Oshi no Ko - What If, Gorou's Edition

Work

8:30AM. I arrived at the examination room to prepare for the appointment made specifically to me.

"Hmm."

A certain Chiwa-san. Age... 17. Goodness gracious.

"Is sex-ed still not a thing these days..." - the ridge between my eyebrows deepened.

Miyazaki-ken was a rural, mountainous area where, with the birth rate in Japan was already horrendously low, stooped to an even worse level. I wasn't kidding when I said I assisted and helped deliver "a few" babies during my time at that hospital. Cases like Ai's weren't commonplace back in my hometown. In fact, most people I treated or gave diagnoses for neither were even in the reproductive age range, nor needed an ob-gyn's expertise. But at the place of Sato-san, who was the friend of... well, Saitou-san, things were a bit livelier. All manners of people visited for all sorts of reasons. I even felt overwhelmed over the first few days. Tokyo sure was a scary place, just as I remembered.

9:00AM. The work day officially started. A high-class looking young lady stepped through the door to my examination room. With her was a middle-aged man, dressed in a luxurious business suit you wouldn't find at just any tailors.

"Good morning Sensei..."

"Please, have a seat." - following my hand gestures, both the young lady and her escort sat down across from me.

Try to keep a neutral face, Gorou! You've done this before.

"Is this your first visit, Chiwa-san?" - I held up the form my first ob-gyn patient after a few months filled out a couple of days ago.

"Hai."

This was... nostalgic. To think almost only half a year ago I asked Ai the very same question and received very much the same answer from this Chiwa-san. I found myself unable to hold my lips back from cracking a smile.

"And are you her father, Mr..."

"Suzuki."

"Right, Suzuki-san. You are..."

"Her manager. We work at a fashion model magazine."

No wonder you had to come here. Chiwa-san was still wearing casual clothes and not maternity dresses, so I glanced at her abdominal area. At least this girl could confide in someone and had an early checkup.

"Sensei... I won't have to be on the table, right...?"

"For now let us do a proper checkup on you first. Please follow the nurse, she'll show you where to conduct each of the tests. I'll go prepared also, so please wait until your name is called."

Her belly wasn't showing yet, so there was no need for a maternity robe. My mind raced with thoughts about stuff I knew should be none of my business while I was getting ready. The entertainment industry...

"Sarina-chan... I wonder how you'd react if I told you everything that happened lately." - I murmured to myself.

10:00 AM. And so the results came in quickly.

"You are pregnant with a single fetus, 5 weeks."

Chiwa-san lowered her head while Suzuki-san folded his arms and looked away, his jaw clenched. I gave the young girl a few minutes so she could work to get over her sobbings.

"Sensei. What are the options?" - Suzuki-san looked at me with a poker face, oblivious to anguish the girl sitting next to him was feeling.

I leaned back and propped my elbow onto the armrest.

"Chiwa-san is still relatively early in her pregnancy, so we suggest using abortifacient instead of a surgical abortion." - snuffles were heard right after I finished those last two words. - "We determined that she has no underlying health conditions and is not taking any other medications that could incur unwanted risks. Plus, this method is highly effective and no further treatment is needed after, so Chiwa-sa..."

"What about the time, doc? The time." - the man emphasised. - "We are busy."

Suzuki then proceeded to rant about the packed shooting schedules his agency was having this month and they could not afford to wait another few days get rid of the bun in her oven.

... What?

My temper almost flared when the man finished his tangent. Saitou-san didn't treat Ruby and Aqua like... like this... like they were obstacles in need of urgent disposals when Ai came to Miyazaki-ken! Was this how humans should treat each other?! Chiwa-san was still under YOUR management you absolute scum! If I hadn't been bound by the physician-patient privilege, I would have gone to tear your agency down and made everything you've built up gone to shit! This was no different than Sarina-chan's...!

... parents...

"..."

I tried my best to suppress the urge to just sigh in frustration. The only option left was the one Chiwa-san sheepishly asked if we could avoid before we did the tests. Yes, surgical abortion is faster as everything could be done in half a day, but the risks are generally higher and could even be detrimental lifelong. But despite her apprehension, Chiwa-san didn't even once object to the Suzuki-san's insistence that we chose the quickest option. What cruel fate it was, dictating that I must provide help to two mothers, through means at the completely opposite spectrums.

10:55AM. After the procedural sermons about birth control, health education and whatnot, the nurse received the signature of Suzuki-san in the consent form. Pain medications were then administered for Chiwa-san. The premium waiting lounge was already paid for in advance, so she chose to stay there. The anesthetics will help her feel relaxed, but for good measure, I remained at Chiwa-san's arm length to keep an eye on her. At least 45 minutes must first pass for the medications to be at their most effective, so some lo-fi music was turned on. I personally had a gripe with how people saw that kind of... noise as relaxing, since the effect it usually had on me was similar to that of chloroform: sleep-inducing.

11:50AM. The operation was ready to be commenced. Suzuki-san decided to stay outside and wait in the examination room. The nurse helped Chiwa-san change out of her outfit and into the patient gown. Let us not dive into how I specifically went through the procedure... the best I could describe it is the fetus, along with the uterine tissues, were sucked out. Of course, additional medications were applied inside to further anesthetise the girl's cervix, but still I could feel she wanted to choke up but was unable to due being semi-sedated.

Five past midday. The procedure was done. I advised Chiwa-san for further resting. The girl just lied there motionless and stared blankly at whoever was talking to her. The nurse took charge in preparing hot pads and more pain medication. I could've just given the girl instructions for her post-surgery care, left her in the nurse's capable hands and be done with it, but I didn't. I... could not. Ai's and her twin's radiant smiling faces kept flashing in my mind. I had no options to make Chiwa-san feel better, but the least I could do is not to leave her be.

Half past two, PM. Chiwa-san left the clinic with her escort. Both the nurse and I were personally charged with seeing them off. Once their car has driven off from the parking basement, the nurse gave me a customary congratulations on the first job well done at Sato-san's. I gave back a nod of acknowledgement and returned upstairs.

Things were pretty much uneventful for the remaining office hours. When I was just about to leave, the news channel announced the birth of retired idol MIU's and her comedian husband's child. A boy.

"Sensei... have you ever wondered what it is like to be born to celebrities? How it'd be to already have the looks and connections to enter showbiz from birth?"

Sarina-chan's questions echoed in my head.

"If I were to be reborn, I..."

A knot formed inside my throat, my breath shaky. I plopped back down on the office chair, my left hand on my forehead. Soon that hand had to clutch my lips as I felt my nose began to clog up. I sniffled. A few stray tears fell out of my canthi and onto the fingers that were trembling.