Chapter Twenty-Five: Ice Over Hell:

She awoke surrounded in pure white. Her head pounded as she felt like she was underwater. The child tried to look around. Her head felt sore, jerky almost. Everything still spun around. She felt the strong urge to vomit all over herself.

Ugh�

Outside the two-way mirror, Watari made mental notes.

"What to do think?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Hm," he friend said. "She matches the eye witness descriptions of the previous victims' conditions."

"But?" Hisoka asked.

"I need a blood sample to compare," the blonde scientist explained. "And I can't do that until�" They turned back to the test subject.

The quiet made it worse. She felt like screaming. Her stomach turned again. The girl took in heavier breaths. Her thoughts came out jarred. Screaming wouldn't help. Too weak, too jumbled, not human, more beastly, too beastly.

Watari nodded. "Yeah."

"Is there any way to calm her down?" Tsuzuki asked. Watari shook his head.

"So far, not that easy," he replied. "Sedatives would compromise her blood."

"So� we have to wait until she calms down?" Tsuzuki asked. Watari nodded in discomfort.

"Yeah�" he said.

"Can't we use a spell?" Hisoka asked.

"It's possible," the scientist replied. "But can her body take it?" They all grimly looked at the girl.

The sickness was trapped in her throat. She wanted to puke. Turning. Turning. Turning. The chains on her wrists didn't help. She heaved a throaty sob.

I want to go home.

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Elsewhere, Kohaku watched them all from the sky. The kitsune formed a plan to survive if Shichiro died; one that involved Hisoka. This current case might play in their favor after all. But first�

The door slid wide open. "Kohaku?"