Hey everyone, it's good to be back. Well my vacation sucked (a lot) but that's neither here nor there. Anyways, here's my A/Ns for this chapter:
1) Don't own WHR of course!
2) When Vira went on vacation, she missed the new eppies of Inuyasha and Wolf's Rain! If one (or more) of my lovely reviewers could be SO KIND as to tell me what happened basically, I promise to add an extra amount of fluffage in the next chappy. =D
3) My computer is STILL broken, and so the website has yet to be updated. Sorry…
4) When I go down to the review button thingie there's this thing that will allow you to recommend the story to others or whatever. Does anyone here know what exactly it does? I'm confuuuuused!!!!
…That should be all. And now, here's the next chapter for this story. Hope you guys like it!:
Determining what is right and wrong can either become a simple task or a hard decision. To some, the correct path is not as clear as one might think. Some things cannot be seen with light. This is the simple truth one must learn to face.
The Christmas break had come and gone quickly and soon they were back at the STN-J training facility. A bad snowstorm had hit the city, and so for three days the building was actually shut down. It was then that two things happened to Robin: she received a terrible cold, and the word from Sakaki had been passed down to her—the group was about to meet again. Instead of his house, this time it would be in an empty warehouse, which happened to be near the Factory. From the way the message was given, Robin had deduced that this time they would actually be breaking inside of it. The whole thing was rather daring—but it was a risk she was willing to take.
First though, it was back to training. Sakaki had insisted that they would wait for one more day of practice to sharpen the skills that may have dulled slightly after the long break.
She walked into Amon's classroom with the determination to start practicing immediately. She sneezed suddenly from her sickness.
"You have a cold." He murmured from his desk. Amon looked at her over the computer screen. "You should…see a doctor for that. Around here, it can become serious if not treated."
Robin smiled gently. "Thank you—I will." She gave a slight nod and he went back to his typing.
"Robin, come on!" Yuma shouted to her from the training equipment area. "Let's start practicing already!"
"Okay, I'll be there in a moment…" She turned back to Amon. This was as good of a time as any. "Amon, I need to talk to you about…something…"
He looked up from the screen again, and Robin noticed his expression had shifted a little. "Yes?"
She wrung her fingers within her hands for a small moment. "Um…well, you see-"
And at that precise moment, his cell phone rang. He gave her a quick look that was meant to say 'we can continue the conversation after this call if you want' but Robin sadly shook her head and walked over to the other end of the room.
"We're going to try it tonight." Yuma whispered to her. "Sakaki said this is the perfect day for it—the budget manager will be stopping by to inspect things, so security will be pretty busy focusing on that. Are you ready, Robin?"
"Yes, I'll be fine. I still can't believe, really, that we're going to do this…"
Yuma shrugged. "It'll be worth it—to find out finally what's in the Orbo, I mean…"
Robin began to set up her customized candles. That was what she had been using for her practice equipment. "…What time will it all start?"
At this point Kazuko and Tsutomu had walked up to them. "I hear we'll be going over to the Factory right after Sakaki finalizes everything." Tsutomu whispered. "And that should be when training ends and everyone has arrived."
"Some people might back out." Kazuko added. "After all, if you're caught in the Factory…" His voice trailed off. He didn't need to finish.
Robin's eyes swept around the room. Roughly half of the craft users in the room knew about what was to happen. All in all, there was herself, Kazuko, Yuma, Tsutomu, Steven, Maeko, Kazumi, Elijah, Atsutane, and Melissa. Each were very handy with their crafts in different aspects. For the most part, they appeared to be confident in their capabilities—but the Factory was not to be underestimated. Therefore, they were still on edge.
"At any rate," Tsutomu said, "We should try to keep our minds off it until then and concentrate on our training instead. Agreed?" The other three nodded solemnly and turned to their respective practice equipment.
But Robin had remained worried. Somehow, in some way, something was bound to go wrong…
She was at home, in the comfort of her familiar surroundings. After talking to her grandfather for a little bit, Robin ate the dinner with him. She was just finishing up cleaning the dishes, when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" She called. But Juliano had already dozed off in his seat. Robin shook her head, and, upon opening the door, gave a sudden gasp.
"A…Amon!" Her eyes widened, and in her shock she almost closed the door on him. "What-!"
"-No time." He looked around the front yard suspiciously and then went inside. "I need to tell you something…before it's too late."
She studied his expression—it was serious enough. "Yes?"
He leaned against the wall. "I know what it is that Sakaki and Doujima are planning. But I don't think that any of the other STN-J staff members know…yet. I overheard them talking together in the hallway. For all I know, Zaizen might have heard about it as well. If he did, you would be quick to realize it when breaking into the factory. For your own sake, you and your group should not go in there." His eyes softened, saying 'I don't want you to get hurt.' It was only for a second, but Robin had perceived it nonetheless.
She gave a slightly anticlimactic sneeze. "…Fever." She whispered hoarsely. She blew her nose with a handkerchief before answering. "…Why didn't you go directly to Sakaki instead of meeting with me?"
"Because-" Amon stopped himself. He stared at the window for a moment. A raven flew by.
Normally Robin was quite excellent at perceiving feelings, but for him she could not. 'Could it be…?' But she stopped herself from finishing that thought—it was not possible, after all.
"…Because he will not listen to me." Amon finished. "I am a member of the staff and work with Zaizen. I cannot be trusted. But you are a student, and a fellow comrade. He is more likely to listen to you than me."
Robin thought about this for several moments, and then managed to mutter an "oh" from her lips. Amon looked at her for a while, expecting more, but she said nothing.
He cleared his throat. "…Well then, if I will have your assurance that you'll tell him, Robin, then I'll leave now."
"Amon…" She whispered suddenly. "It…it needs to be done. We need to find out…who…and why…to Sakaki, it's worth the risk."
He stared at her. "No, it's not. It's not worth your life."
"Well, I will talk to him, at least."
He nodded, and then left somewhat reluctantly. She stared out the window quietly. The raven was gone.
"Is everyone here?" Sakaki tapped against the desk sharply with his knuckles. "Quiet everybody, quiet."
Gradually the chatter died down and everyone looked up at him.
"…Good. Now then, like I was saying, is everyone here? Doujima, give a quick head count, okay?" She nodded happily.
'This'll be a good time to talk to Sakaki.' Robin thought. She slipped away from her friends and walked over to him. She sighed. 'Well, here goes nothing…' "Sakaki?"
He looked up at her. "Oh. Yes, Robin?"
She glanced at the ground. "Um, well I think there's something that you should probably know…"
His expression remained unchanged. "Yeah?"
"Well…you see, I have good reasons to believe that Zaizen knows what we're up to. If it's true, we're in trouble."
His eyes narrowed. "Yes, he'd be the last person I want to know about it…this isn't good…" Sakaki scratched his chin for a moment. "…Tell me Robin, who told you this? Or did you discover it yourself?"
She bit her lip. "I found out myself."
"…Interesting." He replied. Then he smiled suddenly. "Well, try not to worry, Robin! We'll be extra careful now." He turned to leave.
Robin shifted uncomfortably. "But-" She stopped herself. Sakaki was no longer listening, and was already back with Doujima, who had finished the head count just now. She sighed, and waited for the rest of the time with her friends.
The air was very cool. Fortunately there had been no snow so far. They crept along some hedges and soon, all twelve of them were face-to-face with the Factory's doors. Earlier on they had been handed the uniforms used by the Factory for the vans that would take the witches. Robin still wasn't entirely sure how they had managed to get these, but she supposed either of them had the right connections they needed. In any case she thought it best not to ask questions about it.
"Dock Number Three." Sakaki whispered to them. "One of the guards is usually asleep and the other had only been here for two days. Easy." He nodded to Doujima. "This should be in your area, Doujima."
She winked. "Yep! Just leave it to me, everyone!"
They walked over to the said dock while trying to look as unsuspicious as possible (which was one of the hardest tasks in of itself—Factory van drivers, after all, didn't normally group by the dozen). Once they reached their destination, Doujima coolly strolled up to the guards for the gate. As predicted, one was asleep. She smiled politely at the other, even though it could not be seen directly from the mask.
"Excuse me? Helllooo!" She called brightly. The guard that Sakaki had mentioned about earlier was indeed new. He sat up and looked at them from behind the window curiously.
"Er, sorry about my partner over here." He apologized. "Anyways, what d'yall want? A dozen van drivers, this is unusual…"
"There have been several calls for us tonight." She answered sweetly. "We need to report in now."
He nodded. "Okay, just give me some sort of security clearance…"
"Right!" Doujima fished around in her pockets. "Here you are." She handed him some sort of card. Robin mused for a second about how Doujima could have possibly obtained such a thing.
"…Guess it checks out. You can proceed inside." He looked at the rest of them. "I'll have to see some ID from them, too…"
Doujima's manner had changed abruptly. "Look, we don't have time to go through everyone, okay!? Are you new here or something!? Zaizen needs to speak with us right away! It's very important that we speak to him immediately!"
The man blushed the type of blush that could have only come from a person new on the job. "Z-Zaizen—I…I didn't mean…g-go on ahead, then…" He lifted a lever and everyone hustled inside.
"Okay everyone, we can take our suits off now." Sakaki mumbled through the hallway. They nodded and gradually peeled off all the material from it. Robin breathed a sigh of relief.
"Okay everyone, here's the plan…" He pulled out a piece of paper. "This is where we are." Everybody crowded around as he pointed to a spot. "There should be an elevator up ahead and to the right. It'll take us underground—where all the real activity takes place. I think we'll need to make two trips for all of us. I will go in one and Doujima in the other. There we'll discuss the next step of our operation. Alright?" Everyone nodded. A chill ran up Robin's spine suddenly. "…Good. Move out!"
They raced down the hallways and soon came to the intended elevator "It's too easy." Robin said aloud. "There must be some reason for this. We haven't even seen anyone in the hallways."
"Remember Robin, the budget manager is coming over here." Yuma whispered to her. "Everybody around here will be busy from that."
"Yes, but…still…" Robin sighed. "We'll see."
Yuma stared at her. "Hey, cheer up! You're acting like we're in trouble already!"
"We already are." She mumbled under her breath.
Sakaki stopped in front of the elevator. "Okay, I'll go first, with…Maeko, Tsutomu, Steven, Kazuko, and Melissa. Doujima can take Kazumi, Atsutane, Robin, Yuma, and Elijah. Everybody hear that? Once we reach the bottom, I'll pull out the map and we'll go from there."
He punched the down button and the respected people he mentioned filed in. Once again a wave of uneasiness settled into Robin. She glanced down the hallway. After a few minutes the elevator came back up. Doujima nodded to them and they went inside.
"This way."
Sakaki had led them down the corridor. Soon they came face to face with a huge, bolted door. He scanned his eyes among them.
"…Tsutomu." He murmured finally. Tsutomu gulped and stepped forward nervously. "Tsutomu, I trust you'll be able to break that door down." Sakaki smiled.
He glanced at it. "…Yeah, I think I can." He walked over to it and pressed his hand to the door gently. Suddenly, three powerful waves shot out and contorted the bolts that held it together. They broke off easily.
"Good work!" Sakaki said excitedly. "Now here we go." He pushed the door open, and upon doing so, an alarm went off somewhere. He swore angrily and turned to them. "Hurry, we don't have much time! Grab whatever you can and get out of here!"
They scrambled around. It was a lab, and there wasn't any witches or scientists in it. Just papers, machinery, and chemicals in little tubes. Robin spotted an old notebook to the side and grabbed it quickly. "Let's go!" Sakaki cried.
"Where!?" Melissa shouted.
"There is another way out of here! It's a secret escape route in case of an emergency! C'mon, I'll show you!" They nodded and ran out of the room.
They flew into what appeared to be a closet, when in reality it was a large chute-type exit. "Kazumi, some light." She nodded and suddenly the place was full with it. "Atsutane, create a barrier around us. This might turn into a rough ride." An instant later there was a clear barrier formed around them. "Okay everyone, hang on…" Sakaki punched in some buttons and they flew up.
"…You're really lucky, you know."
The chute had led them about a quarter of a mile outside of the Factory, and the group had quickly dispersed. "We'll meet later! Bring everything you found!" Sakaki had shouted to them before everyone had disappeared. Robin ran up the hill, and found him waiting there. Somehow, they both knew.
"I can't believe how well planned out they had everything. We managed to find some data to bring back." She smiled.
But his frown had remained there. "You were almost caught."
Robin sighed. She didn't want to see him half-heartedly scold her like this. Suddenly, she sneezed. "S…Sorry." She reached for her handkerchief.
"…Here." He handed her a clean one from his pocket. He opened his mouth, as if deciding whether to say something. She looked at him expectantly.
"…I have a friend who had an effective recipe for such colds like yours. It's not too far from here. Have you ever heard of a place called Harry's?"
Review Responses:
My-Immortal666: Yep! You will see a LOT of it in the next chappy, promise!
Artistsdream2004: Thanks! That's been the general idea, lol…
Haruya: Ahhh, don't kill me…well there was a small amount of fluffage in this chappy but for a lot there will be in the next one!
Wake-Robin: Arigato! Hope you'll be able to read more!
Yuna of Paradise: Oh man, my favorite anime…I really can't decide, they're all good in their own respects. But if I HAD to pick one, that would go to Rurouni Kenshin, because Kenshin's such a sweetie.
Trekgirl01: Yes, of course there will be! =D
Gundamwinggirl: Yep, the big fluff chapter will be the next one!
Goth Musician: Haha, I guess I did…well I suppose everyone knows her, especially since she just came out of the hospital, lol…
Chii-chan: Haven't heard from you in awhile! Thanks for reviewing!
Yuna of Paradise (again): Ew, cousins? Sorry, I don't wanna think about that…
DenimGirl: Hehe yeah I always thought they make a great couple from watching the show.
Waterdevil: I can help you actually. Go to my webpage and there's a nice little tutorial on how to make a good fanfic with lots of reviews. You should go take a look!
Seed-of-Flame: lol, don't worry! Amon and Robin will get together soon enough! =D
Speaker for Psychopaths: Haha yeah a lot of people seemed to like that chapter…I agree too, summer jobs suck…
FlaminIcePendulum: Heh heh, I had no idea about that! Thanks for explaining, though I don't think I'll be using that term…
lurid-eyes: Well I hope a week is fast enough…
theUniverseBeyond: Aw! I hope your mom makes a fast recovery! And yeah, I like the whole Sakaki/Doujima thing. Hehehe. =D
deadly-kiss: Hehehe, I take it you like the story so far?
Well that's all for now. MAJOR FLUFF IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! I promise!!! And I'll try to hurry up the next update too, though it won't be easy. But I'll try! Anyways, R&R! Arigato, ja ne!