So here's Chapter 2, something I honestly thought I'd never get to post because I wasn't sure if there'd be any demand for it. And like the previous, it's once again Lady Gaga inspired (which yes, I know is weird), but this time to Bad Romance. The lyrics don't really have much to do with the story itself, but rather the overall theme and feeling of the song. What can I say, the woman's inspiring!
*I'd also like to give a special thanks to ImmortalDatenshi for her kind words and review; you're my only one so far and are seriously floating my boat! This one's for you! :D
Thanks again and I hope you enjoy and leave a review/comment!
I want your love, and I want your revenge
You and me could write a bad romance
I want your love, and all your love is revenge
You and me could write a bad romance
Caught in a bad romance
If anyone else had been there earlier than him he wouldn't have minded, but seeing as it was her, he found it annoying.
Depressing, even.
Exiting the elevator he found Michael and Chara engaged in an animated conversation about only god-knows-what. The former was seated at the computer, his gaze darting back and forth between the young woman and the screen, his mouth moving a mile a minute. The latter was perched on the desk, legs crossed in a dainty manner and her face lit up with a smile.
He contemplated stepping back into the elevator.
"Well if it isn't Mr. Amon!" He internally cringed as he heard his name trilled across the room and looked over to find the new recruit waving at him with a wiggle of her fingers.
Michael looked torn between hiding under the desk in fear and gaping in shock at the lively greeting.
He didn't blame him; he wanted to run and hide too.
Amon didn't say a word as he crossed over to the computer area, disposing of his coat on a wall peg along the way and pouring himself a cup of coffee from the small stand by the conference room. He was consciously aware of an even glare fixed on his every movement and wasn't surprised when he turned to find a vibrant green gaze clashing with his own.
It vaguely reminded him of honey dew, a fruit he had hated as kid because of its sticky sweetness and how the rind was hard to cut through. Shaking his head as though he couldn't believe he had just remembered that, he approached the hacker and immediately went into the day's work.
"Have you got those files I requested last night?"
"Yes sir, just sent them to the conference computer to share with the others."
He could feel her gaze on him again.
"And did you check the video surveillance of the store where the target was last spotted?"
"Yup, got that late last night after finally breaking into the police files where they were trying to keep it."
It was starting to get unnerving.
"Good."
"I also went ahead and checked out the rest of the family tree to see if there'll be any repeat happenings and foun…" Looking away from the hacker who was typing furiously away at the computer he confronted the green-hued gaze once again. She stared unwaveringly back, almost to a point where he had to will himself not to look away.
She was really starting to piss him off.
"Will I be going out with you today?" She eventually asked, her voice quiet but still loud enough to be heard over the background buzz of Michael's continuous talking.
He smirked as he finally tore his gaze away and looked back to Michael, holding up a hand to stop him in his tangent.
"Robin's supposed to be downstairs waiting for me; we'll go and check out the rest of the family so send me the list of names. Tell Karasuma and Sakaki to follow the lead we found the other day for the alleyway death."
"Already on it."
"Tell them to report back on what they find out, also." He finished up as he turned to leave, tossing the cheap paper cup into the trashcan on the way out.
"What about me?" He was only halfway to his coat when he stopped and turned to look over his shoulder at the voice.
Chara Li had slid from her perch on the desk and now stood facing him, hands fisted and on her hips. A scowl was dragging down her otherwise elegant features as her platinum blonde shag shined in the overhead lighting, a startling contrast to her to wardrobe: a black fitted blazer; the neckline dipping dangerously low, the figure hugging black jeans and the precariously tall black heels that only emphasized the contours of her slender legs.
He smirked as his silence obviously ate away at her and caused the scowl and glare to deepen.
"Have Miss Li here spend the day with Karasuma; make sure she gets up to date on how we run around here. We can't afford for mistakes." And with that he turned, collected his coat, and stepped into the elevator, his smirk growing exponentially wider as the door slid shut, cutting off what he supposed was going to be an excellent display of fireworks.
He was mildly surprised to find Chara at work before him, once again, the next morning after learning from the man downstairs that the 'lovely new girl' had already been by already.
He braced himself as he stepped off the elevator.
The only difference today was that instead of two, he was met with three. Karasuma and Sakaki were huddled around Michael, talking to him in hushed tones as his fingers worked overtime on the keyboard.
They must have found a lead yesterday.
Approaching the group he became openly confused as they threw around words like 'amazing' and 'awesome' and 'unbelievable'. Was yesterday really that good?
Looking up and over their heads he found no trace of the woman he had blown off the day before, not even a sign of another person in the room, actually. Returning his focus to the group in front of him he found them eyeing him with a look that could only be described as one of a small child being caught stealing a cookie.
"Excited, are we?" He asked, quirking a brow as they all exchanged looks amongst themselves.
"You could say that…" Sakaki started, looking over his shoulder at the conference room before ducking even lower into his chair. "The new girl is pretty hardcore; she practically ripped the cop a new one yesterday when he tried to bar us from the scene."
"Not only that, but her craft is incredible," Karasuma interjected with a shake of her head, "she's able to read others, but it's a form I've not seen. Her kind is different."
"And I looked her up last night, too," Michael whispered, leaning closer towards Amon, "we found out she's more than qualified to just being a hunter; she could be working directly in the factory right now."
Amon frowned at the childishness of his colleagues; they were so easily impressed.
"And did you manage to get any real work done between all this idolizing?" He snapped, watching their faces fall like that of a kicked puppy. "I suggest you try to find something useful to do today rather than sit around and marvel at our latest edition." Michael tried to hide his raised eyebrows by leaning down further towards his screen while Sakaki averted his gaze to his lap and Karasuma fixed him with a slight glare.
"What's eating at you?" She had the nerve to ask with an eyebrow in the air. Out of all them he had to give her credit; he normally wouldn't take well to being questioned by others, but seeing as they had been working together the longest, some things had to give.
"I need to speak with you." He grunted, nodding towards the conference for her to follow him. She sighed and pushed away from the desk, her heels clicking behind him as he approached the doorway only to stop, a frown working its way across his face.
There, sitting at the computer and slouched all over the table, was Chara. She looked much like she did yesterday, with the exception of her hair having been forced back into a small ponytail and a pair of knee high boots rather than heels.
Karasuma cleared her throat behind him.
"Not here." He mumbled, turning away from the room before he could be spotted by the other woman. His colleague patiently followed him as he stepped onto the elevator and pressed the ground level button.
"Mind letting me in on the secret?" She asked, her voice neutral as she fixed him with a look that clearly wanted answers.
"How did she perform yesterday?"
"You mean Chara?" She was answered with silence. "She did alright, I guess. Was there something I was supposed to be looking for?"
"No, I was just merely curious."
"About what?" She sighed, leaning back against the wall, "She's a twenty two, Australian, no remaining family. Not exactly the terrorist type."
"Maybe," He grunted, earning an incredulous look from his co-worker, "but you said her craft was different. How so?"
"I don't know…it just is. We talked a lot about it, seeing as I can pick up emotions and feelings. Chara…well…she can pick up more; deeper things, really. Thoughts and images."
"Thoughts and images?" He parroted back.
"The way she explained it was that it usually has to be an object that has meaning, like a wallet or watch or some kind of bauble; personal things people rely heavily on."
"What was it yesterday?" He asked, picking up that this ability had already been demonstrated.
"It was poker chip in the victim's pocket. No wallet or I.D. or anything else."
"And she got information from this?"
"Yes. She picked up it, ran her hands over it a few times then pulled out this notebook and began writing. She pretty much filled up two whole sheets of just nothing but words and random drawings. After she was done she put the chip down and went through the list of words and crossed out everything that didn't matter. That's how we got names to follow and places to investigate." Looking up Amon found Karasuma shaking her head, her eyes wide and a small smile on her face.
"It was pretty incredible."
"Is there any reason to suspect this craft could become dangerous?" Karasuma frowned at this and fixed him with a look.
"I think you already know the answer to that, Amon." She said quietly as she continued to look at him. "There are others here who have a craft that should have you worrying more." She was talking about Robin and her increasing power of pyrokinesis.
"I think," Karasuma said after a long pause, "that our new hunter has either rubbed you the wrong way or that you've found something to dislike in her so you question her abilities and presence. Am I right?" She asked with a quirked brow as the elevator jerked to a stop and the door rattled open to reveal the parking garage.
"Take her with you again and see what all you find. Report back to Michael if anything changes." He said pushing past her and out into the chilly autumn air.
"You never answered my question!" Karasuma called out behind him, a knowing tone in her voice that made him cringe.
The woman was too intuitive for her own good.
For the three weeks that followed the arrival of the newest member of the team, Amon gained a sick sense of joy from pawning his new 'partner' onto the others.
He never knew he could feel this way.
Ever since their chance meeting at Harry's and Chara's rather rude warning to him, the man had practically made it his mission to piss the woman off. Never before had he encountered someone who stood so obviously against him, let alone someone who had the balls to back talk him. It was because of this that he disliked the woman and this alone despite what Karasuma had continued to hint at since their rather shady conversation in the elevator.
That he liked Chara.
Even now he grimaced at the thought as he ran his foot across the gas pedal in an eagerness to get going. What was taking Robin so long? He had explicitly told her to be ready at eight, yet here it was, eight twenty and the girl hadn't appeared.
He was a stickler for being on time.
Pulling her number up on his phone he was about to call when the door to her building opened and she emerged, a laughing Touko following in suit. The older woman gave the teen a pat on the back before walking around the front of the car and tapping on his window, clearly wanting him to put it down.
"Sorry she's late, there was a bit of an accident in the kitchen that took two to clean up." He frowned and eyed her with a look that clearly said 'I don't care why, just move'. Touko simply smiled and shook her head before stepping away and walking back around the car, waving to them as they pulled off.
He knew it was wrong to treat her that way, especially since they were in relationship (as forced and strained as it was) but he knew she would understand that he was the way he was. He had always been one for punctuality and pose, never letting too much information out along with any emotions or unwanted feelings. He was a private person and liked his space, especially since someone at the office had decided to make it their goal to get under his skin anyway they could.
He had to give Chara credit: it only took her two days before realizing that he was purposefully shoving her off onto Karasuma when it came to partnering up. Since then she had made it obvious that she wasn't happy, often calling him out to ask for his opinion or thoughts when it was most inconvenient, a mocking tone in her voice.
She knew he'd say something just to spite her, but then she'd bite right back after whatever it was that he said.
The woman was like a dog.
She'd go out of her way to invade his personal space by constantly 'bumping' into him or sharing the elevator on the way down to the garage. She'd make snide remarks about his appearance, often claiming him to be like a large bat because of his broody looks and 'gothic' wardrobe. He'd often overhear her talking about him to the others, saying things that'd make them laugh or snicker until a cutting look from him practically stopped them dead.
The woman was intolerable.
"Amon?" It took him a few seconds to register where the voice had come from. Looking to his left he saw Robin, her emerald gaze looking at him with concern.
"What?" He grunted as he turned back to face the road before they crashed.
"Are you alright?" She asked, clearly concerned about him though he could hardly figure why.
"I'm fine."
"But you're gripping the wheel so hard." She stated, causing him to look down at his white knuckled death grip around the wheel. Sighing slightly, he forced himself to loosen his grip and shifted his jaw, and old habit from his younger days.
"I'm fine." He repeated, idly aware that the young witch beside him was still observing him.
"Where are we going today?" He wasn't sure if she had switched topics on purpose or had simply picked up on his negative manner, but he was grateful nonetheless.
"There was another death a few alleyways down from the one a few weeks ago. It happened this morning so it's fresh and the police have already handed the case over to us."
"So the body is still there?"
"Is that a problem?" He had never known her to be squeamish over corpses, not since the bug incident anyways.
"No, I was just curious." She was odd, he had to admit, but she knew when to speak and when to be quiet with him; knew how to act around him, really.
He knew of someone who could benefit by taking notes.
Was he avoiding her?
No.
Was he simply getting the information he seeked another way?
Yes.
"Chara?" He peeked up from the file he was reading and watched as Robin approached the woman clear on the opposite side of the room from him.
"Yes?" She practically purred as she looked up from whatever it was she was doing.
"Amon and I found this at the crime scene this morning. We were wondering if you could read it." Chara quirked an eyebrow as Robin presented her with sealed zip lock baggie, the set of dice inside hitting one another softly. Looking over her shoulder at him she frowned.
"Not big boy enough to ask me yourself?" She asked with a smirk as his grip on the papers in his hand tightened to a point that the pages actually crinkled.
He glared daggers at her.
"Give 'em here, darling, I'll have something in a minute." She said holding out her hand for Robin to dump the dice into. For a few seconds the woman did nothing but just sit there and mindlessly roll the little red cubes around in her fingers. Time seemed to stop as her fingers froze and the dice came to a halt. Had he not been watching he would have missed the slight jolt her body gave before she practically fell forwards and scrabbled to grab a pen and paper, her hand working furiously across the surface. Briefly looking up to glance at Robin's expression he found her looking slightly surprised and amazed at what she was seeing. Frowning even more he dropped the file in his hand carelessly down onto the desk and made his way over to the two.
He had to admit it was quite a sight.
If Michael's hands were amazing then Chara's right hand was just simply incredible. Never had he seen someone write out so many words so quickly, let alone draw pictures that could resemble anything in real life. Half of the page was filled with words all crammed together in one never ending sentence until the letters got gradually smaller and smaller until they were just dots. After this the pictures began; pictures of blurred faces and street signs and places he had never been. The one that caught his eye the most was of an apartment building roughly six stories high and halfway falling down.
He had seen it somewhere before.
Seconds later Chara stopped; the action so abrupt it was as though someone had cut the power to a lamp. He watched as she slowly put down the pencil and pushed the paper away from her, her hand shaking noticeably as she took a few deep breaths before pushing herself up and out of the chair and holding onto the desk for support.
"There ya go, mate. Have fun." With a small toss the dice tumbled across the desk and seemed to take an eternity to land. By the time they came to rest he had already looked over his shoulder to find her gone.
Alrighty then! Ch. 2 down and...I dunno...more to come? Let me know what you think and I guess we'll see how it goes! REVIEWS AND COMMENTS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED. :)