Disclaimer : I don't own Hikaru no Go.

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Chapter 3 : Facing a very strange problem

So it began,

It was a long torturous wait for the Shindous. Hikaru had been resting in the hospital for a week now. While Dr. Koto and Dr. Shinozame had been very busy working together in order to find the donor, they couldn't do a thing, all they could do was waiting…waiting and waiting.

At long last, they received a call from Dr. Koto who asked them to meet him at Tatekawa Hospital at 9.00 a.m. two days later.

At Tatekawa Hospital,

When the day came, Masao and Mitsuko arrived to the said hospital before time. Knowing that finally the doctors found the donor, hoping that their son would be alright, their hearts filled with hope and happiness. They had already forgotten the universal truth that nothing came without a price, there's no such thing as a free lunch. They completely forgot that they had to sacrifice another child's life to prolong Hikaru's.

" Dr. Koto," Masao greeted politely. Dr. Koto had been Hikaru's personal doctor for 10 years now, he was the one who had foretold that his son would pass away before he could reach the age of 10. Despite the fact that he had made a fault prognosis, nevertheless, it was undeniable that he was a very talented doctor, the Shindous still believed in his expertise.

" Shindou-san," the familiar doctor in his early fifties nodded in reply, " This way, please," then he leaded them into the hospital.

" Did you find the donor?" Mitsuko asked curiously while they were walking down the hallway.

" Yes, we found him but there's a little problem," Koto told them the truth, right to the point.

" Problem? What kind of the problem?" Mr. Shindou demanded.

" This is what I'm talking about…" the middle-aged doctor said as he stopped in front of a sterile room, " It's him, he's the most suitable donor," Gazing at the sleeping man in the room, he informed the couple.

" What? It's him?" Mitsuko exclaimed in disbelief right away, " But he..he's an adult," Looking at the man on the bed through the window, she marked. Even if she couldn't see his face since he was wearing an oxygen mask but she could tell that he was a grown-up with atypical pale white skin and long purple hair.

" I can't tell you his name," the doctor respected the man's privacy, " All I can tell you is his age and his condition,"

" How old is he then?" Masao questioned.

" He's 20 years old,"

" 20? Hikaru is only 12! Isn't he too old?" nervy Mitsuko commented.

" That's why I asked you two to come here," Then Koto leaded them into a diagnostic room near by.

/Knock. Knock/ He knocked the door before he entered. Masao took a quick look at the name on the door. It said ' Dr. Hara'.

" Hara, it's me, Koto," he said as he opened the door.

" Oh, come in," Greeting with a smile, Hara waved his hand and invited his friend into his office.

Masao and Mitsuko briefly observed the room and the stranger before them. The workplace was clean and well-organized which was appropriate for a doctor. Dr. Hara himself dressed smartly, he looked like a reliable sophisticate.

" Shindou-san, this is Hara, Dr. Hara," Koto introduced them to his friend, " Hara, this is the Shindous,"

" Nice to meet you, Dr. Hara," The Shindous greeted.

" Nice to meet both of you, Shindou-san," Hara bowed in turn.

" Hara and I have known each other for a very long time," Koto chatted casually, " Umm, since we were still a pre-med… right?" he wasn't sure since it was more than 20 years ago.

" Yes, around that," the other doctor agreed.

" Hara has been working here for 12 years, he's a very skillful doctor," Koto didn't mean to boast about his friend, he simply wanted to comfort the Shindous, " He's Fuji…ah, the private doctor of Shindou-kun's future donor," he announced.

" You mean that man is actually Hikaru's donor?" Masao questioned with a puzzled look on his face.

" Please take a seat, Shindou-san," invited Hara, the room's owner.

After four of them were all seated, Hara began his lecture, " You see, Shindou-san, a child heart is in size to his fist," he educated them, "He grows up, so does his heart. Adult heart is about a clenched fist, adult's fist," he described.

" I know that, that's why Hikaru's donor should be a child, isn't it?" Masao cut in. Once again, he was correct, a child recipient could only get a heart from a child donor, on the other way round, an adult recipient only got a heart from an adult donor.

" Yes, because normally we can't put an adult heart into a child's body," Koto noted.

" What do you mean ' normally'?" Mrs. Shindou asked carefully.

" Fu…well, my patient has a very special condition," Hara was a bit annoyed that he couldn't say his patient's name out loud but he had to. He couldn't expose the donor's name, therefore, he had no choice but put up with it since he didn't want to break his medical ethics, " His heart doesn't grow up like his body,"

" What?" The Shindous exclaimed in unison.

" He's a man with a child heart…literally," Koto uttered, " His heart is the same size as a child," he clarified.

" What? Is that possible?" Mitsuko cried out surprisingly, she had never heard of it before.

" Believe me, I used to ask myself the same question about 100 times," Shaking his head, Hara confessed. Until today, he still didn't understand how this could possibly happen.

" You're telling me that he's the most suitable donor for Hikaru?" Masao prominently emphasized the word ' Suitable'. He couldn't believe that their best selection was the man with his…abnormal heart. Worrying about his little boy, a feeling of anxiety grew inside him, " You want me to give Hikaru's life in his hands? …I mean his heart?" he strongly opposed the idea.

" I understand your feeling, Shindou-san," Koto said seriously, " But he's the best option…the only option that we have," he awkwardly spilt the beans.

" What?" Mitsuko inaudibly spoke.

" Believe me, Shindou-sun, I wouldn't recommend you this if I didn't think it wasthe best for Shindou-kun's welfare," Seeing the frightened look on the couple, Koto tried to give them some confidence, " His heart is a normal healthy one,"

" Then why is he in a coma?" the mother pointed out wisely.

" Because his heart is too small for his body, that's the reason why his body and his organs grow weak," Hara explained Fu…his patient's state to the worried couple, " But the heart itself is perfectly well-conditioned," he stated with certainty.

" That's why he's put on a life-support machine now. His organs are all damaged except for his heart," Koto reported, " He knew that one day he would be like this so he had agreed to be a donor before he went into a coma,"

" What about his family? Do they agree on the donation?" Mitsuko doubted.

" I shouldn't tell you this but…his parents have passed away a long time ago and he has no other relative," Hara spilt a secret a bit, " He lived alone,"

" If we take his heart, he'll die," Masao stated.

" Yes," the doctors nodded.

" What will happen to him next? I mean if we don't do that," Mr. Shindou wondered.

"… He'll be like this forever…living as ' the Sleeping Beauty'," Hara replied.

……….

……….

" I've to think about it first," that was a wise answer, everything happened too fast…too bizarre, Masao did choose a right choice.

" I understand, please call one of us when you reach the decision," Koto said.

The Shindous went back home with totally different feeling. In the morning, when they were on their way to the hospital, they were so full of hope but when they departed from it in the afternoon, they were worried themselves sick.

If he has another stroke…he'll, we'll…

He's the best option… the only option we have…

You have to do something, you can't just let him die, he's your son…

" I know damn well he's my son," Biting his lip nervously, Masao murmured.

" Masao?"

Koto received a call from Mitsuko the following morning, she told him that they wanted their son to have a new heart as soon as possible.

A/N : So, can you guess who is the mysterious donor? Maybe if you read the first paragraph in the 1st chapter carefully, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Everything about Human heart and heart transplant in this chapter is real, except one thing. The condition of Mr. Fuji…( censor) doesn't exist, it completely against medical laws!

Is it just me or the more I write, each chapter is longer? I remember writing He is back, it's about 700 words per chapter. Now it becomes about 1300 words a chapter! Where are those extended 600 words come from?Ah! As always, don't forget to leave a comment :)

Ancient Legend: Glad that you enjoy it :)

gravitation gig : Take my time writing? Com'on, you know me. I've already finished it.

xiar : Nope, as I said, I've no medical knowledge At all, I had to do a research for this fic :)

d.a.r.s.h. : Thank you, I did my research well. God Bless the internet! Doing a research for this fic is quite boring 'coz it contains so many medical knowledge but it's worth it, right? Haha, don't worry, I don't plan to put Hikaru in this unhealthy condition anymore.

kathy : Glad to know that I didn't waste my time in vain, I took a right choice to do a reserch. And nope, I've never read Yami no Matsuei. Why did I write this fic? I'll you next chapter :)

Coiling death : Yeah, I'm little bit bored of the Cute Hikaru and the Innocent Sai now. "..He's even more dangerous than ever..." ( evil grin)