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Chapter -8- Revelations

December 22, 5:00 pm Japanese Standard Timezone Tokyo, Japan ...

** "I'm not going to lie,"** said Johann. "I'm in heaven. Japan, man! Forty million people right here in the metro area."

"Oui." Jules stuffed his hands into his pockets. "And over fifteen million of'em right here in the heart of the city. Lot of people."

Sinopa folded her hands and shook her head slowly with a sigh. "It's sad that we're the only supernatural persons in all of Edo." She ran her fingers up through her hair and frowned.

"Edo?" Johann glanced at Jules then back to the kitsune.

"It wasn't called 'East Capital' until 1868. That is what Tokyo means ... East Capital. A year later, Emperor Meiji moved here from Kyoto. It was one of the biggest cities in the world at that time - around a million human beings. Largest in the world in the 1700s when I was born. This is the site of Edo Castle."

"Wonder what it was like," Johann murmured.

"Not quite as bustling as now," she replied with a wan smile. "In the mid-1800s, I remember visiting this city. It was still 'Edo.' It was angled gray rooftops and flecks of green between, for as far as the eye could see. Nothing was taller than the hill upon which I stood." She offered the group a firm nod. "Akihito will be waiting for me to bring him the artifact. May I suggest that you boys enjoy yourselves?"

"Aw, chère, you not inviting us?"

"Jules, my love, I cannot. Personal business and official business should not mix. It is preferred that way. And it might seem a bit..." she licked her lips. "Insulting for a messenger kami to be paired with a white man ... a gaijin." She paused, trying to think of a lighter-hearted way of explaining herself, then said, "They would possibly see you as gaikoku no kata and find it odd we are paired as mates."

Jules muttered softly in French. He glanced up at Johann. Their eyes met. "Evan's not around. It's okay."

"You have to see the irony," he replied. "You just swore in French."

"So I did," Jules said. He thought about it, smiled and then added, "Pardon my 'French.' Heh."

Fox dropped from above, seemingly out of the blue and landed in a crouch, startling everyone. "Hey. Sorry to barge ... Everyone good? Anyhow, this place is amazing. I've never been to Tokyo. It seems every kid owns a camera, here."

"Yeah?" Johann tilted his head. "So?"

"I was just running along the top of a bridge. I kicked off a flagpole then onto a lamppost. I sprinted across the rooftops of several cars in motion, then along the rail that goes parallel to the street. In that time, I must have been photographed no less than two or three hundred times by various kids and teenagers."

"You, uh ... you usually do that sort of stuff?"

Fox chuckled at Johann. "It's second nature. It may seem flashy but it keeps me in practice."

"Oh, no, it's cool - can't go getting rusty. Never know when the time will come that you need to run across the tops of moving vehicles without leaving any dents in their roof."

"Exactly!" Fox exclaimed.

"Fox-san, I was just explaining my need to privacy. I will suggest to you that now is your chance to call your sister. Not to sound like your mother but..."

"I'll call her. I'll do it. I promise."

"Onegaishimasu. She drew Fox into a gentle hug then kissed his forehead. "Be well, Fox-san. Watch over my Jules. Johann, keep him safe as well, kudasai. I'm quite nervous. I've never met the Emperor before. Speaking to him in a mirror from the submarine was tense. I am far more nervous to meet him in person. If you will beg my pardon, I do not wish to worry about the three of you in such a setting of reverence and respect."

Johann offered a chuckle. "I'm sure the Emperor is far more nervous to meet you in an official capacity. It's not every day you meet a messenger goddess or find out that someone to whom you pray is legitimate and physical."

"His faith is strong. It should come as no surprise to see me in person. But you may be right."

"So why worry?"

"Mm, it's not every day you meet the leader of the people by whom you are prayed. Or, rather, the leader of those who pray to you. I ... hope that made sense."

Fox grinned and said, "Hai." His grin turned to a smile in reply to hers. "Now, go on. We'll find you afterwards."

"Doumo arigato." She bowed to Fox then to Johann. Each returned the gesture. She turned to Jules, threw her arms around him and they kissed. While in his embrace, she turned back into a kitsune and dropped to all fours on the ground. "They know to have a kimono and proper attire for me, as well as a changing room. My tails may cause some to take photographs of me. It matters not."

Johann chuckled. "People will think it was photo-shopped. We'll see you soon."

Fox added, "Sayonara."

Jules knelt adjacent to her and they whispered a personal farewell. He cupped her small, furred face in his palms and kissed her nose.

She turned about, addressed Fox and Johann with a pleasant tone in Japanese then bound off towards the palace gates.

They watched her until she disappeared through the Nakamon. The trio turned back towards the rest of the city and started walking.

Fox withdrew a cellphone and called his sister but it went directly to voicemail. He called Reno Nevada. On the second ring, Nevada picked up, sounding somewhat drunk. "Reno, this is Fox Parker. I'm looking for my sister. Have you seen her?"

"Yeah man! Hey!" Reno exclaimed. "Wow you guys are calling late. Do you know what time it is here?"

Fox put his hand over the bottom of the cell. "Jules, what's the time difference?"

"Uh, lemmie see. About, I think, thirteen hours from east coast time to Japanese, I think. So ... minus three hours for Pacific. I'm going with a ten-hour difference. It'd be night over there. I dun-even-know what time it is here. God, I used to know this but I've been in so damn many time zones, I cain' remember."

"Four," said Johann in a whisper. "We're ahead of them."

Reno sounded excited over the phone, which Fox put into speaker-mode for everyone to hear. "Fox! Man, we were on the news! This guy, Evan and me ... Evan and I_have been fighting crime, man! We kicked _ass! And we went to my parents' house and got Topaz and brought her to Karla's boat and we're all drunk!"

Fox sighed. He glanced at Johann, who appeared to be frowning, and asked, "Is Evan there?"

Reno laughed. "Yeah, of course! Here!"

"Hello?"

Johann leaned towards Fox's fancy phone. "Evan, thank God. You sound sober."

"Well, of course. Partying isn't my thing. Topaz is toast. Reno is ruined. This guy, Eric, is passed out on the floor in Karla's room with his pants unfastened. Makes me wonder. And there's this really pretty girl here, Patience Ubysh. You've not met her yet, but you will. She had a glass of wine but stopped after that. She's sober. We've been talking in the guest bedroom for an hour, now."

"What time is it there?" asked Fox.

"Oh, hey Fox, how's it going? Um ... I don't know. I guess it's almost midnight? Reno broke his cellphone screen to demonstrate that I could fix it. But because he did it while he was drunk, he messed up the LCD. He didn't realize that it actually does have liquid in the screen. So there's a little bit of black spottiness on the corners. I can't tell the time from it. What time is it there? You guys are sixteen hours ahead of us."

Fox and Johann looked at one another. They turned to glance at Jules who offered a shrug. The Cajun grinned. "So I was wrong. Sue me."

Fox, asked, "Hey, can I speak to Topaz?"

"Yeah. One sec." There was some scuffling over the line. A moment later...

...A feminine voice replied. "Fox?"

"Hey! I've missed you."

"Hey, boy, hey," she said with a soft giggle. "I know you probably wouldn't condone me having had this much alcohol but, woo, I've never had an Irish Car-Bomb before. I had three. My cheeks are fuzzy. I can't feel them."

Fox winced. "Okay, well ... I won't keep you. I just wanted you to know I was thinking about you."

"I love you, Fox."

"Well, I love you, too, Paz."

"No, Fox, I love you. I just never tell you because I didn't want you to feel weird but, for some reason, it seems like you won't judge me and I just didn't realize that before. I love _you. I made out with Karla. But all I could think about was _you. God I love you."

Fox blushed brightly. "Try, uh, not to get sick, okay? We're leaving tonight. I should be back in about twelve days. I, uh ... I love you. I miss you."

"We got your card, postmarked from Indonesia! It was awesome! Fox, listen, we should get together when you get home. I think we've been going about this all wrong. We should be together."

Again, Fox blushed. "P-Paz, you're drunk. Let's talk when you're sober."

"Aw but that's forever before I'll talk to you again! I'm just saying, we should totally hook it up! I don't really think I need women anymore right now unless it's Karla. She could be fun. Benefits and stuff. No, wait, I might be done with women for a while - I don't need that. Or maybe I do. I don't know. I just know I need you, baby."

"Paz, please. Let's talk when you're sober. Please."

"Okay, kisses! Hurry home! I miss you, Foxie, boy. You're my foxy-boy." A pause then, "HEY! Whose piece of shit phone is this? Do you know what year it is? This thing sucks doggie dicks!" The line became muffled again as the phone was passed through various hands until it found its way to...

Karla said, "Boys! Oh my boys! I've missed you all! Come back to my boat and let's have a family! I mean ... not the way Topaz and Fox are going to have a family, or not the way Evan and Patience are going to have a family," she paused, hearing Evan exclaim in the background out of embarrassment, then Karla continued, "But I mean a FAMILY, like ... we're all looking out for each other! Oh, shit, this isn't my phone. So, who-all is there?"

Jules leaned towards the phone and said, "Just myself, Fox 'n Johann. Sinopa is with Akihito 'n his son an' wife."

"Yeah? Well you tell that vixen I said heeey. And, oh, we got your card-thing! Oh, and Fox, you guys aren't married yet - do I have your permission to hook up with the bride while she's still single?"

"Jesus," Fox said, flustered. "Please, you guys are both embarrassing the hell out of me. I'm her brother. Nothing more. Do whatever you want; just don't hurt her. We'll be home in just shy of two weeks. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all."

Johann added, "Hey, Karla, thanks for that kiss. If you want another one when I get back, I'll be expecting it."

"Hell yeah!" Karla erupted. "Now you're talking! Hey, Johann, you guys get back in one piece and I'll give you more than a kiss, babe. I'll rock your world and make you a man, sweetness. Okay, Three Musketeers. I've got to go. I only broke out the booze because I was having these headaches that put me in a weird mood. Seemed like the perfect time to get drunk! After all, we're celebrating how awesome this team is becoming! And now the flashbacks have stopped for a while and ... hey!" Karla offered an off-rhythm hiccup then cleared her throat and said, "Jules, give that foxy babe some kisses from me! I'm going to see if I can't seduce Topaz, now. Then Reno. I have hat-trick fever! Toodles!" The call ended.

"Jesus," Fox groaned.

"Fox, I am so sorry," Johann said. "I know they didn't mean any of that stuff. If you need a minute to run the city..."

"I dunno." Parker sighed and ran his hands over his forehead, down his face then he shook his head. "I didn't need anyone hearing my private conversation. I'm sorry you guys got an earful of that."

"Fox," Jules shook his head. "We ain't gunna judge you, mon ami."

Parker shook his head, judging himself aloud. "Incest is an abomination. I'm not extremely devout to the Bible but..."

"I was," Jules replied. "And you remember Sodom and Gomorrah? Lott runs with his family, his wife looks back, gets turned to a pillar of salt - y'know that story?"

"Well," Fox cleared his throat, "Uh, yeah, everyone does. Something about a city of people sodomizing each other or something."

"Eh, not according to Ezekiel. But tha's not the point."

Fox shrugged. "Cain kills his brother Abel, and gets cursed. Yet people from Sodom are supposed to have been mostly gay or whatever ... and they die. To me it seems like God hates sexually immoral people more than murderers."

"Naw, man. You got it all wrong. Ezekiel didn't say anything about homosexuality as their sins. So the word, 'Sodom' and 'sodomy' ain't tied to biblical usage."

"Um, are we talking about my sister being gay or are we talking about something else all together?"

"Check it out, mes amis. Lott's wife dies and he didn't yet bare a son. That was important manly stuff back in those days. Still is ta' many people. Lott 'n his two daughters make it to safety ... the daughters feel bad his wife died and he didn't have a son ... so they get him drunk and have an orgy. Guess what? They didn't turn to salt, nor did they burn. God didn't punish anyone for incest that night. That's straight outta' the Holy Bible."

"Oh."

Jules gave Fox a firm slap on the shoulder. "I dun' judge you, whether or not you decide to pursue romance in a place others call 'taboo.' We're on the same page now, oui?"

Fox remained quiet. Johann patted Fox on the shoulder firmly. "Oh, don't get all weird on us, man. You've been trapped in a tiny tube with us for two weeks. You're about to do it again. And for the record, I don't judge either. If you ask me, God only wrote one page in the whole bible, with His own hand."

"The Ten Commandments or whatever, right?"

"Yup. And the Ten Commandments didn't mention anything _about dating your sister, nor did it say anything about mating with someone of the same gender. If it was _really that big of an abomination then someone as perfect as God would have added those two rules. He could have easily put six commandments per tablet, or used both sides if He wanted. He didn't. Stop flipping. We're you're friends, Fox."

Parker shrugged. "Still, if incest was okay then it wouldn't cause genetic problems. That's proof it's not good." The three continued walking along the street, headed towards the buildings ahead. "Listen to us, walking through Tokyo, Japan, talking about crazy stuff like this. How weird is that?"

"What better time?" Jules joked. "Nobody understands us."

"Yeah." Fox stuffed his phone back into his pocket. "Some say HIV was God's scourge against homosexuality."

Johann laughed aloud. "Yeah? Then how come it's more dangerous to straight couples than it is to lesbian couples? Whoever suggested that to you ... man ... they were seriously flawed, you know? This is Japan, man. Half the Hentai that comes out of this enormous island depicts bisexuality, incest or wilder. Do you see Japan at the bottom of the ocean? Hell no."

"Dad told me that stuff," Fox said. "He told me that The Bible refers to things like incest as an abomination in the eyes of God. He told me that from the things he's learned throughout all the cultures and such, across the globe. He told the both of us that he can honestly say, with every fiber of his being, that I should take a wife, Topaz should take a husband, and we should continue the family tradition and name to the best of our ability. With proper branches on a proper ancestry tree. Not an 'incestry' tree. For Paz to flirt like this ... it really makes me feel weird."

"Fox, if you don't want to do anything with her ... no one is forcing you to."

Fox lowered his voice and, in a soft whisper, said, "I'm in love with her." His eyes fell to the concrete as the trio walked towards downtown.

X

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X

December 21, 11:05 pm, PST San Francisco, California Pages Lost Nightclub ...

Samantha Summers sat up with a start. She winced from a pain at her hairline but couldn't reach up to check the injury. Her hands were behind her back. Her left wrist was tethered to her right one.

She looked around in the dim illumination of the room then tried pulling her hands apart. The grunt of stretching rope was nearly as loud as the silence. She rolled around on the floor and pulled her legs up to her chest then eased her arms beneath herself so that she could see her bound hands. "Damn."

The rope was fairly thick and tied artistically like a sailor who wanted to show off. She tried turning her wrists in various directions to see if she could slip free of the bindings but they were too well tied around her forearms.

She brought both hands up to touch her forehead and felt a trickle of dried blood that stopped at her eyebrow. She was otherwise unharmed.

Samantha paused and tilted her head. She crawled on her knees towards a nearby air vent on the floor and heard faint speaking through the duct.

'Monroe said that dumb bitch has caused too many problems. She called half an hour ago. Said we can do whatever we want with her. I say we run a train on her then end the bitch.'

Another voice said, 'What? Can't you get laid? You always gotta take your frustration out on call girls and helpless broads?'

'Nah. You didn't fight her when she tried to break in here, earlier. She's not helpless. Well, she is now. But she's the reason I had my tooth in milk earlier. Look, though. Good as new, see?'

The second voice said, 'Who knew the mob had good dental huh?' Both voices laughed. After a moment, he said, 'So when you gonna pop her and drop her?'

The first man's tone changed, sounding enthusiastic. 'After my show ends. Maybe ten minutes, plus or minus a commercial break. Now hush, it's coming back on. This is the best part. Watch how dude handles those twats. That's my boy. Jack-fuckin'-Bauer.'

'You do know these are just reruns right? This show came out when I was still in diapers, man.'

'Yeah? Shut your mouth and learn something then. Watch this dude. He's bad ass.'

They both grew silent.

Samantha swallowed. She wiggled her hands again, trying to create slack in the rope. The more she struggled, the tighter the binds became. She got to her knees then stood up and approached a steel door with a large gap underneath. She felt around for a handle but couldn't find one. She got back down on her knees then peered beneath the door and saw what looked like a catwalk and lights.

"Okay," she whispered softly. "I'm in the rafters of the stupid club. These guys are going to kill me in ten minutes. Jesus." She held her hands up in front of her eyes and said, "Lance?"

Silence.

"Lance if you can see what I'm seeing, send me text in my contacts."

Nothing happened.

She brought her hands down to her pants, rubbed her fingers then reached up and gently touched her finger against her eye to see if the contacts were in. She flinched and clenched her eyes shut. No contacts. Someone took them out while she was unconscious. "I should have burned this place down weeks ago when I had the chance."

She began walking along the dim room, checking for anything she could use or anything that could lead outside. The minutes rushed by. The door opened and she turned around, eyes wide, like a deer in headlights.

"Hey there, Agent. Remember me? I just got back from the Dentist today. I thought I'd bring you some good news, girl."

She swallowed back her trepidation and spoke with faux courage. "Yeah? What's that? Did Jack Bauer finally get Kimberly back? That was his daughter's name right?"

He eyed her for a minute. "You like 24?"

"It had its moments."

"The good news, kid, is that Monroe wants me to try one more time to make you talk. If you don't, I gotta go downstairs and call her."

"What's the good news?"

"You have at_least_ that long to keep breathing. So who were you working for, and where did you get those fancy contact lenses?"

"Aris Falcon."

"Don't play with me, bitch. Give me a name?"

"Choo-choo train."

He stepped into the room, turned on the lights and shut the door behind himself. The man rolled his sleeves up, drew his right fist back, then reached for the rope restrains with his left hand. He held her arms down at waist level, then used his right fist to punch her in the face.

Summers flailed back and stumbled to the ground with her hands held aloft by the rope in his left fist. She listed from left to right trying to get away from him but couldn't do it.

"That's right. Keep kicking around like that. I like seeing you squirm."

Summers brought her right foot up and caught his groin but the man started laughing. "You got a mean kick but we took your steel toe boots you wore earlier. And I'm wearing a cup this time. Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice ... well, I won't let you fool me twice, girl."

She wiggled her toes to make sure she hadn't broken one. "You're a real son of a bitch, you know that?"

"No, not really. My momma was a religious woman. Real sweet lady. I'm just an asshole, that's all there is to it." He drew his fist back a second time and swung.

Summers' training kicked in. She twisted away, causing his punch to glance off her shoulder instead of her jaw. She clamped her teeth down on his wrist and brought her knee against the side of his leg.

The man collapsed to one knee but moved faster than she anticipated. Next thing she knew, his other fist was around her neck and she gasped in shock. She tried to suck in breath but couldn't manage it. She kicked at his shins, then his thighs as he lifted her up by her throat.

"Who ... the fuck ... are you working for?"

His grip lessened to let her speak.

"Your mother. Real sweet lady, but her son is a dickless scumbag."

The man launched her into the wall. She struck the ground and looked up at the ceiling, dazed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him advance again. Summers got to her feet but couldn't find her equilibrium and stumbled back to the ground.

"You haven't recovered your balance yet. You're supposed to stay down and cover your face, you dummy."

Again, she got to her feet only to crumble back down, landing on her hands and knees. "Jack Bauer is a punk."

"What!" He drew his foot back and kicked her in the collarbone. She flopped onto her back with a slow, drawing out groan. "That's right, bitch. You don't talk shit about Jack. He lived through eight seasons of hell, lost everyone he cared about, and still made it out of there alive."

"I could take him if my hands weren't tied together," she scoffed, trying to buy time to recover from the dizziness.

"He could take you with his hands tied, and blindfolded. Shut your mouth."

She rolled over onto her stomach and got to her hands and knees. "Actually. You know what he'd probably do?"

He sneered in disgust and spit on her. "What?"

She grimaced and crawled to him until her head was between his shoes. All at once, she jumped up, buried the backside of her head between his thighs, and got to her feet. The man flipped over her shoulders and landed on his head behind her.

Samantha turned around and quickly began stomping on his face. "This!"

A hand wrapped around her neck from behind, catching her by surprise. She felt herself thrown against a nearby wall then she dropped to the floor with a grunt. Summers looked up seeing a second man in the room. "That's no goddamn fair," she murmured.

The first man stood up and said, "Jack Bauer would have taken out half a dozen armed men, blindfolded, with his hands bound. You're nothing. Who do you work for - this is the last time I'm going to ask you and your last chance to save your life. Don't be a stupid bitch. Talk."

"I've undergone torture resistance training," she breathed. "I was the best in class at waterboarding resistance. You guys are just throwing punches and threatening to kill me. You're nothing. You're amateurs. You guys ain't shit."

"Ain't ain't a word, dummy." The man picked her up by her neck. He thrust her against the wall and dropped her again. "I'm gonna call Monroe then I'm going to come back and kill your ass. See you soon, sweetheart."

Both men walked out of the room and shut the door behind them. The lights wen out. A moment later, her eyes readjusted to the dim illumination from the hallway. She crawled back to the door and shouted into the gap beneath it. "Let me out of these restraints and then try to fight me, you cowards!"

Silence. Samantha rolled away from the door and laid on her left side. She took a deep breath, struggling to fight back tears. She hurt and she didn't want to die. More than that, she didn't want to die alone.

She lifted her head and stared at the light filtering in from the gap in the door. She saw a rat squeeze under the gap and wiggle through. "Oh Christ. That's all I need." The little animal trotted across the dim floor and approached her. "Stay back, you little pest."

It stood up on it haunches and, instead of squeaking, it barked. She blinked in confusion. "What the hell are you?" She looked it over, realizing it had a longer body than a rat, and a fluffy tail. "Are you some sort of weasel or ferret?"

Again the creature barked like a small dog. She remained still. It crawled towards her, as if cautious of her, then began chewing on the ropes that bound her wrists together.

Samantha's eyes widened. "Oh my God are you serious? If you chew these ropes off, I'll never wear a mink coat ever again, I swear to God."

The little animal looked up at her with beady eyes, barked, then began chewing again. It gnawed at the bindings, and puts its small paws up on either side of her left wrist. The rope began to fray.

"God, please hurry. They'll be back any minute."

The animal tilted his head and used its molars to grind on the rope then it switched back to using its front teeth. It alternated, going back to using its molars again. "Please, please hurry."

She saw a collar on the small animal and placed her head on the floor, trying to see the small tag but couldn't read it in the darkness. "You're someone's pet?"

The animal didn't respond. It kept chewing on the rope.

The dim illumination faded. She glanced towards the door and saw two shoes blocking the gap. "Oh shit. He's back."

X

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X

Ten minutes later 5:15 pm, JST Tokyo, Japan ...

** Sinopa adjusted the lay of the fabric** then stepped from the dressing room. She stopped, face to face, with a man she didn't recognize. She scrutinized his facial features but he wasn't of any typical lineage she could discern. He gazed upon her in a way that made her question if she should somehow know him.

"Dokode atta kotoga aru deshou ka...?" she trailed off, cleared her throat into her fist then asked, "Watashi-tachi wa atta?"

The man offered a smile and replied in English. "You once knew me as Isaac. I go by 'Steven Milford' now. I was the doctor of the esoteric community."

"You were?"

"Yes. Akihito knows this. I've asked to examine you before you go to a private dinner with him and his family. Step back into the dressing room, Sinopa-san."

She eyed him then backed into the dressing room and said, "You know my name?"

"I was your doctor, almost three decades ago. I know you knew me as Isaac, but ... don't you remember my face?"

"I don't remember coming to this realm until recently," she explained. "Why would I need a doctor?"

"I delivered your children," said Steven.

"Excuse me?"

He unfastened the top button of the fashionable Japanese dress coat, exposing his neckline. "I saw you affectionate with the man outside the temple and it shocked me. Especially so soon after the passing of your husband."

Sinopa's eyes widened. "Surely you have me mistaken with someone else."

"Sinopa Crevan, born nogitsune, honorably brought in from the storm by Inari, and trained as kitsune. You're due for your fourth tail by now. But you angered your 'Sensei' one too many times. You should remember this."

"I've never given birth before. That's absurd."

"Show me the stretch marks."

"Pardon?"

Steven pointed to her midsection. "You should have indications to having given birth. Stretch marks ... something. I am a doctor. You have a physical body for this realm. There should be indications."

Sinopa blushed. "I have ... very faint marks where my thighs meet the trunk of my torso but they're so faded, even Jules has never noticed."

"May I? Again, I'm a doctor. You needn't be shy with me."

Sinopa looked him over and frowned. "I can tell you're honest. At least you think you're being honest. And, certainly, you are honest about your credentials." She opened the kimono slowly. "What are you looking for?"

"I'll hopefully know when I see it." Steven guided some of the cloth open while using the rest to cover her in an appropriate fashion. "It's a mystery why you don't remember me or your husband. But you certainly remember your son." He knelt and leaned close, examining the slightest hint of a discoloration on her hip.

"My son? I have no son; I've told you that much."

"You have two children, Sinopa." Steven drew out a penlight and examined the skin where her upper thigh met the trunk of her body. "You're right, you can hardly see where you were marred from birthing them both. And they were both quite large. A human woman would have received a C-Section. No woman forgets childbirth."

"And since I don't remember it, I don't believe you have the right woman, Dr. Milford. Tamamo-no-Mae would freak out if I had another courtship with a human."

"Sinopa... she did 'freak out' the first time around. She was the mistress of Emperor Toba and his son, Emperor Konoe. She was angry that you had children. How can you not remember sobbing to me, while pregnant, saying that the Celestialites judged and berated you despite Inari's blessing to have children? I told you that you needed to reduce your stress level and, for a time, you broke all communication with your people. You even avoided mirrors for a while." Steven stood up and motioned for her to re-dress herself. "Sinopa ... I don't understand. You're here with your son. How can you_ not_ remember?"

She leered at him throughout his explanation, shocked by what he appeared to know. But his last two sentences held her attention. "To whom are you referring?"

He offered her an incredulous gaze. "You even hugged him as though you knew of your maternal connection to him. Surely he remembers you."

"Apparently not. WHO are you saying is my son?"

Steven shook his head, rose to his feet, then put his hands on her shoulders, firmly, and gazed into her eyes. "How can you not remember your twin children? You named one after the stone of the Sessho-seki, the Hoji stone. Legend said that Tamamo-no-Mae haunted that stone until Genno, the Buddhist Priest, helped her find her spiritual salvation. She was so incredibly honored by the name you gave your daughter that she forgave you the animosity shared between the two of you. Don't you remember the type of stone she haunted?"

Sinopa mouthed the words in silence. "...Pure, colorless Topaz." A hint of confusion still remained in her gaze. "Dr. Milford, please pardon my shock. It is effecting my ability to be rational. You say that my child is here with me?"

Steven gently patted her shoulders then stepped back from her, with his back against the dressing room door. "Sinopa, Fox Parker is your son."

She opened her mouth to exclaim but words failed her. Her eyes widened and her pupils dilated. She shook her head in disbelief.

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Next chapter: https://www.sofurry.com/view/650253