Chapter 004: Parchment
Robin walked out into the courtyard. It wasn't very large, but its size was sufficient for what they had in mind. Not a single footprint marked the crisp, new fallen snow. A few trees littered the area, branches weighed down with snow and ice. The others stood behind her, looking around at the picturesque surroundings just as she was. Michael was wearing a blue and white striped hat, and Doujima was wearing a hot pink scarf. Other than that, all of the others were wearing their usual attire. There was no reason for them to change into different attire, because their trench coats were very warm in the first place.
Suddenly, Haruto sneezed. Like a gunshot at the start of a race, this resulted in everyone (except for Amon of course) dashing out into the snow, whooping and laughing at the top of their lungs. Robin didn't 'whoop', but she did laugh quite a bit. It was hilarious. Karasuma had already thrown a well packed snowball at Doujima, who in return screamed wildly and dashed behind a nearby bush. Meanwhile, Michael had climbed the largest of the trees and was using the snow that was already on the branches for creating his ammunition. If anyone came within a few feet, he would shake the branches, showering the trespasser with an avalanche of snow. Haruto just busied himself with building a snow man which resembled and angry Kosaka, and hid behind it whenever he became a person's new target practice. Robin, unsure of how to frolic about, just plopped herself down on a mound of snow and watched the whole thing as a little child would watch a play.
Amon sat himself down in a far corner or the courtyard, as brooding as he always was, and took out a thick book. To the others, it appeared that he had no wish to join in their fun whatsoever, but if they had bothered to watch closely they might have noticed him glance up occasionally. He did this most often when Robin laughed at a particularly ridiculous stunt performed by one of the four. In fact, within twenty minutes nearly everyone had forgotten that he was there, until Robin let out a gasp. A large wet spot had materialized on the back of her neck as a snowball exploded in her hair. A hush fell over the group as Amon rose from his spot on the lawn and brushed off his coat. Flicking the snow out from his hair, he raised his eyes to meet hers. Slowly, a smirk began to materialize on the corner of his mouth, and then a low chuckle could be heard emitting from his lips. The quiet laugh didn't last long. It was cut short by a powerfully thrown snowball hitting his chest. It took a moment for everyone to recover from their shock and return to reality. "Get'm, Robin!", shouted Michael, gaining awareness of what just happened.
Until six o'clock, all six of them were involved in the wildest 'Combat Training' that ever happened in the history of STN. Amon had become everyone's favorite target, but only a few of their pitiful showers of snow succeeded in hitting him. Kosaka and Hattori just stared dumbstruck out a large, frosted window on the fifth floor, wondering how such a change could have possibly come over their dark and moody witch hunter. The sun had set, and everyone was far too distracted to notice a seventh set of footprints, leading in and then back out of a side gate in the courtyard. Where they reversed in direction lay a small piece of parchment, noticed by none. By the time 'Combat Training' had concluded, it was too dark for anyone to see a little white scrap of paper lying in the snow. Everyone, still laughing and breathing heavily, had reentered the building and were on their way back up the elevator.
Robin walked out into the courtyard. It wasn't very large, but its size was sufficient for what they had in mind. Not a single footprint marked the crisp, new fallen snow. A few trees littered the area, branches weighed down with snow and ice. The others stood behind her, looking around at the picturesque surroundings just as she was. Michael was wearing a blue and white striped hat, and Doujima was wearing a hot pink scarf. Other than that, all of the others were wearing their usual attire. There was no reason for them to change into different attire, because their trench coats were very warm in the first place.
Suddenly, Haruto sneezed. Like a gunshot at the start of a race, this resulted in everyone (except for Amon of course) dashing out into the snow, whooping and laughing at the top of their lungs. Robin didn't 'whoop', but she did laugh quite a bit. It was hilarious. Karasuma had already thrown a well packed snowball at Doujima, who in return screamed wildly and dashed behind a nearby bush. Meanwhile, Michael had climbed the largest of the trees and was using the snow that was already on the branches for creating his ammunition. If anyone came within a few feet, he would shake the branches, showering the trespasser with an avalanche of snow. Haruto just busied himself with building a snow man which resembled and angry Kosaka, and hid behind it whenever he became a person's new target practice. Robin, unsure of how to frolic about, just plopped herself down on a mound of snow and watched the whole thing as a little child would watch a play.
Amon sat himself down in a far corner or the courtyard, as brooding as he always was, and took out a thick book. To the others, it appeared that he had no wish to join in their fun whatsoever, but if they had bothered to watch closely they might have noticed him glance up occasionally. He did this most often when Robin laughed at a particularly ridiculous stunt performed by one of the four. In fact, within twenty minutes nearly everyone had forgotten that he was there, until Robin let out a gasp. A large wet spot had materialized on the back of her neck as a snowball exploded in her hair. A hush fell over the group as Amon rose from his spot on the lawn and brushed off his coat. Flicking the snow out from his hair, he raised his eyes to meet hers. Slowly, a smirk began to materialize on the corner of his mouth, and then a low chuckle could be heard emitting from his lips. The quiet laugh didn't last long. It was cut short by a powerfully thrown snowball hitting his chest. It took a moment for everyone to recover from their shock and return to reality. "Get'm, Robin!", shouted Michael, gaining awareness of what just happened.
Until six o'clock, all six of them were involved in the wildest 'Combat Training' that ever happened in the history of STN. Amon had become everyone's favorite target, but only a few of their pitiful showers of snow succeeded in hitting him. Kosaka and Hattori just stared dumbstruck out a large, frosted window on the fifth floor, wondering how such a change could have possibly come over their dark and moody witch hunter. The sun had set, and everyone was far too distracted to notice a seventh set of footprints, leading in and then back out of a side gate in the courtyard. Where they reversed in direction lay a small piece of parchment, noticed by none. By the time 'Combat Training' had concluded, it was too dark for anyone to see a little white scrap of paper lying in the snow. Everyone, still laughing and breathing heavily, had reentered the building and were on their way back up the elevator.