Black Jack: Volume One, Chapter Six

Chapter Six - "Confluence"

A young man named Kei Kisaragi gets off a cruise ship that just arrived in Yokohama. It is revealed he is the doctor aboard the ship, and while the ship is docked, he is going ashore. Upon arrival, he gets a hotel room and calls Dr. BlackJack. BlackJack answers and is shocked to hear from him. Pinoko, overhearing the conversation, hears BlackJack agree to meet Kei in the park that night. She asks BlackJack who was on the phone, and he tells her it was an old friend of his. He tells Pinoko to go into the study and retrieve a small photo album from the bookshelf. She does so, and looking inside, she sees many pictures of BlackJack and a girl. He tells Pinoko that the girl is the sister of the man who just called, and he plans to give him the photo album to remember her by. Pinoko asks if the girl is dead, and BlackJack replies, "You could say." They drive over to the park to met Kei, and on the way Pinoko concludes that Kei's sister must have been BlackJack's girlfriend. BlackJack confirms this, and they arrive at the park. Kei is there, and upon seeing BlackJack he is overjoyed. BlackJack introduces him to Pinoko, but jealous of their friendship, she storms off to the car. Pinoko watchs the two men stand with eachother, talking, and staring at the city sprawled out before them. Just then, BlackJack returns to the car, but Pinoko is nowhere to be seen. He goes to look for her. While he is gone, Pinoko comes out from hiding to talk to Kei. She mentions his sister, and asks to know more about her relationship with BlackJack. Kei explains that his sister Megumi went to med school with BlackJack. Every night that it would rain, BlackJack would leave a spare umbrella for her to use for her walk home. It was kind, but every morning he always was very abrupt with her. Little did Megumi know that BlackJack followed her home everynight, walking a safe distance behind, to ensure that she had a safe journey - it being so late after all. One night though, as Megumi was walking home, she is attacked by some thugs, and BlackJack springs into action, beating up the thugs, and saving her. Megumi begins to fall madly in love with BlackJack. Before she could tell him however, she was diagnosed with sever uterine cancer. As a result, she needed to have both her uterus and her ovaries would have to be removed. Kei explains that BlackJack began to treat Megumi, and he demanded he perform the operation. BlackJack warned Megumi that once the operation was finished she would no longer be able to produce female hormones and that she would essentially stop being a woman and become very masculine. That day in the operating room, just before he puts Megumi to sleep, he tells her that he loves her, she tells him the same, and they kiss. Then Megumi falls asleep, and BlackJack gets to work. When the surgery was finished, Kei explains, Megumi was no longer a woman. But before Kei could get any further along in his story, BlackJack returns. He retrieves Pinoko, says goodbye to Kei, and they drive away. In the car, Pinoko asks what became of Megumi and BlackJack tells her it's none of her business. The next morning, BlackJack realizes he'd forgot to give Kei the photo album. He rushes to the port, frantic to catch the boat before it leaves. He finds Kei. Kei is surprised to see BlackJack once again. BlackJack then gives Kei the photo album and says its full of "old pictures of you." Kei is Megumi.