I'm so sorry its taken me a year to update this. Dx so much as been going on here that I just haven't had the time. V.v But! Heres the next chapter anyhow, as short as it may be. ^^ please review! Make sure to read my first WHR fic as well.
The room went dead silent. Nobody had heard from Dojima since they investigated earlier that day. Everybody in the room exchanged glances, Maori included; and then all eyes were on her, except for Amon. He was still muddling around in the briefing room. She would shift uncomfortably where she sat, her golden gaze fixed on the floor.
"Maori…do you know anything about her disappearance?" Robin asked her quietly, taking in Maori's body language. Robin could tell she was uncomfortable with the question, but it had to be asked. She would turn her head a little to glance at Sakkaki, who stood there on the opposite side of the room, arms folded tightly over his chest. She had the feeling he was anxious about something.
Maori shook her head, letting out a sigh. "No. I know nothing about this." She said quietly in her musical voice, lifting her head to look Robin straight in the eyes. In that moment, Robin felt the most despair she had ever felt. It was as if she was feeling what Maori was feeling. Or so she assumed. Robin herself had nothing to be anxious about.
"She disappeared after I had run into you." Sakkaki said coldly, trying to hide the sympathy in his voice, the discussion he had months back still replaying in his mind. He could not let go of the fact that she was being used and blackmailed into everything. Yet there was still something he couldn't put his finger on. He wasn't sure if it was fear or distrust. "I hardly call that a coincidence."
Karasuma sat quietly with Michael, trying to decipher what her next move would be in this. She had to sigh softly and stood up. "Okay. We need to stop acting like children. If Maori was going to kill us, do you think we'd be standing here right now?"
That seemed to have triggered something in Sakakki. He couldn't keep quiet about this anymore. "She needs help. Her own Coven wants complete control over her." What he said must have been serious, Amon appeared at the doorway to the briefing room.
"How would you know?" He questioned Sakakki coldly, eyeing Maori accusingly. Maori herself seemed to withdraw from what was happening. It was all unfolding in front of her and for some reason; even Robin felt impending doom. Robin's expression softened and she would get out of her seat and move towards Maori, patting her shoulder comfortingly.
Sakakki felt like biting his tongue for opening his mouth, but it needed to be done. "Look, shes not the one we need to worry about. In fact I'm sure she knows about Hiroshima and what happened in the aftermath in those pictures. That's why shes here." Amon did not like what Sakkaki was saying one bit. No matter what was said or proven, he refused to trust her very presence. "You are gullible." Amon retorted, his voice thick with anger. "If you believe anything a succubus says, you're no better."
"Excuse me. But Dojima is still missing and Maori is right here. If what Sakakki is saying is true, then Maori can help us act on this and find her. We're not dealing with Witches anymore remember? These are vampires. Nothing like what we're used to and we need to tread carefully here. She can help us." Michael jumped in, rather tired of petty arguments.
Robin continued to sit by Maori, mostly ignoring what everyone else was fighting about for the time being. "What do you remember about Hiroshima?" She would as quietly, fighting off the feelings she was getting from Maori indirectly. Robin knew Sakakki was telling the truth, Maori was different than normal vampires.
Maori did not look at Robin, nor did she answer her question right off the bat. "I was there for the slaughter. The dead ones in the picture are not human. They were vampires as well but of different clan. We're at war." She told Robin, bringing her gaze back up to hers. "Sakakki is aware of my position. He'll have to tell you more. However I can't be here too long. Whatever you people need me for, it has to be done soon."
Robin nodded, that same despair and anxiety sweeping over her from looking at Maori straight in the eye. In that moment, Robin had figured out part of Maori's ability. She could make a person feel whatever she was feeling. "I understand.." Robin mumbled, thinking for a moment.
Robin then stood up herself, getting everyones attention. "Maori might be helpful in locating Dojima." She announced and gestured at Maori who sighed softly.
"If they followed me here, they know I'm doing something among the STN and needed bait to see if they're assumptions are true." Maori explained the best she could, trying to keep her voice at a tone that wouldn't make everybody go loopy from listening to her.
Amon shook his head for a moment. "Who is 'they'?" he demanded, taking a hostile step towards Maori. She would bare her fangs at him threateningly and let out a warning hiss at him.
"Look, if you're going to take that tone with me, I'm not going to deal with you and they can have her. Got it?" Maori said, basically demanding respect from him. "You were the one who had to seek me out for this. You better damn well lose the attitude."
Never in all her years at the STN had Karasuma or Michael heard anybody stand up to Amon like Maori had. Amon had even backed off from her; his face as unreadable as a statue. "As I was saying. My clan has a specialized team to take on covert activities such as kidnap. I suspect they have her as leverage to see if I'm feeding information to you. Originally I was sent here to wipe you people out because your focus shifted from witches to Vampires. Our existence was meant to be secret and unknown to anyone."
When she was done, Karasuma felt like collapsing, as did Robin. Her voice was just intolerable when she was threatened. "So…what do we do from here?" Michael asked, helping Karasuma sit back into the chair next to him, covering her ears protectively. "We don't know exactly how to fight these things."
"About the only thing you can do now is let me handle it." Maori said, "I'll have to teach you what kills them and how to do it." Robin had noticed by looking at her at few minute intervals that her skin was changing colour. It was getting paler. All of a sudden she didn't feel safe sitting next to Maori and shifted to move away from her. Maori's voice began to get quiet again, but something seemed tobe happening to her.
Amon recognized what it was. "You need to feed, don't you?" He asked, as if he already knew the answer. Her gaze fixed on him now. He barely flinched from it, simply staring at her intently.
Maori would stand up once again, wandering towards him slowly, step by step; getting quieter by the second. Sakkaki's hand drifted down to his gun, not liking the direction this was going in. "Maori…stop…" he said firmly, reaching one hand out to stop her by her shoulder.
That seemed to be a mistake. She instantly bared her fangs again and lunged at him. That same instant Robin let out a scream and 2 gunshots rang out and echoed in the room. Maori stopped just short of tearing into his flesh not only with her fangs, but claws as well. Sakakki was in pure shock. He fell backwards onto the floor and scooted back as far as he could from Maori.
Maori seemed to be frozen where she stood, 2 gunshot wounds to her torso. At first they seemed to have no effect on her, her still coming at Sakakki, only much slower; her eyes completely obsessed with coming towards him; and then she stopped, gasping for breath and sinking to the floor, the bullet wounds 'smoking' a little before she collapsed on the floor completely.
Robin could not believe what she was seeing. She glanced up at Amon who made the shots; his gun still pointing at Maori's still body. "Shes not dead." He would say, finally holstering his gun again. "Michael, get her restrained and pull out the bullets."
It took a full moment before he moved, eventually working up the courage to move Maori's body out of the room to a more secure area. "Sakakki, go with him." Amon ordered, gesturing for him to move it. Sakakki himself was still trying to catch his breath and reluctantly stood up.
"Theres no way I'm going near her." He told Amon, shakily putting away his gun that had fallen out of his holster when he fell backwards to the floor. It had all happened so suddenly. She seemed so civil, so human like that he forgot what she really was. A ruthless killer.
"Go." Amon simply said, his voice getting more frustrated by the second. Sakakki couldn't argue with him anymore and exited the room, his foot steps sounding rather angry as he made the attempt to keep up with Michael. Amon's attention moved to Karasuma and Robin. "We don't have time to waste. Dojima is in danger."
"Amon…" Robin trailed off, too late in catching his attention for the time being, forced to get up and follow him. Karasuma hadn't said a single word since he pulled out his gun and shot Maori. She refrained from violence as much as she possibly could.
Robin could tell how tense everything was now. This became very serious. "Amon how do you know where to go?" She asked, keeping stride with him down to the underground parking lot. He didn't respond to her. Robin stole a glance at Karasuma, who appeared to be rather disturbed by everything that had happened that day. Nobody seemed to be working like a team anymore.
He wordlessly got into his car, Robin automatically getting into the front seat next to Amon; just barely getting the door closed as he pulled out. Karasuma right behind them in her own car. "How do you know where to go?" She asked him again, assuming he'd be more likely to answer her when they were alone.
"There is a warehouse that's apparently being used as a tire bay not too far from here. I did the research while the rest of you were talking to Maori. If what shes saying is true and Dojima is leverage for them to keep tabs on Maori, if she had come with us or gone alone, that would have been the determining factor of whether Dojima lives or dies." He explained as thoroughly as he could, watching the road in the dark, driving the best he could at the right speed. Robin finally understood. Amon was waiting for Maori to do that so she would be put out of commission so they could rescue Dojima. If Maori had come with them or gone alone, all she had to do is say that Dojima was nothing to her and that would be it…they would kill Dojima.
Then Robin had a sudden realization. Amon wasn't using his gun. He had a different barrelled gun that he used to shoot Maori with. "Amon… Where did you get that gun from?" She asked, shock finally wearing off enough for her to think about it more clearly.
"Vampires can't handle silver or holy water. Bullets are made out of 100% silver alloy and cooled with holy water. They might not kill her, but they will slow her down for a while." He told her, almost casually at that. As if he'd known that the whole time and just didn't mention it to anybody. For a split second, Robin felt like they had a fighting chance against them.
However, either way she looked at it, Dojima was in danger. She could even be dead now as they drove there. Robin now felt genuine anxiety. Had they waited too long?