Chapter 18. Couples Therapy, and Police Reports.
Saturday January 18th, 2014.
They all said their goodbyes to Reimu and her parents later that morning. Tanya stood out among the four girls being the only one without puffy red eyes. Something that was soon rectified by the makeup that Reimu’s mom brought out.
As soon as the makeup case was brought out Tanya quickly made herself scarce, memories of those horrible propaganda shoots still haunting her.
Instead, she made her way to the kitchen to make herself another cup of coffee.
Sitting down, she was making her way through this morning’s paper, when the Matron of all people plopped down on the seat across from her.
“Miss Kaizaki, I’m glad a caught you before your appointment. Regretfully your request for a laptop computer to be included as a necessary expense has been denied. Though your stipend will be increased as per your doctor’s recommendations due to the increase in your dietary needs.
Her tone was stern and commanding as she made Tanya aware of the arrangements that had been made on her behalf.
“I will be having extra portions set aside for you at mealtimes and you will be given additional funds. These funds are for use in covering your dietary expenses and supplements. I don’t want you skimping on nutrition to save up for that laptop, understood?”
“Yes, I understand completely, However, I have just one question, let’s say that I cover all my prescribed dietary needs, and have the receipts to prove so, but due to my own thriftiness still have funds left over. Would I then be permitted to save these funds for discretionary use?”
Tanya asked keeping her voice pleasant and non-aggressive.
The Matron had a sudden premonition that she was going to have her hands very full with this one going forward.
~
Finishing her coffee Tanya went to go find her group, eventually came upon them in their room. All evidence of their night of sorrow had been erased and they were now helping Reimu clear the linens off her bed.
Down in the driveway they said their final goodbyes, with Visha jotting down Reimu’s telephone number in the notebook that she kept on her person. Waving their acquaintance off as they drove away, the three turned back to the house to go about their own duties.
Momo was stuck filling out the paperwork Tanya had given her for most of the morning, while Visha and Tanya went to the hospital for their joint session with their therapist.
They were the only two going, since it being a Saturday most regular office visits were being held off until Monday. Apparently, their therapist had made a special arrangement for them and they would be his only patients today.
Arriving at the office and sitting down, Tanya gratefully accepted the tea that was offered them after being told to make themselves comfortable. While it might not have been her preferred drink, having a third cup of coffee while remaining seated and calm, was not something Tanya wished to subject herself to.
After the initial pleasantries were out of the way, the Doctor continued with small talk that Tanya barely paid attention to, between translating and thinking of her own answers to his questions. Eventually, they hit on a topic that got Visha fired up and she went off on a tangent for several minutes, mostly talking about how she had felt walking around the mall and how isolated being a foreigner had made her feel.
Tanya supposed it was going to be something they both would have to deal with going forward, as Japan was historically isolationist, and that attitude had carried over even into modern times.
She was unsatisfied with how the conversation was going, as the Doctor’s questions seemed to get Visha to say and realize things that only seemed to make her more upset.
Then she got hit with a direct question.
“Tanya how do you feel about all this?”
“I suppose it’s nothing too new for me, I grew up here after all, so these are things I have delt with my whole life. While I don’t enjoy the stares or ostracism, I have no power to change it, so I suppose I just accept it as part of life.”
“How very mature of you, but that’s not what I was referring to. How do you feel knowing how people have and will treat Visha and how that makes her feel?”
The Doctor asked in a kind, concerned tone.
Tanya’s grip on her cup tightened momentarily, before she loosened it and set the cup on the table. She didn’t like the surge of emotion that had just run through her. It was almost like the times she would lose control while operating the Type 95. She really didn’t like it. She also didn’t like the feeling she got when thinking of Visha being singled out.
“It’s ok to have these feelings Tanya, it’s good when you can express them in a healthy way. Here, we are in a safe environment, no one is going to reprimand you for having these emotions, so feel free to share them. Visha here has been open about her worries and fears, as well as how that makes her feel. Why don’t you give it a try, if you feel ready. Tell us, tell Visha, how it makes you feel when you see her face these challenges.”
Tanya looked at her friend’s expectant gaze after she had finished translating. How had she gotten herself into this?
“Visha, I don’t like it when I hear about you being gawked at or singled out. It makes me feel, angry.”
“And?”
The shrink prompted.
At his prompting Tanya continued
“Angry and a little sad. I don’t want you to be sad that you decided to come here and stay with me. I, I wanted you to see all the things you missed out on from… before. And I just…”
Tanya felt frustration and shame boiling up inside her, her collar felt hot and she wanted to stand up and start pacing the room. Subconsciously her thumbnail found its way to her mouth and she began chewing at it out of habit as she tried to get her thoughts and body under control.
“That’s enough for now Tanya, if sharing your feelings out loud makes you feel anxious there is no need to force yourself to continue. These things take practice and patience just like anything else. Communication with those close to us though is essential for a healthy mind and relationship, so it is worth the effort.”
Dr. Okido made a note in his book before turning to Visha and waited for Tanya to finish translating.
“Now Visha, how did it make you feel when you heard Tanya share her feelings?”
“Tanya, I’ve seen you face many dangers over our time together, you have stared death in the face by my side more than once. Even going so far as to stand up to our leaders when they made outrageous demands, but I have never seen you be so brave as you were just a few seconds ago. I know more than anyone how much you keep everything sealed up inside, and I know what it took for you to share that with me, thank you. I want you to know that I will never think less of you or try to take advantage of you because you decide to share your feelings or worries with me. We are best friends and I want you to be happy and not keep everything to yourself. No more guessing at what I’m thinking or vice a versa. Just tell me how you feel, and ask me how I feel. I’ll tell you and I’ll be honest. Feel free to do so as well, I trust you.”
Dr. Okido looked towards Tanya as Visha finished speaking, patiently giving her time to absorb the words of her friend before she translated them. After a few moments she finally turned towards him.
“She said it felt nice.”
Dr, Okido blinked slowly, before raising an eyebrow at Tanya.
Due to doctor patient confidentiality, the rest of this session has been redacted.
~
Dr. Okido felt more at peace with himself as he walked the two patients from his office. Many of his worries and concerns had been assuaged over this last two-hour session. Unfortunately, many new concerns had risen as well. Miss Serebryakov’s concerns about being ostracized as a foreigner was just one of them.
It was a topic that hit particularly close to home for the doctor himself, after all his own grandson Shigeru was mixed race, being half American and half Japanese on his daughter’s side. Dr. Okido could remember the hopelessness the boy had felt when they had first returned home after his daughter’s divorce. Even though legally his name had changed to Okido Shigeru, his little grandson still demanded to go by his American name, Gary. An act that had further separated him from the rest of his peers. It was this choice and others like it, that helped single the boy out, making him an easy target for bullying.
With any luck, miss Serebryakov and miss Kaizaki would learn as he did, and eventually overcome the social stigmatisms and find some true friends.
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He was pleased in the progress young Tanya was making. He had noticed that she was dressed more normally today, though normal was relative, considering the more formal style she had chosen of a dress shirt and slacks. But at least she was out of that uniform, so he guessed she hadn’t been too fixated on it as a security blanket after all.
Returning to his office computer, Dr. Okido sighed to himself before buckling down to write out the report he had to send to the police with his final diagnosis and findings.
~
The session had lasted a little over two hours and Tanya had felt every minute of it. Leaving the office, she tiredly shuffled her way back towards their ride home. Visha in comparison was nearly hopping and skipping the whole way out of the hospital.
Back at HQ, Tanya took out her pent-up frustration on the weeds in the yard, completing the yard work she had signed up for. Visha meanwhile was helping prepare vegetables and other ingredients for dinner.
It looked like it was going to be a quiet weekend for the two of them. Tanya planned to get more research done and possibly shop around for a lawyer. Both to help with the immigration paperwork and to see about getting a share of her old assets if her grandparents decided to move against her.
Feeling sweaty, yet refreshed, Tanya made her way back inside and much to her surprise, though she should have expected it, found Visha sitting with one of the other caretakers watching some television drama. Shaking her head, Tanya dried her sweat with a rag and moved to join them. She supposed she could take it easy, just for a little while. She wondered if Visha had ever tried popcorn.
~
Monday January 20th, 2014. Tokyo Japan. Minato Ward Police Station. Gang and Trafficking Task Force. Office of Tsuruga Ren, Special Detective assigned miss Degurechaff’s and miss Serebryakov’s cases.
Ren had just received an email from Dr. Okido that he had been waiting for. He read through it before moving it into the folder on his desktop that contained the rest of the information that had been put together on the two foreign girls.
Well, he supposed one of them wasn’t really a foreigner. He had gotten the DNA results back from the lab that same day and it proved that miss Degurechaff was in fact miss Kaizaki as she had claimed.
All that was left before he closed her case was to prove that she wasn’t a danger to society. Something that this most recent email from the shrink had more or less confirmed, though he was asking to continue to see both suspects to ensure their mental stability and confirm his diagnosis. That the Doctor had felt it even necessary to confirm, was concerning in and of itself. There certainly was something suspicious about those two girls and something seriously wrong with the little one in particular.
Most of the women in these situations were simple, cut and dry victims of terrible fate and circumstance. A few ended up being guilty of perpetuating the same horrible situation they were in. Luring other victims in and actively participating in the filth that was trafficking and forced prostitution.
These two were different however.
Despite their testimony of supposed abuse, none of the evidence or opinions of the other detectives seemed to support that declaration.
Miss Kaizaki’s story made sense, and it could very well be the truth. But he had been doing this for a long time and he didn’t believe she was telling the whole truth.
He had interviewed several of the officers that had first interacted with them. Two of them couldn’t explain why, but both had independently mentioned feeling inexplicably terrified of them. The first being the arresting officer who had checked for weapons and confiscated the two shovels the girls had had on them, stating that as he had begun patting down the short one, “he had felt death’s gaze watching his every move.” The second had been the driver of the van the two had been shuttled in, warning not to startle the two and that “the little one could freeze ice with her gaze.”
He then had a conflicting report from a junior officer who had asked for a reimbursement after lending, “the two cute little angels,” money for the vending machine.
I’m getting too old for this shit, Ren thought as he scrubbed his face with his hands. Taking another sip of his coffee, he pondered the contradiction that was the two girls.
Victims, and yet dangerous, confident but seemingly afraid. The one curious, while the other, so polite and businesslike, mature even. No records of an education but both spoke multiple languages and were clearly well bred in their manners. They just didn’t make sense.
One of the junior detectives had even suggested that the two were secret agents or assassins of some clandestine organization, trained from a young age in the arts of death and war. The group had immediately told the young detective where he could take his shounen manga fantasies and shove them.
Ren had joined in on reprimanding the young man as well. Detective work was about logic and facts, connecting the dots to create a clear picture of the events, not wild fantastical stories. Yet, when Ren listened to his own advice, the facts painted a very strange picture.
They had found two military style combat knives stashed with other props in the studio room of the compound they had raided. Both knives matched the language, style, and sheeves on the two girls’ uniforms. That alone wasn’t a problem, they must have come with the outfits, and he could think of any number of scenes that some pervert would want to shoot of a young beautiful girl wielding a knife.
The problem was that the knives showed signs of use. So had the shovels for that matter. He had seen them in person before approving their return. They had dents and chipped edges, as well as file marks from sharpening. Who sharpens a shovel?
The handles of both the knives and shovels were well worn and cared for, even their boots showed signs of heavy use. It just didn’t make sense that the outfits these girls wore as a prop for a photoshoot were so worn out and yet well maintained.
The only logical explanation given the quality of the materials was that the uniforms and gear were authentic. That someone had used them for a long time before it was bought as a prop and given to the girls. A theory that in itself was full of holes and didn’t make sense, but nothing else did either.
Ren sighed again and threw his hands in the air, stretching. He was out of coffee. Standing up, he made his way over to the office pot and got himself another cup. His thoughts raced as he made his way back to his empty office, closing the door.
In reality the two had done nothing wrong, it wasn’t illegal to be suspicious and there was no evidence of any wrongdoing on their part. The actual facts showed that they were indeed victims in all of this and Ren was just dragging things out by not closing their cases and moving on.
Still, he decided to make one last effort to make sure he was doing the right thing. Opening up his email he looked for the phone number that was attached at the bottom of the page, and punched in the Doctor’s number.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
“Hello, you’ve reached Dr. Okido’s office.”
“This is Detective Tsuruga Ren, is the Doctor available?”
“Oh, Detective, just one second, I’ll check… Yes, he’s available, I’ll transfer you please hold.”
Click.
“Detective Tsuruga, how can I help you, I take it you got my email?”
“Yes Doctor, I was hoping you could confirm something for me.”
“You want to know if those two girls are going to be a problem?”
“Yes, I am thinking of closing the file on those two but before I do, I wanted to make sure they wouldn’t become a problem in the future, especially the little one, miss Kaizaki.”
“Oh, you are calling her miss Kaizaki now, so the results came back, she really is related?”
“That’s private information I can’t give out.”
“Sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. As for your concern, well it’s not really the little one you should be worried about. However, in my professional opinion they should probably be fine.”
God damn these shrink types!
“Doctor! What do you mean it’s not the little one we should be worried about, is the Russian a danger to the public?”
Detective Ren was beginning to get pissed off by the current byplay. Why couldn’t the doctor just tell it to him straight? Also, what gives, the Russian was supposed to be the more normal one of the two.
“Detective, you read through my report, correct? You should have noticed the note I made that the two are in a very serious mutual codependent relationship. Without going into detail, from what I have observed, those two would almost do anything for each other, especially miss Serebryakov.”
“Your conclusion in your report stated you didn’t think they were a danger.”
Ren stated accusingly.
“And they aren’t, those two wouldn’t hurt a fly. Unless either felt the other was threatened.”
“So, if miss Kaizaki felt her friend was in danger she would react with violence?”
“Again, it’s not miss Kaizaki you should worry about, that girl wouldn’t break a law if you held a gun to her head. It’s miss Serebryakov that you need to be concerned about turning to violence. From what I’ve been able to glean of her past, it is how she has been taught that problems get solved. If anything, it’s miss Kaizaki’s teachings that have shown her that there are other ways to fix a problem than violence.”
“But she still is a danger to society?”
“Not likely, think about it detective, what kind of environment did they grow up in? What kind of situation did they just escape from? Neither of them is going to blow their chance at a new life on a whim or because they got mad. Neither of them is unstable nor insane, if anything they are far too pragmatic. No, I only think that they are capable of committing violence in defense of the other not that they are going to actively seek it out.”
Anger mixing with his frustration, Ren was sick of the back and forth without any clear answer and shouted into the phone.
“So, they’re fine! Just two normal girls ready to go back to school? Don’t play me the fool Doctor!”
“Exactly! They are two young girls that need to go back to school! What have they done to warrant such fear and caution?! I don’t know what those girls have been through. But I know what they need, and what they need right now is normalcy. They need to be able to behave and act like regular girls or they will become the very thing you fear they are.
The Doctor took a calming breath.
“Look! Neither of those girls are going to run around a train station with a knife stabbing people right and left. You don’t need to worry about that. But if someone with a knife did attack one of them, they aren’t the type to collapse to the ground in tears and beg for mercy, those two would fight back. Is that considered dangerous, or unstable behavior? Is it any different than what we’d want our own daughters to do.”
Dr. Okido had rarely gotten this heated when discussing patients before, but he felt like he needed to in this situation. He couldn’t risk letting his patients be misunderstood in such a way that might affect the rest of their lives.
Ren sighed into the phone before coming to a decision.
“You’d feel comfortable if these two went to the same school as your own daughter? Because that’s what we will be doing if I close the book on this. Sending them off to go study, live, and work around somebody’s daughter, somebody’s kid.”
“If anything, I’d feel relieved if my daughter went to school with them. Have you spoken to the other girls about how they see them? Many of my patients have brought up how much they see those two as a beacon of strength, someone to aspire too. A few of the girls think they are downright Divine and the only reason they got rescued.”
The Doctor paused for a breath, before continuing.
“After getting to know them myself during our sessions, I can tell you that they have a serious sense of responsibility towards those they consider to be under their care. Especially miss Kaizaki, that girl goes to extremes to ensure that anyone she feels accountable for is well taken care of. Any girl would be so lucky to have her as a schoolmate or comrade.”
“Alright enough gushing, I get the point. I was already leaning toward closing their cases, now I can feel more comfortable doing so. I’ll give their file a glowing recommendation when I send it over to the immigration office. Miss Serebryakov has expressed an interest in seeking asylum in our country, fearing retribution from criminal organizations in hers. I’ll see what I can do to keep the two together for you.”
“Why, Mr. Tsuruga where did this sentimentality come from, I thought you were against them just a moment ago?”
“I was never against them; I just needed to be sure. As for the rest, well, don’t forget that I interviewed them as well. Those two remind me of a pair of old hands that have seen just a little too much. It’s the eyes, When I look into those eyes, it’s like I see the endless night, staring back. I’ve seen eyes like that before. My grandfather fought in the war. He has those same eyes sometimes. You’re right, little girls shouldn’t have eyes like that. They deserve a chance, and so long as they aren’t a danger to society, I’ll do what I can to give it to them.”
“Thank you, Detective.”
“No, thank you Doctor, for making it so I could do the right thing. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
Hanging up the phone, detective Tsuruga Ren sighed and pulled up the files of the two girls, marking them as closed, before beginning to type up his recommendation for naturalization for miss Kaizaki, and the appeal for special refugee status for miss Serebryakov.
Kami no Mikokoro, Ren thought as he signed the recommendation papers.
