I am back much sooner than I expected. Take it as my apology for such an extensive hiatus. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, save for the character of Rhine.

"D!" Rhine's voice rang through the shop as she raced inside, a grin plastered on her face. "Where are you?! I have news! Fantastic news!"

"Rhine?" D rushed into the parlor. Every time she got excitable it put him on edge. Significant emotional upheaval, be it good or bad, could be just enough to put her over the edge and allow her demon blood to overtake her, and he wanted to be sure to witness it when it happened. However, he could sense no signs of change in her as she crossed the room and held out a piece of paper and a torn-open envelope. "What's this?" he asked, taking it from her.

"My emancipation papers were accepted. They've given me a hearing date!" she exclaimed, looking absolutely jovial. "Isn't that great? In just two weeks I won't have to worry about my dad anymore!"

D smiled. "That is excellent news," he agreed, scanning her with his gaze just once more to be sure… but no. Nothing. How disappointing. "Now, I was wondering if you might help me with a few chores? The dogs need feeding and I'm sure Madame Sultana wouldn't object to a bit of company…"

Rhine was beaming. "Sure!" Madame Sultana was one of her favorite animals to visit. It had seemed strange to her when she'd found out the old woman was actually a Blackbird, but since she had learned to easily distinguish from an animal's corporeal and spiritual form long ago, things like that didn't matter as much anymore. In fact, more than anything she was hoping D would introduce her to the dragon that he claimed would have three heads, but two of them weren't born yet. She didn't understand how that was possible, but had learned not to question what went on inside the pet shop long ago.

D left Rhine with Madame Sultana just before teatime when he sensed a customer at the door. He bowed himself out of the room, smirking as he considered the interesting similarities the girl and the old woman shared, completely unbeknownst to Rhine. He silently called Q-chan to him and the small wolpertinger flew down from the rafters to alight on his shoulder.

He was surprised to find a two people, one of them a familiar face, in the parlor. "Well, if it isn't Miss Karen," he smiled. The girl was about sixteen, a blonde, curly-haired beauty with vibrantly blue eyes, although the dark sunglasses she wore hid them from his sight. His gaze went to the cane in her hands, which she didn't seem to be using so much for support as for guidance. Interesting. D raised an eyebrow, just for a moment. He recalled reading about a tragedy that had involved her family a few months ago, but that particular article had said nothing about the girl going blind. "It's so good to see you again."

"Count!" She smiled as he spoke. "You remember me?"

"But of course! I never forget a customer." It was so easy to charm humans. Most of them were so desperate to trust someone. So why not him? She had been just as easily charmed the last time he had seen her. "I believe you purchased a pair of canaries at that time." Two boring, ordinary canaries. Nothing interesting.

Karen's face fell. "Oh, I feel so terrible…" she said. "Our house burned down, and so the birds…"

D's lips tightened. "I am very sorry about the loss of your parents," he said honestly. He seldom felt any sympathy for humans, but this girl had never done anything to deserve his ire, certainly nothing to have one of his animals come into her possession. She really was a sweet girl. "I read about it in the papers. Burglary, murder, and as if that wasn't bad enough, a fire."

"Yes, and the fire stole something else," Karen said stonily, pulling her glasses off. Her formerly blue eyes were now cloudy and gray. "My sight."

It was then that the man who had come in with Karen decided to speak. He was also blonde and had a friendly look about him. "I thought a pet might be just the thing to take Karen's mind off all of this," he said pleasantly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's not healthy for you to be home alone all the time."

"And who are you?" D asked. While the man looked nice enough, D got a bad feeling off of him. Q-chan chittered nervously, confirming his suspicions.

"He's my late mother's cousin," Karen explained as the man reached out and shook D's hand. "He works… worked with my father."

"I'm Edward. Nice to meet you," he said, grinning winsomely. D held in a sigh. Why was it that the most dangerous human beings always possessed such charisma?

Karen sighed wistfully as she lifted her hand to her face, gently brushing her cheek just below her right eye. "Ever since the tragedy, Edward has been taking care of me."

"Oh, come on, Karen!" Edward said, placing both hands on her shoulders protectively. "We're family! We have to watch out for our own!"

"Edward," Karen mumbled, turning her head towards him.

D's eyes narrowed. The girl needed protection more than anything else, that was easy to see. Which animal would suit her best? It was such a special case. An animal that could guide her and protect her all at once…

Of course. "I see. Well, if Miss Karen has lost her vision… Are you looking for a seeing-eye dog?"

"A seeing-eye dog?" Edward asked, sounding incredulous. His eyes widened. It was the most interesting expression D had seen on his face since he'd come into the shop. "At a pet shop?"

"This is Chinatown," D said simply. "We have all manner of creatures for sale." He placed a hand on Karen's shoulder and gently guided her away from Edward, towards the door that would lead to the back rooms. "Now, if you will, Karen, please follow me to the back."

"Wait," Edward said quickly. "I'll go too."

Oh, no. That wasn't going to happen. "Don't worry. The animal will better recognize its master if they met alone initially." The incense wouldn't work on Angelic as she couldn't see, but it would work on this man, and D would rather he not know the true extent of Karen's new pet's capabilities.

"But…"

D let the door swing shut before Edward could finish.

"I'm sorry, Count," Karen apologized as D led her through the halls. "Edward is just worried about me. The police still haven't caught the man who attacked my parents. He says the criminal might still be after me, so—"

"I understand," D said reassuringly.

"D?" Rhine was coming out of Madame Sultana's room, and as she saw him leading Karen up the hall her expression darkened. Clearly, she was under the wrong impression that he was about to sic something dangerous upon his customer. "What's going on?"

"Rhine, this is Miss Karen," D introduced her. "Karen, Rhine is my new assistant. Karen is here for a seeing-eye dog," D smiled, indicating Rhine should follow them. "This way…" He beckoned to Rhine until she hurried to his side and he breathed in her ear, "Would you please retrieve Dreizehn and bring him to the usual private room?"

She nodded and hurried forward, back to the room where the dogs were kept. She would be sad to see Dreizehn go. He was highly intelligent, if a bit serious, and good for a conversation when she wanted one, unlike the other dogs who got far too excited much too easily. But he would be an excellent guide for the girl, not to mention fantastic protection if she ever needed it, and Rhine knew that as long as she had D, she was safe, so a guard dog wasn't really a necessity for the pet shop.

Dreizehn asked no questions when Rhine pulled him out of the dogs' room. "She's very pretty," Rhine tried to describe the girl who would become his new master to him as they walked down the hall. "I'm sure you'll be very fond of her."

"Ja." Dreizehn, ever sullen, nodded once in agreement. He was an extremely handsome Doberman with cropped ears that stood straight up in the traditional fashion. His human form was incredibly attractive as well, with striking, sharp features and glossy black hair.

Rhine sighed. "You know, I'm kind of going to miss you."

"You will find other company, Miss Rhine. Many of the animals are very intrigued by you," Dreizehn replied as they slipped into the private room D usually preferred to introduce his guests to the animals in. "But yes… I have to say, I will miss you as well." He held out his hand to her as though he were expecting a handshake good-bye.

"Don't be ridiculous," Rhine grinned, pushing his hand aside and instead giving him a quick hug. "There. That's a much better send off."

Dreizehn smirked. "Ja."

It was then that D opened the door, followed by Karen. Rhine stepped away from Dreizehn, leaving him standing motionless in the center of the room as he eyed his new master for the first time. Rhine smiled, a little sadly, and went back to D's side.

"It's quiet," Karen commented unsurely. "Where's the dog?"

"He's close by," D assured the girl, glancing briefly at Rhine and giving her a curt nod of approval.

"What?" Karen sounded confused, reaching her hand towards the floor as though she expected her hand to make contact with a dog at any moment.

"Seeing eye dogs are extremely well trained. They will not approach you until they get permission," D explained.

"Oh… okay." Karen stood up straight and grinned awkwardly. "Well, it's kind of weird to say this, but…shake."

As soon as he was given a command, Dreizehn crossed the room in three long strides and reached out for her hand. Taking it in his, he knelt before the girl and bowed his head. Rhine watched in fascination as the exchange. This was a much different scenario than that which normally played out between new pets and their masters. Since Dreizehn was one of the rare normal animals D sold, he did not choose his master. He was instead chosen, and grateful for the opportunity to prove his worth.

The situation quickly turned to the more familiar route. Karen, alarmed that her hand was met by another hand and not a paw, flinched away with a sound of shock. "Count! This isn't a dog!" she exclaimed, looking around wildly, though Rhine guessed that was out of habit more than anything, since the girl was blind. "It's human!"

"Trust me on this one, he's a dog," Rhine piped up, her arms folded across her chest as she watched D place his hands comfortingly on Karen's shoulders. She was the tiniest bit jealous that this other girl was being afforded the luxury of D's touch.

"He used to be a military dog in Germany," D elaborated. "He's a Doberman."

Karen wrenched herself away from D. "You're lying!" she yelled, hurt etched in her expression. "Playing tricks on a blind woman! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Yes, this was a much more familiar scene, Rhine thought briefly. "No tricks here," she said innocently. "We don't play tricks. He can be your eyes."

"And serve you faithfully as your bodyguard," D added quickly, to which Rhine raised an eyebrow. What could this blind girl possibly need a bodyguard for?

"My bodyguard?" Karen repeated. Already Rhine could hear the uncertainty fading. Karen was accepting this new reality of hers, as all the others who had come before her. At least this time there would be no messy contracts involved.

"You said that the criminal who killed your parents is still on the loose," D said in his usual soothing voice, reaching again for the girl and placing his hands on her shoulders. This time she didn't pull away. Rhine pursed her lips, her question about the girl needing a bodyguard answered. But that still didn't do much in helping her jealousy.

"Although your eyes fail you now, you are witness to the crime," D continued quietly. "The criminal may be after your life as well."

"This dog will keep you safe," Rhine added. She had been practicing increasingly interacting with the customers, trying to gain that same lilting, comforting tone D always had that put them at ease. "He'll protect you always – even in the depths of Hell."

Karen looked towards Rhine. "But… but he doesn't even know me."

"That doesn't matter," Rhine smirked. "He'll obey his master's every command."

"He'll protect you with his very life," D practically whispered into the girl's ear.

"He'd… die for me?"

Dreizehn at last stood up straight, adopting his usual perfect posture and saluting to his new master. "Ja."

"You are becoming very good with the customers," D commented as Karen left the shop, accompanied by Edward and Dreizehn She was awkwardly hanging onto her new pet's arm for guidance. "Karen was quite swayed by you."

Rhine blushed. D's compliments always gave her a sense of elation. "I don't think I actually did that much."

"You did much more than you think," D smiled. "Would you mind preparing the tea today? I'd like to do a bit of cleaning up in the parlor and I know you get confused by all those trinkets."

"No kidding," Rhine said appreciatively, immediately proceeding to the kitchen. She'd much rather make tea than clean, especially the parlor. She could never get properly where everything was supposed to go. She attributed it to the fact that everything was written in Chinese in that room. And if she was preparing tea she could make it to her specifications and just give D the sugar bowl to add as much as he liked to his cup.

As soon as Rhine vanished into the kitchen the door to the shop opened again, and in strolled Officer Leon Orcot. "Hey, wasn't that Karen Schneider?" he asked in lieu of a greeting.

"Oh, hello, Lieutenant," D said, transferring a few papers from the coffee table into a filing cabinet.

"That blind Cinderella who inherited a fortune three months ago…" Orcot looked extremely thoughtful for a moment.

"Did her family have that much money?" D inquired, less out of interest and more as a way to keep Orcot talking about inane things. When he was discussing things of little importance he had no time to make wild accusations against D and his shop.

"From what I heard, her father was in the middle of a patent application that could make the family millions," Orcot shrugged. "Hey… you better not have sold her one of your freak creatures!"

"Aw, Officer, where's the trust?" D asked, feigning hurt. "I just gave her a seeing eye dog that can also protect her."

Orcot sank onto the couch and sighed. He never believed the Count.

"Do you know if her blindness is permanent?" D asked.

"Actually, I don't know all the details," Orcot admitted. "But the doctors think her blindness is just a psychosomatic response to the trauma."

"The trauma?"

Orcot nodded and said grimly, "I don't blame her. She watched as her parents were murdered… and barely escaped the burning house."

D frowned as he imagined that sweet girl and all she'd been through. Not all humans deserved terrible fates such as those. "I don't think I'd want to see any more of such an ugly world, either."

Orcot crossed his arms and shrugged. "We're hoping it's just a temporary thing. Once she can see again, she can I.D. whoever did this."

"Yes, of course…" D mumbled, straightening a few figurines on one of his many cabinets. "So what brings you here today, Officer? You so seldom make a visit unwarranted."

Leon sighed. "Well, that's the thing, Count… I'm not here for you, for once. I'm here for the girl."

"The girl?" D repeated, slightly dumbfounded. He would have never guessed. "Rhine?"

"Yeah. See, one of our old police chiefs came in this morning asking for a favor. He's looking for his daughter – his runaway daughter."

Before D could respond, Rhine emerged from the kitchen with a tray full of tea. "Oh," she said stonily once she saw Orcot. "I'm afraid I didn't make enough for three," she said, though her tone didn't indicate any apology whatsoever.

Leon rose to his feet at once. "Doesn't matter. We're not staying long," he said quickly.

"Rhine, get back in the kitchen," D said sharply.

A dark expression fell over her face. "D… what's going on?" she asked, slowly backing away with the tea tray still in her hands.

"Put that down. You're coming with me," Leon ordered her.

Rhine's glare was murderous. "Like hell I am."

"You're a runaway," Leon said accusingly. "And from a former police officer to boot. I can't believe I didn't recognize you the minute I stepped into this shop. Must be all this damn incense. Now put that down, and let's go."

Rhine's eyes flashed dangerously. D, sensing a dangerous spike in her energy, stepped in. As excited as he was for her demon half to awaken, in the middle of his parlor in front of Leon Orcot was the wrong place for it to be unleashed. "Let's slow down here for a moment," he said calmly. "Officer, sit down. Rhine, put the tray on the table and come sit over here…" He managed to direct everyone where he wanted them, with Orcot in an armchair and D positioned next to Rhine on the couch, in between her and the police officer she was glaring daggers at.

"How did you know about me?" Rhine asked through gritted teeth.

"Your dad came in again this morning showing your picture to every officer at the station. He's very upset. He wants you home," Leon relayed the story to her as briefly as he could. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen it sooner. Former Chief Bradford had come in a few weeks back demanding an amber alert for his missing daughter, but the picture he'd shown them looked almost nothing like the Rhine sitting before him now, stewing in resentment. Her hair was much shorter now, and in the picture the girl had been wearing contacts, and colored ones at that so that her strange different colored eyes didn't show. Now she was in front of him in all her heterochromatic glory, her curious eyes glaring at him from behind the lenses of her glasses.

It was only the name that had alerted Leon to the fact that the girl from the photograph and the girl working in D's shop were one in the same. Rhine wasn't exactly a common name. He'd missed it the first time Bradford had come in, but this morning the man had been quite insistent, repeating over and over that his Rhine had to be returned to him as quickly as possible.

"Yeah, I'll bet he was upset," Rhine muttered darkly. Her arms and legs were crossed so tightly it seemed unlikely she would unfurl them for the next several days. "Bastard probably misses having his punching bag around."

Leon dismissed her cryptic comment. He'd known Bradford when he was chief. The man wouldn't do anything like that to his child. At least, Orcot was fairly certain he wouldn't. Sure the man had a bit of a temper to him, but that didn't make him a child abuser… did it? "So, now that I've located you, I am obligated by the law to take you with me to the station. We can clear this whole mess up and you can go back home," Orcot said sternly, and then added for good measure, "Where you belong."

"Fuck that!" Rhine's shriek rang throughout the parlor. She sprang to her feet so violently her leg knocked against the coffee table. The teapot rocked dangerously and D snatched it up before anything disastrous could result. This wasn't good. Rhine's demonic aura was spiking with every second that passed. He had to calm her down, and fast.

"Officer, if you would allow me to speak," D said, masking his panic with his usual air of nonchalant calm. "Rhine here does not, in fact, have to go anywhere with you."

"She's a minor," Orcot combated him irritably.

"I'm emancipated!" Rhine burst out furiously, clenching her fists. She had never wanted to hit someone quite as badly as she wanted to hit Leon at that exact moment. "I got the letter this morning. Here—" She dug the letter out of her pocket and threw it at Orcot. "I'm through with my da—" She cut herself short. "…that man. I'm done. There'll be a hearing in two weeks and I'll be given full legal emancipation." She smirked. "And I'm sure the judge will be very interested in my testimony."

"What the hell are you on about?" Leon growled as he skimmed the document. It was official, all right. And it meant his hands were tied. He couldn't do shit. And he had been so looking forward to finally hitting D where it would hurt, by taking his assistant who he seemed so fond of away from him.

"When Rhine arrived here she was in a bad way," D explained calmly. "She was very sick, and covered in bruises. I had a doctor who lives up the street take a look at her and he confirmed that her immune system had been heavily compromised from what appeared to be very characteristic signs of physical abuse."

Rhine sighed and sank back into her seat, burying her head in her hands. "Yeah, I ran," she said. "But I only ran because my… because that man was an abusive prick and an alcoholic. And I couldn't take it anymore."

Leon stared at D and Rhine, dumbfounded. "You're lying," he finally managed to say lamely. "I know him. He wouldn't…"

"Men are often capable of much more than they let others see," D said grimly. "But no matter. Rhine is not obligated by any law to go with you, and if she has no desire to see her father ever again she does not have to. Now, if that was all you came here for, Detective, your visit has now been rendered meaningless. I would appreciate it if you would kindly leave me and my employee to discuss a few things."

So Orcot left, dejected and defeated. Damn. He really thought he'd had them that time.

Rhine was shaking by the time D gave his full attention to her. He placed a hand on her back. "Are you alright?"

She laughed chokingly and glanced up at him. Tear tracks stained her cheeks and her eyes were red. "I don't know," she said, her voice hollow. "I'm… I don't know."

D sighed. "I am sorry you were forced to relive through some unpleasant memories."

"He doesn't care," Rhine whispered. "He only came looking for me again because he knows that I'll reveal him at my hearing. I'll let everyone know who he really is, why I left… why I had to leave."

"You did the right thing," D reassured her gently. "He will deserve any punishment he gets." He could feel her demonic aura receding. He supposed her awakening would have to occur another day.

"Even that won't be enough," Rhine muttered. "Maybe we could drop an animal off at his door. A hungry one. With sharp teeth and claws." As soon as she said it, she was shocked by herself, because she meant every word. She didn't care if her father died, torn apart by one of D's creatures.

D realized this too, because he chuckled. She was learning. "That is certainly a thought to entertain," he said pleasantly. "But for now, why don't we resume our afternoon tea and put this unpleasantness out of our minds?"

Rhine rubbed her eyes vigorously. "Okay… alright." She quite unexpectedly reached out and hugged him. "Thank you," she mumbled into his chest. "Thank you for everything."

D very slowly returned her embrace. "Of course."

Fin! That was a fun write. Hope to see you in chapter 11! Oh, and please review!

I love you all and thanks for reading!

Cantica, out.