Robin gazed quietly at her partner. She could tell that he was in one of his angrier moods. Amon was rarely in what most people would call a 'good' mood, though there were some that she would have labeled as 'good' relative to his normal disposition. He hadn't said anything when he returned from talking with Karasuma other than to call a meeting to discuss the witch they had hunted the night before and pass out assignments for the day.

Now the two of them were out driving to a warehouse on the other side of town. There had been a sighting of a witch on their target list, so they were checking it out. She almost hoped that some witch or another would be there for them to hunt. That, at least, might break some of the tension that she could feel rolling off of her partner.

"Amon," she began softly, hesitantly. Amon turned his cold glare at her, causing her to look down at her hands in her lap. Presently, she sighed and turned back to look out the window.

Amon, glanced at his teenage partner. Somehow, her calm presence stilled the clamor of his jumbled thoughts and allowed him to concentrate on the task at hand. It wouldn't do either of them any good if he couldn't focus.

'She's strong. I don't have to protect her like a child,' he thought to himself. He knew that he was trying to relieve some of his own mental burden, but he also knew that that wasn't really the source of his apprehension.

The two of them had fallen into a pattern of sorts on their hunts. He led, she followed. They watched each others backs. In the past few months since Robin had transferred to the STN-J, he had gotten to a place where he could feel where she was in relation to himself. It was a new experience that he found to be a bit unnerving. He had never let a partner get that close to him in the past. As much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, it made him feel more confident in both her and the success of their hunts. The removal of some of his inner self doubt, though, he knew also hinted at a dependency in their relationship. He loathed being dependent on anyone or anything.

All this said, he knew that when they were hunting, he would know where she was. He didn't have to worry about the disturbing message, he simply needed to concentrate on the task at hand and the witches they were facing. He had to do his job and stay focused on it.

'Some things are easier said than done.' He tightened his grip on the steering wheel at the thought and continued to speed off to their destination.

&&&

Karasuma was apprehensive. The message Amon had shown her was weighing heavily on her mind, as was his order not to speak of it.

"Hey, Miho. Where are you?" Dojima teased, standing in front of the older woman, waving a hand in front of her face.

Karasuma gave a small grin to the blond. "Nowhere. Just thinking. It's nothing important, really."

"Wow, that's something pretty distracting for being unimportant," Sakaki interjected. "You've been sitting there staring for quite a while now."

Rubbing her temples, Karasuma merely sighed. "I must be more tired than I thought," she lied.

"Well, I'm off. There's nothing to do here, and I'm bored."

"Wait for me, Dojima. I'll join you..." Sakaki called as he gathered his things from his desk. Within moments the two were conversing animatedly as the elevator door shut behind them.

Karasuma walked to her desk and began going through the files on it. A small smile crept across her face as she thought of Sakaki and Dojima leaving. 'We are a bit like a family,' she mused to herself. 'Though I do find it hard to think of Amon being very paternal...' The last thought brought an unexpected giggle.

Michael glanced in her direction, raising an eyebrow in curiosity, but he didn't say anything.

&&&

Hands buried in his pockets, Amon strolled across the park aimlessly. He had dropped Robin off at her flat with Touko over an hour ago, but he was too restless to go back to his own home.

With no true destination in mind, he found himself wandering into Harry's. Sitting down, the owner raised his eyebrow in Amon's direction, holding up a glass. Distractedly, he nodded and Kobari poured him his typical drink. Taking the offered glass, the dark hunter swirled the contents slowly, still lost in his own thoughts.

After some time, Amon realized that the older gentleman was gazing at him questioningly as he cleaned and dried the glasses at the bar. When he looked at his own drink, he noticed that the ice had melted away. 'When did that happen?' With the faintest of shakes, he threw his head back and drained the contents of the glass.

"Something bothering you?" Kobari quietly asked in his unassuming manner. The silent hunter had been coming to his bar for many years now, and the barkeep knew that it was unlikely he would receive an answer. He could also tell, however, that something was bothering the younger man more than normal.

Resting his chin on his fist, Amon pondered the man's question briefly before slowly nodding. "Have you heard anything from your contacts lately?" It was dancing around the real question, but it was a safe question, none the less. Something about the bartender allowed Amon to instinctively drop his guard a notch, though that didn't say much since he normally kept his guard up so high to begin with.

"Possibly. What are you looking for?" It was a game the two men played. Amon knew that Kobari had contacts all over the witching community and would try to get the most information with the least amount of questioning while the bartender tried to pinpoint exactly what Amon was looking for and give him only enough to help in that area.

"Have you heard of anyone having a vendetta against the STN-J?"

Master raised his eyebrows at the question while Amon mentally berated himself for asking it without thinking. 'Of course people have vendettas against the STN-J. We hunt witches. Likely anyone who has any kind of power wants us all dead.'

Annoyed, Amon growled softly at himself before trying again. "Specifically, anyone recently who has seriously talked of going after one of us? Someone who could actually pose a threat?"

Kobari paused a moment, looking critically at the dark man sitting before him. 'This is an odd question, especially from him.'

"No, not of late. There are always rumors, of course. But I'm sure you knew that already." The younger man nodded absentmindedly in response. "If I may, why do you ask?"

Amon shook his head, still obviously concentrating on something. "It's nothing really, just an odd message I received. It's probably just a prank." Quickly his features became hard and cold, hiding any trace of the worry that he had shown moments before. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few bills. Dropping them on the counter he moved to leave.

"I'll keep my ears open and let you know if I hear anything," the fatherly bartender added, a touch of concern in his voice. Amon gave the man a curt nod and turned to leave.

A/N: I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Please feel free to review and let me know what's good or bad about this.