.: Chapter Sixteen :.

Sometimes


Robin

What will life be like, now that things have changed? Can I really go back to the way things were before all of this? Can I go back to hunting witches - the opposite of what I must do, what I was destined to do?

And... Will I be able to deal with this neutrality with Amon? I'm not quite sure I can handle it, after all those times...


Amon walked wordlessly into the STN-J office, like he did every regular morning for the past ten years he had been working here. As the heads of Karasuma, Doujima, Sakaki and Michael turned to see him, he ignored their questioning glances. Doujima wondered what he'd do to them.

"Where's Robin," Doujima whispered to Michael.

"I don't know," Michael replied.

"He doesn't seemed changed. Do you think our plan worked?"

"It's hard to tell. Let's wait till Robin comes."

"Michael!" Amon's voice cut through the whispered voices of Doujima and Michael.

"Uh..." Michael paled at the thought at what Amon might do.

"Tell me what has happened in the past three weeks. I need an update."

Michael let out a breath of relief. Amon didn't want to strangle him. "Well," he said, "while you were gone, there was no hint at all of witch activity. It was as if they all disappeared or something. We've been pretty bored and the Chief wouldn't let us out of STN-J until it was time to leave if we didn't have any hunt."

"Is that it?"

"Yes sir."

The doors opened and Robin stepped out, dressed in her usual un-revealing black dress and her hair up in her usual "handle-bar" style.

"Good morning. Sorry I'm late," she said. In her hand was a bag. She set the back next to Michael's computer.

"Here Michael, I brought something for you to eat."

Michael nodded his head in thanks.

"So what has been going on while I wasn't here?" Robin asked, curiously.

"Nothing exciting," Doujima yawned. She was in early today to see if Robin and Amon had changed. Apparently nothing was different. How disappointing. Doujima was definitely going to have a little chat with Robin.

Amon raised his eyebrow questioningly.

"Well, while you were gone, there were absolutely no bizarre cases. It was as if witches didn't even exist while you were gone. It's been really quiet," Michael explained.

"I see. Then what have you been doing during all that time?" he asked. Michael looked elsewhere.

"We, ah... We were stuck in here doing ah... We were playing Go Fish," Sakaki replied, slightly embarrassed. Robin turned her head away to hide the smile that was on her face.

With a beep, a screen appeared on Michael's computer screen. Sakaki peered over Michael's shoulder to see what it was.

He looked up with a big grin on his face.

"Well, it looks like we're back in business."


He was running. Ever so often, he would turn his head back to see if anyone was following. He didn't dare stop running. He was afraid that if he did, he would meet his end. But he was tiring. He didn't know how much longer he could keep running. Sooner or later, he would collapse from the strain. But he had to keep going... He didn't want to fall into the hands of that monster.

"Hello," a voice said in front of him. He skidded to a stop. His face, once flushed from running, paled. "And where are you running to?"

"Please! Please don't hurt me! I promise I won't tell anyone! Just don't hurt me."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. You have the knowledge no one else has and that can be fatal," the man in front of him said.

"Please don't hurt - "He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. He was dead within a second.

The man strolled off towards the opposite end of where the dead man laid, chuckling.

He was invincible.


"It says here that the reports of all the victims showed no sign of struggle. The were all killed instantly when their necks were snapped." Michael said.

"How long has this been going on for?" Karasuma asked.

"For about two weeks now."

"Then why hasn't it been reported to the STN-J?" Amon questioned.

"Because they assumed that there wasn't any witch craft used. It's a very common way of dying. But recently they noticed that there was no sign of struggle so they found it a bit strange. So now it's in our hands."

"I see."

"What do you think it could be?" Robin asked, with a strange look in her eyes.

"Telekinesis," Karasuma replied. "The report said that there was no sign of struggle, no finger prints on the victims' necks. I'm guessing that the witch stood at a distance and used it to kill the victim."

"I agree. Michael, see if you can find a match of witches that could are suspicious of having telekinesis and find out what those victims had in common. Send me a report."

"Yes Amon."

"Sakaki, Karasuma, you head out to the most recent site. Robin and I will go to the morgue to check out the other victims."

"Wait," Michael said, as he found something, "Miraculously, there's one survivor. But he's in the Intensive Care Unit."

Robin looked worried. "Should we check that out?"

Amon nodded. "We'll take care of that."


"Amon doesn't seem changed does he? Same as before," Sakaki said, as they walked down narrow allies to get to where the yellow tape was and the police.

"Yeah. It kind of makes the past three weeks sort of a waste," Karasuma agreed. They neared the crowed of busy people, each doing their own job.

They flashed a couple of identification cards and then Karasuma got right down to work.

"Fear... A lot of fear and worry," Karasuma murmured. It wasn't an unusual emotion since most people were afraid when they were about to be murdered. Aside from that though, Karasuma couldn't sense anything else. "This person died a hard death. It seems he was running before he was finally cornered. I don't think we can learn anything else here. Let's go back and see what Amon has to say."


He smiled. He was pretty sure he was close to the trail. He could feel it. The Eve of Witches. He was pretty sure that soon it would be in his hand and he would truly be powerful.

He was happy that he had stumbled onto the journal in that pawn shop. Cheap thing, he had bought it for ten dollars. What a wonderful find. The text inside was a bit smudged up, but not so much that he couldn't tell what was said inside.

According to the journal, three hundred and twenty years ago, a group of witches had gathered to put their power into an object or something of the sort. The words that had been there was faint and smudged, but he assumed it was an object. This object, carrying the powers of witches who were stronger than the witches today was powerful. If he got his hands on it, he would be invincible! The power of many witches... Just the thought of it was intoxicating!

The man shuddered with pleasure. Soon, it would be his... But for now... He would be satisfied with what he had...


Robin hated hospitals. It reminded her of death. Of course, there was also joy here, with new born babies, being born into the world. However, knowing maybe... Maybe they might not survive was also a disheartening thought.

Flashing their ID cards to the nurses at the counter, they asked for where a Mr. Lee Shevon was. The two nurses glanced at each other. While the people were obviously important, their patient also happened to be in a very bad condition. Debating what to do, they tried to stall for a moment to think.

"Um... Mr. - " the first nurse said, trying to remember the hunter's name, "Amon, Mr. Shevon is in a very bad state at the moment. Would you like to..."

"He may have information that is vital to this case that can possibly stop incidents such as his. Many victims have ended up in a worse condition than he is. Please cooperate." Amon said.

Sighing, the second nurse got up from her spot behind the counter. "Please follow me," she said, leading the way.

Robin and Amon entered the room where Shevon laid, attached to IV tubes and other sorts of things that helped him. They didn't have any time to waste, since they only had five minutes max, unless the patient should show any signs of trouble. Then they would have even less time.

Shevon appeared to be sleeping, breathing deeply in and out. Amon glanced at the figure in the bed.

"Do you think..." Robin started, wondering about the patient. They should just leave. Apparently his state was too troublesome to get anything out of him. It had been a waste of time.


Momo bit her lip. She wasn't quite sure about this whole "Eve" business, but... It had large amounts of power. And that power, couldn't it help her about her problem? She was a witch, and knew eventually that they would get out of control and she would be killed. Maybe if she got her hands on this "Eve" thing, then maybe she'd be able to get rid of her powers. And then, she would be able to live a normal life. Yes, a normal life. That would be nice.


She wanted to escape this horror. Always running, never stopping, never able to leave it. Never able to escape. She just wanted to be left alone, but it wouldn't let her.

But, she had heard rumors. Rumors of an object that was powerful. It might even be able to help her and those like her. Just maybe. If only she could find it... If only.

Determined, she would set out to find more about this mysterious power, and how to gain control of it. And when she did, she could end this. End her misery and her nightmare.


Across the whole city, no, not just the city, across the country, different people set out to find this mysterious powers, this "Eve", for many different reasons. Some were selfish, some weren't. Either way, they were all determined to have it, whatever the cost. Their money. Their blood. Their life. Their soul. Anything. The price was never too expensive.


Amon returned to his apartment after a day of futile investigations. Nothing had turned up. Absolutely nothing. And to add to that, more and more reports of active witches were showing up. It was absolutely strange. First they were strangely quiet and now all of sudden they come popping up like daisies. Yes, strange.

He sighed warily. There were still two calls he needed to get back to, whether he liked it or not. Nagira could wait a bit longer till the next day, however he would like to get to the more difficult answer, aside from Zaizen's.

Picking up his phone, he dialed a number that was familiar to him, despite the fact that he wished it wasn't.


A few minutes later, Amon was sitting in Harry's, nursing a cup of coffee. He had gotten a taste for it during the stay in that apartment, thanks to Robin. The dark-haired man was waiting for Touko and finally she appeared in the doorframe, standing there nervously scanning the virtually empty place for Amon.

She fidgeted a bit, seeing that Harry was also near the counter. She didn't want to be where someone else could hear them. Getting the hint, Amon got up from his place at the counter and walked to a booth in the far corner. Sighing, Touko walked over and sat down opposite of Amon.

"What is it?"

Touko smiled sadly. There were so many things lately. Just so many. "It's about Robin."

Amon resisted the urge to jump up and demand what about her. Instead, he raised his eyebrow questioningly.

Touko heaved another sigh. "Do you know that she claims that she's in love with you?" she said bluntly. She said claim, because, well Robin was just so young and well...

"What about it?"

"So you do know," Touko pointed out. He nodded, though it was a barely perceptible nod.

"Well what are you going to do about it?" she asked, "you have to do something about it! For heaven's sake Amon, you're what, ten years older than her!" Touko frowned with displeasure.

Amon wasn't quite sure how to handle this.

"I'm not going to do anything about it. It doesn't concern me about whatever she feels. I'm her partner and that's it. No more, no less."

"Amon," Touko said, frustrated. "She's so young! It may not seem like it sometimes, but Robin is just a teenager, despite everything! In fact, she should be in school like any normal girl, but she isn't!"

"Robin isn't normal. She never has been and never will be. Just the fact that she is a witch proves it," Amon said, the words paining him slightly. It was necessary, he told himself. It was necessary. No one could know about what went between him. No one.

"How could you say that! Please, for once, don't be so cold hearted and deal with this!" Touko was so frustrated. She had to admit, where Amon was concerned, he caused her some confusion where her emotions where concerned.

Amon got up. He had enough of this. "Is that all?"

Touko stared at him. What had caused Amon to be like this? What secret was he hiding? What had been hiding in his past? When it came down to it all, she didn't know a single thing about him.

"Just be careful with her Amon, please. Don't hurt her. She's just a girl," Touko begged quietly. Her words brought a painful reminder to him. Yes, despite her behavior, Robin was still a girl. And there was nothing he could do about it.

He left Harry's, entering into the cold darkness, something familiar to him.


He couldn't sleep. His thoughts whirling through his head. He sat in his bed, staring into nowhere. He wished, how he wished, that Robin was next to him, curled up, in a small mass. He wanted to hold onto her so much. But things were so wrong. Robin was so young... So young...

And Zaizen. Yes, there was Zaizen. Amon was scared. He didn't like the fact, but he was afraid. For himself. For Robin. The threat that Zaizen had created wasn't any idle threat. He knew Zaizen was perfectly capable of making it become reality. And that was what scared him. He wasn't sure if he could protect both of them. Not quite sure of his ability to hide the fact that his powers had awakened. Not sure if he could stay the hunter and not the hunted.

There were so many insecurities in him, ever since Robin had come into his life. Before she had come here, things had been so simple. All he had to do was follow Zaizen's advice, no questions asked, all with his emotions unattached. He had been uncaring every time he hunted someone. To him, they weren't human, weren't natural. He had distanced himself from it so he didn't care. He had grown used to it. But this time... This time it was different.

But despite it all, despite his problems mostly centering around Robin, he wouldn't trade meeting her for anything at all. Not even for his uncomplicated life back.

He growled with frustration. Things weren't going well for him, and he couldn't help it. It made him feel... helpless.

It wasn't a feeling he welcomed with open arms, one thing was for sure.


Robin curled up in her bed, a little ball. She couldn't sleep, not one bit. It felt so strange, not having Amon next to her. She had grown accustomed to the feeling, and now that it wasn't there...

It unnerved her. She shouldn't be so dependent of Amon. She couldn't. She couldn't keep thinking of him like this. She had much more important matters on her hand. Like how she was going to rid this problem with witches, and about the powers she had that hadn't surfaced yet. But every time she tried to think, her brain brought her back to Amon.

Sometimes she wondered what it would be like if she had been a normal teenage girl. Someone who went to school every day, grumbling about homework and schoolwork, or listening to her friends talk about boys and dates and all that stuff. She wondered what it would've been like if she was just a regular girl, no witches, no hunting, no killing, no powers. She wondered what it would've been like that if she had known Amon, both of them living a different life, and had just maybe be together... Just maybe. Sometimes, she longed for that life, having friends her age instead of older than her, and going to school, and maybe even having a boyfriend.

But she didn't have all that. She didn't have any friends her age. She didn't know anybody her age in fact. The only people she knew were the people at the convent she had been in and the people she worked with. And of course, her grandfather. She didn't go to school, like any normal girl her age would've. In fact, she hadn't ever been to school in her whole life. Sure, she had been taught by the nuns the basics and all the topics that she needed to know, but that was it. Her education had basically stopped at middle school. And then the education had also been different, because on the side she learned about witches. Not exactly a subject taught in public or private schools all across Japan and Italy.

And a boyfriend. She didn't think she would get that anytime soon, especially not in the situation she was in. In fact, she wasn't even sure what things were between her and Amon. They were partners, yes. But that was at work, out of it...

Despite her behavior, yes, she was a girl going through those troublesome teenage years. Yes, she was more mature than other girls her age, and perhaps seemed a lot older, but that was to be expected in the profession she had. And like all girls her age, she held doubts in her heart.

She wished they weren't there, but... they were there. Her heart was fragile, perhaps more so than your average girl. Never in her life had she known love, known of it, but had never experienced, never known her parents and of course her grandfather had never loved her, and if he did by any odd chance, he never showed it. No, she wasn't experienced in love in any of its form. Till Amon came along. Even then, she hadn't been sure. But during those weeks with Amon, alone with him, she had come to believe it was love, that she did love him. But then that talk with Touko... No, no, she loved Amon. She had to believe it. It was true, dammit!

She hated the fact that she had these doubts. She couldn't afford to have any doubts, no matter what it was. Whether it was just a relationship that had to be kept secret or hunting witches, she couldn't have any doubts. They couldn't exist. They weren't allowed to exist.

Still, sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if what she was doing was wrong. What if those people she had hunted, what if some of them weren't guilty? What if they had just been living their own lives, to their extent. Some of the people she had met with powers seemed so innocent.

Sometimes, she wondered, ever since she got back, did Amon truly feel that way about her? Did he truly love her, the child she was? He had said that he wanted her for his wedding night... But had he been telling the truth or simply trying to refuse her offer? Robin sighed. She couldn't talk to anyone about how she felt.

Sometimes she just felt alone. Very alone. And confused. Yes, very confused.


"Nagira," Amon greeted his older half brother. They were standing at a corner of a shady street. He had finally returned his brother's call, after two days had passed.

"Amon. So what's up? What's with this vacation I heard you went on? It's unlike you." Nagira asked, a cigarette in his mouth.

"It's nothing."

"Nothing? It's very unlike you."

"What is it that you wanted?"

"Straight to the point as ever."

"Just get to the point."

"Fine. I just wanted to let you know about something I've been hearing around."

Amon raised his eyebrow questioningly.

"Something about an 'Eve'. Anyway, it seems that a lot of people are looking for this 'Eve'. No one knows exactly what it is. Most people think it's an item. However, everyone is saying that this thing has power. A lot of power. They're not sure what kind of power, but that's not stopping from most witches from looking for it.

"I'm pretty sure you noticed it, there's been a lot of commotion coming from witches right? Especially after things have been pretty quiet," Nagira concluded.

Amon's heart suddenly grew cold. People are looking for the Eve... Robin... she's the Eve, Amon thought. But they thought the Eve was an object, not a person right? So Robin should be safe for a while at least. And her powers haven't surfaced yet, so it shouldn't be too bad. Dammit, things have been getting worse and worse. It seemed problem after problem was piling up, maybe even too fast for him to catch up to.

Dammit.

"So why are you telling me this? I got the impression you don't like me hunting witches," Amon said.

"I don't. But while I don't think witches should be hunted just because they're different, I don't think they should go off and kill innocent bystanders over some object that might not exist."

"What do you mean might not exist?" Amon's eyes narrowed.

"Well, sources aren't very clear exactly where this whole 'Eve' thing came from, and not even quite sure what this thing is exactly. For all we know, it could be a scam or just a myth."

"I see."

"I just thought you should know. Keep an eye out. Something's just not right. After all, why all of this just now? Why did this whole Eve thing come out? It seems suspicious. I keep getting this feeling that something big is going to happen. Just be careful." With that, Nagira turned around and walked down the street a bit to where his car was parked, leaving Amon with another problem on his hand.

He needed to talk to Robin.

Amon wondered how the hell he was going to talk to Robin alone. He wasn't sure if he could pull it off, after all, to his knowledge, they might have people watching them, courtesy of Zaizen.

Dammit. Should he risk a note? Maybe he could call, or ask Michael to help him. In fact, the Eve had said that Michael could be trusted, right?

Sighing, he decided that would be best for the time being. Dammit.


Michael looked up from his typing and loud rock music, startled to see Amon at the STN-J office so late in the night.

"Amon, what are you doing here? Everyone's already gone," Michael asked, glancing at the digital clock on his laptop. It read 11:29.

Amon didn't reply, instead, he passed him a folded piece of paper. Glancing at Amon with a weird look on his face, and unwrapped the piece of paper and read it.

I need your help. It's a secret. No one can know about this. Can you do anything about the security cameras?

Out loud, Amon said: "Have you got the tapes and files from the crime scenes?"

Michael understood what Amon was trying to ask. "Yeah," he answered the question, but not to the one Amon asked out loud. "But only the sound on the tapes work though."

Translation: I can only filter out the sound, anything else would seem suspicious.

"Alright, that's good enough."

Michael returned to his computer and began typing. A few minutes later, he whirled his chair around to face Amon.

"Alright. So what's this whole thing about?" he asked, curious.

"It has Robin involved." Michael grinned. In the next few minutes, Amon spent the time explaining the situation and what had happened during their stay in the apartment - from the whole power thing to the Eve thing. And of course, the meeting with Zaizen after words and the chat with Nagira. During that time, Michael's grin had replaced itself with a serious frown.

When Amon was finished explaining, Michael leaned against his chair, and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Wow," he whistled. "So what do you want me to help you with? I can't exactly do much."

"I'm worried that Zaizen put someone to watch us, to report to Zaizen should I..." Amon wasn't quite sure how to phrase it.

"Should you ever get friendly with Robin," Michael supplied. Amon nodded. Michael grinned. "Hah! So we were right. You and Robin were attracted to each other." Amon glared at the boy.

"This is never to leave your mouth. No one is to know."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. Besides, I care too much about Robin to let her get hurt just by something simple. But still... This is great, Mr. Ice Prince actually cares about someone." Amon glared even more. If looks could kill, Michael would be dead over and over by now.

"Since I can't talk to Robin like that, I need you to tell her and warn her about the people after the Eve. She should be ok for now, considering that nobody considers that the Eve might actually be a person and her other powers are still dormant.

"Yeah, I'll let her know. Don't worry." Amon closed his eyes for a moment. He couldn't do anything but worry.

"And while you're at it, see if you can find more information about this whole thing. Nagira's information is pretty good, but I could use more information."

"Will do. I'll let you know when I find something."

"Good. Good night Michael," with that, Amon turned around and headed for the exit.

"Hey, Amon," Michael called out. Amon turned around to see what Michael wanted. "Congrats." Michael grinned. Amon let a hint of a smile show.

"Thanks." Then he left.

Michael returned to his typing. First he had to return the cameras back to normal. Boy, he sure loved digital things - including cameras. Then he had research to do and to inform a certain blond haired birdie about something. He sure had his work cut out for him.

Well, the night was still young. Putting his headphones back on, he typed to the rhythm of whatever was playing.


Oh my God! Sorry for a really long break of not updating, but I absolutely had no interest in this story after a while, despite all those wonderful reviews. And on top of that, I was totally stuck, so I didn't know what the heck to write. But anyway, what to write just came to me, and using my spiffy laptop, I started typing out the chapter. Actually, I had this chapter partly written but then I just stopped, because it wasn't going no where till I knew what to write. So, yeah, this chapter came out.

It's actually a lot longer than what I normally write. It's 11 pages. Short compared to some chapters, but for me, this is a feat. I just hope that you guys actually liked it and understood it.


Normally, I'd reply to some of the reviews, but since I'm on my laptop, I'm not connected to the Internet, so I can't check up on my reviews.

So... I just wanted to thank all my wonderful reviewers and apologize for such a long wait for a new chapter.