Disclaimer:  Witch Hunter Robin and all its rights and characters do NOT belong to me, although I wish Michael did… ^^ kay? One shot. Takes place just after Ep. 26.

   Michael Lee's bright blue eyes, distorted by tinted orange shades, scanned the screen, flipping lightly over the words. Loud rock music blared form his headphones, drowning out the world. It had only been a few weeks since the STN-J headquarters had gone up in smoke, and they were temporarily stationed at another location. Michael had a band new laptop, all of his internet hookups connected. Thing seemed almost normal again.

   A dark haired girl flew through the room, not even glancing at him as she passed. He didn't look up, either. It was still awkward looking at her, looking at a replacement for a teammate often was. No more than a few days after the incident, she had arrived, dark nun's clothing and all, young and exuberant about her new job. Michael hadn't bothered to memorize her name, nor she his. He knew it, he just didn't care.

   Yukira Doujima and Haruto Sakaki walked past him, arguing about something. Nothing seemed strange, all was calm, peaceful. AS if they all felt perfectly at home, normal. But to Michael, thing's might never be normal again.

   Something banged next to his hand, making him rip his headphones out and look up. The Chief stood in front of him, looking peeved.

   "Any news yet?" He demanded.

   "No, sir," Michael responded automatically. The Chief sighed and left. Michael looked down at his screen. News….he was talking about a replacement for Amon. They where supposed to get one soon, but none had been sent. He bent his head over his keyboard, but only stared at the letters and numbers. They seemed strange, almost foreign to him. Everything here was foreign to him.

   Again the new girl breezed through, and this time she glanced down at him. Her brow creased in wonderment of why he sat, bent in his chair, staring at the keys like they would change. Shouting form behind her made her walk faster, and soon the Chief was right behind her, shouting about how she should learn to do better. She apologized repeatedly, flowing out of the room with him on her heels.

   Michael looked up. The way she apologized, it almost reminded him of her. He felt his throat dry up and reached to his left for the cup of coffee that was always waiting for him. But of course, it wasn't there. She wasn't there to make it for him, so how could he expect it to be there? He shook his head, running his long fingers nimbly through his frizzy red hair. How stupid of me, He mentally scolded himself.

   "Michael," Miho Karasuma's voice drifted into the room, as the tall dark haired girl breezed into the room. "How are you holding up?"

   He smiled weakly, though even that felt fake, as if he where pretending to be someone else. "This new computer is really sweet."

   She smiled back, "Settling in?" He wondered if she felt as out of place as he did.

   He nodded, "Yeah, I think so." A lie, but what else could he say? 'No, I feel as out of place here as if I just moved to a zoo'? That's what he wanted to say, but he didn't.

   "That's good," She nodded. The Chief's yelling rose so they could hear from the other room. She turned to look at the closed doors, gazing at the shadow of the young girl against the tinted glass.

   "How's she doing?" She asked, a hint of sadness in her voice.

   Michael shrugged. "She's just getting used to how things work. I think she's just trying to do the best she can, to show us she is worth keeping."

   "She seems like a nice girl," Karasuma noted. Again, Michael shrugged. "But not her, huh?" His shoulder's stiffened at this.

   "What do you mean?" He asked quietly.

   She walked over to him, laying a hand in his shoulder. "We all miss them both, Michael. They can't just be replaced, neither Amon or… Robin." She smiled encouraging at him, "We can't forget them, but let's try and move on." He just looked down. She patted his shoulder, and then took her leave, fleeing before the Chief could get to her about a lousy attendance record.

   Move on. Michael scoffed at these words. They made it sound as if they where dead, forgotten. Of course, they all believed them dead. That's what Doujima had said, that Robin and Amon had died. But Michael, he didn't believe. They had to be alive. They had to be. They were too strong to die like that. His finger's moved automatically over the keys of the keyboard, his mind not even registering what he was typing.

   Doujima and Sakaki came through again, going the other way, both giving him a 'hello' as they passed. He nodded, not listening.

   "Isn't that right, Michael?" The Chief's voice made him jump, and he swiveled around in his chair quickly, staring at the man with wide eyes.

   "Uh…what?" He stammered.

   The Chief's eyes glinted with a light that Michael wasn't sure he liked. "We support each other here, and we always listen to each other. Right, Mr. Lee?"

   "Yeah, right." Michael looked at the girl standing next to the older man, and she smiled and him. He nodded to her also, her smile triggering something in his mind. He turned back to his computer screen, realizing his finger's had still been typing. Her smile, it had triggered the memory of other smiles. Smiles that gave him hope, courage, and a warm sense of security. Her smile. Would he truly never see that smile again? No, he had to.

   He looked up then, at the name he had typed repeatedly, and promised to himself he'd see that smile again.  

   'Robin' was typed repeatedly over his screen, her name scrolling two pages width.