Chapter 2
confessions
"And so this is Asriel Lucindus, our newest member in STN-J. Er… he'll be working with us to help cut down the cases we have," Chief Kosaka said to the STN-J team. It was the morning after the Yoroshimu hunt and Robin's mysterious saviour was standing in the main office of STN-J, being introduced by the Chief. "As to how long he'll be working with us, well, it will be til HQ decides to call him back. Anyway, be nice to him and show him the ropes okay?" And with that, he went back to his desk and left the newly-assigned Hunter to the team.
"I'm Asriel, Asriel Lucindus, from the Italian branch. Nice to meet you guys," the new member said to the others. He was slightly tanned and had short, brown hair. His face showed sharp features, almost like a hawk.
"My name's Doujima, Hunter extraordinaire!" Doujima pushed forward, eager to meet the man, "It's rare we get cute guys in our team. I mean Sakaki's face is always beat up and Amon, er… he's Amon."
"I'm still here you know, and you don't even come to work on time," Sakaki said from his terminal. He had a dark bruise on his forehead from the night before. As he was chasing the witch, his leg slipped on the gravel and he fell into a drain, knocking his head in the process. The bump swelled, but no greater damage was done. "My name's Sakaki and I'm like the runner for the group," he introduced, extending his hand for a shake. "So I heard you saved Robin huh? Not many people can save our strongest Hunter here, you must be very powerful."
Asriel laughed and took the hand, his gloved one shaking it firmly. "Nah," he said, his tone embarrassed, "I was just in the right place, at the right time as they say. In fact, I should be honoured to have met such a beautiful lady at such an opportune time." Robin's cheeks turned faintly red from the compliment.
Karasuma laughed at Robin's discomfort. "Powerful and a hit with the ladies. You'll go far my friend. I'm Karasuma, one of the oldest members here," the woman said, waving from her terminal. "Don't you call me oba-san though, I'll shoot you full of holes with my gun."
Asriel gave her a smile and nodded. "And how about this gentleman here?" he asked, pointing at Michael's form, still busily typing on the keyboard.
"That's Michael, our resident hacker. He handles most of the information around here. He's indispensable," Karasuma answered.
"Yo," said Michael without turning away from the screen. Robin decided then to introduce herself.
"Erm…" she ventured, "my name's Sena Robin. And thanks again from saving me last night." Asriel looked at her, his large eyes locked onto hers. She felt that strange feeling stir in her heart again. What was it?
"I'm a very lucky man…to be in your presence dear lady," Asriel said, taking Robin's hand. "A very lucky man," he repeated and kissed it. Robin almost lost her footing as her entire body responded to that innocent peck. She could hear sniggers from around her and felt her face go hot. She snatched her hand away and took a step back from the man. Asriel was still smiling. He bowed and turned towards Amon's empty seat. "So where's the leader? Amon right? I don't see him anywhere."
"He's with Zaizen-san. Another one of those secret meetings again," Michael offered, eyes still on his monitor.
"Well," Karasuma said, clapping her hands for attention, "Since you're new and we aren't exactly on a case yet, why don't you and Robin head down to Harry's. It's a café we frequent. Robin can introduce you to the Master there."
Asriel looked at Robin. Her gaze was on the floor, her cheeks were all red. "A café huh? Sounds like fun. How about an early lunch Robin?" he asked. Robin merely nodded.
"Okay," Karasuma finished, "I'll call you if anything's up. Have fun then."
Harry's was busier than usual when Robin and Asriel entered. Robin walked towards the counter, her new partner lagging a bit behind, taking in the décor of the place.
"Robin-san! Welcome," the Master greeted as Robin sat at her usual spot at the bar. "The usual?" he asked.
"Uh-huh," Robin answered, "And Master, this person is the new member of STNJ--"
"Asriel Lucindus," the man said and reached his hand out to the Master, "And it's an honour to meet such a good friend of the organization." The Master reached out and shook the gloved hand.
"Ara…, it should be me that has the honour," he replied, "It's a pleasure to meet you. Why don't you take a seat and I'll get my specials out for you two. Excuse me." The Master bowed and went into the kitchen.
Robin turned towards the new member and smiled. "He seems to like you a lot. Not a bad first impression."
"Well… Headquarters have said that my inter-personal skills are good. Comes with the dossier I guess," the man replied, scratching his head comically, causing Robin to laugh at that sight and joke. "You become even more beautiful when you laugh and smile," he said, his green eyes intent on her face. The young Hunter caught his eyes and quickly looked away, her face turning red at the attention. "You're pretty even when embarrassed," Asriel pressed on.
"Stop that," Robin said half-heartedly, her eyes lowered to the ground. Asriel chuckled, amused by her shyness.
"I understand," he said and leaned back away from her, "I'll stop, I'll stop. Ah, looks like lunch has arrived just in time eh?" And he was right. The Master had just exited the kitchen, bringing two trays in his arms.
"Here you go. Two of my lunch specials. Hope you guys like it," the Master said, placing a tray of rice and grilled fish in front of them.
"Smells delicious. Thanks a lot!" Asriel replied, beaming at the Master. The man smiled back and nodded, before going back into the kitchen. "Well? Shall we?" he asked the girl. She nodded and he grinned, before sampling the dish. "Oh my, oishii! This is really good!" he exclaimed in delight.
"That's one of the reasons why we always come back here," Robin explained, eating a small carrot.
"Is that so? That's great." Quiet jazz music in the café filled in the silence between the two as they ate. "So tell me about yourself? You were transferred from Italy too right?" Asriel finally asked.
Robin picked up a glass of water and took a sip. "Was there all my life, under the church's care. Trained under HQ's eyes and then before I knew it, transferred here." She raised the glass to her lips again.
"What about your parents?" Asriel asked, "How did they take this?"
Robin froze for a moment, the glass she was holding hovering near her lips. "I…I don't have any...any parents. I never had any ever since I was born…" her voice trailed off and she took another sip of water. She could feel Asriel's eyes on her.
"I'm sorry, I really am," he replied after a pause. "But you know," he continued, "you're not alone in this. Many people grow up never knowing their parents." Robin did not respond. "I," Asriel continued, "I, never knew mine." The girl blinked at that, and turned towards him. "My parents died when I was a year old. It was a fire. I was the only one who survived. So I never knew them, can't remember a thing about them. So when the church found out I had the Craft, they took me in." He smiled, "Wasn't that bad, even if I had to face boring old priests everyday." He raised his glass of water and took a big gulp. "So I know how you feel dear lady. You're not alone in this."
Robin looked away, silent. "I'm sorry…for everything," she finally said, eyes facing front, "And thank you…for everything."
Asriel reached out and took her hand. Robin was startled and faced the man. "It's okay. I just want to let you know that you're not alone. I'm here. Every time," he said. Those words echoed in Robin's mind as she gazed into his green eyes, looking into her very soul. She felt afraid, and exhilarated as well and didn't even try to pull her hand away. Her heart was aching again, why? They were still mutually staring at each other when Robin's communicator beeped. Robin immediately snatched her hand back and searched her pockets for the device, cheeks flaming. She fumbled a bit to activate the communicator and stuttered into the mouthpiece.
"Ha….hai, Robin here. Karasuma-san? A lead on the next case? Okay, we'll be right there." She turned off the device.
"Trouble?" Asriel asked.
"Karasuma-san says she has a lead in the next case we have to do," Robin replied, getting up from her seat. "We're to meet her at the State Library. Apparently, the guy was sighted there. Come on, let's go." She turned to leave but her arm was suddenly grabbed. "Wha--"
"Wait, Robin. This may seem sudden but er… would you have dinner with me? Whenever you're free of course." Asriel's grip was firm, but not painful. His green eyes flared, demanding an answer. Robin didn't know how to reply and could barely reply.
"I…I don't know. I sup…suppose," she stammered unsteadily. Then she managed to recover a little and shook away the man's hold on her. "We don't have time for this. Come on, let's go, Karasuma-san is waiting." With that, she hurried out of Harry's. Asriel paused for a moment, then followed her, his lips curled into a smile.
Sakaki was impatiently pacing outside the State Library. "What's taking them so long? They should be here by now," he complained, glancing at his watch yet again.
Karasuma was sitting on the steps next to her restless partner, smiling shrewdly at his eagerness. "I'm sure they were held up a bit by lunch. The Master sure cooks up some very large fish you know." Sakaki stopped his anxious strides and glared at the older Hunter, then continued his pacing. Karasuma shook her head at that sight. Kids these days, she thought.
Just then, a taxi pulled up at the curb and Robin and the new Hunter alighted. Robin found her two team-mates waiting at the library entrance and waved. Karasuma returned the wave, amused at the two of them. "And a new couple is born," she whispered. Robin and Asriel hurried up the stairs and met up with the other two.
"I'm so sorry Karasuma-san! Lunch went on for a little while more than we expected," the girl blushed a little after saying that, "But we hurried as fast as we could!"
"It's ok, no problem at all," Karasuma consoled the apologetic girl, "We don't mind at all, do we now Sakaki-kun?" She glanced at her partner who instantly looked away.
"N…not at all! In fact, we just arrived! Haha…hahahahaha!!!" Sakaki laughed away.
"How was lunch? Did the Master treat you well?" Karasuma asked Asriel.
"It was excellent Karasuma-san. I really enjoyed the food…and the company of course," Asriel replied, looking straight at Robin, who immediately cleared her throat and tried to avoid his gaze.
"W..well, let's not go into details. We've got a job to do right?" Robin hastily said.
"We're still waiting for Amon. He's supposed to lead this investigation. And as usual, he's fashionably late," Sakaki said impatiently, glancing at his watch once more. The sound of a car parking at the roadside caught their attention. It was Amon's car. "Well then, speak of the devil himself. Our great leader has finally arrived," he mentioned as Amon strode out of his vehicle and up the steps towards them.
"Looks like everybody's here then," their leader commented, "Good. We'll be searching the library for information concerning Yuiichi Hasegawa. Yes, I know we don't need everyone for this one, but I also want you people to search the library for information regarding the Hand of God."
Robin thought she saw a range of emotions flicker across Asriel's face but when she faced him, he was just sporting a weird grin on his face, though his emerald eyes flared more than normal.
"Hand of God? Sounds like something from a movie," Asriel joked. Amon faced the new member. "Pleased to meet you Amon. I'm Asriel, the new guy. I've heard a lot of legends about you in HQ, so it's an honour to finally meet you sir," the man introduced, sticking out a hand to shake.
Amon simply looked at the outstretched arm before ignoring it and turning towards his unit once again. "Know the plan? Ok, let's get going then," he instructed before entering the building.
"Don't worry, he's like this all the time," Karasuma offered to Asriel as she went past the doors.
"You'll get used to it. Doesn't mean he hates you or anything," Sakaki said as he followed her in.
"Let's go," Robin urged. Asriel gave a wry grin before going in too.