Witch Hunter Robin Fan Fiction ❯ Silk Gloves ❯ Been a Long Time ( Chapter 12 )

And they all lived happily ever after. Psyche. I own WHR. Psyche.

~^~

It was a long time before Sakaki finally noticed that the tunnel was sloping upwards. They had been walking for about an hour, and had traveled two to three miles at his best guess. From the smell, he figured that the passageway ran parallel to a sewer, and he had started to wonder whether they would have to slop through water and waste to get out. But soon the air grew cleaner, and the floor tilted to slowly bring them back to ground level.

As they continued, Sakaki glanced down at the woman still in his arms. She had brought her arms to her chest and was leaned against him, walking by his lead with her eyes closed, looking completely spent. There was no doubt in his mind that if it had not been for her, they would have both been dead. Granted, there had been a lot of pure and simple luck involved as well, a fact which made him wonder whether he should begin believing in some sort of deity, but Miho's calm and collected escape plan had also done more than its share.

He glanced ahead, and abruptly stopped. The jar in their rhythm seemingly woke Karasuma, and she stood up, taking what little weight she had leaned on him with her. They both stared at the sudden end to the tunnel; a venting screen looking in on… something. There was defiantly a faint light on the other side of the screen; a different light than the moldy lamps in the tunnel. Just the thought of getting out of the confines of the passageway was enough to convince him, but he held back, unsure.

“Do you think we should go now, or wait?” he asked quietly.

Karasuma rubbed her eyes, still looking worn. “What time is it?”

He checked his watch, glad that he had put it on instead of relying on his phone. “About nine thirty. We've probably walked a few miles from the flat.”

She sighed. “We need to keep moving. Much as I'd like to just stay here, I don't trust our phones, and I want to be off the island as soon as possible.”

“We can trash the phones as soon as we get out,” Sakaki said, “and if we get the money out now, they won't have time to freeze our accounts.”

She frowned, “Can they do that?”

“I don't know,” Sakaki said honestly, “but I'm fairly certain that if they contact the police, they could get them to do it.”

Karasuma nodded, “And with Kosaka's connection to the force, it probably wouldn't be difficult to communicate with them.”

“Do you think he'd do that?” Sakaki asked in surprise.

“Honestly, no,” Karasuma replied, “but…”

“It's SOLOMON,” Sakaki finished for her, “you're right.”

They stood in silence for a moment. Finally, Sakaki reached out and experimentally nudged the screen. It swung forward, and then clapped back into place when he withdrew his hand. He glanced at Karasuma, who shrugged.

“I guess we should go,” she said.

He nodded, and then paused. This was probably going to be the last quiet moment he would have alone with her for awhile; quite possibly for the rest of either of their lives.

“I meant it,” he said softly as she walked past him to crawl through.

She paused, peering at him over her shoulder through the gloom. “I know,” she replied. Her next words were to the floor, whispered as if holding back tears, “So did I.” She glanced up, catching his eyes and holding them.

He didn't even remember whether it was he that went to her; or she that went to him; or if they both met in the middle, but suddenly he was kissing her. Her hands were buried in his hair, sometimes trailing back to his face as if to make sure that it was really him. With no where else to put them, his arms went around her waist, fingers smoothing the back of her blazer. The fevered quality to their kisses told him that she was also quite aware that this was probably their last moment alone together for a long while, and when they broke for air, he leaned past her lips and placed a row of kisses down her neck.

She did not protest, gasping when he trailed back up to the sensitive skin just below her ear. “Haruto…” she whispered with the exhalation, and he heard a note of pleading in her voice, begging him to return to her lips. He did so gladly.

After a moment, she took his face in her hands, placing soft lips against his clammy forehead, down the bridge of his nose, across one eye, and then the other. Her lips drifted down to the tip of his nose, then just above his lips, and before she could tease anymore, he leaned forward and kissed her deeply. He was vaguely aware of her hands on his chest, one hand splayed and the other twisted in his t-shirt. When he thought about where his own hands were, he realized that they were still on her waist, but had drifted between her shirt and suit jacket, gripping somewhat tighter then was probably comfortable.

They broke apart, panting as quietly as they could. He searched her eyes, and realized that she felt the same as he did. For once, mere kissing had almost not been enough.

She buried her head in his shoulder, and he sighed, pressing his lips to her hair in comfort. Their heartbeats slowed. He savored the quiet, closing his eyes and committing the way she felt, her scent, the feel of her hair, everything that he could to memory. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him. Planting a chaste kiss on her lips, he let her go. She smiled at him, and he smiled in return. The screen was pushed open, and Karasuma indicated for him to wait. Sakaki watched her go, feeling somewhat incomplete after having her in his arms for so long, but shook his head. Just having her near would do for awhile. It would have to.

~^~

“Haruto,” Karasuma hissed through the screen. He pushed through, standing up in the cramped space. The screen banged down, making them both wince. He twisted, looking around.

“Miho…are we…?”

She shrugged, the soft white light coming from under the door barely illuminating her face. “A supply closet? I think so.”

He chuckled. The small room smelled slightly of cleaning supplies, he could just make out jugs and cans of various solvents lining the walls. A broom and mop stood in the corner. There was a pause, and he reached out to the door handle. As he did, the door swung open; to reveal a stout, older woman peering at them with her hands on her hips.

“I thought so!” she cried triumphantly. Sakaki felt a thrill of fear course through him, at first thinking that she was somehow connected to SOLOMON. But then the woman continued, saying, “Kids these days, I swear! You'd think you could find somewhere other than a supply closet to play out your fantasies!”

For a moment, all Sakaki could do was stare at the woman in front of them. Ex-witch hunters, having just run for their lives from the organization they had betrayed, and now they were being accused of playing `seven minutes in heaven'? He looked down at Karasuma, who was, either out of real modesty or fake embarrassment, looking at the floor and blushing. He smiled at the sight, remembering his name on her lips. Well, the lady was half-right. “Er…” he started, “Sorry bout this,” he continued lamely, thinking that continuing on her path of thought would be easier then trying to tell her something different. Besides; SOLOMON wouldn't think twice if they heard about a teenage couple making out in a closet.

Another person, this time a boy around fifteen, laughed from behind the woman. “Don't apologize, bud, we know you ain't sorry.” He gave Karasuma an appreciative glance, and then shook his head at the matronly woman who still stood seething at them. “Besides, she don't remember what it's like to be young no more.”

The woman shot the boy a glare. “Ani, get back to the register,” she said sternly, and then turned back to them, “As for you two; if you get out of here now, I won't do anything. But I don't want to see you back here again; use someone else's closet next time. Better yet, get a room.”

Trying to look properly humiliated, Sakaki and Karasuma nodded graciously and shuffled from the store, uncomfortably aware of the openness of the street. The work day was still in full swing, and the streets were practically empty - Sakaki guessed they wouldn't fill again until the lunch hour.

“I think we should wait until lunch rush and get on the subway,” Karasuma said.

Sakaki nodded, “Should we get our money first?”

“I don't know. If they've put a track on our accounts, then they'll know as soon as we withdraw money. But if we don't get it soon, we might not get it at all.”

“Well. We won't get anywhere without the money.”

She sighed, shaking her head. “Exactly. I'm just not sure which is more of a risk.”

He absently nodded, staring down the road. A limo had pulled up to the hotel that stood there, the driver getting out and opening the door. A woman stepped out, stood up, and looked around, her cream fur coat covering every inch of her save for the heel-clad feet. He stared…something about that coat.

“Nagira,” he said finally.

“Pardon?” Karasuma asked, puzzled.

He turned back to her, excited, “Nagira, Amon's half brother, he'll help us.”

Her mouth hung open for a second, still catching up with his train of thought, and then she smiled. “Of course. I had completely forgotten about him.”

Sakaki nodded. “Me too.” He chuckled, “It's a wonder we haven't run into him before.”

“I hope he's ok,” Karasuma said with a frown, “SOLOMON promised they wouldn't hold the factory against us, but if they found out about Nagira…”

Sakaki snorted, “Don't worry, he's fine.”

“How do you know?”

He smiled, leading to a bus stop where two women stood happily chattering. “Doujima was having a rather…involved conversation with him just before she left. I'm fairly certain she convinced them to let him alone.”

Karasuma blinked, trying to incorporate this information into what she knew of the spy. Somehow, it didn't surprise her in the least that the younger woman had gotten involved with the lawyer. “I suppose if I had thought about it, I would have realized that,” she said.

Sakaki shrugged, the bus pulling up to them and stopping. They boarded, both automatically checking the other people on the bus for signs of SOLOMON agents as they paid. Karasuma was silent during the ride, knowing that Sakaki would know how to get to Nagira Law Offices better then she - he had stayed there for three days. She closed her eyes, forcing thoughts of her own three days from her mind. She had shed those demons when she had joined the coven, when she had renounced hunting. It could remain a bad memory now.

The bus halted, and she felt Sakaki move. They got off, leaving the two women from the stop still talking, and stepped onto the street.

“This way,” Sakaki said, nodding in the direction of a complex of buildings. Karasuma could just make out a slogan or name of some sort painted on the large window of one of the structures. As they came closer, she realized that it was an advertisement for Nagira Law offices. Up a set of well-kept cement stairs, and into a door painted with the same logo as the office windows. They were in a drab office, with three desks, a couch and a coffee table. Two of the desks were occupied, one with a small, sniveling man who stared unabashedly, and one with a blonde woman who had her back to them. She did not seem to realize that there were two of them, and from what little Karasuma could garner from the woman's speech, she assumed that the secretary thought that they were Nagira.

“So you finally decided to show up, eh? Well, it's about time! I've had three clients calling, asking to speak with you personally, and do you know…” she stood up and turned around, taking a breath to continue. But when she realized that it was not Nagira that she was talking to, she trailed off, and immediately frowned upon setting her eyes on Sakaki. “Oh. It's you again.”

Sakaki sighed, “Yes. I need to speak with Nagira.”

Hanamura Mika surveyed Sakaki for a moment without speaking, then `hmphed' and turned her nose up at him. “Well, if you can get a hold of him and get him in, then you're perfectly welcome to speak to him. I haven't seen the man in a week, except for the occasional pop into the office to bum a cigarette off of him.” She nodded to the small man in the corner, who shrugged and stooped back to his computer.

“Shit,” Sakaki said under his breath.

“Is there any way we can reach him?” Karasuma asked, mentally echoing Sakaki's sentiment.

Hanamura sniffed. “You could try his phone, but I doubt he'll answer. Those pachinko machines he's always hanging around are loud enough to wake the dead!” She shot Sakaki a glare, “And if you're wanting to stay here again, and with another girlfriend,” Karasuma glanced at Sakaki curiously, to which he shrugged, silently mouthing `Robin' to her. She nodded, understanding. “…with you, no less, then you can just forget it! I'll just bet you got into some kind of trouble with the police, and now you're running to Mr. Nagira for help! Well I'll tell you…”

The door swung open, startling the two ex-hunters enough to step into shooting stance with their hands half-way into their coats. But as an aging white coat came into view, they both relaxed. Syunji Nagira stepped into the office, brow furrowing when he saw Sakaki and Karasuma.

“Huh,” he mumbled, “guess the bastard was right.”

Hanamura gazed at her boss with her jaw slack. “Mr. Nagira! Where have you been?” she said, rather too loudly then was necessary, “Are you quite ready to get some work done? That client from last week called, he said he really needed to talk to … Mr. Nagira?”

“Hold my calls, Mika,” Nagira said as he waved for them to go with him.

Karasuma followed Nagira into a larger room near the back as Mika sat down again, looking miffed but not particularly surprised. When they were all inside, Nagira shut the door and looked at the two of them closely.

“So,” he said friendlily, “you two want to tell me why two're such hot property today? Word on the street is both the police and SOLOMON are looking for you.”

Sakaki winced, though Karasuma didn't seem to bat an eye as she explained. “We betrayed SOLOMON. Both of us. We've been awakening witches, and then teaching them to control their power. As far as SOLOMON is concerned, we're as bad as rouge witches ourselves.”

For a moment, Nagira just stared at them. “So…you've been awakening witches?” he said slowly.

Karasuma nodded. “Yes.”

“You know the coven that's been spreading through Japan.”

“Yes.”

“And,” he shook his head in what looked like amazement, “unless I miss my guess, you've been leading the coven that's been spreading through Japan.”

Karasuma swallowed, when someone else said it, it sounded much more… important. She had simply been following her instincts, and Kenshio's orders. “I suppose you could say that, though we weren't the actual leaders,” she said quietly.

There was a pause, and then Nagira began to laugh, the sounds echoing off the cement walls of the chamber. Karasuma and Sakaki shared a confused glance as Nagira struggled to regain control of himself. “Do you two have any idea how long I've been trying to figure out who you were?” he asked, wiping away tears of mirth.

They looked at each other, and then shook their heads.

Nagira chuckled again, “Damn, it's probably been two months now.” He ran a hand through his hair, “and all along, here I was thinking you guys were nothing but a couple of hunters.”

“We were, for one of those months,” Sakaki said.

Nagira sobered, noticing their strained and haggard faces. They had been through hell even before he met them, gone through a different hell while acquainted with them, and now, here was yet another trial. He sneered internally; SOLOMON didn't seem to have the capacity to do anything but mess up lives - first his brother's, then Robin's, now these two. “Well, it doesn't matter now. You need to get out?”

The relief on both of their faces was almost worth the trouble he would certainly go through to help them.

~^~

“And our money? Will we be able to get it?”

Nagira nodded from the front seat of his car, “Yeah. They can put a track on your account, but they can't freeze it until they've got you.” He snorted, “Rather, they won't freeze it till they've got you. It's the easiest mistake - since almost everyone is caught without any cash.”

Karasuma nodded and settled into the back seat, shifting in the odd clothing that Nagira had given her. After agreeing to help them, Nagira had given them some food and ordered them to stay put for an hour while he got some things ready. Karasuma had assumed that he was going to reserve a hotel room for them. He had done that, as well as going…somewhere, and getting them new clothes. She had no idea how the lawyer had managed to get her size right, but considering his `other job', she shouldn't have been surprised. He had probably done this kind of thing for a lot of people.

It wasn't that the clothing was odd, or bad, particularly, just…very different. She was used to black and white or pastel professional, always dressing like a woman at least twice her real age. Now she was wearing a floral patterned dress that came to a hands length above her knee, and she felt very out of place - though Nagira assured her that this was the style among teens. Not only was the length different, but the spaghetti-straps that kept it on her shoulders were strange. She had not bared this much skin in at least seven years, if not a decade. Seeming to know that it was making her uncomfortable, Sakaki had slipped her an overlarge button down shirt. It was a strange looking combination, but Nagira had not commented, and she felt somewhat more comfortable with it on.

She glanced at Sakaki, suppressing a small smile. The idea, Nagira had told them, was to make them look as different from their normal selves as possible. For Karasuma, it meant shorter hemlines and less fabric. If they had needed an exact opposite of Sakaki, they would have dressed him in the most professional clothes they could. But since she and Sakaki would be traveling together, they had to complement each other. So, the lawyer had come back with shorts a size too big, plaid boxers, and a black tee-shirt with one of the newer band logos splashed across the front. It was very different, she thought, he looked like a high school kid skipping school.

Then again, so did she, probably.

“You all right back there?” she heard Nagira ask, and looked up to find him peering at her in the rear-view mirror.

“I think so,” she said, turning back to the window.

“Good,” the lawyer said, looking back at the road. At some point, they had gotten out of Tokyo, driving towards the middle of the island. Karasuma wondered where they were going, and as if reading her thoughts, Nagira said, “We're going to Saitama for your money. Then an about-face to Osaka for a night, Hiroshima tomorrow, and I'll get you on a bus to Fukuoka the next day,” he paused, “You two didn't say anything about wanting to bug out of the country, but the airport in Fukuoka can get you to the mainland, and they can get you anywhere else.”

“We don't have passports.” Sakaki said glumly, “and I'm not sure we should go, even if we somehow could.”

Karasuma nodded in agreement; Kenshio had said that she could find them, but she had also said to get off the island, not out of the country.

“Why not? I could get you fake ones without too much trouble - especially if you don't want to go to the states.”

“I think the international flights are the first thing they'll check,” Sakaki said, “And…”

He stopped, glancing at Karasuma. Nagira caught the glance and grunted. “Lemme guess. Somebody told you guys to stay in Japan.”

They nodded.

The lawyer sighed from the wheel, “Well, can't argue with that.”

The car continued down the highway.

~^~

It was 3:30 when they pulled up to Karasuma's bank. They had already passed Sakaki's, deciding that since they were simply turning around, they should go to his on their way out. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably. She just went in, he told himself sternly, she can take care of herself, stop worrying.

“If she's withdrawing more than one hundred thousand Yen, they'll probably have some paper work,” Nagira said off handedly. Sakaki wondered if the lawyer noticed his agitation, deciding eventually that there was hardly a way he could miss it. There were another few moments of silence.

“So, how did you two get out?” Nagira asked, observing as the teen in the passenger's seat shifted yet again.

“Luck,” Sakaki replied, “And Miho knew the way out.”

Nagira nodded, noting that Sakaki had said the woman's given name. That in itself really wasn't all that surprising, Robin had told him that the two had been partners at the STN-J for a year when he had asked who they were going after. But something in the way Sakaki had said it suggested that she was more than a partner.

Then, that was evident from their actions, too. He knew that most people wouldn't have noticed anything besides their nervousness about suddenly being wanted people, but people who were just partners didn't have conversations in a glance, didn't say each other's first names with such complete familiarity, and they definitely didn't drop their jaws to the floor with a change in outfit.

Granted, Sakaki had most certainly had a good reason for the loss of his jaw- Nagira had had nearly the same reaction. Karasuma had a body to rival anyone's - with the possible exception of Doujima - but that was his personal opinion. He mentally patted himself on the back for the outfit. There were times he loved his second job for less-then-honorable reasons.

~^~

They made it out of Saitama with little trouble, as Nagira had promised. Steering clear of Tokyo, they made their way down to Osaka, stopping once for gas and once for Nagira.

It was later at night, nearly ten, when he pulled the car off of the expressway. Both Karasuma and Sakaki were still awake, lost in their thoughts as they watched the lights on the road. He shrugged at their questioning glances.

“Figured you two don't want smoke in your faces,” he grunted, and got out.

Wordlessly, they glanced at each other and followed suit, getting out and both walking a little away from the light that the car was parked under.

“You alright?” Sakaki asked her quietly.

She paused before answering, not sure of the answer herself. “I'm…still trying to catch up with what's happened,” she said slowly, “it's like someone sped life up.”

Sakaki smiled, shoving his hand in the pockets of his shorts. It was chilly and moist, the air charged with the onset of a storm. “Yeah,” he said, “I feel a bit that way myself.” He glanced at her, and was forced to catch his breath. She was standing a little away from him, arms wrapped around herself; covered primarily in the white business shirt he'd given her earlier. She looked cold, uncomfortable with the dress, uprooted, and somewhat tired, but in spite of all of that, she was smiling slightly.

“Do you think Michael's ok?” she asked.

“Of course. He's been through worse. I'm pretty sure he rolled under the desk before we hit the pipes.”

“We left him, you know. He's the only one left.”

He reached out and drew her to him, wanting not only to comfort her, but himself. “Yeah. But he's Michael - he'll understand,” he murmured, settling his arms around her shoulders to warm her.

“I know,” she said quietly into his shirt, “But it doesn't seem fair that he's been left all alone.”

“He doesn't have a collar any more,” Sakaki reminded her, “Maybe he'll leave.”

She chuckled lightly. “He loves that job, though. You know how much he loves the computers and finding information.”

“That settles it, then,” Sakaki said into her hair, “if he's mad about anything, it because we ruined his work computer.”

She didn't say anything, but he could feel her smile as she leaned into him. He smiled to himself. By all rights, he should be miserable. He'd been forced out of Tokyo, left his friends, his home, his job. But, as far as he was concerned, she was here, and that was all that really mattered.

There was a cough behind them. “Nothing like a smoke,” Nagira said a little too loudly from the car. Karasuma looked up, a trace of a laugh in her eyes.

“I think he's embarrassed,” she said quietly.

Sakaki smiled back for a moment, leaned down, and softly pressed his lips to hers. He drew back, practically grinning. “If I can deal with listening to him and Doujima, he can deal with us.” His face became decidedly wicked, “and I can assure you, this's been peanuts compared to that.”

She was momentarily seized with the notion to offer to match it, remembering the sheer pleasure she'd felt with him in the tunnel, and then shook her head, smiling. They needed to go, anyway - the longer they stayed here, the longer it was until they got to the hotel, and she was tired. “If he's done, we should probably go.”

Sakaki nodded, and released one arm, keeping the other around her waist. When they got to the car, he paused momentarily, having an internal argument. Habit dictated that he should get in the front seat and continue to pretend that they were only partners in the business sense. Comfort and a certain measure of loneliness demanded that he get in the back seat with Karasuma.

The front seat didn't have a chance in hell, as far as he was concerned. Nagira had figured it out anyway, and now the only people they really had to keep that bit of information from was SOLOMON. He pulled open the back door, ignoring Nagira's surprised glance, and slid into the leather back seat. The look of gratitude on Karasuma's face was worth more than the lawyer's peace of mind. He smiled, “Hi.”

She returned the smile as Nagira got in and started the car, pulling back onto the highway, “Hello.”

Without another word, he turned so that she could use him as a pillow, which she did. Wrapping one arm around her, he took her hand, lacing their fingers. She closed her eyes, curling her head into the base of his neck. Moments later, he suspected that she had fallen asleep. He felt strangely honored that she trusted him enough to sleep against him - it was the most vulnerable position a person could be in, and she was not one for vulnerability. But then, neither was he, really, and here he was, closing his eyes and drifting off. The last thing he remembered was the feeling of her hand in his.

~^~

An hour later, Nagira glanced back through the rearview mirror. God, he thought to himself, they were just so…cute.

It irked him, somewhat, though he couldn't really begrudge them the one happiness they had. It was probably because he had never seen two people so suited to each other and so comfortable with that match. He couldn't compare them to Amon and Robin; last he'd heard, his brother had still been an emotionally fucked up asshole in love with a pure and gracious girl that he didn't feel he deserved. Quite frankly, Nagira wasn't sure if he did deserve her, but it was Robin's choice, ultimately. The only other relationship he could really try to compare it to was he and Doujima - and that was simply out of the question.

He would be the first to admit that with Doujima, it was first and foremost about the sex. Lust had been principal, and everything else had taken a back seat. It hadn't been until she left that they'd realized there was an… attachment there. They were well suited to each other, with cynically sarcastic senses of humor and a talent for banter… but then there was the matter of their respective jobs. It was a subject they had avoided at all costs, and sex had been a good way to do it.

Damned if he wasn't fairly certain that had she been anything else - even just a hunter like Amon - he would have fallen for her.

But it was like screwing the enemy - he chuckled darkly to himself - literally. She was a spy; he was a spy for the other team. They had their loyalties, and life was not a James Bond movie, where the lady spy eventually pulled a fast on her own organization and ran off with the dashing hero. Doujima had always made it clear that she wasn't going to jump sides, and she knew he wouldn't, either.

They had just been stuck on opposite sides.

Fuck, he needed a drink. A sign by the side of the road proclaimed Osaka to be 30 kilometers away. The hotel would have a bar, undoubtedly. He'd been working on forgetting her, but with these two around it wouldn't be possible.

~^~

It was midnight when they finally got to the hotel. Nagira pulled into a parking space and turned around, somewhat dreading the idea of waking them up, but found it wasn't necessary. Karasuma had opened her eyes and was watching him intently. “We're here,” he said unnecessarily, feeling like he had to say something under the woman's cool gaze. He didn't like being an open book, and the way she looked at him, half pity, half sympathy, made him feel like she knew exactly what he'd been dwelling on for the last hour.

Instead of letting himself talk further, he got out.

Karasuma looked after him for a moment, trying to put a name to what she had seen on his face. He had seemed sad when she woke to the engine being killed. Not angry, really, just resignedly sad. Not sure why, but feeling as if she didn't really want to know, she carefully sat up and turned to Sakaki, still asleep.

“Haruto,” she said quietly, disengaging her hand from his and sweeping it across his forehead. He opened his eyes when her hand settled in his hair.

“We're there?” he asked without preamble. She nodded. He stretched slightly and then pushed the door open. Nagira waited near the front of the car, three backpacks in his hand. Two he gave to Sakaki, indicating that he give one to Karasuma, the other he kept for himself. Without a word, the lawyer turned, ambling into the hotel and up to the desk. A sleepy receptionist asked his name and if he had a reservation. Karasuma stopped paying attention to the conversation, trying to gauge the contents of her backpack instead. She could feel a toothbrush, and at least one set of clothes. She suspected there was a hair brush, but couldn't confirm it, because Nagira turned around and shoved a key into her hand.

“Here,” he said, voice gruff, “Your room is number 215.” He glanced at Sakaki's worried face and gave them both a smirk. “Tonight and tomorrow's my treat. We should leave fairly early in the morning, around nine o'clock. Try to relax,” he said, “They weren't expecting you to have a ride out, and their last record of you is in Saitama.”

Karasuma nodded, bowing slightly. “Thank you, Nagira.”

He gave them both a long gaze, and for a moment Karasuma thought she saw that same sadness that she had seen upon waking not twenty minutes ago. Then he blinked and chuckled, dispelling the haze around him. “Don't worry about it. It's what I do, remember?”

She nodded and headed for the stairs with Sakaki.

Nagira watched them go with a heavy heart. “Don't wake the neighbors,” he muttered to their retreating backs. Then he turned intent on finding the nearest bar.

~^~

The extra pair of clothes she had felt turned out to be night clothes. They were plain, but comfortable, if a little big. She suspected he had gotten `one size fits most' to cut down on complications. When she got out of the bathroom from changing, she looked in her bag further, confirming the toothbrush, toothpaste and hair brush. There was also a first aid kit, a sewing kit, a calling card, and, to her surprise, a fake ID without a picture. Looking closer, she frowned. Souta Mayou. But that was a man's name, she thought to herself in confusion.

Just as the thought went through her mind, Haruto came out, his face a little red. “Ah…Miho,” he started, and held up the bag, “I think I may have gotten the bags mixed.”

Karasuma stood and looked in; covering a smile when she realized that there was a box of tampons in the bottom of the bag. She took the bag, handing him his and saying, “He thinks of everything.”

“Yes, he does,” Sakaki said, and they abruptly fell into silence.

Well, this is uncomfortable, Karasuma heard herself think as she sat on the bed. What to do now? Offer to sleep on the floor? That was ridiculous beyond measure; neither of them should have to sleep on the floor. Say something? But what to say? Embarrassed, and slightly angry at herself for it, she turned and got under the covers. Sakaki didn't say anything, which relieved and frightened her at the same time. She didn't want to sleep alone; but she just wasn't sure what Sakaki thought about it.

He apparently shared her sentiments, because she felt the bed tilt and the covers move as he sat down. The light went out, and he lay down, stilling after a short time. She tried to go to sleep, but somehow she had ended up facing away from him, and sleeping in the car had refreshed her enough that lying down felt good, but closing her eyes was harder then usual. Trying to be careful, she turned over, but misjudged Sakaki's placement, and accidentally kicked him. She gasped, turning over the rest of the way to face him.

“I'm sorry,” she said quietly, “It's been a long time since I slept in a bed with anyone else.” She winced, wondering how he would take the explanation.

He smiled, shaking his head against the pillow. “It's all right,” he said, “me too.”

She paused, and, facing him, felt herself relaxing. They'd come this far, what was the use of being bashful now, honestly? “I used to crawl into bed with my parents when I was young,” she said, “I would have horrible nightmares and felt better sleeping with them.”

“Do you think it was your craft?” he asked, genuinely interested.

She shrugged, a difficult gesture when lying on her side, “I guess it could have been a precursor. I didn't awaken until I was twelve, though, and the nightmares were worst when I was nine or so.”

“You were twelve?” he asked, sounding surprised, and she nodded. “I was fourteen by the time I awakened.”

She blinked. “How did you get through your training so fast?” she asked. Training to be a hunter took about three years, and Sakaki had been a hunter for half a year when he came to the STN-J at seventeen. The math just didn't work out.

Sakaki frowned, “My dad was a hunter for SOLOMON, and moved up a little after I turned seven. Both he and mom were craft-users. I was lined up for training and an inquisition practically the day I was born.”

Karasuma supposed the information wasn't all that surprising; a lot of hunters came from a background of hunters. “So you…”

“Betrayed my parents as well as SOLOMON?” Sakaki finished for her, knowing that she was too kind to say the words herself. She nodded, and he sighed. “Not really. My parents were affectionate, but never terribly loving. Mom died of cancer when I was in training, and even before I moved here I had pretty much stopped talking to dad.” He shrugged, “I guess I preferred the ideal I had of him rather than the real thing.”

“I'm sorry; you probably didn't want to talk about it.”

“It's ok,” he said, reaching out to pull her closer, “It's not like I want to hide from you.”

Karasuma smiled and shifted so her head was turned against his shoulder, face towards him so she could speak. “My parents were normal. I didn't even know witches or hunters existed until I became one.” She paused, remembering her first day as a witch. “It wasn't big at first. I thought it was just my imagination. My friends said I'd just…stopped, and I knew that the pencil I was holding belonged to the girl two classrooms over, and that she didn't like her teacher. Then I knew where my book had been for the last two days, and when I touched the teacher's desk I knew he'd been fantasizing about the principal.” She closed her eyes, “it just kept going, until I bumped into a boy from an upper level a week later. He was on his way to kill himself, and I knew that without even knowing his name.”

“Did he?”

“What?” she asked, opening her eyes and looking at him.

“Did he kill himself?”

She closed her eyes again, settling back. “No. But I still remember exactly the way it felt in his head. Later that day I was hunted, but I guess SOLOMON thought my power would be useful.”

“What about your parents?” Sakaki asked. Karasuma opened her eyes, and he immediately wondered if the question had been wise. Obviously she had been taken out of her home when she was young - her parents were probably a sore spot in her past.

“I don't know, honestly.” Karasuma said after a pause. “I read the police record on my disappearance once. It wasn't anything special. I just didn't come home from school. They're probably all right; neither of them were seeds or witches. I think I inherited my power from one of my grandparents.”

He wondered how she could tell him this dry eyed, and asked.

She smiled. “I cried enough for them. When I came to the STN-J, I decided that I wasn't going to regret things in my life that I had no control over.”

She watched Sakaki think her words over, and then he smiled down at her. “I guess I said the same thing.”

This time, when the conversation dwindled, it was natural, and neither of them bothered to break the silence. Karasuma realized as she drifted to sleep that she had found out more about Sakaki in twenty minutes than she had in their near year and a half of working together. She smiled and found his hand, draped across her stomach, working her fingers in with his, and then allowing herself to fall asleep.

~^~

And this was where I couldn't stand it any more and asked for beta volunteers. Petite-Hikarie and MsCongeniality responded, bless their souls.

This chapter was unbetaed, but it gets better. ^.^