Disclaimer: I don't own WHR

The STN-J was quiet. Not a single sound could be heard. Well, except for the constant beeping of a computer.

A person entered the office and entered the working area. His glasses reflected the dim light that was being given off from an open computer. He slowly lifted the woman off the keyboard. The beeping finally stopped. But he had been unsuccessful in not waking the woman up.

"Michael…" Miho Karasuma said softly. Michael looked at her with a regretful look on his face. Miho was completely exhausted and fell back asleep. Why did she torture herself like this, Michael thought as he carried her to a couch. Her clothes were in tatters from previous hunts, and face, the imprints of the keys. But it could have been worse. They could be actual wounds.

Almost two years had past since Robin, Amon, and Yurika left the STN-J. Robin and Amon… they were most likely hiding. But Yurika had just up and left… "I'm being recalled back to Solomon," was her answer. Only 2 actual Hunters were left… Karasuma and Sakaki. Not a single replacement had been sent… and Miho, like once before, had taken full weight of hunts upon herself. This was the first time in three days he had seen her sleep… a serene scene to behold… she needed to rest more; the permanent dark bags under her eyes proving so.

Haruto finally arrived. It was about 8:00 and Karasuma was finally fully aware and back at work, trying to track whereabouts of a witch… damn. She could have done this last night… why had she fallen asleep? There were so many damn witches to hunt… their list had gotten bigger. Michael did his best, but it was absurd to work on twenty distinct cases at once. It took several seconds for Miho to realize Haruto had dumped a fresh can of coffee onto her workspace. Her reaction time was horridly off… perception disoriented. The brew seemed to be the only remedy. She always went through at least quarter of the can on her own…

She looked through the various cases; one caught her eye. Zurai Hunata had been killed the other day. He was a witch. Interesting, since not only was he found near Nagira's place, but upon clicking on the file she found an interesting crime scene photo. There was a man… at least what was left of him. Nothing was left, save the skeleton which was unnaturally contorted in an ominous position of death. The picture screamed "Turn away or DIE!" like from those horror films where the hero sees such a sign and blindly jumps in.

This case intrigued her… she started looking up more things from the police database that Kosaka had made truly available to them all recently. Thoughts rushed through her head… what kind of craft could kill someone completely? This was a dangerous witch. Especially if they were just awakened. This seemed to be the most vulnerable time for a witch; the fork in the road of good and evil. She began to get angst as she was unable to find anything…nothing on SEEDs. Not even on a power capable of utterly destroying flesh! "Damn it!" she cried, throwing her seat back and looking ready to pound the terminal. The two guys tried to calm her with words. "We can't always get a good lock on a witch," said Sakaki. Michael added, "Here. I'll get you another cup."

Yeah. She was being so foolish. Hattori and Kosaka arrived a few minutes later… if they had seen her… the STN-J couldn't afford the loss of anybody else. She got up… maybe there was something at the crime scene that could help her. Miho grabbed her car keys and was out the door.

Miho walked down the deserted alleyway. There was no real evidence, except for a pungent rotting smell. Maybe she could scry the wall and tell what had gone on there. She took off a glove… damn. It had been slightly shredded from a witch encounter. I should go home tonight and rejuvenate my self, she thought…

She hadn't even touched the wall when the images passed through her mind... she was thrown back from the impact it brought, not knowing if she had done it on her own or if a veiled force had been the one to push… I'm being paranoid, she thought as she got back up. She had only gotten a slight bit of info. She had seen something, but it had been quite vague… she tried again and found what she was looking for, and then some.

The images were very clear, unlike before. There was a man, she recognized him as Hunata . He had been a crook, from what his profile had mentioned. Miho looked on as he leapt onto some one… she couldn't see what was going on. The most bizarre thing happened… she could hear a voice… a dark, evil voice. It was arguing about something… whether someone should die or not… what?

The images stopped and she was shown a brief image of a man, not Hunata, screaming in horrid pain as he held his face. He screamed, "You bitch! What the fuck have you done to me!" He twisted his limbs violently… seemed to convulse, then drop his hands to reveal his face was ravaged… blood spurting everywhere… the voice laughed, musing at the fact the blood turned brown and disintegrated, as if to disappear into thin air… there wasn't even a face to look at, just white calcium… he dropped onto the ground, making a gruesome gurgling noise. His head was totally ivory before he hit, as though the death he was afflicted with decided the speed… it had slowed and sped at random intervals… she felt the presence go stronger… then the eyes she was looking through looked at a reflective surface, revealing the face of a girl… brown hair, pale skin, wearing all black… she smiled back. Miho heard the girl say to the corpse, "Back to hell where you came from." Miho heard that dark voice again, "We are not alone…"

Miho pulled her hand away from the wall… she was sure this witch had done this just moments ago… the images seemed to be that way, contradicting her usual scrys, which were always past events. She just knew this. There was no way to explain. She just knew. At least she knew who she was dealing with… a craft with a mind of its own.

She went into her car, more exhausted than ever. The event had questioned her courage… wondering if she would be able to face such a horrid craft… she knew she must face it on her own. Getting Haruto on a dangerous case… so wrong… he was still too inexperienced… not to mention a greater asset to STN-J. He is very well the only one of us two who deserves to live, she thought. She put her head on her knees as she began to blame herself for the loss of Amon and Robin… if only she had been watching them as they ascended up the ladder… Miho wept… it was her fault and hers alone… that her two friends didn't want to return… they never had forgiven her… she wished her infinite depression would go away…even a strong mind had to give in after such painful memories.

She got up, slightly renewed with her final, but reckless, decision. Haruto wouldn't find out about this case… she flipped open her lap top and commenced in hacking Haruto's computer; Michael's lessons were incredibly useful, she thought as she created several blocks.

Driving off like a madman, Miho failed to notice the head of a girl clad in black pop out of an alleyway to see if the coast was clear…