Witch Hunter Robin Fan Fiction ❯ Falling ❯ First Impressions ( Chapter 2 )

Global understanding,

An end to all the strife,

Seems to me the only challenge that we have

Is everyday life.

Robert Miles - “Everyday Life”

 

 

The busiest airport in Asia, Narita International Airport was the gateway to Japan through Tokyo. Millions of people passed through its gates daily. Businessmen rushed to meetings across the ocean or on the mainland, tourists entered and left the country as their vacations began or ended. The main terminal of Narita was glamorous but utilitarian, a model of international airport hubs. Standing just beyond customs in their eternal onlooker's position was the crowd of people with signs who waited for their parties to disembark from the plane and check through the customs terminals. Some of the signs were in kanji, some in English. Of those in English, one was most enigmatic. Reading only "Solomon", it was held aloft by a young woman with blond hair who could not have been any more than twenty years old.

 

Yurika Dojima waited patiently for the two Americans she was supposed to meet. STN-J had received word only the day before of the Americans' inspection; a sign that Solomon intended this as a surprise. The team had not been entirely surprised. Michael's detective work had revealed the intended inspection trip a couple days prior and he had prudently informed the new manager, Kosaka, of this development. Known as "the chief", Kosaka was standing beside Dojima in his traditional grey trench coat, fedora held in one hand as he absentmindedly rubbed his nearly-bald head. In his other hand was a paper copy of the message that had been sent to STN-J from Solomon Headquarters.

 

"We are sending a team of Americans to inspect STN-J and insure that all is as it should be. They are to be granted the utmost cooperation and respect in their work and all questions are to be answered fully. We understand that STN-J desires to return to normal operations and we ask that our wishes be carried out to the letter."

 

"I thought we had put all this behind us," Kosaka muttered absentmindedly, looking up at the steady stream of people passing through customs.

 

Dojima looked away at her director. "Now chief, you know as well as I that Solomon is just hedging its bets. They don't want to leave our station lagging behind in operations."

 

The chief nodded at this assessment. Following the tragic incidents with Zaizen, Dojima had shown remarkable intelligence, especially when she had stepped forward and revealed that she had actually been a Solomon plant with Amon. The use of the latter's name brought a sad smile to Kosaka's face. He had respected the taller hunter and his loss at the remains of Factory had saddened him. Whatever his faults, Amon had proven himself as a talented hunter and it had been difficult replacing him in STN-J.

 

A movement in front of him snapped Kosaka out of his reverie. Approaching them were two Americans, a tall man and short woman. The man, red-haired, looked at the sign, then at the two of them. Bowing politely to Kosaka, the chief was pleasantly surprised to hear near-perfect Japanese flowing from the man's lips.

 

"Excuse me, but are you waiting for two Americans from Solomon Electronics?" John asked, hardly missing a beat even though he had not spoken the language in a couple years.

 

Kosaka inclined his head. "Yes, we are. I am Chief Kosaka and this is my assistant, Yurika Dojima." He indicated Dojima with a hand and she returned John's bow courteously.

 

John turned toward her and returned the bow with a smile. "A pleasure to meet you," then turned back to the chief. "Permit me to introduce my partner, Anne James." Anne had not learned much Japanese, but recognized her name and bowed politely.

 

"Pleased to meet you," she said in partially broken Japanese, hoping that the two representatives from STN-J would not be too offended. She was tired, still adjusting to the change in both time and date, and wanted desperately to sleep off the jet lag that she was experiencing. Her body protested the sun being out; it was only 1:30 AM in Kansas City and she would have been fast asleep in her apartment by now.

 

Sizing them up, Kosaka beckoned them to follow him towards the baggage claim terminal. The chief's demeanor never wavered from the usual “businesslike” attitude, but in his mind he was determining if these Americans would be helpful or troublesome. "We do not know why Solomon asked you to investigate our offices. We have had over a dozen hunters and other members of Solomon here in the past six months, all poking and prodding around and searching for whatever might be found. Zaizen is dead, and with him Factory. All we desire is some semblance of normalcy."

 

John translated for Anne, who had assumed the role of leader after the two had discussed it back in Kansas. She was dressed in her usual “goth” trappings; long baggy black pants and a skintight long-sleeved shirt which provoked a good deal of staring from bystanders as the group moved with the crowds of passengers and other people who were heading to retrieve their luggage from the baggage claim terminals below them.

 

"I assure you, we were as surprised about this as you were," She responded, taking the official position of the office. Anne's one weakness was that she often took to voicing her thoughts without any regard for diplomacy or the feelings of others. This certainly had mixed results in the field, but now, dealing with the bureaucracy of STN-J, it was a useful trait to have. "We received our orders only a few days ago and wanted to approach this situation with the swiftness and expediency it deserved.”

This brought a nod from the head of STN-J, who took the words to suggest his own hunch - that the Americans were simply following instructions. It would be hard to determine if there was a hidden agenda behind this maneuver by Solomon, but Anne's words suggested that it was otherwise. He also noted that she confirmed what Michael had told him -- STN-J had found out about the same time as STN-A of this. "Thank you. Your words matter a great deal to us. I am sure that, had our roles been reversed, we would have taken the same standpoint."

 

The four of them approached the baggage carousel and quickly gathered their luggage, a couple suitcases and a duffel bag. Turning towards the busy lobby area, they made their way through the crowds to the exits. As they made their way through the throngs, Kosaka filled them in on the state of affairs of the Japanese office.

 

"As you know, we received a new replacement for Robin a couple weeks after the incident. Hanako has proven quite resourceful and has developed quite a prowess for the hunt so far. I am glad that Solomon sent her, but she cannot begin to replace the losses we suffered." Both Anne and John could guess that he was referring to the loss of Amon and Robin during that incident. "Though a craft-user greatly helps our workload, I fear that if we do not get an additional replacement soon our staff will not be able to function properly."

 

Anne listened attentively, taking mental notes despite the presence of the heaviness that had settled over her mind like fog and was demanding she sleep in the near future. "We understand. I will note your comments in my report." She was unusually crisp with her wording, another byproduct of both being tired and struggling to remain formal with the head of STN-J.

 

"Thank you. As for the current state of affairs, we have three of our agents off preparing for a hunt against a witch in the suburbs. They will be commencing their hunt tomorrow evening and we welcome your participation in both the planning and execution." The four stepped out of the airport and into a cloudless day that framed the Tokyo backdrop in a sea of light blue. Anne reflexively squinted at the bright light, a sharp contrast from the darkened airport.

 

"I am sure you are tired," the chief continued as they walked a short distance down the loading terminal to a black sedan parked at the curb, official government stickers on its windows and bumpers. "We will take you to your hotel to let you get some rest. If you have no plans, we are having a dinner meeting tonight at a nearby restaurant called “Harry's”. You are most welcome to join us and meet the rest of the team.”

 

The two Americans climbed into the back after stowing their bags in the trunk of the car. Anne was extremely close to falling asleep, and John took over for her. "That would be most welcome, Chief Kosaka. I regret that my partner is not as well-traveled as I am and she could use some time to recover from our long flight."

 

Dojima had slid into the driver's seat of the car and quickly started it, pulling smoothly into the flow of traffic heading towards the downtown. She had been silent so far, mentally appraising the two Americans sitting in the backseat. Like the chief, she did not see any malevolence in them but, as she had been well-taught at Solomon, it was better to be wary. As she looked back at the two through the rear view mirror, she caught the blue-eyed gaze of John. He was doing what she had done—getting a read on the person he'd be working with. Halfway embarrassed, Dojima turned her attention back to the road, her heart hammering in her chest from the brief encounter.

 

True to John's predictions, a few hours of rest were all that was necessary for Anne. When they arrived, she had been irresistibly drawn to the soft bed in the hotel room and had fallen asleep before her head touched the pillow. When she awoke it was dusk. The room they had rented from the hotel looked west over the sprawling metropolis of Tokyo. The setting sun filtered through buildings, creating long shadows against the back wall of the hotel room. Sitting up, still dressed and wearing her boots, she found her partner hanging up the phone. “Chief Kosaka is sending a car to pick us up in thirty minutes.” She nodded wordlessly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and getting out of the bed to go to her suitcase.

 

A quick refreshing shower did wonders, and when the car arrived, driven by Dojima, the two were dressed and ready for their dinner appointment with the staff and hunters of STN-J. Not knowing what kind of restaurant this “Harry's” was, John had decided to dress in a more conservative manner while his partner, true to her nature, opted for her standard “gothic” attire.

 

It did not take long to arrive at Harry's despite the typical busyness of the Tokyo nightlife. The three of them got out of the car and entered through the main doors. Anne was taken aback at the art-deco style of the restaurant; she had not expected such a stylish restaurant to exist this far from the center of the nightlife. There were very few people in the restaurant, surprising considering how well-off the restaurant looked. Most of them were seated at a round table in the center of the dining room. Anne recognized Chief Kosaka among them and the three angled towards the table. As the staff of STN-J watched the two Americans approach the table, Anne took an opportunity to glance at each of them and try to put a name with the faces she had memorized from the station's personnel files.

 

Silent out of respect for their hosts, John and Anne found their seats and politely sat at the table. Only when everyone was seated did the Chief finally speak from his position on Anne's left. “I wish to introduce you to our team of hunters,” he began, nodding to the two Americans.

 

“On my left is Miho Karasuma.” The tall brunette hunter nodded, her face composed. Anne mentally re-read her profile from what she remembered. She's the psychic on the team, she thought to herself as the Chief continued.

 

“Beside her is Haruto Sakaki. “ Again, Anne thought back to the profile of the young eager hunter who had been sent to STN-J just prior to the start of the events that had led up to the Factory mess. Once again, Anne made her own mental notes as she gazed at the messed-up hair and firm smile.

 

“Michael Lee, our computer expert.” This is my counterpart at STN-J. If his profile is as honest as it seems, he's got quite a reputation within Solomon. Anne smiled when he looked her way and gave a polite nod, an indication that the two of them were really kindred spirits of sort. Michael acknowledged her nod but quickly looked back down at the table in the typical nature of computer “geeks”.

 

“Finally, this is our newest hunter, Hanako Rumiko.” The newest member of STN-J gazed at the two Americans, not flinching. Sizing us up, Anne realized as politely smiled and nodded in Hanako's direction. Hanako had replaced Robin in more than position as a craft-user; she had also replaced her as youngest on the team. She looked no older than Robin, and was dressed in a shirt and vest combination that made her appear professional and mature. The briefing material she and John looked over before their trip was, as usual concise and as detailed as possible. Anne had read up on every bit of information they had on her; she was only seventeen and a craft-user, like Robin. Unlike Robin, Hanako had been born in Japan and recruited to Solomon at the age of four by a Solomon attaché visiting the country. Shortly after that she had moved to England to train under the tutelage of another hunter, while Robin had been trained in Italy.

 

”You have already met Dojima, I believe. If you would take a moment to introduce yourselves, we will then be able to get down to business,” Kosaka concluded as Anne turned her attention back to him. Nodding to the Chief, Anne beckoned to John, who stood and addressed everyone at the table.

 

“I am John Gordon and this is my companion, Anne James, from STN-A. We are pleased to meet all of you and hope to work with you in the coming few days. If you have any questions, please let us know.”

 

There was no time for a reply as a tall man with black hair approached their table. This was “Master”, the manager of Harry's. He held a small pad of paper and pencil in his hands and smiled politely at the group. “Hello, everyone. What can I get you tonight?”

 

Within a few minutes there was food and drink on the table. Everyone seated at the table had what they had ordered, ranging from traditional Japanese dishes to modern American dishes and even one or two European dishes. It struck Anne and John as interesting that the members of STN-J were well-known here to the point that they didn't have to say much and yet Master knew just what to get them. Perhaps there was more to this place than they thought.

 

The table was silent as the members of STN-J and STN-A ate, each sizing the other up. It was an awkward sort of silence, as if no one knew quite what to say. Anne was quite uncomfortable with the silence. She did not know enough Japanese to say or understand much of anything except through John.

 

Across the table, Hanako set her fork down thoughtfully and pressed a napkin to her lips. “How is America?” The soft-spoken words were almost deafening in the silence that had permeated the table. Looking up at the young huntress, Anne's eyebrow imperceptibly twitched. Hanako's grasp of English was surprising - her accent was British, not the accent of a local who had learned the language as a second language. Then again, Anne mused, We really shouldn't be surprised. Being recruited that young gives her a measure of versatility when it comes to learning languages.

 

“It never seems to change. At least, it doesn't change where we work.”

 

“Where do you work?” The beginnings of the conversation had gotten the attention of the rest of the table's occupants. Though they were still eating, eyes had turned to focus on Hanako or Anne. Most of them would not likely know what was being said, but it could easily serve as an icebreaker.

 

Anne wasn't sure how detailed she should be. In this case, she really wasn't sure if Hanako knew geography of the United States well enough to be able to place Kansas on a map with any accuracy at all. “We're in Kansas,” she replied, deciding to just use that and hope that the explaining where, in the boondocks of America, Kansas was.

 

“Home of wheat fields and cornfields, yes? I remember driving through Kansas when I was younger.”

 

If she had been mildly surprised with the unexpected discovery of Hanako's grasp of English, Anne was taken a bit aback by the fact that she had apparently been to America. Nothing in her dossier had suggested or implied that the younger hunter had ever visited America. It was possible that she had visited with her mentor, but such visits were likely to be logged even if they were irrelevant. She shrugged to keep the girl feeling at ease and smiled. “As far as the eye can see when it isn't storming, of course.”

 

The conversation seemed to be breaking the ice at the table. Wiping her cheek with a napkin, Karasuma turned towards John, determined to make some sort of pleasant conversation if only to show the Americans that they were at ease with each other. “How long have you been with STN-A?” She asked smoothly in her own language.

 

“About five,” he set his spoon down on the table and smiled. “And you?”

 

Returning his smile even though she could feel Sakaki's protective eyes on her as he followed their conversation along, Karasuma had already confirmed what she thought of the two Americans. Though dedicated to getting their jobs done, Anne and John were just as human as everyone else. “Longer than I want to remember,” she replied and stifled a laugh at how old her reply made her feel. “Tell me, how long have you been speaking our language? I have never heard a foreigner speak our language so precisely! Even the Solomon hunters who travel here have their difficulties. You sound as if you could have originated from almost anywhere in Japan!”

 

It was John's turn to smile now. “I have an ear for languages, I guess.”

 

“Oh, how many do you know?” Dojima leaned forward, her elbow on the table and chin resting in her hand as she turned to look at him.

 

John tallied up the number mentally, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything. “Fifteen, but I'm planning on learning another this summer when I take my vacation to Russia.”

 

Expressions of surprise and amazement lit the faces of the two women who had been paying attention to him. Sakaki, sitting beside Karasuma, shrugged and rolled his eyes in an expression of exaggerated boredom. Even though he was actually fairly impressed, he was not about to let that show. Someone had to downplay this American's achievements before serious damage was done. “Oh, that's nothing. Anyone could sit down and learn languages if they had nothing better to do.”

 

John chuckled at the comment. “Yes, but can you say that you've spent time abroad studying in different countries?” The American hunter was doing his best to sound modest even though what he had done so far was something that very few could actually say they had done.

 

Michael had been sitting and listening to the two conversations carefully even though he acted uninterested in what was being said. As a member of the online community for years, he had learned English as quickly as he learned to speak Japanese. Alternating between Anne's conversation and John's conversation he had finally decided to pay more attention to Anne's conversation with Hanako and, alternately, the Chief who was keeping watch over the young hunter.

 

There was something about Anne that felt familiar to Michael, almost as if he was listening to a kindred spirit talking. The way she spoke, the way she acted, all smacked of someone who was well versed with the online world and extremely `net savvy. He knew that she was one of RFO-7's computer experts, and her personality matched that of many people who spent more time in the virtual world than in the real world. There was something else about her that he could not quite place. Maybe it was the fact that she seemed to be more open and social than many of her type. He turned back to listen as she detailed the events of a hunt that her team had participated in.

 

“There was a snowstorm a few years back that happened about the time of a hunt assignment we'd been given. Our target was a witch whose specialty was an “ice touch”, which made it even more difficult,” Anne related to Hanako, who was attentively listening and nodding every once in awhile. “We'd never know if the frozen pipes we were coming across were because of him or because of the elements. Every frozen or ice-covered surface had us questioning our own judgment.”

 

“How did you finally catch him?” Hanako asked, enrapt by Anne's retelling.

 

“He made the mistake of hiding in a greenhouse not far from North Platte, Nebraska. Greenhouses never really get that cold because of the heat that the plants generate and the greenhouse effect of the all-glass windows and ceiling. When we found the greenhouse had been iced over, we knew that we'd found our culprit. Chalk another one up to stupidity.”

 

The phrase caught Michael's attention. Only a part of his time in the digital world was related toward work and toward the daily affairs of STN-J's network. The rest of his time online was spent in online chat rooms located all over the world. He most frequented chats occurring in Taiwan or Japan, both very populous countries with a great deal of technological advances and very tech-savvy populations. The topics of the chats ranged from the common to the arcane, though Michael himself preferred the hacker/cracker chat rooms where he could keep up to speed on the “underground” of the internet community.

 

“Chalk another one up to stupidity” was a phrase that he had seen elsewhere. It usually turned up as the key phrase of a user who very rarely provided information about themselves. The user frequented the arcane side of the chat rooms, often providing information on the arcane knowledge of astrology and dreams, but sometimes sought information that seemed related to witches. He'd decided to do a check on her (he presumed the user was a woman by the way she talked) one evening when she seemed to be getting close to information that was supposed to be known only by members of Solomon. His check had revealed very little about her, but he'd not dug too deep - instead passing the information on to Solomon HQ so they could investigate. The pieces of the puzzle he had were starting to fit together in a way that interested him, and he peered out at her from behind his orange-tinted glasses.

 

Before Michael could say anything, though, Chief Kosaka cleared his throat to get the attention of everyone at the table. He admired his team, yes, but also knew that they needed to focus on the hunt they would be performing the following day. “I have humbly asked the Americans if they would be interested in participating in tomorrow's hunt. Karasuma, Sakaki, you two have been planning this. Would you have any objections?”

 

Both shook their heads, Sakaki looking over at John from the corner of his eye with cautious appraisal. “We could use an additional pair on this mission actually, Chief,” Karasuma smiled widely at John before Sakaki could interject anything.

 

“We are only too happy to assist if we can. What can you tell us about the witch?” John asked, leaning forward in his seat.

 

Though it was not typical to bring work with her, Karasuma had been briefed on this possibility by the Chief when he had returned from the rendezvous with the Americans. Reaching down to a small attaché case beside her chair, she pulled a single file folder from it and handed it to the two Americans.

 

Anne took the folder and opened it, revealing a picture of a handsome man who could not have been any older than a college student. The name under the photograph read “Takari Yamato”. Though the documents were in Japanese, there were another set also in English which had been prepared for the Americans in the event that neither read Japanese. Taking the first set, he handed the second set over to Anne, whose eyes covered the page rapidly. She returned the papers to John after a moment and closed her eyes in thought. “So, we're dealing with a witch whose powers we don't know. Do we have any idea whatsoever of what they may be?

 

Karasuma nodded, indicating her role as leader in this mission. “We think that he's probably an elemental user of some sort - most likely involving air or air pressure. Until a few days ago, he was a member of the “Cobra Heads”, one of the more active street gangs in Tokyo. According to the report the police turned over to us, they found several of the gang's members dead. All of them had several dozen bones broken from what looked to be high-speed impacts with objects. The area they were found in looked like it had been hit with a tornado. Witnesses at the scene claim that he was last seen in that area. One member of the gang, interviewed by police, suggested there had been a falling-out between Takari and the gang's leadership - the bodies at the scene were those of the gang's leaders. Shortly after the incident we were issued a Hunt order from Solomon.”

 

“Sounds straightforward enough,” Anne replied through John. The two nodded. “What is your plan?”

 

This time it was Michael who spoke, to the surprise of most everyone at the table save Karasuma and Sakaki. The two leaders had worked with Michael in developing their plan and he had a better grasp of what was involved. As the coordinator for this mission, he was knowledgeable in every angle and aspect of their plan. “We are going to try to track him to a more open area of the city. That should reduce his ability. Hanako will move in close and try to neutralize him with her craft. If that fails, the others will move in and stop him through whatever means necessary.”

 

“Does that mean…” Anne was about to ask but was cut off by Hanako.

 

“No, we do not kill if we can help it. That much is clear.”

 

“But what do you do, then?” Anne asked, intrigue penetrating her voice. “You don't have Factory or Orbo anymore.”

 

Michael smiled. “No, but we do have Hanako. She is quite talented and knows several techniques.”

 

Anne paused to consider this. Information on Hanako's Craft ability had been sketchy at best and highly classified at worst, so she knew very little as it was. Most craft users in Solomon were relegated to a single aspect of the Craft; for someone to be able to access more than one aspect implied a great deal of power, training, and potential. “How can we be of help, then?”

 

“We have never seen American hunters before, but we have heard many good things about your skills,” Kosaka bowed politely to them. “We would be interested in watching you execute this hunt with our team, and I am sure that our members would gain valuable insight and knowledge from you.”

 

The rest of the dinner session was spent firming up plans and drawing a few others, but all agreed that it would be best for the Americans to attend another planning meeting at STN-J in the morning. The dinner broke up on a cordial note, and everyone went their own ways to rest up and prepare for the following day.

 

Despite her earlier tiredness from the jet lag, Anne was fully awake and alert now. She and John were preparing their daily report for Julia to keep her informed of what was going on. “There's something here that strikes me as odd,” she summed her feelings up to John as they traded verbal notes and thoughts before the report was written. “I'm used to having faulty intel and spotty information, but it seems to me that there's more going on than meets the eye.”

 

“What do you mean?” John asked as Anne stood up and retrieved a glass of water from the room's kitchenette before sitting back on her bed again, cross-legged.

 

“I don't know,” she replied after a moment's thought. Maybe something having to do with an extremely powerful Craft user whose abilities are classified from our knowledge yet seems to play an integral part in STN-J's successful streak of hunts? Maybe it's the fact that she spoke English and knew about American geography, yet nothing was mentioned in her dossier about these events? Could it be the fact that, despite the loss of Factory and Orbo, they had yet to kill a single witch in the months after this? There were several items that, taken at face value did not seem to add to much but, when added together, made Anne wonder to herself what was going on. “I can't place a finger on it, but call it a hunch.”

 

Halfway across town, Michael was reviewing the evening's dinner in his head. Like the rest of the team, he felt that the Americans had been straightforward about things. For a change, his information about them and their goals seemed to be truly accurate and genuine. It did not appear that his fear about the Americans was going to come to light. Instead, they seemed content looking into the normal daily aspects of the Station's affairs and hunts. To use an analogy, they were making sure that all the cogs in the machine were well-oiled.

 

Michael turned his attention back to the computer screen in front of him, showing the plans that had been laid out so far. He added the Americans to the equations he had created, and then instructed the computer to begin generating simulations and predictions for how the hunt was likely to go. The Americans' experience, techniques, and Craft uses (if any) were largely unknown, but he trusted the computer would do a good job with the data it had. Satisfied that he had done all he needed to, the hacker turned up the volume on his walkman and went to work.

 

Not far from STN-J, the pair of dark eyes watched the data scrolling across his computer screen. Yamato had crossed the line and used his abilities to take the lives of others. That demanded punishment, and STN-J would help execute that punishment. They were judge, jury, and executioner in these matters. A lethal combination, he considered, as he turned off the screen and stared out again at the bright lights of Tokyo against the night sky. Morning would bring the Americans' true intent, and then things would truly begin.