We were back at The Usual Spot, this time around however, our conversations were hushed. Both Harper and I watched our backs as if we were criminals in a heist movie.

Momoko was also in the same boat as us, anxiously peering about like a meerkat. Our table was a testament to the anxiety, what with the spilled remains dotting the worn surface that the asshole waiter wouldn’t stop letting us hear about.

“Spastic pieces of shit,” he whispered under his breath but just enough to let us hear him. “Also, this is for you.”

The wack waiter was pursuing legal charges against me for damages due to the burns, but I didn’t have time to worry about that right now.

“So, what does you-know-what want with you?” I said, leaning over the table and whispering to Momoko.

Momoko started twisting her fingers. “It’s… supposed to be private.”

“C’mon Momoko,” Harper whispered. “We’ve made it this far.”

Momoko looked halfway up, as if asking the rooftop for guidance. “My… parents. No, my father, he’s the one who hired them.”

The scales started to form up on Momoko again. We both sat close to her, trying our best to calm her down.

“Our culture, we’re all about showing face and…” tears started forming in Momoko’s eyes. “When my monster form started hurting my mother, you know the assumptions people make…”

Momoko sighed. “And then there’s the fact that my dad must make excuses for me not going to family gatherings so that I wouldn’t turn, and rumours started circulating. It was my mother’s choice to come here, my father didn’t want to but eventually he caved in.”

“What does your father have to do with Thanatos?” I asked, realising I said the name I placed a hand over my mouth in shame. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Momoko looked as if she was on the verge of tears. “It’s okay. He hired them to take care of me.”

We paused for a second. Momoko started scratching her hands as red scales started to dot the surface.

“Momoko,” Harper said warily, staring at the scales. “You don’t have to tell us if…”

“No,” Momoko said. “You’ve both been there for me, it’s the least I can do.”

“Thanatos claims they can cure me,” Momoko said. “And that was all I wanted but when I went there, they did all these nasty experiments. They poked needles into me, left me hungry for so long. The doctors said awful things about me and when I turned it’s as if they didn’t care about what they did, they just started shooting at me. When I escaped, I begged my father to tell them to leave me alone, but he refused, showing me his wounds and mother’s wounds. So that’s why despite everything, they’re still after me…”

Harper clicked her mouth in disapproval. “Your dad sounds like a real asshole…”

“No,” Momoko said. “He’s just doing his best.”

“I don’t think trying to get rid of you is him doing his best,” I said, trying my best not to provoke her.

“No,” Momoko said. “He’s not like that… he… he…”

Red scales started forming on Momoko’s body at a much more rapid pace than before. Harper and I gave each other a nod. I slapped some bills on the table as we both rushed Momoko out of the building, hoping to get her out of the city limits but by the time we got out of the building, the hard scales on her arms started to recede. She started to steady her breathing.

“It’s okay,” she squeaked. “I’m okay. Just…”

She stared at us, her voice firm. “I don’t think my dad would do that. No way. I’m sorry but I can’t believe you, don’t make assumptions about things you don’t know.”

Harper and I nodded. “We’re sorry.”

Momoko nodded. “I’ll meet you tomorrow, we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”

The firm face and determined look on her eyes was something we were so unfamiliar with on Momoko that both Harper and I laughed.

Momoko’s confidence evaporated. Her face reddened. “What’s wrong?” she said timidly. “Is there something…”

“No, no,” Harper said. “We’re just not used to you looking like that.”

“You look cute,” I said. “Don’t worry about it.”

Momoko turned an even deeper shade of red when I said that. Redder than her scales even.

“I… I’ll see you tomorrow,” Momoko said.

We dropped Momoko off and once she was on the subway train home, Harper and I stared at each other.

“I know what she says but…”

“She turns because of her father,” Harper said, we took a seat on a bench as passerby’s around us were waiting for their trains . “Yeah.”

“But she said her first recent transformation was because of a heartbreak,” I said. “So, we can’t rule out what she told us about strong emotions.”

“And what she feels about her dad is complicated,” Harper said. “It’s not really a strong emotion like heartbreak. It’s not something strong and sudden.”

Harper and I thought about it for a moment and after a while we hit a stump.

“I don’t know anything about emotions,” Harper whined. “I don’t even know how to talk about them.”

“I have a friend who parades as a psychologist,” I said, side-eyeing my bracelet. “And I hate it when he pretends, he can read my mind.”

“We’re doctors,” Harper groaned. “Not psychologists. How are we supposed to deal with this?”

Harper and I both sighed.

“We’ll figure this out tomorrow,” Harper said. “Let’s just focus on what we know and work from there.”

I sighed. “Yep,” I said. “Let’s.”

“See you tomorrow?” Harper said, getting up an shifting her bag on her shoulder.

“Yep, see you tomorrow,” I said. My body was still aching all over and there were still bruises on my face and it seemed thinking about the whole Momoko situation caused them to flare up.

I walked home wondering why I did these things to myself.