5

"Should I bring lotion, Walter?" Seras asked as she passed him in the main hall.

"We will be traveling quite a bit during the day," Walter replied.

"SPF 30 it is then."

There was a momentary pause during which Seras was sure they were both thinking the same thing.

"Do you think Sir Integra is thinking this through? It seems a little… impulsive."

A frown flashed across Walter's face. "She and Amon have been rather competitive since they first met. Their last chess match went on for two weeks."

"I remember."

"I doubt she would change her mind now, especially when this quest was his idea. She would consider that a failure. But even so, I'm sure Sir Integra has considered every aspect of this situation."

"It still seems like a wild goose chase," Seras said. "I mean, mysterious proof that Sir Integra has magical powers? You have to admit, it sounds pretty unbelievable."

Walter closed his eyes in thought. "I've seen many things that would sound unbelievable. So have you. We must simply trust that Sir Integra knows what she's doing."

6

"What am I doing?" Integra asked herself out loud. Her suitcase lay on her bed half filled with the oldest clothes that still fit her. She had stopped in between the bed and the dresser, just standing there with a folded shirt in her hand. The insanity of it all had just struck her and she was momentarily paralyzed by it.

Why was she suddenly prepared to charge all the way to the other side of the world just to prove Amon wrong? Why was she so resistant to the idea of being a demon? Wasn't it a good thing? If Amon was right, then it was her demon blood that had kept her alive through all the terrible trouble of the past year. But it was ridiculous! She was no demon. She was a vampire hunter, plain and simple. She had no powers or anything. Alucard had given her that vision ten years ago. Or at least, that's what she had always believed. What if…? No, it was impossible. She was human and that was the end of it. Amon had to be wrong. He had to be. That's why she had to go there. To see it for herself.

But there was still that nagging feeling, like she was forgetting something. A feeling… or an instinct… the crazy unknowable fact that she would find something really special over there. That was it. But what would she say if someone asked? That was a different question. She tossed the shirt she'd been holding into the suitcase and turned back to the dresser.

7

Amon watched the coffee pour from the pot in his right hand into the mug in his left. What exactly did he intend to do with the swords once he had them? Use them to hunt witches? No, guns were better for that. What then? Maybe he'd figure it out when he actually had the swords in his possession.

"When is she coming?" Karasuma asked, coming up beside him.

"Tomorrow," he replied simply.

"You're looking forward to this, aren't you?"

Amon didn't answer. He took his coffee back to his computer terminal and sat down. Karasuma was right. He was looking forward to this. But it wasn't just the quest he was anticipating. It would be fun to prove Integra wrong. He still smirked at her first reaction to his theory.

"What in bloody hell are you talking about?" she had written.

Amon had put that message in his Saved folder. Eventually, it had come down to him emailing a surveillance photo of Inuyasha from the office security system. Technically, he wasn't allowed to do that. But it had become a matter of honor by then.

Integra had a hard time believing that she was related to demons. Being raised in a monster hunting family had forever prejudiced her against magical creatures. Amon himself had come from a family of magical creatures. Even so, that prejudice was something they had in common. Maybe that's why they had gotten to be such fast friends. A stranger might have thought they were ex-lovers. But it wasn't anything like that. The truth was that they simply felt comfortable telling each other things they wouldn't admit to anybody else. Maybe it was the fact that they were so far removed from each other's lives that made it easy to confide. It seemed that every few days they were swearing each other to secrecy over one thing or another. It would be good to see her again. He couldn't wait to see her face when he showed her the proof.