Witch Hunter Robin

Time Off

Chapter II - Nobunaga's Boss

Rated : PG for Mild Violence

Summary : While hunting a Witch with the ability to distort time, Robin is shot by will the Orbo. Because of it, she is forced to spend time as Michael's assistant, while she recovers. Meanwhile Amon may not be able to defeat the new Time Witch. Robin/Michael

-----

Robin's eyes opened and she felt . . . different. Her vision was blurry, more so than usual. And her chest hurt. There was a bright light above her head and she had to squint until her eyes focused. Once they did she noticed the white tiled ceiling and realized she was in a hospital.

Moving with some difficulty and pain and sat up and looked around. She was lying on a small hospital bed, and some odd machine she'd never before seen was next to her, small cords hooked onto her arms were connected to it, and she saw the machine's screen beep and flash small lights.

She pushed the blanket down off her chest to find bandages, lots of bandages. She tried to stand, but a gentle yet firm hand appeared on her shoulder and pushed her back down into the pillow.

”You rest.”

”Michael.”

Robin turned her head to find the computer wiz at her side. He pulled the blanket back up onto her and he smiled.

“How'ya doin' Miss Mummy?” Michael said. And even though he was trying to be cheerful, Robin could see in his eyes that he had been worried. But she didn't know why, she didn't even know why she was in this hospital bed.

“What happened to me?” Robin asked quietly.

Michael swallowed as the fifteen-year-old witch looked into his eyes with her own, her green eyes full of questions. The hacker sighed and shook his head, trying to think of the best way to tell her.

“You, you don't remember?” Michael stalled.

“If I did, would I ask you?” Robin replied and Michael couldn't help but laugh.

“True. Look, Robin, last night there was an accident --“

“Sakaki.” Robin suddenly said, remembering.

Michael nodded and sat down on the edge of the redhead's bed. “The witch, Nobunaga, he can bend time to his will. Not like Time-Travel, but he can speed himself up and slow down time around him.”

”What happened to Sakaki?” Robin spoke quietly. Michael shifted nervously.

”Well, for now he's got a collar on him, but the boss is going to decide what to do with him later. Their waiting to see-- “Michael stopped talking right away, he had almost slipped up.

”To see if I die?” Robin said, understanding dawning on her young face.

Michael said nothing.

“What about the Witch?” Robin asked, changing the subject. The topic of her death wasn't a favorite of the young girl.

“He got away.” Michael responded with a sigh. “But not before he gave Amon a few good punches.”

”He beat Amon?” Robin whispered, both surprised and a bit scared.

“Yeah. But Amon's okay, as a matter of a fact he is following up a lead on Nobunaga right now.”

----

Amon didn't like the plan at all, but it was a smart one.

Michael had spent hours on the computer and on the phone with other country branches of Hunters and at last he managed to find a lead on Jerald Fletcher, the 51 Year old Black Male who they believed had trained Nobunaga.

Fletcher had, twelve years ago, attacked a New York office and burnt it to the ground, taking seven Witch Hunters with it. Fletcher had been shot seventeen times, once in his right eye, but he'd managed to survive.

Now Fletcher ran an underground Witch movement called HTH, or Hunt. The. Hunters. He tried to recruit witches to fight against the Hunters, but HTH had few members.

But one of them was Kita Nobunaga.

Amon knocked on the door of the old house quietly. He had left very early in the morning for the drive. He had driven half-way across the country to find Fletcher, who apparently was staying in Japan recruiting new HTH members.

Amon knocked on the door of the old house three times, then he paused, and knocked another four, after one final pause he pressed the doorbell six times. A moment later the door opened.

A tall, thin German man was the one who opened it. His hair was sleek and blonde and he had a nasty look about his eyes. Amon walked past him without a word.

And in the edge of the house sat Fletcher. He was much heavier than he had been when he attacked the Solomon building 12 years ago, and he wore an old black eye patch where his right eye had once been.

“What is your name?”

”Francisco Perault.” Amon said, adopting a light French accent. He didn't like this plan one bit, but if it got him the information he needed, he'd go through with it.

“I am Jerald Fletcher, and this is Mr. Norris. Why have you come here Mr. Perault?”

Amon spoke quietly, but quickly. “I'm looking for a man named Kita Nobunaga.”

Fletcher raised his brow. “Why?”

“I want to join HTH.” Amon lied, still speaking in his French accent.

“Well I.” Fletcher said with pride. “Am the founder.”

Amon shook his head. “Nobunaga is an old friend of mine. I wanted to ask him some . . . personal question before I decide to join.”

Fletcher shrugged and reached into a filing cabinet next to his old desk and rooted around for a moment. He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Amon, who bowed politely.

”Arigato Mr. Fletcher.” Amon spoke, still in Perault's voice.

“No, no. Thank you, Mr. Perault.”

Amon walked over to the door and as he opened it he drew his gun, the Hunter turned around quickly and fired two slugs into the German man who had let him in. Fletcher just laughed.

“Baka, did you think I'd give a stranger Kita's real address?”

It was Amon's turn to laugh. “Baka, I know perfectly well this isn't Nobunaga's real address.”

Fletcher's face fell as he realized the filing cabinet was still open. Amon fired the gun but before the Orbo bullet hit the old man, he had squinted his eye and the cabinet exploded into flames.

Amon cursed and ran over quickly, shooting Fletcher twice more as he did. Then he dropped his gun and pushed the cabinet over, trying desperately to save some information.

”Ba-Baka, HTH will live!” Fletcher muttered as he lost consciousness.

----

Robin was restless. Michael had told her not to leave the bed, but she had a lot of pent-up energy. She had to get up and do something. She hated being sick.

Back in the Convent where she had lived before coming to Japan, sickness had never stopped her. She would continue on with her daily chores and never let anything stop her. Not because she was full of pride, or because she enjoyed doing what she did, just because she had to.

And right now she had to get up and at least help Michael with the files. She knew perfectly well that hunting Nobunaga would be a task she couldn't do, but she wouldn't lay in bed like a dead animal.

After dragging herself out of bed and dressing quickly she made her way to the elevator, and finally to the office where Michael sat typing away at his computer. She noticed Sakaki was on the other end of the office, doing something for the Chief, who was complaining as usual.

When Sakaki heard the elevator he turned his head, and when he saw Robin he dropped his head and quickly left the room, muttering an apology to the Chief as he knocked his new hat off the hat rack and into a trash can.

“Robin, you should be in bed.” Michael said at once, walking over to her.

”I do not want to be in bed.”

“But you need rest.”

“I'll make us some coffee.”

“Robin!”

”And I think there are some donuts left in the cupboard.”

Michael sighed, for he knew he couldn't stop her from doing this. And as he gave up trying he saw her smile out of the corner of her mouth. Michael had always enjoyed her smile. He shook his head, clearing it from those thoughts and the thoughts they lead too. Romance with co-worker was a bad idea.

Besides, Robin wouldn't go for him.

Then Michael realized he was still thinking about it, and he went back to his computer and back to the world of files.

----

Karasuma and Doujima had just received word from Amon that Fletcher was now on his way to the Factory, something that on any other day would have been a wonderful achievement, even for Amon, but when he gave them the news that he still had no idea where Nobunaga was, their hearts fell.

Karasuma sighed, she was driving the car. She couldn't believe that Nobunaga was still on the loose. The man had killed two hunters in France and The US, and now Sakaki's career was on the verge of termination, as was Robin's life.

Even Doujima, who normally slacked off and took her work for granted, was serious today. She was in full uniform and she hadn't even taken a look at a fashion magazine all day. None of the STN-J had realized how much the rookie and the new girl had meant to them until this.

Karasuma was Sakaki's partner, after all, and she missed him. She sighed as looked out of her window at the stop sign. Everything was very depressing today.

Then she looked out into the car that was stopped next to her.

It was Kita Nobunaga, a big grin on his face as he stared back at Karasuma.

”Doujima!”

Nobunaga's car sped off in front of them and Karasuma hit the gas. She wasn't thinking about Nobunaga's time controlling powers, or how he could hurt her, the only thing Karasuma Meho was thinking off was teaching that bastard a lesson.

”We're going pretty fast!” Doujima noted, and it was true, Karasuma had already cranked the car up to 75.

Then Nobunaga's car hit the breaks, just in front of them.

Karasuma slammed into Kita's car and her head smashed into her steering wheel. Doujima had hit the dashboard and neither of them remembered what happened after that.

The car was spinning, turning over, and at last it stopped moving as it lay upside down.

Nobunaga stood on the side of the road with a laugh.

He had simply slowed down time, exited his car, and then sped it back up.

These hunters were so easy to defeat.