Witch Hunter Robin Fan Fiction ❯ Power and Control ❯ 11 ( Chapter 11 )

Power and Control- Chapter 11

 

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Sakaki stood just inside the doorway of his apartment, hand still clutching the knob. The light from the hallway caused his shadow to stretch out before him, long and thin. He couldn't remember how he got there. If he concentrated hard enough there were brief flashes in his memory of his motorcycle taking turns too quickly or weaving through the small amount of traffic he encountered this late at night. But for the most part there was nothing, just a blank spot in his mind, and he didn't want to think too hard about it. Thinking just made the pounding inside his head worse. His brain had been on autopilot, and that suited him just fine.

 

His body felt cold, chilled down to the very marrow of his bones, and he knew that it was not the cool winter air that was causing it. Sakaki was also angry, so unbelievably angry with himself, with Michael, that fucking bastard, Zaizen, and that good for nothing coward, Amon, that he didn't know what to do with himself.

 

Amon. Just the thought of that name was like a kick in the ribs.

 

Sakaki couldn't bear to think about the man, and most definitely not about what he had just done. He was certainly not going to revisit that experience anytime soon. Amon had just taken it. Oh, he had put on a brief show of resistance, but when it was all said and done, he still knelt down and sucked that bastard's dick like it was nothing. Sakaki didn't understand. He couldn't reconcile the man he thought he knew with the one he had seen in Zaizen's office tonight. Is that how Michael is going to end up if I don't stop Zaizen? Am I going to end up the same way? I just sucked Amon's cock in order to keep my sister's pictures from falling into some disgusting pedophile's hands. What the hell does that make me?

 

Sakaki began to feel all of the rage that he had managed to push down into the pit of his stomach begin to come back up. Helmet and keys fell from limp fingers to the floor; the crash sounded deafening in his empty apartment. The back of his throat contracted and his stomach clenched powerfully. He hastily slammed the door to his apartment shut and stumbled towards the bathroom.

 

He fell down hard on his knees in front of the toilet and stared blankly at the water while the tremors in his body worsened. Convulsions started low in his belly and rolled upwards until his mouth filled with bile. He leaned violently into the bowl and vomited out all the accumulated pain, anger, shame, and guilt. He coughed and choked on the foul liquid as it burned the back of his throat and seared his nasal passages. He squeezed his eyes shut at the stinging sensation and felt hot tears scoring his cheeks. When the heaving stopped, his head fell onto his outstretched arm. Panting with exhaustion, he absently spat the drool lingering on his lips and waited for his body to recover. He looked down, staring through the frothy, half-digested contents of the bowl. His eyes focused sharply at the realization that somewhere in that rank concoction was Amon's semen. He retched violently again, dry heaved until he felt like his stomach had turned inside-out, and then promptly passed out on the bathroom floor.

 

Sakaki came back to consciousness sometime later, confused briefly as to why he was on the floor. He blinked up at the ceiling while his eyes adjusted to the light. He was on his back with his neck bent awkwardly, chin touching his collarbone. He had apparently fallen back against the bath tub and then his limp body slumped down into its current position, wedged into the corner between the wall and the tub. He groaned loudly as the muscles in his neck and shoulders protested painfully as he began to slowly pull himself upright. The sudden rush of blood back into his head caused him to cry out and clutch his scalp as white-hot pain tore through his brain like a knife. He nearly passed out again from the onslaught, but squeezed his eyes shut and just rode out the wave until it subsided. When his senses finally returned to a somewhat normal level, he was greeted by the acrid odor emanating from the toilet, threatening to start the whole process over again. Sakaki clamped a hand over his mouth and reached blindly for the flush lever.

 

Keep it down…come on…keep it down.

 

It took another long stretch of minutes for him to rally the energy to pull himself to his feet. Once that was accomplished, he held onto the sink until the dizziness passed. Sakaki nearly gagged again at the horrible taste in his mouth and leaned over the sink to cup the cold water from the faucet in his hand and bring it up to his mouth to gargle and wash the dried puke from his chin. He repeated this process until he could no longer taste what he had regurgitated. He hissed loudly between his teeth when the water splashed up onto his abraded wrists, causing pain to blaze through the raw skin. There was also an odd tugging sensation on the injuries whenever he moved. He shrugged off the leather jacket and carefully peeled back the cuff of his shirt. He muttered a curse under his breath at what was revealed. The long-sleeved, cotton shirt clung to freshly congealed blood. Sakaki took a deep breath to try and steady his trembling hands as he began to slowly separate cloth from wound, pausing more than once, nearly swooning from the burning agony. The once pristine white of the basin was now stained with droplets of red, and Sakaki cursed his weakness at fainting long enough for the wounds to close.

 

“Damn it,” he whispered hoarsely as another scab was torn off. There was the briefest of moments where he entertained the notion of pulling the shirt in one, fast motion, as one would do a band-aid, but after seeing just how adhered to the blood it was made him rethink that strategy. He bit his lip to stave off some of the queasiness and trudged onward. By the time he was finished, he was nauseous and light-headed, and leaned heavily on the wall adjacent to the sink to keep him upright. The tears were much worse than what he had initially sustained from Zaizen's handcuffs. Sakaki didn't think there was any skin left covering his wrists and he was sure that he seen the pale color of exposed bone at one point. His head was throbbing unmercifully and it took all the strength he had left to wash and then gently dry his bloody wrists.

 

Sakaki was disappointed to find that he did not own a first aid kit and slammed the door to the medicine cabinet out of frustration. Wanting nothing more than to crawl into his bed and fall asleep, he grabbed the first thing he thought would make a good substitute for gauze: toilet paper. He wrapped his wrists as best he could, not really caring how ridiculous it looked. It would keep the wounds clean until he could go out and pick up some real medical supplies, and that was good enough for him at this moment.

 

Sakaki stumbled out of the bathroom and collapsed, face first onto his bed. He stayed there, motionless for a moment before the realization that he was still fully clothed set in. He toed off his shoes and had to talk his weary body into rolling over so that he could undo his jeans and pull them off. It was too much effort to remove anything else, so he crawled under the covers in just his shirt and boxers. Sakaki was aware of the large bump of the side of his head made by Zaizen's elbow. He was more than likely concussed this time, but he didn't care. He didn't want to have to think anymore. He didn't want face everything that happened. He couldn't face everything that happened. Sakaki closed his eyes tightly and the room felt like it was spinning. He gave no resistance to the numbing blackness that slowly crept over him.

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*

 

 

Amon leaned against the rear bumper of his car while he watched the Factory workers load the body of the captured witch into the back of the truck. It was cold, much too cold for his liking, and he turned the collar of his trench coat up to keep some of the chill off his neck. The hunt was a success, but did not go off without incident. Sakaki never showed and was not answering his cell phone. Michael had been frantic when he arrived at Raven's Flat that morning and looked like he hadn't slept at all. The hacker informed him that he was unable to reach Sakaki and had spent most of the night trying. The others were suitably worried at Sakaki's absence, but he explained it away as being due to illness. He found it almost amusing that the explanation was met with the same curious stares as his bruised cheek and bloodied lip which, thankfully, no one had the nerve to ask about.

 

Amon wasn't surprised in the least. When Sakaki stormed out last night he had been very upset. He figured the rookie hunter just needed some time to cool off and come to terms with what happened, but when he was a no-show that afternoon for the hunt, Amon had to admit to a spark of concern deep inside. Concern and a heaping amount of guilt. The image of Sakaki on his knees in front of him flared to the forefront of his mind. He pushed it away and tried to tell himself that it was better that it was him and not Zaizen that the headstrong blond had been forced to fellate. It was cold comfort at best. But that was not what Amon fought even harder to convince himself as untrue. It was the knowledge that some part him, some hidden little corner of his battered, cloistered heart, had enjoyed it. And that thought sat like a boulder in his belly. Was he so pathetically desperate for any type of non-painful attention that he would find enjoyment from another's coerced ministrations? Amon knew the answer to that question. He knew he wasn't worthy of even the smallest fraction of affection, let alone the type of love Michael and Sakaki shared with one another, but that didn't keep the envious feelings at bay. On more than one occasion Amon had come across the two lovers in a moment of unchecked passion. A long kiss in the courtyard when they thought everyone had gone home for the evening, a tender embrace in the hall when no one was around- Amon had silently watched these occurrences with a hollowness that was hard to bear. Though he would never admit it, he wanted someone to fill his own aching emptiness. But who would ever want him? He was a rich man's plaything, used and passed around for the pleasure of others. No, he had nothing to offer…nothing at all.

 

Amon shook his long bangs out of his eyes. He reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose between his middle finger and thumb to quell the building pressure behind his eyes. There was a shuffling of feet on the cement that drew his attention and he raised his head to watch Doujima and Karasuma as they spoke with Nanjo, the Factory's squad leader. He was too far away to hear the words passed between them, but could tell by their somber expressions what was being discussed. Their conversation ended with a polite bow from the two women. Doujima headed off in one direction, presumably back to her own car, while Karasuma walked over to Robin leaning against the stone wall of the warehouse. The short-haired woman placed a hand on Robin's shoulder and said something to the young craft-user who shook her head solemnly. Amon stood up straight when the two began to walk in his direction.

 

“The team said that they found no evidence of a second shooter in the warehouse,” Karasuma stated carefully. “No spent shells or bullet holes where Robin said the sniper was.”

 

“I know what I saw,” Robin said irritably.

 

“And why is there no evidence to back up your story?” Amon snapped. “This hunt was almost a failure thanks to you.”

 

“But Amon, I saw it. There was an Ogham Circle, I'm sure of it, and when I went to get a closer look, someone fired at me. I'm not-“

 

“If that were the case, then there should be something. It only indicates your level of maturity if you feel the need to make up ridiculous stories to cover your own ineptitude as a hunter.”

 

Robin gasped and took a step back, stunned into silence at Amon's harsh words. Karasuma opened her mouth as if to say something on Robin's behalf, but held it back when Amon leveled his gaze at her.

 

“Robin, why don't you go and wait by my car? I'll take you home,” Karasuma suggested as she put an arm around her shoulders and gently steered the young girl away from Amon. It took a few seconds for Robin to get her feet working, but when she came out of her shock, she spun on her heel, the streamers hanging from her strange pony tails whipping around her face, and stormed away in an angry huff that would have made Doujima proud.

 

As soon as Robin was out of earshot, Karasuma turned to the man standing next to her. “Don't you think you're being a little hard on her?” she asked. “Everyone makes mistakes every now-“

 

“Her mistakes are becoming more frequent and are starting to affect the hunts,” Amon interrupted sternly. “If she doesn't learn to control herself and stop making excuses for her inadequacies, the rest of the team will suffer for it.”

 

Karasuma crossed he arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side as she regarded Amon for a moment. “Are you alright?”

 

The tall man blanched at the unexpected question, but recovered quickly. “I'm fine,” he answered dryly.

 

“I wouldn't normally pry, but you don't seem the type to get into bar room brawls.” Karasuma's gaze passed over his bruised face. She took a step closer and lowered her voice. “If there is something you need help with-“

 

“I said I'm fine.” Amon growled through clenched teeth. “My private life is of no concern to you. Leave it alone.” He turned his back his teammate and began to walk to the driver's side of his car. The discussion was over.

 

“Yeah, but, I get the feeling that there is something going on that you're not telling anyone, and it looks like it involves Michael and Sakaki as well,” Karasuma called after him.

 

That got Amon's attention. He turned around slowly to face the young woman who seemed surprised that he had acknowledged her statement. A few strides of his long legs and he stood towering above her. “I'm afraid you have your facts incorrect, Karasuma,” he said with a sneer. “Don't go filling your head with speculation when you have nothing to back it up with.” The shorter woman actually cowered at the venom in his voice. Amon could be very intimidating when he wanted to be. “I suggest you go home and we'll forget all about this little conversation. There is nothing going on with anyone. It's all just a strange coincidence,” he said with an eyebrow cocked. There was enough underlying threat in his tone to make Karasuma nod her head dumbly. She backed up a few steps and then turned to quickly scurry away.

 

Amon slid behind the wheel of his car and slammed the door shut. He hated having to do that to Karasuma. She didn't deserve that tone of voice, but he couldn't have her sniffing around and uncovering the truth. Everything was going wrong. All of his careful planning was starting to fall apart. They needed to act and they needed to do it soon, or else Sakaki would be trapped as well.

 

Amon pulled his phone from his pocket and hit the speed dial for the office. Michael picked up on the second ring. “Any word yet?” he asked as he let his head rest against the window.

 

“No, nothing.” Michael sounded disappointed. “I'm really starting to worry, Amon. Maybe he's hurt.”

 

“It's doubtful; he probably just needs some time alone.”

 

Michael sighed loudly into the receiver. “We shouldn't have let him leave last night. He was too upset, he shouldn't have been riding…and he probably had a concussion from when…Zaizen hit him. What if he got into an accident and is lying in a ditch somewhere?” the hacker said with building panic.

 

“Relax, Michael. If that were the case, we would have been notified or his name would have shown up on the hospital's directory, which I'm sure you've already checked.” Amon could hear Michael's blush over the phone and a small smile touched his lips. “He just needs some time to get a grip on…everything and we should leave him be.”

 

“Maybe you could take a ride over to his apartment and check up on him,” Michael asked hopefully. There was a long pause before Amon spoke.

 

“I don't think that's a good idea. I'm the last person he wants to see.”

 

“Please, Amon. You're the only one who can go over there…please,” Michael begged.

 

Amon leaned forward until his forehead touched the steering wheel. “Michael,” he sighed. “I can't. He won't talk to me. He-“

 

“Please? Even if he slams the door in your face, I just need to make sure he's okay. Please do this for me.”

 

The unmitigated sorrow in Michael's voice tore through Amon's defenses like battering ram. Amon knew it was a bad idea, but how could he refuse when he realized just how distraught the hacker was.

 

“Give me the address,” he replied wearily.

 

“I'm sending it to you right now via non-linear filter…and Amon?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Thank you. I know this is hard for you,” Michael said reverently.

 

You have no idea, Michael, is what he wanted to say. “I'll call you later and let you know how things turned out,” is what he actually verbalized. Amon disconnected the call and then flipped open the display on the back of the phone. Not only had Michael provided him with the address, the overzealous redhead had also given him a detailed map outlining the fastest route. A wry grin touched his lips.

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

 

 

Amon stood outside the door to Sakaki's apartment. It was in a well-kept building in a typical middle-class area. Most of the building's occupants were university students whose parents could afford to have them live off-campus, though it was unusually quiet for a tenement full of rowdy college students. Amon pulled his phone out of his pocket to be sure he had the correct apartment number even though he knew he did. He was stalling.

 

Amon took a deep breath to calm himself, knocked twice on the door and waited. There was no answer.

 

“Sakaki?” he inquired as he rapped his knuckles against the door a second time. When the blonde didn't come to the door, he leaned in to see if he could hear any movement inside. The apartment seemed quiet. Amon gave the doorknob an experimental turn and was surprised to find it unlocked.

 

“Sakaki?” he called out again as he poked his head inside. From what he could see, the apartment was dark. Either Sakaki was not here or he was sitting in an unlit apartment.

 

Concern started to build inside him. There was a real fear that Michael might have been right and Sakaki never made it back here after he left Raven's Flat last night. He stepped inside the foyer and closed the door behind him. There was a light switch on the wall to the right and he flicked it on. The overhead dome light wasn't very bright, but it provided enough illumination for Amon to see the helmet and keys on the floor at his feet. Relief washed over him. Sakaki was here.

 

Amon slowly walked further into the apartment. He didn't want to take the teen by surprise, since he was technically uninvited. He took a moment to glance around the room and get his bearings. The apartment was surprisingly tidy and sparse considering that Sakaki was such a slacker when it came to the neatness of his work space. He continued forward into the living room. It was good-sized room with a large picture window on the wall opposite the entrance. Amon turned to the right and stopped inside the doorway to the bedroom. There was a pair of jeans and sneakers thrown haphazardly on the floor and buried underneath a mountain of covers on the bed was Sakaki, sound asleep. Amon didn't want to rush in and startle the boy, so he called his name. A low, sick-sounding groan came from under the blankets.

 

“Sakaki, are you alright?” Amon asked as he took a cautious step into the room. The body under the covers shifted slightly and moaned again. Amon moved to the foot of the bed and called out softly again. This time he was close enough to see when violet eyes snapped open at the sound of his voice, dazed and unfocused.

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

 

Sakaki had been completely dead to the world. There were no dreams that he could recall, just the never-ending black of unconscious, exhausted sleep. Then, ever so slowly he began to rise from the inky pitch. Something was pulling him back, calling him to wakefulness.

 

“Sakaki?”

 

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he recognized the sound of a human voice. After a few more seconds, Sakaki began to realize that the voice was calling his name. The blissful blackness was beginning to recede, and he moaned at the dull throbbing in his head that began to break through the haze as it became steadily worse.

 

“Sakaki, are you alright?”

 

There was that voice again. It took his sleep-muddled mind a second to process that someone was in the room with him. He eyes opened and he bolted upright in his bed. His head spun at the abrupt movement while his eyes fixed on a blur roughly the size and shape of another person standing at the foot of his bed. Sakaki dove for his Orbo gun on his bedside table and swung it around to train it on the figure, but lost his balance and fell hard onto the floor. He kicked his feet wildly to free them from their ensnarement in the sheets and backed up until his back hit the wall. His hand trembled, but he kept the gun pointed in the general direction of the intruder. Sakaki blinked repeatedly, trying to clear his vision.

 

“Who the fuck are you and what do you want?” Sakaki croaked. He wished he had his 9 mm, but that was locked in the safe in his closet. The Orbo gun would have to do, and besides, the bullets from this gun stung like a bitch. The figure didn't move from its spot.

 

“Sakaki, it's me…Amon,”

 

“Amon?” Sakaki parroted while his brain chewed on that information. He shook his head to clear some of the fogginess. “What are you doing here…and more importantly, how did you get in?” He didn't lower the gun.

 

Amon wisely stayed where he was. He knew Sakaki was not in the most stable frame of mind right now and he wasn't going to press his luck, especially when he was on the business end of a loaded Orbo gun. “The door was unlocked,” he stated dryly. “Michael asked me to come and check on you.”

 

“Michael,” Sakaki whispered sadly as he lowered the gun.

 

“Are you okay? Everyone was worried when you didn't show up for the hunt and we were unable to-“

 

“Hunt? What time is it?”

 

“It's almost six…in the evening. It's Sunday, Sakaki. Were you asleep all day?” Amon asked, his brows knit in confusion.

 

Sakaki's eyes went wide. He had been sleeping all day and didn't even realize it. He quickly began a mental retrace of his steps. It had been somewhere around midnight when he made it back to the apartment. After he passed out in the bathroom and got himself cleaned up, he crawled into bed, but he didn't know what time that was. Holy shit! I really have been out of it for the entire day. No wonder Michael sent Amon over to look out…for…Amon?

 

Sakaki's eyes darted back to the man in question, standing expectantly at the foot of his bed. He may have been a little incoherent before, but Sakaki was perfectly lucid now and he remembered just how furious he was with Amon. He pointed the gun back on the older man and pushed himself to his feet using the wall for support. “Get out,” he growled.

 

Amon's hands went up in a gesture of surrender. “I'm only here to make sure you're okay, I don't want to start any trouble,” he said in a calm and even voice.

 

`Trouble?” Sakaki repeated incredulously. “You let that bastard manipulate me into giving you a blow job and you don't want to start any trouble? Well, guess what? If you don't get the fuck out of here right now, trouble is what you're going to get.”

 

A wave of dizziness that threatened to buckle his knees surged through Sakaki's body and he threw out a hand to steady himself on the wall. Amon took a step towards him.

 

“Sakaki?”

 

“Don't come any closer!” Sakaki's grip tightened on the gun, but his entire arm was shaking from the strain of aiming it at the other man. Suddenly it felt as though a red-hot needle was shoved into his eye. He cried out in agony and collapsed to his knees. The gun fell from his fingers as he clutched his head with both hands, palms pressing into his temples in an effort to ease the torture. Despite the earlier warning, Amon was by his side in a flash.

 

“No, don't touch me,” Sakaki moaned as Amon placed his hands on his shoulders.

 

“Sakaki, look at me,” Amon ordered.

 

The blonde swatted at the persistent hands that were attempting to pry his own from his head. The quick, jarring motions of the scuffle caused another wave of nausea and Sakaki doubled over. “O God,” he whimpered as his stomach began an all-too-familiar rippling. Amon reacted immediately and hauled him up by the armpits and half-carried, half-dragged him across the room. Kicking the bathroom door open, the dark-haired man hit the light switch and let Sakaki fall to his knees in front of the toilet.

 

Sakaki began coughing and choking the moment his face was over the bowl, but there was nothing left in his stomach to come up. His whole body heaved forward painfully with each spasm, blacking out his vision. He wished there was something that he could throw up rather than deal with these rib-breaking dry heaves. In between convulsions, he became aware of a light caressing on his back.

 

“Easy…relax, Sakaki,” Amon whispered soothingly as crouched beside him and rubbed his hand in a circular motion between his shoulder blades.

 

Sakaki was loathed to admit it, but it was helping. After a few more gags he spat the drool out of his mouth and wiped the tears from his cheeks. When he was confident he was finished with this round, he sat back. Amon handed him a towel for him to swipe over his face. Sakaki felt gross. He was drenched in sweat, shirt clinging to his body, bangs stuck to his forehead.

 

“Feel better now?”

 

Sakaki narrowed his eyes over the towel at the figure standing in the doorway. “Yeah, I feel just peachy. Thanks for asking,” he shot back. If he had had the strength he would have thrown the towel back in Amon's face, but settled for an annoyed look and a soul-weary sigh as he leaned back against the side of the tub. “What are you doing here, Amon?”

 

Amon's eyes widened slightly as he was caught off guard by the question. “Michael asked me to look in on you,” he answered matter-of-factly.

 

Sakaki gave a derisive snort. `And here I was thinking that you came by because you wanted to apologize.”

 

Amon was taken aback by the contemptuous tone in Sakaki's voice, but kept his expression carefully schooled while he ran through possible ways to respond. Being the somewhat impatient lad he was, Sakaki didn't wait for Amon to come up with something.

 

“That is, unless you feel you have no reason to apologize. Maybe you get off on that sort of thing.” His comments were meant to hurt, meant to shatter the air of perfection the older man always managed to display. “Is that it, Amon? You like the rough trade? You like when someone smacks you around…tells you what to do? Or maybe you like it when other people are forced to do things to you. Is that how you get your kicks? Can't come unless-”

 

“That's enough,” Amon snapped, the words hitting him just as hard as the blonde's fists had the night before.

 

Sakaki cocked his head to the side and regarded the other man with a cool glare. “Hit a nerve, did I?”

 

“What is it that you want?” Amon asked with a voice that was clearly worn-out and annoyed. He bent his head forward and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He shook his head with a sigh before raising his eyes once again. “You want an apology? Then I'm sorry, Sakaki. From the bottom of my soul, I'm sorry for everything that happened. You were never meant to be involved with this.”

 

Sakaki began to seethe with anger. The vibration began in his toes and quickly shot upwards until he was growling though gritted teeth like some wild animal. It was amazing how much strength his rage was able to provide. “Fucking bastard,” he screamed as he launched himself at Amon, shoulder colliding with his chest and slamming the taller man into the doorjamb. He fisted his hands in the lapels of Amon's trench coat and pulled him down until they were nose to nose.

 

“Never meant to be involved? Well, I'm fucking in it now, aren't I? Thanks to you.” he hissed vomit-flavored breath into the other man's face.

 

The impassive mask slammed down over Amon's features. Sakaki was leaning his weight forward to keep him up against the wall and it was easy enough for him to use it to reverse their positions. Amon, now that he was back in a position of dominance over the teen, pointed his finger into Sakaki's chest, while his other hand on the boy's shoulder kept him pinned to the door frame. “You think that was my choice?” The blonde surged forward to try and get free, but Amon slammed him back into place. “You don't think I would have stopped him if there was a way?” he asked flatly.

 

“You sure as hell didn't look that way last night. You were the perfect little pet.”

 

Amon swallowed hard to keep from rising to the bait. “He wants you to be upset, Sakaki. Can't you understand that? When you're upset, you're off balance and easy to control. If you don't learn to reign in your temper, you're going to play right into his hands. And he's going to use Michael, or your sister, or whatever he can to get you to do whatever he wants.”

 

Those words finally seemed to break through to Sakaki, and he slouched as the urge to fight seeped out of his body. I can't let that happen…not my sister. He's already got Michael; that motherfucker cannot get to my sister.

 

Amon took a step back, sensing that Sakaki was calming. “Why don't you take a shower and get yourself cleaned up? Then we'll talk.”

 

Pale violet eyes inventoried the other man's expression and noted, as if for the first time, the large bruise on his cheek and the bruised lip. Not regret, but disappointment, bubbled up within Sakaki. It was so easy to heap all of the blame onto Amon's shoulders, taking it out on him as he did last night. Sakaki backtracked over that last thought. He had scored two solid hits to Amon's face when he knew very well that the somber man was capable of avoiding or at least blocking them. He let me hit him. He didn't even try to…my god, he just took it…took it so I could vent? Jesus, this just keeps getting better and better. I can't fucking deal with this right now. He raked a hand through his sweat-damp hair and exhaled loudly. He hadn't seen it before, but now that his ire had vanished, the truth was obvious. Amon was as much a victim in this as both Michael and he were, and that didn't give him the right to beat the piss out of him, no matter how much he wanted to. That was why Amon took the beating. He knew on some intrinsic level that Sakaki needed to focus all his emotions on something and willingly stepped forward to offer himself up. It was a sobering thought that a man as distant and reticent as Amon would do that for him.

 

Sakaki moved around Amon to the shower to turn the faucets on. He offered no apologies of his own for the damage to his team leader's face, but given the tense situation, he didn't think now was the time. Amon was back in his skin of cool indifference and perhaps that was for the best. There was no sense in rehashing all this, they both new that fault lay elsewhere. If they were ever going to work together on this, they would need to put this incident behind them.

 

“Don't make it too hot,” Amon advised, half turned in the doorway, ready to leave. “You look like you have a concussion and you might pass out if your body temperature gets too high.” Sakaki nodded his head to acknowledge the information. “Also, you might want to soak those first,” he pointed to the toilet paper around Sakaki's wrists. “They'll come off easier.”

 

Sakaki looked down to the improvised bandages and then back to Amon's face. “Yeah, thanks,” he whispered.

 

“I'll be outside if you need anything,” Amon said before he backed out of the room to give the boy his privacy, closing the door behind him.

 

Sakaki stared at the door for a few moments. After this, Amon, you and I are going to have a nice, long chat. I've got plenty of questions and you, my friend, are not leaving until you answer every single one of them.

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

 

 

Michael sat back against the cool side of the stone well and stretched his arms over his head. His shoulder joints popped at the strain, releasing some of the tension that had built up. He looked to the clock in the corner of the laptop's screen and sighed. It had been over an hour since Amon had agreed to check on Sakaki, and he had not heard any word yet. He hoped everything was alright. He knew Amon would have called if there had been a problem. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, but found his stomach still churned with worry.

 

Letting his head fall back, Michael stared up at the plate-glass roof of Raven's Flat. The sun had already set and it was a clear night, not a cloud in the sky to obstruct his view of the stars; stars, he reminded himself that he would only ever see through a pane of glass. He really didn't want to keep replaying last night's events, but it was unavoidable. How could he not? He had been forced to watch his lover pleasure another against his will while he did nothing to help. When it was all over, Sakaki called had Amon a coward. Those words stuck with him even now, hours later, and the part that saddened him the most was the fact that it was true. Amon was a coward and so was he. After three years of torment, it had become almost second nature to obey whatever Zaizen commanded. He was absolutely terrified of the man. But his lover had never known what he had been subjected to. Sure, in the beginning he had told him the kinds of things that he was forced to do on a somewhat regular basis, but he was never specific about it. There were some things that went on behind Zaizen's office door late at night that Michael didn't want Sakaki to know. Now there was no way he could hide behind half-truths and omitted details. Sakaki had seen it for himself and been forced to participate. Then, after it was over, he ran away with nothing but pure disgust written all over his face. Michael didn't think there was any way he was going to be able to salvage their relationship after this, and maybe that was for the best, too. He couldn't just stand by and watch Sakaki's fiery spirit become diminished by Zaizen's perversions. He loved him far too much to let that happen.

 

Michael snapped his head in the direction of shuffling feet echoing through the courtyard. His heart leapt for a moment, thinking that it was Sakaki, but when Robin stepped from the shadows he stifled a groan of disappointment.

 

“I'm not interrupting you, am I?” she asked meekly.

 

“No, not at all. I just came down here for a change of scenery. What brings you here after hours?” Michael's eyes went down to the small box she cradled against her body.

 

“I brought you some pastries…from that place you like.” She held out the box to him with a smile that seemed hopeful as she walked forward. Her long skirt swished loudly when she sat down beside him.

 

“Oh, thank you.” Michael took it from her and immediately opened it. He wasn't even the slightest bit hungry, but Robin had made a special trip just for him. He took out the smallest chocolate-covered cream puff and popped it into his mouth. It was the least he could do. “That was delicious. Here have one,” he offered. She dipped into the box and pulled out a powdered sugar dusted canoli and bit into it shyly.

 

“Thanks. It's hard to believe that you can find European pastries here in Japan, but these aren't too bad. Not as good as the ones I used to get when I was living in Italy, but not as bad as others I've tried.” She continued to nibble while they sat in uncomfortable silence.

 

“Do you miss it?” Michael asked.

 

“Italy?” she inquired, and Michael nodded. “Sometimes. Things were very different there. Not to say that what I have here is bad, but it's just…different.” She smiled sweetly at Michael and inched a little closer to him. “What are you working on?” Her eyes drifted over to the laptop situated between them.

 

Michael immediately tapped the keyboard to clear the screen. “Oh, nothing, really, just some project for Amon,” he answered, hoping that he sounded convincing. He didn't miss the slight scowl she made at the mention of their illustrious team leader's name. “So, are you going to tell me what's going on? It's not that I don't enjoy your company, but the dessert and the guilty look on your face tell me that you want something.”

 

Robin blushed and gave a nervous laugh. “Am I that transparent?”

 

“Yeah, kind of, but its okay, I won't hold it against you.” He gave her a half-hearted smile that didn't reach his eyes, though she didn't seem to notice. Robin dug into the pocket of her long, red coat to pull something out.

 

“I was wondering if you wouldn't mind taking a look at something for me.” She held a strange, golden object by the tips of her slender fingers. Michael took it from her and pushed his glasses up on his nose as he held the item up for closer inspection.

 

“If I didn't know any better, I'd say that this looked like a shell casing for a bullet,” he said as he turned it over. The spent shell was not cylindrical with a tapered tip like a regular bullet. Instead, it flared out at the base and then became more graduated towards the tip. It was also covered with a dozen or so runes etched into the metal.

 

“That's because it is. I found it on the ground when I went to investigate where the person who fired on me was.”

 

Michael's eyes widened considerably. “Then you were right. I thought the factory said they didn't find any evidence.”

 

“They were lying. Someone was there, and that someone fired a bunch of those bullets at me. I want to know why.”

 

“Yeah, sure, I'll look into this for you. We should let Amon-“

 

“If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to keep Amon out of this…at least until we know something,” she interrupted quietly.

 

Michael knew a lie when he saw one. Amon had come down on her pretty hard after the witch they were hunting almost got away. But he figured she probably had her reasons, and he had too much on his mind right now to argue. “Yeah, okay.” He nearly jumped out of his skin when she leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek.

 

“Thank you, Michael. I've got to go now. I'll see you tomorrow.” Robin all but ran out of the courtyard with nothing more than a quick wave.

 

When she was out of sight, Michael stared down at the shell and exhaled loudly. “That certainly was weird,” he said out loud. He was a little miffed that she felt the need to bribe him with sweets when she could have easily asked him. He tucked it into his pocket and went back to his laptop to finish working on breaking through Zaizen's seemingly impenetrable firewall.

 

It was about a half hour later when his phone began to ring. Michael jumped at the sound and then quickly scrambled to answer it. He had never been so happy to hear Amon's voice on the other end.

 

“How is he?”

 

“He's alright. It looks like he has a mild concussion, but he should be fine,” Amon answered. He sounded very tired. “I'm going to stick around here for a while to make sure he eats something.”

 

“Was he really angry when you showed up?”

 

There was a long pause before Amon answered. “He's calmed down some,” he said dryly.

 

“That's good. Is he there? Will he talk to me?” Michael tried not to sound too desperate, but it came through loud and clear regardless.

 

“He's in the shower now. I'll let him know when he gets out.”

 

“Okay…thank you again, Amon. I was really worried.” Relief washed over him like waves from the sea. It nearly brought him to tears.

 

“I understand. I will talk more with you later,” Amon said before disconnecting the call.

 

If Michael hadn't known any better, he would have been upset by the apparent brush-off, but that was Amon simply being Amon. It wasn't that important; Sakaki was safe and had calmed some, and that was all that mattered to the young hacker. He leaned back against the well and stared up at the night sky once again. It really was an awe-inspiring view, though he would have liked to be standing out in the open air rather than locked inside a stone building. He wasn't one to wish on stars or anything silly like that, but a little help never hurt.

 

“Star-light, star-bright…”

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

 

Amon disconnected the call and placed his cell phone back into the pocket of his trench coat. He could hear the sound of the shower running in the bathroom and had to take a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. As soon as Sakaki was finished, he was going to sit the boy down and tell him everything. Things had already progressed too far for him to be able to keep his secrets too much longer.

 

He sat down on Sakaki's couch and began to ponder just how he was going to impart all the sordid details of how things ended up the way they did. He would be forcing himself to own up to things he didn't even want to admit to himself, let alone another person. It was a very humbling prospect.

 

Amon's head snapped up when the water cut off in the bathroom. This was it. There was no turning back now.

 

 

TBC……

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~

 

Don't yell at me too much for ending it there. I had originally planned on putting Amon and Sakaki's “talk” in this chapter, but decided to push it back because I want to take my time with it. This chapter is a transition one of sorts. I'm working in some of the actual WHR storyline and putting my own spin on it, hence the reason why I consider this story to be slightly AU. So, there is lots more to come. Questions will be answered, many will be raised, and there will be much more angst. The journey is just beginning. And now on to the reviewer responses.

 

Adultfanfiction:

 

Nicki- Thanks for reading.

 

Nutmeg- Sorry for making you cry. No need to hunt me down. Thanks for reading.

 

PeorthUndead- Wow. Thank you for the flattering review. I do take the matter of rape and abuse seriously. I'm extremely glad that this comes across in my writing. Thanks for reading.

 

Reikon- Thank you for such an in-depth review. Everything you mentioned is something that I am trying so hard to accomplish. All three of the boys have their own unique way of dealing with this situation and are slowly realizing that they need to come together on this if they are ever going to get past it. I'm glad that you feel my characterizations ring true for everyone, for it is quite the challenge to do so. Thanks again.

 

Anime-Chik- Thank you for reading.

 

Cas Rigby- Yes, it's fun to be a kink. Thanks for reading.

 

Kaj (or should I say, J3)- Thought you can fool me? Anyway, as always, thank you for your detailed review. I'm humbled that my story has such an effect on you, but you are right, there is so much going on here, especially with Amon. It's when you start chipping away at his shell that you come to find that there is a compassionate person who has his own hurts that need to be tended to. Your comparison to Aya from Weiss Kreuz is an interesting one. Aya, like Amon does have a wall that he built around himself to try and protect his feelings at the cost of his own happiness. Closed off and distant sum the two men up perfectly, but there is always more than meets the eye. Thanks again.

 

hColleen- Thank you for the compliments. Realism is something I strive for in all of my works. You are also correct that this could have been a very creepy story, but that was never my intention. Dark? Brutally honest? Absolutely, but not creepy. Thanks for reading.

 

Darkness- Thanks for hosting this story at your site! And thanks for reading.

 

Tsukikage- Ach! Don't sic rabid chinchillas on me, I updated, I updated! Jeez, this story seems to bring out people's violent streaks. Thanks for reading.

 

Mediaminer:

 

The Prince's Jewel- I know, I know…poor Sakaki. I would have made an attempt to kill the bastard myself, but it probably would have been just as futile. Keep hanging in. Thanks for reading.

 

Mika Jurgen- Greatest fic ever? I wouldn't go that far, but thank you for the lovely compliment. I am but a humble writer. Thanks for reviewing.

 

Kiba-chan- Thanks for reading. Many people have told me that WHR was a little too slow moving for them, but I think it has many subtle character nuances that are intriguing. That's probably where this story comes from. Who knows? But thanks for giving my story a look.

 

Jesu- Thanks for your review. Amon is dealing with his own inner demons right now. All three of the boys have their own trials to overcome. Stick around to watch how they deal with everything thrown at them.

 

FanFiction (Look! A chapter I didn't have to edit):

 

Serashime- Sorry for keeping you hanging that dreaded cliff…okay, maybe I'm not, but I am evil after all. Sakaki, as you know by now, is really stumbling around in the dark and not sure what to make of everything. That ending was really difficult to write because I wanted the emotions to be believable. Thanks for letting me know your thoughts.

 

Wacky Walnut- Well, according to Dante, the lowest level of hell was ice, so Zaizen would freeze, not burn…but who cares. The evil sonofabitch will get what's coming to him, just not yet. You really spent two days reading my fic? Thank you, that's quite an investment of your time.

 

Drew-Hanson- Thanks for reading and taking the time to review.

 

DJ-Sesshomaru- All chapters have been uploaded here in an edited form, but if you want to read the unedited chapters look for them on mediaminer(dot)org or adultfanfiction(dot)net. As for the Michael abuse not being too harsh…well, if you've read all the chapters you know the answer to that question. Thanks for reading.

 

Raven's Light- Thanks for waiting. Sorry it took so long. I'm not a very fast writer. I wish I was, but I'm not.

 

Rain-pyr- Glad you enjoying this little trip into darkness and your correct, the boys are definitely going to need hugs and puppies and all sorts of stuff to get through this. So, you think it will be Michael that takes Zaizen down? You'll just have to stick around to find out. Thanks for reviewing.

 

AnimeFan-Artemis- Thank you for taking the time to read my story, especially since you said you don't normally read fics of this type. Buckle up for a bumpy ride, but there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks again.

 

KaSniper67- I'm here, I'm here. Thanks for reading and being patient.

 

BMD17- I'm a god? Well then, kneel before me! But seriously, thank you for reading and taking the time to review. I'm glad you like my portrayal of Amon. He is a very difficult character to write. Stick around as I delve into the inner workings of this mysterious man.

 

And where would this chapter be without many thanks to my wonderful beta, Press. Take a bow, Press. See everyone next chapter!