Being a resident doctor wasn't easy.

That was something he was painfully aware of.

It took time, strength and mental fortitude to keep going. To look after the patients that came in frequently. It was something you had to commit to.

Kitazato Kira was a resident doctor at Tokyo General Hospital. His mentor, Tokuya Furukawa, often butted heads with Kira due to differences in their personality and their varying opinions when it came to certain cases. Always arguing, words thrown back and forth, never really getting anywhere.

Because of his residency, his inexperience, his word wasn't always trusted when it came to making key decisions. How was he supposed to gain experience in this field if no one really trusted his knowledge and his skill?

It was something that bothered him. A nagging thought when he was alone in his office in the hospital.

Recently however, a number of cases had cropped up. Patients with varying ailments. But there was a common theme here. All of them had lost their desire to keep going. It was strange, but he was determined to get to the bottom of it. Days and days he spent, chatting with patients, noting their issues. But no matter how much he wracked his brain, he just couldn't understand why. They all had little desire to live.

Another day, rain, a storm forecast. A bad omen. Code yellow. A patient, one that he had spoken with recently, had gone missing. And as a nurse, you helped track this patient down. It was a race to find them, but ultimately, it was too late. A crowd had gathered by the balcony on the fifth floor, overlooking the edge. A grim sight at the bottom. Following the incident, he carried himself to his office, but not long before that, you caught a glimpse of him at the door of the balcony. He couldn't bring himself to see the aftermath of that patient.

Back in his office, he stood in front of a whiteboard; one which was covered in notes. Pins connecting one to the other. It was his research into these patients. But after that incident... He couldn't stand it, not without feeling the burn and tasting acid in the back of his throat. In a fit of frustration, he tore the notes from the board. Bit by bit, the notes fell; scattering around his office space. It all ended as soon as it started, he sunk to the floor, staring at his trembling hands.

Kira hadn't even noticed the fact that you were there, just standing behind him. Not until you shifted at least. Maybe it was your lanyard that made the slightest of noise, or your footsteps.

"..."

He didn't say a word. The only thing coming from him were shaky breaths.