Witch Hunter Robin Fan Fiction ❯ I Promise You Freedom ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

I Promise You Freedom

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The gunshots faded from his ringing ears as he whirled to face the black-clothed figure that had followed him. This one figure was soon joined by two others, and they advanced slowly upon the trembling boy, guns held before them.

Eyes widening in fear, Inari stumbled back two steps for every one of theirs and all too soon found himself backed against the grimy back wall of the alley. The figures before him soon blocked out what little sunlight still filtered through from the street and above, and a small gust swirled down from up above and ruffled the young witch's hair lightly.

His heart was pounding, and his head was spinning, trying to think of a way out of this. Blood rushed loudly in his ears, drowning out the now faint ringing of the guns. He blinked, and suddenly the world tilted before him, turning a bloody shade of red as it shifted beneath his feet.

The pounding in his ears now encompassed his entire body, and Inari found himself wishing that the men before him would just shoot him and get it over with so he could escape the awful burning feeling now flooding his body.

Blinking again, the boy raised his head a little and came face-to-face with the end of a gun. Gasping loudly, he threw his arms up in front of his face as if to shield it and let out a loud scream.

About half a block away, Nagira finished reloading his handgun and quickly ran towards the sound of Inari's voice, leaving several bleeding, but not dead, black forms behind him. Damn! They had better not do anything to him!

His breath came harshly now, and Nagira made a mental note to himself that he wasn't young anymore.

A sudden splash of color caught his eye, and Nagira turned, catching sight of a small alleyway from which more red color issued. Cocking his gun, he took wary steps toward the entrance and peered in, nearly choking at what he saw.

Inari sat slumped against the back wall of the alleyway, spattered in what appeared to be blood and panting as if he had just run several miles. His eyes were frozen open it seemed, and his hands twitched every few seconds, as if they were grasping for something that wasn't there.

"Inari!" With a shout, Nagira ran forward, tucking his gun back into the pocket of his coat and pulling the younger boy into a fierce hug. "Are you hurt? What the hell happened here?!"

Reaching into a different pocket this time, the graying man pulled out a handkerchief and began wiping some of the blood off Inari's face. "Is this your blood?" His tone was gentle, almost indifferent, as if he were talking over a cup of tea and not over a river of blood. He could see the horror and the shock in his young charge's eyes, and was trying his best to put him at ease.

Slowly, Inari shook his head.

"Well then, is it the blood of the people who were shooting at us?"

This time, the slow nod was accompanied by silent tears. "I killed them Nagira…I killed them…"

"Shh, Inair, it's ok. Let's just get out of here and-"

"No, it's NOT OK!" Inari's sudden shout caused the older man to pull back a little.

More tears ran down his face now and shuddering sobs were beginning the wrack the boy's body. "I didn't mean to kill them! It just happened! Everything turned red and spun around me and the next thing I knew…" A particularly violent shudder rippled through the slender form of Robin's son, and Nagira once again pulled him into a hug.

"…The next thing I knew…they were dead and I was covered in their blood."

Glancing over his shoulder, Nagira noticed that blood was all that was left; there was no sign of flesh, of their clothes, or of their guns. Nothing remained except the crimson fluid that stained the sidewalk, walls, and bodies of the two people there.

It seems as if he has the Craft, too…just like his dad…

Pushing that thought and all it entailed out of his mind for the moment, Nagira lifted Inari into his arms and turned around to exit the alleyway, intent on taking the boy back to the law office and cleaning him up a bit. Inari stirred a little and buried his face in the older man's chest, tears once more silent as they continued to make tracks in the blood covering his face.

"Come on, Inari. We're going home."

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"Good afternoon, sir. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wait because Mr. Nagira is out at the moment."

"Uh…I'm not here to see him, I'm here to see the little boy that came to stay with him here. Inari." Sakaki rubbed the back of his head awkwardly under the scrutinizing stare of Hana and almost took a step back.

Next to him, Karasuma smiled tiredly as Hana's eyebrow rose in surprise. "Inari?"

"Yes, we're…we're sort of like his unofficial guardians. Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Oh, really?" The blonde secretary before them crossed her arms over her chest and opened her mouth, looking as if she were about to give them another lecture.

"I don't think-"

"HANA!"

The door to the main office burst open, and Nagira's tall, lanky forma appeared, covered in what appeared to be blood and clutching a small form to his chest. "Could you get me some towels and hot water?!" He barely spared a glance towards the two STN-J members as he mounted lay Inari down on a couch and tossed his now red and white coat to the floor.

"What happened to you?!" Hana screeched.

"HANA!" Anger and a piercing warning note sounded in his voice this time, and the secretary scurried off to do as she was told, a glimpse of fear showing in her eyes.

"Inari!" Sakaki exclaimed, rushing over to the couch and falling to one knee beside it, Karasuma right behind him. "Look at all this blood!"

With a pained look, Inari closed his eyes and turned his face away to face the back of the couch. "It's not mine, so please don't worry about me."

With a concerned look, Karasuma reached out and touched the boy's arm gently. "What happened?"

"My Craft," he answered dully.

"Your Craft?!" Sakaki exclaimed incredulously.

"Some guys from Solomon were chasing after us," Nagira explained, taking worn towels and a kettle of warm water from Hana. "They cornered Inari and his Craft took over on instinct and-"

"I didn't mean to kill them!" Inari proclaimed, sitting up and giving both Karasuma and Sakaki fearful looks. "I swear I didn't! And I won't do it again, so you don't have to hunt me! Please, I-"

"Whoa! Calm down for a minute!" Sakaki exclaimed in response to Inari's outburst, bring his one hand up in front of him.

"We're not going to hunt you," Karasuma added in a reassuring tone as Nagira handed the hacker boy a damp towel.

Looking relieved despite everything that had happened to him in the past hour, Inari accepted the towel and began cleaning the crimson blood from his skin. A half terrified, half disgusted look crept over his face and he fought back the urge to throw up everything he had eaten so far that day.

The three adults near him merely watched in silence, catching glimpses of the inner war he waged against himself on his young face; the face that looked so much like Michael's that it gave them chills every time they looked at it.

"What about my mom?" Inari asked suddenly, putting down the towel and giving the older hunters a questioning stare.

Turning his gaze to the floor, Sakaki remained quiet and massaged the stump where his left arm had once been. Next to him, Karasuma also remained quiet, her face looking slightly guilty as her teeth chewed on her bottom lip.

"Did something happen to my mom?!" Inari's voice was getting frantic, and Nagira could see the panic in his eyes.

"No," the one-armed man answered, still keeping his eyes lowered. "Not yet, anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Inari…They, Solomon that is, they…want to use Robin…for Orbo and genetic research."

All the blood drained from his face as Inari took in the older woman's words. "Orbo…research…"

With a groan, he fell back onto the couch and covered his face with an arm, tears flowing from his eyes for the second time that day.

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Well, chapter 8 is finished and posted! . Hope you all enjoyed it!

My random ramblings for this chapter are going to be on the musical "The Phantom of the Opera", which is what I listened to while I wrote this chapter. If there are any of you out there you haven't heard it…well then, you've missed out on a lot. The music is so powerful and moving, it blows me away every time. The story itself is just as good as the music, so if there are many big opera or musical fans out there, listen to this!

But anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter, please leave me your feedback!

-SanoGirl