Disclaimer: I think I’m starting to run out of ways to tell you that I don’t own Witch Hunter Robin. Oh, wait, I just did. ^_^
Kitsune: Amon, you made Puff sulk!
Amon: *glares*
Kitsune: Apologize to her.
Amon: Why should I?
Kitsune: Because you upset her.
Amon: No.
Kitsune: Yes.
Amon: No
The Joys of Parenthood
Chapter Forty-Six: A Slew of Tests
“Set Javan down on that table over there. Yes, that one,” Dr. Takahashi directed as he flipped a series of switches to make his laboratory return to life, only half-noticing Amon and Robin’s nervous faces, “Just be careful about those metal spikes, Amon. We wouldn’t want to accidentally impale Javan on one. It might leave a scar or something.” He laughed softly at his twisted joke and watched out of the corner of his eyes as Amon looked carefully over the chilly table to be sure that there truly weren’t any spikes.
“It’s cold in here, doctor,” Robin said as she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering despite the heavy layers of clothing that she wore, “Do you have any blankets to wrap Javan in?” As if he were just becoming aware of the icy touch that danced on the vaguely stale air, Dr. Takahashi shuddered and rubbed his hands together. He thought for a moment and pointed a finger towards a door that Robin recognized.
“I think there’s blankets in there. If not, there’s a good supply of towels that would work just as well to keep the little girl warm,” Dr. Takahashi explained, fiddling with a knob on a dangerous looking contraption, “Once I get the heater up and running, it’ll be toasty in here. I simply haven’t been down here recently enough to make sure that everything was powered up. If I pull just a small amount of electricity from the main generator…” He trailed off when the muffled screams from upstairs echoed down through the air vents. Grinning sheepishly, Dr. Takahashi turned the dial back slightly and the screams died out.
“I assume that you just shut down a few wings of the hospital,” Amon said coldly, not quite sure whether or not he wanted that man working on his young daughter. Robin tottered back into the main room of the laboratory, her vision completely blocked by the mountain of thick blankets she had found. Amon was forced to dash forward and grab her arms to keep the craft user from tripping over wires that had been hazardously left splayed over the unevenly tiled floor.
“Thank you,” Robin said gratefully as her hunting partner pulled the coverlets from her thin arms and set them down. After bundling Javan heavily in the warm layers, Amon realized that there were still many blankets left in the pile. He tossed one at Robin, who was still shivering conspicuously, and pushed the rest into a clean corner so they would be at hand if they were needed later on.
“Oh, how nice of you, Amon, to think of Robin’s comfort and well being,” Dr. Takahashi said in sickeningly sweet voice, his broad smile making the dark hunter glare fiercely, “And to think that you took note of her so quickly.” He batted his eyelashes at Amon as he returned to adjusting the heating system. Amon kept his mouth shut while he curled his hands into fists so tightly that he was running the risk of stabbing his own fingernails through his palm.
“Doctor, perhaps you should start the tests on Javan,” Robin suggested, desperately trying to diffuse the volatile situation. Her green eyes shone brightly with trepidation, fearing that Dr. Takahashi was about to push Amon over the edge. She tugged her blanket more snuggly about her slender shoulders and stepped forward, placing herself in the large empty space between the two men.
“That’s a splendid idea!” Dr. Takahashi exclaimed brightly, slightly nervous about the death glares he was receiving from Amon, “I’ll be needing some of these, these, these…I’ll take the box with me.” He snatched a large gray container off of a countertop and hurried over to the table where Javan was laying. Working quickly so that her little body wasn’t exposed to the frosty air for long, the doctor placed an unbelievable number of probes and patches on almost every bit of spare skin. The task of carefully placing every color-coded wire into the matching slot on the different machines was also hastily executed.
“Are all of those really necessary?” Amon asked blankly, his near-black eyes focused on the veritable rainbow of wires trailing out from underneath his daughter’s thick stack of blankets. Steadily, the machines were beginning to hum loudly in the background as they started to receive a constant flow of information.
“Quite necessary, actually. Every single bit of information is needed for the whole lump to be processed correctly,” Dr. Takahashi chirped absentmindedly as he pulled over a small cart that had a rather innocuous looking contraption bolted down to the top, “But this one is the most important of them all.” He smiled lovingly at the device, in the same way a father would smile at his first-born child, and delicately freed a slender hoop of dark metal from the top.
“What is it?” Robin questioned innocently, quite sure that Dr. Takahashi was waiting for someone to ask about his prized machine. Her suspicious proved to be correct as the man’s face illuminated with sheer joy as he beamed at the two dark hunters.
“It is my greatest creation yet,” Dr. Takahashi said in a sing-song voice, cradling the metal ring to his chest, “It’s specifically designed to test the subject to see if they have a craft, based on the data that comes from all the other machines. If my subject does have a craft, it will tell me the general type and strength of their current abilities. It’ll take a little while, but that will give me a chance to look at the other preliminary information.” He gently placed the circle over Javan’s dark hair and pushed a few dull pins down to hold it perfectly still. A small black button was pushed and the tips of the pins glowed softly with a crimson light.
By this point, the noises produced by the many running devices had reached the point of sheer cacophony and the doctor seemed to be the only one that didn’t notice it. Robin was politely covering her ears and had her blanket wrapped over her head. Amon stood almost completely still and only winced when nobody would notice, though the aura radiating out from his body was pulsing with negative energy. Even Javan, in her deep sleep, would shudder when the noise would peak every few minutes.
“This is all so fascinating,” Dr. Takahashi yelled gleefully, darting from one slowly printing paper to the next like a child at a candy store, “The readouts all seem to be contradicting each other. I’ve never seen anything like it!” He was grinning from ear to ear, his positive mood nearly counteracting Amon’s bitter one.
“Would you mind talking to us somewhere, I don’t know, maybe quieter!” Amon roared, his patience finally snapping as his dark gray eyes flashed with anger. Sulking like a little girl, Dr. Takahashi led the pair of hunters into a small room off from the main laboratory. He gestured for them to sit on the lace-covered love seat as he set a pot of water to boiling on the stove.
“As I was saying before, the information that my machines are gathering from Javan is all incongruous,” Dr. Takahashi elucidated, pulling a box of cookies off of a shelf, “There isn’t a single bit of the data that can stand as proof on it’s own and I can’t be sure of the results until my main device can process everything that’s currently being gathered.” He dumped the crisp cookies onto a china platter and offered it to the hunters, who both wisely declined. After he had glanced at the crushed box, he noticed the expiration date and tossed everything into a trashcan.
“If you had to decide now, would you say that it’s more likely that Javan doesn’t have a craft?” Amon asked hopefully, though the two others in the room didn’t notice the change of tone. Opening his mouth to respond, Dr. Takahashi was cut off by a certain blonde craft user.
“Or is it more likely that she does have a craft?” Robin questioned flatly, knowing first hand the problems that Javan would suffer if she did possess powers beyond the norm for a human. Amon’s eyes narrowed dangerously at his hunting partner as he let his ebony bangs fall over his face.
“I can’t say anything at this point,” Dr. Takahashi stated bluntly, pouring the hot water into cups along with tea bags, “To come to a conclusion at this point, just to satisfy you two, would be irresponsible of me. And I am anything but irresponsible.” Amon choked as he fought down the urge to laugh. Dr. Takahashi glanced over his shoulder at the darkly clothed man, but didn’t seem too concerned about his health. Instead, he ignored the hunter and offered the freshly brewed tea to Robin first.
“This is so kind of you, doctor,” Robin said gratefully, her spirits lifted by the warm liquid that she could pour down her cold throat. The doctor smiled and set Amon’s cup down on the low coffee table before taking a seat himself.
“I figured that it would be best if my guests were comfortable while we waited for the results,” Dr. Takahashi said sincerely, sipping at his tea cup while he watched Amon’s choking fit subside, “Are you alright?” Nodding as he picked up his hot drink, Amon settled back against the squishy and flowery cushions.
The next ten minutes or so passed with a perfect quiet between the three, each person locked in their own mind. Suddenly, as if the power cords had been cut, the pandemonium in the laboratory fell silent. With a grin that could outshine the sun itself, Dr. Takahashi quickly set down his tea and dashed out of the room. By the time Amon and Robin followed, he was eagerly reading a slip of blue paper.
“Now, that is interesting,” Dr. Takahashi said quietly, his eyes fixed onto the paper in his hands.
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