Dousing the Flames of Love
A/N: First attempt at a WHR fic. I had originally intended to enter this fic into a contest, but by the time I finished it, they had already reached their limit of entries. So, their loss is your gain. Yes, I know it's really long, but please accept it the way it is.
Legal disclaimer: I do not own Witch Hunter Robin.
Description: This happens very early in the show, most likely directly after the episode entitled "Stubborn Aesthetics". There really isn't much to explain. Robin kinda falls for this guy and ends up hunting him. That's pretty much all that this is. Well, enjoy!
(-)
Robin watched as the tiny wisps of steam rose up from the cup that Master Harry had handed to her. She calmly brushed her long blond braids over her shoulders before taking a sip of the tea. Harry had been right; Robin felt a welcome rush of energy fill her body as the warm liquid ran down her throat. Robin set the delicate china back down, returning to her study of the faint lines that vanished into the air. Without breaking her gaze, Robin raised her new glasses to her eyes. The difference was noticeable. Robin let out a half-hearted sigh before placing the spectacles down beside her tea. "I think that you look nice with glasses." Master Harry commented as he approached Robin.
"Thank you," Robin replied politely. She had only been in Tokyo for a short time, yet she found herself frequently paying a visit to Harry's. There was something about the kind man that made him always appear welcoming. He always seemed to know exactly what Robin or any of the other STNJ members needed without them even needing to say a word.
"You've had a long day, dear," Harry continued, "You should probably be heading home before it gets dark out."
Robin's eyes shifted to the large clock hanging on the wall nearby. It was getting late and Touko would have an absolute fit if she came home late… again. Robin nodded curtly to Harry, finishing her drink before stepping away from the counter, her lengthy black dress and trench coat swishing gently across the ground. She turned to head towards the door but instead found herself running directly into another customer.
There was a muffled oath from the gentleman whom Robin had collided with as the pair stumbled to the ground. Robin felt the man place his hands on her shoulders, pulling her against his chest almost as if he was unconsciously using his body to shield her from the jarring impact of hitting the floor. "Are you alright, Miss?" The man asked, his voice bearing a heavy Western accent that Robin couldn't quite identify.
Robin could feel her heart beating rapidly as she was helped to her feet by Master Harry, who had quickly come to her side upon seeing the collision. She needed to take a deep breath, trying to regain that precious control that she had over her powers. Just the slightest bump and they could go off. "Yes," she answered warily.
That was when Robin got her first look at the man who she had bowled over. He was in his late teens, just a year or two her elder. His hair was a rich auburn color, framing his pale face as it draped down to his shoulders. She couldn't make out what color his eyes were due to the fact that he was wearing a dark pair of glasses. There was something about this young man that Robin found kind of… handsome.
(-)
The STNJ office was unusually silent the following morning. The only sound was the occasional pop created as Dojima blew a bubble with her gum as she lazily reclined with her feet up on the desk. Both Sakaki and Karasuma were engorged in the glowing computer terminals they were seated at. Amon stood in the doorway to the briefing room, his face void of any emotion. Michael had a doughnut held in his mouth, his hands busy flying across the keyboard. Robin was resting her head in her arms as she tried to feign off a yawn.
Dojima finally broke the silence. "So Robin… I saw you talking with that really cute guy last night. I'm so jealous!"
This caused everyone to stop what they were doing and look over at Robin. Except for Amon, of course; the stoic hunter merely raised an eyebrow at the statement. "Our Robin?" Sakaki let out an impressed whistle. "About time one of us starts having a life instead of just working all the time."
"Hey! I have a social life too!" Dojima stated proudly.
"But you don't do much work." Sakaki joked.
"I'll let you know that I'm a very hard working girl… when I decide to apply myself." Dojima defended herself, which caused both Sakaki and Karasuma to chuckle quietly.
Robin finally gave up on stifling the yawn, hoping that it would go unnoticed. She couldn't escape Amon's hawk-like eyes. He was quickly on Robin's case, "Robin, you're tired. How much sleep did you get last night?"
"Some." Robin replied. She was sounding like Dojima did on a daily basis.
"Just how late did you stay at Harry's with that guy? You were still there when I went home at eleven." Dojima prodded, happy that she wasn't the one being scrutinized for once.
Before Robin could answer though, another voice interrupted, "Quit bothering Robin-chan. If she's tired, she can sleep." Chief Kosaka had entered unbeknownst to everyone. "But Chief, how come you never let me sleep when I'm tired?" Dojima inquired playfully as the Chief removed his overcoat and hat.
The Chief quickly glared at Dojima, "Do you want me to count the number of reasons why you should already be fired?"
"Nope."
"Good." Kosaka removed a tiny disc from his pocket and placed it on the desk beside Michael. "I recieved this video from the police this morning. Apparently, a young girl was attacked last night at Sakuradamon Station. Headquarters believes that a witch is at fault. All we have to go on is what's on this tape." Michael solemnly transferred the disc from its case to his computer. Within seconds, he had the video playing on all of the computers in the office.
The video showed a black and white image of a poorly lit platform at a subway station. There were pipes leaking in the roof, creating pools of standing water. A garbage can was overturned, with its contents spilled out over the concrete. A pair of glowing eyes shined amid the pile of trash, belonging to an oversized rat feasting himself on the waste. The rat stood upright before scurrying away as an empty subway train passed through the station, not bothering to stop at the neglected station.
Just as the train was vanishing down a dark tunnel, someone entered into the camera's view. It was a young woman, fitting somewhere between Robin and Dojima in age. She was screaming wildly after the train, holding out her hand as if she could force it to come to a stop. The back of her torn shirt had dark patches on it, presumably blood. The girl looked over her shoulder, looking almost directly into the camera. She saw something that frightened her, sending her running out of sight into the darkness.
Another figure entered the picture. It was a man wearing a heavy coat and a low brimmed hat. He cautiously approached the girl, holding a hand out towards her. Suddenly, the camera fizzled out, overloaded by some sort of electrical short circuit. That was when the video ended. "Michael, try getting a look at that man's face." Amon suggested.
Michael rewound the video, starting it from the point right before the young man entered. "There." Karasuma pointed out, telling Michael to pause the tape. Sure enough, the man's face was clearly visible. A very audible gasp sounded from Robin. The normally peppy Dojima turned to Robin, her eye's showing a level of fear that was quite foreign to her. "Robin, isn't that the guy you…"
"Iroai." Robin whispered.
(-)
"Robin… That's a lovely name," The young man said charmingly. "You can call me Iroai."
The pair had seated themselves at a table in the corner of Harry's lounge after Robin had accepted the auburn haired gentleman's invitation to join him for a drink. Robin could feel a bit of red in her cheeks, but she attributed that to the very strong tea that she was drinking. Harry had seemed somewhat apprehensive of Iroai when the young gent had stated that he would be paying for Robin's tea. Nevertheless, Harry had fulfilled the request.
"Iroai… Tint?"
Iroai breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew. I'm glad that I pronounced that correctly. Tint is my nickname from back home and I decided to go by the Japanese translation while I'm here in Tokyo."
Robin nodded her head in understanding. "Nickname? Why not use your real name?"
A sly smile crossed the man's face, "That's not something I tell on a first date."
"Oh..." Robin diverted her eyes away from Iroai, mostly due to a sudden onslaught of emberrasment.
"Oh… you already have a boyfriend. I should have known that before. You are quite a catch." Iroai appeared dejected as he stood up and retrieved his coat and hat. "I'm sorry to have bothered you." Iroai was about to leave when he felt a gentle presence on his shoulder. His eyes darted down, glancing at Robin's slender fingers. "Please stay. I didn't mean to upset you."
"Are you saying that you don't have a boyfriend?" He sounded way too hopeful with that question, almost desperate.
Now, Robin was new to this kind of situation. Sure, she had talked to guys before, but almost always the conversation had something to do with work. Here she was, being hit on by a rather good looking young man and was at a complete loss for words. "Correct." That was all that she could say.
Robin could sense that Iroai wasn't feeling all that comfortable. It was like he was putting on a facade for her. Maybe, he was just as nervous as she was, but was acting like this just to impress her? In fact, there was even a bead of perspiration trailing down his neck. Robin felt herself blush once again as she met eyes with Iroai. "So, what do you do? You're probably a student, right?"
Iroai's question snapped Robin out of the semi-conscious trance that she had slipped into. "Oh… I was raised and educated in Europe. I'm working for…" She quickly reminded herself that the STNJ was a secret organization. That wasn't something that you could let slip out, even to a handsome foreign stranger. Iroai was still waiting for her answer, his mug raised halfway to his mouth. "I work for the government." It wasn't necessarily a lie, but not quite the truth.
"Wow. You're only a teen and you work for the government. Congratulations." Iroai made a toasting motion to Robin before taking a huge swig of his drink. Master Harry had refused to sell the eighteen year old the beer that he had requested, even though it was common practice to waive the legal age limit with foreigners. In fact, Harry was glancing over in their direction at the moment, making sure that Robin was safe. It wasn't like she was unable to defend herself. She could easily torch Iroai if he attempted anything lecherous.
"What do you do?" Robin asked Iroai once Harry had turned his attention to another customer.
"Nothing really. I decided to take a year off between high school and starting university. I'm going to be studying psychology. Visiting Japan has always been a dream of mine, so I guess that's why I'm here."
They both sat there for a few seconds of silence, looking down at their drinks. Robin took another glance over in Harry's direction. She was trying to read the time, but couldn't quite make out the hour hand. Hesitantly, she reached into her coat pocket and removed her glasses. She had just put the spectacles on when Iroai spoke up, "You look pretty cute with glasses."
"Thank you." At least Iroai was being nice about her glasses. If only she could say that about Amon. Her partner had been so callous when he had handed her the glasses. There. She could clearly make out the clock now. "Oh." Robin gasped. It was already midnight. How could the time have gone by so quickly? It had only seemed like they had been talking for ten minutes when in reality nearly two hours had passed.
"What's wrong?"
"It's late. I should be heading home. Touko is going to be upset with me." Robin explained as she rose from the table.
Iroai rose as well, donning his jacket and hat. "It isn't safe for a girl to be on her own at night. Can I offer to walk you home?"
"Thank you. That would be nice."
(-)
Robin found her thoughts going back to the night before as she peered out the passenger side window of the sleek black car as it made its way through the crowded roads of Tokyo. Iroai had seemed like such a nice guy. He had been extremely kind and sweet towards Robin. Now though, she found herself faced with the possibility that Iroai was a witch. A witch who had attacked a young girl. That girl could easily have been her. "Amon?" Robin prodded, turning to look at her partner.
"What is it now?" Amon's voice was cold and uncaring; not a surprise really. His eyes were focused on the road before him, his hands wrapped tightly around the steering wheel. He looked so calm and relaxed, yet Robin knew that his mind was most likely a scrambled mess.
A weary sigh escaped Robin's lips as she returned to watching the people on the sidewalk that they passed by. "Have you ever had to hunt… somebody you knew?" She asked at length.
"No." Amon replied rather quickly.
"Oh… I don't know if I could hunt Iroai." Robin confessed.
"Robin. You're a hunter, just like the rest of us. Our personal feelings don't matter. If we have to hunt somebody, it doesn't matter who they are. To us, they're just a witch, nothing more."
"What if…"
"Try not to think about it. If a witch knew that you had feelings for them, they would use those feelings to their advantage. The entire team would be in danger. Do you understand what I'm getting at?"
"Yes, Amon." His words did nothing to help Robin feel any better. If anything, she felt worse now than she had before. Amon was right though. She would be nothing more than a liability. What if she was forced to confront Iroai? Would she be able to defeat him, or would he harm her too? "Amon?"
"Now what?"
"Promise me that I won't face him alone."
The dark haired hunter merely nodded as he turned the car down another road. That simple gesture was enough to calm Robin's nerves a bit. Robin kept her eyes on Amon, watching for the slightest falter in his emotionless eyes. Even though she was still relatively new to the STNJ, she had yet to see Amon ever appear worried. Even Ms. Karasuma became rattled on particularly stressful hunts. Amon though, he never as much as batted an eyelash as he went toe to toe with the dangers they faced.
"We're here." Amon announced as he pulled the car to a stop. They were in a packed underground parking garage, with vehicles coming and going in every direction. Robin took a deep breath before exiting the car, following in Amon's footsteps as he approached the sliding doors that led into the hospital. She always found this to be the hardest part of the job; having to look at the carnage that was all that remained from the witch's attack. Usually it was Sakaki and Karasuma that did this part of the job, but today they were busy trying to track down Iroai's location.
Amon and Robin were guided through the bustling hallways of the busy hospital by a police official wearing a light blue suit. Amon and the officer talked quickly before the officer stopped them in front of a wide open door. Robin peeked inside, but was unable to see anything for the off-white curtain that surrounded the bed. "Thank you, officer." Amon dismissed the policeman before he and Robin entered the room. Robin gently shut the door behind them before following Amon to the patient's bedside.
The girl had long blond hair, similar to Robin's own hair before she put it into braids. Her eyes were barely open; just enough to show the tears brimming in the corners of the light blue sapphires. She had the blanket pulled up to her chin, trying to hide her wounds from prying eyes. "The police tell me you are here to help me." The girl whispered.
"That's right. Can you tell us what happened?" Amon asked in his usual emotionless voice.
The girl sniffed back her tears before answering. "Don't tell my parents, ok? I was at a party that I wasn't supposed to be at. I had been drinking and the next thing I knew I was walking home by myself. That was when he… he attacked me. This man jumped out of the shadows and grabbed me. I kicked and screamed until he let me go. There was this strange buzzing noise. The next thing I knew something cut me. I don't know what it was, but it kept cutting me. I saw the train heading towards the station, so I ran towards it. I got there too late… That's all I remember."
Amon nodded his head, taking down some notes before continuing, "If it isn't too much, do you think that you could identify this man if you saw his picture?" The girl nodded cautiously, prompting Amon to reach into his pocket. He only needed to flash the picture of Iroai for a few seconds before the girl answered, "That's him alright."
"Please excuse me, Amon." Robin told her partner before darting out of the room. She seated herself on a nearby bench and bit onto her bottom lip to stop it from trembling. It must have been Iroai's intention all along to harm her. But, why hadn't he?
(-)
"It's nice out for this time of year." Iroai commented as he and Robin walked across the wooden bridge.
Robin couldn't help but to agree with Iroai. They were walking through a park, his suggestion, and were completely alone. Overhead, a bright half moon could be seen joining the vast tapestry of stars, creating the only light for the young pair. A nice, cool breeze swept through the park, taking with it a trail of fallen leafs. Only the quiet trickling sound created by the stream they were crossing accompanied their footsteps.
Quite by accident, their hands had collided as they squeezed together to fit side by side across the bridge. Innocently enough, Robin found herself entwining her hand with Iroai's. The young man looked over at her quite surprised. She merely smiled back at him. She offered to release his hand by loosening her grip slightly, but he only locked his hand tighter.
Words were not needed to express the feelings that the two young adults felt for each other. It was a moment of pure, unadulterated love that they shared. A few hours before, he had been cursing her for knocking him over. Maybe this was how all forms of love started? Robin would have to make sure to ask Dojima… no, Karasuma, on that matter later. Now, she just wished that this moment would never end.
"Uhm Robin..." Iroai nudged Robin lightly. She had been practically falling asleep on his shoulder as they walked along. "I'm going to need you to stay awake so that you can tell me where you live."
"Oh, sorry." She apologized, lifting her head off of Iroai's shoulder. She took a quick look at the buildings looming before them.
Iroai laughed softly, "You apologize a lot."
"I do?" He was right though, Robin realized. It seemed like every time someone started talking to her, she wasn't paying attention and she would go and apologize. In fact, she hadn't realized that she and Iroai had left the park until the first car zoomed past them. Iroai laughed again as Robin was jolted back from her thoughts.
"This isn't really fair now, is it? I finally meet the girl of my dreams and she ends up living all the way on the other side of the world." Iroai seemed to have meant to say that observation to himself because he started blushing as soon as Robin looked over at him. "It's true, though." He said with a wide smile.
It was Robin's turn to chuckle to herself. She had actually been thinking something pretty similar. Not that she would go and admit it to Iroai. "That's the building right there." Robin pointed towards a tall apartment style building just a few blocks away.
Iroai seemed dejected that this was nearing its end. He looked nervously over his shoulder and then down a pair of side streets. "It's kind of embarrassing to ask this but… where's the closest subway station? I'm staying at a hotel downtown and I know that's nowhere close to here."
Robin thought about the question for a few seconds before answering, "Sakuradamon Station. It's a block north of my place."
They were now standing in the entryway of the apartment building that Robin was staying at. Robin looked upwards, noting that the light was still on in Touko's apartment. She was waiting for her. "Thank you Iroai." Robin bowed curtly towards Iroai. Only now did their hands grudgingly untwine from each other.
Iroai awkwardly returned the bow. "I had a good time tonight, Robin. Do you think that we could do this again sometime?"
"That would be nice."
Before she knew it, he was kissing her.
(-)
Robin raised a gloved hand up to her lips, remembering the tender moment as if it had occurred just seconds ago. Yet now she was on her way to hunt down the individual that had kissed her. She had learned from books that the power of love could be cruel. The sting of experiencing it first hand; that was a different story completely. She could feel tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Robin quickly wiped them away, hoping that Amon hadn't noticed the "weakness" as he called it. She watched as a tiny flicker of orange flame sprung up from her fingertip, quickly evaporating the stray tear. Amon did notice that little action. "That isn't very safe," he scolded.
"Sorry." There, she did it again. Always apologizing, just like Iroai had said. She could feel a mixture of anger and sorrow building in the pit of her stomach. The fires inside of her were practically begging to be set free. Then there was the part of her that was still denying the fact that Iroai was a witch.
She had thought that all witches were vile people. Bad guys. But, over the last few days, she had begun to question that notion. First there was that lady in the park who painted pictures. She had seemed nice at first. Then there was Iroai, probably the sweetest guy she had ever met. Maybe that was part of his power, tricking her into believing that he was a good guy? No, she didn't want to believe that.
"Is everyone in position?" Michael's voice rang through her headset.
"We're ready." Amon replied. He cast a quick glance over at Robin, almost as if he was doing a double-take. "I'm ready." Robin stated, but she didn't sound ready. Both Karasuma and Sakaki had already chimed in their confirmations. All that remained was to wait for Iroai to exit the building.
They were parked along an empty street. The only other vehicle along the road was Sakaki's motorcycle. The young hunter was hunched beside his bike, acting like he was conducting some repairs. Robin could hardly see her fellow hunter in the early evening darkness. It wasn't quite dark enough to trigger the streetlamps, yet too dark to make out the faces of the people walking along the sidewalk.
"It would be better if you don't leave the car." Amon commented. Finally, Amon was taking her feelings into account. "Alright," she tried to muster a smile, but wasn't able to. Amon had already exited the vehicle and had stepped into a darkened alleyway. Robin was alone, with only her fears to accompany her.
Iroai stepped out into the night air, his hands shoved deep into his jacket pockets and his hat pulled down tight. It was a lot colder tonight than it had been the night before. The young man began walking away from the store, but only took a few steps before stopping. He turned to look in the other direction, muttering to himself, "Which way is it?"
There was a woman approaching him. Maybe he could ask her? "Excuse me!" Iroai called out as he took a step towards the lady. Suddenly, a high pitched hiss whizzed past his ear, just barely missing him. Iroai was going to ask the lady if she had heard that noise as well, but the sight of the gun in her hands answered his question for him.
"He's running!" The woman shouted out as she squeezed off another shot at the fleeing man. This one caused a shower of loose stone as the bullet imbedded itself into the side of the building. Had he accidentally wandered into a bad area of town without realizing it? Not that he was going to bother to stop and ask.
A second gunman stood up from behind a motorcycle across the street, firing a trio of shots at Iroai. One of them hit him in his right shoulder, sending intense waves of pain through his body. Iroai screamed out in agony, but continued running. He pressed his hand over the wound, feeling a sudden wave of warmth gush against his hand.
At least the shooters had bad aim. At least four more shots zipped past him, some actually grazing his skin. Iroai spotted an alley up ahead of him. He could duck in there and hopefully lose his pursuers. Just as he neared his escape route, another man emerged from the shadows, pistol pointed directly at Iroai's chest.
Instinct had kicked in for the foreign teen. He dove across the hood of a parked car and rolled to the pavement. The resounding ping of bullets being fired off the car behind him told him that he hadn't escaped by much. He was back on his feet and running without even casting a glance in the direction of any of the shooters. Why was this happening to him?
The ground beneath him began to rumble, as if the earth was joining forces with these strange people in an attempt to destroy him. Wait… that was the subway! Up ahead of him was a stairwell vanishing beneath the ground. He could hear the shooters shouting to each other, saying something about "Quarantine."
Iroai dared to take a look over his shoulder. Only the woman was still chasing after him. The one was starting up the motorcycle, while the older man was already driving away in the black car that he had rolled over. The woman fired once more, but Iroai was already descending into the subway station.
Karasuma was hot on Iroai's tail. The young man was pretty fast and agile, proving to be much more of a hassle than they had expected. Karasuma vaulted over the turn styles, trying to keep the witch in sight. As Karasuma descended a second flight of stairs that led to the subway platform, she heard the familiar sound of the subway door chimes. She was just in time to watch the doors slide shut and the train start moving along the steel tracks. "He's heading north!"
"I know." Robin's soft voice sounded over the headset.
"Robin? Where are you?" Amon demanded. He sounded pretty upset with Robin.
"I'm on the train with him." Robin replied as she calmly opened up the door separating the subway cars. It was just her and Iroai in the final car of the train. Robin silently began to approach the young man who was collapsed in one of seats. "Iroai."
Iroai twisted his head to look at Robin, a smile crossing his lips at the sight of what he perceived as a friendly face. "Oh, Robin. You don't know how happy I am to see you. I've had such a crazy time ever since I left you last night. You've got to help me."
"I'm sorry, Iroai." She had to apologize once again. This time though, it was for what she was about to do.
The young man looked confused as Robin stopped walking towards him. "What do you mean? I need your help Robin. You're the only person I can trust in this crazy city. I'm being chased by these madmen. One of them even shot me! Help me get to a hospital."
Robin shook her head. "I can't help you. You're a witch."
Iroai chuckled slightly, "That's absurd. Everyone knows that witches are just myths."
"Then how do you explain your powers?"
"Well, I wouldn't say that what happened last night was the result of any of my powers."
"That wasn't what that girl at the hospital said happened when you attacked her."
Iroai looked shocked. "If anything, I was the one who saved that girl! I don't know why she would say that I attacked her!" He had gotten up to his feet now and was facing Robin.
"I don't want to hurt you, but I will defend myself if you attack me." Robin took a step back, keeping her distance from Iroai.
"That hurts Robin. I thought that we had something between us. But, if you think that I'm the kind of guy who would attack a girl… That's your own problem."
At that moment, the train suddenly slammed on the brakes, sending Iroai tumbling towards Robin. Robin's eyes shot open in surprise. She didn't want it to come down to this. A flash of flame exploded in Iroai's path, sending the young man reeling backwards. Iroai brought his hands up to his face, screaming out in pain.
"Please, Iroai. Give yourself up. We can help you." Robin pleaded.
Iroai looked out from behind his hands. His extremely pale eyes were visible through the dark shards that were all that remained of the young man's glasses. "You're one of them!" He shouted out. Iroai was now the one backing away from Robin.
The doors of the train chimed open. Iroai dashed out the door before Robin could stop him. Robin ducked out of the train and onto the platform. Before she could take more than a few steps, the sound of gunshots echoed through the cavernous station. "Iroai!" Robin wanted to scream, but nothing came out of her mouth.
Robin rushed to the side of the fallen man, placing her hands on the sides of his head. She wasn't bothering to hide her tears, even as Amon started descending the stairs towards the witch and hunter. The callous hunter kept his Orbo pistol trained on Iroai's unmoving form, even though it was pretty obvious that the four bullets in his chest had finished the job already. "Robin. Never grow attached to anyone. It only leads to complications."
(-)
Robin found herself taking the scenic route home for the second night in a row. She had paused as she crossed the wooden bridge, looking down at the dark waters running below. Robin let out a depressed sigh as she lazily set fire to the countless leafs floating atop the water. The wind caught her handiwork, whipping the burning leafs into a whirlwind of dancing fire. Just as soon as the flames had appeared, Robin let the fires die out.
She pushed herself away from the railing, turning to continue along the path on her way home. She attempted to smile politely to the people she passed by, but even that simple facial gesture was too much for her to muster on this night. Maybe Touko would be able to say something to cheer her up.
That was when she heard her phone start ringing. Robin was slow to answer the device, knowing that they wanted her to start heading back to the office. "Hello?"
"Robin, its Michael. We need you to get back here as soon as possible."
Such was the life of a witch hunter. Rest came after the job was done. "I'm on my way." Robin turned to head back across the bridge. "Oh," she exclaimed. There was a man standing in the center of the bridge and he had his eyes locked on Robin. He was wearing a heavy coat and a low brimmed hat, just like Iroai had worn.
"Robin… the factory just called. Iroai… he wasn't a witch." Robin's eyes grew wide. He had been telling the truth to her all along. She had led to the capture of an innocent man. But if Iroai wasn't the witch… Robin suddenly had to bring up a fire shield to block a ball of electricity that the man on the bridge had sent flying at her.
The man had a twisted smile on his face as he looked at Robin. "Hello girlie." His voice had a haunting, sinister sound to it, which sent a shiver down Robin's spine.
Robin refused to bat an eyelash as she stared down the man. Finally, she could vent her anger towards someone who she didn't care for. She could feel the Craft screaming at her, telling her to turn her might on the witch. Not that she needed persuasion. She sent two lines of flame along the railings of the bridge, adding a third wall of fire behind the witch, blocking his escape. "Iroai is gone because of you." Robin whispered, feeling an extra powerful burst of flame waiting in the wings.
The witch was clearly surprised that Robin had turned out to be such a powerful target. He had been expecting a weak, defenseless girl, not some crazy fire wielding demon child. He was about to beg for mercy when he heard the bridge give out beneath his feet. Robin watched as the witch vanished out of sight. It wasn't long afterwards that Robin could hear the splash of the witch falling into the water below. She still had the phone held up to her head and Michael was frantically asking her to respond.
Robin walked up to the edge of the still burning remnants of the bridge. She looked past the flames and into the water. The witch's hat was floating along the stream, heading away from the scene. "I'm alright. The real witch… I've dealt with him." It was a shame though; she had wanted to burn him, for Iroai's sake.
(-)
A/N: Well, I hope you liked it. Please be kind and leave me a review telling me what you thought.