Parasite Eve Read Online Free Page A

approval.
        “I am truly grateful for your
willingness to go through with this. I cannot thank you enough.” Odagiri bowed
her head deeply in gratitude. “I will help you through the entire process to
the best of my ability.”
        Toshiaki carefully filled in
the transplant consent form that Odagiri presented. In the center of this thin
sheet was written:
       
    I hereby consent to
the surgical removal of the following organs and tissues:
     
    from the body of the
patient for the purpose of transplantation.
       
        This dry sentence had been
printed in the middle of the form. In the blank spaces above it, Toshiaki
entered in his wife’s name, address, date of birth, and sex. Then, gathering
all of his strength, he circled the word “kidneys.” At that point he inhaled
deeply and, before exhaling, entered in the current date, his surname as the
consenting party, address, and relation to the donor.
        “I’ll also need your seal
here.”
        Odagiri pointed to a spot at
the bottom with a long white finger.
        Toshiaki took out his
personal seal from his front pocket. With great tact, Odagiri removed a red ink
pad from her purse and placed it in front of him. Toshiaki pushed down hard on
the seal with a slight wriggling motion, affixing it to the form. His name
stamp “Nagashima” stood out vividly, almost to the point of lewdness. He
averted his eyes for a moment and wondered if he was making the best choice. He
had just officially sanctioned the removal of organs from the woman he loved
more than anyone. Such a serious decision made by merely signing a single sheet
of paper... but this was the right thing to do.
        Toshiaki shook his head. It
was late in the game to be having such qualms. Hadn’t he decided that this
would extend her life? Didn’t this have to be done so that he could be with her
always? Kiyomi was not only what was on the outside, but rather, every
living cell in her body was Kiyomi. And he had to make her his.
        Toshiaki needed to make his
move.
        Just then, a sort of fever
seized him. It was the same heat that had visited him when the doctor had told
him about Kiyomi’s condition. His head began to spin.
        As they were leaving the
office, Toshiaki edged stealthily past
        his father-in-law over to the
doctor and spoke in a hushed voice.
        “I actually have a request
concerning Kiyomi.”
        “Yes?”
        “Please, just hear me out,
and this is to be confidential between us... I want something in exchange for
offering her kidneys.”
        “Exchange? What...”
        The doctor eyed him
suspiciously. Toshiaki placed his trembling arm around the doctor’s back as if
restraining him, and whispered:
        “Give me Kiyomi’s liver... I
want to use it for a primary culture.” [8]
       
    5
      
        Upon finishing his ward
duties, Kunio Shinohara returned to the Department of Surgery on the fifth
floor of the Clinical Research Center. He rode the elevator down, proceeded
right, and opened the office door.
        As he massaged his shoulder,
he crossed the lifeless room over to his desk. When he passed the
experimentation table, he cast a glance at the digital clock resting upon it.
It indicated 5:30.
        On his desk were two memos
left by his secretary. They concerned his request for a copy of a medical
article (alas, it couldn’t be found) and a visit from a pharmaceutical company’s
marketing representative. Shinohara took a small note pad from the chest pocket
of his white coat and tossed it onto the desk. He massaged his shoulder again,
trying to loosen the stiffness that had knotted itself there during the course
of the day. These actions had become frequent and involuntary for him. He
mumbled out loud that the distance from the ward to his office was just
impossible. Hearing himself, he looked around embarrassedly.
        It was rare for no one else
to be here. Usually at least one of his