Chapter Three - Shot Down in Flames

It had been three days since Amon had arrived in Japan. The time that was not spent stalking Robin, eating, or sleeping was spent at Harry's. Sometimes, he would end up eating or stalking Robin there. As it was, he sat with his customary bottle of sake, sitting at a table in the back of the restaurant. He usually sat there, watching as people came and went. Usually, the people that came or went were the members of the STN-J. Amon might not have even known they were from STN-J if his brother hadn't managed to procure some pictures of them. Currently, Amon was the only customer. He sat with his forearms resting on the table, both hands cupping his little sake cup, which was dwarfed by them. He simply stared into the clear liquid.

Amon and Tenchou were on friendly terms, but they rarely talked about anything more than the weather. The hunter refused to talk about his work with anyone other than his brother. Beside that, he didn't know if he could trust Tenchou, and for Amon, trust was a very large issue. Since he was a witch, he didn't need Tenchou informing the STN-J about his presence. It was risky enough just being here all the time. One of them was sure to notice him eventually and become suspicious of his presence.

He looked up when Roland entered. The field leader of the STN-J had his black overcoat draped over his arm. He was wearing a pair of black dress slacks, a black shirt, and a silver tie. Everything about him seemed to speak of order. His hair, while long, was pulled back into a neat ponytail. He wore a goatee, neatly trimmed. To Amon, he seemed like the kind of guy that organized everything. He probably had his clothes sorted by color and his socks neatly knotted.

Roland draped his coat over the back of a chair at the bar and sank into it heavily with a sigh. Tenchou immediately came to serve him. Roland spoke with Tenchou softly in accented Japanese. Amon could tell that he was fluent, but Japanese obviously wasn't his first language. Tenchou put a glass in front of him and poured something into it. Roland nodded appreciatively.

As Amon watched him, he wondered what kind of hunter he was. He was probably meticulous in both planning and execution. He would assign each of his hunters a task and expect them to do what he had assigned them. There was no doubt in Amon's mind that Roland would be a formidable opponent for just about any witch, but most especially the inexperienced ones.

If Roland had noticed that Amon was staring at him, he didn't show it. He simply sat in his chair at the bar, slowly downing his drink. Long day, Amon thought.

He redirected his gaze when Nagira strode in. He wasn't wearing that ridiculous coat of his, for which Amon was silently grateful. He nodded to Tenchou, who gave him a small smile and nodded in return, before he joined his brother at the table.

"Thought I might find you here," he said as he sat down. He already had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Amon could tell it had been recently lit. Nagira took the cigarette out of his mouth and blew smoke out. "Tenchou isn't a bad source of information, you know," Nagira said, looking back toward the barman. "He sees and hears a lot."

Amon scowled. "It might have been nice if you had told me," he muttered.

Nagira laughed. "I didn't think you'd end up spending so much time here," he said casually, leaning back in his chair comfortably as Tenchou brought him a drink. "Thanks," he said. Tenchou nodded and returned to the bar. "I spend a fair amount of time here, just not recently," he said.

"I see," Amon replied. He drank down the sake in his cup. "There isn't much I can do during the day, so I end up here, running up my tab," he said dryly. Nagira chuckled. Amon shook his head. "I've been able to find out a lot about her." He dropped his voice so as not to be overheard by Roland.

Nagira shook his head. "So you're still bent on confronting her?" he questioned. Amon merely nodded. His older brother sighed, deciding not to say anything. Amon had made up his mind, and there was nothing he was going to be able to say to make him change it. Instead, he drank his drink, downing half of it in a single gulp.

Amon observed Roland standing and waving to Tenchou. He then left the restaurant, leaving Amon and Nagira alone with the barman. Tenchou was attending to dirty dishes.

"You've been stalking her, huh?" Nagira said out of the blue. Amon nodded. "So you're hanging out here because she hasn't gone home yet," he surmised.

"She comes here sometimes, before or after work," he explained, pouring himself some more sake from his bottle. Nagira nodded. The brothers spent some time catching up, with Nagira complaining that Amon hadn't come by since he stormed out of his office two days ago. They talked until Robin showed up.

"Well, I'll leave you to your work," Nagira said, finishing his drink. He put the glass on the table along with some money and left the restaurant jovially. Robin had seated herself at the bar and Tenchou had brought her some espresso. Now she was talking to him softly. Since he was all the way in the back of the room, he couldn't hear exactly what she was saying.

He put his cup down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and bringing his hands up to his face. It didn't particularly matter to him that he couldn't hear what she was saying. Whenever he saw her talking softly to Tenchou like this, he couldn't help but think that she didn't seem like a hunter. Somehow, it didn't matter that he had seen her in action.

He stood up, putting money for his own drink near Nagira's. Slowly, he left the bar, looking over his shoulder at Robin as he did. As if sensing the weight of his gaze on her, she looked up at him, emerald green eyes meeting steely grey ones. She held his gaze until he had to look away so he wouldn't run into a wall.

He left Harry's, still thinking about the way she held his gaze until the very end. Many people were intimidated by his simple appearance. The fact that she hadn't backed down meant something to him. The corners of his mouth, usually downturned, lifted slightly into a very small, nearly unnoticeable smile.

---

It was nighttime. Amon stood alone on a balcony across from Robin's apartment building was. Right across from her apartment to be more specific. He stood, forearms resting on the brick barrier, gazing at the large windows with their blinds drawn. He stood here on many nights, watching and waiting. Waiting for what, he wasn't sure.

To his surprise, she came out onto the balcony, clad in a simple black T-shirt. Her hair was down, blowing around her face in the breeze. She rose a hand to push it back, leaning on the balcony, gazing into the night. Amon thought Robin looked different with her hair down. She looked more her age. For some reason, he thought she looked a little older when her hair was up, despite such a seemingly childish hair style.

The wind stopped blowing, her hair settling around her face. He also thought she was pretty with her hair down. Not that he didn't think she was pretty with it up. He scolded himself for thinking about that. Robin was fifteen. He had convinced himself that he wasn't attracted to her, and he was going to hold himself to that. His brain was screaming something about him being an old pervert.

She stood there for a long time, gazing into the night, seemingly deep in thought about something. Amon watched her despite the fact that she didn't even move much. He had been stalking her for the past three days, observing her doing everything. He had seen her ride to work on her Vespa, watched her eat at Harry's, and when he could manage, watched her on hunts. The only thing he hadn't done was stoop to the level of watching her through the windows of her apartment, although he did wonder what she did when she wasn't working or at Harry's.

Robin turned and went back inside, closing herself off from his view. He turned around and decided to go back to his room and call it a night.

---

As always, he was greeted by a cold, dark hotel room when he returned. He turned on the light. The bed had been made while he was gone. Everything was as clean as it was every night when he finally returned. He would leave shortly after awakening and showering. He would get breakfast at Harry's, sometimes seeing Robin there as well. She never seemed to eat any breakfast. He didn't know if she ate breakfast at home or if she simply didn't have time to eat anything.

He hung up his coat in the closet adjacent to the door. He didn't bother checking his e-mail. Since he had come to Japan, he and Nagira either conversed in person or spoke to each other on their cell phones. Since Nagira was the only person that sent him e-mail, he knew he wasn't missing anything important. The only downside of not checking his e-mail was that he was sure the spam was piling up. Secretly, Amon suspected that Nagira had been responsible for all the porn advertisements. He shook his head and got ready for bed. He went into the bathroom and splashed his face with water and brushed his teeth. Then he went back into the room, turned off the light, and climbed into bed.

---

As a boy, Amon had lived with his mother in a small apartment. His father, he knew, had been a witch. He left them when Amon was only two years old. The boy didn't even remember his father's face. His mother often told him he looked much like his father, but that didn't really help him to know what the man looked like.

His mother was beautiful to him. She was about average height and had long, brown hair and hazel eyes that often sparkled mischievously before she would sneak up on him and attack hug him. Her face often held an easy smile. Amon always thought he looked nothing like her, but she insisted that he had inherited her nose. He used to laugh at that.

While they weren't rich, they weren't really poor either. His mother had a decent job that would pay the bills and put food on the table. Amon hadn't always gotten everything he wanted, but he was really just happy that he had his mother. She would work during the day and be home by the time he got home from school. She would make dinner and they'd eat together, talking about their day. He had been happy then.

On that fateful day, he had been doing his homework at the kitchen table. His mother was washing the dishes, humming to herself. He was content, as he often was. He glanced up at her from his homework, and when she caught him looking at her, she grinned. He grinned in return. That had been his last happy memory.

There was a sound outside the apartment, like people gathering outside. Amon's mother looked up, suddenly worried. Amon looked at her, also becoming worried. "Amon. Go to your room." She turned off the water. He was about to protest, but then he saw the look in her eyes. She looked frightened. He got up and did as his mother told him.

He only heard what happened next. The door was kicked in. He heard gunshots, then men shouting and screaming. Amon opened the door a crack and peeked outside. He could see his mother. Her back was to him. She was breathing heavily. Then he saw a man enter. From his vantage point, he couldn't see the man's face. He looked tall. He walked slowly, deliberately. Amon didn't know what he did, but his mother screamed and fell to the floor.

More men entered the apartment and the man looked to them. "Search the place for the boy," he ordered. Amon shrank into his room, closing the door behind him softly. He had to escape somehow. The men were going to find him. He didn't know what would happen if they did, but he was certain it wouldn't be good.

He desperately looked to the window as he heard footsteps approaching. They killed his mother. If they found him, they would probably kill him too. He went and wrenched the window open. They were on the second storey. He was willing to risk jumping out the window rather than being found. He scrambled out the window, not bothering to try to take anything with him. He was about to drop when the door opened. The men were coming through, holding guns. His eyes widened and he let go.

It hadn't been a gentle landing, that was for sure, but once he recovered his breath, he scrambled to his feet. The men were looking down at him from his bedroom window. He didn't wait around. He ran as fast as he could until his legs were tired and sore. Unable to run anymore, he dropped to his knees. That was when the realization that his mother was really dead hit him. He began to cry. He sobbed so hard that the force of it wracked his body. He trembled violently, curled up upon himself.

He heard someone approaching. His head snapped up and he saw someone that had never been in his dream before. She hadn't been there when it happened, but she was here now. She walked toward him slowly. She was wearing a dark red overcoat over a black pilgrim dress. His brain recognized her instantly. Her hair was drawn into two strange pigtails and she had brilliant green eyes.

She stopped before him and knelt in front of him. Without a word, she drew him to her bosom and held him as he cried. She gently pet his hair and whispered to him soothingly.

---

Amon awoke with a start. Sitting up in bed, he held the blanket to his chest, which heaved as he gasped and panted. He was covered in a cold sweat. He leaned forward putting his face in his hand, feeling tears streaming from his eyes. Amon hadn't cried since the day his mother died.

He wasn't sure how he had found his half-brother. He had known Syunji since he was young. It was almost like his mother had been preparing him in case her worst fear came true. He had just . . . known where to go without even thinking.

Disheveled and all alone, Syunji's mother had known what had happened and took him in. Amon had refused to speak for three months. Syunji was with him the whole time. His older brother had taken care of him. He was the one who had drawn him out of his shell. At first, Amon had refused to eat, but eventually ate if Syunji brought him food.

Eventually, Syunji had drawn him out of his silence and his room. They were inseparable. When Amon's Craft had awakened, Syunji had been there for him. Syunji even helped him learn how to control it. They made it a game. Syunji had even helped him train to become physically stronger. They played football together. They would run. Syunji would help him lift weights.

When Syunji went to law school, he had remained in close contact with his younger brother. When Amon had told him what he wanted to do, Syunji had told him that while he didn't approve of it (or think it was very smart), he would help him in any way he could.

These days, Amon tended not to think about how influential his brother had become in his life. He couldn't deny that he loved his older brother. They were still close, even having gone their separate ways. It was something that Amon rarely thought about or even admitted to himself.

Amon got out of bed and padded to the bathroom. He took off his pajama pants. Covered in sweat as he was, he felt disgusting, so he showered. Once he had finished, he put on a pair of slacks and went over to the chair at the table by the window. He pulled the curtain back and sat down, grabbing his cigarettes and taking one out. He lit it and stared out the window.

What he wanted to know was why Robin had appeared in his dream. Did she really remind him so much of his mother. His eyebrows knitted together and he frowned as he smoked and gazed out the window. What's more was that he had really felt comforted by dream-Robin holding him against her, whispering to him softly.

"What the hell am I getting myself into?" he wondered aloud. He wanted to know why he was so fixated on her. He felt inexplicably drawn to her, and it bothered him greatly. He sighed heavily, exhaling smoke as he did. He sat alone in the darkness of his room, thinking, wondering what Robin's dreams were like. He hoped they were more pleasant than his dreams.

When the sun rose, he was still sitting there by the window. He was on his fourth cigarette. He smashed the butt in the ashtray and stood. He silently put his long-sleeved black shirt on, not bothering with the shirt he normally wore over it. Once he was dressed, he left his room and went to Harry's.

He was surprised the little restaurant was open so early. He saw Tenchou at the counter as always. The barman looked up upon his entry and smiled. "Don't you think it's a bit early for sake, Amon-san?" he asked.

"Yeah," Amon replied as he sat down at the bar.

"Would you like some breakfast perhaps?" Tenchou asked.

"Yeah," Amon replied. "I don't really care what," he said before Tenchou asked. The tall man nodded and disappeared into the back. He didn't even notice when Karasuma Miho entered. She sat a few seats away from him, not even really paying him any mind. She didn't have any reason to after all.

Tenchou came out and set Amon's breakfast of miso soup, rice, grilled fish, and green tea before him."Itadakimasu." Amon remembered his Japanese table manners enough that he held his rice bowl as he ate his rice and drank his soup. When he was finished, he placed his chopsticks on the chopstick holder and rearranged his dishes to how they were laid out when Tenchou brought them to him. "Gochisosama deshita," he said.

Tenchou cleared away his dishes. Amon sat there for a while, thinking, before getting up to take a walk.

---

Robin rode home slowly. She was tired. They had a hunt that day, and the witch had nearly gotten away because Sakaki had lost him. Fortunately, she and Roland had found him. Now all she wanted to do was eat something quickly and sleep. Lately, she hadn't been getting much sleep because Roland would either call her in the middle of the night or early in the morning. These days, she was often so exhausted upon getting home that she wouldn't even make it to her room. She would just collapse on the couch and sleep there. She didn't think Touko liked it when she did that.

She finally got to her apartment building, and once she parked her Vespa, she went inside and rode the elevator up to her floor, leaning heavily on the wall. When the door opened, she exited and went over to check the mail. She was surprised to see that there was mail there, and then she remembered that Touko would be gone for a couple of days. She took the mail and headed to her apartment. The prospect of a bath and sleep were very appealing to her.

She took out her key and went to unlock the door, when she saw that it was slightly ajar. She put her key back in her pocket. Touko was gone. She was certain of this. Slowly, cautiously, she opened the door. Touko's shoes weren't present. Robin slowly put the mail in the umbrella stand between her and Touko's umbrellas and cautiously stepped farther into the apartment, feeling apprehensive.

The apartment was completely dark, save for the sliver of light coming from the hallway outside the open door. Robin didn't bother turning on lights as she went farther inside. Although her eyes hadn't adjusted to the darkness, if there was an intruder, it would be harder to see her in the dark, even if his or her eyes had adjusted to the darkness.

She entered the living room and saw the silhouette of a man against the windows. He was rather tall and had a broad build. Other than that, she couldn't make anything out. He was standing casually, hand in his pockets. Her eyes widened as four large icicles formed around him and suddenly flew toward her. She narrowed her eyes and her fire shield came into existence.

"A witch?" she whispered to herself. He attacked again and again, his icicles dissolving against her shield. It felt like the temperature in the room had dropped.

"I'm a hostile witch," a deep, male's voice said, piercing the silence. "Why don't you retaliate?"

Robin's eyes widened. "Who are you?" she asked, straining her eyes to make out more details.

"Answer my question," he replied.

"I . . . I'm not the type that attacks first and asks questions later," Robin replied, bewildered. The man chuckled. It sounded rather cold to her. She shivered involuntarily.

"Isn't it obvious that if I attack you, I mean you harm?" he asked.

Robin wondered if he was toying with her, asking her these questions. "Not . . . necessarily," she said uncertainly.

The man stepped forward and drew something out of his pocket. Robin tensed up until she saw a flame sprout from it. She relaxed. It was a lighter. He held it up so the flame illuminated his face. She gasped. "You're that man from Harry's," she realized. He nodded. "Why are you attacking me?" she questioned.

He didn't answer. Instead, he flipped the cap of his lighter over the flame, extinguishing it. "I have to say that it's nice to finally meet you face to face," he commented casually.

Robin blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Why don't you turn on a light? I won't harm you," he suggested evasively. Robin slowly moved to the light switch and flipped it, illuminating the room. She saw him standing with his hands at his sides. He must have been trying to look non-threatening. Robin didn't make a move to get closer to him.

"I have been watching you," he said in response to her question.

"Y-you have?" she stammered. Amon nodded. "Why?" she asked.

"I had originally come to hunt you," Amon replied honestly.

"You're from SOLOMON?" she asked, shocked. Amon shook his head in response. "Then...who are you?" she asked. "I've noticed you at Harry's. You always seem to be there when I am," she said.

"That's a coincidence," he said with a small chuckle. "I am a hunter, but I don't work for SOLOMON. I oppose them," he stated in response to her question.

"You oppose SOLOMON?" she asked, as if the very thought were unthinkable.

Amon nodded. "SOLOMON isn't what it appears to be," he said. "Maybe someday you'll come to realize that."

Robin seemed to consider something for a moment. "If you haven't come to hunt me...why are you here?" she asked.

Amon tilted his head. "You intrigue me," he admitted. She blinked. "You're not like any hunter I've ever met," he elaborated. "You...don't enjoy your job, do you?" he inquired.

Robin ducked her head. "Not particularly," she admitted. She looked back up at him. "How did you know?" she asked.

"I can tell," he said. "During your first hunt, you tried to incapacitate the witch instead of trying to kill him, even though you didn't know that STN-J captures their targets," he stated.

Robin took a step back. "How did you know about that?" she breathed.

"I was there," Amon said simply. "I saw it with my own eyes. You may not have seen me, but I was at Harry's that night too. I followed you to the warehouse and went in after you had passed with Zaizen and Doujima," he said.

"You...you know all about us," she said, getting nervous again.

"Yes," Amon said. "I have good informants. I know all about you, and a little about STN-J. I haven't really tried to get information about them." He shook his head. "How do a bunch of Seeds and a Craft user with a non-offensive Craft manage to fight witches without killing them?" he asked.

"Orbo," Robin replied simply. "I don't know exactly what it is, but it nullifies their Craft," she told him.

"I see. That sounds very useful," he said.

"You know so much about STN-J, but you didn't know about that?" Robin asked.

"Like I said, I didn't try to find out everything." He looked away from her for a moment, seemingly intrigued by the television. He then turned back to face her, finding her in exactly the same position she was in when he turned his head. She seemed to have relaxed a little. "You wanted to know why I decided not to hunt you," he stated.

"Yes," Robin replied.

"I want you to join me," he said. "I normally work alone . . . have been since I started, but this task of mine is large . . . too large for a single man to take on alone," he said.

Robin looked at him skeptically. "How do I know I can trust you?" she asked. Amon smiled inwardly. At the very least, she was smart.

"I don't suppose you can," he replied. "It's up to you to decide if I can be trusted or not."

"What . . . if I decide not to join you?" Robin asked. "Will you hunt me then?" Amon chuckled again. Twice in a row. He hadn't done that for a very long time.

"I wouldn't attempt to blackmail you like that," he replied. "I do have some honor. If you choose not to join me, I will leave you alone. I'll go on with my work. There's no obligation or pressure."

Robin considered that. "But . . . if you oppose SOLOMON, wouldn't you be my enemy?" She sounded genuinely torn.

"I suppose," Amon replied. "Take some time to think about it," he said. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and wrote down his cell phone number. "My name is Amon," he said. "I already know your name, Sena Robin." He handed her the slip of paper. "When you decide, either way, this is how you can contact me."

Robin looked at the number on the slip of paper, then looked up at him.

"Robin," he said. "I have a feeling that very soon, you may be forced to question your ties with SOLOMON. Call it a hunch. If you have any questions or anything that you would like to talk to me about, call me."

She nodded, somewhat bewildered and watched as he left. This had been a very odd encounter. Now more than ever, she needed a bath. She wanted to think, as she suddenly had a lot to consider.

She went into the bathroom and started running her bath water. She slowly undressed, and once the tub was full, she slid in, feeling the hot water envelope her in its warm embrace. She relaxed, but she couldn't stop thinking about Amon. There was something about him that had felt so familiar to her, like she had known him for a very long time. She slid further into the water, allowing it to encase her. "Amon," she said softly.

Japanese

Itadakimasu - I gratefully accept (or let's eat)

Gochisosama deshita - Thank you for the meal

Cultural Note - It's good manners to rearrange your dishes the way they were presented in Japan. It's traditional to say "itadakimasu" before eating and "gochisosama deshita" when you've finished. Miso soup and rice are traditionally eaten for breakfast along with something like grilled fish. Really, you can eat just about anything accompanied by miso soup and rice for breakfast.

Author's Note - Yeah, Amon's encounter with Robin was rather anti-climatic. Sorry about that. I may try to change it later, but unless I can do it to where I can increase my overall word count, I'm not going to bother until NanNoWriMo is over. It's okay the way it is for now. Hopefully, things will get more exciting later on. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated, but constructive criticism is appreciated much more. Tell me if you spot grammar/spelling errors. I might not edit them until later, but knowing they're there is good. (I don't tend to notice because I always try to get what's in my head on the page before I forget.)

I'm going to start answering questions my reviewers asked me here. Who knows? Someone might have asked a question that you wanted to know the answer to as well

black-capped conure - I like this version of chapter 2 much better as well. There were quite a few errors that I caught when I read it again, but this time, I'm not editing until NanNoWriMo is over. I actually changed Robin's class back to A-class because she hadn't gone on any hunts before she was assigned to STN-J. I did "fix" her vision so to speak. I would have kept it, but I didn't want Roland to be the one giving her the glasses. shrug I fear Roland won't get a lot of time in the spotlight, so you won't really learn too much about him. It's a shame, because I think he could be a good character. You're right. He's not Japanese. In fact, he's European. I can't remember exactly what part of Europe I said he came from. For all we know, he could be Italiano. Yeah, Michael is at Raven's Flat. I keep forgetting him ; I guess Nagira didn't think he was very important because he was just the hacker kid XD Thank you very much for your wonderful reviews

vampcrow - Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you like the revised version of the chapter. Haha . . . yeah. Amon has emotions. O.o never would have guessed it. He's not quite as cold as he is in the show I guess. In future chapters, we'll look more at Robin and how she reacts to things as well. This is where Amon will really start changing from the cold bastard we're used to. Thank you again for your reviews. I really appreciate them.