Chapter Eleven: She Screams for Freedom:

February, 18th, 2010.

Anna felt it get worse that morning. She was taking away the dishes when her headache struck. The woman sank to her knees in pain. She gasped out loud. The whispering filled her head. W-Why is this happening? Stop! Stop! A few deep breaths later and Anna went back to normal. She sat back against the wall. Her hands rested at her chest. That was� Anna tightly shut her eyes. A faint whisper ripped through her mind. She quickly opened her eyes.

"I need help," she mumbled. In twenty minutes, Anna arrived at Ju-Oh-Cho. Watari began the scan. The woman waited as she bit her lower lip.

"Well?" she asked. The blonde scientist looked up. She didn't like the serious look on his face.

"Not good, is it?" she asked. Watari sat back.

"She's trying to break the shield," he said.

"Huh?" Anna asked.

"Your kitsune is trying to break the shield," Watari explained. "Or rather what's left of it."

"What's left?" she asked. Watari turned the laptop screen to her. Anna squinted her eyes to read.

"I don't get it," she said. "What am I looking at?" Watari pointed to the screen.

"This is currently your shield around your kitsune," he said.

"Are all of those cracks�?" Anna started to ask.

"Yep," he said.

"So what will happen now?" she asked.

"You are familiar with the Eda-Kimoto legend?" Watari asked. Anna lowered her eyes.

"I will become one with the mother."

"That's right.�

"So, what would happen in that situation?"

"I don't have all the details yet, but there is the risk of losing yourself to her."

"In what way?"

"Personality, I'm assuming."

"So will I turn into her after we merge?"

"Like I said, I don't have all the details yet. I'll keep looking."

"How long do I have?" she asked.

"Until your shield breaks?" he asked. Anna nodded, pressing her hands together. Watari sat back in his chair, thinking.

"Hard to say," he said. "Days, weeks, months. Maybe years."

"So in other words," Anna said. "It is hard to say exactly when. Right?"

"That's the thick of it," he summed up. Anna lowered her eyes.

"Please don't tell Asato," she said in a low voice.

"But he has to know this," Watari told her.

"Please!" she begged. "He already has Hisoka and my family to deal with. Please, don't tell him." The scientist dropped his shoulders.

"Fine," he said. Anna closed her eyes.

"Thank you," she said. The woman lowered her head. She could feel the voices whispering in her chest.

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Meanwhile, Hisoka had his own little problems to deal with in the near future.