For Dark Angel60, who's been real patient with me:D

Chapter 8: Walking memories

Back at the conference room on the fifth floor of Raven's Flat, Haruto tries to pay attention to what's being said and what's going on, but he's still somewhat in a daze. That his childhood hero, so to speak, is in the same room with him, and that he's actually working at a place that would seem unbelievable even to those kids who believe in aliens. He squints in the dimly-lit, high-tech-filled room, as another man joins them. He notices even Amon stiffens at attention, and figures this guy must be pretty important.

The middle-aged man in the business suit has a distinguished air about him, putting even Yurika's rich girl vibe to shame. In a dry but commanding voice, he says, "Welcome to STN-J. I understand you're Sakaki Haruto and Doujima Yurika," he looks at them each in turn. They nod, dumbly. "My name is TakumaZaizen, head of operations here at the STN. I trust Miho and Amon have told you what exactly we do here?" They nod again. "Good. Keep up the good work," and he leaves as silently as he came in.

The rest of the day seems like a dream, at least to the starry-eyed teen. It's like somebody told him he'd be skating on tour with Tony Hawk. He barely registers the fact that once everyone's been debriefed, Michael's already working on getting info for the next case, nor that Yurika and Karasuma are leaving for someplace called Harry's and dragging him with them, nor that he's sitting at some swanky coffeeshop. It's only when he smells food that he shakes out of his daze. "Man, that smells good," the young man smiles, "I'd forgotten about dinner."

Karasuma smiles back, as if an indulgent older sister. "Since it's your first day," she looks at him and the blonde girl, "I'll treat you both."

"It's okay," Yurika says, pulling out her purse, "I've got a credit card."

The brunette woman laughs. "The food isn't that expensive," she says, "and besides, the proprietor's a friend to the STN-J. He'll take care of us." She looks up as the man himself materializes at their table, passing menus. "I'll have the usual," she says, and looks at the teens.

The blonde girl purses her lips, but Haruto, having briefly perused the plastic menu, closes it and looks up in anticipation. "I'll have a Coke, three sandwiches, and a cheesecake," he finishes.

Yurika blinks. "You sure you'll have enough room in your stomach for all that?" she asks as the older girl laughs again.

"I'm starving," Haruto shrugs. He hands his menu to the tall man in the skirt-like apron.

"I'll have a café au lait and tiramisu," the blonde girl says, "some of us have to watch our figures."

The boy raises his eyebrow. "What figure?" and is swatted with the menu. "Hey!"

Yurika sniffs haughtily, sitting up straight. "I'll have you know the women in my family marry highly," she says, "I come from a long line of beautiful women."

"If you say so," Haruto mutters, and is swatted again. "Will you quit that?"

The proprietor snatches the menu away, the corners of his lips twitching up. "I'll bring your drinks in shortly," he says in a light, if slightly rough, alto voice, and leaves.

The blonde girl sticks her tongue out. "In no time, I'll have a chest as big as hers," she points to Karasuma, who sighs, embarrassed.

"Yeah, right," Haruto rolls his eyes, then rubs his arm after she punches it. He's getting tired of being the whipping boy, so he stands and sits in the empty chair, putting Karasuma between himself and the high-strung, slightly violent girl. "Miss Karasuma, hope you've got padding under that suit jacket. Yurika packs a mean punch."

The dark-haired woman sighs again, seeming ages older than himself and Yurika. "Have you seen Amon before?" she asks, changing the subject.

Haruto blinks. "What do you mean?"

The Craft-user turns her full attention on the boy, and he feels like squirming in his seat. "I can't read minds, but by your reaction earlier, it seems a logical conclusion."

He shrugs. "It was a long time ago."

"Oh, so is that why you wanted to join the STN-J?" the blonde girl asks, leaning forward, her blue eyes wide. "I wondered why a skater punk would want to be a part of a classy outfit."

"I'm not a skater punk," the teen glowers under his shaggy dark hair, crossing his arms. "Not any more."

Yurika gives him a tolerant look, while the older girl intervenes. "How exactly did you and Amon meet?"

Haruto doesn't answer for a moment. His dark eyes wander towards the window, seeing the cars reflecting the streetlights, their own headlights flaring past like demented fireflies. "He saved my life. A witch was causing earthquakes, killing my friends, but Mr. Amon saved me just in time. A whole bunch of people swarmed the area, but they weren't cops. I wanted to know who they were, who nearly killed me, and then I found out about the STN-J." His eyes slide back to the two women, whose eyes are now nearly identical in size, and smiles. "School's gonna be really boring after this."