Author's note:

It's time for the next installment. In fact, I believe you will be getting two chapters for the price of one again since I have another chapter just about ready to go too. I just want to make sure everything's consistent due to some minor plot changes I made.

This chapter is another trip down quirky lane. Also, so no one gets offended, I just wanted to apologize if it seems I'm making fun of Robin's sheltered upbringing. Not so. I am Catholic myself, so I'm not Catholic bashing. But I can make fun of myself with a little exaggeration and parodying (wow, I didn't know that was actually a word until I looked it up just now). The same applies to making fun of video game addicts. No one can get offended since I am one too, right? :)

Anyway, enjoy the chapter though its short and silly. I'll have some responses to reviews at the end.

Chapter 11

Remember the Alibi

"I am not an otaku!"

"What would you call someone who obsesses over video games because he has no real life?"

Robin opened the door of the apartment Doujima had given her directions to, trying to hide a smile as she saw the two hunters standing off against each other with furious glares aimed to maim and destroy. She didn't think they had quite noticed her presence yet, so she stood silently just inside the doorway and watched the show.

"I don't obsess over video games," Sakaki snapped back, glowering. "And I do too have a life."

"You just showed me the callous on your finger from playing Soul Caliber 2. What did you expect me to conclude?" Turning to Robin suddenly, Doujima added, "Robin agrees with me, don't you, Robin?"
"Robin thinks its cool that I play video games," Sakaki spoke for her before she could even open her mouth to reply. "She's open minded and accepting of others . . . unlike some other people I know."

"Um . . ." Robin interrupted reluctantly. "What exactly is a video game?"

Doujima and Sakaki stared back at her slack jawed for several moments. "You mean . . . you've never seen . . ." Sakaki mumbled in shock. "I can't believe it."

Robin attempted to elaborate. "I've heard people talk about them before, but the only games we played back at the convent were 'Name that Saint' and Pope Trivia. Oh, and there was that one time when we played pin the scripture passage on the Abbot, but that was more of a running joke than anything."

Smiling smugly, Doujima turned back to Sakaki. "See? The world does not revolve around video games."

"Sometime I'm going to have to show you what a video game is," Sakaki insisted, looking solemnly at Robin.

"But right now, we have work to do," Doujima reminded.

"You're reminding me to do work?!" Sakaki cried incredulously.

Ignoring him, Doujima waved Robin over to the bedroom of the apartment. Robin paused in the doorway when she saw the Ogham wheel etched into the wooden floor under the window. Kneeling down cautiously, she examined it closely, feeling a chill unsettle her spine as she made sense of it. "These symbols invoke the protection of the devil," she whispered, pointing the runes out to her companions.

"Hmm. I wonder if the circle Amon and I found said the same thing," Sakaki commented.

"I wouldn't know," Robin murmured, feeling a pang of annoyance once again for Amon's choice to ignore her when she could have been helpful. Returning her attention to the wheel, she noticed something interesting. "Part of the circle has been broken by the patterns in the wood, disrupting its power."

"That's why it didn't protect him," Doujima mused in understanding. "We were at this building looking for one of the witches on our list when we saw him in the hall. He started running away from us when we asked him a question, so we followed him. When we found him, he was sitting in that corner, chanting something. Sakaki shot him and the guy seemed surprised when the shot hit him." She shrugged. "'Course, I couldn't blame him--I was kind of surprised too."

"Yeah, whatever . . ." Sakaki rolled his eyes. "Anyway, then the guy jumped out the window."

Robin's eyes widened slightly. Rising to her feet, she peeked out the window to find a fire escape. "Did he get away?"

"Yeah. We started to follow him, but he used his craft to charge the metal with electricity."

Nodding, Robin wondered aloud, "It seems strange that he escaped in that direction. I thought this circle was meant as a ward against anything coming in through the window, but what if it was merely meant to guard an escape route? Did you explore the alley down there?"

"Somewhat," Sakaki replied. "There's a huge puddle that fills half of it."

Without another word, Robin lifted her bulky skirts to her knees and crawled out through the window. Doujima followed after a moment of wide-eyed surprise at Robin's unusual lack of modesty. "C'mon, Haruto," Doujima called.

"I'll meet you guys down there," Sakaki sighed, turning to the door.

"What?"

"I don't like heights." Sakaki disappeared through the doorway.

Rolling her eyes, Doujima followed Robin down the fire escape, muttering something under her breath.

Robin turned her attention back to her search, looking intently for another wheel on the metal or brick of the building as she descended. Sakaki appeared in the alley when they were almost at the bottom, approaching them with a sour expression, his hands in his pockets. As they descended, Robin found the fire escape seemed to have come loose from the wall in a few places near the bottom. Doujima wailed in panic, but Robin simply held on tighter to the railing and crouched down by the symbols she had just discovered written on the brick in chalk.

She was deep in thought examining the circle when Doujima finally lost her balance. The fire escape groaned as it lurched suddenly to the side. A huge splash accompanied by a shriek echoed down the alley as Doujima landed in the middle of the puddle, spraying flecks of mud over Robin who was still hanging from the railing. Sakaki exploded in laughter, though he hadn't been far enough away to avoid getting a handful of mud flecks on his clothing as well. Feeling her grip on the railing loosen, Robin gritted her teeth as her fingers slipped and she landed in the puddle next to Doujima.

-----

An hour later, Robin was looking at herself in a mirror in Doujima's apartment appraisingly. The boot cut jeans and rose-colored t-shirt were not necessarily professional enough for work in her own opinion, but Doujima had assured her they were more than passable. Though the outfit covered almost as much skin as her dress had, the tailored fit of the pants and the tightness of the shirt merely accentuated the fact that she was a female and was growing into her body. It looked strange to see her shape so clearly when she was used to hiding it under the folds of a sack-like dress, but she couldn't say she hated it. In fact, she had to admit it made her feel a little giddy inside to see herself dressed like she had seen other girls her age dress. It made her feel almost . . . normal.

Doujima was watching the change in expressions over her face as she stood to one side of the mirror, trying to hide her expression behind a brush. From the sparkle in her eyes, Robin could assume she was hiding a grin. "You look great, Robin," Doujima finally gushed, unable to hold back. "Amon's going to pass out cold when he sees you."

Robin grimaced. "I'm afraid I've already done that to him once," she murmured, toying with the end of the braid Doujima had wrapped her hair into, grateful Doujima had found an "acceptable" hairstyle which still kept her hair out of her way. "Anyway, we'd better be getting back to the office before everyone starts getting suspicious."

Shrugging, Doujima replied, "Hey, I was so not going back to the office looking like the mud creature from hell. A stop off to change clothes was required, and if they can't understand that, then that's their problem."

They walked out into the living room where Sakaki was slouched on the couch, his arms stretched out on either side of him. He still had a goofy grin plastered on his face--probably because he was replaying the sight of Doujima landing in the mud puddle again in his mind. His smile faded, replaced by astonishment when he saw Robin. Gaping openly at her, he whistled softly through his teeth. "Wow . . . I had no idea." Exactly what he hadn't had an idea about, Robin was unsure.

Doujima grinned. "C'mon," she said, pulling him to his feet by the hood of his jacket. "We've got to get back to the office. Remember the alibi?"

"Yes of course." He squinted her as if she had just called him an idiot . . . which she actually had in a roundabout way. "We called Robin and asked her to check out the symbols in that guy's apartment. When we were heading back to the car afterward, this asshole in a Porsche came zooming down the street straight through a puddle and sprayed the two of you with mud from head to toe. I tried to chase the guy down on my bike for disgracing you, but he got away."

Frowning, Doujima commented, "I don't remember discussing that last part."

"Just improvising," he replied with a grin. "And you can't complain unless you want me to tell the truth and describe in unflattering detail exactly what it looked like when you fell into that puddle. Anyway, after 'the incident,' we stopped off at your apartment so you two could change clothes. Does that about sum it up?"

"Good boy." Doujima patted him on the head. "Now let's go. And Robin!" Robin paused, glancing back at her. "Remember what we talked about. Its time for you to take matters in your own hands. Don't give in to his demands so easily anymore."

"Whose demands?" Sakaki asked in confusion.

"It's girl stuff," Doujima replied with a smirk.

"Hey, I played Final Fantasy X-2," Sakaki replied. "I might be able to understand."

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To Aliora: Thank you! I understand your fear of crossovers because I share it myself. Since you are one of several people who mentioned shying away from my fic because of that fact, I'm wondering if I should adjust my summary a little. I'm glad to hear you think I'm developing the AmonxRobin stuff at a good pace. I tend to get excited and start rushing things when I first write stories, so it's reassuring to hear I'm not doing it. I'm also glad you enjoyed the game references. Amen to the horror of FFX minigames. We must all share our trauma. I've finally finished going to therapy, but sometimes I see a red butterfly and I just lose control. ;)

To Miuixtli: I just realized that I never submitted a review to your fic though I really enjoyed it. I'll have to do that soon. I'm glad you're enjoying my story. Don't worry, we'll get more AmonxRobin closeness soon. Hee hee hee . . .

To Busoshwe: I agree with your assessment of Michael (Roy Dupuis) and his sexy accent. I only caught random episodes of it when it was on and never got to see things in order. One of my friends is buying the DVDs though which allows me the pleasure of seeing more of it. I also totally understand the need to search for things on the Internet which have nothing to do with finding a job. I graduated in December '02 and I didn't find a full-time job until a month or two ago. Not to depress you or anything! My degree is in Graphic Design which has been a really difficult field to get jobs in lately. But things are definitely looking better. And don't worry about scaring anybody by reviewing at 4am. You don't sound nearly as incoherent as I probably would be at that time.

To Lizalou42: Hey, you seem familiar somehow. Don't I know you? JK. Thanks for reviewing, beta reader o' mine.

To Sesshoumarusgirl123: Thank you! I'll keep updating as often as I can.

To Cali1043: Thanks for the encouragement! I enjoy getting reviews from you all the time.

To Pyrosa: It's great to hear from another Dante fan. I was worried no one would be able to appreciate the Devil May Cry stuff since fanfiction.net isn't set up to be very conducive to crossovers. (I'm still in shock that I'm writing one . . . sigh) I wasn't planning on putting Lucia in simply because I kind of see this story taking place somewhere between the two games. And I'm not really sure how I would fit her in anyway. I'm open to cool ideas though. As far as Dante and Robin flirting goes . . . it's strange because I had more of that in mind before I started writing, but they ended up interacting in a totally different way. That's why we have to do case studies on characters, watch them interact and gain test samples in order to--what the hell did I just say? Anyway, we'll just have to see what kind of situations crop up in the future to further annoy Amon, though I don't know if it will necessarily be in the form of Robin and Dante flirting. But Amon's just so fun to annoy in so many ways.

Oh, and I'm not sure if you meant the "grammar and spelling" remark sarcastically or not, but it reminded me to take the opportunity to ask in case anyone knows, how do you upload without having to change all the letters with accents and such? Every time I upload, I have to go through and replace all the smart quotes with inch marks and all the em dashes with two hyphens. It's starting to get annoying. And I invariably miss a word like facade or naive and find crazy looking characters in place of the letters with accents. There must be an easier way! I feel stupid that I don't know!