A Walk in the Park
Summary: Getting to know her. Post-"Stubborn Aesthetics."
Rating: G
A/N: This is the one I've been dreading – after figuring out how the series changed Miho, I get to backtrack and write her as she was in the beginning! Please tell me what you think – it's the only way I can make this better! Constructive criticism equals better writers, which equal better stories ... which make for happier readers.
For Misora, who gives wonderfully helpful feedback (and whose fic is amazing!)
I'm not sure what to think about that girl.
On one hand, I've seldom enjoyed an afternoon with a coworker more. I'm not used to spending time with other young women – who has time, with this job? It's been my life since I was her age – and Robin was surprisingly pleasant company. Quiet but kind, and with "sincerity" written in every word and every motion. It's obvious that the child is eager to fit in here, and anxious to do well. Still, she seems a bit off-balance in her new surroundings.
The fact that Amon is keeping her at arm's length certainly doesn't help matters. I've worked with him long enough to know about his distaste for Craft-users, but his behavior around Robin puzzles me. It's almost as if he's evaluating not only her powers and fighting technique, but her trustworthiness and mental stability. He's the team leader. It's his responsibility to know each of our strengths and weaknesses, in order to use us most efficiently. Still, he rarely concerns himself with a Hunter's personal problems, as long as we do our jobs.
That part of the deal generally falls to me. I'm the only other S-class Hunter here, and more or less Amon's second-in-command. My unofficial job is to keep us working smoothly as a team, which means understanding each Hunter's personality and how he or she thinks. Sometimes that's easy, as with Sakaki – adrenaline addict, impatient, a fighter. Other times it's nearly impossible – case in point: our enigmatic leader. Most of the time, though, scrying combined with a certain amount of natural insight into the way people's minds work usually lets me get a pretty accurate idea of someone within an hour or two.
So, what's my impression of her? She's certainly dedicated to her job. The Italian branch of Solomon doesn't mess around when it comes to training Hunters. If they sent her to us, it's because HQ was confident in her abilities and her ideology. Otherwise ... she would have been Hunted.
Her power is certainly formidable, and rather unnerving. If she made a mistake with her aim, she could incinerate someone in the blink of an eye. She could destroy buildings, trains, cars and their passengers ... if she ever came unhinged, it would be a nightmare. If she lost her focus or her control slipped, even for a moment – I can understand why Amon is concerned. A rogue Hunter with that kind of power would be nearly impossible to contain and defeat.
As for the child herself ... Robin is still a mystery. There's an innocence about her, a kind of naivete about the world and the evils it contains. It's clear to me that, though she's seen what Witches can do, she still grieves for each one we Hunt. I would have expected a master Craft-user to be ... harder. More cynical. Instead, she has the sensitivity of a child, and the insight of someone much older.
But the thing that really catches in my throat is how eager she is, how anxious for us to accept her. Alone in Japan ... the girl wants friends, not just coworkers. Amon's coldness seems to genuinely hurt her. It's as if – she's incapable of anything except complete honesty, so she has no armor. No defenses.
If so, that child is going to have a hard time here. I shouldn't say this – it's unprofessional – but my heart goes out to her.