Sakaki sneezed violently and it echoed loudly in the confines of the briefing room. Everyone gave him a look and he just shrugged sheepishly, he’d been sneezing regularly since his arrival earlier that day. He rubbed futilely at his runny nose; waving off Michael who stared at him a second longer then went back to what he was saying.

The brunette was beginning to wonder why he had bothered pulling himself out of bed and into work in the first place. Every part of his body ached, his head was stuffed and he was on fire. Dojima had commented on his flushed face and bright eyes when he had come in but he had ignored her. He thought he was perfectly capable of performing his duty.

“It seems this Takahashi was mentally unstable before his powers emerged,” Michael was saying when his foggy brain tuned back into the conversation. “And their emergence has driven him completely over the edge. The building we’ve tracked him to was where he was employed until he was fired some time last week.”

“For what?” Dojima asked as she leaned against the wall sipping her soda. Sakaki sneezed and she gave him a disgusted glare.

“Assault.” Michael answered with a flick of his hands over the keyboard. “The report said he flung his boss across the room and attacked him with a broken chair leg.”

“So he’s dangerous.” Amon said quietly. “Then we should be on our guard.”

Everyone nodded and the briefing was over with another round of sneezing from their resident rookie. Amon grabbed the younger man’s arm pulling him to a stop, allowing the others to shuffle past before speaking.

“Can you handle going on this mission?” He asked in his irritatingly neutral way. Sakaki bristled at the insinuation as well as frowned, confused that the older agent would actually ask.

“Of course!” He replied a bit too quickly then sneezed again. “I’m not an idiot.”

“We can’t afford to mess this one up Sakaki.” The taller man pressed. “Takahashi’s dangerous, we can’t afford to have him running free among the populace…We don’t need you…”

“I won’t screw this up!” Sakaki wrenched his arm free of the other man’s grip then turned to glare at him. “I can handle this Amon.”

Amon looked unconvinced so Sakaki just stormed past him and left the office, heading for the garage where his bike was waiting. He couldn’t believe Amon thought he would ruin this hunt because of a cold. Everyone else had worked when they were sick and he had never said a word. But because it was Sakaki that was sick he might become a liability. That was the way Amon thought, the brunet was sure of it. The raven haired man obviously didn’t have much faith in the young hunters ability to begin with, hell he trusted Dojima’s ability and she was a complete idiot.

Sakaki pulled his helmet over his unkempt hair, hopped onto his bike, and tore out of the building before the others were even ready. He could do this, it wasn’t like he was dying. With that confidence in mind he merged into traffic ignoring the dull ache and heavy feeling in his skull.

He arrived a full ten minutes before the others. He had ridden hard and fast to do it, and it had been his undoing. T he ride had wreaked havoc on his stomach and he promptly spent the next ten minutes emptying it of everything he had eaten since he was three. It was only luck that he had been in the woods taking care of himself when Amon and Karasuma pulled up in their respective cars. Amon would have sent him back immediately. He knew he could handle the mission, he didn’t want to be left out because of something like a cold.

Wiping his mouth, he straightened slowly to make sure he was done. Feeling that his stomach was sated for the time being he left the safety of the woods. Amon spared him a pointed glance that he just shrugged off as he came along side Robin.

“Dojima,” The dark haired man began giving his orders. “You take the first floor. Karasuma, take the second. Robin, the third. Sakaki, I want you to take the fifth. Go, stay in contact. And if you do find the witch, do not make contact with him. Call everyone else first.”

They nodded breaking from their huddle and heading for the building. It was a rather large, squarish office building with four even levels and the fifth drastically smaller, it was settled in the middle of nowhere. The local headquarters of a large contracting company. To the left of the building was a warehouse full of lumber and other supplies. All the lights in the building were off, from the information they had received all the employees had left before Takahashi arrived.

They entered the lobby through a set of large glass doors. The lobby was sparsely decorated with a few chairs, a receptionist’s desk and a few plants. Doors leading to the backrooms of the first floor were settled behind the chairs and there was an elevator bank across from them. There was a stairwell hidden slightly behind the desk. Sakaki broke from the group heading for this stairwell, Amon followed him silently. The brown haired youth knew why he followed him. He wanted to keep an eye on him, to make sure he didn’t screw up. That irritated Sakaki and he tried not to not sneeze as long as Amon followed him. That proved to be tougher than he thought as he sneezed somewhere between the second and third levels.

They worked their way up the stairwell quickly and stealthily, Amon’s eyes boring into the younger hunter’s back. Sakaki was never happier as when they spilt ways on the fourth floor landing.

“If you find the witch, do not approach him.” Amon reminded him ducking into the door and disappearing.

Sakaki bit back a sarcastic retort as he dashed up the remaining flight of stairs. He wasn’t some dumb rookie. He’d been with the STN-J nearly as long as Michael and definitely longer than Robin, yet neither were yelled at or watched nearly as much.

With a long suffering sigh, Haruto Sakaki left the stairwell as quietly as he could. The hall he emerged into was dark, lit only by mandatory emergency lighting. The floor appeared to be this single hallway with two branch offs. It was decorated with much nicer stuff then he’d seen in the lobby. This was the floor where the offices of the managers of the company were located. He pressed himself tight against the wall coughing quietly into a closed fist, and pulled his gun.

He crept down the hallway, braced against the wall, towards the first entranceway on the hall. He paused outside of it listening for any sounds from within the room. Hearing none, he launched himself away from the wall and pivoted into the door way gun ready, and then he sneezed violently. The room was an upscale version of an employees lounge. One side was lined vending machines, a refrigerator, and several cupboards. The other, had a large screen TV with several gaming systems attached and expensive leather couches arranged along it. The wall on the opposite side of him was made of glass facing the side of the warehouse. The wall that the door was on was lined with a counter that supported an espresso machine, microwave, and sink. There was no one in the room, nowhere to hide. He passed the lounge and continued toward the second entranceway, pressed against the wall for safety.

He paused outside that hallway, the way he had the entrance to the lounge, unable to smother a sudden coughing fit. He jumped into the middle of the entrance way hoping to block the witches escape if he was indeed hiding down that hall, and had been alerted by his coughing. The hall was glaringly empty so Sakaki relaxed, his eyes watering because of his dry, scratchy throat. Maybe he should invest in some cold medicine in the near future.

It was a relatively short hallway that consisted of five doorways, two on the left side, three on the right, all of a heavy oak and a single window on the end end. Four of the doors were closed, adorned with brass nameplates that proclaimed who the owner of the room was and what their position was.

The door to the right of the window was open and a dim light spilled out into the hallway. Strange because, according to Michael everyone was supposed to have left hours before. It was that light that allowed his brain to process one key detail he had missed. The hallway was completely covered with blood. It oozed down the walls and congealed on the floor in puddles. Sakaki’s stomach lurched violently and he leaned heavily into right wall and he threw up.

He regained his composure slightly as he came to the realization that this was the work of their witch. He had been on this floor and slaughtered who ever else had been. That meant he might still be around. He approached the door in a cautious half-crouch, keeping himself tightly pressed to the wall, gun ready.

“Dojima here, first floor is clear. Heading back to the exit.” His headset crackled to life suddenly causing Sakaki to start and fall face first into a puddle of still warm blood.

“Damnit!” The hunter hissed as the noxious liquid filled his nose and mouth, the coppery taste almost overpowering. He forced himself to his knees, swiping at his face with a sleeve and swallowing the bile that rose in his throat.

“Second floor clear.” Karasuma added, sound tinny and distant, which was strange considering how advanced their headsets were supposed to be. “Heading to exit as well.”

Sakaki tuned them out as he crawled forward to peer around the open door. No sense in being discreet, any living person on the floor had to know he was there by now.

“Oh god…” He breathed upon seeing the death in that room. Four corpses littered the room, all disemboweled, their entrails spread around the room. All of their faces twisted in their final moments of agony. Their blood mingled together to flow, like some some sick river system, into the vent at the far side of the room. The metallic stench of blood, and death was so bad even Sakaki, with his stuffed nose, could smell it.

It was only through sheer force of will that the brunet kept his stomach still. He slowly stood, leaning all his weight against the wall.

“Amon…” His voice came out as queasy and dazed as he felt. He sneezed, another human's blood flying from his nose. “We’ve got four dead up here.”

“Any sign of the witch?” Amon asked his voice tinny.

“No, not ye-” Sakaki broke off as the light shut off and the door slammed in his face forcing him to take a step back, in front of the window. “What the hell!”

“What happened?” Amon demanded his voice fading some with static. What was wrong with his headset, did he break it? It had always worked before.

“I don’t know!” He answered shakily, glancing around warily.

“Stay there. I’m on my-” Amon’s voice exploded in white noise the same time as the window behind him imploded. He was showered in a rain of glass, slicing his shirt and face as they flew past. Sakaki threw up his arms to protect himself, sidestepping away from the window several feet.

“How dare you come here!” A voice shrieked somewhere to his left, Sakaki whirled to face back the way he had come gun pointed at whatever threat might be there. Takahashi stood at the end of the hallway glass shards flying about him, his long brown hair fluttering in some lost wind, dead grey eyes staring at him in accusation.

Sakaki reacted purely on instinct as he brought his gun to bare and fired three times. Each shot was deflected easily as the witch approached, murder in his unfocused eyes. The brown haired hunter held his ground as best he could, realizing he was trapped.

“You came to hunt me down, little kitty?” The witch whispered huskily his voice full of some dark emotion. Sakaki didn’t reply and the witch, barely older than him, smirked. “How does it feel to have the tables turned eh? Tell me, how did you plan to kill me?”

“I have no reason to answer you, witch.” Sakaki spat with a dry cough, his purple eyes glittering with fever.

The witch frowned pouting. “Oh that’s too bad.”

With a flick of his wrist Sakaki was hurled through the air, slammed against the window frame and pinned there, arms spread apart. His gun knocked from his grasping palm and his air was ripped from his lungs with a violent cough as his vision exploded with a thousand tiny point of light. The orbo flared brightly then dulled to a dark green.

“I could crucify you and leave you for those others to find.” Takahashi stroked his chin as Sakaki struggled to free himself. “Or wait until they come to your aid and slaughter them while you watch.”

Sakaki growled straining against his invisible restraints. “Don’t you touch them you sick bastard!”

The witch laughed breaking into a wide Cheshire grin. “I was hoping you’d say that kitten.”

He approached the trapped man never loosing that unnerving grin. S akaki squirmed against his hold as the dark haired man stopped mere inches from his face. He refused to look at Takahashi so he wouldn’t see the fear in his eyes.

“Such a beautiful kitten…” The witch ran the back of his hand along the hunter’s cheek bone before grabbing his chin in a bruising grip, forcing Sakaki’s glittering athemyst eyes to meet his dull grey ones. “Maybe I’ll keep you as a pet.”

The rookie sneezed violently then. It wasn’t his fault, really, it was the colds. The witch retreated back a step wiping his face clean of the fine sheen of blood and spittle, a look of pure, unadulterated shock on his face. The exptression melted away and his grey eyes blazed with fury when he turned to face his captive.

“You’ll pay…” He closed the distance between them rapidly, landing a solid punch to the teen’s jaw.

Brightly colored fireworks exploded in his eyes and his vision whited out briefly. He fell limp against the witches bonds giving Takahashi the time to throw his limp body into the wall beside the door that hid the gruesome disemboweled bodies. His lung had little air to loose but it was lost anyway. He struggled weakly to get his air back, gasping desperately, as it was precious and needed.

Takahashi crushed his body against the brunet hunter, grinning like mad. Sakaki wanted desperately to push the man away but his arms were again pinned, by the witches craft. The witch brought a knee up dangerously high as he leaned into the shorter man. Sakaki suppressed a shudder as the dark haired man ran his fingers suggestively up the outside of his thigh and up his side up to cup his face between his fingers.

“You’re so cute when you’re helpless kitten.” The witch purred in his ear flicking his tongue along it’s edge. Sakaki cringed, closing his eyes tight and praying that Amon arrived soon.

He struggled as best as he could but to no avail, the harder he struggled the tighter Takahashi’s physical and craft hold over him became. The taller man’s lips crushed against his in a violent kiss that made his stomach roll. Sakaki groaned trying to keep his already empty stomach from emptying again.

The witch grabbed the front of his shirt pulling him forward then slamming him back into the wall, stunning him. His mouth fell open in a silent gasp and the witch took advantage, shoving his tongue through the pliant opening. Sakaki’s eyes shot open, fear shinning brighter than the fever. This man was violating him. The young hunter bit down hard on the probing tongue and it was withdrawn with a sharp yelp. The coppery taste of someone else’s blood filled his mouth for the second time that night.

Sakaki gasped for air, coughing dryly as his eyes watered. The witches hold on him both physically and otherwise weakened for a moment but a moment was all he needed. He lurched sideways aiming for his gun. He grabbed it up, using his momentum to roll back and turn. He trained his gun on the witch, eyes cold, spitting the witches blood from his mouth.

“Sonuvabitch.” He hissed out between clenched teeth, pulling the trigger repeatedly. The bullets barreled toward the doubled figure of the witch then just dropped uselessly to the ground as the witch straightened cackling.

“You are a good find kitten, feisty and cute.” The witch laughed his eyes glazed and unfocused. “Too bad you have to die.”

The glass shards, which had fallen to the floor some time before, rose into the air swirling about Takahashi’s head. The largest of the swarm shot forward too fast for the hunter to follow and slashed deeply into his lower abdomen. Sakaki cried out covering the gaping wound with one hand.

“Goodnight sweet prince…” The witch whispered as he extended a hand focusing his craft and blasting Sakaki. He flew like a rag doll through the air, hit the window sill and slumped down unconscious. “..may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

The witch knelt over him slowly and planted a kiss on his slack lips, departing quickly. The dark angel had broken his hold and was coming for him.

~*~*~

Amon freed himself of the paralysis that had gripped him since Sakaki’s headset went dead, and burst out of the small office he’d been trapped in; heading into the huge maze of cubicles. There were two stairwells in the building. One in the front, the one they came up, and one in the rear. The rear one was closer so he made his way to that stairwell. Sakaki was on the floor above him and that’s where he needed to be.

Shots had been fired before they lost radio contact with the younger hunter. He had been the one to find the witch, that was typical. However, they had never lost contact with each other before. Amon ignored the pit in his stomach as he ducked around the last of the cubicles and into the stairwell.

The boy was a magnet for trouble. If it wasn’t getting hurt, he was causing thousands of dollars worth of damage. Amon often wondered how one person could be so trouble prone. Bad luck followed the boy like a little lost puppy. Now it might have even gotten him killed.

Worry clenched his heart as he imagined finding the young hunter crumpled in a heap in a pool of his own blood. He shook his head, face expressionless, now wasn't the time for such thoughts. He burst forth from the stairwell gun ready, and approached the hallway from the opposite direction Sakaki had. Bracing himself against the wall he prepared himself to go around the final corner. He heard no sound indicating anyone waiting so he took a deep breath, pushed off the wall and whirled around the corner.

The sight before him twisted his gut in a way he never thought possible. There was so much blood, it coated the walls, the floor, and the body slumped against the wall, under the window. The glass in the window above Sakaki had been busted out, so wind whipped down the hall chilling the blood on the walls, and in Amon’s veins.

“Sakaki…” He breathed dashing down the hall, past all the blood, too much blood to have come from one man, then again the brunet had mentioned corpses. He slid to a stop next to the rookie, taking in his battered appearance and special notice of the large gash across the others lower abdomen. His skin was deathly pale and, terrifyingly, there was no discernable rise and fall of his chest.

Amon reached out almost hesitantly and placed two finger under his jaw, feeling for a pulse. It was there, faint and weak, but there nonetheless. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding as he contacted their resident hacker.

“Michael, we have a man down.” He announced. “He’s alive, but only just, inform the factory.”

“Already done.” Michael sounded tense as he replied. He and Sakaki had become close in their time together, they were close to the same age and seemed to spend a lot of time talking. “They’ll be there soon. And the witch?”

“He escaped.” Amon answered glancing up at the broken window. “It looks like he jumped out of the window after attacking Sakaki. Dojima, Karasuma see if you can find any sign of him. Take Robin with you just in case. S he’s the only one who might stand a chance of distracting Takahashi long enough to be taken down.”

With his orders given he turned his attention back to Sakaki, pulling his jacket away from the large gash. It looked like someone had gotten him with a machete. Amon glanced around, looking for something to stem the steady flow of blood pumping from his bowels. Finding nothing of any use he had to settle on the long over-shirt he wore under his trench coat. He ripped the lower part off and gently applied pressure on the wound. Sakaki groaned weakly and shook his head as Amon moved him around so he could apply the homemade bandage.

His eyes fluttered open slowly, and unfocused athemyst eyes settled on him. A hoarse whisper drew his attention to those eyes. “Amon?”

“Stay still Sakaki.” Amon said quietly looking back to his bloody hands. “You’ve been hurt.

“The witch…” The brunet teen gasped, hissing in pain.

“He ran.” Amon explained closing his eyes briefly as Sakaki coughed.

“No!” Blood flew from his lips as he shook his head eyes wide with fear. “Behind you…”

Amon turned in time to avoid the piece of glass as it whipped past his head. At the end of the hallway stood a man no older than Sakaki with shaggy brown hair and dead grey eyes. His clothes were dirty and stained with blood. His expression one of fierce hatred and concentration. Shards of glass, probably from the window, flew about him dangerously.

Another shard flew past Amon, this time managing to graze his cheek. He moved to put himself between the crazed witch and his downed hunter. It was obvious now how Sakaki had obtained his injuries, and Amon swore that the witch wouldn't get the chance to give him anymore.

He emptied his clip at the witch but every bullet was deflected by his power. Takahashi took a step forward and Amon braced himself as the entire arsenal of blood soaked glass flew at him. Rather than stay and be sliced to bits however, the dark haired hunter grabbed Sakaki into his arms and threw himself into the door on his left. It gave way under his weight and they fell into the empty room, narrowly avoiding the shards.

Sakaki cried out in a mix of pain and something else as they moved to the back of the room and Amon placed him gently behind the large oak desk. Having the boy cradled against his chest was the first time Amon realized how truly sick he was. Feverish heat was rolling off of him. Sakaki had been sick before his injury, that much he knew. He just didn’t know how sick he truly was. Damn stubborn, fool kid, he was sick enough to land in the hospital without being injured.

Amon had hidden them behind the desk of the office so he had some coverage from the witches glass army. Takahashi stepped into the room, glass ripping through the soft wood of the door frame.

“Come out little cat.” His voice a low, menacing hiss. “Come out and tell me how it feels to become the hunted.”

He giggled then, his eyes wide yet filled with hatred and insanity. The awakening of his powers had definitely sent his fragile mind over the edge.

“You’re no fun.” He pouted but moved no farther. “The young one was more fun. I’d rather play with him. His mouth tasted of honey biscuits and blood.”

Amon gritted his teeth as the desk was thrown aside and the man brought his unfocused glare on him. What did he mean? What had he done to Sakaki? He glanced back at the young brunet who had his eyes closed. Amon turned in time to see several large shards fly past his face towards the other hunter. They sunk into the wood on either side of the young mans head.

“I’ll hit him next time…” The witch crooned as Amon turned back to face Takahashi. The witch grinned and sent another wave of glass at the younger hunter. Without thought for his own safety the older man threw himself between those instruments of glittering death and his already wounded hunter. Several shards embedded themselves deeply into his back and he grunted in pain. He looked down, surprised to see Sakaki still conscious and staring at him wide-eyed with concern and a pain.

"Amon..." Sakaki gasped slowly.

Amon turned back to the witch, who was now laughing hysterically, a hidden anger blazing quietly in his eyes. He had his weapon ready but didn’t raise it, bidding his time. Takahashi had done something to one of his hunters, more than just attack and injure him. For that he would pay dearly.

“Now that was fun wasn’t it?” The shaggy haired craft-user purred. “Sacrificing your safety for someone you care about. Dying so that another might live?”

Amon remained silent, impassive to the psychotic taunting, behind him Sakaki groaned. Takahashi reacted to the sound with a look of pure pleasure and gazed at the young man with barely clouded lust in his eyes. Amon could feel every piece of glass in his back acutely as he brought his gun to bare and fired three shots in rapid succession.

The witch cried out in shock and pain as the bullets struck his right shoulder, sending him around into the wall. He slumped against it clutching his arm and whimpering. Amon paid him little heed as he turned back to Sakaki and the battle for life he was fighting. He knelt beside the young man, grunting as the movement pulled at the glass embedded in his back, working their way deeper with each movement.

“You’re hurt…” Sakaki wheezed quietly through blood flecked lips. Amon silently prayed that help would arrive soon, the brunet was going to last much longer.

“It’s not too bad.” Amon replied stoically. The other man’s injuries were far worse.

Sakaki smirked before coughing again. His eyes were bright with pain, fever, and something else. Something deep in them that he almost missed. Fear. Amon had seen fear in man faces but never so carefully hidden nor primal as this. The raven haired man reached out and gently placed his hand on the brunet’s forehead, feeling the intensity of the heat there, frowning as the boy flinched away.

Why had Sakaki even come to work with a fever that bad? He was in no condition to work, proven acutely by their current situation. His fever had to break 100° ’s easy, yet he had shown up for work as if he were perfectly healthy. It was true that the other’s had worked with colds but none had ever been as sick as Sakaki was currently. What had driven the young man to do that to himself?

“Amon…!” Michael’s voice was distorted and had trouble breaking through the static, his headset must have been damaged. “You need to get…there now! They…explode...”

The radio dissolved into static once more but he didn’t need any further explanation. He glanced over his shoulder at the witch before meeting Sakaki’s glazed, unfocused purple eyes. He wasn’t going to be able to walk anywhere, even with help.

“Wha-?” Sakaki whispered sounding weak and confused as a new born. Amon’s gut wrenched but he kept his face perfectly calm.

“We’re going on a little trip.” Amon said gently, as if talking to a scared child, and in a way, he was. He scooped the delirious brunet into his arms, ignoring the ripping of the glass in his back. “Hang on…”

Sakaki cried out in pain, clenching his eyes shut, and fisting his hands against the pain. Amon took no time to make him more comfortable as he left the room, sparing a glance at the crumpled body of the witch. Then he was dashing down the hallway aimed for the back stairwell. They were on the fifth floor, jumping was definitely not an option.

The static in his headset faded back into frantic conversation. It must’ve been the witch that had caused it to short out and not a technical problem. That would make sense, if that was what happened to Sakaki, that was why they hadn’t heard his screams. He had to have screamed.

“I can’t reach him through his cell phone either.” Michael was saying, voice strained with worry.

“We can’t risk going back into the building to find him either,” Karasuma sounded just as tense. “There’s no telling when that bomb Robin found will explode.”

“Takahashi really had it out for the place huh?” Dojima said quietly.

He ignored the voices as he threw himself down the stairs. He could answer after they got out of the building. The sudden explosion of white noise and feedback over his radio startled him as he hit the landing between the second and third floors. The witch stood on the steps below barring his way. Amon stopped short adjusting his hold on Sakaki.

“You’ve figured my surprise I take it.” The witch grinned toothily. “You can’t leave! You must be witness to my ultimate revenge!”

Amon glanced at the oversized watch the witch waved at him. It was counting down, he had less than 10 seconds to get out.

:07

He looked around quickly, adjusting Sakaki in his arms. The only exit he could see was the large plate glass window behind him.

:06

Giving one last look at the witch, he smirked and turned-

:05

-launching himself at the window. Behind him the witch shouted something incoherent.

:04

He braced Sakaki against his chest to spare him any further injury.

:03

Glass exploded around them, slicing through his jacket, cutting deep into his face and arms.

:02

For a second they hung suspended in the air, then they were falling away from the building. A raging shriek spilled out after them.

:01

The building exploded behind them cutting off the outraged cry. Amon instinctively clutched the limp body in his arms closer as debris flew about them.

He dropped through the air gracefully, his trench coat flaring, and his long raven hair fluttering about him like a halo. They dropped two stories to the soft grassy knoll the building was backed against, he braced himself for the impact and bent his knees. They hit the ground hard and he went down on one knee but remained upright. Hissing at the sharp pain in his ankle, he'd be feeling that one later.

Sakaki didn’t stir even once. That more than anything frightened Amon, and if he hadn't felt the boys breathing he would have thought he'd already died. Amon stayed crouched for a minute, until his breathing was under control and the pain in his back had subsided.

Sakaki groaned in his unconscious state, shaking his head weakly. His breathing was erratic and labored and with a single glance at his ashen face, he knew that the boy was not long for this world. Withstanding tremendous pain, he forced himself to his feet. The shards had worked their way deep into his skin so any movement he made sent shockwaves of pain up and down his spine. He stumbled with his charge clutched loosely to his chest, the yelling of the other hunters echoing over the headset he wore.

“Do you see them?” Michael shouted over the headset, voice thick with grief.

“No…” Dojima replied dully, shocked. “Amon had to have been caught in the blast.”

Amon tried answering but his microphone had been damaged in the fall, the other's couldn't hear him. Amon shifted the weight in his arms, eliciting a sharp moan. Sakaki’s head rested on his shoulder and he could feel his eyes fluttering. His ashen face was smeared with way too much blood, not all of it could have been his own. At least, Amon hoped that it wasn't all his own.

Once he had settled the lighter man into a more comfortable position he started for the closest corner. They were in the back of the building. Karasuma, Robin and Dojima were probably around front with the men from Factory. He just had to get there.

Every step was excruciating as the glass pulled and tore at the tender flesh along his back and spine. Sakaki’s weight pulling at his arms didn’t help matters much and the added weight didn't helphis ankle; which was already throbbing with each step he took. He rounded the corner and was met with a wall of flames that blocked his patht. He was going to have to go through it. Sakaki coughed spitting up more blood. Amon set his mouth in a grim line as he limped toward the blazing line. The jackets they wore were fire resistant to a certain degree. That didn’t mean it was a good idea to walk through a blazing inferno though.

Sakaki groaned and tired to bury himself into the crook of Amon’s shoulder, subconsciously trying to move away from the flames. Intense heat bathed them as they stood a few feet away from the line of fire. There was no telling how wide the flames were, but he couldn’t take the time to back track to the other side. The raven haired hunter had to risk it, the young brunet in his arms depended on it.

“Hang on,” He whispered adjusting his unconscious teammate so as to better shield him from the flames, then stepped into them.

It turned out to be about five feet from one side to the other. It must have followed a trail of gas or something as it ran between the office building and the warehouse, which had also caught fire he noted. The heat was intense, the smoke thick but the leader of the STN-J trudged on, his bangs shielding his eyes from the worst. The smoke still made him light headed as the world began to tip and spin.

He made it to the other side relatively unharmed save for being a bit singed. He coughed as he stepped through the remaining haze of smoke, waiting for his lungs to clear before calling out.

“Robin. Karasuma.” His voice was loud, plaintive, and commanding, if a bit hoarse, carrying over the roar of the flames easily.

The two in question had been standing with the men from the Factory, Karasuma engaged in what appeared to be a fierce debate with the leader of the Factory team, Robin and Dojima offering morale support. Robin heard him first, and gasped rushing towards him as he moved away from the blazing building, Sakaki held in his arms.

“Amon…” She breathed stopping several feet from him in shock as she took in his battered and bloody continence with wide green eyes. Karasuma and Dojima came up behind her and stopped just as abruptly, with twin gasps of horror.

“Sakaki!” Dojima shrieked seeing the bloody, ashen cradled in his arms. He coughed weakly, as if hearing her, and moaned but remained unconscious. One of the Factory’s men pushed forward and relinquished him of the wounded man. Amon watched silently as they carried the teen to the large black van.

“Amon?” Robin asked quietly a hand on his arm. Karasuma stood on his other side, both watching him with concern.

“The witch is dead.” He announced eyes never leaving the van where several of the Factory were trying to keep Sakaki on their side of the living. “He killed himself in the explosion. He had attacked Sakaki to detain us.”

The girls nodded quietly, sharing a glanced before watching the van again.

“Let’s go.” Amon said in his commanding tone, taking a step toward his car. Unfortunately he stepped on his bad ankle, and the sharp pain as well as the loss of blood, the adrenaline wearing off, and the dizziness from lack of oxygen had other plans for him. His world spun out of control and he felt himself falling into darkness. A single voice followed him into the darkness.

“Amon!”

~*~*~

Consciousness came to him slowly, and at first he tried to shove it away. Consciousness was persistant however and came back with a friend, pain. A dull ache settled itself in his body, particularly, his back, ensuring that he wouldn’t be sleeping for awhile.

His eyes fluttered open and he wasn’t surprised by the white halogen light that stared back from the ceiling. He was in a hospital, that was easy to tell. How had he get there though? The only thing he remembered was the witch, Takahashi, laughing maniacally as his wrist watch counted down.

The door to his room squeaked open and Robin came in, trying to be silent. She was carrying a vase and some flowers. She snuck into the bathroom for water and slipped back out just as quietly.

“Robin.” He whispered hoarsely, startling her into almost dropping the flowers she held. He almost smiled.

“Amon!” She gasped regaining her composure as well as her grip on the vase of blue flowers. “You’re awake.”

“What happened?” He hated to ask but his memories were incommunicado at the moment and that bugged him even more.

“Don’t you remember?” Robin asked plunking the vase down on the bedside table so she could reach over him and hit the nurse call button. At his look she explained. “They said to call when you woke up. What do you remember?”

“The explosion, the witch blew up the building.” Amon replied with a grimace.

Robin scrunched her nose. “We weren’t sure what happened after we lost contact with you. We thought you had been caught in the explosion.”

“Leapt out a window.” Amon explained. He remembered the explosion of glass, the fall, and a strange weight in his arms.

“We were ready to give up on you when you came through that wall of flames.” the young blonde looked distinctly uncomfortable talking about that event. Amon frowned inwardly pondering that for a few seconds.

“Is everyone else alright?” The feeling of that dead weight in his arms haunted him, but he didn’t allow himself to show that. Robin glanced away from him a slightly pained look crossing her features, someone else had been hurt. She pursed her lips but remained silent, so he prompted her. “Robin.”

“Sakaki,” Robin started shakily. “Sakaki is in the ICU. His cold compounded into something far worse and that combined with his injuries and blood loss…” She trailed off for a few seconds before finishing in a whisper. “…he might not survive…”

The doctor chose that moment to come in and shoo Robin out so he could examine the patient. Amon had been unconscious for two days, since the fire. His memory came back to him slowly during the examination. The blood, the smell, Sakaki cradled in his arms coated in blood and a fevered sheen of sweat. The witch barring their path. The way he taunted him about the younger boy. The doctor pronounced him healthy enough to leave, prescribed painkillers, and pointed him to his clothes. Robin came in while he was pulling on his trench coat, every thing had been freshly laundered.

“Where’s the ICU?” Amon asked, not looking at her as he pulled on his boots.

She bowed her head to cover a yawn. “I’ll take you.”

Amon fixed her with a stare. “No, you’re exhausted and it’s late. Go home and get some rest, I’ll see you in the morning.”

Robin looked ready to protest. “But Amon-”

He silenced her with a pointed look and she frowned before pointing up. "Two floors up."

He nodded his thanks and she watched him for a few seconds with a strange look on her face, as if waiting for something. He frowned slightly pondering this as he did up the laces, remaining silent. Then she nodded back, bowed and turned to leave.

Once she was gone, Amon turned to the bedside desk and picked up the vase with the flowers. They were a fragrant spring flower he couldn’t name. He strode out of the room, vase in hand, and made his way to the elevator.

The trip to the ICU was spent in silence, the four unfortunate enough to be in the elevator with him were too intimated to speak. When he got out, there was a collective sigh, which made him turn and stare at them. It was a quiet as death on the Intensive care floor, save the steady hum of machinery.

After a quick stop at the nurses station and use of his natural...charm...he found himself standing in the doorway of a private room where Sakaki lay surrounded by machinery. The was a heart monitor, filling the room with the reassuring beep, as well as a respirator that covered his nose and mouth, the sound of artificial breathing almost unnerving. An IV was hooked up to one of his arms, dripping an antibiotic into his veins.

It was strange, seeing the usually energetic, enthusiastic young hunter laying so still. Amon stepped into the room, moving to the bedside and placing the flowers gently onto the table before pulling up a seat. He sat beside his comatose teammate for quite some time in silence as he bowed his head watching Sakaki’s too pale, too still form.

Before he realized what he was doing he had reached forward, brushing the shaggy brown hair away, and resting his palm on the boy’s forehead. The fever had subsided slightly but he was still warm. The strain of his injuries was probably responsible for the coma, his immune system couldn't handle both at the same time.

Sakaki groaned in his sleep and the raven haired man almost withdrew his hand. Amon stayed that way for a long time, resting his hand on the other man’s forehead, as if he could use his own energy to awaken him. If anyone had seen the two they would’ve thought they were related, the gesture seemed so familiar.

“Wake up soon,” He said quietly after a long while. “We need you.”

He left slowly, feeling as if he was being watched. A quick glance around proved him to be alone, save his comatose hunter. He shook it off some what suspiciously then left the room. In the darkness that surrounded the hospital a pair of dull grey eyes watched as Amon left the room of his target. The boy, Sakaki, intrigued him. He’d have his mind and body soon. He would wait until he had recovered sufficiently then he’d pay him a visit.

“Soon…my kitten…soon.” A voice hissed into the darkness.