Disclaimer: I do not own Witch Hunter Robin, but if I did. . . .I'd be wearing a giant button that says "I own Witch Hunter Robin." Obviously I'm not wearing the pin, so I don't. Enjoy!
Chapter 9: Dying Flames
It had been a strange 3 weeks for both Amon and Robin, which was much to say considering their last few months had been far from normal. Amon returned to Kichiba Furnishings one early morning, not bothering to tell Robin he'd be gone. He was hoping this would just be a quick stop, which of course it didn't turn out to be. After sitting in traffic for nearly one hour, Amon discovered that the only furniture store in all of the city, was closed.
"What do you mean it's closed down?" Amon growled quite annoyed.
A short, bald, fifty-something man stood in front of Amon, giving the cold ex-hunter a very nervous smile. It was apparent that he wasn't use to someone of Amon's stature nor presence. His grey suit seemed to make the man look even more sickly than he was.
"Please sir, it had to be closed down. Some pipes froze over and exploded. It's unsafe to let anyone in and," the man was cut short by Amon.
"Pipes froze over? The temperature never reached near freezing last night."
"Ah, yes—yes sir. No one understands how this happened, but surely we'll find out soon enough. We—we don't know when the store will open again unfortunately."
Amon wondered if he was being punished for something he'd done. Now what was he to do? Would he just spend the rest of his life sleeping on a couch? He couldn't very well send Robin out of his room, all because he was too stubborn to place the order at Kichiba's three weeks before.
He walked off, not even responding to the man, whom he presumed was the owner of the store. Amon couldn't help but question if Haze had anything to do with this. Though it was highly unlikely, seeing as Haze couldn't possibly freeze over the pipes in a department store. 'Now you're just thinking crazy,' Amon thought to himself.
"The search for the local missing Lawyer, Syunji Nagira, is still underway. The remains found at the scene of Sunday's gruesome car accident on the outskirts of Tokyo, were discovered to be that of 36 year old Kaijiro Furiko. No further information has been found on Mr. Kaijiro. It is believed that there may have been more people involved in this accident. If you have any information regarding the accident or the whereabouts of Syunji Nagira, please call the station at. . ." Robin clicked the television off, sighing as she thought about what she had just heard.
"They're making it as if he's the bad guy," she said sadly. Amon had been gone most of the morning, so he probably knew nothing about this new turn of events. Was it SOLOMON making it look like Nagira was the bad guy? Or was it Jaden and his men?
She sat the remote down on the couch and stood up, stretching her arms out. The sunlight was now beating down against the window, escaping through the barely hanging curtains. Seeing as there were no lamps nor lights around the room, the sunlight was the only source of light. 'Why does he keep so little?' she thought to herself.
Robin straightened up the curtains, glancing around at the room. There was so much she could get done while Amon was away. It wasn't like she was a stranger to straightening up a house. She remembered the mess Touko's home was in when she first arrived. Amon's apartment was no picnic either.
For nearly an hour, she washed dishes, windows, counters, tables, straightened Amon's bedroom, vacuumed every room in the house, and fixed a fairly large lunch for she and Amon. Each task had been considerably difficult, seeing as Amon did not seem to own a vacuum, vacuuming became the hardest task. Fortunately for her, Amon did own one, but it wasn't put together. Under Amon's bed was an unopened box, holding a very high priced vacuum.
While straightening up Amon's room, she came across a tattered looking photo album. She glanced up, hoping Amon hadn't slipped into the apartment and was watching her. Once she saw he wasn't there, she flipped the book open. Her mind berated her for being nosey, but Robin couldn't help it. Curiosity just kept getting the best of her.
The first picture Robin looked at, was of a woman, a woman Robin thought was very beautiful. She was sitting on a bench in what looked like the park she had passed by many times while going to church months ago. In her lap was a very small little boy, one whom Robin recognized. It was Amon, a very happy looking Amon. They both seemed to be enjoying themselves in the park. Amon had never told her much about his mother, it had been Nagira whom had told her a bit about her. Unfortunately neither would tell her why Amon had exactly hated his mother. What had she done to make her son hate her so?
She flipped to the next page, to see a young Amon again, this time standing next to someone Robin hadn't expected to see. Amon, unlike the photo before, looked like he was dead. His gaze was hazy, as if there was nothing on the inside looking out. The man standing next to him had a hand on his shoulder, smiling proudly as he stared into the camera. Staring back at her was Zaizen, a somewhat smug look on his face.
"Amon went to Zaizen after his mother died?" she said shocked.
Robin flipped through a few more pages, accidentally knocking a piece of paper from out of the album. She picked it up from the floor, slowly glancing at it as she rose back up. It was a letter sent from Zaizen nearly fifteen years ago. 'Maybe he talks about Amon's mother in the letter,' she thought to herself.
Dear Amon,
I would like to thank you for writing me. It is good to know that your training is going well. Soon you will be able to transfer here to the STN Japan, as I was given permission by Mr. Montgomery to do so. I ask you to not respond back to this letter. We shall meet soon enough. Amon, I must also ask that you speak to no one about the nature of your mother's hunt. It is best if it kept secret. Thank you for understanding. I look forward to seeing you.
"What happened to her?" Robin stuck the letter into the back of the album, closing it just as a knock came from the front door. She slipped the album into a drawer in the night stand. At first she thought it must have been Amon, whom had probably misplaced his key again.
Robin pulled the door back, meeting the face of a very cheerful man. Someone in Robin's opinion, didn't seem to belong in such a dreary place. Her eyes traveled down to his arms, where he held a package. It was fairly small, leaving Robin to wonder what Amon could possibly have bought.
"Are you Syunji Robin?" he asked politely.
The girl went to say no, but then remembered she and Amon were supposedly married. 'I nearly forgot,' she thought embarrassed. "Ah yes, I am," she said with an uneasy smile.
"I have a package for you," said the man, scanning the package before handing it to her. "Have a nice day." He walked off, leaving Robin quite dumbfounded.
Who could possibly send her a package? Besides Haze and Michael, who else knew she was there? She walked back into the apartment, quickly shutting the door behind her. Robin felt childlike, knowing there was some mysterious package here for her. What could be inside of it? Then a deadening feeling set over her. What if it was something horrible?
She grimaced, sitting the package on the coffee table in front of her. "Hmm. . .what to do. . ." she said, her eyes settling upon the small parcel. Should she wait until Amon returned before opening it? What if it was dangerous? 'Or maybe it's something from Haze and she thought it would be nice to send it instead of bring it by?'
Curiosity quickly set in once again, which Robin wished hadn't. She bit her lip, clinching her eyes closed. 'Wait till he gets back!' her mind scolded. Robin opened up one eye, looking at the package. "Maybe—maybe if I just peeked." Her hands quickly wrapped around the corners of the box, turning it over to the taped side.
It took her only a few seconds to retrieve a knife from the kitchen and cut the box open. She slowly flipped the box flaps back, her eyebrow raising as she looked at the contents of the box. Inside sat a pair of pajamas made for a baby and a few random toys. There was no note, no sign of who had sent the package.
Robin had to admit, the pajamas were quite adorable and unlike anything she'd seen in Morinaga Clothing. The toys, which were comprised of an assortment of rattles and stuffed animals, were very beautiful. Whomever had sent them, must be quite wealthy. 'Maybe Amon sent them.' Though it could be possible, it didn't seem like something Amon would do. He didn't seem like somebody to do something so nice.
Another knock came from the door, which she had not been expecting. Robin hoped it was Amon, so she could ask him if he knew anything about this package. She sat the package down on the table and walked over to the front door, pulling the door open. Perhaps it wasn't such a wise decision to just throw the door open as she had. If she had just peeked through the peephole on the door, she would have seen that standing outside, was Touko.
"Touko?" Robin said shocked. She didn't know whether to be happy or sad seeing her old roommate. A sickening feeling fell over her as she gazed at the woman.
"Robin?" Touko gasped. "Wha—what are you doing here?" she asked quite surprised.
Robin, as hard as she tried, gave the woman a small uneasy smile. This clearly had to look awkward to Touko. She was standing in Amon's home, answering his door. "I'm. . .um. . .staying with Amon for a little while." Unfortunately it didn't sound quite as convincing at it did in Robin's mind.
"You're staying with Amon?" Her question seemed half confused, half frightened.
"Yes," she answered, realizing why Touko's question seemed so uneasy in tone. Amon had been involved in the hunt with her those many months ago. It must have seemed strange to Touko that she'd be staying with the person that was suppose to be hunting her.
"Well, is Amon home?"
"No he isn't. I'm not quite sure where he's gone off to. He didn't bother to tell me." 'As if he'd tell me anyway,' she thought bitterly. Robin realized how rude she must seem, though she didn't know if Amon would approve of what she was fixing to do. "Would you like to come in?"
The woman nodded, smiling as she quickly made her way past the girl. Robin closed the door behind her, her hands still settled upon the doorknob. She was pausing, trying to figure out how she was going to get herself out of this. How much could she possibly tell Touko? After all, she was Zaizen's daughter. How much of it would she tell to her father?
Robin turned around to meet face to face with Touko, only to find the woman's attention was on the small package on the coffee table. She felt her breath catch in her throat. Was Touko going to start asking her questions? How would she get past this?
"So, how have you been?" she asked, her gaze slowly raising to meet Robin's.
"Fine," Robin answered, walking over to pick up the box. "It's been quite an interesting past few months."
"I'm sure it has," Touko said with a bitter smile. She glanced at her watch and sighed. "Would it just be best if I came at another time? You know, when Amon's here?" It wasn't hard to detect the sudden awkwardness in her voice.
"No, I'm sure he'll be here soon. Please, make yourself comfortable." Robin walked off towards Amon's bedroom, sitting the package on top of the bed. She wondered if Touko would walk around the house, noticing how there was only one bedroom. What would she think by seeing that?
Another knock came from the front door. 'Please let it be Amon!' she thought sadly. She so hoped it was him, he knew how much Touko needed to know of this situation. Unfortunately when she pulled the door back, it was the same man that had brought her the package. He held an envelope in his hand.
"I forgot to give this to you Mrs. Syunji." He handed it over to her with a nervous smile. "It came along with the package. Please forgive me for leaving it," he said with a bow.
Robin nodded, trying her best to give the departing man a smile. It was hard to smile, knowing Touko must have heard what the man had called her. 'What does she think of this? Now she'll definitely ask questions.' She closed the door, dread quickly setting in.
"Mrs. Syunji?" asked Touko, shock wreathing through her voice.
It had taken Robin a few moments to realize that Touko had spoken to her. She was surprised to hear that the hint of confusion in Touko's voice didn't seem to display anger nor sadness. If she was angry or sad, she was doing a great job of hiding it from Robin. 'Is she really okay about this?' Robin thought puzzled.
"Erh. . ." Robin paused a moment, trying to think of how to word this. 'It seems like anything I say will be awkward. Why couldn't you be here Amon?' She sighed and slowly nodded, her chestnut locks bouncing against her shoulders. Robin knew she must look like a mess to Touko, the neatly dressed woman standing in front of her. Compared to Robin, Touko seemed like the person Amon should have been with.
"You and Amon are married?" She smiled just at the thought of Amon being married. "This is quite unbelievable. So how long have you two been married?" Still any sadness or anger that she may have been feeling wasn't apparent through her facial expressions nor tone of voice.
'How long have we supposedly been married?' Robin hadn't kept track, which probably was a bad thing. 'I wish I knew where the marriage license was.' "Well, we've been married for a few months. Not for very long really. We just moved in about 3 weeks ago, after being out of town for a while."
Touko nodded, giving Robin a quite uncomfortable smile. "I noticed the package sitting on the coffee table. Are you two expecting? It seems strange for someone so young to already be starting a family," she said eyeing the girl. She noticed that Robin had put on a little weight.
Much to Robin's happiness, another knock came from the front door. Hopefully it wouldn't be the package guy again, saying he forgot to give her something else. Fortunately when she opened the door, Amon stood there, looking quite irate. He must have attempted to buy a bed set again and failed.
"Is something wrong?" she asked worriedly.
Amon stepped into the room, not even noticing Touko standing to the side. If he had, he probably wouldn't have been talking so harshly. "Why didn't you answer the phone?" he asked angrily. "I thought something had happened. Did you turn it off again?"
Robin's cheeks turned crimson in embarrassment. She had turned the phone off early that morning, hoping to catch a few more hours of sleep. If she had known Amon was going to call her, she wouldn't have done so. "I'm sorry Amon, I didn't know you tried to call."
He went to respond, but noticed the figure that stood to his side. For a moment he thought he was seeing things. Touko? Here? Why would she be here? His eyes turned hastily towards Robin, who was still apologizing for turning off the telephone. 'Why hasn't she bothered to tell me Touko's here?'
"Hello Amon," said Touko, causing Amon to turn on his heels. He did not answer back, merely nodding in response to her greeting. Not once did he bother to make eye contact with her, more like trying to avoid her eyes for as long as possible. 'What kind of questions has she been asking Robin? She probably is wondering why we're living together.'
"What are you doing here?" he asked in a fairly harsh tone, much harsher than he had meant to sound. He didn't want his first encounter with Touko since the incident in the apartment to be unpleasant. Though it was already turning out that way, without his help as he began to notice. She didn't seem at all pleased by what she was seeing as she looked at the two of them standing before her.
"Well," she flicked a few stray strands of hair behind her shoulder, "I thought I'd stop by to see you since I'm visiting Japan. Seems you've been pretty busy these last few months," she said with a somewhat mischievous smile.
Amon's eyes traveled over to Robin, whom was staring down at the floor, doing her normal 'uncomfortable' stance. "What do you mean by 'busy?'" He was really starting to wonder how much Robin really had revealed about their situation. Before he could answer again, Robin began walk past him, heading towards his bedroom.
"Where are you going?" he asked confused.
"I thought I should leave you two alone to talk." Robin sat a hand on his arm, assuring him that everything would be fine. She continued towards the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Questions began to plague her mind as she sat down on the four-poster bed, her mind wondering if she really should have left them alone. 'They're just talking Robin. Nothing will happen and you know that. Even if something did happen, does it matter? You know he doesn't love you.'
Touko paced across the hardwood floor, keeping her gaze away from the cold figure standing in the middle of the room. He didn't seem at all pleased by her arrival, which Touko hadn't been expecting. She had never felt such coldness and distance coming from him before.
"So you two are married? Isn't that ironic?" Her voice seemed quieter than usual, as if she was holding back harsh unsaid words.
"What do you mean ironic?"
"That you'd marry someone that you'd assured to me that you felt nothing towards." She remembered those few months ago, when she had spoken to Amon while he was on a hunt, that he had admitted that he felt nothing towards Robin.
Amon knew what she was speaking of, but he had changed since then. Not that he could easily admit that to anyone. "This is a complicated situation."
"Do you care about her?" Touko's voice seemed to change from quiet to stern instantly. She had thought of Robin as a younger sister, someone she looked out for. If Amon had been lying to her about how he felt, she wanted to know, even if she herself still had little feelings for him.
"As I said, this situation is complicated," he said coldly.
"She's carrying your child and you don't care about her?"
"There are reasons why I can't care about her."
"Why can't you?"
"You don't know what's going on with me. If you were in my shoes, you wouldn't want to be near her either." Wouldn't anyone in his situation, knowing that they had powers that could harm those they loved, want to stay away? Was he making the right decision by doing this?
"Just answer something for me," her eyes had hardened into a cold stare as she glared at him, his head turned from her gaze. "Does any of this involve my father? I know some of what has happened Amon. He's told me much about the day at the Factory. Amon, he was doing what he thought was right. My father's sick in the head. We both know that."
"Sick in the head? Touko, he's mad! You have no idea about was he's done to Robin and I."
"I know my father has always had a certain hatred for witches. For a long time, I felt the same as he, that witches didn't belong here. My mother had supposedly been killed by a radical witch, which is why I grew to hate them as well. Though. . .not to the extent my father has. Using the essence of a witch to kill other witches is disgusting. You know very well that my father was never the same after my mother's death."
He nodded in agreement, his eyes overcasting as he glanced down at the floor. Amon remembered Touko's mother very well. She was a tall, beautiful woman with the most unusual blue eyes, a color very rare to see. It seemed they were a happy family, up until she was killed by a witch, trying to escape from the law. Days after her death, Zaizen came to visit Amon, whom was staying at SOLOMON headquarters. He remembered Zaizen's attitude change, how he no longer seemed like the same man he'd grown to know in Japan. The man that took him in after his mother's hunt was no longer the same. Instead, standing before him, was a cold man, one that was determined to stop those that abused their powers, or rather those who showed any signs of the craft.
"I do remember, but that doesn't excuse his actions."
"You've changed quite a lot," she said amazed, giving him a small smile.
"I know I have," he grunted.
Sighing, she walked towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder. She was quite surprised to see him flinch under her touch, something she hadn't expected. Her eyes rose up to meet his, the first time they'd made eye contact. There was hint of satisfaction in her eyes, which Amon didn't quite understand.
"You are quite the liar Amon," she teased, walking towards the front door.
"What are you talking about?" he asked dumbfounded.
She shook her head slowly, her hair covering her sad eyes. It seemed she'd gotten the answers to all the unspoken questions she'd had upon arriving. Touko pulled the door open, walking a little ways out before hearing Amon call back to her. "I've seen enough to know what I need to know. It was nice seeing you again Amon."
"Touko?" He didn't understand what had just happened or why she was suddenly leaving. What had he done to make her act like this? Did he say something wrong?
"Amon, don't hurt her again," she said, walking off towards the elevator, leaving a confused Amon standing in the doorway.
"Don't hurt her again?" he whispered, confused as to what she meant by that. It wasn't the first time he'd heard someone say that to him. Nagira had said the very same thing to him the day of the accident. Was this a sign? Or just a mere coincidence?
It wasn't long until Robin heard the front door shut, which she in a way had hoped would happen. That meant Touko and Amon were done talking. She wondered what they had been talking about for so long, much of the conversation surely had to be about her.
Her hair spread across the comforter as she laid back against the bed. With each breath she took, her chest slowly rose, shaking. She couldn't understand why she was feeling so resentful towards Touko, whom had never done anything to make her think or feel this way. Maybe it was the fact that if felt as if the woman was stepping into her territory. Was it just her wavy hormones making her act like this?
'What if Amon really does love Touko? Could you accept that?' She closed her eyes, contemplating whether she really could stand such a situation. "What would I do?" she whispered sadly. The only thing she could do was let time play out. There wasn't anything she could do to get an answer from Amon, he rarely told her anything. Eventually she'd find out the truth, though it was killing her to wait.
A knock came from the bedroom door, but Robin just laid there with her eyes closed. She heard Amon call her name from outside the door, his voice highly aggravated. It was obvious that he was not at all pleased by the fact that she'd left him with Touko.
She didn't have time to answer him before he threw the door open. He stood at the door, staring at her still form. For a moment, it looked as if she were lifeless, but her rising chest told otherwise. Amon didn't say a word to her, all he did was stare as she lay there on the bed. Until now, he hadn't noticed that Robin had put on a bit of weight, which was now a little noticeable. Nearly three weeks had passed since they'd moved into the apartment and since then, he'd thrown around the word 'baby' as if it was only a word. It wasn't until now that he remembered that there, growing inside of her, was their child.
"You didn't answer me," he said dazed.
"I'm sorry," she answered tilting her head to the side. Her eyes flew open, a pair of green crystals staring back at him. She had no idea about what effect she was having on him right now as she lay on the bed.
It was taking nearly everything in him not to yelp. Robin looked beautiful lying there, her eyes shimmering from the sunlight that escaped through the curtained window. He was doing it again, getting all hot and heavy. Why did she have such an affect on him? No one else ever made him feel this way. 'You do love her don't you?'
Amon's attention snapped from Robin to the small box sitting at the head of the bed. It had already been opened from what he could see. He wondered if Robin had ordered something without telling him, but knowing how little she asked for, it probably wasn't anything she ordered.
"What's in that box?" he asked curiously.
Robin sat herself up on the bed, turning so that she could easily grasp the box. She pulled the box into her lap, smiling as she flipped it open. "Come take a look." As Amon made his way over to the bed, she scoot herself over to allow him room to sit.
He sat down next to her, staring into the box. It was hard to believe the kinds of toys he was seeing inside. They were all high priced toys, none of which he'd ever seen in stores. "Who sent all this?" he asked, picking up a blue and yellow pastel rattle from out of the box.
"I don't know. Oh, there's a letter that came with it," she said, quickly getting to her feet and running out the door.
Amon sat patiently, waiting for her to come back with the letter, but it was taking her far too long. He was about to get up to check on her, when she came back into the room, holding an envelope. Apparently she'd already read the card inside, seeing as the envelope had been torn open. She seemed confused as she handed the envelope over to Amon.
"Who's it from?" he asked.
"I don't know," she answered, sitting back on the bed next to him. "Whoever sent the package, won't give any signs as to who they are. Who do you think sent all this?" she asked curiously. She could see that telling by the look on his face as he read, he didn't seem to know.
Looks could be deceiving, at least in Amon's case. As he read through the card a third time, he started to suspect who had sent the package. It wasn't that hard to figure out, at least for him. He sighed and stuck the letter back into the envelope. "I'm not sure. Maybe they don't want to be known."
They finally managed to sit and eat lunch, a little after sunset. Seeing as Robin didn't want to give Amon a cold meal, she went and reheated everything, much to Amon's protests. He kept claiming that anything was fine with him, but she wouldn't hear of it. Sitting down together at the kitchen table, both ate quietly, listening to the booming thunder outside. Robin was glad that they were inside. The weather had grown ferociously wicked as the sun began to fade from the sky.
As they finished up dinner, the lights began to flicker above them. Amon went looking for candles as Robin cleared the table, another habit she managed to pick up while there. She couldn't help but clean up after Amon. Robin never realized how much she acted like a true housewife.
"I could only find three candles," he said, sitting them out on the coffee table. Amon asked Robin to light one of the candles for him, but eventually all three were lit, after Robin nearly tripped heading towards the couch.
For a while, they sat staring at the candles, the flames licking the air, the hot wax hissing as it slipped down the candle and hit the metal holder. Neither breathed a word to the other, nor did they move for quite a while. In two days Amon would start back at the STN-J, his first day back to normality. Robin thought of this as nothing, seeing as he was usually gone during the day. What would make this any different?
Amon on the other hand, was starting to questions whether he really wanted to return to work. It wasn't like they needed the money nor did he need something to keep him occupied. He kept himself busy by doing research on the Démos and on Nagira, which wasn't looking good. It was hard finding any information on the accident.
The thunder outside hadn't stopped since dinner and was continuing to fill the night sky, but that wasn't keeping Amon from growing weary. He was feeling tired again. For nights he laid awake on the couch, listening for anyone that might try to enter the apartment. It was silly to think that someone would break in at any moment, but Amon couldn't help but feel that way. There were still Factory workers out there, looking for them, not to mention Zaizen had gone missing from the hospital.
He let in to the sheer exhaustion that was taking over him, his head lolling to the side as he closed his eyes. The last thing he remembered seeing before he fell to sleep, was one of the candles going out, followed by the shortest candle of the three. His breath slowed as he fell into a slumber, leaving Robin to sit by herself, waiting for the storm to end.
Construction Site-
Even with the gruesome storm that had generated during the course of the night, workers continued to work on the tall building that was quickly forming near the park. Across from the building was an newly built apartment complex, one that Zaizen found himself staying in each night. He sat at the window, watching as his new base was being built. No one knew it was his building, what purpose it would have.
Sitting next to him, was Touko, staring out into the night sky. Unlike her father, she was thinking of Amon and Robin. Her trip to see him, she suppose it was just closure or something there of it. It had taken her quite a while to get over the scene she'd witnessed back at his apartment, but she soon accepted it. Back in America, she had someone waiting for her, someone that truly loved her. She'd be happy, but what about Robin? Though Amon wouldn't admit it, she could see that he cared for Robin, even loved her. He would never admit it, she was sure of that, but did he not realize how much that probably hurt Robin? 'It's hard to be happy when seeing that Robin isn't,' she thought sadly.
"Is something wrong?" asked Zaizen, his voice still hoarse and scratchy.
Touko shook her head slowly, "no, nothing's wrong."
His bandaged fingers tapped the arm of his wheelchair in frustration. "Something is wrong, I can tell. Where did you run off to today? Daijiro told me that you left the airport immediately after landing. Why didn't you wait for your ride? Did you go looking for him?" he asked irritated.
"No." She didn't enjoy lying to her father, but she couldn't very well tell him she'd gone to see Amon.
"Then where did you go?"
"To see mother's grave. Is something wrong with that?" she asked.
"No—no of course not." He shifted around in the wheelchair, grunting as he felt sharp pains throughout his body. The burns on his body caused him much pain, mentally and physically. Never would he be the same man that he use to be, but that didn't stop him from continuing his work.
"Do you need me to get Daijiro?" asked Touko worried.
He shook his head, waving one bandaged finger, signifying for her to stay. "I don't need Daijiro. He doesn't have what I need," he said bitterly.
"What do you need?" she asked curiously.
Zaizen's eyes drifted towards his daughter, who had one had against his shoulder. He didn't know how she'd react to his answer, but at this point he really didn't care. "What do I need? I need the person that did this to me. The person that has put me through hell. All I need. . .is Robin."
Amon's Apartment-
The morning sun had finally risen into the calm blue sky of the early morning. Outside birds were chirping as they passed the sleepy apartment complex. Cars lined the street as people scurried off to work and children hurried to school. None of the outside world seemed to affect the two sleeping in the last apartment in the building. Inside Amon's apartment, everything was peaceful and still. On the right side of the couch, leaning against the arm, was Amon. He had slept all during the night, not once waking.
It wasn't until Amon awoke, that he realized he wasn't alone on the couch. Leaning against him was Robin, fast asleep against his shoulder. He was a bit perplexed at first when he saw Robin laying against him, but he quickly got over it. Not wanting to awake her, he sat there, staring at the three candles sitting on the coffee table. The tallest candle was still lit, lasting all through the night.
He was a bit surprised that he'd managed to sleep all night, something that rarely happened. For the first time in ages, he'd dreamed—dreamed about something he hoped to forget. Bits and pieces were still playing in his mind, Amon trying his hardest to block them away. The dream was of his mother, of the day her powers were first revealed. A lot of that day was still hazy to Amon, but he could still remember a little of what happened.
His father had always been rather wealthy, which allowed him to take care of two families. Amon never met his father, but he'd seen many pictures of him. The wealth his father carried caused him quite a lot of trouble and eventually he began to lose it all. Nagira had surely picked up his gambling habits from their father, who had died because of the debts he owed. He'd made deals with people, whom he never intended on paying back. Their father ran off, leaving his families to fend for themselves.
A few days after his father's departure, Amon had been walking home from the park with his mother. They were heading home, carrying bags of items to decorate the house. It was Christmas time, a time Amon use to love more than any other time of the year. Christmas was always the time when Amon's mother would take off from work and spend an entire week with him. Except that Christmas, turned out to be the worst he'd ever experienced. A very small Amon spent Christmas with complete strangers, because of his mother.
That night, men that had known his father came to his mother, asking where Mr. Syunji had gone. Seeing as the man never bothered to visit Amon, he nor his mother knew where the runaway had gone. Those men, not believing a word coming from his mother's mouth, threatened to harm both of them if she didn't admit where he'd gone off to. Amon's mother pleaded with them, reiterating that she had no idea where her ex-husband had gone off to. Unfortunately the men wouldn't reason with her, and tried to come after both of them.
'It was because of him,' his mind hissed. His mother, in fear of what would happen to them both, killed the men right on the spot. Amon didn't have time to see how his mother had done it, but when he looked down at the pavement, four large men lay in bloody heaps.
The next thing he remembered was his mother, bundling him into her arms as she took off down the stree. Headlights appeared behind them, his mother coming to an abrupt halt as the sound of many guns loading could be heard around them. He remembered his mother yelling as men surrounded them both, one of them pulling Amon from his mother's arms. Someone took Amon by the hand, walking him away from his mother, his eyes glued to her as the dragged her into the black van.
From that moment on, he spent most of his time with Zaizen and his family. He was taken away from his mother at only six years old and only one year later, he was off to Europe, being trained as a SOLOMON agent. Amon remembered being proud that he'd be part of SOLOMON and a new member of the STN-J. Again, he'd be with the man that had raised him since his mother's capture.
Amon felt Robin shift, her chestnut hair tickling at his bare arm. He watched as she groggily sat up, rubbing her eyes sleepily. It must have taken her a while to realize where she was, for she hadn't made a big deal about sleeping next to Amon until she made eye contact with him.
"I'm sorry, I must have fallen asleep last night after the storm stopped," she said lowering her head. She was trying her best to hide the embarrassment that was consuming her. Never had she actually slept next to anyone, sitting there next to him was beginning to feel quite awkward.
"I must have done the same." Amon got to his feet, stretching out his stiff limbs as Robin let out the remaining candle. He threw a hand over his mouth as he gave a long yawn, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. Shaking off the weariness he still felt, Amon headed towards his room, quickly shutting the door behind him.
Though she was quite embarrassed about falling asleep on the couch with Amon, she was quite glad that she'd slept during the night. She hadn't told him, but for the past few nights, her mind had been plagued by nightmares. Each time she'd awaken startled, unable to go back to sleep for the night. That's why she found herself sleeping late in the mornings, after he'd get up and about.
Robin was just heading towards the kitchen when a knock came from the door. She had no idea who would be visiting at such an early hour, but she hoped it wasn't Touko again. Not making the same mistake she did last time, Robin looked out the peephole, seeing Haze's smiling face staring back.
"Let me in!" she called from outside the door.
She had nearly been hit by the door as she undid the lock and Haze threw the door open. This morning she was unusually happy, something you never saw with Haze. In one arm she held a box of folders, the same folders she'd seen Amon going through the few weeks before. 'Amon's work files I presume,' Robin thought to herself.
"You look happy," said Robin with a smile.
Haze sat the box down on the coffee table, grunting as she straightened herself back up. She smoothed out her dress as she turned around to face Robin, her face hanging downward. "Well. . .I have a right to be." Her eyes rose up to meet the chestnut-haired witch's. "Michael and I are going out on a date!"
"What?" Robin said amazed. "A date? That's good news. Where are you going?" she asked curiously.
"I dunno, we haven't worked that out yet. Oh, don't tell anyone we're dating. Well. . .besides Amon, but it's not like he'd care anyway. You know the policy against dating coworkers, which sucks by the way," she sighed.
"Hmm, I suppose it does. When are you two going out?"
"Tomorrow night I think. Like I said, we're still working everything out. Maybe you should get Amon to take you out too," she teased, waving her hand playfully at Robin. "You haven't been out of this apartment in ages."
Robin's smile faltered as she began to think about Amon. "I couldn't ask him, he's already done so much. Plus I don't think a night out with me would be all that nice," she said with a embarrassed smile. "Amon has better things to do, better people he could take."
Haze lifted an eyebrow, staring at Robin dumbfounded. "Better people he could take? But you're carrying his child. I highly doubt he has anyone better to take than you. Don't put yourself down like that."
She wanted to tell her friend why she felt that way, why she had little faith in her herself. It wasn't like her to be wallowing in her own self-pity, but she constantly found herself doing so. Ever since the letter from Touko came, she'd been like this, wondering if she would ever be good enough for Amon.
"He could take out Touko," she said with a bitter smile.
"Touko? You mean Zaizen's daughter? I thought he wasn't interested in her anymore?" she asked inquisitively.
"I thought the same." Robin sat down on the couch, sighing as she laced her fingers together. "She showed up yesterday, wanting to talk to Amon. The entire time she was here, I kept wondering what was going to happen when Amon saw her, if old feelings would arise. Eventually I left the room so that they could talk, but the real reason I left was because I felt like I was hyperventilating."
"Because of how you feel about Amon?" She frowned when she watched Robin nod. "Well, you need to talk to him Robin. You two are so stubborn. Is he still sleeping on the couch each night?"
"Yes, but last night we both slept on the couch. We were sitting in here during the storm and eventually we both fell asleep. He woke up and took off towards his room. He's been in there quite a while, probably changing."
Haze grinned mischievously as she the thought of the two sleeping together on the couch entered her mind. 'Hmm. . .well at least that's a new step towards getting them closer,' her mind laughed. She could clearly see Robin was quite embarrassed about the previous night's sleeping situation.
"Well, I think it's quite sweet if I may say so myself."
"Only you would say that."
"Anyway, I need to talk to Amon about something. You're telephone's been off for the last two days. I've been trying to call him and even tried his cell, but to no prevail." Haze didn't even need Robin to respond. It was plain to see that she was the one that had shut off the phone. "Trying to catch sleep again I see? I'm sure Amon wasn't happy."
"Happy about what?" asked Amon, stepping into the livingroom. He was dressed in a short sleeved black t-shirt and black jeans. It didn't seem like something he'd normally wear, but he needed to do laundry. Unfortunately he hadn't bothered to do it the previous week, nor had he asked Robin to attempt it.
"Nothing—nothing at all," said Haze with a smile. "I'm glad to see you finally came out of your room. How long does it take you to throw a shirt on?"
"What do you want?" Amon's tone showed how irrate he was becoming because of her arrival.
Haze eyed him and shook her head. "No need to be rude Amon. I'm here to talk to you about something. Is that alright or should I have not bothered coming at all?"
Robin looked between the two of them, wondering what they possibly had to talk about. It seemed like Haze didn't want her around for the discussion, which she didn't understand. Haze normally didn't mind if she was around when they talked. Were they going to talk about her?
"I'll work on breakfast," she said with a smile, stepping out of the livingroom. She noticed as she left, Amon seemed a bit perplexed. Undoubtedly he knew why she had left.
"What are you wanting to talk about?" he asked coldly.
"My my Amon, you're in a bad mood this morning." She folded her arms against her chest, her eyes settled on the stiff figure in front of her. "I think you know what this is about. You're still sleeping on the couch? Why don't you start acting like a married man?" she asked playfully, grinning as she looked him over.
Amon frowned in annoyance. "If that's all you came here to say, your trip is wasted."
"Oh, I don't think my trip is wasted. That's not all I wanted to talk to you about. This is about Robin and the Factory. Last night I received a phone call from a source about Jaden. Seems he was seen in this area about one week ago. I thought he would quit the hunt against you both, but he seems to still be searching. Jonathan doesn't know what he could possibly still want with either of you. Do you have any idea?"
"No, but what makes you think he's still looking for us?" he asked curiously.
"Well, if he had stopped searching, he wouldn't be hiding himself from all of us now, would he?" She sighed, reaching into her coat pocket to pull out a small piece of paper. "I received this last night as well. It's about Nagira," she said sadly.
"Nagira?" Amon said shocked, grabbing the paper from her.
"The information on that little piece of paper isn't good. My informant, one of Jaden's cronies, told me that he has not seen Nagira. Supposedly, Jaden told him as well as the other men in his group, that Nagira died. I don't know if that's true, but he told me that Jaden seemed serious." She closed her eyes, biting her lower lip.
"If he is dead, he's lucky," Amon said in an emotionless tone, handing the paper back to Haze. The paper was a note, written by Haze's informant. Not only had no one seen Nagira, but many of Jaden's men were still missing, none of which were found in the wreck.
"I also have some information about the testing done on you. Unfortunately it́s not good news either."
Amon felt his stomach lurch, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He'd been waiting for news, any kind of news about what had happened to him. It was just that he hadn't really wanted to hear bad news. 'I think I preferred no news as good news,' he though drearily.
"Your healing powers as you know are not the only ones you bare. As of now none of us know what your true powers are, but we do know that whatever they are, they're not good. Michael has been helping me do research and we've found quite a bit of information. Those hidden powers of yours, weren't built into you. It doesn't quite work that way. Instead, they were merely amplified, I guess you'd say."
"So what are you saying? I inherited them? The only witch in my family was my mother."
"Or so you thought," she said, pulling out her cell phone. "Through research, we discovered someone else in your family had the witch gene. Your father's great-grandmother was a witch. Meaning the gene ran through his bloodline, but laid dormant within him. He was a seed, not just a mere human." She flipped the phone open and handed it to Amon.
On the screen sat a picture of the man he'd always hated, the man that caused his mother's powers to be revealed. He wasn't sure how to respond to this news, whether to be angry, shocked, or afraid. 'Witch's from both sides? Is this what makes me a Démos?'
"And we also found some information on his death," she said sadly.
"I know about his death," he said, snapping the phone shut. "He died because of his greed."
"We found a photo of one of the men that was involved in his killing. He's supposedly alive, but no one has seen him in quite a few years. Waru Sagara is his real name or at least we think it is, but he now goes by the name Daijiro Onigawa. No family nor any substantially useful information on him unfortunately."
"Daijiro Onigawa. . .why is that name familiar?" he said to himself.
"I've been saying the same thing," Haze said, laying her chin into the palm of her hand. "We could find no photos of the man, nor past medical records. Even if you saw him today, I doubt you'd recognize him, not just because of old age. You were quite young when he went after. . ." she paused as she looked up at the man. He was glaring at her sternly, his eyes telling her to say no more.
"I probably wouldn't recognize him." Amon stood up, walking over towards the front door. He stopped midways, his hands balled into fists, hanging by his sides. No longer was he thinking about this man that had killed his father, but his cluttered thoughts were towards the hidden powers within him. The fear that had once swept through him, long ago when he was still a seed, had quickly returned.
Amon had known he had other powers, but he had come to the realization that the powers that were concealed inside of him, were inherited from one of his parents. He remembered the day his mother revealed herself in front of him, the day the signs of the craft made themselves visible for all eyes to see. Much of it was still hazy to him, but he remembered this great force filling the air, nearly knocking the very breath out of his small body. Deep inside, Amon feared that power that he felt emitting from her that day, was the power laying inside of him. A deadly power.
Would he end up like his mother? His powers growing out of control and nearly killing the ones he loved? 'No!' his brain yelled. 'You will not turn out like her. Unlike her, you are strong.' Was he now believing that his own mother had been weak? 'Remember, it is his fault that her powers were uncovered. He is the reason she was hunted. Never forget that.'
"Why do you worry about these powers so much?"
Amon turned his head towards Haze, his gaze remaining on the floor below him. "You don't understand, nor will you ever." His voice was more wary than angry. "I think you should be going," he said, his hand motioning towards the front door.
Haze nodded and sighed, straightening out the wrinkles that had formed on her dress as she stood. She could tell her question nerved the man and he no longer wanted her here. Normally she'd just tease him about being 'sensitive', but she felt this wasn't the time nor place to do so. It wasn't like Amon to not get angry.
"I suppose you're right, but before I go." She paused, staring over at the kitchen doorway. "There's something I need to talk to you about. It's about your little visit from Touko yesterday."
A numbing pain had formed in the back of Amon's head as he heard his ex's name. Somehow he'd completely blocked out yesterday's little rendezvous from his mind until now. He wondered how Haze knew about the visit, but he suspected Robin had told her. 'She doesn't seem to keep anything from her,' Amon thought wearily. "What about it?"
"You know, her visit may have seemed like it was all in good intentions, but be wary of her Amon. She is Zaizen's daughter and she may be doing work for him now." The same nerved look she'd received from him earlier, had quickly come back. He seemed almost offended.
"I doubt she would have anything to do with her father."
"Does she know about you and Robin?" she asked eyeing him.
"If you mean the fake marriage and child, then yes she does." He inwardly winced as the words he had just mouthed entered his ears. Did he really sound that harsh?
"Yes, but I also mean about you two. . .you know," she held up both hands, her thumbs and index fingers coming together to form the shape of a heart.
"We're not," he said plainly, walking over towards the front door. As he pulled it open, he heard Haze scoff impatiently.
"What? You're still in love with Touko or something?" she said, one eyebrow arched above the other.
He wished she didn't have to start this early in the day. For a while, Amon had gotten use to Haze's prying into his personal life and teasing him. Today just wasn't a day he felt like hearing this. Long ago, he made up his mind to never become emotionally attached to anything, but after being with Robin, it was hard to feel that way. The only thing he could do was try to keep to himself, keep from getting close to her. Keep from hurting her.
"Leave."
"Then you dolove Robin?" she teased.
Amon wished he could have bitten his tongue, keeping from saying a word to the woman. If he had been aware at the time that Robin was near the kitchen door, he wouldn't have said a word. Instead, he gave the answer that he had given to Haze so many times before. This time, his answer was colder, more harsh than ever before.
For once, Haze seemed to take his answer to heart. It was believable, his voice, his body movements, his eyes, they all said the same as his words. She felt a sudden chill go down her spine as she looked into his cold, gray eyes. Amon wasn't lying to her, at least that's what she believed.
"You've done more for her than most people have. That says something there." She wanted to know that he at least cared and for everything he'd done for her so far, he just had to care about her.
"It's because of the child," he said coldly.
"Or are your feelings the result of what nearly happened the day you learned about her pregnancy?"
'How does she know about that?' his mind questioned.
"Nagira told me about it when we went looking for you two; actually he told me a lot of things. Is this all because of what you nearly did to both of them that night?" Haze had suspected that that night was the cause of his turmoil, his wanting to be as far away from Robin as possible.
His answer had turned into a sharp growl, one that made it clear to anyone around that he meant what he said. He hadn't meant to be loud, for Robin to hear what he had said, but unfortunately he couldn't take back what he said, even if it was a lie. "It is not because I tried to kill them!"
A sudden crash came from the kitchen, startling both of them. They both ran towards the kitchen, Amon totally ignoring the fact that he'd left the front door wide open. Robin was just kneeling onto the linoleum floor, picking up broken shards of glass. She seemed distraught which Haze assumed was because of Amon.
"What happened?" Amon asked.
Robin's face was pointed towards the floor, her eyes hidden by stray chestnut locks that bounced across her forehead as she reached for the glass. "I dropped some dishes," she said, her voice emotionless. She picked up a large piece of a sake glass that had shattered and sat it into a little basket, the glass clanking as it made contact with other pieces. "Everything's fine, you can go back into the livingroom."
Amon was going to protest, but felt Haze tug on the sleeve of his shirt. He flinched from her touch, pulling away from her and heading out of the room. She took one look down at Robin and sighed, starting to kneel down to help. Haze stopped halfway when Robin spoke up.
"No, I don't need any help," she said coldly.
Haze was taken aback by Robin's sudden attitude. She had never spoken like that before, for as long as she could remember. Robin had never been one to have that tone of voice before and it wasn't befitting of her. Nodding, Haze retreated from the kitchen, her mind numb in confusion.
She stepped through the front door, turning around just before Amon could shut the door on her. "Robin's acting strange. I'll call back in a little while to check on her." Haze paused as she thought about Robin. "Do you think she heard us talking?"
"I don't know," he answered.
Sighing, she waved goodbye to him and set off towards the elevator. She had this unsettling feeling in her chest, one that seemed to grow even tighter with each step she took. Something didn't feel right and she knew this feeling was about Robin.
Amon turned around after shutting the front door, heading towards the hallway, not expecting to see Robin standing in the doorway to the kitchen. She stood there, her eyes red and swollen. He felt his breath catch in his throat as he looked upon her. The sadness, disappointment, hurt, all of the emotions that danced in her green orbs, were more striking than he'd ever witnessed before. Tears were threatening to pour down her pale cheeks, she was fighting the demons within her, keeping herself from collapsing into a rumple of tears in front of him.
He wanted to say something, anything to her. Now he knew for sure that she'd heard him and this was definitely not one of his proudest moments. This little lie he'd been saying for so long, was now hurting her. Amon had never straight told her that he didn't love her, more like keep her guessing. The only thing he managed to say to her was not even a complete sentence. "Robin I. . ."
Robin moved past him, not bothering to apologize when her shoulder popped against his arm. He knew he deserved that and decided against fighting about it. Amon assumed she was heading towards the couch, wanting to sit there and pout or something, but to his dismay, he heard the front door slam shut.
Amon ran out of the apartment in a frenzy, mentally cursing Robin for just walking off like that. Did she not realize that there was still trouble about? He realized that he shouldn't be mad at Robin, but at himself. If he had just spoken the truth or not answered at all, she wouldn't have walked off.
Feverishly making his way to the elevator and slamming his fists against the buttons, Amon tried desperately to get the door to open. After a few seconds, the door flew open, Robin no where in sight. A door that lead to the staircase sat to his right, Amon throwing himself towards it.
Fear was now overtaking him, Amon worried that Robin, in her fit of anger and sadness, fell down the stairs. If anything happened to her or the baby, he'd never forgive himself. 'How can you keep lying like this?' he thought bitterly to himself as his feet pounded on the steps.
He searched high and low for nearly two hours, never catching sight of Robin. She was long gone, neither knowing where she could have ran off to. After searching for one hour, Amon called Harry's, asking if anyone had mentioned seeing her. Unfortunately after calling three different places, including the STN-J, no one had seen her. Robin had disappeared and no one knew where she was and if she was safe. This news, left Amon sick.
The rain had begun to beat down against the city, clouds covering every inch of the sky, hiding the setting sun. Thunder boomed in the distance, lightning cracked through skies, coming closer and closer to the ground below. Amon stood there silently, raindrops bouncing off of his still body. He watched the road in front of him, as passer goers suddenly vanished. Everything grew quiet and still. There was nothing, nothing there any longer. No Robin, no anything. It was as if his world had just ended. Knowing she was gone, his world had suddenly stopped.
The day quickly turned into night, the sun fading off into the distance, being replaced by the vibrant moon. It felt like Robin's life would be like this forever, a life of disappointment, a life of lies. How did she expect Amon to feel? What had she been telling herself for so long? Of course Amon didn't care about her, she had just made herself believe that he did. Robin slumped down against the wall in a dark alleyway. There she was, standing within the place where she first met Methuselah, where she discovered what she truly was, a witch. She'd been standing there for quite a while, watching passer byers chat amongst themselves.
'You have to do this on your own now,' her mind berated. 'It's all up to you now.' She didn't know why she was here, of all the places to be in the city. This wasn't the safest place to be in the city, but considering that she was the strongest witch in existance, she shouldn't be worried. Any witches that dared challenge her now were in a world of trouble.
Raindrops popped against her body, wetting her already soaked clothing. Her hair, a wetted mass of tassels, hung below her shoulders. The cold and rain, had made her skin appear an icy blue, a color not suiting for her. She could see her breath, small white puffs of air, as she exhaled into the night sky. 'It's getting colder.'
Near a cardboard box sat two little girls, both warming their little bare hands over a homemade fire of small twigs and newspaper. Both would glance over at Robin every few minutes, whispering to one another. Robin wondered where their parents were, or more appropriately, did they have parents at all? Her question was answered, once an older woman walked past her, approaching the two. The girls grinned and got to their feet, running towards the woman.
A deadening feeling set over her as she watched the scene. 'What if that becomes you?' she thought bitterly. 'You have no where to go. Do you want your child living in an alleyway?' She couldn't go running back to Amon, what was the point? He didn't care, but why did that bother her so much? Wasn't that to be expected from someone as him? Someone that had treated her like trash the first time she'd met him?
"Wondering if you want to spend your life like this?" asked a cold, familiar voice.
Robin turned to see the one she'd hoped to not see, someone she had been warned that still hunted for her. Standing next to her, smiling at her maliciously, was Jaden. She gasped, crawling back from him, trying to get herself as far from him as possible. Unfortunately she did not make it far, before Jaden slammed one of his leather boots down on the girl's hand.She yelped out, wincing from the spasms of pain that ran through her crushed hand. As the pressure was lessened, she felt cold fingers coiling around her locks, Jaden pulling her up to her feet. Her eyes were now at eye level to his, his eyes flaring with what she believed was satisfaction.
"Hello there little lovely," he grinned. He stroked a strand of her chestnut hair with his other hand, receiving a deadly glare from the girl. "Tsk tsk, don't look so angry. I didn't mean to hurt you." Jaden pinned her against the wall, his mouth resting right next to her ear.
Robin could feel his breath against her. Chills went down her spine, her breath quickened. If she had her glasses with her, she could easily take him out right then and there. Unfortunately, trying to aim at him in her current predicament could risk her burning anyone around them or even herself.
"What do you want?" she gasped.
Jaden chuckled, tightening his grip on her arms, which were now held down against the wall. He nudged a strand of her hair with his nose, sighing as he took in the sweet scent of her hair. "Hmm. . .not to worry lovely, it isn't you I want. You see, over these last two months, I've learned some incredible news about your lover. Seems there's a lot more to him than I previously thought."
"And what would that be?"
He smirked, thrusting her harder against the wall. "Long ago, my only intentions were to turn you into SOLOMON, to save others like us. Yet, I learned something, something quite unexpected after our little meeting that day at the mansion. You see my dear, Amon is what I want now. I am no longer interested in you or your child."
"Why Amon?" she asked shocked.
"He took something away from me and I want my revenge," he hissed through gritted teeth.
Robin could feel every crease and crack in the wall pressing against her. She feared that if Jaden pressed her any harder against the wall, it would harm the baby. 'I have to get away from him,' she thought to herself.
"Why?"
"Don't concern yourself with 'why' love. Just worry about answering my questions. Because if you don't. . ." His grip on Robin tightened even more, a smile coming to his face as he heard a small yelp escape from her. "I will kill you and your unborn child. Where is he?" he asked sternly.
She shook her head, hoping he would accept her answer. In all honesty she didn't know where he was at the moment. He could be back at his apartment, out looking for her in the city, or possibly with Touko. Touko. Was she going to worry about Touko at a time like this? "I don't know!" she gasped painfully.
Jaden's grip tightened, but instead of pressing her against the wall, he threw her against the ground. His frustration was starting to grow. "You are lying. I don't accept lies love," he spat, kicking her in the side. He hadn't anticipated Robin's attack, a ball of flames, popping him in the shoulder.
"You shouldn't have done that," he said, glaring at her evilly.
She managed to catch the sleeve of his jacked aflame, giving herself enough time to run off. Not knowing where she was going, Robin went running down the street, glancing around for any place she could hide from Jaden. It felt like the world had closed itself off from her. There was nowhere for her to go, except for one place she thought of as she crossed through the park.
Robin ran as fast as she could, her heart racing as she heard Jaden's baited breath getting closer. She was getting closer to STN-J headquarters and she hoped none of her old friends were still there for the night. Somehow she had to get Jaden away, away from anyone he could harm. Mostly, she had to get him away from Amon.
STN-J Headquarters-
Michael paused at his computer as an alarm went off. Somewhere in the city, the craft was being used and it was getting closer to headquarters. He had a bad feeling, knowing Robin was somewhere out there. Haze had been out looking for her ever since she got a call from Amon. The other STN-J members, knew nothing about Robin's disappearance, nor did Haze wish to tell them.
The other members were still sitting around the office, waiting for their shift to end. Michael, as desperately as he wished not to, had to tell them about the witch activity. What if it wasn't Robin at all? 'The powers could belong to some radical witch out there, harming citizens,' his mind lectured.
He decided, against his gut feelings, to tell the others. Haze was just entering the office, looking weary and upset. The others didn't seem to take notice, they never seemed to notice anything about Haze, besides the fact that she was spending a lot of time with Michael.
"I'm getting signs of the craft not too far from here. It could be Robin, but it may also be some witch attacking somebody," he said, pointing at the alert icon on his screen. The little red window was flashing on and off, a yellow exclamation point in the center. This was the new technology they had been given, they now had the ability to find the craft anywhere in the city. Michael thought the technology was quite unbelievable and at the same time, wondered how SOLOMON was able to make such a thing.
"Robin wouldn't be using her craft to its full extent, not in her condition. She's been told it's not best to use it. It's probably some rampant witch. Do you want me and the others to go check it out?" she asked, pulling a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, I think you should. I still have a weird feeling about this."
Street-
Robin was just crossing the gate, when she saw Sakaki and Karasuma exiting the building. Her heart leaped up her throat as she realized this was the first time she'd seen them in months and she wished it wasn't under these circumstances. She felt a sudden shove from her backside her body flinging against the gate, the metal rattling from the impact.
"You think you're clever, don't you?" He reached down, gripping her by the collar of her dress, raising her up by her feet. "Well," he rotated the shoulder Robin had managed to burn earlier. "You're not." Jaden tossed her down on the ground, chuckling to himself.
'If I keep this up, I'll lose the baby for sure,' she thought, tears streaming down her face as she felt her body land on the cold sidewalk. She wanted to fight back more, but without her glasses her flames wouldn't cause much damage. Robin kept trying, even though most of her attacks barely touched him.
STN-J Headquarters-
Sakaki and Karasuma had just stepped out of the building, when a large clanging sound filled the night air. Karasuma was the first to look towards the gates, her eyes squinting as she tried to make at the form that stood behind the iron bars. Standing there was a man, grinning as he watched a battered form slide down to the sidewalk. It took her only a second to realize that the person on the sidewalk, was Robin.
"Robin?" she said thunderstruck and in horror. She shot towards the gate, the others soon following. Before any of them made it there, both Robin and the man had taken off again. Karasuma wasn't sure what was going on or who that man was. As she and the others chased the pair down the street, she remembered seeing the man's face once before. It was the man she'd seen in Amon's thoughts those many months ago.
To her left, Robin saw an entrance to an alleyway, one she'd been down before when on a hunt. She went zooming down it, the muscles in her chest tightening as she tried desperately to breath. With each breath, it felt as if her lungs were being crushed by the air coming inside of them. The muscles in her legs were tightening, becoming heavy with each step she took. It was obvious to her that at any moment, her body would give out on her. There would be nowhere for her to go.
She was only a few feet from a gap that was in the wall, when Jaden shoved into her again. Desperate, she crawled as far away as she could, flipping onto her back to face him. Her attacks, smaller each time she sent them, were doing nothing to him. He laughed with each ball of fire that narrowly missed him.
"Don't you see? Your attacks are useless against me. Why don't you just give up before I kill you both, which would be quite unfortunate. I've taken quite a liking to you."
"Well, I haven't taken a liking to you!" Robin spat, sending a rather large gulf of flames towards the man. It appeared that he hadn't expected the attack, for the flames popped against his face. She inwardly smiled as the flames licked at his now scorched skin.
Nearly shaking, Jaden held his hands against his face, yelling out as the pain surged through his jaw. He was trying his best not to fall back, as the flames had burned the scars that once appeared on his face. "How—how dare you. . ." he choked, trying to stroke his cheek.
Robin struggled to get to her feet, her legs shaking as she managed to pull herself up. She had her back to the wall, her eyes locked on Jaden's fidgety form. The anger and hatred coming from him was more than anything she had ever witnessed. With every breath he took, it was as if flames were shooting from his lips. His eyes were filled with flames, flames that hungered for death.
"You stay away from her!" shouted Haze, her gun trained on Jaden's backside, her face riddled with anger.
Jaden slowly turned his head towards the raven-haired hunter, sneering as his eyes glazed over her face. He hadn't forgotten her little betrayal, the lies she had told him. Nor had he forgotten the bullet she placed in his chest. A scar still sat there, reminding him of how there were little people to trust in this world.
"Hmm. . .still friends with her I see? I thought you were lying to her as well. It seems all you know how to do is lie."
"Still fuming over that little hole I put in your chest, Jaden? Very temperamental boy aren't you?" she said with a smirk.
Jaden huffed angrily, pulling down the neck of his jacket. There in plain sight to all, was a round scar. "Just another one for my trophy collection, isn't that right? I bet you wished you'd hit me in the right spot. Too bad you didn't. You're lovely friend wouldn't have to suffer because of it."
"What's going on here?" said Doujima confused. The others were standing alongside her, the same expression as she on their faces.
"What do you want with Robin? I thought your hunt for her was over, now the SOLOMON has stopped the hunt?" Haze was totally ignoring Doujima's question. There wasn't time to explain the situation.
"I'm not interested in Robin. She doesn't matter to me at all anymore, nor her child. It is her supposed husband I want. The one I seek for. Our little lovely wouldn't tell me where to find the little bastard, so I thought maybe I'd force the answer out of her. Didn't seem to work, unfortunately."
"Child? Husband?" asked Karasuma, wondering if she had misheard the blonde witch.
"Why do you want him?" Haze asked, her eyebrow raising in confusion.
A vein in Jaden's left temple twitched in annoyance as he glared at Haze. He didn't seem to enjoy the fact that she was stalling his search. It appeared he couldn't finish his interrogation of Robin here. Before any of them had time to react, Jaden pulled out his gun, sending two Orbo bullets towards them. One bullet narrowly missed Karasuma's neck, whilst the other dug itself into Haze's shoulder.
Preoccupied by the bullets, neither hunters had noticed that Sakaki and Doujima were now in a shooting match with Jaden. He went rushing down the alleyway, stopping when he'd reached a dead end. Haze, even with her injury, began shooting at him. She cursed under her breath with each bullet that missed. Her vision had became blurry, the Orbo quickly taking effect.
"Too bad for you," said Jaden, his gun clicking as he loaded it, pointing the barrel towards her head.
"No, too bad for you," said a cold voice.
Jaden spun to his left, meeting a bullet to his chest. He hadn't enough time to see who had shot at him, but the voice told him enough. His body hit the ground, a grim smile coming to his face. Standing over him, there gun pointed at his head, was Amon.
"You think you've won, don't you?" he said sneering, blood quickly soaking his grey t-shirt. He whipped his Orbo gun towards Amon, shooting him in the leg. As Amon fell over, Jaden took off again, his body slumping.
Amon took off after Jaden, his left leg dragging behind him as he ran. The pain seemed to be the furthest thing from his mind. He only cared about stopping Jaden, keeping him away from Robin. Haze had called him, warning him of Jaden. Quickly he made his way down the alley, when Haze told them they were heading in that direction.
Jaden was only a few feet from where Robin once lay. She nor any of the STN-J members were around, at least from what he could see. He stopped near the gap that lay in the wall, he could sense that someone was watching him. Unbeknownst to him, Robin was watching him from the gap. Robin had her eyes fixed on Jaden, concentrating her attack on him. If she didn't take him out now, he'd never be stopped.
Just as Amon was a few feet away from Jaden, the blonde witch's body was engulfed by bright, fluid streams of fire. He went running to the side, hollering out as the fire tore away at his skin. For a split second, it looked like Jaden was finally defeated, but to everyone's shock, the fire diminished as Jaden rolled around on the ground. Robin's concentration had broken as she felt herself grow weak. She leaned against the brick wall, trying to keep herself up.
"Robin?" Amon asked, worry evident in his voice.
"What in the hell is going on here?" asked Sakaki, sticking his gun back into its holster as he ran towards the group.
Amon's eyes grazed over Robin's weary form, her head turned away from him. He could see that she was still upset with him. Right then and there, he wanted to tell her the truth, how he truly felt. If telling her kept her from running off again, he'd do it.
". . .I lied," he whispered, his voice audible enough for Robin to hear.
She swiftly turned her head to look at him, tears threatening to slip down her cheeks. His voice was unusually soft, a tone she'd never heard him use before. For once she didn't have to force herself to smile, it naturally came to her. As sad as it was, it was enough to make Amon's spirits lighten.
"You—you'll all pay for—for this," choked Jaden, raising up his Orbo gun once more. No one, including Amon, had time to react before the gun went off. The Orbo bullet was heading straight for his chest. Amon felt his breath catch in his throat as he saw the head of the bullet coming towards him. Just as the bullet was about to hit him, he felt a sudden weight on him.
Everything suddenly became a blur, his comrades voices yelling out into the night. There was blood all over his clothes, he felt weak. As Amon looked down, he saw that the bullet had hit closer to his heart that he thought possible. Laying in his arms, her body slumping over, was Robin.
He felt sudden chills go through his spine as he felt her blood run through his fingers. When she had leapt in front of him, her back turned towards Jaden, he heard her whisper something to him. Amon hadn't realized what it was, until that moment. It was something that was now haunting his mind as he stood there.
I'm sorry.
"Robin," he choked, his senses finally kicking back in. Haze was now beside him, frantic as she called out Robin's name. His eyes widened in shock and fear, he leaned down on one knee, lowering her to the ground. He reached for her hand, his shaking as he tried to feel for a pulse. The pulse, though quite faint, was there.
"Idiot," hissed Jaden, weakly getting to his feet. Even with his horrendous burns and with a shot to the chest, the healer was still moving.
If anyone had spoken a word to him after that moment, Amon surely couldn't have heard it. His ears were booming with the enraged beating of his heartbeat and the angry cursing going through his mind. Amon turned towards Jaden, his breath quickening with each breath that entered his lungs. He felt a great rage form inside of him. It was a rage like none he had ever felt in his life. An emotion that absorbed his entire body. That rage was slowly manifesting into something far worse. With every second he looked at Jaden, the rage grew greater. Suddenly Amon felt lightheaded and felt himself slip from consciousness, or so he thought.
Sadly, that's the end of chapter 9. This chapter took a little longer to get out than I hoped, but I'd rewritten a lot of this particular chapter. I just didn't like where it was heading. There's something I'd like to add about Haze's character. A friend of mine told me that Haze's personality seemed to change a lot, one minutes she's a bad ass, the next she's a quirky 16 year old. Well. . .she's pretty much me. XD Eh, except that I'm 20. Most of the people around me could tell you I'm that way lol. I'm also known for my sarcasm. evil grin
This chapter is also late getting out because I've been busy taking care of my mom. She suffered from a series of strokes about two years ago and has to be cared for. So that's why this isn't getting updated as swiftly as one would hope. I'm sorry for the delay everyone:3
Poor Robin. . .and maybe poor Amon. . So he finally admit that he lied. . .and that happens! ToT So, erh. . .there was a lot of OOCness in this chapter. ;
Preview of next chapter:
Unwanted Power. . . . .Forgiveness. . . . . .Hell's Fury. . . .