"So how are our patients?" Hailey asked.
Jackie sighed, opening her files as she sat within Director Meyers's office. Over the course of the last week, Jackie had sat down with Fukushu, Misery, Trisha, and May both individually and in group. In order to make any sort of breakthroughs, she needed to understand them. Needless to say, the job was proving difficult.
"Well," Jackie started. "Misery and May would benefit from medication and talk therapy. Misery has a lot of deep seeded abandonment issues."
"Really," Hailey answered. "I had no idea."
"Yeah," Jackie sighed. "It goes back to her childhood. Her father died in a car accident when she was ten. Couple that with being a loner in high school, plus the death of her friend Karen, and add Lilith's untimely demise and its a perfect storm for Borderline Personality Disorder. There are medications to deal with her depression and her psychosis, but talk therapy works best. That and reuniting with Lilith and Alyssa."
"I'm a little weary about releasing her when she's already broken in here once," Hailey frowned. "I'm going to need some reassurances it won't happen again."
"That's going to be tough," Jackie replied. "If she believes that Lilith and Alyssa will be safe then sure, but can that be guaranteed?"
"Almost," Hailey stated. "What about May and the others?"
"May," Jackie answered, rubbing her forehead. "Now that one, that is going to take a lot of time. She's suffering from DID. Split personality, which even the medical field isn't totally convinced exists."
"But you do."
"Void Dandelion is a completely distinct personality," Jackie stated. "And there in lies the problem. Dandelion is magical in nature. Psychology and medicine don't have any cures for magic. Void Dandelion only exists because May is connected to the Dark Garden and there's no way of separating the pair, especially after this long. I could medicate her, but if she falls into a catatonic state, Void Dandelion takes over. Best I could do is try and give her exercises or magic wards to exert control over the other personality."
Hailey sighed. She had expected this from Misery and May. Both women had experienced various degrees of childhood trauma. Misery was a lonely girl who lost those she held closest. May was an orphaned girl adopted into the Normal. Although May had been in treatment with S.P.E.A.R, no cure could be found. The young woman would need extensive treatment for quite sometime.
Misery on the other hand, had ignored her mental illness for too long. The woman's loneliness and anger manifesting into a fearsome magical entity. With medication her more violent tendencies could be controlled, but in the end what would help her most was being around people she trusted.
"Well I was expecting that with those two," Hailey sighed. "But what about Trisha and Fukushu?"
"Abandonment issues and loneliness with Trisha," Jackie stated. "As for Fukushu. Anger Management and enough PTSD to fill the Pacific. I know kitsune age differently, but he joined the army when he was 110. That's the equivalent to an 11 year old child."
"Wait, he was a child soldier?!" Hailey exclaimed.
"Yeah I said the same thing," Jackie replied. "But it was a different time and it's what he wanted. And the military is all he's known since."
"How old is he?"
"830 years old I think."
"Great so he's been at war since the 1300s," Hailey groaned. "How would you even begin treating someone who's seen every war since the dark ages?"
"I think," Jackie stated, pausing before she spoke. "That Fukushu's issues revolve around his family."
"What, he hates them?"
"No," Jackie said solemnly. "I think he loves them too much."
"You're kidding," Hailey answered, her voice deadpan. "Not for nothing I've seen him threaten to kill humans for looking at him sideways! Are you telling me he actually cares too much?"
"Something happened to him when he was a kid," Jackie stated. "I have no idea what it is and he sure as hell won't share. But, whatever did happen, broke him. All that anger, all that rage, it's a mask. He fears anything happening to the people he truly cares for. It's why he's so brutal in his actions. Hard to hurt anybody when your reduced to a smear on the wall."
"So what's your plan with group therapy today?"
"I'm going to have Trisha share her life story with the group," Jackie said. "She had it tough. Born a kitsune but she has a birth defect. She can't grow more than one tail. She's 350 years old, she should have four tails by now. Her parents left her in the human realm with her grandmother and when she passed, she wandered around until the Amberhills found her."
"Well good luck Jackie."
"Thanks Hailey," Jackie sighed. "I'm going to need it."
After finishing her meeting with Director Meyers, Jackie made her way to the secured levels of S.P.E.A.R. While Hailey's office and a significant amount of S.P.E.A.R's operations existed above ground, the prison and high security portions existed in the ten levels beneath S.P.E.A.R
Swiping her security badge, Jackie entered the elevator. The elevator would take her to the lower levels, but required a pass code. Years before S.P.E.A.R installed a pass code into the elevators to prevent anyone from descending to the more dangerous levels. Those pass codes came in handy, especially when a first amendment auditor appeared on scene. Jackie wasn't present for that incident, but the older agents often joked about it. The person with the camera had no idea how close they came to death as agents forcefully pushed them outside before arresting them.
Exiting onto the fourth level of the lower sub structure, Jackie offered a small wave to the agents working here. At this point her presence was regular, the agents offering a polite smile or wave. As she entered the office, she could see her patients waiting for her.
"Good morning everyone."
Misery, May, and Trisha offered Jackie a small smile or wave. Glancing at Fukushu, she could see the kitsune sporting the same sour expression he always sported. Even after all this time, Fukushu still found these exercises to be more of a nuisance than a necessity.
"Good morning Fukushu. How did you sleep?"
"Comfortably human," Fukushu grumbled. "Despite the thinness of the mattresses within this prison, I have slept on worst."
"Well I guess that's good," Jackie shrugged. The woman taking a moment to gaze at each one of her patients. "So for today I was hoping we could talk about our past. Share with everyone our history to give us a better understanding of how we ended up here."
"What makes you think I wish to talk of my past?" Fukushu grumbled.
"I wasn't talking to you," Jackie said softly. "I was talking to Trisha."
"Me," Trisha asked in alarm. "Why?"
"Well," Jackie began. "We've heard from Misery and May over the last couple of days. They were generous enough to give us some insight into their lives. I'm hoping to hear from you. Especially since Mr. Grumpy over here only responds with grunts and growls during group."
Misery and May now stifled a laugh as Fukushu grumbled, folding his arms across his chest. Trisha nervously glanced around the room, fidgeting with her prison jumper as she shyly glanced around the room.
"O..okay," she stammered.
Taking a breath, Trisha now began to tell the others about herself. Jackie could immediately tell that the kitsune wasn't used to being the center of attention.
"I...I was born in the kitsune realm," she stuttered. "West of the capital along the shores of the Crystal Sea. My family is part of the Kinoshita Clan. My father was a fisherman while my mother worked as a merchant, selling what my father caught."
"The Kinoshita Clan," Fukushu asked. "I had no idea. They are allies of the royal family. They bolster the strongest Navy within the kitsune realm. I'm surprised your father wasn't a sailor."
"My father wasn't a violent man" Trisha replied meekly. "Neither was my mother. They were simple merchants. My father loved to fish, so did my mother. When I was young they would take me to the beach. I...I always enjoyed those trips. Playing in the surf, building sand castles. My father would teach me how to fish, what to look for in the seas, how to spot a school of fish amongst the waves, the type of bait to use and even how best to cook a fish. For the first hundred years of my life, it was the happiest time of my life."
"So what happened?" May asked, sensing a but in Trisha's story.
"It happened on my hundred and first birthday," Trisha replied. "I was growing normally, but as my birthday came and went I did not grow my second tail. I was my parents only child and they at first thought I was a late bloomer. As days turned to weeks than months than years, they became concerned. I was still growing, but a second tail did not appear. They decided to take me to the doctors. That's when they discovered I had a birth defect."
"A birthday defect?" Misery asked.
"Yes," Trisha replied sadly. "You see I age like any other kitsune. I'm currently 350 years old. I look like an adult, can transform into an adult, but....I can't grow any more tails. My parents were devastated."
"Why?" May asked.
"Because my people are superstitious when it comes to such things," Trisha replied, casting Fukushu a sad look. "Ask him, he would know."
Misery and May turned to Fukushu, noticing the nine tailed kitsune squirming under their gaze.
"What does she mean by superstitious?" they asked.
Fukushu sighed, taking a breath to compose himself before continuing.
"It means that no one would wed her," he said sadly. "She would be branded an outcast and her family would be shamed."
"What the hell," Misery exclaimed. "Are you telling me her family was shunned because she has a birth defect!? It's not her fault! What is wrong with you and your people?!"
"Do not slander my people or my culture human," Fukushu growled. "I have witnessed humans do far worse to those they perceive different than themselves!" Fukushu paused, his shoulders slumping as he sadly looked at Trisha. "Still, I am sorry for the pain you went through," he said softly. "My...my sister in-law has also been shunned for a...perceived defect."
"Sister in-law?" Jackie asked in surprise. Fukushu nodded, leaving Jackie stunned. During their sessions Fukushu had been tight lipped about most of his family. The knowledge Jackie did have came from her years of butting heads with Fukushu. She knew about his military time, his siblings, his parents, but extended family? This was a breakthrough.
"Yes my sister in-law," Fukushu continued. "Her name is Aiyo. She is unable to assume human form unlike most kitsune. It has left her with feelings of inadequacy. She attempted to take her life on several occasions, until she met my younger brother Takeo. They fell in love and married not too long ago. She is an incredible artist and a competent sorceress. I...I have always respected her for her ability to overcome adversity. She is far stronger than most give her credit for."
Fukushu turned to Trisha, his eyes apologetic as he bowed his head.
"I am sorry for what your family went through," he said solemnly. "Our people...can be cruel sometimes. Please continue, I wish to hear more."
"Th..thanks," Trisha stammered, a small smile cracking across her vulpine face. Taking a breath, Trisha now gazed out at the group before she continued.
"Like Fukushu said my family was shunned for my issues," she said. "It was horrible to watch. When it was discovered I couldn't grow a second tail, my parents were shunned. It affected their business. People no longer wanted to associate with them. My father was unable to work on boats and no one bought anything my mother sold. They believed our family was ill and didn't want to spread any infection to their families. My family quickly went from a comfortable, middle class existence to barely getting by."
"I'm sorry Trisha," Jackie said softly. "Can you tell us what happened next?"
"We decided to move," Trisha stated. "There were other clans in the West. Clans that didn't know about my disability. My parents packed up their belongings, but if they were to have a life....I couldn't go with them."
Trisha's eyes became damp as she reached for a tissue.
"It was difficult but I couldn't see my parents suffer any longer," she said, drying her eyes. "I decided to live with my grandmother. She still resided in the mortal realm at that time. On the day my parents moved, I told them my plans. They understood, and wished me well. We embraced one last time as I departed for the mortal realm. I haven't seen them since."
The room was suddenly quiet, all eyes focused on Trisha. The kitsune looked defeated, her head hung low, her shoulders slumped, as she quietly took a breath.
"For a time things were good," she said softly. "So few kitsune were left in the mortal realm that no one cared about my defect. At the time, the mortal realm was populated by the elderly, the infirm, and the outcast. No one judged anybody, we were all misfits to some extent. For a time, I was happy. Until old age took my grandmother from me."
Trisha sighed, raising her head as she gazed at the group. All seem captured by her story, the one tailed kitsune feeling self conscious as everyone sat at attention, wanting to know more.
"Once again I found myself on my own," she continued. "I ended up wandering for a bit. Taking on human form and doing odd jobs. That is until I met Mr. Amberhill."
A small smile spread across her face as she thought of her boss.
"For the first time in centuries someone thought I had merit," she said, her voice growing stronger. "Mr. Amberhill saw my potential. He saw I could help him. He.... respected me. He gave me a chance when no one else would...not even my own people."
"And you feel indebted to him?" Jackie asked.
"He gave me a life worth living, of course I'm indebted to him!" Trisha exclaimed.
The room was silent once more, everyone gazing at Trisha. It was Fukushu who broke this silence, the nine tailed slowly rising to his feet before turning to Trisha.
"You are indebted to him no more," he said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Trisha asked.
"If you are willing," Fukushu stated. "When we leave this prison. You may come to the capital. I could use a woman of your talents, someone to organize the affairs of the army. You would be well treated and well compensated. Most importantly....you would be accepted by not only myself, but by the royal family."
Trisha gawked, unsure of the generals offer. It seemed too good to be true.
"I don't know," she said softly. "I've experienced the bigotry our people have."
"Things have changed," Fukushu said softly. "And any who would insult you would have to deal with me."
Trisha paused, appreciating the offer. As scary as Mr. Amberhill was, Fukushu was scarier. Few would dare mistreat her, knowing the Angel of Vengeance protected her. Still, she did feel a certain loyalty to Mr. Amberhill.
"Thank you," she said softly. "But it's something I'm going to have to think about."
"I understand Trisha," Fukushu replied. "Just know that the offer is always there."