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Chapter Forty-One: Missing Pieces:

March 15th, 2011

Watari stared at his notes scattered all over his desk. Charlotte's tests were difficult to read through. He had a problem getting to the source. The scientist rubbed his forehead.

"You are resistant, aren't you?" he asked. The blonde scientist looked behind him when the door opened.

"Oh, you're here," he said. Tatsumi stared at him, blinking.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked.

"Yes, come look at this," Watari said. The secretary walked over to the desk.

"Tell me what you see," the blonde scientist said. Tatsumi looked at the papers.

"What am I looking at?" he asked.

"Living tissue," Watari said. Tatsumi looked up.

"What?" he asked. "Is this from the core farm case?"

"Yes," Watari said.

"What's the problem?"

Watari pulled out one photo. "This. This is Charlotte-san's latest scan." He pointed to a white dot in the middle of the black and grey.

"This is the core itself," the blonde scientist said. Tatsumi narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.

"Let me guess, you can't reach it?" he suggested.

"Yes," Watari said, nodding.

"Why is that?"

"Living tissue. Let me show you." He turned and pulled out a spreadsheet chart.

"The core itself is surrounded by living tissue," Watari said. Tatsumi read over the results.

"I go to cut into the tissue, but…" the blonde scientist continued.

"It grows back?" Tatsumi finished.

"Too fast I would like to add." Watari pointed to the spreadsheet.

"I counted up the regeneration rates of each cut," he said. "Forty-eight times. Each time, the healing factor increases with each cut."

"The last one was eight seconds, huh?" Tatsumi asked. He looked up at Watari.

"How powerful is this core?"

"I don't know. I can't get close enough for a proper reading. I can't use any chemicals to kill the tissue. They might hurt Charlotte-san and do irreversible damage to her body."

At first, it didn't make sense to Tatsumi. He looked at the picture and then the spreadsheet.

"What are you saying?" he asked. "Do you mean to tell me…?"

"Yes," Watari said. "It hurts her enough when I cut into the tissue."

"So… why did you call me here?" Tatsumi asked. Watari perked up with a gleam in his glasses.

"Ah! I thought your shadows could be of some good use." The secretary raised an eyebrow.

"How?" he asked.

"I just might have an idea," the blonde scientist said, winking. Tatsumi's eye twitched at his tone.

-The Next Day-

Charlotte and Takashi sat on the other side of the test room. The angel held his roommate's hand. On the other side of the glass, Watari picked up his microphone.

"Okay, Charlotte-san, we're going to try something different."

"Alright," Charlotte said. The blonde scientist turned to April, Tatsumi, and Kyosuke.

"Are we ready to begin?" he asked.

"Yes," his team said.

"Good," Watari said. He drew out his scalpel and cut into the living tissue in the black and gold box. Charlotte winced as she squeezed Takashi's hand on the other side of the room.

"Ow," she whimpered.

"Hold on, Charlotte-san," Watari said. "We're just about done here." The test subject clenched her teeth as she nodded. The blonde scientist turned to Tatsumi.

"Now!" he said. "I don't know how long it will stay open this time." Tatsumi held out his hand. Smoky shadows flew out and into the box. Charlotte whimpered louder.

"How long will this hold?" Kyosuke asked.

"Three minutes without killing her at most," Watari said. "I will have to act fast." He took his scalpel and plunged it into the core. Charlotte's pain-filled scream was loud enough to shake the glass.

"Hold on, Charlotte-san," Watari repeated. "I'm just about done here. I just need one more cut."

"One more?" she whimpered.

"Yes. I am just… about…" Watari's hand moved slow, but gracefully with his scalpel. He lifted up a piece of the woman's core with the tip of his blade.

"Done!" the blonde scientist said. His hands were quick to put the sample in a glass tube and seal it. Tatsumi drew back his shadows. Charlotte collapsed back into her seat, panting as the tissue in the box closed up.

"Thank you!" Watari said over the mic. "You did good." Charlotte flashed a weak V-sign.

"Now what?" Kyosuke asked. Watari turned to his assistants and grinned.

"Now we run the analysis on the sample and hopefully collect a clue on the core farm," he said. The blonde scientist turned to Charlotte and Takashi across the room.

"You will help Charlotte-san to rest and drink fluids like usual, yes?" he asked the blind angel over the mic.

"Yes," Takashi replied.

"Very good," Watari said. "April, Kyosuke, come! We've got work to do!" The lab assistants followed their boss to another section of the lab. Tatsumi returned to his post.