Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Still don't own WHR or any of it's characters (drats!)


Amon zoomed to his destination, mildly realizing that he likely scared others on the road as he zipped in and out of lanes. He was unconcerned. He knew what both he and the car were capable of, and he was in too much of a hurry to care. His mind was elsewhere. He hadn't thought of anything but getting to his frightened partner once he heard her voice. Now he was plagued by the 'whys' that he hadn't asked. Annoyed with himself, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as he parked his car.

In a swirl of black he strode purposefully into the hospital and straight to the reception desk.

"I'm here to pick up Robin Sena."

Upon seeing the handsome, tall man, the young nurse became flustered. Fumbling through the files in front of her, she was just about to tell him to wait so that she could find them when an older nurse handed a set of charts to the younger one. Glancing at the name, she belatedly realized that these were the files she was looking for.

"She's finishing up with the doctor. She should be out shortly. Please, have a seat until then," the older nurse explained before giving the younger one a look of exasperation. Unamused, Amon did as instructed, ignoring the furtive glances of the now blushing younger nurse.

With an annoyed sigh, he sat down at the first chair he found. Amon didn't even bother looking around the waiting area. Instead, he simply crossed his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. Though his appearance suggested that he was trying to sleep, the hunter was actually very awake and keenly listening to what was going on around him. He just found that he could focus on listening better if he shut his eyes.

"Are Sena's records out here?" The voice sounded like that of a middle-aged man. Someone's child started screaming right then, preventing Amon from hearing the response.

"This needs to go with the rape kit," was the next thing Amon heard from the reception area.

Rape kit? Were they still talking about Robin? It had been the man's voice again. Outwardly there was no indication that Amon had heard a thing. Inside, though, was another story as he felt his chest tighten. Quickly he pushed the emotions and thoughts away and continued listening.

The hunter didn't move, seeming to be asleep to anyone who saw him, until he heard her soft footsteps coming down the hall. How he knew they belonged to his petite young partner, he couldn't have explained, but he did. Almost instantly, he opened his eyes and raised his head to look directly at her. What the normally reserved man saw shocked him enough that it actually showed on his face briefly before he put his normal dispassionate mask back into place.

Robin didn't see his reaction. She was barely looking forward enough to make sure she didn't run into anyone. For once in her life the young girl actually felt her age. She feared what Amon would say when he saw her. All of the rationality and maturity that made people forget that she was barely 16 was gone. She knew she looked horrible. Her face was covered with bruises and cuts. Her hands were scraped up rather badly. The rest of her was just as badly battered, but the baggy clothes the hospital had given her covered all of that up. They had kept her clothes as evidence.

"Robin."

She briefly looked up at the man in front of her before looking away again. If her appearance hadn't already confirmed his suspicions, the look of fear and humiliation in her eyes did.

"Are you ready to go?" He knew he sounded distant. He couldn't help it. At least the anger he felt surging just under the surface didn't come out. He was definitely not angry at her, but in her current state she likely would have interpreted it as such.

She nodded her head slightly, unsure how to read her partner.

Amon held his hand out to her. She looked at it and realized that he wasn't mad at her. Silently he was trying to show he cared. The gesture sparked a very small light in her, but there was so much darkness at the moment that it was almost snuffed out instantly. Hesitantly she reached to take his hand then pulled back, unable to cross that line just yet.

"I'm sorry," she barely whispered, a tear escaping her eye to silently slip down her cheek.

"It's ok. Come on." With that, Amon turned to walk to the door, consciously keeping his hand out of his pocket in case she changed her mind.

The drive back to Robin's apartment was quiet and uneventful. Both hunters were lost in their own thoughts, both trying to keep their emotions at bay.

Amon parked at her building and got out. Robin didn't even realize where they were until Amon opened the door for her. Dazed, she got out of the car and followed him up to her place. She never even realized that she had opened the door and both hunters had entered.

Amon had no idea what to do. When they had gotten to her apartment, Robin went straight to her room and shut the door. Unwilling to invade that space, he let her be. He'd been in the apartment often enough before Robin came that he knew were to find things. Silently, he prepared a pot of kukicha tea and called Karasuma.

———

"Amon, how's Robin?" The youngest hunter had been on Miho's mind all morning. She knew that Amon would check in at some point, but she had gotten more impatient with each moment that had passed. The rest of the team immediately turned their heads at the mention of their leader's name and moved to chairs close to the tall brunette, waiting more or less patiently for news on the youngest team member.

Karasuma gasped loudly, eyes going wide as she covered her mouth at something that was said.

"Ok, let me know if you need anything," she finally said, her concern obvious, before she closed her phone.

"Well?" Sakaki prodded when his partner continued to stare wordlessly at her phone.

"She's safe now. Amon has her." Regaining her composure, she looked at the three pairs of worried eyes before continuing. "He doesn't know what happened yet."

"But he has his suspicions," Michael interjected.

Karasuma nodded. "To quote Amon, 'Someone beat the hell out of her.' But that's all he knows for sure. She hasn't said anything."

The resulting emotions on everyone else's faces would have been comical if the subject wasn't so serious, Karasuma thought. Sakaki was probably the angriest she had seen him to date. Doujima just simply looked lost, obviously not sure what to do. Michael looked crestfallen.

"It's not your fault," she said, placing a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder. Michael nodded and smiled weakly at Karasuma before turning back around to resume typing.

———

After some time, Robin finally came out of her room and headed straight for the kitchen. Amon caught her before she made her coffee.

"Drink the tea. It will be more calming."

Robin honestly wanted her espresso, knowing that the caffeine would help her stave off the sleep she feared would be tormented with images from the attack. Amon's tone allowed for no discussions on the matter, so she did as she was told.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?"

Robin flinched at the coldness of her partner's voice. She knew it was a silly response. It was his normal, cold, aloof style. She glanced up at him briefly before returning her gaze to her tea. Amon waited patiently as the young blond fidgeted. He could wait days for a witch to move, he was certain he could out wait the girl sitting across the table from him.

After several false starts, she finally answered in a small, soft voice. "I was attacked this morning on my way back from Raven's Flat."

Amon didn't respond, silently telling the craft user to go on. She took a deep steadying breath. Robin was finding it much harder to tell this to her male partner than she had though it would be. Robin briefly wished that he had the ability to read minds so that he could find out for himself.

"I was raped," she finally got out, her voice barely above a whisper as she fought to not start crying again.

The normally reserved hunter found he wanted to reach out and comfort the quivering girl. Unsure what to actually do, he moved to sit closer to her. Cautiously, he put a hand on her shoulder, ignoring the brief flinch she made at his touch.

"It's going to be ok, Robin," he attempted to soften his voice as he spoke. "We'll get through this."

Robin dared to turn her tear streaked face up to him. A small glimmer of hope in her eyes before she looked back down at her tea.

"Don't," he softly commanded, placing a hand under her chin and turning her face so that he could look into her eyes. "And yes, I said 'we'." Amon didn't know what he would be doing, but she was his partner. Though he wasn't prepared to tell her yet, she meant a lot more to him than just that.

Unable to hold her emotions back any longer, Robin covered her face with her hands and began to sob uncontrollably.

Amon had no idea how long they sat in the kitchen with Robin crying and him sitting helplessly beside her. After what felt like hours, she finally stopped. He was able to convince her to move to the couch where, within minutes, she was asleep. Once Amon was sure she was sleeping soundly, he quietly left her apartment double checking the lock before he went.


A/N: Thanks for reading! Hopefully I didn't creep anyone out with this one... R&R please! )