Disclaimer: I don’t own Witch Hunter Robin. All I have is a few DVD’s. I swear. Though, I do own poor Reika and Javan.
Puff: Amon, I know that I can type because you moved my computer but I can no longer feel my arms.
Amon: *glares*
Puff: Please let me down!
Amon: …
Puff: I’ll sic Kitsune on you.
Amon: Who?
Kitsune: *threateningly* Me. I’m her darker half. And since we’re in the muse-holding area, I can make myself apparent without having to take over her body. Now, remove the knives or I’ll remove your head.
Amon: *raises eyebrow*
Kitsune: *draws her katana*
Amon: *pulls out his gun*
Kitsune: Oh, I forgot to tell you; I have the same authoress powers as Puff. *twitches her furry ears and tail*
Amon: *curses before putting his gun away and pulling Puff off of the wall*
Puff: Thanks, Kitsune. You can go now.
Kitsune: No, I think I’ll stay. *laughs manically*
Pre-chapter Author’s Note:
This takes place about a week after chapter eight. Just thought it might be a useful tidbit. ^_^
Chapter Nine: Daddy-hood
Amon rose surreptitiously from his bed, careful not to disturb the small child he knew had crawled under the blanket in the middle of the night. Javan was having a slightly difficult time adjusting to not having her mother around, and Amon felt obliged to bow to her wishes for a little while. Nonetheless, he had planned a furniture shopping trip for the two of them the coming Saturday.
From his room, Amon went to the bathroom for a quick shower and to dress for the day. After he had gotten himself ready, he went to stir the child from her slumber.
“Javan, pick out your outfit for the day,” Amon ordered, fastening the glowing Orbo pendant around his neck.
“Yes, daddy,” Javan responded cheerfully, throwing herself headfirst into her suitcase of clothes. She flung shirts, skirts, dresses, and pants over her shoulders, the articles of clothing falling into a rainbow-colored half circle around her. A few minutes later she held up a bright pink skort and chartreuse tank top. Amon pulled the green shirt from her hands and replaced it with a white tee shirt. She pouted as she pulled off her pale lilac nightgown and struggled to pull on her skort.
“Would you like some help?” Amon asked mildly, not really paying her any attention. He winced slightly when he heard her fall off of some piece of furniture.
“No, daddy, I’m a big girl. I can do it myself,” Javan said vehemently, buttoning the closure on her skort. She snatched the shirt from where she had set it and pulled it over her tousled hair.
“See, I’m all done,” Javan stated haughtily, smiling brightly, “Can you comb my hair?” Not waiting for her father’s response, she scampered to the bathroom where she knew her hair things waited. Amon slipped his gun holster over his shoulders before he strode to where the little girl sat patiently waiting.
“What are we going to do today?” Javan asked optimistically, holding her head as high as her neck would allow so she could watch her father’s face. Amon picked the small child off of the floor and placed her on top of the bathroom counter, so he could reach her without sitting on the cold tile.
“I am going to work while you stay in the office,” Amon responded coolly as he sprayed his daughter’s dark locks with lukewarm water. The smile that had been displayed on her face since she woke, fell.
“But that’s what we do every day, daddy!” Javan whined, pursing her lips and scrunching her nose in distaste. Amon was half tempted to hit her with the thin pink comb he held in his hand, but thought better of it and settled on a scolding that would hurt longer than the sting from the comb. He ignored her and just continued smoothing her hair. When all the tangles had been teased out, Amon mechanically set her on the floor before stalking out of the room.
“Here,” Amon said frigidly, placing a pastry filled with whipped cream on the kitchen table.
“Thank you, daddy,” Javan said meekly, climbing up on to the cherry wood chair. She silently and carefully ate, leaning over the table so as not to drop a single crumb. Amon set himself in the chair opposite Javan, watching her behavior. It was all too apparent that she’d noticed his extra-cold mood. Her blue-gray eyes kept flicking up from her plate; they were nervous and frightened.
“Daddy, are you mad at me?” Javan asked worriedly, her voice tinged with hurt and on the verge of tears.
“No,” Amon responded simply, measuring his tone so he wouldn’t sound harsh. Javan smiled weakly, but her eyes remained saddened. She hopped off the chair when she’d finished her meal, and then carried the small dish to the sink. Struggle as she might, she was just too short to reach the top of the counter. Amon stood, walked over, took the dish from her hands, and placed it in the sink.
Amon cast his dark gray eyes out one of the windows, quickly deciding whether or not he should put Javan in a jacket. The sky was dreary and the sun had yet to make itself known; it would be chilly. The hunter pulled on his long overcoat before snatching her pink vinyl jacket with the strawberry and cherry for pockets out of the closet. Javan stood still while Amon buttoned the coat closed, acting as properly as she could manage.
Javan tapped her white sandals on the entryway floor as she waited for her father to help her. Amon quickly adjusted the straps and affixed the Velcro where it needed to be. He ushered the child out the door as soon as they were ready, locking and shutting the door in one smooth movement.
“Daddy, wait for me!” Javan called out, running as fast as her little legs could carry her. Amon stopped, realizing how fast he had been walking. He paused, giving her enough time to catch up. As soon as she had reached her father’s side, she clasped his hand. Or rather she held on to his fingers, as her hand was quite small.
The hunter readjusted his hand so he could hold her hand, instead of having his blood supply to his fingers cut off. He slowed his pace so the toddler could keep up, but not enough that she could take her sweet time. Javan had to walk as fast as she could go without having to run.
When they reached the car, Javan knew just what to do. She opened the door to the backseat, scrambled on to the seat, and settled herself into her new car seat. All Amon had to do was fasten the black woven nylon straps. He had selected the darkest colored one he could find; black and gray material with white accents. It blended in rather nicely.
As they drove to the office, Amon couldn’t help but notice how quiet a child Javan actually was. She sat in her car seat, just watching the passing vehicles, while most other children her age would have been crying for a toy of some sort. Amon could only pray that she hadn’t inherited Reika’s temperament.
“Daddy, do you think that Robin will take me to the park today?” Javan piped up, her wide eyes brimming with naivety that could only be captured during childhood.
“If there isn’t a lot to do and if you ask her,” Amon responded flatly, gauging her reaction by watching the rear-view mirror. Javan smiled brightly, knowing her father was watching her. Amon couldn’t help but feel a twinge of hurt; his own daughter asked if his co-worker could take her to the park in lieu of him. He chopped it up to the simple fact he seemed to be the busiest throughout the day.
“Daddy, am I ever going to see my mommy again?” Javan asked suddenly, catching the stoic hunter off guard.
“No, Javan, you aren’t,” Amon said gently, hoping that the child would understand and not cry. Javan’s blue-gray eyes lost some of their glow as she lowered her head and sniffled, rubbing her eyes with her small fists.
“Is mommy happy?” Javan inquired sadly, casting her wide eyes towards her father. Amon was completely thrown for a loop; he didn’t know what to do to soothe her feelings.
“Yes, but if you’re sad she’ll be sad,” Amon said after a moment of deliberation, once again hoping it was the right thing to say. The little girl smiled and nodded her head exuberantly, her grief from losing her mother seemingly gone.
“Then I’ll be extra happy!” Javan exclaimed brightly, much to Amon’s extreme relief. He was glad when Raven’s Flat appeared on his realm of vision; that meant he could turn the kid over to his three female co-workers who enjoyed babysitting as much as he enjoyed letting them.
Doujima used Javan as a living doll, bringing in her old baby clothes and dressing the little girl up. Robin, when she could pry Javan from Doujima’s ministrations, taught her nursery rhymes and songs. Karasuma played the part of the stern mother to the letter, putting Javan down for naps and gently scolding her when she got out of hand. All in all, it was a good deal.
Javan didn’t wait for Amon when she was released from her car seat; she knew the way to the office and she wanted to see her ‘aunts and uncles’ as soon as possible. Amon watched her run off for a few seconds before he realized that he shouldn’t let her do that.
The doors to the elevator slid shut just as Amon made his way past the well. Amon stood in front of the elevator, pushed the button to open the doors, and found Javan standing on tiptoe trying valiantly to reach the panel of buttons.
“Never run off like that again,” Amon ordered icily, letting his steely eyes settle on Javan’s. She nodded her understanding and gulped. When the doors opened to the fifth floor, Javan walked behind her father carefully. She didn’t want to disobey so soon after being scolded. Those thoughts disappeared when she heard the others in the office talking and she sprinted to greet them.
“Aunt Miho! Uncle Haruto! Uncle Michael! Aunt Yurika!” Javan exclaimed, hugging each in turn but saving the biggest hug for the last one addressed, “Robin!” The craft user gathered the child into her arms and stood up, letting Javan play with her tendril-like bangs. Amon stood at the main doorway, observing the exchange silently.
“Any cases?” Amon inquired, moving to stand beside Michael.
“Surprisingly enough, no. I think that Robin taking out that witch at the hospital may have sent repercussions throughout that society of theirs,” Michael commented, lazily bringing up files on his laptop screen.
“Robin, daddy said that if there wasn’t much to do and if I asked, you might take me to the park,” Javan said happily, twisting herself in Robin’s arms so she could look right into the craft user’s clear green eyes. Robin raised an eyebrow slightly in Amon’s direction, but it was ignored.
“I’d love to take you to the park,” Robin cooed, a half-smile appearing on her porcelain face.
“But I want daddy to go, too,” Javan said, turning her head as far as it could go so she could see her father. All the eyes in the office settled on Amon expectantly, stopping what they were doing so they could see how he responded.
“Alright,” Amon conceded, hating the fact that they hadn’t a single case to work on. Javan positively beamed as Robin set her on the floor so she could go retrieve her dark scarlet coat. When she returned, Javan looked from each one with her luminous blue-gray eyes. After a moment’s thought, she snatched both of their hands and led them to the elevator.
Amon stood in the distant corner of the box, his eyes lingering on his daughter and his hunting partner. He could only wonder what kind of stress he was going to get put through that day.
Author’s Note: I’m BACK!!!!!! I am extremely sorry about the delay in getting this chapter posted, but I have good reasons. (And you’re all wondering how I’m going to get myself out of this one) Well, I had to move to another city. I had to unpack. I had to set up my computer. I had to get the Internet. The Internet (Word is making me capitalize it) stopped working over the weekend. I just got it fixed less than ten minutes ago, so there. I will return to the regular schedule on the next posting.
To the Reviewers:
Kira Yaruna Amezuki: I’d like you to meet that ‘annoying Puff-thing’. Nice to meet you, I’m Puff. *laughs*
Suki1: *bows* Sorry I took so long…
Haruya: *giggles* It’s fun. Thank you, though you probably got a tad upset over the wait on this one. What was it, two weeks?
Slysilverinu: Yeah, they’ll either stare at one another or Javan will just launch into hyper mode and bounce off the walls until Amon regrets ever meeting Reika. ^_^
Pyro-witch2: Green tea gets me hyper. Mum won’t let me near it too often. *Mwhahahaha* I know, Doujima’s hair simply doesn’t move. She could make a great newsperson.
Wake-Robin: Thank you, it’s going to be more fun with my alter ego Kitsune thrown into the mix! I thought she was going to get kidnapped until I wrote it, as well. Don’t look at me like that…. *edges away*
Allhart: I completely understand. *glares at own computer* Thank you, I’ll try to keep the disclaimers as funny as possible.
Jasmine Jackson: I always post response, my dear.
ROW: Ok, you can compliment me whenever you want. It’s good for my ego.
Malster: Yeah, I think she is cute as well. Anything that shares Amon’s genetic code has to be absolutely darling.
Speaker for Psychopaths: Ah, I found that death threats often cajole the annoying computers to work. Have I gotten off the main plot? *evil laughter*
Once again, I have to thank all of you for hanging out while I sorted out my problems.