As Amon made his way towards Touko's room, he briefly thought on his inconsideration. It was late, too late to be barging into someone's apartment without a notice but why didn't he care? He should, shouldn't he? Pushing away his thoughts, he knocked on her door and waited.
The door slowly opened and Touko appeared wearing a knee length, dark brown skirt and a light brown, long sleeved shirt. She smiled softly at him and addressed his sudden appearance.
"I didn't expect to see you so soon."
"I'm sorry for not calling." Stating this was, more or less, Amon's way of getting the fact that he had just shown up out of the way. He wasn't so sure he meant it though…
"There's no need to be sorry, I'm happy to see you. Come in." Touko said, standing back to allow him through the door.
He entered the apartment and politely removed his boots, taking a look around and seeing nothing had changed.
"Please, make yourself comfortable. Would you like some coffee?" Touko asked, walking past Amon to the kitchen.
Always the silent one, Amon only nodded his head yes when she looked to him for an answer and made his way towards the couch. Sitting down, he listened to the sounds of Touko moving about the kitchen making coffee and, right at that moment, couldn't figure out exactly why he was there. He didn't really have anything to say to her, nor did he have anything to talk about. Was he really only there because he felt he had to visit?
"Here you are." Touko whispered, handing a cup to Amon. "Now, why are you here?" she asked, sitting down next to him, not too close, not too far away.
Looking down into the dark brown liquid in his cup, entranced by it, he shrugged and added "To see how you've been."
"Oh, I see…" Touko whispered, staring down into her coffee as well. She could feel him drifting away and yet, she felt so close. Perhaps it was because, even though she could be closer, she was the closest of everyone he knew. Despite this, she wanted more than anything to be even closer still.
"How have you been, Amon?" she asked, finally looking over at him.
"Good, and you?" Amon asked, opening up a chance for some type of discussion.
Taking the opening, she decided to go where she hadn't before.
"I'm alright…but I missed seeing you…" She had said it, she had wanted to for a while now. She wanted to see how he'd react.
Amon didn't look up right away, he only stared into his cup, not moving a single muscle. His heart jumped when she said those words, not out of love but out of surprise and…fear? He felt he had to say something in return but he hadn't a clue as to what he should say.
"I've been busy, I'm sorry I had no time." was all he could choke out. He felt rather pathetic at that moment in time. He glanced at Touko out of the corner of his eyes and saw her meekly shake her head. She then looked back at him and what he saw made his heart begin to beat painfully faster again.
Her eyes were so sad, the happiness that had once inhabited them was gone. Where had it gone? Had he done this? There was a slight glimmer of hope, the warmth was still present but it was a sad warmth. Pity maybe? Was it for him or herself?
He let out a big sigh and leaned forward to place his cup on the small table in front of him. He then turned slightly in Touko's direction and put his hand on hers, his eyebrows coming together in irritation with himself. "I've been busy, I'm sorry I had no time"? He mentally slapped himself for saying that to her; as if he hadn't done enough damage already he just kept messing up.
"I truly am sorry." he said, trying his best to soften his voice, forcing himself to look directly into her eyes. He then leaned over and kissed her gently. He began to pull away but Touko grabbed his jacket with both of her hands and pulled him, not roughly or gently but desperately, back towards herself. It had been a while since they had any type of physical contact but he could feel the absolute desperation in, not only her kiss, but her touch as well. It was almost overwhelming. He couldn't pull away, that would definitely make things worse and turn him into the biggest jackass possible. After all, the kissing wasn't unpleasant and it was normal for a couple to kiss so there shouldn't be any problem. Right?
They continued to kiss, things escalating from gentle kisses to passionate kisses; ones that convey to the one receiving them just how badly they're needed. The next thing Amon knew, Touko had risen and was pulling him up with her. She looked him in the eyes, hers full of meaning, and gently pulled him towards her room.
That night, they made love for the first time in months. Amon was just as passionate as ever, if not, more so as Touko's desperation, loneliness, and need shined through every movement and every sound.
Amon awoke at about three in the morning and glanced over at Touko. She was, just like every other time before, snuggled up against him, breathing softly as she slept. He thought back to their night together and remembered a particular moment where his heart had, for the third time that night, sped up. He had looked down into her eyes and saw so many emotions he wasn't sure he even caught them all. Love, sadness, hope, fear, and many others had been present inside of her last night and he could guess where the four he named came from.
She loved him, she genuinely loved him. Why, though, he couldn't place. Maybe she had fooled herself into thinking he could give more than he had been giving. Who knows, maybe he could and he didn't realize it. Scratch that last thought…
She was sad because he was never around; she had fallen in love with a man who rarely made appearances in her life and yet, there they were, making love like it was nothing abnormal when, considering their past together, it, technically, was abnormal. Maybe she realized it was a waste of time as, afterwards, nothing would change and yet, she couldn't stop herself. She wanted to be close to him no matter how many times he hurt her.
The last two emotions scared him, again, not that he'd ever admit that to himself or to anyone else. She felt hopeful because, despite part of her realizing nothing would change, she still had hope that it would. He wondered how long she'd remain hopeful before she realized he wasn't a man worth hoping for.
Then finally, fear. He frightened her. He had already hurt her but, every time she gave herself to him in some way, she was afraid he'd hurt her again. And yet, every time he did, she took the pain and kept on going, that little bit of hope left in her still pushing.
He felt like running, like getting up, pulling his clothes on, and sneaking out to never return. Why did he keep returning, he wondered as he stared up at the ceiling. He should leave and never come back, he should break things off and make it a clean break. It felt like, however, that by sleeping with her, he was giving them a second chance. A part of him told him he shouldn't but another part said "One more time, just one more time." That part confused him the most though. Why was it telling him to try again?
He couldn't stay there any longer but he couldn't leave, no, not this time, he was determined not to hurt her this time. He rolled over onto his side and awkwardly draped his arm over her hip and willed himself to sleep.
He woke up this time to find Touko missing to his relief. He sat up and looked around, finally deciding to slip his clothes on. Upon exiting the room he saw Touko sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee.
She glanced back at him, gave him a small smile that made his stomach do a turn, and told him there was coffee in the pot if he wanted some. Instead of making his way to the kitchen or the couch, he just stood there, dumbly staring at the back of her head. Maybe he should have run last night…
"Well, I must be off, I have to get to the office." she said, standing up and looking at her watch. "You can stay as long as you'd like…oh, but I suppose you have to get to the STNJ so you can do whatever suits you." Touko said, grabbing her things and walking past Amon with a smile.
He just stood there, still unmoving until he heard the door shut before he let out yet another big sigh.
On the other side of the door, Touko let her smile drop and sighed herself. She knew Amon was uncomfortable and she couldn't lie; so was she. "One step at a time" she thought to herself, "one step at a time…"
Amon slowly and rather numbly made his way to the kitchen, grabbing a cup Touko had let out for him and poured himself some coffee. He took a deep breath in before taking a drink and setting the cup back down. He then slowly walked into the living room and sat down, closing his eyes to calm himself and clear his mind. With his eyes still closed, he brought the cup to his mouth again, drained most of the coffee inside, then stood to take the cup back to the kitchen. Putting the cup in the sink, he decided he'd better leave before he was late.
Amon entered the office, seeing only Michael, Sakaki, and Karasuma were there, and headed to his desk without saying a word, not that that was unusual. He had only just sat down when Zaizen entered.
"Amon, I'd like to speak to you in my office." he said, before heading through his office door.
Knowing what had happened the night before, that simple command seemed much more menacing than usual.
Amon took his place obediently in front of Zaizen's desk, his arms straight by his sides, his head tilted slightly forward so that his hair covered the sides of his face. He patiently waited for Zaizen to address him.
"The others, do you think their morale is down?" Zaizen asked, gesturing towards the conference room where Karasuma and Sakaki had taken their seats.
Amon walked over towards the window overlooking the conference room and stared down at his colleagues. "I suppose so what with the passing of a fellow hunter." he stated indifferently.
"Headquarters is sending us a new hunter." Zaizen stated bluntly, not bothering to dress up the lone sentence.
Amon, not having anything to say to that, simply continued staring down at his colleagues, waiting for his boss to continue.
" A craft user." Zaizen added upon Amon's silence, knowing that would grab his attention.
Amon's ears perked up and he whipped his head around to face his boss, his eyebrows scrunching together in disbelief and thought.
"A craft user?" he half whispered.
"Yes, it would seem she's to arrive today…" Zaizen started, cut short by the phone ringing. Picking it up, he looked meaningfully at Amon who got the point. That was his cue to leave.
Amon gave a slight bow before turning and making his way out. He walked over to Michael's desk, asked if there were any leads, and then left upon hearing there weren't. He needed to go somewhere he could relax…
Bent over his drink at Harry's, he decided it would be easier and more beneficial if he thought on the new hunter instead of Touko. He was curious about HQ's timing for starters; they were sending a new hunter 6 months after Kate's death. Why?
Then there were the details. Zaizen hadn't told him who he or she was, how old they were, what their craft was, or even the simple fact of when they were to arrive. He wasn't sure if that was because he was cut short or if it was because he didn't know. Either way, he didn't like that he himself didn't know. Not to mention working with a craft user wasn't something he enjoyed the thought of.
"Not since…the other time…" he thought to himself before standing up and laying some money down on the counter. He shoved his hands in his pockets and made his way to the door to head back to the STNJ and see if anything was going on.
Upon leaving, he found himself face to face with a young woman dressed in a long black dress with two odd pigtails of some sort on either side of her head. As he got closer, he realized she had amazingly bright green eyes. He had never seen green eyes before…
He forced himself to look straight ahead instead of at the young woman but could still feel her gaze on him. They walked past each other, uncontrollably shifting their gazes towards one another as they did so, and continued on around the corner, eyes never leaving the other's.
Once she was out of sight, Amon sped up a bit, pushed open the door and made his way to his car. He didn't need that kind of stress added in, it would be best if he kept his mind focused on the new hunter what was to come.
And here's chapter two; I'm so glad I got it done what with everything else going on. As usual, please read and review, it's very much appreciated.
Viking Princess: I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope you keep reading and reviewing. :)
Sparky16: Thanks, I'm surprised I did as well as I did with it. It all came to me pretty quickly so I had the first chapter done about two hours after I thought of it.
moonsister: Thank you very much, I'm happy you enjoyed it as well. :)
CatWolf Witch Kyobi: Thank you, I very much appreciate your review. :)