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Chapter Eight: Biting Down:

Ju-Oh-Cho.

Watari flashed a light into the baby girl's eyes. He'd never such a deep shade of blue before in his life. He opened the baby's mouth to have a quick look inside. Healthy smooth pink gums and tiny pink tongue accounted for. Watari finished checking the baby's vitals. Finally, he took a blood sample. When the scientist was finished, Watari played with the baby's right foot.
"You've been a brave little girl," he said. The baby only cried when her blood was drawn. He held her, and sweetly managed to quiet her.

"Shhh, shhh," he whispered. "The worst part's over. You're fine now." Watari wrapped up her examination handed her off to a nurse, and peeked out of his lab into the hallway where Tsuzuki, Anna, and Hisoka were waiting.

"How is she?" Tsuzuki asked. Watari and gave a thumbs-up, grinning the entire time.

"The baby's fine," he said. "She's in great health."

"Good," his friends said, breathing a collective sigh of relief.

"I am curious about something though."

"What's that?" Tsuzuki crinkled his nose.

"How did you find this baby?"

"Byakko found her."

"I see."

Tsuzuki noticed the uncertainty in his tone. "Why, what's wrong?" Watari glanced over at Anna and Hisoka.

"Is there somewhere private we can talk?" he asked.

"Is it that bad?"

"Well… I don't know how to put this yet, so let's find some place a little more private for our talk…"

"Alright."

"Thank you, this way please." Watari led Tsuzuki outside.

"What's going on?" Tsuzuki asked. "Is there something wrong with the baby?" Watari's eyes shifted from side to side as he tried to think of the best way to present his theory without causing alarm.

"Before I say this," he began. "I hope I'm wrong about this."

"What do you mean?"

Watari pressed his hands together. "I drew blood from the baby to run tests and I accidentally spilled a drop. For some reason, I heard whispering from the blood."

Tsuzuki gave him an odd look. "Whispering?"

"I could've imagined it. Where did you find the kid again?"

"In a ruined house. The roof caved in and flooded. It was crazy!"

"What about the other houses?"

"Huh?"

"Were the other houses just as damaged as that one? This is really important. Think carefully now!"

Tsuzuki dug down deep, and tried his best to remember that evening. "Hmm… Now that you mention it, the houses in that neighborhood looked fine. Some of the roofs had a shingles missing."

"I thought so."

Tsuzuki tilted his head. "Why? What are you thinking?"

"I could be completely wrong about this," Watari reminded him. "But I believe the house might have been targeted." Tsuzuki's eyes widened.

"Targeted?" he asked.

"It makes sense," his friend pointed out. "Why didn't this storm make the news?"

"Anna-chan mentioned that before Byakko told us about the house," the older shinigami said.

"On top of that, the baby is the sole survivor, but both of her parents are killed."

"Wait! You're not suggesting that…"

Watari put up his hands. "Hey! It's only a suggestion. I'll wait for results from her blood test before making any grand conclusions. In the meantime, where is she staying?"

Tsuzuki gave him a blank stare. "What?"

"Will she be staying with you for the time being?"

"I don't know…"

"How can you not know?"

"Well, she might have family looking for her."

"Like who?"

"Uh…" Tsuzuki tried to come up with a suitable answer. "Can't you take her?" He proposed, in a sheer act of desperation.

"I'm sorry, Tsuzuki. But I can't do it."

"Damn it!" Another thought crossed his mind. "Hey, why are you singling me out to confide in about all of this?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure," Watari said. "But, if I'm wrong, I don't want to cause un-needed panic."

"I understand," Tsuzuki said. "She'll stay with Anna-chan and me for the time being."

"I will do my best to find out everything you need to know about this little one," The doctor assured him. Tsuzuki forced himself to smile and nod. Somehow, he had the feeling this wasn't going to be end of it.