"I think I'm infertile."

"I do not know how to say this," Kenji mumbled, looking down at his feet.

"It is okay, Mr. Kataoka," Dr. Sugimoto replied in a motherly voice. "I am bound by physician–patient privilege. What you tell me stays in this office."

"Okay," he agreed. "But can I only tell you?" He smiled weakly at Chiha.

Dr. Sugimoto nodded once at the nurse and Chiha bowed before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.

Kenji looked at the door and waited for a moment. He let out a sigh before speaking again. "I think I am infertile."

"Why do you think that, Mr. Kataoka?" Dr. Sugimoto asked as she pulled up a stool to sit in front of him. She smiled when he watched her cross her long, silky smooth legs revealed by her short skirt.

He looked up and frowned at her. He was no longer nervous or embarrassed but frustrated. "My wife and I have been trying to get pregnant for the past two years. The pressure has taken a toll on our relationship. Instead of making love, sex has become mechanical since she insist we do it almost every night in hopes we could conceive."

"I see," the young doctor hummed as she looked over his medical file. "You are 26-years-old, Mr. Kataoka?"

"Yes."

"How old is your wife?"

"My wife, Miki, is 25-years-old."

Dr. Sugimoto jotted down something in his file. "Do you love your wife?"

"Yes, of course! What are you implying, doctor? I'm here for her... for us!"

"I meant no disrespect, Mr. Kataoka," Dr. Sugimoto bowed her head slightly. "I just want to know all possible parameters to your ailment."

"Can you help me, doctor?" he pleaded.

"For the next month we will need samples of your semen to test your sperm count," she suggested with a slight smile.

"Of course, doctor."

"But during this time you will need to stop having intercourse with your wife."

"Are you sure?"

"You have been having sex almost every day, Mr. Kataoka. I do not question your virility as a young man but your testicles cannot produce a high concentration of sperm in your semen if you do not rest."

"My wife will understand if it means we can have a baby," Kenji sighed. As much as he loved his wife and having sex almost daily, he was relieved to take a break.

"Good," Shoko smiled as she stood up. "I will send in one of my nurses to help you collect your first semen sample."

Kanji became nervous again.