Hey everyone! I'm still pretty sad, but I'm gradually starting to get over the loss lol. ^___^ I'm glad so many liked my last chapter! As always, I don't own any part of WHR, and here's the next update:

~~~***~~~

Dreams are only what our imagination conjures up during in slumber. They are…an illusion. But sometimes a dream can be a key. A key to understanding. A key to comprehension. A key…to our lives. This is the simple truth one must learn to face.

He led her to his car and together they climbed inside. Robin peered around. The car looked to be fairly new. She certainly wasn't surprised at his choice of color—black seemed to be his favorite. 'A mysterious past…' She cited in her mind from her studies. She would have loved to find out what exactly that past was. However, that would've been extremely rude of her, and so Robin asked nothing about this.

"Where do you live?" His voice interrupted her thoughts. Amon's hair fell downward and she couldn't see his face. His emotions right now…hidden from her.

"Oh…um, do you know where the chapel is?"

"I don't-" Amon stopped himself. "…I've never been over there."

"That's fine—I'll just show you the way I guess."

He nodded. Amon pulled out of the parking lot and drove away from the hospital.

An awkward silence began. Robin was afraid this would happen from the moment Amon made his offer. 'I need to say something…' She thought desperately. But what? Robin barely knew the guy. And besides, he didn't look like he was one for much conversation. Millions of helpless thoughts whirled to her head again.

"…Now where?" Amon asked, once again breaking her away from that which she had been thinking.

"Huh? Oh, right…" She blushed strongly. "Turn left here. When we come to a T-shaped road, turn right and past the lake. It'll be there."

"Okay." He said monotonously. They continued down the road.

Robin thought of an idea suddenly. Of course! She had missed a day at the STN-J training building. "Amon, did I miss anything important in your class today?"

He glanced at her. "Each of the students began to practice on the different equipment given to them for each of their individual crafts. Then I explained to them the importance of leaning how to control their power in preparation for the final exam at the end of the year."

Robin looked surprised. "…Final?"

Amon nodded. "In each of your classes there will be a final at the end of your training. If you pass, then you become a full-fledged hunter. In my class, you must undergo a customized trial according to your craft. You have the whole year to prepare for it." Amon's tone had transformed into the voice of a teacher. Robin didn't like it very much.

"Oh, I see." The car fell to silence once again.

~~~***~~~

They turned down the road and past the lake. The scenery was peaceful here. The hills gently rolled over the landscape and the clouds rested quietly in the sky. Soon the car came to the chapel, and next to it, Robin's home. Amon pulled in through the driveway and looked around casually. Robin wondered what he thought of it. Was he surprised? Or was he expecting something like this? There was no way of knowing.

"Well…here we are." Robin said quietly.

"Yeah." Amon replied blandly.

"I…don't know how to thank you. Not only did you save my life and help me receive medical care, but you also drove me home."

"It was nothing."

Robin sighed. Why was he like this? Was this the real Amon? Or was it just a shell he hid under? Robin knew somehow there was more to him than this. 'There must be a reason Amon never opens up to anyone. And I…I will find out why. One way or another, I will help this man. It can be my way of repaying him for all he has done for me. At least it will be…something.' Robin's face formed into a determination like no other.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow in your class, then. Thank you very much, and goodbye."

She hesitated. It was only for a moment, but she knew Amon could see it. Robin glanced at him. His fingers were gripped tightly on the wheel and he was looking straight ahead. But Robin knew he had undoubtedly perceived her uncertainty in leaving. She blushed a little. She was sure he wanted her to leave already and be done with it. Robin imagined that he was quite annoyed with her. She was also sure that the atmosphere of the chapel was making him slightly uncomfortable.

And so, Robin smiled gratefully and left the car. She took a key from her pocket and unlocked the door to the house. When she glanced back, the driveway was empty yet again.

~~~***~~~

"Hello, grandfather! I'm home!"

"Robin? Is that you?" Juliano came out from behind a corner and smiled at her. "It is you. I'm happy that you're back. Did you remember to buy my medicine from the store?"

Robin smiled. Her grandfather suffered from short-term memory loss. Nobody really knew except her, his doctor, and the nuns. It wasn't Alzheimer's or anything life-threatening like that, but nobody could explain or cure his condition. However…he had the best long-term memory Robin had ever seen. Her grandfather was able to recall things that had happened half a century ago. This was very useful…except for the one thing she wanted him to recall the most: what her mother was like. Whenever Robin would ask, he would immediately change the subject to something else. Sometimes…she wondered if her grandfather was really as forgetful as he made it out to be. Maybe…he just wanted to forget. To discard the past. But that theory was shot, considering the fact that he suffered from short-term memory loss, not long-term. In fact, by the way he was looking at her, Robin could tell that he was totally unaware of what had happened in the last 24 hours.

"Um, no…I didn't have time to buy the medicine for you. Sorry, grandfather."

He coughed heavily for a few seconds. "…Eh, that's okay. You can bring it home tomorrow, right?"

She nodded. "Don't worry, grandfather…I promise I'll stop by after training is over."

"Yes. Now then…" Juliano clapped his hands. "What will we be making for dinner today?"

~~~***~~~

Robin turned off the faucet and slipped gracefully inside the spacious tub. The moment she dunked her head in, her golden strands twisted away from each other and spread out joyously. She sighed peacefully and surfaced. The water felt wonderful against her skin and soothed Robin tremendously.

She reached for the soap and began to undo all the knots within her tired muscles. She and her grandfather had made a wonderful dinner and ate with the nuns. Unlike Juliano, the nuns had heard what had happened to her the previous day, and were very happy to see Robin safe and sound. All through this, it had to be explained to her grandfather. Robin didn't like putting anything stressful on his old mind when it was unnecessary. 'It doesn't really matter.' She thought. 'He'll forget when he goes to sleep anyways. There's not much to worry about.'

Robin lathered up some shampoo and put it on her hair. Along with the nuns, she had made it herself with the things they grew in the garden. To most people this would seem disgusting and horribly primitive. However, she knew the exact mixture of everything needed, which she had learned during her disciplined studies. She absorbed the different plants and their uses inside of her brain, which she tried to put to use as much as possible. The nuns were most impressed with Robin's ability to learn everything SO quickly, and so they taught her even more. This was all in a span of three years, which was the length of time Robin had moved and lived here. No one had ever thought of bringing her to a real school, and she learned only from them.

Robin looked lazily out the window after lying down comfortably for a few moments. A raven flew by and perched on top of a branch in her view. It stared back at her with big black eyes and then flew away again.

…Black…

…Black hair…black clothes…a black car…

……Amon……

He was the most unusual man Robin had ever come in contact with. Amon…the name did something to her. 'I want to help him. I must help him.' His mask could fool most people, but it would NOT fool her. 'Although he appears to be uncaring toward everything, I know deep down Amon is a really nice person. He is…trapped…in the past. Something happened long ago that made him this way.'

Robin smiled softly as she thought about his charitable act of taking her home. Most people wouldn't have spent so much time on a single student, especially considering the fact that any other teacher would be much angrier with her for being so reckless. And then of course there was when Amon had saved her from the fire. Robin saw his eyes as she stood amongst the flames—the mask had been lifted temporarily and for a fleeting instance he showed fear…fear for her life. It was unmistakable.

"Why wasn't he angrier with me?" Robin asked herself. "I shouldn't have done what I did. It was a stupid thing to do. Don't I get any sort of punishment at all?"

She sighed, rinsed out her hair, and stepped out of the tub and into her room.

~~~***~~~

Robin sat down on her bed. She was unbelievably tired. Before going to sleep however, she took out a notebook from under the mattress and opened it up. Robin began to scribble down a few words—her reflections on what had happened in the last day or two. She wrote about the first day at the STN-J, her meeting with Yuma, Tsutomu, Kazuko, and later on, Doujima. She recalled the test she took over hunting, the fight with Akahito, her time at the hospital, and…Amon. And with that ending thought, Robin slipped the notebook back inside the mattress and went to sleep.

~~~***~~~

She dreamed. She dreamed that she was walking through the hallways of the STN-J training building. They seemed to stretch endlessly and twist in millions of confusing ways. "W-Where am I going?" Robin asked aloud while looking around. "None of these rooms look familiar to me. What's the point?"

"Get to class, young lady." Robin turned around to see Ms. Karasuma approaching her,  looking at her crossly.

"But…But I don't know where my class is!" She cried. "Amon's class! How do I get to Amon's class?"

Her teacher sighed in exasperation. "Didn't he tell you? Amon doesn't want you in his class anymore—he thinks you're too reckless of a student. I'd try to forget about him if I were you."

Robin's eyes widened in surprise. "What!? That can't be! I can't leave his class…he needs me to help him!"

Ms. Karasuma rolled her eyes and laughed. "You? What can YOU possibly do to help? You're just a student!"

Robin reddened. "W-Well…I…"

"…Exactly."

After a moment of thinking she sighed. "…Fine. Come with me, young lady…" Ms. Karasuma started down the hallway. Robin followed eagerly. "We'll go to Amon's classroom and you can see for yourself."

The two turned a corner, and lo and behold, the door to his class had appeared there magically. Robin turned to thank her teacher, but Ms. Karasuma was gone.

"Where…?" She shrugged and turned back to the door. After pausing to take in a nervous breath of air, Robin extended a hand outward and pulled the handle. It swung open, and inside was…not what she was expecting. "What IS this?"

Instead of the desks, chairs, and training equipment, there was a sofa, door, and a set of stairs. She was in some sort of living room. As Robin walked in to investigate further, she noticed suddenly there was a boy sitting on the sofa to the side quietly.

"Oh! I'm SO sorry for my intrusion, but-" Robin stopped and stared at him. Suddenly, she understood. 'He can't hear me.' She realized when the boy made no response. 'I must be invisible or something.'

Her thoughts were interrupted when the doorbell rang suddenly. A woman appeared out of nowhere and went to the door cheerfully. Just as she was about to touch the handle, she hesitated for an instant and looked at the boy.

"Amon, have you finished your homework yet like your brother?"

Robin's eyes widened. "Amon? That boy is Amon!?" She squinted for several moments.

…Yes, she could start to see the resemblance. He had the same hair and the same shape of the face. Only…only there were some notable differences as well. He wasn't wearing black. His hair was neatly cut, and his eyes—yes, there was no mistake—his eyes were gentler somehow…innocent? Perhaps. And even though he looked years younger than her now, it was plain to anyone that Amon was mature for his age.

The young Amon sighed and pulled out a notebook, scribbling math problems down. The woman, who Robin assumed could only be his mother, smiled and turned the handle to the door. Robin walked over to her and looked over her shoulder curiously.

"Good evening." A voice said from behind the door. Several faceless men where standing there expectantly. "You already know what we're here for. Come quietly and there won't be any trouble between us, understand?"

The woman nodded knowingly with no surprise at all. "My fate is not in my control." She answered with determination.

"…What's going on, Mommy?" Little Amon asked her from the sofa. His eyes shined with fear. "Who are those people?"

She smiled at him. "Don't worry Amon, Mommy just needs to leave for a little bit to talk with these gentlemen, okay? Keep doing your homework."

One of the men stepped forward after noticing Amon. "…He's a descendent, isn't he? The boy comes with us."

Amon's mother gasped in terror. "N…No! You wouldn't! You…can't!" She blocked the doorway. "I'll come, I'll come! Just please, leave him alone!"

Amon stood up. "What's going on!? Where are they taking you!?"

His mother turned to him and forced one last smile. "Don't worry about me, sweetie. Now go up to your room and do your math problems there, okay? Just leave this to me…" She stepped outside.

The men bowed their heads and whispered to one another. "…Fine." One of them said after a moment. "The boy may continue to live in the outside world. But you need to come with us, ma'am…"

"Mommy!?"

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I'll go now…" She turned to Amon and waved. "Goodbye, Amon. Be a good boy, okay?" And with that, his mother closed the door. She was gone.

"NO!!" He shouted. Amon ran to the door and watched as she sat down in a car and allowed the men to drive her away. His fingers scraped the doorway desperately for a few seconds, and then they slid down. Amon choked a wordless scream.

Robin didn't know what to do. She reached out to try and comfort him, but he didn't feel her touch. "I want to help!" She said sadly. Robin looked over the room. "What can I do…?"

She straightened up. "Enough. I want to leave." Her eyes lit up, and the sofa was set ablaze. "…There. Try to forget…" The world faded into darkness, and Amon with it.

~~~***~~~

Robin sat up in her bed to the noise of her alarm clock ringing.

"A dream…it was just a dream…Amon's past…is that what really happened? His mother was taken away? Was she a…witch? Does that mean that…he's…?" Robin frowned in thought. What did it mean?

She decided not to dwell on it any longer, and rolled out of bed to start the day.

Review Responses:

ryan rowin: Nope! They have no special powers; they're pretty much ordinary humans.

Wake-Robin: *sad* yeah so am I…well thanks for the review!

Lara1786: Lol yeah poor Amon! Well don't worry, he'll set his feelings straight soon enough.

ran:Witch hunter:class-b: *shrug* That's fine, but in this particular fic he has no powers.

WindSorceress: Yeah I hate rushed fics too. They leave a lot out that could've made it really nice. Anyways, thanks for the review! ^_^

Trekgirl01: Hehehe, well you know what I'd REALLY like is if Amon could not control himself in front of me! =D

Bana: Lol, well keep trying! It'll come to you eventually! ^___^

Haruya: Heh, I don't know about this particular chapter but it'll come soon enough, plenty of it! I promise!

Youkai Yume: Gaah, noo! It's crap! Crap I tell you! __ lol well I've been reading your WHR fic and I must say it's going quiet slow lol. But I understand because you're probably very busy and stuff, so yeah…

mE: ^_^ Thanks! Hope to see you again!

aishiteru_91421: *blush* Thanks, but there are quite a few good WHR fics on here! You should check them out! ^__^

aishiteru_91421 (again): lol yeah, that's the way most people like it…

aishiteru_91421 (again): Glad to hear it! Keep reading then! ^_^

aishiteru_91421 (again): Heh heh, yeah that's quite cute IMO…

Cat: Yeah I honestly can't believe they did that…well I'm sure they'll put it back on eventually though, ne?

Gundamwinggirl: Well you know, there are episode summaries on the web, I'm sure you could find out what happened so you won't be in complete despair! (I know I would lol) ^___^

darkfire19: Lol, no I don't believe so, but thanks!

BikouWitch: Same thing I said above, there are summaries and such that you can read to find out. Quite useful!

aishiteru_91421 (again): Yeah, everyone seems to be sad over that…well thanks for the encouragement! =D

Kagome Of Spring Dances: Hehe yep! I luff Amon. Keep reading!

Aki Tari NAI: lol yep! Amon's so much better when he's soft heh. Robin will melt his heart yet! ^_^

row: Thanks for viewing the fanart in my site! ^__^ Yeah I agree they're quite good.

Rose Shadow: Hehe, pillow fluffiness…=D

Little Natsu: Yeah I guess I can forgive them with the new episodes. *pout*

Speaker for Psychopaths: ^_^ Arigato! Hope you keep reading!

Musiq-Mistress101: lol, yes she has a grandfather and yes those will meet up soon…I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Stephanie Leug: *confused* Um, there's nothing going on between those two, they're only friends and sort of partners in hunting. Sorry if I left that impression, I didn't mean to! ^__^' And I'll try to read that story when I have the spare time…

Thanks for the reviews everyone! Made my day! ^__^ Meanwhile, here's a nice update for you, ne? I'm starting to be able to forgive CN, but ONLY because of the new Inuyasha episodes and I'm in love with the new anime called Wolf's Rain. Tell me if you like it too! I hope I'm not the only one lol! Still though, it'd be nice to have it more than just once a week…*sigh* anyways, R&R! Arigato, ja ne! ^______^