We landed in Tokyo’s Narita airport, which was nothing special. Really, I was still jaded from the airport in Singapore, so any ordinary airport just seemed shabby and tired in comparison.

There was a man in a suit waiting for us with a sign for The Downfall as we disembarked the plane. Once we were all there, he led us to a special customs station where they already had our luggage. We breezed through the inspection easily, since all they seemed to care about was drugs and everybody knew damned well not to try to take any across international borders. When they brought out the dog to give our bags (and us) the sniff test it was no big deal. After customs, the same guy led us to a special loading area where some vans awaited for the drive to our hotel. He explained that everything had been arranged and we had nothing to worry about.

There was clearly an agenda to keep us out of the public eye as much as possible, but that was fine. It had made the process of exiting the airport amazingly smooth and efficient.

Continuing the theme, our vans pulled up behind the hotel at a loading dock where we disembarked. A whole squad of bellhop-types immediately grabbed our luggage and led us to the service elevator, and then to our rooms.

When I asked what the deal was, the concierge or manager or whatever he was explained that our hotel had been leaked on social media and the front of the place was swarmed with crazy fans, and it was all security could do to keep the lobby cleared for other guests. He asked us all to please ring the front desk when we wanted to go out and somebody would lead us out a secret way to avoid the- and here he said a word in Japanese with clear disdain- and take us wherever we wanted to go.

“This is crazy!” Jen said.

“Yes. Very crazy,” the guy agreed, no hint of any sense of humor in his voice.

Unfortunately the hotel we were in was more of a business-type of place than a high-end tourist sort of hotel, so the suite we got was O.K., but it was pretty basic and sterile. Not bad, per se, just uninteresting. The one remarkable thing was a huge bed- nearly half again as wide as the Cal King we had at home. They must have had the sheets and blankets custom-made for that giant thing.

“I know you’re getting ideas,” Angela said when we walked into the bedroom and saw the monstrous expanse of bed.

“I absolutely am,” I agreed, reaching down and squeezing her butt.

“I would like to stay in the hotel tonight and be lazy,” Emmy announced, dropping down into one of the several armchairs scattered around the large room.

“That’s fine,” I said. “I can do all the work. You and Angela will hardly need to do anything at all,” I told her. “Just lie back and enjoy the ride.”

“Bestia!” Angela exclaimed, but she was smiling affectionately when she said it.

“Tu bestia,” I replied, wrapping my arms around her and nibbling on her neck while making growling noises.

“Ay! Save me, Emmy!” Angela said in mock distress, weakly struggling in my grip.

“I cannot save you,” Emmy replied. “I am too busy thinking of France.”

Angela didn’t get the joke, but I laughed.

A bit later Jen knocked on the door while we were eating an early room service dinner. “Hey, you guys in there?” she asked from the hallway.

I let her in and she sat down in the suite’s living room near the big windows. “Have you been down to the lobby? It’s freaking crazy down there. There’s like five hundred Emmys running around. The hotel security guys keep kicking them out, but they sneak in anyway.”

“Five hundred Emmys?” Emmy asked, puzzled.

“Dude, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Sure, I knew that cosplay is huge here, and The Downfall is big in Japan, but all these girls- and a surprising amount of guys, too- they’re all colored themselves black one way or another and have white hair and green contact lenses. It’s freaky as shit!” Jen explained.

“Perhaps I could go down there and blend in?” Emmy speculated, amused by the idea.

“I wouldn’t,” Jen said. “They’d probably scope you out instantly and then it would be like those videos you see of piranhas going after a cow that’s fallen in the water. Hell, I don’t even think it’s safe for Lee or Jax, either, to tell you the truth. Me, I’m safe, and you two,” she said, pointing at Angela and me, “But not you, Em. Seriously, I thought it is bad enough when those Christian freaks protest outside shows in the US, but this is another level weird.”

“No wonder the manager guy was so insistent on us using the back way in and not being seen in the lobby,” I said, thinking about going down to take a look for myself.

“Like I said, us normies wouldn’t have a problem, but…” Jen said, leaving us all to speculate.

“Does this mean we must remain trapped in the hotel our entire time here?” Emmy asked.

“I dunno. I kinda don’t think so, honestly,” Jen said with a shrug. “If I had to speculate, I’d guess that pretty much all the otakus are swarming around the hotel, right? So if you just snuck away and went somewhere else, you’d probably be fine. Until they figured out where you were, anyway.”

“Otakus?” Angela asked. “The hotel manager used that word, too.”

“It means nutty fan or some shit like that,” Jen said. “It’s a real Japanese thing, but you get ‘em in the US, too, but they’re usually Japanese-culture adjacent, you know? Like super anime fans, for example. So yeah, get clear of ‘em and you’re probably good, until somebody posts on social media or whatever that they’ve seen you, and then they’ll all rush as fast as they can.”

Emmy looked thoughtful. “Then perhaps I need a disguise…” she said. “And one for Jeremy as well…”

“Are you thinking makeup?” I asked, surprised she would even consider it.

“Although I hate the idea in principle, this might be the time to make an exception,” Emmy agreed. “I think we will need the concierge’s help.”

I called down to the front desk and immediately a middle-aged woman who spoke perfect English came to our room. When Emmy explained that she wanted to visit a high-end cosmetics store and someplace to buy a wig, the woman instantly understood. She called down to the lobby and after a moment speaking with someone down there, she said there would be a van for us in five minutes. She said she would accompany us to act as a translator, and we told her that would be perfect.

We collected Grant and Jeremy and the seven of us piled into a black van with dark-tinted windows. It had some sort of company name on the side and a logo that looked like a bouquet of flowers, but there was no way I could read the text.

We drove surprisingly far, and when Jen asked the concierge lady if there weren’t any cosmetics places closer, the answer was simple.

“We need to be far enough away from the hotel that when the word spreads it will take a long time for the fans to arrive, and by then we would be finished.”

Jen nodded and looked to make sure the rest of us had heard the confirmation of her earlier speculations.

We wound up at a MAC store just as they closed, but they opened up and let us in, locking the doors behind us. They’d clearly been alerted that we were coming. The employees ushered us to a makeup station well away from any windows, and, chattering with Emmy by way of the concierge’s translation, soon had quite a transformation going. After a foundation base was selected they played around with shaders, blushes, toners and I don’t even know what all. When Emmy and the makeup ladies were satisfied, I could hardly believe my eyes. They’d covered every inch of Emmy’s skin from below her neckline right up to the scalp, and fitted a pink wig to top it all off.

Obviously the most striking thing was that Emmy now looked white, as pale as Angela, but made it look natural. The ladies had used the shaders to subtly change the way her cheekbones looked and bright pink lipstick gave her more of a rosebud mouth. They topped it off with a terribly fake-looking pink wig, but actually, it worked. Sure, it was obvious that wasn’t her real hair and nobody would think it was, but it just looked like an affectation and not an attempt to fool anybody.

They didn’t have contact lenses to hide Emmy’s eyes, but one of them did produce a pair of dark sunglasses and that did the trick.

The makeup ladies had been extremely excited by the project and had wanted to take photos, but the concierge had instructed them to tell nobody at all until The Downfall had left Japan. She was obviously very serious and they all agreed. When Emmy was convinced that they would all honor the agreement she had consented to before and after photos. The concierge lady browbeat them all a bit more to emphasize how important it was that they would maintain secrecy for a week, and they all seemed cowed enough that I was pretty sure they’d stick to the agreement.

With Jeremy they didn’t worry about anything but giving him caucasian skin color. They combed his dark hair down a bit to hide the transition at the hairline, but otherwise left him alone.

It was bizarre, seeing the two of them. There was no way either would blend in in Japan, but that had never been the goal. Simply making them look like day walkers was enough of a difference that nobody would check too closely. Of course, we still needed gloves for both of them, but that was easy enough since the temperatures were still cool in Tokyo.

In fact, it turned out that there was a department store practically next door, so we got gloves for both of them there. Finding Emmy some ladies’ gloves was easy, but there just weren’t many choices in gloves that would fit Tiny’s big hands. Eventually we found him some driving gloves that fit, and that would have to do. Finishing our shopping trip, Emmy spotted a bright pink pair of sunglasses and fell in love, so we bought them, too.

“I want to walk in the front of the hotel,” Emmy announced on our drive back, but I talked her out of the idea.

“As a group, we’re pretty obvious even if your disguise works. I don’t think we should risk it,” I said, and though Emmy pouted she gave in, to the concierge’s obvious relief.

On the other hand, I saw no problem with it when Emmy said she wanted to show off to the rest of the touring entourage, so we made a round of visits.

It was pure comedy gold with how long it took Lee to actually recognize Emmy when we all crowded into his and Jen’s suite. Emmy was hanging on Jackson’s arm and at first Lee simply seemed to dismiss her as just another groupie. He realized we were all having some sort of fun at his expense quickly enough, but it was a surprisingly long time before he finally put two and two together.

“Jesus Christ!” Lee said when Emmy took off her mirrored pink sunglasses and he saw her bright green eyes. “Holy shit, dude! I would have walked right past you a hundred times before I ever realized it was you!”

“It seemed to be the only way for anonymity here in Tokyo,” Emmy explained.

“Yeah, it’s fucking nuts downstairs,” Lee admitted. “I went down to ask about Mt Fuji tours and those girls saw me and gang-rushed the security guys. I can’t even imagine what it would be like if they saw you down there.”

Grant and Jeremy went back to their rooms while the rest of us settled down there in Jen and Lee’s sitting area to hang out for a while. Jen raided the suite’s mini bar and soon we all had drinks of one kind or another in our hands while we talked.

“I am morally opposed to wearing makeup like this, but this seems to be a necessity,” Emmy said. When Jen asked why, Emmy launched into a lengthy explanation of how her parents had raised her to show her skin. “I have never, before today, worn full makeup like this to hide my nature,” she said.

“Yeah,” Jackson said, drawing it out. “But you’re not really doin’ that now, either, are ya? This,” he said, indicating his face but meaning Emmy’s, “Isn’t to hide your nature, it’s to hide your identity. What I mean is, you aren’t hiding the fact that you’re a Night Child, you’re hiding the fact you’re Emmy De Lascaux. I will admit it’s a fine point, but I think an important one.”

Emmy blinked a few times in slow-motion the way she did, then nodded. “Yes, I understand what you mean. I do think you are correct- I am not trying to blend in with day walkers by hiding my skin, am I?”

It took a fair bit of work for Emmy to scrub all the paint off her face that night, but she admitted that if it allowed us the opportunity to sightsee in Tokyo like any other tourists it would be worth it.

“I’m looking forward to doing some shopping,” Angela said from the kidney-shaped spa tub. “There’s a street I really want to check out that has nothing but kitchen stuff- knives, bowls, cooking pots… Everything you could want.”

“We have all that stuff already,” I protested.

“Yeah, but maybe we’ll see something we didn’t know we needed!” Angela replied, and I had no choice but to smile.

“Maybe,” I conceded.

“I would like to see some of the temples and gardens that Japan is so famous for,” Emmy said, checking her face in the mirror to make certain she’d gotten all the makeup off. “Is there any room in the bathtub for me?” she asked when she was satisfied.

“I think I’m done. You can have my spot,” Angela said, standing up. I admired the way the water flowed down her body, and from that angle I could definitely see a bit of a baby bump starting to show.

“Thank you, ma chere,” Emmy said, giving Angela a kiss as they passed each other.

Emmy stepped into the tub and turned to lean back against me. She adjusted her position a bit until she was in the exact correct spot, then let out a contented sigh. “Angie, baby, do not take this the wrong way. I love to bathe with you, but there is something extra special about laying back against Leah’s chest and feeling her strong arms holding me.”

“No, I can’t be mad at you for saying that, ‘cause I know it’s true,” Angela said with a smile. “Lee’s so strong, so solid feeling… I get… butterflies, right? In my tummy sometimes when she holds me close.”

“Then you understand,” Emmy said, leaning her head back and closing her eyes.

“You are being awfully quiet tonight,” Emmy said to me after a while. “Is everything O.K.?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, kissing the top of her head. “Just tired, I guess, that’s all.”

“You seem to never get tired, Leah,” Emmy replied. “You always seem to be the first one up in the morning, and last one to bed. Your workouts last for hours and hours, but you never complain of being sore or tired. You constantly amaze me.”

“I get tired,” I replied. “But it’s usually more of a mental thing than a physical one.”

“Would you like to stay in tomorrow? Angie and I can take Grant and Jeremy with us shopping. We will be safe. I will wear my disguise,” Emmy suggested.

“That might be a good idea,” I admitted. “I’ve been getting behind on work, and it would be good to get caught up.”

“Do not forget that tomorrow night Jenna and Andy get to Tokyo. We should go out and have a nice dinner with the two of them.”

“Yeah, that’s right. It’ll be good to see them. I wonder if there are any good Japanese restaurants around here? They both like that stuff,” I replied.

“I suspect there might be,” Emmy said with a little laugh. “I am certain the concierge might be able to recommend something.”

“You know, maybe you and Ange should wait to go to that kitchen shopping street. Jenna might want to go with you guys,” I said.

“I will text her when we are done bathing,” Emmy replied. “I know that Angela has been missing Jenna on this tour.”

“I’m glad they’ve gotten to be such good friends,” I agreed. “I think it’s been really good for both of them.”

“Yes, it has,” Emmy said. “And I am very glad that you have reconnected with Andy. Friends are important.”

“Yeah, they are,” I agreed, thinking that I really should shoot Donny a text or something to let him know I was thinking about him.

I got up early to use the hotel’s ‘Fitness Station’, which was a handful of exercise bikes, a stair climber machine and four different Nautilus weight machines. Still, it was better than nothing and would do the job for the five days we’d be staying there.

Angela and Emmy were still asleep when I returned to the room after an admittedly short workout. I took my shower and dressed in comfy sweats, since all I was going to do was sit in front of my laptop and deal with work. Emmy, Angela and Jen were planning to go to the National Museum, which did sound interesting, but I was going to take a non-tourist day and just stare at a fifteen inch screen.

I was deep into a project proposal for a complete renovation of an older apartment complex when Angela and Emmy finally emerged from the bedroom.

“How long have you been awake?” Emmy asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Four hours or so,” I said, checking my watch.

“Are you hungry? Have you eaten?” she asked as Angela came over and kissed the top of my head.

“I could eat,” I said. “The hotel has some options,” I explained. “There’s a buffet downstairs that has Western, Chinese and Japanese food, and it’s open for breakfast for another hour. There’s also what they’re calling the Garden Terrace, which has a breakfast menu. Or we could order room service- whatever you guys want.”

“The Garden Terrace- do you think Em will have to put on her disguise?” Angela asked.

“That’s a good question,” I replied, reaching for my phone. “Let me send Grant down to evaluate the situation.”

“You don’t have to bother him,” Angela protested. “I can go look.”

“Are you a professional bodyguard trained in risk assessment?” I asked. “Because, well, Grant is.”

Angela sighed. “No, I guess that makes sense,” she admitted.

When I got Grant on the phone he told me that he’d already been down there for his own breakfast and evaluated the place. In his estimation it was safe, but the place had windows and some of the fans might spot Emmy from outside. They wouldn’t be able to get in, but it would confirm that she’s in the hotel.

“Well, they know that already,” I told him. “So I can’t see that it makes any difference. In fact,” I said as an idea popped into my head, “if she’s seen looking as she normally does but in the company of a pink-haired girl, they’ll dismiss the pink girl as inconsequential, right? I need to call Jen.”

Emmy instantly understood from hearing my half of the conversation. “Oh! That is brilliant!” she exclaimed.

Soon enough a whole squad of us went down to breakfast in the Garden Terrace. Emmy looking like usual, Angela, me, Tiny and Grant, and Jen, wearing the pink wig, lipstick and sunglasses.

When I’d asked Jen to do us a favor and explained it to her, she was in love with the idea and was happy to go along with the plan.

We made sure that we had window tables, despite the staff wanting to seat us well away from where anybody could see us. Sure enough, it didn’t take too long for one of the Emmy lookalikes outside to spot us through the glass and call her friends over. Although there was quite a crowd outside, they were respectful and didn’t do anything too weird. I swear I saw a bunch of them faint, though, when Emmy walked to the glass, waved, and then kissed the window as if she were kissing them.

Nobody in that crowd even looked at the rest of us for more than a few seconds, but to any of them that noticed the girl with the pink hair, well, it didn’t matter who she was, anyway.