Chapter 156 – Unearthing My Past
<span style="font-weight:400">First thing in the morning, someone started knocking heavily on the door. Mio still had me wrapped tightly in her arms. It took a bit of squirming to get away and out of bed. I couldn''t find my pants, so I settled on an oversized shirt and opened the door.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Package for you."
<span style="font-weight:400">"But I didn''t order anything…" I answered, then looked up to find a yokai standing in front of me. This one was certainly dressed like a deliveryman, with a clipboard under his arm and holding a box. The human features ended with his head, which appeared heavily swollen with arge venus fly trap-like mouth.
<span style="font-weight:400">I didn''t take any chances. One magic st erased the yokai from existence, leaving behind a cardboard box that began to disintegrate. It must have been a part of him.
<span style="font-weight:400">I shut the door and pped my hands.
<span style="font-weight:400">"The fuck was that?" Mio asked groggily from the futon.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Another yokai. I think that''s the fourth one this week… For some reason, they''re attracted to our apartment. Or us?" I pondered aloud.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mio reached blindly for me since her head was still under the sheets and pillow. When I gave her my hand, she dragged me down and pounced like a wild animal. We rolled around on the floor, her stark naked and me in only a shirt that she quickly pulled off. Our bare bodies embraced, then our lips followed.
<span style="font-weight:400">Two groping hands traveled down my back and squeezed both cheeks of my butt. When I tried to tease Mio in return by rubbing her clit with my tail, she used her own tail to coil around mine and reeled it away. I let out a quiet gasp as she guided our tails into my pussy.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Wet already, huh? What say we y hooky today and continue where we left off fromst night?" Mio asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was hard to think with a tail slowly stirring me up from the inside.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Mm… You know we can''t…" I said, trying to y the good angel on her shoulder.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mio picked up speed, pumping deeper into me to break my resolve.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Why not? We''re a shoe-in for Tsukiji Uni, right? Besides, Hhan told me that most third years don''t do shit in thest month. We could be partying, ying, and fucking instead."
<span style="font-weight:400">At thest word, Mio pinched my nipples so hard that she brought me to climax.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Hahh… Okay, okay…" I gave in as she continued to caress my body. "What do you have in mind?"
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Kerchak!</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">In a bright sh of light, the photobooth snapped our final picture. Mio jumped out with more excitement than a dog being taken for a walk. I followed her out as she plucked the picture strips of us from the dispenser.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Kahaha! We look so dumb! And damn. I know those cat ears are fake, but seeing ''em on you is making me feel all sorts of ways." Mio purred.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Pfft… We really do look silly," I agreed, unable to contain the giggles.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mio handed one strip to me and kept the other for herself. She held onto a third that we nned to give to Kana. It was less wholesome than the others we took, which had us shing our bare breasts and pussy, including a full frontal naked shot as the final picture. Just something for him to jerk off to while he attended school in Tokyo.
<span style="font-weight:400">The arcade was Mio''s first choice. We weren''t the only ones out here. Third years from Tsukiji High and other schools were out in force. She wasn''t kidding about people ying hooky. Maybe this was the freedom I wanted.
<span style="font-weight:400">But… Thatst look my mother gave me still haunted me.
<span style="font-weight:400">I shook the image from my mind. No. She didn''t deserve my sympathies or guilt.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Hey, let''s y that!" Mio pointed to a Jurassic shooting game booth that had two seats and guns. After tossing a few coins into it, the entire booth came to life lurching from side to side and mimicking impacts from crashes. We were in a car, racing through a gargantuan jungle and shooting raptors, pterodactyls, and a tyrannosaurus hot on our tail.
<span style="font-weight:400">Unfortunately, the giant dino caught up to the back of our car and took a chomp out of us both. Game over, all because Mio couldn''tnd herst shot on its other eye.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Aww,e on! I''m outta coins, too." Mio groaned, smacking the center console.
<span style="font-weight:400">"You sucked! I had no idea you were so bad at shooting games!" I shed a teasing grin.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Oh, pssh. The controls are wonky, and I''m sticking to that excuse." She tossed the gun back onto its console and leaned back in the seat. "You starting to feel better?"
<span style="font-weight:400">As the adrenaline slowly drained away from my body, it dawned on me that Mio was once again trying to cheer me up.
<span style="font-weight:400">"A little," I lied.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was still chewing me up inside.
<span style="font-weight:400">"The thing about your parents. Fuck them. And I don''t mean to pork them— well, you can if you want— but I mean, who cares about what they think? Bea was a lot like them at first. Always telling me that the shit she does was for my sake, and that I should just obey everything thates out of her mouth. Don''t let them control your life like that. They don''t deserve you even thinking about them," Mio said.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I know… It''s just… Unlike Beatrice, they haven''t tortured me. It''s not like they locked me in a cage or sold me to the highest bidder. They just… weren''t around." I clutched the stic gun tighter to my chest, and Mio reached over to hold my hand.
<span style="font-weight:400">"You know who was around? Your grandparents. I love the shit out of them. They''re your pop''s folks, right? How''d the apple fall so far from the tree?" she asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I''m not actually sure…"
<span style="font-weight:400">Growing up, Grandma and Grandpa were always the kind of people that did things by the family cookbook. I had thought they were the ones who raised my father like he was today, but theirst visit didn''t lead me to believe so anymore.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Hey, you want to go visit them?" I asked Mio.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Would I ever! Don''t need to ask me twice," Mio said, then paused with a hand on the game booth''s door. "It''s gonna be our first meeting since we came out as subi, huh?"
<span style="font-weight:400">"Right… I guess we can see how they react."
<span style="font-weight:400">Since we were skipping school anyway, we might as well go the extra mile. The both of us flew to my grandparents'' house in Nishiwaki and held our breaths,nding in front of their house. Telling them I turned into a girl was one thing, but to tell them I was a subus? That''s a whole nother level of crazy pill to swallow.
<span style="font-weight:400">So, imagine my surprise when they invited us in, sat us down, and brought out a slew of snacks for us to eat.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Uhm… Grandma, Grandpa? You heard what I said, right?" I asked to make sure.
<span style="font-weight:400">"We heard you, sweetie." Grandma put down a tray of oatmeal cookies that Mio immediately began devouring. "But I don''t even know what a subus is and why I should care?"
<span style="font-weight:400">"I know what subus are. Maybe you can mind control your grandma to show me a little bit more respect. Like not eating thest mochi in the pot!" Grandpa shot her a re.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Oh, you look like you''re having the worst time of your life eating mochi without dentures!" she retorted.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I take them off because they get stuck in my dentures, but I love eating those glutinous goodies!"
<span style="font-weight:400">This went back and forth while Mio and I were trying not tough. Would I, Kana, and Mio end up like this one day? Could my parents? I couldn''t even imagine them evering to an argument.
<span style="font-weight:400">Grandma ced a gentle hand to my cheek. "Saeko, remember what I said when you told us that you became a girl? We''re too old to be worrying about that. Even if we still had a hundred more years ahead of us, whether you''re a girl or a subus, you''re first and foremost our adorable grandchild that always asked me to read you a story before bed."
<span style="font-weight:400">"Damn it, Grandma… I didn''te here for you to make me cry…" I grumbled, trying to face away but only getting her to hug me more.
<span style="font-weight:400">Over to the side, Mio shed a small smirk and winked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Well, the one thing we <i><span style="font-weight:400">are</i><span style="font-weight:400"> worried about is seeing a great grandchild before passing. I guess it doesn''t make sense to ask if you have a girlfriend anymore, do you have a boyfriend?" Grandpa pried with shameless intent.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I-I''m actually dating Kana," I answered shyly.
<span style="font-weight:400">They started nodding in approval.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I remember that boy! You two were inseparable as kids. Sounds like he went on the offensive as you became a girl," he said thoughtfully.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Aha… on the offensive is pretty urate." I recalled how aggressive Kana was that night and how much sex we ended up having.
<span style="font-weight:400">Grandma nodded. "Good kid, that Kana. Smart, too. I imagine your children will grow up to be very smart just like him and have your good looks. From me, of course."
<span style="font-weight:400">Oh, god. More talk of having children. If we went down this route, there was noing back. Mio and I would be stuck here until dinner.
<span style="font-weight:400">This was a good opportunity to ask about my parents though.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Did you two ever pester my parents about children like this, too?" I asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"We don''t have to sour the afternoon talking about them," Grandma said, grimacing as she took a sip of tea.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Well… The thing is… they''re back in town…"
<span style="font-weight:400">"Are they now?" Grandpa asked, his demeanor taking a stern turn. "Of course, neither of them thought to give us a call or visit us. We have maybe a good ten years left if my heart doesn''t give out first, but they act like we have all the time in the world."
<span style="font-weight:400">Somehow, it wasforting to know my parents and grandparents were at odds with each other.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Let me guess. You and your parents had a fight?" Grandma asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Damn." Mio whistled sharply. "Nothing stays hidden from the grams."
<span style="font-weight:400">"Yeah… It was kind of bad… I was hoping to ask you about them. I don''t know a lot about their past. Hell, it''s not like they were ever around for me to ask, and they probably wouldn''t tell me <i><span style="font-weight:400">if</i><span style="font-weight:400"> I asked. How were they like when they were younger?" I asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">My grandparents traded nces, like they never expected to go back in time today.
<span style="font-weight:400">"If you wanted to know if they used to be like this? No. We raised Masato to be good and caring. In fact, it wasn''t until they began dating in university did he start to change," Grandma said.
<span style="font-weight:400">Then it started with my mother?
<span style="font-weight:400">"Come to think of it, where''s your mom''s side of the family?" Mio asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"They passed away when she entered elementary school," Grandpa promptly answered. "Or so that''s what she told us. Poor Chihiro. No child should have to grow up without their parents."
<span style="font-weight:400">That was news to me. They never came up in conversation. I always figured my mother had a falling out with her parents.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Do you think maybe that''s why she left me and Hatsumi alone? So that we can learn to be independent like she was forced to?" I pressed them.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I''m not so sure," Grandma began. "Chihiro was never so rigid, not until she entered university."
<span style="font-weight:400">"And university was when mom got pregnant with Hatsumi, right? Two yearster, they had me. I think the years should match up."
<span style="font-weight:400">Neither of them were sure. They seemed to draw a nk on the topic.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Hold on. We made a photocopy of your birth certificates before Chihiro got rid of the original documents. Come on, you old stick." Grandma ushered Grandpa out of the living room to look for our birth certificates.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Wait… Mom got rid of my original birth certificate? Why?" I asked aloud.
<span style="font-weight:400">"What''s a birth certificate?" Mio asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"They don''t do that in Elza? It''s like a document proving that I exist, with details like my date of birth, gender, and what hospital I was born at."
<span style="font-weight:400">My grandparents were taking longer than usual. Mio and I considered searching for them. We got as far as the door and almost ran into them in the hallway. Both of them had a look of utter confusion on their faces, staring down at the copy of mine and Hatsumi''s birth certificates.
<span style="font-weight:400">"What''s wrong?" I asked, then followed their eyes to my document.
<span style="font-weight:400">The glossy paper had been worn down over the years despite being put in a stic file. But it was quite clear that the original document was put under a copy machine and printed out. That there wasn''t so much as a crease on the papers told me they kept it hidden for <i><span style="font-weight:400">years</i><span style="font-weight:400">.
<span style="font-weight:400">Everything on the file looked right as far as I could tell. Born in Tsukiji City, at the maternity ward of Tsukiji Health & Pediatrics. Parents, Masato Ito and Chihiro Ito. Name, Saeko Ito.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mio gasped.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Gender… Female?" I whispered. "I was a girl at birth?"
<span style="font-weight:400">But I had a penis. I was always male.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Which is odd," Grandma began. "Because I''ve always remembered you being a boy. When I try to think back, my mind gets a little foggy."
<span style="font-weight:400">"Mine, too. Like there''s a roadblock," Grandpa added, knitting his brows together.
<span style="font-weight:400">A roadblock?
<span style="font-weight:400">Mio threw me a suspicious look, and I thought the same.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Grandma, Grandpa. Let me use some of my subus magic on you two for a sec," I said.
<span style="font-weight:400">Both of them were willing and waited patiently. I ced a hand on each of their shoulders and shut my eyes, then delved into their minds. While traveling through a dark tunnel, I eventually came into a branching cavern of beautiful and vibrant memories.
<span style="font-weight:400">One memory in particr had been purposefully ckened. Rewritten in a sense. I couldn''t repair it. Maybe due to my grandparents'' old age or something else, but any attempts to undo it were met with an electrifying magical feedback that zapped me back to consciousness.
<span style="font-weight:400">I returned to my body, awake alongside my grandparents who were both winded from the experience. Mio stood behind them, a hand to each of their backs to keep them steady.
<span style="font-weight:400">"What''d you find?" Mio asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"There''s no mistaking it. Their memories were tampered with," I said.
<span style="font-weight:400">Magic in origins, but what and who was it from? And why?
<span style="font-weight:400">I didn''t want to bother my grandparents any longer. It looked like it was getting painful for them to recall the past, especially with that block in their minds.
<span style="font-weight:400">They saw Mio and I off at the door, gifting us some snacks for the go.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Love you, Grandma, Grandpa!" I hugged my grandparents.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Whatever you find out, give your parents a good kick in the rump for us. Maybe that was our mistake for not disciplining them enough," Grandma said.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Can I get a hug, too?" Mio asked, seemingly unsure if she should butt in.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Mio, dear. Of course!" She gave Mio a squeezing hug only an elderly woman with a lot of love and not a lot of time could give.
<span style="font-weight:400">We returned to Tsukiji in thete afternoon with more questions than answers.
<span style="font-weight:400">"You think your parents were knee deep in some hoodoo shit or something?" Mio asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Not sure. I get the feeling if I ask, they''ll just m up and pretend not to know anything. But it''s really weird. You remember when Selene tried topel them? It just didn''t work. They resisted like it was nothing. I thought it was just that it broke logic for them to ever be nice, but maybe it''s something more?" I wondered aloud.
<span style="font-weight:400">My phone suddenly rang, and speak of the devil. It was Selene calling. She asked to meet at Kana''s house, so that was where Mio and I flew towards.
<span style="font-weight:400">We let ourselves in just as Kana was serving tea to Selene and a couple of subi, one of which was flirting with him.
<span style="font-weight:400">"You''re just the cutest thing. I can see why the queen has taken a liking to you," a subus said, stroking Kana''s arm as he handed her a cup.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Back off my merchandise, sister." Mio growled.
<span style="font-weight:400">The subus backed away immediately.
<span style="font-weight:400">"One of you wants to exin why my house turned into a subus meeting ce?" Kana folded his arms.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Selene?" I turned to the one who invited us all here.
<span style="font-weight:400">"As you asked, we looked into the phonebook and found three known exorcists in Tsukiji City. We''ve brought them." Selene let ripple her aura. In a second, the front door opened and a subus led in three old men.
<span style="font-weight:400">They looked absolutely terrified and without a clue as to what was going on.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Did you just kidnap them from their homes?!" A horrified Kana asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"We gave them a choice," Selene insisted in defense of herself. "We were only a little heavy handed about it."
<span style="font-weight:400">"Uhh… Can we know what''s going on?" A bald man in brown robes raised his hand, causing the buddhist beads on his wrist to rattle.
<span style="font-weight:400">"My boyfriend''s been possessed by an onryo." I pointed to Kana. "I want you to exorcise him. Whoever seeds gets a foursome with the subi that brought you here."
<span style="font-weight:400">The three supposed exorcists nced over their shoulders and gulped, letting loose a wave of lust that tickled my nose. I had a bad feeling because none of them looked confident when Kana showed them the eyeball on his hand.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Okay, be honest. Are you really exorcists?" I charmed all three of them to answer truthfully.
<span style="font-weight:400">"No…" they answered together.
<span style="font-weight:400">Thought so. They were frauds after all. As soon as I freed them from my charm, they leapt to the ground to grovel.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I''m sorry for lying! Exorcising is the only way I earn money while in retirement!"
<span style="font-weight:400">"My father was the one who pressured me into this!"
<span style="font-weight:400">"Please don''t hurt us… We didn''t mean to mislead you!"
<span style="font-weight:400">Selene put a hand to her face and sighed.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I''m terribly sorry, my queen. I didn''t intend to bring frauds to your doorsteps," she said.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Just send them home and leave them with a nice dream or something." I waved them off.
<span style="font-weight:400">The three lesser subi escorted the exorcists away. I walked over to Kana and grabbed his possessed hand. The eye blinked at me.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Everything will be fine. I''m sure you guys will find a way. Besides, it''s not like this thing is actively killing me," Kana joked to make light of his situation.
<span style="font-weight:400">"If Mio and I lose you like we almost did when Shuten possessed you…"
<span style="font-weight:400">"You''re not going to lose me," he promised.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Oh, we got a gift for you!" Mio chimed in and slipped the erotic photostrip of us into his hand.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kana went wide-eyed and popped an erection.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Make sure to spank the bank with that eyeball hand," she added.
<span style="font-weight:400">"W-Wait a minute, is <i><span style="font-weight:400">this</i><span style="font-weight:400"> why you two were missing from ss today? Mio, you can''t just y hooky!" Kana scolded.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Why the hell not? We''re dragging you along tomorrow. Better yet, we''re staying over and getting our fuck on."
<span style="font-weight:400">While they were talking, I pulled Selene out to speak in the foyer.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I wanted to ask— Around 19 to 20 years ago, did any subuse to Earth like Hana and Beatrice did? Like to Tsukiji specifically?" I asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"An odd question. I might not be the best one to ask, having been at odds with the then queen. After all, only those closest to Beatrice or the dark elven queen could have traveled between worlds. They needed an extraordinary amount of magical power, like from the de of the First Temptress or an artifact of simr strength," Selene exined.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Would you say… someone who was close to either of them had to be close confidantes to ask for a portal to this world?"
<span style="font-weight:400">The greater subus before me thought for a moment and nodded.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I imagine so. For example, Beatrice would not just send anyone. It would have to be someone she trusted very well and had a very good reason to send here. Why do you ask?"
<span style="font-weight:400">"Because I think a subus came to Tsukiji City about 20 years ago and messed with my family," I said.