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Episode 19; Missing: Nagira questions Robin on the Piece of Knowledge. He wants to know why she has it and what the craft’s secret technique is. He gives it back to her, confessing that he’s not sure that is the right thing to do. He asks her if she can control its power. She doesn’t know. Nagira takes Robin to meet a man who may be able to help her. His name is Anosaki and his wife is Hitomi. They show them the tree branch and ask their opinion. Anosaki asks to touch it and then defers to his wife who is more knowledgeable than himself on this. She, however, is acting really weird and denies that she knows anything about it. The entire meeting seems to be a waste of time, but is weirded out. She thinks the woman kept staring at her oddly. Nagira thinks she’s being too self conscious, but Robin is convinced that there was something strange about the entire ordeal. Suddenly, Nagira gets and email from Hiraoka Momo asking him to meet at the same place as usual. He leaves. Nagira goes to meet the information man who has some info on the situation. There is a rumor of a man named Lazaro who served under Methuselah. He might know of the Piece. He claims that Methuselah revived him when he died once. Robin wakes up from a dream. She was taking the bus when Amon appeared beside her. He didn’t speak but when she asked him why, he burst into flames and disappeared. Hitomi gives Robin a call the next morning and asks her to meet. She greets her and offers her tea and orange cake. She also got her a white, one piece dress like she wanted - size 9. Her husband comes home and tells her to stop it. Robin is not Aya. Anosaki asks why Robin came over. Robin replies that Hitomi had told her she remembered more information about the Piece. He tells her to come with him. They go into their daughter’s room. They don’t know what happened to her, although she was probably hunted as a witch. He tells her that the place is being watched and it is best that she doesn’t associate with them anymore. Zazen greets two men in an office. They ask if he’s heard anything from Solomon. He answers that he hasn’t. The rumor going around is that since the attack on STN-J, Solomon Headquarters has abandoned him. The men are worried that they will lose their sponsors if these rumors continue to spread. He asks them if they want to replace him. They try to explain that they just believe that outside actions should be performed more secretly. They don’t want their place attacked. Zazen tells them that it’s time to act. When Solomon Headquarters sees the results of the upgraded Orbo, they will take notice. There will be no need to borrow power from witches. This is the first step towards their ideal world. The two men confirm that in simulation, they’ve attained 97% of their ideal results. They will put it into action when Zazen gives them permission to collect data from actual warfare. He agrees and offers them the STN-J hunt list. They are to start preparing. Nagira goes in search of Lazaro in the sewers. He uncovers what he thinks is the sleeping man only to find a corpse and to be shot at by a figure in the darkness. He demands that if the figure is going to kill him, then he should do it now. It appears to be only a warning as the figure shoots the water below him. Nagira demands the cleaning fee... from Amon. Robin stops by Hitomi and Anosaki’s place. She is delighted to see Robin. Anosaki thanks her for stopping by. This is the first time Hitomi has been happy since their daughter left. Aya’s power awakened three years ago. It was very small, bearly enough to move a pencil. They did all they could to make it disappear, but to no avail. One day, Aya went to school never to return home. The family was named Seeds by STN-J and are kept under constant surveillance. If Seeds obtain even the slightest bit of power, they are turned in. They looked for her for months, but everyone ignored them... everyone except Nagira. As Hitomi prepares dinner, she drops a tray full of food. Anosaki uses his power to restore the dish. Hitomi asks how long he has had that power. He apologizes and tells her that he may not be able to stay there for very long. Robin puts the white dress on and has dinner with the family. Zazen visits Touko and tells her she can go home. She asks about Amon. He warns that she not go chasing him. She asks what he wants with Amon. Zazen tells her he’s different from them. She replies that he’s human. He tells her he has a duty to protect people with pure hearts and offers her a new life. Robin leaves the couple’s place but realizes that she left something there. The power goes off and a team surrounds the house. He tells Hitomi to escape through the back door. She refuses and holds his hand. Robin knocks on the door to find no one home and that the place has been destroyed. She cries and as her tears hit certain parts of the environment, they create glowing teal lights. She confesses to Nagira that she was sent by Solomon Headquarters to Japan to collect the Craft’s ultimate technique. The hunter position at STN-J was just a cover up for that. The mission was to collect the ultimate technique and give it to the messenger from headquarters. Then her mission would be complete. But then STN-J was attacked, and it wasn’t because of the secret technique. If they wanted it, they could have just gotten it from her. She doesn’t have clearance to know what the secret technique really is. She asks him to keep it for her because in her current state, she won’t be able to restrain its power. They seal it away in a safe. Episode 20; All I Really Ought To Know: Karusama and Doujima are hunting a particularly powerful witch named Muroi. He attacks to escape them and then jumps onto the rooftop of a nearby building where a freaky man looking like a gothic Puritan stands waiting for him. Without hesitation, the freaky witch deflects Muroi’s attacks and kills him. He leaves a calling card behind, an origami swan. Meanwhile, Robin heads down to the basement of STNJ headquarters to see if Michael has heard anything recently, particularly about Amon. Robin is sure that he’s still alive. Michael has heard that Solomon Headquarters is sending another hunter to STNJ, but not as a replacement. Michael finds it peculiar that they were able to get the info on him so easily. The hunter’s name is Sastre. The mere mention of the man’s name flips Robin out as she recounts bits and pieces what she knows about Sastre. Nagira learns that Sastre has left a calling card for Robin. The swan that was left beside the murder victim last night was engraved with her name. Zaizen’s men have been researching the effects of Orbo on ordinary humans. Unfortunately, the results aren’t as promising as they had hoped. There is a cap to the effects it produces and there are side effects. They conclude that there still may need witches for a while after all. When Nagira returns from his information session, he informs Robin of the origami swan. She again looks distraught as she explains that Sastre is one of Solomon’s hunters. He likes to warn witches he intends to hunt by going after another witch first and leaving a paper swan engraved with the true target’s name on it. After some soul searching, Robin decides that the only way to protect herself is to use the ultimate technique. She walks downstairs to the safe and finds Nagira sitting beside it. He reads her intentions and understands where she’s coming from, but someone stole the Piece of Knowledge. He blames himself for being so careless and believes he know who may have taken it. Later, at Walled City, a witch lets it slip to Sastre that he knows of the Piece of Knowledge. Sakaki’s leg has healed and he joins Karasuma as they investigate the latest witch murder. Michael radios in and informs them that the witch had business in Walled City and that they should head over there. Nagira waits for his info man in Walled City, ready to kill him for spreading rumors that the Piece of Knowledge was at his place. The man admits to telling a man named Chisai. He and his men have started looking for information about Methuselah’s secrets and head through the sewers to her place. When they arrive, Sastre is already there to greet the men. Robin arrives as soon as she can and together, she and Nagira go down to Methuselah’s place. Sakaki and Karasuma follow independently. When Robin and Nagira arrive at their destination, they find Sastre has killed everyone and is waiting for them. Not only that, but he has the Piece of Knowledge with him. He pulls it out and burns it in front of her. Nagira tries to shoot Sastre, but his bullets have no effect. Robin tries her flame, but again, no luck. Her shield is powerless against his attack. Nagira tries to shoot again, but his bullets are stopped in mid fire and dropped to the ground. Robin has incredible difficulty shielding herself against Sastre’s psychic attacks until suddenly, she realizes that she can see them. He is manipulating the element of air against them. Suddenly, deflection is a piece of cake as she realizes that the true power of the craft is the ability to see elements. Robin has a Dumbo moment where she realizes that she didn’t need the Piece of Knowledge all along. The power has always been inside her. Soon, she has turned the tides of the battle. Her fire becomes stronger and stronger until she is able to engulf Sastre in flames. When she is sure he is out of the game, she collapses. Karasuma and Sakaki witness the event and start to head towards her to make sure everything is ok. Amon mysteriously appears from the shadows and warns them to let her go. Because Robin just killed a hunter, she is no longer one of them... she is a witch. |
