Hey everyone! Thought this would be a good time to start my Witch Hunter Robin fic. My Sess/Kag story is wrapping up and now I need something else to work on…so I made this! Before we begin, some A/Ns:

1) I definitely do NOT own Witch Hunter Robin, but man that'd be cool…

2) Although the current rating for this is PG-13, that may change to R depending on which way I wish to take with this story. Just as a heads up.

3) As my readers know from my other fanfics, I update my website with the new chapters whenever I update. Normally I put the unedited version of the story on there (ie- for a lemon) so you can alternatively go there as well to view this story. I also have fanart and other things on there, so check it out! ^____^

4) I'm currently looking for a good beta reader or so to read this story and make any changes as you see fit.  If you're interested in helping me out with this story, contact me via review or e-mail. My only requirement is that you MUST have at least one story that has at the bare minimum an average of 10 reviews per chapter. If you qualify, tell me!

5) Lastly, if you're confused about anything while reading this, PLEASE don't hesitate to ask me! I'm always happy to answer questions.

I think that's all for now. And don't worry lol, most of my chapters won't have that many A/Ns in them. Well now that we have that over with, here's the first chapter to the story! Enjoy:

~~~***~~~

The heart is a fragile thing. It is the center of a being…yet it can break so easily. A weak heart will be consumed by regret and bitterness, but a rightfully strong heart will live on. This is the simple truth one must learn to face.

Amon walked into the STN-J classroom quietly. It had been unused since last spring. Well, now it would start over again. New faces he was unfamiliar with; new names he had to learn. It was the same thing every year in this place.

It wasn't really a traditional classroom. True, there was a chalkboard…desks…windows…chairs…but he had no real use for them. They were only one section of the room—the rest was just a training area. Different items were brought in earlier; customized to each of the student's abilities. Copper wires for the boy with the electrical craft. A small pool of water for the girl who could control liquids to practice on. A kid who had the ability to smash rocks…now would have plenty to work with.

So, this wasn't a real classroom…it was a training area for potential hunters. And Amon was expected to teach them about it and help the young craft users to wield them properly. But the reality was, how could he? Every student was different as he had learned many times, and so was their craft. How could they expect him to know exactly what it was like and what they were going through? Regardless of this however, he was about to go through the same process again in about an hour.

Amon looked at his checklist. Was everything here? He scanned down the pages carefully. No…no, this room was missing its supply of Orbo. Of course—the key element to the whole ideal. But how could headquarters have forgotten about it? Surely they must've made extra precautions to bring it.

He had always despised the thought of using Orbo in his classroom. True, there were many safety hazards within having a dozen or so craft users in the same room at once. But it had always been implied by Solomon that that you could never trust these students completely. One of them could be a witch…one of them couldn't be left alone. This veil of suspicion had, without fail, always fallen upon the classroom ever year. He needed to watch them carefully, for any…signs.

It was then that he remembered—there had been a key on his desk. A note attached said one word: 'closet.' Amon picked it up and walked over to the specified place. The key fit, and as he had expected, there lay the missing Orbo. He picked a box up and set it down near his desk.

It wouldn't be needed today.

Amon sat down and glanced through the list of names again. He had never heard of any of them, but that was probably for the best. There were some interesting crafts this year, he noticed. Some would be difficult to control and maintain, but headquarters seemed to think he was up for the challenge.

He heard the class's door open suddenly. "…Amon?" A voice called. "You in here yet?" He looked around to see a head peer through, glancing in the room for him.

It was Karasuma. She was an instructor here as well, only not for the actual training, but rather just a regular teacher. She taught the concept behind becoming a hunter—why they used the Orbo, how witches could become potentially dangerous to society, and the different ways a person's power could surface after years of staying dormant in the body. Although Karasuma was only 19 she showed a definite sign of becoming the best instructor in the facility. But she also served another purpose with her job…Karasuma was an unofficial counselor for the students. She was the only person among them who had an abnormal ability herself…the ability to feel emotions—perfect for a counselor. Many times students would come to her for advice. They had questions about their crafts, which she would try to answer.

Amon nodded and motioned absently for her to come in.

"Amon, there's going to be a short meeting before the lessons begin. All the instructors are required to attend, so…"

"I see. That's fine—I'll be there shortly." She nodded and left.

So that's how it was, then. Amon put the list down and stood up. He had forgotten for some reason about the traditional meeting held in the coffee room for instructors the morning before the students would arrive. Kosaka would give a short speech about what he expected this year for both trainers and potential craft users. Amon wasn't looking forward to it; the same way he hadn't been for years now. He knew there was a hidden message behind it…'don't screw this up, we need the funds.' He sighed in annoyance and walked out of the room.

~~~***~~~

Amon walked into the coffee room and was immediately handed a drink from Hattori. He took it grudgingly and sat down. Everyone arrived one by one. Karasuma and Hattori were already there, of course. A few more instructors came, and then Nagira, his half brother, entered cautiously. Anyone could tell that, much like Amon, he didn't want to be here. He sat down in an annoyed way and waited. "At least this will be over with soon, eh Amon?" Nagira said without looking at him. "So many years, but this'll never change…"

Amon glanced at him. "You could say that." Nagira was the trainer specifically for the potential hunters who had no craft of their own. Morally he had always opposed the hunts, but that sense of righteousness had changed for the most part when a witch with telekinesis had killed one of his friends from high school, among others, in a subway accident. Nagira never really spoke much about it but Amon could tell that it had changed him.

Next came Michael. He carried his laptop in an exhausted way and sat down with a cup of coffee. He had probably been up all night again. Michael was a fresh graduate from the last year of being here. He failed the actual training as a hunter but it was discovered he had another hidden talent, which was better—his skillfulness with the computer. Zaizen saw this ability and let Michael pass the course—certainly not as a hunter, but as a kind of security guard for the computer system. His job was simple: to make sure no one broke in, and nothing came out. A leak in information could cause the entire facility to shut down, and that couldn't happen. Michael opened up his laptop immediately and started typing.

Then there was Touko. Nobody really knew what she did. Touko took a bagel and stood off to the side. She was the person who made sure everyone else was in check, and as Zaizen's daughter no one really questioned her authority. Amon wondered if she honestly ever wanted to be here or if 'Daddy' had made her. Touko would help out wherever she was needed in the building. She also happened to be Amon's current attachment, though he was growing bored of her more and more as the days came and went. She smiled a little at him, and he nodded back to her.

Lastly came Kosaka. He cleared his throat to call attention to everyone. They looked at him slowly. Kosaka oversaw everything that went on in the training center, and it was his job to report to Zaizen all the things that went on during the day…both good and bad. If anything went wrong, he was normally held responsible regardless of the situation. Therefore, it came as of no surprise for anyone that he was always impatient and rigid.

"Is everyone here…? Yes? Good. Okay, before we get started, does anyone here have anything missing from his or her room? Chairs, practice equipment, things like that?" They shook their heads. "Perfect, then. It's a relief to know everything is running so smoothly." Kosaka glanced out the window. "In about another hour the potential hunters will be here, ready to learn about the art to capturing a witch. Most of you know the drill behind this, but for the newly added staff members this year we should go over Solomon's expectations for us again." He paused and looked at them.

"Our mission as instructors is simple: add new hunters to the STN-J in order to push back the growing number of witches here in this city. Some will use a craft, and others won't. Over the years I have learned that…"

Amon glanced at his watch. Already Kosaka's droning voice was fading away from his mind. It was the same old speech year after year. Regrettably, each time it grew longer and longer. He leaned slightly further into his chair.

"Kosaka never changes, eh Amon?" Nagira whispered. "Look at him—he's talking so urgently you'd think something had already gone wrong. Kinda makes you wonder how he would react if something bad really did happen."

"He doesn't want Solomon to pull funds." Amon whispered back. "If anything goes wrong we're shut down…no questions asked."

His brother shrugged. "One of these days his stress level will kill him…"

"…Which is the whole point of this program. Are you listening, Nagira?" Kosaka gave him an annoyed look. Nagira shrugged, with a look of amusement on his face. Kosaka sighed. "Oh, why do I even bother…none of you were listening anyways…" he mumbled. "I guess this meeting is adjourned. Everyone can go back to their rooms now…" He walked in a defeated sort of way over to the coffee machine and took a cup. By the time he looked up again from pouring it, everyone had already filed out.

~~~***~~~

"Amon." A voice said behind him. He turned to see Touko walking up to him. "Let's…walk around the building for a little bit. We have plenty of time, I think."

He knew inside he'd rather not, as Amon liked to be fully prepared in his classroom before the day would begin and the students came. But Amon nodded anyways, and together they walked down the hallway.

After a few moments Touko commented, "I'm glad that thing is over with. Everyone looked restless after just a few moment of listening to him. I hate those meetings of his."

"He does that so we know what is expected of us as instructors. We have our goals that we need to accomplish. Kosaka needed to tell the newcomers about everything in order to avoid later confusion. He was only doing his job."

Touko said nothing to this, and an awkward silence ensued. They turned a corner and saw that Nagira, Karasuma, and Michael were all gathered there, discussing a topic in the corner.

Karasuma smiled. "Hello Touko, Amon." The two nodded to her and they leaned against the nearest wall. She turned back to the conversation prior to their entrance. "So Michael, what exactly made you want to originally become a hunter anyways?"

Michael thought for a few moments. "Well, to tell you the truth hunting never appealed to me all that much. But…I had heard the STN-J has one of the best computer systems in the world, and I wanted to see it for myself. However, before I could do that I needed to pass the basic training here. But…I was never good with that stuff. Fortunately Zaizen saw my true talent and he allowed me to pass."

"Good to have you aboard, then!" Nagira said cheerfully. He gave him a hearty pat on the back. Michael coughed at the impact.

Suddenly Kosaka's voice could be heard on the intercom. "What are you doing? The students will be here in fifteen minutes! Get back to your rooms at once!" The five of them looked up to the camera on the wall eyeing them, with Kosaka on the other end. They walked away quickly.

~~~***~~~

Amon sat down in his chair. A quick glance at the window told him the students were beginning to enter the building. Their faces were bright…hopeful. The same type of expression he had seen many times at the beginning of the year. It was still the same.

He picked up a few papers on his desk in boredom and shuffled through them. At the bottom of the stack he noticed there was a note from Zaizen.

Amon:

            The Orbo for your room is in the closet, and you've probably noticed the key on your desk. This year we have changed policies concerning the Orbo. For the first week or so the potential trainers should not be exposed to it. They need time to settle in and learn more about what exactly this program does. They won't understand the importance of it yet, and may refuse to use it. So, we must wait a little longer. Keep your Orbo supply in the closet for now until I say otherwise. My order will come through Kosaka. This same message has been given to the other training rooms. Again, until my word is given, you are not to expose the students to the Orbo.

Amon tossed the message in the trash nearby and stood up. So that was how it was going to be, then. The box of Orbo he had taken out earlier was still sitting on his desk. Amon picked it up and placed it back in the closet.

Suddenly, he heard his cell phone ring. Amon rummaged through his pocket and removed the device. "…Hello?"

"Amon? This is Kosaka. I would do this over the intercom but some of the students are already in the building." Amon stared at the window again with indifference. "I'm calling all the instructors quickly just to double check things. I had forgotten to mention this at the meeting earlier this morning, you see…"

It was of no surprise.

"Amon, did you read the message left on your desk yet from Zaizen?"

"Yes, I did."

"Good, then you should know about the change of plans with the Orbo."

"That's correct."

"Excellent. I first heard of the new policy yesterday and, to me, it seemed a bit uncharacteristic of Zaizen. However, I'm sure he must have very good reasons for it, so we'll continue to follow his instructions for the time being."

"That's fine." Amon answered monotonously.

"Good. And I hope I'm not interrupting anything with this call? Have any students entered your room yet for the day?"

He looked to the door. "No, none so far."

"Okay. Well I don't want to trouble you any longer. I hope everything goes well." Kosaka hung up and Amon put the phone back in his pocket. He sat back down in his chair by the desk to wait.

~~~***~~~

Suddenly, he heard the door open and close quietly. Amon turned the chair around to see. It was a girl. She had her hair in tight pigtails with a black dress that comfortably reached the floor. Her long bangs lazily fell on her face and to the side. Her eyes were the most curious feature however, with a crystal green color that looked around the room curiously.

"Um…is this…the room used for training a craft? Room 106?" She asked him quietly.

"Yes, that's correct." He answered. Amon looked at her from far away at his desk. The girl walked delicately past him and set a sheet down on one of the desks designed for students.

She gave him a faint smile. "You must be Mr. Amon?"

He nodded. "There's no need for formalities. Just call me Amon."

"Oh…alright, Amon then. I'm not originally from this country, so I don't really know how different people like to be addressed here." She smiled a little again and sat down. The girl took out a book from underneath the coat she had wrapped up in her arms and began reading. Her eyes flew fast over the text, although she held it to her face abnormally close; as if she couldn't quite see it properly.

For a few moments they were all alone in silence. Amon wondered to himself what her craft was. She didn't look too dangerous on the surface. Why would she want to hunt? The girl didn't seem like the type, although her brow was set with a kind of determinacy that Amon did not yet understand. Again he wondered about her craft. He could've easily learned it too, by asking her about it or glancing down on the list once he knew her name. However, he would find out eventually anyways, so it didn't really matter. But then…

"My craft is the ability to create fire." She said, looking back at him over the edges of her book. How long had he been looking at her? Before Amon could respond, the door to the room opened once more, and the students began to file through.

This girl was very mysterious indeed.

Well? What do you guys think so far? ^_____^ Confused? Intrigued? Tell me your thoughts! R&R! Arigato, ja ne!