Witch Hunter Robin
Fire and Rain
Chapter IV - Lonely Days I Could Not Find A Friend
Rated : PG-13 for Mild Violence, Mild Profanity, and Mature Content
Summary : After the bout with Nobunaga, the STN-J is under review from Solomon Agent Saunders and his deputy, David Rica, but is there more to Rica than meets the eye? And what about Robin and Michael's continuing romance?
Disclaimer : I do not own Witch Hunter Robin® or any characters. They are registered Trade Mark™ of Sunrise® and now apparently Sci-Fi™. If I owned WHR it wouldn't have just been 26 episodes.
Nor do I own the song Fire and Rain ; I just borrowed its title.
Storyline, Plot, Joe Saunders©, and David Rica© are all my property.
To quote Mr. Kanno, one of the many reviewers:
”You're evil.”
Yes, yes I am. But I'm only the Diet-Coke of Evil.
Evil is Naraku, and Voldemort and Seymour.
I'm more like Sesshoumaru and Draco and Jecht.
*Smirks*
And since I'm only semi-evil, and because I believe everyone will murder me if I don't update soon, here's Chappie four.
----------------
Robin did not speak.
All of the STN-J agents were sad and angry at what had happened. None of them, except David Rica, seamed to believe Michael was dead. Doujima insisted that he was fine, and he'd turn up very soon, but it was clear she didn't know if she truly believed her own words.
Karasuma, who had used her powers at once all over the place, was horrorstruck. After touching the keyboard she could feel Michael's fear and anger, and after touching the Zaizen's gun (which had been found near an emergency exit of the Flat) she confirmed what Robin had already guessed.
As for Robin herself, she just sat in Michael's computer chair, not saying a word to anyone or looking at them for several minutes. Naught but one single tear that fell from her eyes and stained her cheeks.
Zaizen and Saunders, who had been at the Factory, arrived soon and Zaizen was beyond any anger Amon had ever seen him at before. Cleary Zaizen no longer cared about the Solomon Review Agents and he had taken charge again, instantly ordering Amon to find Michael.
“Naw, naw.” Rica said suddenly. “The boy is obviously dead; he would have bled out all of his life by now.”
”Shut up.”
Amon and Zaizen both had been ready to say something to Rica, and Doujima looked as if she may go for her gun, but all of them froze when they heard Robin's quiet voice command the Solomon Agent to silence himself.
“Did you say something lil' puppy?””
Robin didn't turn her head to look at him, she didn't move at all. She only repeated herself, her voice full of a tone that was a mixture of fear, sadness and terrifying anger. “Shut up.”
Never before had Robin been so rude, directly or indirectly to anyone since she arrived at Raven's Flat and started her job at the STN-J. Most were at a loss for words when she suddenly spoke, but Rica's smug smile only appeared.
“I'd watch what you say to me lil puppy or--“
”David.” Saunders said quietly, holding up a fat hand. Rica shut up.
“Amon.” Robin said, standing up. It seamed that Rica's now usual rudeness had shaken her from her trance. She didn't wait for Amon to ask her what she wanted; instead she just grabbed his hand and began pulling him towards the elevator.
Amon didn't have to ask. He knew where they were going.
To find Michael.
----
Michael was unsure as to what had happened or where he had gone. The last memories that really stuck out were of him, Michael, taking the life of the strange attacker.
Michael grunted. His right shoulder was still burning and bleeding and he knew he had to find a doctor soon or he'd wind up dead. He looked around and realized at once where he was. How could he not? He had lived there for years, the many years before the STN-J.
Delaney Street. The street his life had started on in a small apartment with a cheep rent. This is where he had taken his first breath and opened his eyes for the first time.
Would Delaney Street be where he took his final breath and closed his eyes for the last time?
No. Michael wouldn't let himself die. He wouldn't let himself die here. Not like this. Because he was the only one who knew the truth. He was the only one who knew that if not stopped, David Rica would kill the entire STN-J, like he tried to kill Michael.
Of course, the man who shot Michael and had in return been shot by Michael was not David Rica, but Michael had a sneaky suspicion that the man was working for Rica. A hired assassin.
With a groan he felt himself become dizzy from the blood loss, and he felt his body become slack and weak. His face was pale and he could hardly support his body weight, despite the fact he was naturally slender.
Michael's feet seamed to know the way however. He had already arrived at the apartment building and climbed up to the third floor, apartment B7. Before he realized it Michael was knocking on the door, praying that he would see his mother's loving face staring back at him.
Yes, part of Michael knew that wouldn't happen since part of him remembered that the mother was dead and she would not be coming back, but still, a man on the verge of life and death will pray for the impossible.
When the door opened it was opened bye a young woman with dark hair and friendly eyes. Michael stared in disbelief.
“Ma . . . “
And then he fainted.
----
Rica was now back in his hotel room. He was supposed to be looking for Michael, but he didn't care about Michael Lee.
No, not true. He cared about killing Michael Lee, but he didn't care much for saving him. Besides, he had a phone call to make. Walking over to the bed stand he grabbed the phone and dialed the international operator, and was connected in a matter of minutes to a Louisiana phone number, in New Orleans.
“Yes?” Said a cold drawing voice on the line.
”Sir, I have some, unpleasant news.” Rica said all sarcasm and smugness gone from his voice and replaced by fear. There was a pause and then the cold draw spoke again.
“What is it Peter?”
“Naw sir.” Rica said quietly. “It wasn't my fault, but one of the STN-J operatives knows.”
A second pause, and then: “Knows? Knows how much?”
“He doesn't know about you, but he knows I'm a walking cadaver.” Rica said bitterly.
A third pause, this time a long one, before: “Kill him.”
”I tried.” Rica pleaded. “But he killed Edmunds and escaped. He was wounded, and we have no record of him at any Hospital. He'll bled to death.”
“No.” This time there was no need for a pause. “Peter, you will kill him. If you don't then I shall return you to as you were before I came to you.”
Jackson David Rica shuddered at the thought. “I will kill him sir.”
“Good Peter.” The cold draw spoke. “Do not call again until he is dead.”
“Yes sir.” Rica said,
”And Peter?”
“Sir?”
”Bring me his eyes.”
“Yes sir.” Rica said as he took off his sunglasses and stared into the mirrored reflection of his own dead eyes.
----
Robin looked out of the window of Amon's car with worried eyes. And Amon silently had to admit to himself that he had never seen the girl beside him before. He had met Robin Sena the Witch Hunter, and Robin Sena the Teenager, but he'd never seen Robin Sena the Lover.
Amon, while he didn't look it, knew a great deal about love. He had been in love before, once, and while that was personal (to Amon “Personal” means just that, never share it with anyone) he could relate to Robin. He knew that she loved Michael. It became clear to everyone the second Robin had heard the gunshot followed by silence.
Robin's eyes did not cry, they did not shed tears. Tears were foreign to her and she did not need them. She had been raised in a Convent and she had been taught for as long as she could remember that everything happens for a reason.
She had also been taught that prayer was a power greater than any. (A point Father Juliano tried to make when she was six and began setting things on fire out of anger), and right now Robin was praying that Michael was alive.
She knew perfectly well that a month ago, while she lay beneath the covers of her bed, that he had kissed her forehead, no, before that, she remembered while looking for Kurata the Mummy-Man and how he had confided in her about his past. She knew that he loved her.
And she knew that she loved him.
Robin had never had a boyfriend, nor had she ever “kissed” someone (unless you counted the peck on the check she'd given Michael a month ago), she had never had sex, she had never dated, and she had never even had a crush.
Then she met Michael. And that changed. Now she was in love. She wasn't dating him she hadn't “kissed” him and she had skipped the crush stage completely. She was just in love with him.
And now he was gone, maybe forever.
Normal people her age worried about breaking up with their boyfriends, not whether the person they secretly loved would die of a gunshot wound. Then again, normal people her age couldn't create fire with their minds and didn't hunt witches for a living.
“He's fine.”
Robin was broken from her thoughts as she turned around to the dark haired driver of the car. Amon's words may not sound like the kind of things that would calm her down or help her forget her worries, but somehow they did.
----
Michael opened his eyes to see a familiar roof. It was the roof he awoke to every day of his pre-STN life. It was the roof of his bedroom. His bedroom .
Michael sat up awake; suddenly the memories of David Rica, the shooting, Robin, wandering to his old neighborhood, and fainting on his mother's doorstep all came rushing back. He looked around for her, but he was disappointed.
It wasn't he mother sitting in the chair next to his bed. It was a woman, a young one, around his age, with the same dark, silky hair that his mother had had. It was a woman who had dragged the tired hacker into her house and removed the bullet from his arm.
It wasn't his mother but he knew her. He smiled; he hadn't seen Jeri in years, obviously because he was now confined to STN-J headquarters. Jeri Lee, Michael's favorite cousin smiled back at him.
“Hey.” Michael said offhanded.
”You don't write.” Jeri said upset. “You don't call, you worry your entire family to death and then one day out of the blue you show up on my doorstep bleeding like a dog that got into a fight.”
“I love you too.” Michael's sarcastic reply came and he laughed. Jeri would have leaned over and hugged him, but his arm was now in bandages. Michael noticed these bandages and he became curious.
“I'm a nurse, remember?” Jeri said noting the expression on his face. “Good thing too.”
Michael sighed and laid his head back. “Can I use your phone?” His eyes were closed as he spoke.
“Sure, I'd love for you to stay for dinner, we haven't talked in years and I'd love to catch up with you.” Jeri was just as sarcastic as her cousin. Michael sighed and looked at her with eyes full of worry and she knew he was busy.
“Sure Mike.” She reached down and picked up her black leather purse, digging around for a moment she found her cell phone and then tossed it to Michael, who he bested to bow without moving and began to dial Touko's number.
“Hello?” Touko's voice answered on the third ring.
”Is Robin there?”
”Michael!” The sound of Touko dropping and breaking whatever she had been holding was heard as she gasped out his name. “No, she called; she's with Amon, out looking for you !”
Michael sighed and cussed quietly. Touko spoke. “Michael, are you okay? What happened?”
“Touko, I can't say over the phone. Just . . . tell Robin I'm okay, next you see her, okay?”
It was Touko's turn to cuss, before saying: “Michael you need to call her.”
“She --“
”Michael.” Touko said quietly. “Trust me about this, I know women, I am one, and I know the way Robin talks about you. She loves you.”
Michael sighed. “I know. And I love her but if I come back she'll be in danger.” Jeri raised a brow but he ignored her. This conversation was too painful and he had lost too much blood.
Michael simply hung up.
----
It was raining now, as if the God was responding to the many questions in Robin's prayers by showing her this bad omen. Robin sighed. She loved the rain, but today it only served to make her feel worse than she had before.
She knew it was impossible to find Michael when the rain washed away any trail of blood they could have once followed, and especially when she couldn't even see more than three feet, but still, she had to try. She couldn't not try.
Suddenly the ringing of Amon's cell phone broke her thoughts. She turned around and looked at him for a moment, but he said nothing as he brought the phone to his ear.
“Yes?”
“Amon.” Touko's voice said. “Michael just called me.”
Amon's eyes became wide. “ What? ” He said as he parked the car on the side of the rainy rode. Robin looked at him with questioning eyes.
”He wanted to talk to Robin, but I told him she wasn't here and he hung up.”
Amon swore. He was very good at swearing when he wanted to be. He looked over at Robin and his eyes said everything. He spoke a goodbye to Touko and hung up.
”Michael is alive.”
Robin closed her eyes and a feeling of relief spread over her. The knot in her stomach loosened and she felt herself almost smile. The next words that Amon spoke, however, erased her smile.
“He called for you, but he didn't say where he was.”
Robin felt the knot reform inside her. “Why would he--“
”Rica.” Amon said. She turned to him. “I'm sure he has something to do with this. Michael knows it. Don't tell Rica he's alive.”
Robin nodded. She understood. She wouldn't allow Rica to get away with whatever it was he was up to. That was a promise. A promise to a friend. No, a promise to a lover.
A promise to Michael.
----
Michael had spent the last few minutes explaining as much as he could to Jeri, who had so far learned that Michael was involved with the STN-J (she had no clue what the STN-J was, however) and that he had been shot doing “Government Work.”
She had been interested in this, but she had been much more interested in who “Robin” was. She had heard Michael's phone call to Touko, and as soon as Michael had said that he “Loved her”, Jeri had become very curious. The second Michael was off the phone she bombarded her cousin with questions.
“Look.” Michael said at last, growing angry. “I'll call you next week.”
”The hell you will.” Jeri was standing with on hand on her hip and a expression that reminded him of the night Doujima had pried into their lives. Then his biggest problem had been trying to deny to Doujima that he liked Robin. Now his biggest problem was trying to stay alive long enough to warn Amon that David Rica was going to kill them all and then murder hundreds of thousands of more innocent people in just a week.
His eyes loomed out the window at the rainy street. His cousin had fixed him up with her first aid kit and her nurse's knowledge, but he still felt miserable. His arm was still in bandages and he was still sad.
But he had no time to waste.
He grabbed the phone once more and dialed a number. It wasn't Amon's. He couldn't remember the exact number of Amon's cell phone, but he would have to keep trying. And so he did. He dialed wrong four more times before he heard a familiar voice answer, but it wasn't Amon.
It was Robin.
----
After Touko's call, Amon had sped off again. He had driven down the rainy streets and muddy roads until he reached Harry's Place. Master Yuji knew quite a bit and could more-than-likely help them. He had given Robin his cell phone, just in case Touko called again.
Robin had simply sat there, while Amon went inside. Her emerald eyes stared out of the watery-window, her entire body filled with a sadness that would not go away. She needed to focus.
She now knew Michael was alive, but he was still missing, and obviously he was still in danger. She wanted no more than to see him, to hold him, to know that he'd be alright.
She remembered all their midnight rendezvous. She remembered the sound of his fingers typing as they sat drinking coffee and eating donuts by the dim buzzing light of the computer's monitor.
She felt herself begin to cry. She hadn't cried once in years. She hadn't cried when Sakaki shot her, or when she say goodbye to the Convent in Italy, she hadn't cried since she was a child. And yet now, realizing that Michael was out there somewhere, hurt and alone, she wanted to cry.
Then the phone rang in her petite hands and she was brought back to her senses. She grabbed open the phone and brought it up to her face.
”Hello?”
There was a long pause, and then she heard a voice that forced out the tears she had been biting back.
”Robin.”
“Michael.”
They sat there, Michael in his bed, and Robin in the car seat, both staring into the same rainy sky, both simply relieved to hear each other's voices, and both of them waiting for the other to speak.
“I'm okay.” He said at last.
”I'm glad.” She responded.
“Robin, listen, I can't talk on the phone, I can't be sure Rica isn't monitoring your calls, but I need to see you, and Amon.”
Robin nodded, though he couldn't see it. She understood. And at the mention of Rica's name she hated him even worse. He was involved in this and her angry passion for his hatred only grew.
“You and Amon have to meet me, tonight, in the park by your apartment.”
Robin spoke quietly. “Okay. We'll see you there.”
“Good.”
There was another pause, this one even longer, and then at last he spoke.
“I'll see you tonight.”
And then he hung up.
Michael Lee sighed and shook his head. Why, oh why couldn't he just tell her that he loved her? Maybe he wanted to tell her in person, when he could hold her, and kiss her, and be with her.
Maybe . . .
----
Karasuma and Doujima knew none of them. They did not know that Michael was alive, and they did not know that David Rica was already plotting their deaths. They knew none of the many twist and turns in the giant jigsaw puzzle that was life.
They were at Raven's Flat, calling hospitals and homeless shelters, the police, looking for any sigh of Michael. Then they heard the elevator door open and Karasuma turned in time to see Sakaki walk into the room.
”Sakaki!”
Sakaki was wearing his uniform, and he looked ready to hunt a witch. He knew nothing about Michael getting shot, and Karasuma did not want to tell him.
“Doctors released me.” He said with a smile. “Who ya hunting?”
”Michael.” Doujima said, walking up from behind Sakaki and handing him a stack of paper. “Call these shelters and see if they've seen him.”
Sakaki blinked. “Michael? Our Michael?”
“No Michael Jackson.” Doujima rolled her eyes. Though, Michael Jackson was indeed a witch (how else do you explain that man's face?), she had meant it as a joke. A joke. Doujima sighed. She needed to make jokes. It was the way she kept her mind off the horrible truth of Michael being gone, maybe being dead . . .
“What the hell happened?” Sakaki demanded at once.
”Doesn't matter.”
All eyes turned to where David Rica stepped off the elevator. All eyes were full of hatred, but none more than Doujima who looked ready to kill him on sight with her bare hands.
”What do you mean ‘doesn't matter'?” Karasuma spat. “Michael needs our help!”
”We.” Rica explained. “Are Witch Hunters. Michael is not a Witch.”
“Go to hell!” Doujima shouted, and for a moment Sakaki thought he saw her reach for her gun, but Rica merely smirked.
”The Witch is named Yoko Juribari; she killed her husband and his business partner, now she's going after the other one.” He spoke ignoring their glares of hate and malice. “Mr. Saunders says he is sorry but the four of us must go after Juribari before we look for Lee.”
”Well Saunders can go straight to hell.” Doujima said in a sort of cheery-sarcasm. “Because we're looking for Michael.”
Rica smirked. “Somehow I guessed you'd say that.” He reached down to the holster that contained his nine millimeter inside his jacket, but at that moment the phone rang. No one answered it but the machine finally got it and Amon's voice filled the room.
”Saunder's called, we can't make it on the Witch Hunt, Karasuma you all go with Rica, we'll be along later. We think we have a lead.”
Of course, Karasuma, who knew Amon well, had realized what the message meant. It meant they had talked to Michael and David Rica was dirty, but he couldn't talk openly about it.
Doujima sighed. Rica smirked his smug smirk.
“Then will you be coming after all or should I tell Mr. Saunders to, what was it, ‘go straight to hell?”
Doujima growled but Karasuma held her back. She had got the message and she knew that Rica was evil. She also knew he may have more partners like the one who shot Michael, and she couldn't take that chance.
”We'll come on the Hunt.” She said, and shot knowing glances at Doujima and Sakaki.
Rica looked somewhat disappointed as he took his hand off the handle of his gun. “Yeah, well then let's go mah puppies. We'll be undercover on a yacht.”
Karasuma had realized that being on a Yacht, in the Bay, in the Rain, with Water-Craft using David Rica, who was evil, was a very bad idea, but she had no choice.
Rica smirked. He already knew about Michael and Robin's meeting in the park at Midnight. He also knew that when they met in the park they, and Amon, would all be murdered by his associates and around that same time he would kill the rest of them.
In a few short hours the STN-J all be dead.