CAUTION: Contains Spoilers! Read at your own risk. The anime and characters included in this fan-fiction are under the exclusive ownership of their creators and Bandai Entertainment.
Repercussions: A Witch Hunter Robin Fan-fiction
“Amon!” a voice called out in an astonished tone. The shout reverberated painfully in his skull and brought him abruptly back to his senses; he turned towards the source. Robin stood a few feet away, eyes wide and mouth agape at what he’d done just a few moments ago. Her face was marred by soot and sweat. Grunting in reply, Amon shoved a heap of debris to the side and began picking his way through the rubble of Factory’s headquarters. He was as surprised as she had been, but he’d always known his powers had been laying dormant, waiting for the right (or the wrong) time to emerge. And he wished to God they hadn’t. With an angry yank, he tore off his orbo necklace and threw into the debris, knowing it would weaken him even more now that his Craft had manifested.
Robin followed him, trying to keep her balance over the uneven mounds of broken concrete and steel beams. A cloud of dust and smoke hung in the air, lingering above the smoldering ruins; both of them coughed as they were forced to breathe heavily of the choking grit. They stumbled out of the rubble and into the shade of a wooded area that lay behind Factory’s facility. Amon collapsed on the grass, a fleeting sense of regret crossing his mind at showing such weakness. The hem of Robin’s skirts rustled past his half-closed eyes as she kneeled down beside him. They sat in silence, not speaking out of fear of solidifying the truth with words.
There were sirens wailing in the distance and Robin occasionally heard the calls of search crews as they began digging through the Factory’s wreckage. She wondered if the other STN-J members had made it out alive. They probably think we’re dead… As if in response to her thoughts, Amon lifted himself from the ground and glanced at her. Amon… I never knew you were…
Amon frowned slightly, narrowing his eyes. He stood up, brushing the leaves from his clothing and waited expectantly for her stand. “We need to get out of here. They’ll be looking for us when they don’t find our bodies in the rubble.” They trudged through the woods, where Amon’s black sedan was strategically parked in the trees’ shadows, overlooking the Factory complex.
Climbing into the car and wondering how he’d known to park it there, Robin couldn’t stand her curiosity any longer. “Amon. Why didn’t you tell me you were a wi—“, she started.
“Because it was none of your concern,” he snapped. His usually cool demeanor had melted away for a moment and he struggled to maintain it, clinching his fists around the steering wheel.
Startled, Robin jumped a little at his retort and closed her eyes, remembering how he had used his newly awakened powers to shield them from the building that had been about to collapse on top of them. With Robin’s Craft, she had been able to see the waves of power emanate from his body outward. It had truly been amazing. And to have that much control the first time he’s used it...
Amon revved the engine and drove them out of the woods and away from the scene. Robin stared out of the window and wondered if there was any safe place for them to go. She hoped so, for she tired of the Hunter’s life. Killing other witches left a pit in her stomach that only grew more painful with time. One shouldn’t sin against her own kind, and I’m afraid there is not enough forgiveness on Earth or in Heaven for what I have done to so many of them.
They drove on for a while in silence and finally came to a stop at a small motel in a section of Tokyo that Robin didn’t recognize. Amon stepped out of the car and waited on his partner to do the same. He inquired at the desk while Robin took in her surroundings. She was flipping through a tourists’ guide when Amon approached her. “They have two rooms available, but I think it’s best if we stay in the same room. It’ll be safer that way.” Robin nodded, avoiding the prying eyes of the old man at the desk. Again, Amon spoke with the elderly innkeeper, who took a key from a hook on the wall behind him and motioned for them to follow.
The room was small, but had everything they needed. At the moment, a bed was all Robin required. The old man left and Robin sank down to the closest bed, burying her head in its pillows. Amon stripped off his trench coat and holster, hanging them over the back of a chair. He sat down on the other bed, unbuttoning his overcoat. Robin rolled over on her side and peered at him. Watching him, she remembered that she was still in her dust-covered trench coat and dress. The thought of sleeping in such filth disgusted her and she grimaced. Without a second thought, she made her way to the shower.
Amon touched the cuts and bruises he’d received in the initial blast of Factory’s explosion and listened to the drone of the shower and the occasional hum of Robin’s voice. He judged his injuries to be insignificant. It seemed they both had come out of the destruction relatively unharmed. But unharmed for how long? He was a witch now, or would be labeled one soon enough. If STN-J was still functional after Factory’s collapse, he and Robin would be on the top of their list.
Robin stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in a hotel towel. She carried her soiled clothes in one arm and laid them out on a small armchair beside her bed. Amon quickly diverted his eyes before she caught him looking. Climbing into the bed, Robin pulled the covers over herself and took off the towel, which she tossed towards the armchair. She wrapped the blankets around her body and turned back to Amon, who had just drawn his bed sheets up to his chest. He had his eyes closed and his hands folded over his stomach, yet Robin sensed he wasn’t asleep. “Amon…” she began, glancing hesitantly at him.
He opened his eyes and shifted his head slightly to meet her gaze. “Hmm?”
She squirmed a little as his eyes met hers. “Amon… did you always know you were… ?”
Amon nodded abruptly. “My mother was a Seed and my father was a witch. It was inevitable, but I had hoped it would never happen.” His tone of voice was terse and it was evident that he did not want to discuss matters further.
Robin frowned, but continued despite his manner. “I’ve always known about my powers, but there have been times when I wished I didn’t have them,” she confessed. “And now that I know how I got those powers, it’s hard not to wish that I hadn’t been born at all.”
Amon was silent. He wasn’t much for consoling people and really didn’t know what to say to help her. There had been a time when he had also believed that she shouldn’t be alive.
Robin’s gaze turned inward. She remembered when Amon had saved her, when Solomon’s forces had stormed the STN-J headquarters to find the orbo and to hunt her. He had said that he couldn’t hunt her, that he didn’t think of her as a witch. He’d given her the slip of paper with Nagira’s address and…he’d leaned in close to her. It was the first time she had been so close to him. Amon… were you going to kiss me then?
“Amon…were you going to kiss me then?” Amon sat up suddenly and looked at her. He…had he read her thoughts just now? Is this part of my power…? A wave of redness passed over his face at what he heard her thinking, but he quickly smoothed his facial expression. He was silently grateful for the darkness of the room and Robin’s habit of being a sound sleeper. His reply was a whisper in his own mind; a whisper, because he was suddenly irrationally terrified that Robin could read his thoughts. I might have… I probably would have…if you didn’t frighten me so much.