W00t! I finally finished this chapter!

Work and Calculus are kicking my butt, but don't worry, this has been chugging along.

Um. Yes, well, here ya go.


Certainly, the phone was a most evil invention of man, Sakaki thought as a harsh trill forced him into consciousness. His eyes remained closed, though, hoping that the offending technology would simply vanish. It didn't disappear, but it did stop ringing when Karasuma slid her hand from the covers and plucked the phone from its cradle.

"K-Hello?" She coughed, trying to hide the fact that she had nearly said her name instead of 'hello'- a habit leftover from working at the STN-J.

There was a pause, and then a barely audible sigh. "You made it then."

Karasuma gasped, instantly more awake at the sound of a familiar voice, "Ke-,"

"Hush." Kenshio cut her exclamation off in her usual crisp manner. "My line is secure, but yours may not be."

"Yes," Karasuma said, half sitting up, "it's good to hear from you directly though."

"You are both well, then?"

Karasuma twisted to glance at Sakaki, who had sat up soon after her, obviously able to hear the conversation. "Yes."

"Good. I can't speak long; do you have something to write with?"

Leaning over, Karasuma scrabbled around for a moment, finding a piece of paper and a hotel pen in the drawer. "Ready."

Karasuma could almost see the older woman nod as she began to speak. "The tickets are in the names on the passports that you received yesterday. Your flight will begin tonight at four-thirty. You will need to be at the airport at two to get everything in order." Karasuma glanced at the clock by the bed as she scribbled notes: nine am. "Beijing has self check-in booths, swipe your passport through and it will give you your destination and tickets." Kenshio paused for a breath, and then continued, speaking somewhat quicker. "His flight is at nine o'clock this evening, with a short layover. He may follow the same instructions. Do not go out of your room until you are en-route to the airport. Do you have everything?"

"Yes."

"Fine. I have to go now, but good luck to both of you."

"Will you meet us at the airport?" Karasuma asked, wondering whether she would have to find a hotel for herself.

"I will pick you up tomorrow. Someone else will be getting him." Kenshio paused again, and there was a fast conversation away from the receiver. Kenshio's voice returned to the line a moment later, saying, "I will see you shortly, then."

And the spy hung up.

With a short exhalation, Karasuma hung up the phone as well, carefully setting it down and staring at it for a moment. "It feels like months since we saw her last," she murmured after a moment.

"It does," Sakaki agreed, "even if it's only been four days."

Karasuma turned around, facing him without any distractions. Strangely, she didn't feel in the least uncomfortable; though they were both completely naked. It made sense, she knew; the only time there had been real discomfort between them was when they were hiding from each other. All thoughts of conversation disappeared as they studied each other, looking for regrets.

Neither found one.

"Different flights." He said flatly after a moment.

She nodded. "It won't be as dangerous. SOLOMON won't have been able to track us down yet."

Sakaki smiled, "You're right. It still doesn't seem fair, though."

"My plane doesn't leave until four thirty," Karasuma said quietly, "so we've got a while."

"Set the alarm," Sakaki advised, "then we won't have to worry about the time."

She smiled at him, and then set the alarm for one o'clock. "Four hours," she said, settling back. His arms snaked around her waist, and she felt his lips by her ear.

"It'll have to do," he whispered.


She had known that four hours would never be enough. They both had, but as Sakaki had said, it had had to do. Karasuma sighed for probably the twentieth time in the last half-hour, yet again looking at her ticket. France. Something about it struck her as odd. Maybe it was the image of Kenshio in the stereotypical aristocratic and high class French society. Trying to imagine the hunter sipping red wine from a Waterford crystal glass worked about as well as imagining her dressed in a duck suit.

Karasuma shook her head, trying to clear it of strange thoughts. She glanced at a clock – half an hour to take off. Guess I should get to the gate, she thought.

The flight to Charles de Gaulle airport was long. She had three layovers, making the way difficult. As the captain of yet another plane advised them on international procedures, she automatically checked her ticket. There was no connecting flight. Her eyebrow quirked up, wondering what she was supposed to do now. It had almost felt like she would be gate hopping forever. The plane was emptying, and, with nothing better to do, Karasuma got up and followed the crowd, going though customs quickly since she had no real baggage. There was a moment of panic when the man at immigration checked her passport more closely than she would have liked, but he then smiled at her and handed it back, wishing her a good night in passable Japanese. She nodded to him and went on, passing through gates until she came to the part of the airport that was open to the public.

It was nearly abandoned at this time of night, and at first, Karasuma thought that there was no one there. But as she looked around again, she found a familiar figure amidst the cluster of business men and women in one corner, holding a sign that said "Takeda International".

It was Kenshio.

Knowing that she was to play along with the charade, Karasuma strode up to the woman and held out her hand, remembering that if she was a business woman in Europe, she would shake hands.

"Miss Yatakushi," Kenshio said in well-accented French, as she took Karasuma's hand, shaking it quickly and then dropping it like a hot coal. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

Karasuma fumbled for a moment. She had learned French while in training, but it had been a long time since she had used it. "And you, Miss…"

"Delacourb. I'm sorry that our representatives did not tell you who would be picking you up."

"No, no, it is no problem," Karasuma murmured as they began to walk towards the parking lot.

"Very well," Kenshio said, "I'm sure you're tired, so we'll get to your hotel and allow you to freshen up before we begin."

Karasuma nodded uncertainly, still unsure of her grasp on the language. "O-of course."

There was a bit of small talk as they made their way to Kenshio's car, Kenshio asking simple questions as Karasuma tried to keep up. She thought that Kenshio would stop as soon as they got in the car, but the older woman continued to talk as they pulled out of the parking garage and onto the highway. Knowing better than to interrupt to ask if they could speak freely, Karasuma listened as attentively as she could, nodding and occasionally making a noise of agreement.

Finally, after five minutes on the road, Kenshio sighed.

"Did you have any trouble in Beijing?" she asked, this time in Japanese.

Karasuma bit back a sigh of relief. "No, I got to the airport fine." She looked out the window, biting her lip, "I don't know about Haruto."

Kenshio nodded. "If you made it without trouble, it is likely that he will as well."

They lapsed in to silence. Suddenly, a hundred questions bubbled to Karasuma's mind, and she weighed her chances of getting an answer to any of them. Finally, she spoke. "How did you find us in Hiroshima? Did you already know about Mira and Kino? Are they all right?"

Kenshio cast Karasuma a cool look. "Finding you wasn't terribly hard, though I had to know where to look. I found a source, and it told me where you were. As for Mira and Kino, they are fine."

Karasuma sat back, unsurprised that Kenshio had not answered her questions. She was glad to hear that the girls that had risked their lives for her and Haruto were well, but had gotten nothing else. As she brewed over the answers, Kenshio changed lanes. "It is a three hour drive from Paris," the older woman said, "There is a pillow behind your seat. It would probably be good to get some sleep."

Sighing, Karasuma reached back to grab the pillow. Sleep sounded good, but answers sounded better. Still, when one wasn't going to be given, she might as well take the other. Quieting her frustration, she cranked her seat back and closed her eyes. Sleep followed only moments later.


Karasuma woke to the change in noise as Kenshio turned off the car. She sat up, rubbing her eyes in the darkness. They seemed to be in a parking garage, lit only by a few sparse mercury lamps. Swinging her legs out from the car, Karasuma winced. A long plane ride compiled with a two hour long car ride had made her stiff – especially after the morning's activities.

She was glad the lot was dark – though she also knew that Kenshio would not have commented on her sudden blush even if she had seen it. Instead of dwelling on her morning, she focused on looking around her. Kenshio was punching a number into a pad on the wall, and a door buzzed. The woman pushed the door open and Karasuma dutifully followed, noting the sparse but decent decoration. The floor was hard cement, the walls white-washed, but every few meters there was some hint of human life. A painting, a sculpture, and as they turned a corner, even an inset on the wall. Karasuma blinked when she realized that it had been burned into the plaster.

"Whe-,"

"We are in a refurbished factory." Kenshio interrupted, as if reading her mind, "It was chosen as our headquarters for the remote location." She stuck a key into a switch and pressed an elevator button. Doors slid open with a soft bell.

"Headquarters?" Karasuma said faintly, mind still groggy from her nap, "I thought you said that you were working on your own."

Kenshio smirked. "I did," she said dryly, "I lied."

Not surprising, Karasuma thought, equally dryly. She did not voice the thought, though, because they had stepped from the elevator and into a carpeted hall, this one densely decorated. Chalk drawings on the walls warred with paints and what looked like small hand prints. They stopped beside a door, and Kenshio unlocked it as Karasuma bent down to get a closer look.

"The children get bored when forced to stay inside. Last time it happened, we allowed them to play with the walls."

"I…see." Karasuma said softly, more surprised that there were children here than that they were allowed to decorate. Wasn't this a rebel headquarters?

"You will wait here until Sakaki arrives," Kenshio said as she led the way in, flicking the lights on to reveal a room with two couches facing each other. Coffee tables stood on either end, and a large table was pushed against the wall.

"Are you getting him?" Karasuma asked, brushing a cushion with her fingertips.

"No, someone else wi-," Kenshio paused as a shrill ring bit the air. Then she took out a small phone and answered. Karasuma did not listen, refusing to hear – lest it be bad news. Kenshio turned the phone off.

"Sakaki's ride has confirmed that the flight took off on time and with all passengers."

Karasuma blinked. Somehow, she had expected to hear that the flight had been delayed, or a passenger detained, or missing… but she hadn't. She smiled in relief. "Must be a hacker or something, if they know that all passengers checked in."

"Michael was – is - better," Kenshio said, and then turned, "I need to get some things ready. He will be here in about two hours, and then we will talk."

And she walked from the room, closing the door and cutting off any question Karasuma may have gotten out. Somewhat dejected, Karasuma sat on the couch, and then lay down. Head on one hand, she stared at the other couch, mind buzzing with questions that she would never be able to answer on her own. Somewhere between wondering about Kenshio's 'organization' and worrying about her own future, her eyes closed.


She woke to a familiar hand on her face, and an equally familiar voice.

"Miho, wake up."

Opening her eyes, she found Sakaki, head tilted on the same plane as her own, kneeling beside her on the floor. She blinked, forgetting to breathe for a moment. Then she smiled and shifted. "Haruto, you made it."

He smiled in return. "It was pretty boring," he paused, "well, except for the part where Kenshio showed up; that was interesting."

Karasuma smirked, pushing herself to sit up and looking around. They were alone, which surprised her somewhat. "Where is Kenshio? She said something about talking once you got here."

Sakaki shrugged, standing up beside the couch and looking at the door. "Dunno. She said she had to get someone and she'd be back."

Karasuma nodded, and then stood up, touching her lips to his with ease. "Did she say who?"

Sakaki shook his head, hands hooking around her back to bring her closer, though she was already almost standing on his feet. Smiling, she leaned against him, closing her eyes and sighing.

The lock clicked, and the door began to open. Taking a step back, Sakaki allowed Karasuma to face the door, though she left one hand curled at his shoulder. Then the door swung open completely, and Robin Sena stepped into the room, followed closely by Amon.

Karasuma's hand tightened as she looked at them. Somehow, she felt as if she were seeing a ghost. But only Robin could look so sweetly embarrassed; and only Amon could narrow his eyes in just such a fashion. Thinking back, she couldn't say she was too surprised. Since Single-Eye had mentioned her betrayal to Zaizen and saved her from Kenshio's mistrust she had suspected that they were alive, especially after hearing Mira and Kino refer to the Eve. But suspicion and having them standing in front of her were a far cry from each other.

She cleared her throat softly. "The Eve. I – I had wondered if they meant you, Robin."

Robin ducked her head, a blush staining her cheeks. "I still think it's silly to be compared to the original mother," she said demurely, "but most insist otherwise."

Karasuma nodded, it sounded like the Robin she had known. Beside her, Sakaki shook himself. "You're…alive?"

Robin nodded. "We were lucky," she said, sharing a quick glance with Amon. He nodded, as if giving her permission for something. "A few weeks after we escaped Japan, a witch that we were staying with told us to come here. We've been…busy since then."

Kenshio cleared her throat. "We should sit down. This will not be a short explanation."

Robin nodded, stepping around the couch and sweeping her typical skirts out to sit down. Karasuma and Sakaki backed up to the other couch, sitting together as Amon carefully lowered himself beside Robin. Kenshio remained standing, hands linked behind her back in a soldier's parade rest.

Robin closed her eyes for a moment, taking a breath as if to give herself center. Karasuma glanced at Amon, who was watching his ward with grim concentration. As if sensing his gaze, Robin looked at him, and he nodded once, showing his support. The Eve turned her attention to the new arrivals. "There has always been a small faction of witches that have defied SOLOMON," she said, "People who trained and controlled themselves and others, kept them safe as they could." She swallowed, "But it was always a defensive organization. They could never gain enough ground to do anything but protect those that came to them; occasionally perhaps save a witch that someone came across. SOLOMON was always able to beat them down."

Robin paused, suddenly looking very unsure of herself. She glanced at Amon again, and Karasuma was interested to note the bracing effect he seemed to have on her. She continued. "When Toudo… made me, he told one of the leaders of the coven that their hope had come." She sighed. "My mother was meant to birth me and then join the coven with Toudo – but Toudo was killed and Maria died in childbirth. No one was able to get to me, and everyone thought that I had been killed by SOLOMON." There was a pause as Robin swallowed again, obviously nervous about giving such a detailed history to people who had once so firmly belonged to the STN-J.

"So they continued to defend themselves, even though they believed all hope lost. When the factory fell, and Amon and I went in to hiding, the witch that I mentioned earlier put the pieces together and immediately sent us here. Since then we have been-"

Amon suddenly shifted, taking out a small cell phone and opening it. Robin quieted, turning her attention to Amon. He gave no indication that he had picked up, but it appeared that the person on the other end must have been speaking, because he said, "Yes," and "we will be there shortly," then hung up. After replacing the phone in his pocket, he looked up to them.

"I am glad you made it," he said, his first words directly to the two of them. "I was given to understand it was difficult."

"Nagira helped us out of Tokyo," Sakaki mumbled.

"You saw Nagira?" Robin asked happily.

Karasuma saw her eyes light up; it was obvious she had been attached to the lawyer. "Yes," she said, smiling slightly.

"Is he well?" the young witch asked eagerly, "did you get time to speak with him?"

"Robin," Amon said, and she stopped.

"I am sorry," she said, bowing shallowly, "but I think I am needed." She looked at Kenshio. "Could you?" Kenshio nodded, bowing slightly. Robin smiled, and turned back to Sakaki and Karasuma, "I am happy that you are both here and safe," she said sincerely.

They nodded, still somewhat stunned. Turning, Robin walked from the room, her boots clicking on the thresh hold. Amon followed close behind her, and he shut the door, leaving Kenshio with them.

"Robin requested me to tell you the rest;" the older woman said, coming around the couch and sitting down, "you would like to hear it now, yes?"

Karasuma glanced at Sakaki, and as one, they nodded.

Kenshio sat up, looking just as professional while sitting on the couch as she had while standing. "What we do now is something akin to what we did in Japan, though much more difficult. Robin vowed to bring down SOLOMON as soon as she came here and truly took up her position as the Eve."

Karasuma shifted, uneasy at Kenshio's words. It sounded far too much like a rampaging empress; something she had feared when she heard of Robin's true power. Kenshio glanced at her shrewdly, seeming to hear her thoughts.

"But she refuses to do it through violence. She said that one of the surest ways to put a stop to SOLOMON was to teach it's hunters about their own power – and about other's power. And so we…capture hunters, and convert them."

"What?" Sakaki said bluntly, his face as disbelieving as Karasuma was sure her own was.

Kenshio smirked. "Yes. It seemed ridiculous, even cruel to me at first, but she will not kill them unless there is no other choice. Her own powers are different every day, it seems as the need suits her, and she is very good at speaking- even to those who hate her." She looked down, almost as if lost in some memory, "She is the keystone to this organization now."

"Robin?" Karasuma breathed in wonder. She could not imagine the slip of a girl she had known in Japan holding such an important position as easily as Kenshio seemed to think.

The older woman looked up, smiling slightly. "You never knew as the Eve. But she is greater in power than you could imagine, and greater in goodness than any of us could comprehend."

Looking down, Karasuma said softly, "I doubted her, just before the factory fell. I was afraid that she would be unable to control the power, and turn into something terrible."

Kenshio snorted. "She doubts herself, at times. She should not." The woman stood up, "You will not, once you see."

Sakaki leaned back, glaring mildly at Kenshio, "You might have mentioned them," he said flatly after a minute.

"You know why I didn't," Kenshio replied immediately, voice equally flat.

He ran a hand through his hair, sighing. He knew: it was the same reason that she had not told him that Karasuma was already in the coven when 'inviting' him. "Yes," he conceded, "It still seems unfair."

"I had an idea," Karasuma said quietly, "Single-Eye said something, once…" she shook herself, "But I never really thought that they were alive."

Kenshio looked up at the mention of her old partner and seemed to pause. Slowly, she stood up and opened her coat, drawing a piece of paper from the breast pocket of the lining. Stepping forward, she handed it to Sakaki. He unfolded it, a square piece of white paper, with one line scrawled across the middle. Well, Kasu, I tried. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he was positive that it was Single-Eye's handwriting. "If you haven't heard, he is dead," Kenshio said shortly, "They caught him on the same day."

"We had heard," Karasuma said, voice hoarse. There was a moment of silence, and she reached out, brushing the paper with her craft. She smelled olives, and felt Single-Eye's apathy towards his own life. But he had had such loyalty to Kenshio that he had almost regretted being caught. Escaping had failed, and he had finally taken refuge in the bedroom. The note had been written with the intention of walking proudly out the door and dying on his feet.

Karasuma shook off the scry with tears in her eyes. When she looked up, she realized that she could not tell Kenshio anything the older woman didn't already know. Silently, she drew back, letting Sakaki return the paper. Kenshio took it and refolded the square carefully, putting it back into her inside pocket. Without a word, she left.


Karasuma stirred her tea in a small dining area an hour later. Sakaki had gone to sleep soon after they had been shown their rooms; thankfully across the hall from each other. She doubted she would ever actually sleep in her room – but there was no need to mention that as of yet. Having taken many naps between getting off the plane and seeing Robin for the first time, she was more awake; so she had slipped from Sakaki's room as soon as he was asleep, curious about their new surroundings. It hadn't taken her long to find the kitchen, and thus the tea. Taking a sip of the hot liquid, she closed her eyes and gave thanks that someone had thought to put good ginger tea out, it felt wonderful.

When she opened her eyes, she discovered that Amon had sat down across the table from her. She hadn't heard him, which wasn't such a surprise, but she still wasn't completely over the shock of finding him alive, and stared for a moment before speaking. "Where is Robin?"

He blinked, "Taking a bath. It is one of her vices."

Karasuma nodded, faintly remembering Robin mentioning falling asleep in the bath one morning at work. "I see."

"Is Michael… well?" Amon asked after a long silence.

Karasuma nodded. "As can be expected. His collar was lifted after Zaizen's death." She sighed, "I don't know what will happen to him now that we're gone." Morosely, she stared at her tea, suddenly reminded of how they had left Michael in Raven's flat.

"Robin is worried about him."

Karasuma smiled. "They were close," she said.

Amon nodded, and she thought she saw the faintest trace of a frown on his face. Considering how often his emotions could be discerned by sight, she found herself surprised. Unless she was mistaken, Amon was…jealous?

There was a long pause, and Karasuma was suddenly reminded of the hours the two of them used to spend in Harry's together, simply sitting together at the bar and sipping their drinks, silence the best form of speech. She and Amon had never been close, per se, but they had always had a sibling-like camaraderie.

Suddenly, the Ex-Hunter shifted, and she looked up to see him staring at her. "He – treats you well?" Amon asked quietly.

For a moment, Karasuma could not figure out what he was talking about, and then it hit her. Sakaki. She smiled faintly, completely unsurprised. "I wouldn't be with him if he didn't."

"I mean… you are happy."

Without thinking, Karasuma nodded, staring into space. "You couldn't imagine." Then she blinked, and looked at him. "How did you know?"

Amon looked away, seeming embarrassed to admit how well he knew her, "I've never seen you touching another person unless you were scrying them. You always kept yourself away from other human beings."

She was reminded of her hand on Sakaki's shoulder as Robin and Amon had come into the room. Chuckling softly, she shook her head. "I was afraid of other people, I couldn't trust them."

"And you can trust him?" Amon asked.

"Yes," she replied firmly.

Amon didn't say anything for a minute, scrutinizing her carefully over the table. After a few moments, she glanced up from her tea to find him still watching her, his face somewhat troubled. "Amon," she said, smiling, "So much has changed already; surely this doesn't bother you?"

The man blinked at her, and then abruptly rose, silently leaving the room. Karasuma watched him go, sighing. Though, she thought wryly, some things never do change, I guess.


I may come back and edit this: btw, chapter 14 will be being reposted as soon as I get the time (nothing big, mind you, it just had issues.)

But, we brought Kenshio back! And The handlebar Girl! And her deadweight sidekick! (as someone put it so perfectly)

Reviews are loverly, thank you!