CHAPTER 6

Author's Note: Sorry for any spelling errors I may have missed before posting, I had an add over half my screen that I couldn't figure out how to get rid of.

November 17, 1 AM

Tatsumi slipped back into the apartment, carrying a bag of take out. He'd left the clinic and was lucky enough to find a place that was still open late before heading back. It was a convenient cover in case the doctor suddenly decided to return to the apartment before he made it back. "Oi, Natsuno? I'm back!" he called, seeing the teen wasn't sitting in the living room where he'd left him. "Now where did that kid run off to?" he thought to himself.

"Up here!" Yoshie's voice called, as if on cue, from up the stairs.

"She's back?" Tatsumi muttered. "What the he..." He paused mid curse, and a smile swept his face. Bitting his thumb, he gave a little chuckle. "Oh my, Natsuno, did I come back at an inopportune time?" he thought. He glanced down at the bag of food with a slight frown. The frown turned to a smile and he shrugged his shoulders, as he assumed there'd be enough for three, should their visitor decide she was hungry, too. He slung the bag over his shoulder and started up the stairs. "Yo!" he greeted Yoshie, with a smile and a wave as he went up the stairs.

"Don't 'Yo' me," Yoshie growled at him, her arms crossed. Normally she wouldn't dare to raise her voice to Tatsumi, but given the current circumstances, she had the confidence to do so. "Where have you been?"

Tatsumi blinked at her. "What's your problem?" he asked.

She pointed at Natsuno's door. "When's the last time he's fed?" she asked.

"Shortly before the doctor left, I guess," Tatsumi answered.

"I don't mean human food!" Yoshie snapped. "When's the last time he's had fresh blood? Or you for that matter?"

"Blood? What are you on about?" Tatsumi asked.

"Geez, that doctor didn't tell you boys anything, did he," she sighed irritably, catching Tatsumi by the wrist and dragging him into Natsuno's room. "He's still a fledgling, Tatsumi! Human food can sustain you both, but it's not enough on it's own."

Tatsumi's eyes widened at the scene before him. Natsuno was laying on his bed, looking paler than usual. The teen groaned, holding his head as if he were in unbearable pain. His whole body felt week. "What's wrong with him?" Tatsumi asked.

Yoshie gave a frustrated huff and pushed past Tatsumi, approaching the bed. "I found him like this. I came and knocked on the door, he opened it and let me in. Suddenly, he collapsed. I only just got him in the bed when I heard you come in," she explained. "Tatsumi, what the hell happened to the two of you?"

"I wish I knew," Tatsumi said, shaking his head. "All I know is the doctor pulled us out of a pit and said we were near an explosion."

"It takes more than something like that to kill a Jinrou," Yoshie said, rolling up one of her sleeves, "But you both must have taken a pretty nasty bump to the head to have lost your memories."

"What are you doing?" Tatsumi asked as he watched Yoshi push her arm to Natsuno's lips.

"I wouldn't help him, except that he's one of us," Yoshie said, using a fingernail to slice into her arm, drawing blood. "Sunako wanted him to join us," she thought, "His death was only mandatory if he refused, because at the time he was a threat to us all, but Sunako's not here... and he doesn't remember what's happened." She growled when the younger Jinrou didn't respond to the scent of her blood the way she wanted. "Damn it, Natsuno, bite me and drink, before I bleed myself into a cup and force it down your throat!" she demanded.

"You're trying to make him drink your blood?" Tatsumi asked.

"I don't know if it'll work," Yoshie replied, "It's not human blood, and it's not from the Shiki who sired him. Jinrou can feed from humans and Shiki, and Shiki can feed from the Jinrou that they sire, but to my knowledge, there's no record of a Jinrou feeding from another Jinrou."

"Shiki, Jinrou?" Tatsumi parroted, "What are you carrying on about?"

Yoshie sighed, realizing that with their memories gone, she probably sounded like a crazy person. "Let me tend to him first," she said, turning to look back at Tatsumi, "Then you and I can can go downstairs and talk." She smiled, as the scent of her blood finally had the desired effect. She stifled a groan of pain as Natsuno's fangs sank into her flesh. Tatsumi's eyes widened as he watched the scene unfold. "There we go, drink up," Yoshie said calmly. She waited until Natsuno was through, then stood and left the room. "Let him rest," she said, taking Tatsumi by the wrist and leading him downstairs. "Has he been having those headaches a lot?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," Tatsumi said, glancing back over his shoulder towards Natsuno's now shut door as they went down the stairs. "Memories trying to resurface that he probably doesn't want to remember," Yoshie said. "Put his share of that stuff in the fridge until he's up. He'll need it later. Then settle down at the dinner table. I've got a lot of explaining to do."

November 17, 1 PM

The basement door swung open and Toshio slowly made his way down the clinic stairs, video camera turned on and in hand.

"November 17, One O'Clock in the afternoon. I'm observing Subjects B,C,D, and E during the day light hours. The Shiki, as they call themselves, unavoidably fall into a deep sleep during the day, leaving them completely vulnerable. It is for this reason they have to sleep somewhere safely hidden."

He zoomed his camera in on each one. "As one can see, there's no signs of decompsure." He approached Megumi, zooming in closer. Reaching over, he pinched her cheek and gave it a slight tug. "Skin is cold to the touch, but retains it's elasticity and moisture." He turns to Ritsuko and runs a finger down one of her arms. "It's not rigid, clamy, dry, or cracked." He turned to Masao and grabbed the lanky teenager's wrist, lifting up an arm. "But, as one can see..." He gave Masao's arm a bit of a shake, then released it. "Rigormortis has set in."

Finally he turned to Tohru. "They're perfectly still and calm, even the most guilt-ridden. They almost look peaceful." He forced Tohru's eye open and zoomed in on it. "Notice the eyes, all loss of pigment, not even blue, they've turned a dark black, and there's no signs of REM. This suggests that their brain impulses have completely stopped. With no brain synopsis, do they even dream in this state? Can they hear anything in this moment, or are they completely unaware of their surroundings?"

He returned to Ritsuko and smiled as he zoomed the camera in on her. "Subject C, Nurse Ritsuko Kunihiro. Beautiful, isn't she? Even in 'death'. I'm going to attempt to place a subliminal message. She was a nurse at my clinic before she was turned, but refused my initial offer to assist me with my current line of research." He turned the camera away from her, to Masao. "Tonight, my test subject with be Subject E, Masao Murasako." He whipped the camera back around to Ritsuko. "So, I'm going to plant a subliminal message into Ritsuko's head that she wants to assist me tonight. I'm curious...? Will it work? Even if the Shiki are aware of their surroundings in this state, will subliminal messaging even work? After all, Shiki are capable of hypnotizing their prey after the first bite."

He held up his arm, showing Natsuno's fang marks. "Apparently, the bite of a Jinrou can override the hypnotism of a Shiki's bite." He sat the camera down, angled where it was focused on Ritsuko. Kneeling over her, he gently caressed the sides of her head. Smiling fondly at his former employee, he gently pressed his forehead to hers, in a similar fashion to how he'd done Kyoko when he was waiting for her to rise. He then leaned over and began to whisper into her ear. He whispered over and over, for at least five straight minutes, before returning to the camera. He smirked into the lens. "Now, all we do is wait. If it worked, you will find Nurse Kunihiro has decided to assist me tonight."

November 18, 10:30 AM

Toshio settled in to his chair and released a puff of smoke from his cigarette. He turned his gaze toward the camera, a smile sweeping his face. "Last night's experiments went well. As one can see watching the footage, Subject C agreed to assist me, meaning either she'd had a change of heart, or the subliminal suggestion worked. I will most likely bring two of the test subjects up in a day or so, moving them into sunproof rooms to run further experiments on whether or not they're fully conscious of their surroundings during their death-like sleep. Perhaps, their condition is something more similar to Catalepsy."

"I would conduct the experiment today, but have not yet had the time to choose which subjects I wish to use, nore to prepare a room for them." Toshio leaned back into the chair, letting it squeak as he took another drag from his cigarette. "I've spent all night cleaning and sterilizing the examination room after last night's little experiment. I'm also expecting one of the two Jinrou to meet me here in a few hours for a bit of experimentation." He glanced at his watch as he said this.

Meanwhile

Natsuno sat on the couch, holding his head with a groan, as another headache hit him. Yoshie's blood had helped, and so did the food Tatsumi had brought him, but these headaches were becoming more persistant. Tatsumi just barely dodged the hardback copy of Shawshank Redemption as it whizzed toward the wall when this one hit. "Hey, kid, are you alright?" Tatsumi asked, bending over to check on the teen. "Are these headaches getting worse?"

"You could say that," Natsuno groaned.

"What do you think's causing them?" Tatsumi asked curiously.

Natsuno shook his head. "I don't know how to describe it," he scoffed. "All I know is it happens whenever I try to remember."

Tatsumi sat on the coffee table in front of Natsuno. "Yoshie assumed it was your memories."

"Yeah, about that... What the Hell? Did I dream that or something?" Natsuno snipped. Tatsumi raised an eyebrow, trying to feign ignorance. "Tatsumi? Did she actually force me to drink her blood, or am I just that messed up in the head?" Natsuno barked.

"Both," Tatsumi thought with a smirk. "Never mind her," he said out loud, "She helped you, that should be enough. Tell me what's going on with you right now."

Natsuno sighed. "I'm trying not to focus on my memories," he admitted, "If they come back to me, then so be it, but I'm not trying to force myself to remember. However, the only two people I do remember..."

Tatsumi nodded. "Taro and Shimitshi or something like that?" he asked, perpously getting the names wrong.

"It's like, all the memories of Tohru are good ones, you know. Calming, comforting," Natsuno said, "But then... The girl...?" Natsuno shook his head. "There's this one memory of her that keeps resurfacing. She's standing over me, and him, in the middle of the night, learing at us, but I can't see her eyes, just two glowing red lights. It doesn't have to be her face that I remember though, just a flash of the color pink through my mind is enough to set these headaches off. I think something awful happened with her, and I can't remember what, or why."

Tatsumi frowned. He was starting to become fond of the teen. He wondered if it was a good idea to tell Natsuno that Tohru and Megumi were alright. Would it help stop the headaches, or only make the boy's mental stability worse? "No, for now, best leave things unsaid, I suppose," he thought to himself. "Maybe you saw something happen to her and subconciously feel responsible?" Tatsumi suggested. Natsuno looked up at him a bit confused, thinking it sounded as though the older male knew something he wasn't letting on. "Doc O asked you to visit him at the clinic today, right?" Tatsumi asked. Natsuno gave a nod. "Any chance you'll mention these headaches to him?"

"Perhaps," Natsuno nodded. "I still don't trust him any further than I can throw him, but right now, it's not like we've got much choice but to go along with him."

"You don't know the half of it," Tatsumi thought, "That is, if Yoshie's to be believed."

"Damn, speaking of the doctor, what time is it?" Natsuno asked.

"Ten thirty-seven," Tatsumi answered, glancing at the clock.

"I guess I'd better start my way over there now," Natsuno sighed. Tatsumi could already see it on Natsuno's face that the teen was not looking forward to this visit.

"You want me to come with you?" Tatsumi offered nonchalantly.

"I'm not a kid. I can take care of myself," Natsuno growled.

"Fair enough," Tatsumi shrugged. "If your girlfriend comes looking, I'll let her know where you are."

"STOP calling her that!" Natsuno barked.

Tatsumi stifled a laugh. "Run along," he said, waving the boy out the door. "But watch your back," he warned. "I will NOT be happy if I have to rush in and rescue you."

November 18, 12:05 PM

Natsuno cautiously entered the clinic. Somehow, it seemed more foreboding now, than it had the first time he'd been there. He almost wished the doctor had arranged for whatever tests he was planning to run to be done back at the apartment. He approached the door and gave it a push. It didn't open. He blinked and then pulled, still nothing. "What the Hell? Is it locked?" he growled. "Did he forget he was expecting me? Yo! Doc, you in there?" he called. He tried the door again, giving a light push. This time, he heard an audible click and the door swung open, almost throwing the youth inside.

Toshio came into the lobby, from down the hall. "There you are," he greeted the teen, "Come on in, I've just finished preparing the examination room for you."

"Yeah, great, I..." Natsuno stopped and staggered for a moment, covering his nose. "Oh man, what the hell is that smell?" he complained.

"Huh?" Toshio replied.

"Something reeks of used linen and burnt flesh," Natsuno said.

"I'm not a very good cook," Toshio said, using a convenient truth as a quick cover, "Apparently, I can't even microwave beef without ruining it. As for the used linen, this IS a clinic. That smell's not easy to get out. It comes and goes from time to time." He motioned for Natsuno to follow him, extra thankful he'd chosen a second examination room for the two Jinrou. "Come on, I'm sure you're eager to get this over with."

Natsuno nodded. "Yeah."

Toshio lead Natsuno to another exam room, further down the hall than the one he used for the Shiki. He pointed to the table where he wanted Natsuno to lay, then turned to make final adjustments to the camera. Turning back to the teen, he smiled, rubbing a hand over Natsuno's bite marks on his arm. "Now, I won't lie, this might get painful," Toshio warned, "But I'll TRY to be gentle."

Natsuno's check up was pretty routine; a couple of questions about how he's feeling, any certain discomforts, and the like. This lead to Natsuno mentioning his headaches and how one had become bad enough that he'd collapsed, but aside from those and no solid memory of anything before waking up in the clinic in Sotoba a few nights back, everything else seemed fine.

Toshio drew some blood work and began checking Natsuno over. He started with pressing on a few pressure points on Natsuno's head. Natsuno reported no discomfort. Next was a check on Natsuno's ears, nose, and throat, all coming out perfectly healthy-for a fifteen-year-old. Toshio noted a lack of a gag reflex, when checking Natsuno's throat. He was uncertain if this was something Natsuno already lacked, or if its absence was due to the boy's current condition.

Toshio then flashed a light in each of Natsuno's eyes, checking for their reflexes. Natsuno gave a hiss and tried to shirk away. His heightened senses made his eyes more sensitive to the light than normal humans. Intreagued by this, Toshio closed the shades in the room and switched off the lights, making the room pitch black. Toshio could barely see his hand in front of his face, but Natsuno was able to see perfectly fine. It was faint, but every now and again, the teen's eyes would glow red as he looked around the room. Natsuno's eyes adjusted to the lights much quicker than the doctor's when they were turned back on, too.

"Alright, Natsuno, unbutton your shirt," the doctor ordered, pulling out a stethoscope. Natsuno clicked his tongue and gave a dejected sigh. He was finding the ordeal boring. However, he did as he was told. "Remarkable," Toshio commented. The doctor had known the dynamite had been strapped to Natsuno's waist when the two Jinrou fell into the pit. "So close to the explosion, and yet not a scratch on you." He slipped the earbuds of the steathascope into his ears and pressed the other end to Natsuno's chest. The teen flinched at the first touch of the cold metal to his exposed flesh. "Sorry," Toshio chuckled. "Take a deep breath." Natsuno rolled his eyes and did as he was told. "Alright, and release?" Toshio slid the stethoscope to the other side of Natsuno's chest and repeated the breath in and out process. He repeated this on both sides of Natsuno's back. "Your lungs are perfectly clean, no surprise there," he surmized, making a mental note that he should probably test these things with Megumi or Ritsuko, just to compare the difference between a Shiki and a Jinrou.

"Just a few more tests, and then I'm going to draw a little more blood work," Toshio siad, pulling out a blood pressure cup, thermometer, and reflex hammer. Toshio started by checking Natsuno's heart rate. He was unsure what to expect. He knew the Shiki wouldn't have one, but when he'd done the examination in front of the villagers at Kanemasa, he'd checked Seishirou, who was completely human, NOT Tatsumi. "Heart rate... normal!" Toshio said, blinking in surprise.

"Why does that surprise you?" Natsuno asked curiously.

Toshio cleared his throat. "With everything you've been through, I would have expected your heart to be racing," he said aloud. "Or not beating at all," he thought to himself. The doctor picked up the thermometer, slipped on a plastic cover, and tucked it under Natsuno's tongue. He then strapped the blood pressure cup around Natsuno's arm, slid the stethoscope in place, and began to squeeze the pump. Natsuno tried to hold still, but he found the themometer annoying as the tip poked against the bottom of his tongue, and the tighter the cup around his arm became, the more uncomfortable he felt it. Toshio raised an intrigued eyebrow when he saw the results. "120 over 80... normal..." He glanced back at the teen, his eyes now full of curiosity. Had Natsuno ever REALLY been dead at all? He took the thermometer from Natsuno's mouth. "97.9 degrees Fahrenheit," he read, "Just slightly under normal."

"Are we done yet?" Natsuno asked, irritably.

"Almost," Toshio said, picking up the rubber triangular-shaped hammer. "Just some blood work and a quick test of your reflexes, and you can go. Did you eat before coming in?"

Natsuno shook his head. "No, you said it would produce better results if I didn't," he reminded the doctor.

Toshio nodded, having noticed the teen's irritation combined with an oncoming languidness. "I imagine you're getting pretty hungry, then. I'll try to make this quick." He paused for a second. "If I remember correctly, one of your legs use to bother you when you were growing up." This was a bit of information he'd gotten from Ritsuko, but his current cover as Natsuno's uncle made a convenient excuse for how he knew this. "Have you had any trouble with it lately?"

Natsuno shook his head. "No, none," he said. He paused, his eyes widening for a moment. He shook his head again and palmed his forehead. "Funny... I didn't even think about it until you mentioned it, just now," he admitted.

"You remember it bothering you?" Toshio asked.

"Vaugely," Natsuno nodded, his eyes shifting down to his left leg. "I use to run every day, trying to strengthen it. ... Now, why is it that I can remember THAT?"

"Same as why you can remember Tohru and Megumi," Toshio answered, "It was a significant influence on you. It seems your long term memory is decent enough to allow you to remember this much. But your short term is severely suffering." He gave a sigh. "Alright, let's finish up here."

Toshio knelt down and tapped the hammer twice on Natsuno's left knee. The knee jerked in response, quickly. "3+, slightly hyperreflexic." He repeated the process on the right leg, with the same results. He then tried Natsuno's arms, both reacted slightly faster than his legs, however, Toshio gave them the same grade, a 3+.

Just as a test, however, even though he knew the danger, he acted as though he were going to hit Natsuno with the hammer, harder, and somewhere more vulnerable. Natsuno was on his feet, holding the doctor in the air by his throat faster than either of them could blink. Natsuno quickly realized his actions and released the doctor, who sputtered for air. "S...Sorry," Natsuno said, "Not sure what came over me."

"Completely my fault," Toshio coughed, rubbing his throat, "I didn't warn you after all. Right, reflexes, are a 4+ or higher," he said, regaining his composure, "Very brisk, hyperactive, with clonus."

They took a moment for the air to clear between them, then Toshio drew Natsuno's bloodwork and finished up the examination. He lead Natsuno back to the lobby. Before Natsuno left, Toshio paused and drew the teen's attention to a small table in a darkened corner. There upon the table, sat all of the religious relics he'd used during the experiments with Masao the night before. "By the way Natsuno, before you leave, tell me, do any of those relics over there look as though they might hold some significant meaning to you?"

Natsuno walked over to the table and looked it over. He felt no repulsion, no fear. The Shiki would have been crawling on their bellies to get as far away from that table as possible, yet the young Jinrou was able to walk right up to it, and even pick up a few of the items to look them over. "No, nothing," Natsuno said.

Toshio nodded and saw Natsuno out the door, giving the teen a few yen so he could go buy himself lunch on his way back to the apartment. Once alone, Toshio returned to the examination room and addressed the camera. "That was an interesting encounter. The Jinrou are NOT entirely like their Shiki sires. They are capable of walking in the daylight, their stronger and faster, too. When the subject left just now, I asked him to look over the artifacts from last night. There was no reaction. I'm uncertain if this is due to his upbringing against religion, or if it is due to his being a Jinrou, or perhaps both. His reflexes, as seen, are exmplerarily fast. I experienced," Toshio said, while rubbing his neck, "First hand, his great strength. I'm certain that had he squeezed my neck any tighter, he would have snapped it, or at the very least crushed my laranyx. One may have also noticed how his eyes glow in the dark. Yet, he made no note of this, perhaps he's unaware of it. The Shiki, as I've noted before, are fully deceased, their bodies give off little to no heat, and have no blood pressure and no pulse. The Jinrou, body temperature was just below average, pulse and blood pressure both normal. Whatever reanimates the Shiki has mutated and evolved within the Jinrou, to make the stronger counterpart appear alive and normal, allowing them to blend in with the weaker Okiagari's natural prey."

Hours pass, when Toshio turns the camera back on. "November 18, 2:15 PM. I've been studying the blood samples I took from Natsuno earlier today. Blood sugar levels verify his claim that he'd not consumed food within at least ten hours before his arrival. I compared it to samples that I took yesterday. I have noticed some similarities between his blood and that of Tatsumi, the other Jinrou. These similarities may be the link between the Jinrou and the Shiki. I will begin comparing samples from all six subjects tomorrow. However, I have noticed a distinct difference between Natsuno's samples yesterday, and his samples today. The blood today was thicker, darker in color, and cellular activity appears much more rapid, as though his blood count had been somehow bolstered over night. At present, I'm uncertain how to explain this phenominon. My first guess would be that he's fed from a human, or another Jinrou, but that would mean that either he knows what he is and what he's doing, and is hiding the fact, or like the Shiki he's prone to an insatiable hunger that will over take him and cause blackouts to allow him to feed efficiently. I will keep a constant surveillance on their behavior, and any changes in their blood samples, taking fresh samples every time I meet with them."

"If it's the later of the two, may God have mercy on us all," Toshio said as he switched off the camera. "We can't have the two most powerful killing machines in the world roaming freely. I'll need to discover a weakness to use against them. I'd like to think the better of all four of the Shiki, and of Natsuno, but should any of them get out of hand, I need to be prepared with a way to subdue, and even destroy them, if necessary."

November 18, 9:00 PM

Tohru sits holding Ritsuko in his arms, drying away her tears. She and Masao hadn't had the chance to recount what had happened the night before. Tohru had told them what he'd been through, while Megumi had been upstairs doing her Rorschach Test. "Tohru, it was simply horrible," Ritsuko whimpered. "He'd left Masao with absolutely no dignity."

"Hey!" Masao protested, "Don't go telling everyone!"

The conversation dropped dead silent, when the basement door swung open and Dr. Ozaki started his way down. Toshio was apprehensive as he stood at the top of the stairs. There was an all around sense of foreboding. He was warry of the Shiki, at this point, the girls where the only ones to have gotten off lightly. If not for the fact that he was the one keeping them fed, he would fear for his life walking down those stairs. He took a deep, but silent breath, regaining his composure and strengthening his resolve. He knew he couldn't let them smell his fear, and he knew that by now all with the possible exception of Megumi had a reason to fear him. "How long," he thought to himself, "How long do I have to conduct this research before they turn and bite the hand that feeds?"

The doctor cleared his throat and made his way down. "Good evening Children," he greeted them, with a smile, as he passed out their nightly rations. "How is everyone feeling?"

"Doctor, can't we go outside tonight?" Megumi asked, timidly, "It's boring staying down here all the time."

"Not tonight, Megumi," Toshio said, patting the top of her head. "It might be a good idea to keep them from going stir crazy," he thought as he saw the pout on her face. "But, maybe tomorrow night, alright?"

Megumi gave a slight smile and nodded. "Okay."

"So, which one of us do you want tonight?" Tohru asked. The others all noted a tone of bitterness in the blond's voice, but no one commented on it.

Toshio held out his hand to his former nurse. "Ritsuko, if you would do me the honors, tonight?"

Tohru quickly pushed his way between the two of them, glaring at the doctor. "So help me, if you hurt her," he warned in a low growl.

Toshio chuckled. "Now, why would I ever hurt her?" he asked, "If I didn't know better, Tohru, I'd say you're only being protective of her out of jelaousy."

Ritsuko placed a gentle hand on Tohru's shoulder. "Tohru, relax," she said softly. She tried to look and act calm, but she had trouble hiding the shakiness in her voice. "It's only fair to the rest of you that I go through with this, too," she reasoned.

Tohru reluctantly relented, allowing Ritsuko to accompany the doctor upstairs. "Right this way, Ritsu," the doctor said.

Ritsuko's eyes settled on the doctor's throat, as they made their way down the hall. "T-Toshio? That bruise on your neck, what happened?" she asked with a gasp, covering her mouth.

"Bruise?" Toshio asked, rubbing his neck. "Oh, that. Yeah, I had a visit from someone I'd rather not let Tohru know was here. Let's just leave it at that." He lead her back into the main examination room. Ritsuko coughed and covered her mouth and nose for a brief moment upon entering. The room still reeked from the previous night. Toshio's nose was assaulted more with the stench of the chemicals he'd used to sterilize the room, with a faint whiff of the smell he'd tried to get out. But for Ritsuko, her sensitive sense of smell picked up on all of it. If it were possible for her to throw up, she most likely would have. Toshio held his hand out, pointing to the examination table. "Ritsuko, if you would take your place on the table, please?"