Chapter 51

The four of them waited for almost an hour. Tobihi could tell the rest of the party was growing irritated. Compared to her lifetime an hour was but a moment. To ordinary humans it was practically eternity. Bikke the cat sauntered into the room and helped itself onto Kumado's lap. He let out a small harrumph but did not chase it off. In reality the cat was simply responding to Tobihi's summon. It would come handy later. Still, she chuckled at how Kumado acted gruff but let it sit on his lap. She would not show it now, however. For she lay supposedly unconscious from something Yasunaga had been instructed to give her beforehand. Indeed Tobihi's Tanyuu appeared anesthetized. She knew Tama had on a concerned expression. Anesthesia was still unknown in Japan of this era. To Tama's eyes Tanyuu would have looked dead. In spite of all her knowledge that would be disturbing to her.

Soon after that a woman entered. She positioned herself by Tobihi's futon and motioned Yasunaga and Kumado out. Bikke jumped off, crouching in a corner. The woman was one of Edo's very few female physicians. Tobihi bid Bikke and the cat responded. It silently approached the woman and without a warning sank its teeth into the woman's backside. 「ひいっ!」"Eeeeeee!" the woman physician screamed very loudly, mostly from surprise. Tobihi willed her parasitic cells move from Bikke to the woman physician. It made the jump easily and went unnoticed due to the surprise and pain the cat bike caused. Not knowing this Tama carried Bikke off looking embarrassed.

Tobihi's parasitic cells took a few minutes to gather information while the woman busied herself collecting this sample and that. Tobihi was surprised to learn her instruments were made of materials available to residents of Edo. They were functional but were decidedly primitive. Her skills and procedures were certainly not of the Edo era Japan, however. Not only did she collect blood samples but she obtained various cell samples as well. When Tama reentered the room the woman was collecting Tanyuu's ova. She only made an incision less than half an inch but skillfully manipulated it to find this organ and that. Tama lost nerve at the sight and barely lowered herself down on the floor. The woman arranged the cell samples in clear casings.

The parasitic cells were busy gathering similar information while she worked. It returned to Tobihi on a split second the woman's skin was in contact with hers. The information revealed the woman to be mostly an ordinary human, give or take. Tobihi would have grimaced if she could. This meant she was sent from a time after the latest Tobihi lived. When Tobihi left only mushi bodies such as hers could make it. Tobihi knew that technological development was coming. However it placed her sometime before the ability to put inanimate objects through. She was a woman in her forties, though appearing much younger. Though she appeared Japanese, her lineage was diverse. Probably surgical and chemical alteration. Nothing special about her make-up, except an electromagnetic emission unique to time warping via koumyaku. Some tissue damage here and there from aging. Evidence of two pregnancies. It occurred to Tobihi why she was sent after Tanyuu. Perhaps she was an employee volunteer, sent in exchange for a rather sizable set of compensation. Maybe she was offered some promises of secure future for her children. Quite possible. But for a terrible sacrifice, because she could never return to her own time. No doubt she agreed to live out her days in this era. Or...what if she was forced? For what? Tobihi hated the idea but sent the parasitic cell unit back. This time to gather information within her brain. She would have to pay her a visit that night to retrieve it.

The woman told Tama the anesthetic should wear off that afternoon but she may be groggy and confused. Nothing to do for it but rest. Tama managed a nod. It was well beyond her understanding. The moment the sound of the front sliding door shut was heard Tobihi opened her eyes, quite awake and lucid. Tama tried to help her sit up, but Tobihi needed no such assistance. 「タマ殿、大丈夫でございますよ。少しも痛みはありませんでした」"Tama, I'm completely fine. I did not experience pain at all" she said smiling and patting Tama's hands in hers. Yasunaga and Kumado stepped back in. Yasunaga was startled to see Tanyuu already awake. Time to put on an act, for the woman physician had surely told him to expect otherwise. Kumado was doing his best acting surprised. Tama was thankful Yasunaga was not paying him a bit of attention. Yasunaga nevertheless sat down by Tanyuu next to Tama and inquired 「お加減は?」"how are you feeling?" There was a tone of genuine concern in his voice. Tobihi smiled on the inside, but put on a painful wince and said 「何事だ?体中痛む」"what happened? I have pain everywhere." Yasunaga looked at Tama, who explained what she saw the woman physician do to the best of her abilities. Tobihi thought it was better than she could have done, to have Tama describe it from her Edo era perspective with Edo era language. Hearing it Yasunaga turned blue and then green, excused himself, but lost it in the hallway. Kumado rolled his eyes at Yasunaga's delicate nerves. He whispered to Tobihi 「いつまでこの猿芝居をつずけさせるおつもりですか?」"how much longer do we keep up the charade?" 「辛抱辛抱熊戸殿。もうちょっと、でございますよ」"patience Kumado. Patience. Not too much longer, I think" she replied.

The rest of the day passed. Staying in bed grew more and more boring by the minute, even for Tobihi. Tama rather enjoyed relaxing for the past so many days so far, but Tobihi could tell she was ready to return to her usual life, though she never said as much. They passed the afternoon just talking. Kumado was off somewhere. Probably keeping tab on Yasunaga. When the household finally turned in for the night Tobihi wasted no time. She stood up and splashed straight into a puddle. Tama was used to seeing that by now. She just bid her a safe trip and turned in herself.

Following her parasitic cell unit by its trail was easy. The decision she might have to make with the woman was not. When she reached the woman's residence a short way outside of the district where Yasunaga lived, the woman doctor was still busy preparing the cell samples for long-term preservation. This was no easy task before electricity and refrigeration. Tobihi watched her from ubiquitous shadows in the house. She was obviously resourceful, plus efficient. Perhaps that was her qualification. Tobihi still wondered how she was going to preserve the ova.

The answer came soon enough. The woman entered a room where she had evidently hung a large silver-backed mirror. After shutting all amados ("rain door." Typically located just outside of engawa in most old-fashioned houses) she did something to turn electric lights on. She went on to arrange a tray of surgical instruments. She lay herself under the mirror, positioning herself carefully so that she was able to see. Next she took a syringe giving herself a local anesthetic. "My, my. Mirror, electricity, anesthetic. Very resourceful and competent," Tobihi thought, still in her liquified form. Tobihi remembered physical pain from her own human days, and the idea of self-administered abdominal surgery made her shudder. Still, loss of sensation gave her an advantage. She could invade her body and retrieve her parasitic unit. The woman doctor threw her head back and took a deep breath. With a decisive movements she made an incision on her right lower abdomen, slightly above where her appendix would have been. Tobihi watched for a split second in which her hand went to retrieve the next instrument. To Tobihi's chagrin the woman did not take her eyes off, as she had to look hard for her own ovary. Tobihi, of course, knew her intent. She was about to deposit Tanyuu's ova in her own ovary. Still, Tobihi shuddered at the horror of leaving anyone's descendants this way, and what would actually happen when/if she did deposit the ova. She guessed the woman must have received permanent anti-rejection agent, but it would still not protect against these. These were not human ova at all. They were mushi cell units Tobihi produced. She had to hurry and enter her. Once in, she would simply knock her out cold. She would review this woman's memories after that. But damn this woman, her attention did not falter. In desperation Tobihi extended a tentacle from under the shadow cast by the tray, and soundlessly shifting the instruments. The woman's fingers reached for the next instrument she needed, only to find it was not there. She cursed under her breath and looked at it. This was Tobihi's chance. She projected herself into an arch, from the shadow and the abdomen, slipping in through the skin undetected. From there she could snake her way up the spinal column. Unbeknownst to the woman doctor she followed an ever-thickening nerve bundle into the back bone, flowing in her fluid.

She arrived at the woman's brain. Her parasitic cell unit was still spread out, just waiting for Tobihi's signal to reassume its form. Tobihi absorbed it and allowed the woman's memories to process through her mind. Slowly at first, scenes from her life flashed before Tobihi like a movie. Then it picked up speed, showing her...everything. The woman had heard of Tobihi - though she would not have recognized the name - the first successful prototype body that combined the ethereal life form and human cognition. Tobihi chuckled how she learned about her in a history class of a sort at an educational institution. A portion of the account was accurate. The rest were mere guesses. She was indeed a volunteer employee who left two grown children behind - ahead - in her time. Tobihi experienced her love for her children. It was indeed for their future she took on this endeavor. She knew she would never see them again. Tobihi worked hard to suppress the grief that welled up in her own being to focus on the task. Her employer was a research group from the military of..."what sovereignty is this?" Tobihi did not recognize it. Her review process was suddenly interrupted by a hot shot of intense anger pierce through her being. Tobihi shifted her attention in disbelief. Not that her being was injured in any way. It was startling nevertheless. "She can sense me" she thought. An image of the woman came into focus from all directions. It demanded "how dare you violate me? Who are you? What are you? Why are you here?" Tobihi was still dumbfounded, but recognized the language. Something that descended from the languages spoken on Eurasia continent in Tobihi's time. Still recognizable. The image demanded an answer, now gaining menacing alterations to her image, as if to show her what pain and damage she could inflict on Tobihi. Tobihi regained composure. Then she emit her thoughts against the image and declared "I am Tanyuu Karibusa. I came to reclaim what you stole."

At Tobihi's response the image seemed to scoff and ridicule, but then displayed disturbance. Tobihi retrieved her parasitic cell unit and prayed, to what deity was within her prayer. She could guess what the woman was up to. Tobihi did not know how she bridged the gap between her foreknowledge and Tobihi's declaration, but she clearly understood. And she was under orders to destroy it all. "Please, let me get out. Please, please, please!" She took the direct route through the woman's skull, piercing the floor, into the soil beneath the house. The next moment everything was burning. Not burning. Melting, evaporating, changing, corrupting, annihilating what was and leaving behind its ungodly altered form. The last thing Tobihi thought at its bottom was "she wouldn't...how can she risk a nuclear explosion in the middle of Edo?"