Ho-Hum people. Santa is approaching with his stoned deer and beer belly which means what? Winter Vacation! Like music to my ears. You know what it also means? More time for updates, YAY. It gets exhausting trying to stick this in while pretending to 'understand' Pre-Ap Bio and failing wondrous Geometry. Good thing my parents could care less what I do with my spare time after school. Anyhow, let us proceed with this new chapter. I have seriously taken into consideration some of the great reviews you guys left. I pondered on it for hours at a time…while watching TV but pondered nonetheless, and I came to the conclusion that I can't really please everyone, whether it is longer chapters or more interesting things aside from the story line, I'll just try my best to quench my own writing thirst. (Whooohoo, cool analogy)
(Note to BlueBlackMoon: I CAN'T believe you forgot how to download documents…tis' not that hard my dear but if you really can't figure it out I'll teach you again. Now read my story Bluey and be dead honest like I've forced you to be before or else….oh man, I can just hear you giggling like a lunatic at that…)
'The irony of a hunter being hunted…being a witch'
The gun barrel shined with the light of the glowing moon, its owner stood in the shadows cocking it up. It moved in slow motion and settled on…her.
Robin tried to yell, tried to stop the person but her craft was gone, she knew it was gone…
She tried to say that it was all a mistake, she wasn't a witch, she wasn't!
The trigger was pulled and the world froze. Robin could see it coming, heading right at her palpitating heart. Split thoughts crossed her mind, such as that she only wanted to live, to have a purpose.
But…she was a hunter, wasn't that her purpose, and if so was it so warped it now caused her to die?
The bullet was near, only a couple of feet away when someone erupted from the shadows.
Amon rushed forward and stood before her.
'No Amon, don't,' her voice was soft like a whisper even if she tried to yell. 'Move Amon,' she implored but he merely looked down on her apathetically like he had a million times before.
'Move…'
Amon blinked in pain as the bullet reached its mark, the world unfroze and he toppled over her with the force of the hit.
'Amon!'
She sat on the ground and put his head on her lap watching him stare up at her with watering eyes, he was dying. A lock of hair crossed over his face and she reached over to brush it aside but stopped. Her hands were covered no— soaked in his blood.
'Why would you bleed for me?' she asked hoarsely feeling his weak hand grip hers.
'If you are not a witch,' the shooter spoke, 'then why do you hurt everyone around you?'
Robin shook her head, she wasn't a witch, no not her.
The shooter emerged from the shadows with blinking green eyes overflowing with tears.
Robin looked down at him and at the gun at her hand. She had shot him and now her hands dripped with his blood, his life.
The life he had given up just to protect her.
"Amon!" Robin shrieked opening her eyes only to see darkness. She breathed raggedly feeling her heart on her throat. It had been a dream, only a stupid dream but…
She had murdered Amon, it was all her fault.
Her hands, even the heavily bandaged one, pulled roughly against the metal without any improvement.
'I can't be here, I have to be at Raven's Flat living—living,' she thought grunting while pulling at the handcuffs some more. 'Amon and the others will be mad, I have to—.'
"Did the little hunter have a nightmare?" the voice of the woman Jung said. Crunching glass made Robin stop and brace herself for something new. Her left hand still throbbed like a whole new heart, it was a surprise she had been able to sleep with the excruciating pain.
"Let the child be," the elderly voice of Masuo broke in, "Louis gave her a hard time last night."
"You said 'Amon' right?" Jung continued, apparently ignoring Masuo. Robin's face tightened once an ice cold hand began to caress her cheeks. "That will be your tall, bitter partner I suppose? I don't really understand what you see in him. Don't get me wrong, he is handsome but on all four months I've tailed and stalked him he seemed like…well, like very boring."
"Jung, don't be telling her—."
"Stalked? You stalked Amon, why?" Robin croaked, speaking directly to them for the first time.
"I have to study a person closely before I can transform into them," Jung answered conversationally continuing stroking her face, "I would love to be you for a day, you have such wonderful skin…say, would you mind if I went to him as you? Maybe we could have a little fun, him and me…"
"Stop it Jung," Masuo snapped before Robin could react, "Louis will reproof you for telling her this, he also won't approve of you trotting in front of the lead hunter for just fun."
"I was joking old man!" Jung scoffed frustrated. She removed her hand in a fast, angry move, leaving thin nail marks on Robin's face. "You and that bigot can never take a dumb joke."
"Be quiet and get out of my face," Masuo raged, "You're supposed to go help Doyle with the hunters today, can you at least go do that?"
Jung stomped to what Robin guessed was the door, "I can do that and much more," Jung said softly, opening the door and slamming it. Robin led out an air of relieve, the woman was gone, she was gone…
A tired sigh reached her ears, "Don't mind her, child. Jung is young yet and has much to learn about subtly."
For the second time a hand came to her face but it was warm and soft. She winced when alcohol came in contact with the scratch marks without notice. The odor of it was strong but it only awakened her senses.
"What do you want from me?" her voice sounded husky and strained even to her.
"Trust me when I tell you child that you are better off not knowing," his warm hand left her, only so that the warmed part of her face chilled with the moist of the drying alcohol.
Robin didn't pursue it further and remained silent. So they wouldn't tell her, would they? They had ulterior motives; it wasn't a silly kidnap for ransom. These people were…witches? But how was that possible, maybe she was jumping into conclusions. It wasn't like her eyes had been free to wander about. No one had displayed powers aside from Jung.
Robin shivered at the memory of it. Amon had been there consoling her not too long ago, then again Amon had been in her dreams dying for her not too long as well.
'Neither was real,' she thought stubbornly She had to believe it or else simply loose it and wallow in guilt, but...
It hadn't been her fault she had been kidnapped, or that Amon and the others were probably looking for her now. Or that maybe they were in a peril of some sort. It wasn't her fault; she had simply been caught unawares.
'If you are not a witch, then why do you hurt everyone around you?'
Robin gasped; she could feel it, the dark wetness of Amon's blood all over her cold-chapped hands, dripping.
It wasn't real, not real…..
'Don't bleed for me Amon'
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"Seekers don't exist," Amon said bluntly.
"I know that," Michael nodded absently sending the image of the symbol to all of their screens. Amon's eyes narrowed at the figure with the Label and triangle but remained silent. Michael took that as permission to continue, "Seekers are part of a lore that was told around the time of the Crusades—."
"We know that already," Karasuma interrupted edgily.
"I'm doing this for those who don't" Michael snapped just as impatiently gesturing at the three people with the looks of bewilderment on their faces.
"Continue already," Sakaki muttered.
"Okay, like I was saying, Seekers were said to be bands of witches that, well, 'seeked' those who slayed their kind. They would use their powers on the people gradually, not killing them at first, just harming them from the shadows so as to affect their everyday life. Most of the victims were said to be inquisitors and priests."
"Okay, this all seems very realistic to me, why is it considered a fable?" Doujima asked rotating the symbol on her screen.
"Stop playing with my graphics." Michael snapped, "It is a fable because there were no written records on it at the time. Now hunters think it is a simple story tale probably because of all the technology and advances. We are too sure of ourselves, thinking we have control of every witch out there.
"This story was passed on by word of mouth, only until a century ago our ancestors got smart enough to write it down…well as a fairy tale but they still wrote it."
"Do you think they were the ones who took Robin?" Karasuma asked beginning to look sick in the dim light of the room. "I mean, is it even possible, you said it was just a story, Robin can't possibly be in the hands of witches."
"The symbol in the calling card is genuine, but whether the kidnappers are copycats or I don't know, the real thing I'm not sure."
"That is our job," Amon cut in, "We will try to find whatever the calling card told us. Now that we have a vague idea as to what we are after we can start with that."
"Okay, this is it," Michael muttered changing their screens to the written words of the calling card.
"What does it mean by the 'fresh purity in the night'?" the chief asked looking above Doujima's shoulder.
"Maybe it means…uh…"
"Sakaki, there is nothing fresh and pure about 'uh', maybe it is a virgin girl, she would be fresh and pure," Doujima offered.
In a flash five pairs of eyes turned and bore onto her, "Okay stupid idea, but you can't say I was wrong can you?"
"Am I the only one who is worried that Robin might be with witches?" Karasuma blurted exasperated, "They kidnapped her so easily even though she has her craft, Robin—Robin isn't a mere child who can get taken by strangers in a mall or on the street! And while we have been discussing German rock stars she could have been—!"
"No, you are not the only one," Amon retorted getting up from the conference table glaring heatedly at her, "She's still out there waiting for us to rescue her, nothing will happen to her, nothing."
-------------------------------------------
A car approached but he didn't look back keeping his eyes glued at the cold majestic blue sky. He exhaled the smoke from his cigarette and watched it turn into a faint cloud above his head. To him it looked like a hippo…or maybe a flamingo…
"Doyle, you bastard, pay attention to me!" Jung called out shutting off the engine. He turned to look beyond his shoulder to give a disdainful look to the Asian woman.
"I told Louis I could do this alone, go away," he inhaled once more and resumed his study of the sky.
Jung approached him from behind and grabbed his cigarette.
"Give me that!"
She laughed tossing it to the curb and stepping on it, "You shouldn't smoke these, they'll kill you. Besides, you sound like you are choking every time you talk."
"Bite me," he wheezed taking out another one and lighting up.
Jung shrugged and turned her attention to the sight a few yards away, "When did you do this?"
"Two days ago," he coughed.
Jung's eyes lit up while observing the sight that extended more than a hundred yards.
"Wow, you have my seal of approval, it's perfect."
Doyle stared at the woman with narrowed eyes, "Gee thanks, because you know I wouldn't be able to live without your approval."
"Don't give me sarcasm boy," Jung turned to him with a hungry anticipation on her face, "This is going to be great, the hunters won't know what hit them."
Doyle flicked his new cigarette to the curb and stomped on it angrily, "Don't even think about it, I said I would do it alone. I won't share my glory with you."
She rolled her eyes like she would to a little kid, "I don't want glory, I just want in."
"No."
"Why not? If I join you it will make things ten times better, the hunters will cry after we are done with them if you let me help."
Doyle looked at his own hundred-yard masterpiece to hide the flicker of interest in his expression.
"What do you mean by that?"
Jung got close to see beyond his shoulder, smiling deviously, "I mean me plus you equals STN hunters on the ground…you won't get such a great outcome by yourself."
Doyle looked up at the sky again with slightly blood-shot watery brown eyes that crinkled with malice, "You're in."
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"Water is both pure and fresh," Michael argued for the fifth time.
"But how can you be sure it's water, it can be the country air for all we know!" Sakaki rejoined edgily.
They sighed in unison and returned to the search engine in their computers.
Three hours had passed in which all four hunters and Michael had done extensive search on anything that might help them with the clue. So far they had come up with rain forests, virgins and several soft drinks that even though quenched thirst, it didn't help them find Robin.
"I still think it's water," Michael muttered grudgingly.
"Maybe…it is," Doujima got up excitedly brandishing a newspaper, "Look at this, a new spring water pond erupted from the ground on the outsides of Osaka!"
"So?"
"It happened two days ago and two days ago—."
"Robin was kidnapped," Amon finished picking up his trench coat, "This is our only lead now, let's go with it."
"But it could be something else," Michael disputed taking the newspaper from Doujima. "We can't really know for sure, it could very well be a trap too. If they are witches or the Seekers then it is definitely a trap, we would have to be prepared Amon—Amon!"
"He's not listening," the chief whispered softly while everyone stared at the once gloomy hunter rush about the room. He collected a map, loaded his orbo gun and picked his cell phone.
"Don't stand there lets go," with that he hurried to the elevators but decided it was too slow and headed for the stairs.
"What is with him? He's acting far too reckless," Doujima complained picking her coat and car keys.
"You guys go ahead…I'll go with Amon," Karasuma said hurrying to the stairs too.
Karasuma's heels gave a huge echo as she ran after Amon in the parking basement. She could see him opening his car and tossing everything in on the passenger side thoughtlessly, "Amon! Amon, stop!"
"Did you get the coordinates of the pond from Michael?"
"No, I didn't," she reached over and slammed his door shut before he could get in, "Get a hold of yourself Amon, your concern is staring to take over you."
Amon in a show of exhaustion leaned on the hood of the car and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and turned to her looking like a true stoic, "This is not concern, Robin has many valuable information of the STN-J. They could easily get it out of her."
Karasuma shook her head smiling kindly, "You may not think it's true but I do know you. I am the longest hunter that has remained working with you. I might even take the liberty of calling you my friend… Amon you are being emotional about what has happened to Robin, not rational."
"You are wasting time," he said calmly but his jaw muscle clenched painfully, "Let's go Karasuma."
"Logic and emotions don't mix, it is physically impossible. If you are going to get Robin back without anything happening to her, you'll have to be in control. I understand how you are feeling—."
"I'm fine, you are the one who's poignant not me," he said opening the door with such force that she had to jump back before it hit her, "We have work to do not discuss my feelings."
"You are wishing right now," Karasuma continued struggling to shut the door while he tried to keep it open, "that you could trade places with her! That they had kidnapped you instead just so that you wouldn't feel what you are feeling now!"
Amon stepped back and let Karasuma shut the door with a bang, "I'm being coherent Karasuma, feelings have nothing to do with it we are wasting time."
Karasuma bore her eyes into his vacant grey ones trying to pry truth out of his words. Finally satisfied she opened the door for him to get in but not before looking up sadly at him, "Timing is all wrong, huh? You should have told her earlier."
His face tightened as he got in ignoring her. Karasuma shook her head in resignation and went around to get on the passenger seat.
Amon watched her walk around the vehicle and glared at himself through the rearview mirror, "I know I should have…"
Done! I thought I would be done by Friday night but I guess I was more inspired than I thought. Cool. Okay so Amon and Robin fought some inner demons in this chapter. I can't really say their fight is over though. Read and review people, I crave the attention. Happy Joyous Holidays!