't have surgery. I can only undergo chemotherapy or radiotherapy for treatment. It's not that it can't be cured but, as you know, Hiromi, I've always been vain. I can't stand the thought of losing all my hair."

"Yuiko! Even if you lose all your hair, it will grow back, but if you delay the treatment, you'll die!" Hiromi Jounouchi was suddenly frantic, clearly not wanting to watch Yuiko Shiina give up on treatment.

"If dying without regrets, then what is there to fear in death?" Yuiko Shiina smiled at Hiromi Jounouchi, her smile content and happy, "Being able to see you again, Hiromi, in the last bit of my life, I have no more regrets."

As she spoke, the smile on Yuiko Shiina's face grew even more radiant.

Seeing the familiar smile on Yuiko Shiina's face, Hiromi Jounouchi felt a tremor in her heart, and memories of the past surfaced. The familiar smile seemed just like yesterday when she had secretly kissed her, taking away her precious and beautiful first kiss, and yet she had fallen for her deeply, with heartfelt affection.

But... Hiromi Jounouchi couldn't help but sigh. Without mentioning the emotional debts she owed from her high school days, just the fact that she was already engaged to someone else meant she couldn't respond to those feelings. That alone was enough to make Hiromi Jounouchi feel indebted to Yuiko Shiina.

"That's not acceptable. As a doctor, I can't just watch a patient who could clearly be saved choose death over treatment!" Hiromi Jounouchi's stance was firm as she looked at Yuiko Shiina, speaking to her earnestly, "I'm going to get your medical records transferred into my name right now and become your primary physician.

If you want to see me live with guilt for the rest of my life and my career be shrouded in darkness because of your death, then go ahead and keep refusing treatment!"

After saying this, Hiromi Jounouchi stood up, grabbed the medical records, and left the hospital room in a hurry. Yet, this very sight made Yuiko Shiina, lying in the hospital bed, watch her fondly, as if she were seeing Hiromi Jounouchi from the days when she would take Shiina over the school wall, and she couldn't help but curl her lips, murmuring softly, "You haven't changed at all, Hiromi."

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Though she talked about having Yuiko Shiina cooperate with her treatment, she still suffered a headache when looking at Yuiko Shiina's medical records.

Yuiko Shiina had chronic bronchitis, a fact Hiromi Jounouchi had known since high school. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had that incident where her forceful kiss nearly triggered an asthma attack for Shiina. But knowing is one thing; facing the actual disease made Jounouchi feel helpless and at a loss.

Lung adenocarcinoma is not an especially difficult cancer to treat. Though its early stages often show no significant symptoms, making it hard to detect in a timely manner, regular medical check-ups and X-ray examinations can still detect it.

Furthermore, this type of cancer usually grows slowly, and if detected in time, it can often be easily cured through surgery, a procedure that Hiromi Jounouchi herself could perform.

But the issue lay in the fact that Yuiko Shiina could not undergo surgery.

As an anesthesiologist, part of her job before surgery was to evaluate whether a patient was a suitable candidate for the procedure. Chronic bronchitis is precisely a condition that could affect the patient's ability to undergo surgery. Chronic bronchitis could trigger asthma, affecting the patient's cardiopulmonary function.

In such cases, a patient's lungs wouldn't be able to withstand anesthesia, likely causing respiratory depression during the surgery leading to respiratory failure. Therefore, it was impossible to operate on Yuiko Shiina.

Originally, this wouldn't be an issue. Even without surgical treatment, lung adenocarcinoma isn't an incurable terminal illness. Radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and even targeted drug treatment are all viable methods to cure this disease. However, when faced with a patient who refuses both radiation and chemotherapy, even the best treatments are useless if the patient doesn't comply.

"How can I save you, Yuuko!" Hiromi Jounouchi, looking at the medical records in front of her, was deeply feeling the frustration.

She knew Yuiko Shiina well. In high school, although Shiina appeared to be a soft and fragile girl, she was actually very strong-willed. Once she set her mind to something, she wouldn't change it.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have fallen so hopelessly in love with Jounouchi Hiromi because of a prankish kiss back in high school, a love that lasted until Hiromi Jounouchi graduated, after which their relationship ended.

"Hey, what's wrong, Anesthesiologist? Frowning like that doesn't suit you!" Behind Hiromi Jounouchi, Michiko Daimon saw her frowning and slumped over her desk, immediately walked over, and asked with concern, while her gaze drifted toward Jounouchi's computer and she noticed the medical records: "This is... stage III lung adenocarcinoma, right?

There's no metastasis, so why not just remove it with surgery, Jounouchi? Why the long face? Can't you perform the surgery? If not, let me do it. I'm quick in the operating room."

"It's not a matter of your speed in performing the surgery; it's that she fundamentally cannot undergo an operation," Hiromi Jounouchi looked at Michiko Daimon, the bitterness on her face not dissipating with her concern: "The patient has chronic bronchitis and can't receive surgical treatment, and on top of that, she refuses chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

I'm really struggling with what kind of treatment plan I should use to cure her!"