A/N: Yeah, I don't do author's notes at the beginning of a chapter very often. Chapters one and three have both been revised for quality assurance XD It's just basically wording that's been changed. I changed more in chapter three than just the wording, but I definitely like it better. Sorry to make those who have been following along read all of my revisions ;; this is why I need to look over chapters before I post them. Anyway, I'll have another Q&A for my reviewers at the end of the chapter. This chapter has obviously been named for the Depeche Mode song, A Question of Time. It fits Amon and Robin so well that it's not even funny. Anyway, I've only done half of the lyrics here. If you can find the song, you should definitely listen to it.
Chapter Four - A Question of Time
I've got to get to you first
Before they do
It's just a question of time
Before they lay their hands on you
And make you just like the rest
I've got to get to you first
It's just a question of time
Well now you're only fifteen
And you look good
I'll take you under my wing
Somebody should
They've persuasive ways
And you'll believe what they say
It's just a question of time
It's running out for you
It won't be long until you'll do
Exactly what they want you to
Depeche Mode - A Question of Time
---
"So you're just going to sit here and wait until she tells you whether or not she wants to join you?" Nagira asked. He exhaled the smoke from his cigarette as he emptied his ashtray into the trash can. "Over the last couple of weeks, you've done so many things that just aren't like you." He shook his head and returned the ashtray to the desk. "Asking a kid to work with you being chief among them," he added.
Amon was leaning back in his chair, a glass of whisky in his hand, which his brother had kindly poured for him. He wasn't about to voice some of his thoughts about Robin, and he certainly wasn't going to tell him about the dream. Even though it had been two weeks since he had it, he hadn't forgotten, nor had the memory of it faded.
"Before you go spouting some crap about her being a good asset, might I remind you that before she came to Japan, she hadn't had any experience in the field at all?" Amon didn't answer. "C'mon, Otouto. Talk to me, will ya?"
"I don't recall this being any of your business," Amon snapped. Nagira leaned back in his chair, regarding his little brother.
"It very damn well is my business. I'm the one who makes all your arrangements, or did you forget?" Amon remained silent.
"Yes, I'm going to sit here and wait until she tells me whether or not she will join me," Amon said. He took a drink. "My reasons for asking her to join me are none of your business," he elaborated.
"Fair enough," Nagira said after a moment. "Not that it means I don't want to know."
Amon remained silent for a moment. Nagira was becoming convinced that his brother wasn't going to answer him. "I want to get her away from them," he said at last. Nagira was more than a little surprised. "I know that you're going to say I've never cared about anything like that before," Amon said before Nagira could speak. There was a long pause before Amon spoke again. "She's . . . different than anyone I've ever met."
Nagira leaned farther back in his chair, taking his cigarette out of his mouth and taking a drink of his own whisky. "There. Was that so hard to say?" Nagira asked.
"Yes," Amon said. "You are the person I am closest to," he said, watching his brother. "But that doesn't mean that telling you this sort of thing is easy."
Nagira put his drink down on the desk. "I suppose it's been a while since we've talked to each other like brothers," he admitted. "That's more your fault than mine, mind you," he said with a chuckle. Amon smirked and shook his head. "It's also been a while since the two of us have seen each other so frequently. Not since the last time you were in Japan . . . what was it? Five years ago?"
"Something like that," Amon replied, setting his own drink on Nagira's desk. He leaned back in his chair. "Not even I understand fully why I asked her to join me, Niisan," Amon said. Nagira was surprised that Amon had turned the topic back to Robin. "Why the hell does she draw me to her the way that she does?" he asked.
"Who knows?" his brother asked casually. "It's hard to explain things like that, but it's not like you're the first person it ever happened to. For all you know, you two knew each other in a previous life or some shit like that," he said. He stood up and drained the rest of his drink from his cup. "What do you say we get some lunch?" he asked, placing the cup back on his desk. Amon didn't bother to finish his own drink, but he did stand. "It's on me," Nagira added. Amon nodded.
---
Robin had been having a hard time concentrating ever since she had spoken to Amon. She was always thinking about what he had said. "I have a feeling that very soon, you may be forced to question your ties with SOLOMON. Call it a hunch." She had in fact, been forced to question her ties with SOLOMON. She had no idea how he could have possibly perceived that. It had happened a week after they had talked. She met the witch called Methuselah who told her some very interesting things that she hadn't told anyone about. She had considered calling Amon and talking to him about it, but honestly, she still wasn't sure she could trust him.
It was late at night, and she was sitting with Roland in his expensive sports car. Her partner was dressed in a black suit with a black shirt and white tie. She didn't know why he always dressed so nicely. Maybe it had something to do with his position. She rested her elbow on the door and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. She stared out into the darkness at the passing cars.
The pair were waiting for Inquisitor Koushon. He was the Inquisitor that had Inquired her prior to her joining SOLOMON. Apparently, he had come to Japan to Inquire a witch to see if he was what SOLOMON was looking for in a new hunter. She stared out the window glumly. This was the last place she wanted to be. It was past five in the morning. She was tired. She wanted to be at home, in bed.
She turned in her seat when she heard Roland open his door. She scrambled to get out of the car as well. She joined Roland at the curb as a black car pulled up. Roland leaned forward and opened the back door. "You must be Inquisitor Koushon," he started. "My name is Roland. I'm from the STN-J. If you'll come with us, we'll show you to your–"He was cut off as Koushon moved to get out. Roland stepped back to allow the Inquisitor to get out of the car. "Allow me to carry your luggage," Roland offered. The aged Inquisitor ignored him.
Koushon looked to the sky. "The air here...is oppressive," he said. Robin gave him a hard look, wondering what he was talking about. She turned her own face skyward, as if trying to see what Koushon was looking at. They went back to Roland's car. Robin got in the passenger seat, and Koushon seated himself in the back seat.
---
Amon was awakened by the ringing of his cell phone. He sat up groggily. Figures. The one night that I manage to get some peaceful sleep, something else has to wake me up, he thought. He checked the time on the cell phone's screen. It was after one a.m. He answered. "Niisan, you better have a damned good reason for waking me up," he said into the phone.
"A-Amon?" He heard. Inwardly he cursed. He had already forgotten that he had given Robin his cell phone number. It was Robin, and it sounded like she'd been crying.
"Robin. What is it?" he asked, his voice automatically becoming softer. The girl didn't respond immediately. Amon almost thought she had lost her nerve and was going to hang up. "What happened? It sounds like you've been crying," he said, trying to urge her into talking.
"I-" she sniffled. "I killed a witch," she said. By the sound of her voice, it seemed like she would burst into tears again. "I had no choice, Amon. I didn't know what else to do!"
"Robin," he said calmly. "Calm down. Breathe." He heard Robin breathing slowly on the other end, trying to exhale slowly. He heard her exhale sharply a couple of times. "Take your time," he said, hoping he sounded reassuring. After a few moments, he said, "Now, tell me what happened."
Robin told him about the Inquisition, that Inquisitor Koushon had decided that Masuda was a threat and ordered her and Roland to hunt him. "We followed him to a park, where some thugs had gained up on him and were beating him up," Robin told him. "He–he killed one of them with his Craft. Roland tried to stop him, but the Orbo bullets couldn't even get near him." She paused. "He attacked Roland." Her voice was trembling, but she managed to remain calm. "Orbo was useless against him. His Craft was too powerful. I–I attacked him, and I killed him, Amon."
Amon understood how Robin felt. He had felt the same way the first time he had taken the life of another human being. In his case, however, it was quite deliberate. "Robin. It sounds like you didn't have a choice," Amon told her.
"I didn't have to kill him!" she exclaimed frantically. "When Inquisitor Koushon left, he said that I had awoken to the pleasure of using my Craft," she said, her voice much quieter.
"That's just SOLOMON trying to frighten you into submission," Amon said carefully. "They don't want their Craft users to become too powerful. "They're afraid that if a Craft user becomes too powerful, they might turn against them, and they would be unable to prevent it."
"Amon . . . what will happen to me?" Robin asked. Her voice was so soft that he could barely hear it.
Amon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know, Robin," he said. "I know a lot about SOLOMON, but I don't know how they will react to this." He paused, thinking. "The Inquisition could have been a set-up. Maybe Masuda wasn't really the one they were testing," he said after thinking about it for a while.
"What do you mean?" Robin asked.
"They might have been trying to bate you," Amon replied slowly. "SOLOMON's intentions never seem to be what they are on the surface. Perhaps they chose a witch that they knew wouldn't pass the Inquisition to see how you would react in such a situation that you ended up in," he said.
"But why? Why would they do that?" Robin asked, her voice trembling again.
Amon sighed. "Fire is very powerful, Robin. You've seen that you can easily kill someone with it. SOLOMON knows this too. It's not so unusual for them to test their hunters in such a way from what I understand."
"I didn't want to kill him," Robin protested.
"Whether or not you wanted to doesn't matter to them," Amon countered. He stared into the darkness of his room. "This is the organization that has deemed it necessary to eliminate an entire race of people."
"But we only hunt the ones that are dangerous."
"You can interpret dangerous very widely," Amon pointed out. "I honestly don't know what will happen to you," he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "SOLOMON may have decided that you've become a threat, and if they have . . . they will hunt you."
"Hunt me?" Robin breathed. There was a long pause on the other end.
Amon couldn't help but wonder where she was sitting as she talked to him, if she was sitting. She might have been pacing around. He thought it was likely considering how uncomfortable and distressed she obviously was. "Have you considered my offer?" he asked.
He heard Robin sigh. "Of course I have," she said. "You were right, Amon. I was forced to question my ties to SOLOMON." She sighed again. "I don't know what to do," she admitted. "What you're doing isn't that much different from what they're doing. The only difference is that you hunt hunters and not witches." She sounded exasperated.
"I have a reason to do what I do," Amon said. "I'm not some champion for witches on some mission to wipe out SOLOMON. That's impossible with only one person against thousands." He shook his head. "I don't hunt every hunter that I come across."
"Why do you do it then?" she asked, her voice very soft.
He didn't know if he wanted to tell her. It was highly personal, and a part of himself that only Syunji knew. How can you expect her to trust you if you don't trust her? His mind taunted. The answer, he knew, was that he couldn't. So he told her everything. He told her how SOLOMON had raided his home, how his mother fought to protect him, and about the faceless hunter that had killed his mother. "At that point, I swore that I would get vengeance," he finished. Robin was completely silent. The only indication that she was still there was the sound of her breathing. He waited for her to say something.
"Amon . . ." she breathed. She was completely awestruck. "I–I had no idea . . . I can't believe they would do that." Amon was silent for a moment.
"Robin, you need to decide on what you will do," he finally said after a long, uncomfortable silence. "Your life may rest on what you decide." He knew it sounded melodramatic, but he also knew it was the truth. "I will do my best to protect you," he said. Robin seemed to be considering his words. He knew he had to win her trust, and he had to do it quickly. It was just a question of time before SOLOMON decided that they needed to get her out of the way.
They hung up not long after that. Amon put his cell phone on the bedside table. He sat in bed, staring into the darkness of the room. He lay back and stared at the ceiling. Why he was so concerned about her, he didn't know, but he found the thought of SOLOMON hunting her disturbing.
---
Roland sat in a chair across from Administrator Zaizen. The administrator had just told him what he had expected to hear. "So it's just like Kate then," he said, shaking his head. SOLOMON had concluded that Robin was becoming too powerful. The death of the witch, Masuda, had proven it.
Zaizen nodded. "Can you do it?" he asked. He steepled his fingers, leaning forward in his chair. "Can you hunt another partner?" he persisted.
Roland leaned back in his chair with a sigh. He had genuinely liked Robin. She was clever and intuitive, but as they say, power corrupts. It's only natural for men to lust after it, and once they obtain it, they become drunk on it. That had happened to Kate, and now it was happening to Robin. He shook his head sadly. "While it will be unfortunate to lose her, I suppose it's the only thing I can do," he finally said.
Zaizen leaned back and nodded. "I leave her hunt in your capable hands then," he said. Roland nodded and Zaizen dismissed him. He stood up and left his superior's office. He stroked his goatee as he went down the hallway. Orchestrating a hunt was never easy, and it was even harder when you were attempting to hunt one of your own.
As he entered the office, he watched Robin as she worked at her station. No one seemed to notice his entrance. He walked across the room and sat down at his own station next to Michael. The hacker's fingers were flying over his keyboard, music blasting directly into his ears via his headphones.
He leaned back in his chair, thinking about how he was going to approach this. He glanced at Robin over his shoulder. He doubted she even knew about SOLOMON's decision to hunt her. He thought it was probably better that way. She didn't need to know that the organization she worked for and trusted had turned against her.
---
"That doesn't sound good for her at all," Nagira said as his brother finished relating to him his conversation with Robin over the phone. He shook his head. "What are you going to do?" he asked.
Amon sighed heavily. "The only thing I can do, Niisan. I can't let them kill her." He shook his head. "They probably believe that she enjoys using her Craft. She doesn't want to hurt or kill anyone." He inhaled deeply, sucking in a lungfull of smoke from his cigarette. This was his fourth. Nagira could tell his brother was uneasy. Amon didn't usually smoke this much. That was his job.
"But you can't be around all the time," he pointed out. "Unless Robin can tell you where she will be at any given time. Even if you could be around all the time, you've got to sleep and eat, Otouto. I'm surprised you want to protect her at all. For you, it's always been look out for number one."
Amon sighed in frustration, releasing all the smoke he had just inhaled. "Dammit, how many times are you going to remind me that it's not like me to do something like this?" he demanded. Nagira just shrugged.
"Until I feel like stopping," he said. Amon glared at him, his gray eyes flashing dangerously. Nagira wasn't bothered by it. He could safely say he was the only person in the world that wasn't intimidated by Amon's icy glares.
Amon sighed. "I'm sure the first thing they would try to do is get her alone during a hunt and try to do it then."
"Perfect, the one aspect of her life that you don't know much about," Nagira quipped. "The only thing you can do there is try and have her tell you where her hunts will be. What happens if you arrange that, but she gets caught?"
"I don't know. What I do know is that her time is running out. I don't think that inquisition had anything to do with finding a new hunter. I think they sent the Inquisitor to spy on her," Amon replied.
"Speaking of spying . . . I found something out a while ago. I was right. There was another reason she had been sent to Japan," Nagira said. Amon fixed him with a stare. "She was sent here to retrieve something called the 'Arcanum of the Craft.' There was a stir a couple of weeks ago in the Walled City. One of my contacts there told me that an old witch called 'Methuselah, who was pretty much the leader there, had died."
Amon gave him a look of confusion. "What's the big deal about that?" he asked.
Nagira laughed. "She was immortal," he said. "But get this. When they checked out her place, they found scorch marks near her empty wheel chair. They say the only way a Methuselah witch can die is by fire."
"So you think Robin killed her," Amon said.
"Bingo. But this is the interesting thing. Lately a stir has risen up in the Walled City about something called the Arcanum of the Craft. They say Methuselah had it. The witches there are pretty much saying that whoever has the Arcanum will be the next leader in the Walled City, but no one's been able to find it."
"So then you think Robin was either given the Arcanum or she took it from Methuselah and then killed her?" Amon asked.
"That would seem to be the most logical answer. But who knows if Robin did it herself. Eternal life can be a burden, and Methuselah witches have been rumored to have the ability to draw out a witch's Craft," Nagira said. He shrugged. "Something you might want to ask her about next time you see her."
"Yeah." Amon stood and left the office. Nagira watched him. The lawyer leaned back in his chair and scratched his chin. Things were getting more interesting. That was for sure. Then again, when his brother was in Japan, his life wasn't boring.
---
It was after dark when Roland pulled his car up to the gate of Walled City. Robin had only been to the witch's haven twice, once during a hunt, and the other time when she had spoken to Methuselah. That had been when she had started seriously considering what Amon had told her. At first, she had thought about telling Roland about him, but for some reason, she thought better of it. Amon hadn't harmed her, and he was making no move toward attacking the STN-J, so she decided to keep him a secret for now.
She was apprehensive as she followed her partner into Walled City. The place always exuded a feeling of mystery and dangerous plots. It made her extremely uncomfortable to even enter the city, and now they were here for another hunt. She followed Roland through the labyrinthine streets and alleys, feeling the gazes of people on her as she passed. She looked around her, seeing people staring at them from their windows.
Seeing that Roland had gotten ahead of her, she sped up to catch him up. After a while of feeling like she was being led in circles by her partner, Roland stopped. "The witch has stopped," he informed her. She pulled out her communicator and drew up her map, which immediately centered on the witch's position.
"We'll come at him from two sides for a pincer attack," Roland informed her. Robin nodded. "You come in from the North, I'll come from the South." Robin nodded again. "Good. Let's get going."
They went their separate ways. Robin kept an eye on her map and followed a course she had plotted out for herself to get to where Roland wanted her. As she went forward, she knew it would be impossible to find her way out. She hadn't considered that it might be exactly what Roland wanted.
---
Amon had no idea why he was going through Robin's mail. Even after he had met her face to face, he had discreetly continued watching her. His excuse was that he was trying to protect her. He didn't know if that excuse could be extended to looking at her mail. Most of the letters were for her roommate anyway. He found a letter addressed to her. The name on the return address was Juliano Colegui.
He opened the letter, scanning it. "Shit," he said once he had finished reading it. It was just as he expected. Father Juliano had ordered her hunt. The thing that surprised him was the Juliano was Robin's grandfather. None of her information had said that. The letter was a heartfelt message for his granddaughter. How a man that loved her so much could order her hunt, Amon could only imagine. He folded the letter and returned it to its envelope. Somehow, he had to find Robin.
He decided that his best bet was to start at Harry's and ask Tenchou where she might be.
---
Robin walked slowly through the darkness of the alley in Walled City. She was almost where Roland had ordered her to go. She felt distinctly uncomfortable . . . like something wasn't right. She didn't know why she felt that way. Maybe it had something to do with running through Walled City as the night sky rapidly darkened even more, and the fact that she had lost track of where the exit was a long time ago.
"Robin, are you in position?" Roland asked over her headset.
"Almost," she replied. She quickened her pace, holding her skirt up so she wouldn't trip over it. She ran, wondering how Roland had gotten in position so quickly. "Ugh!" she exclaimed. Suddenly, she felt a stabbing pain in her shoulder and was flung back. She landed hard on the pavement. Sitting up, she coughed, having had the breath knocked out of her. She looked around, trying to see where her attacker was.
She thought she saw the silhouette of a person in the darkness, but she couldn't attack it because she couldn't be sure that it wasn't an innocent. She hurriedly crawled under an alcove. As she moved, she heard a bullet hit the pavement where she just was. She held her shoulder, which protested to the sudden movement with stabbing pain. She was breathing heavily, her green eyes desperately scanning her surroundings. Then she realized something: She was scared. Not just scared, terrified. It was happening just like Amon said it would. She was being hunted.
Holding her shoulder, she rolled quickly from the shelter of the alcove, wincing against the stabbing pain in her shoulder. She got to her feet and ran. She felt a bullet whiz past her head. The shooter was trying to take her down quickly. She turned around quickly as another bullet came her way. Her flame shield came into existence in an attempt to protect her from it, but the bullet was only slowed, not stopped. It hit her hard in the chest, blowing her back again. She cried out in pain as her back hit a wall. Her shoulder was throbbing.
She slowly stood and unsteadily ran, trying desperately to find a place where she could hide. Why was this happening to her? She didn't want to kill anyone! All she had been trying to do was protect her partner. What was so wrong with that?
She rounded a corner, panting. She didn't stop running until her legs felt like they were turning to lead and it was becoming painful to breathe. She slid down a wall until she was sitting. She drew her legs against her chest and put her head between them, trying to catch her breath. She didn't want to die. She wanted to live, to fight back, but how could she when she didn't even know where her attacker was?
She stood up, picking up her communicator. She was about to take a step forward, when she heard footsteps approaching. They sounded like gunshots in her ears. She froze, looking to where she saw the silhouette of a man approaching.
"Robin, why did you run off?" Roland asked as he stepped into a column of flickering light created by a street lamp nearby. He was holding a gun, and it wasn't his Orbo gun. "I wanted to kill you quietly and get it over with, but I suppose you're too clever for me," he said. An odd smile was on his face.
"Why? I thought you were my partner," she croaked.
Roland shook his head sadly. "I was, Robin. But you see, Headquarters is concerned that you're becoming too powerful. Power corrupts. Eventually, you will fall prey to the rapture of your Craft." He sounded like he was repeating words that had been told to him many times before. "I didn't want to do this, but I already watched one partner fall prey to the pleasures of the Craft."
"Then you killed the hunter I replaced?" Robin asked incredulously.
Roland nodded. "I had no other choice, Robin. She was going to expose us. She was stealing our secrets." He paused. "I have no other choice but to hunt you as well. This is why Orbo must succeed. If the project goes the way Administrator Zaizen hopes it will, SOLOMON won't need Craft users."
"What do you mean?" Robin asked.
"Orbo is able to protect hunters from the effects of the Craft. Of course, it can't prevent a Craft user from using telekinesis to throw objects at you, but hunters will still be trained. Eventually, Administrator Zaizen will start testing Orbo on normal humans. You won't need to be a Seed or a Craft user to utilize Orbo. Then, SOLOMON won't have to take risks on Craft users."
"Then what? What happens when SOLOMON doesn't need Craft users?" She was sure she knew what the answer was.
"We'll eliminate witches," Roland answered.
"What about you? You're a Seed," Robin protested.
"Who knows? That's not for me to decide." He leveled his gun at her. "I'm afraid our time to chat is over, Robin. I truly regret having to do this."
He fired. Robin tried to protect herself with her fire shield, but just like the first time she was hit, she was blown back on impact from the bullet. Her back hit a wall and she cried out in pain. Roland was slowly approaching her, the gun trained at her head. Robin closed her eyes. There was only one thing she could do. She couldn't run, and if she didn't do anything, Roland would kill her.
Tears started to leak from her eyes. She didn't want to kill him. She knew her life was at stake, but she didn't want to kill again. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She unleashed her flame at her former partner. He screamed as it encased his body and incinerated him. She opened her eyes. Tears spilled from them freely now. She had been forced to kill again. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stop herself from trembling.
After five minutes, she stood up unsteadily. She felt extremely weak. She didn't know if she would be able to make it out of Walled City. She took two steps forward, then fell, unconscious.
---
Amon parked his car behind Roland's. He was fortunate that Tenchou had known where the hunt was taking place tonight. The only problem was that Walled City was a maze. Finding Robin was going to be extremely difficult. He knew absolutely nothing about Walled City outside what little his brother had told him. He fished his cell phone out of his pocket and called Nagira.
"Otouto?" He sounded groggy. The cell phone ringing must have woken him. "What's up?" he asked, sounding slightly more awake.
"Niisan, Robin is somewhere inside the walled city, and she's in trouble," Amon quickly told his brother.
"Shit. That's not good," Nagira cursed. "Finding her will be like finding a needle in a haystack. It's a fucking maze in there. No one knows how to get around in there outside of the witches that live there."
"Great," Amon muttered. "This is a beautiful fucking mess she's gotten herself into. I've got to find her somehow, Niisan."
Nagira sighed heavily. "All I can say is go in there and hope you find her," he said. "There's not much even I can do. I don't have a fucking map of the slums, and I can't very well give you directions because I've never been too far in myself."
"Beautiful." Amon sighed as he walked up to the gate and opened it. "If you think of something, you call me," he commanded.
"I will." Nagira sighed. "Good luck, Otouto." They hung up and Amon shoved his phone back into his pocket.
He ran down the darkened street, trying to find some hint as to where Robin could be. He tripped. "Fuck!" he shouted. He got to his knees, wiping at the blood that was coming from a cut on his lip. "What the hell?" He picked up a shell casing. "This must be what I slipped on," he said to himself. Holding it between thumb and forefinger, he rose it to his eye level. It was a large casing, made of brass. It was familiar, as it should be. "Damn," he muttered, seeing the wards carved on it. "Witch hunting bullets."
He got to his feet, dropping the shell casing. She has to be close, he thought. He examined the area around him and found little spatters of blood. He crouched and touched one. It's recent, he thought. He slowly followed them, hoping they would lead him to her, and that when he did find her, he wouldn't be too late.
After what seemed like hours, he found her laying on the ground. He rushed over to her, kneeling beside her, and placing two fingers against he throat, looking for a pulse. When he found one, he almost sighed in relief. He picked her up, finding her to be quite light. She was as insubstantial as she looked.
He carried her back to his car and put her in the back seat. He was going to tend to her himself. SOLOMON checked hospitals, and he was sure they'd be none too pleased to find out Robin was alive.
---
When Robin woke up, she found herself in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar bed, wearing an unfamiliar black T-shirt. She tried to sit up, but collapsed against the pillows.
"You shouldn't move." She turned her head to see Amon sitting at her bedside. "I've tended to your wounds," he said softly. "Fortunately, it wasn't anything too serious. The bullets had both exited cleanly without damaging anything. You're lucky."
Robin didn't reply. He'd obviously had to undress her. She knew she was still wearing her bra and panties, although her mind told her that it was absurd to think that he would do anything to her, especially when she was so vulnerable. "Where am I?" she finally asked.
"My hotel room," Amon replied. He stood up. "You might be weak for a while, but it will pass. Would you like some water?" he asked.
Robin nodded, suddenly realizing that her throat felt like sandpaper. Amon went into the bathroom and returned a moment later with a plastic cup filled with water. Robin gratefully drank it down in three gulps. "Thank you," she said. Amon nodded in response and reclaimed his chair next to the bed.
Robin closed her eyes. "Amon. You were right. About everything."
"My instincts rarely deceive me," the hunter replied, leaning back in his chair. "You're fortunate that I was able to find you," he said. "I don't know what would have happened, had I arrived later."
"H-how did you know?" she asked. Amon pulled something out of his inner coat pocket and handed it to her. "A letter?" She looked up at him, eyes wide in shock. "You went through my mail?" she asked.
"Yes. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have known to come looking for you." He paused. "Read it," he commanded.
She opened the letter and read it, her eyes widening as she did so. "Father . . ." She closed her eyes. "No one seems to have faith in me," she said, hands releasing the letter and allowing it to drop to the bed.
"I do," Amon told her.
"But you barely know me," she said, opening her eyes to look at him.
"I know everything that's important," he told her. "I may not know much about you from interaction, but just from observing you, I know the kind of person you are." He leaned forward, gently touching her arm. "I know that you wouldn't ever desire to kill anyone."
Robin closed her eyes, feeling tears of frustration come to them. "Yet I seem to end up doing it out of necessity," she said bitterly. "Roland . . . he was the one who hunted me. I had no choice. I feel so helpless."
"Robin, I want to help you," Amon said, retracting his hand and leaning back in his chair. The weight of her dilemma seemed to fall on his shoulders as he did so. He seemed tired.
Robin sighed. "You're the only one I can trust right now," she said. "I can't go back to STN-J. I know my friends will want to protect me, but they can't." She shook her head in frustration. "The only thing I can do is join you and hope that I can run from SOLOMON." She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Aren't I putting you in danger by being with you?" she asked apprehensively.
"I can handle it," Amon replied. "They tried sending hunters after me too, you know," he said with a small shake of his head. "After I had killed five of them, they had decided it was useless. Besides, as far as they know, you're dead."
Robin tittered. "But won't they get suspicious when they don't hear from Roland?"
"Probably. By then, you'll be out of Japan." He had already started formulating a plan. "They won't know that you're with me. Not right away, if ever."
"I don't want to be locked up somewhere," Robin protested.
"You won't have to be. Frankly, I don't care if they spot you with me. If they send hunters after you, we'll take care of it. Eventually, they might give up."
"I don't think so," Robin said nervously. "You're a minor annoyance to them, right?" Amon hesitated, then nodded. He didn't really want to think of himself that way, but it was true. "In my case, I'm a danger. I'm a hunter that betrayed them." She paused. "I have information about them."
Amon leaned forward, resting his chin on the tops of his hands. "It still serves my purpose for them to send hunters after you," he pointed out.
"I suppose," Robin said glumly.
"You should rest. We'll think about the specifics of things later.
Robin nodded. Her eyelids felt heavy. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
---
A/N: Well, I hope you all liked this installment. I don't expect to be needing to revise this anytime soon. laughs unless it's for grammar/spelling problems, which seem to slip past me somehow. Maybe I'll get a beta soon. Anyway, I don't think there's any new Japanese in this chapter. O.o
Q&A
Amon's Angel of the Darkness - Woah...question overload . Hopefully, I won't miss anything. The glasses. I tried to think of a way to incorporate that, but I just couldn't think of something, and I've revised so much already X.x As for STN-J trying to find out more about him . . . they might not even notice him sitting alone there in the corner, and even if they did, they might just think he has nothing better to do than waste time at Harry's XD A Mary Sue is...an original character that is almost always modeled after the author, always overshadows the canon characters, and usually ends up falling in love with them. Roland is a pretty minor character, as you've seen by now, having been burninated by Robin. NanNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to get 50,000 words in a month. Yes, it's as hard as it sounds . especially when writer's block strikes. X.x
Lara1786 - I am a hopeless Amon/Robin shipper, so yes, you can expect to see some Amon/Robin lurve later XD
Amonymous - I liked that idea about Amon intercepting the letter, so I used it. Amon was just basing his opinions about SOLOMON wanting to hunt Robin on his past experience with the organization. Naturally, he's a little biased, but his instincts on the matter proved to be correct, ne?
black-capped conure - Hmm . . . since I knew Robin wouldn't report him, I didn't think about that. Was it this chapter or three that I stuck in a tiny explanation in? I think it was the revised edition of chapter three. Thanks for bringing that up.