Nthanda sat exhausted on the dog's back, tuckered out from having to go between spaces so many times in one day. He was gradually training himself to do it more and more often. From what he could tell, his reach was pretty far. However, he was seeing this all from a baby's perspective. A few feet were practically miles.

The dog, surprisingly, did not seemed at all perturbed about having gone between places. In fact, the dog seemed just about downright happy. His tail wagged, and he panted with what looked like quite a big grin on his face. Nthanda babbled at the dog, and as if he understood, the dog stopped.

Nthanda carefully clambered off of his impromptu steed, patting the dog's foreleg rather imperiously. Of course, Nthanda lost his balance, again, and fell against the dog, who was more than willing to be used as a stand.

"Oh... oh my, how adorable!" a woman's voice said. Nthanda's eyes widened in reaction as a young woman, dressed in the latest of fashions and escorted by three different servants, all of who were laden with bags and cases, reached down to pick him up as if he were some wayward kitten. Nthanda, of course, did not appreciate being manhandled in the least. Kanda and Ellis were the extent of his allowances! After all Kanda was becoming a surrogate father, in some aspects, and Ellis was so soft and cushy that Nthanda honestly wouldn't have mind her carrying him all day. This woman, though, was all spindly and pokey, sort of stiff and almost plaster-like.

"Now what are you doing here, you little munchkin? And with a - ugh! Get, you mangy cur!" she ordered of the dog, and Nthanda took high offense to that. After all, only he was allowed to abuse the dog like that. He was a baby. He had the excuse of poor motor control and a lack of communication.

Nthanda pushed against the woman while whining and babbling, reaching for the dog, and the woman struggled to keep a grasp of the babe.

"Um... miss... perhaps you should, uh... put him back where you found him?" one of the heavily burdened servants suggested. The woman, a redhead and therefore obviously fiery by nature, stamped her foot at him.

"Nonsense! I'm taking him home with me. Look at his widdle toes, and dat widdle nose, and those widdle teef, and..." Nthanda swore that if the woman used the word 'widdle' again in his presence, he was going to throw up on her, and he knew he could probably do it on command. Thank the gods that Kanda didn't resort to baby talk. Ellis indulged now and again, but at least she tried to keep it intelligent and two-sided.

Meanwhile, the dog sulked off, obviously not wanted, but he perked up upon seeing the two-leg who he'd been chasing, the dark-haired one with the long, black tail in the wrong place. The dog trotted up next to him happily, recognizing the baby's scent on him. He very much liked this particular two-leg - from what the baby two-leg had shown him (and show him he did - and in the most disorienting, interesting fashion that the dog had ever experienced), this two-leg was strong, the leader of his pack, and treated his subordinates fairly well. At the least, he didn't bite anybody. That was more than the dog could say for his last pack leader.

And in fact, the two-leg did not even notice that he was being followed by this certain mutt. He was too busy staring at the woman who was cuddling his kid, speaking in that stupid high-pitched baby voice, and obviously not getting the memo that Nthanda did not like it.

"Hey. You wanna give me back my kid?" Kanda asked gruffly, standing in front of her with crossed arms. Her three servants hastily backed up a few steps, but the redhead didn't even bother to look at him.

"What sort of person would even dare to leave a child with a big dog such as that, and in the middle of a street no less! That is unacceptable, and I'm taking him home with me, and he shall be my little cuddle-wumpkins where I can dress him in nice clothes, and feed him good food, and -" Kanda cut her off there by suddenly taking the baby. Nthanda almost seemed happy as he took his customary spot standing against Kanda's arm while winding a pudgy hand in his hair. Kanda himself felt a spur of relief, the familiar feeling of his hair being pulled out of its tie a welcome worry to the former panic he'd been experiencing for the past hour or two.

"Trust me, he'll rip up the clothes and spit out the food. I would know," Kanda stated as he was about to walk away. However, the woman, at last, had seen his face.

And it was as if she'd seen the visage of Adonis staring back at her. Those eyes... that nose... that hair! Oh, Perfection had walked into her midst, and she had not even known it! So distracted was she by that beautiful child, that she had not even begun to look at his even more beautiful father! Entranced, she followed him, sidling up to him in a flounce of skirts and bodice.

"Well, I would hate for you to leave without introducing myself. I am... the Comtesse Lavinia of Chesterbury," she said in what she imagined was a husky, irresistibly rough voice.

To Kanda, it was like listening to cats attacking a chalkboard with steel-tipped claws. He didn't have time for this nonsense. After all, he had this dog following him, and Vanya to deal with, and the baby was probably hungry, and it wasn't even noon yet...

"Whatever," he stated, glowering as he trotted faster to get away. However, Lavinia appeared relentless, as was her tireless squad of servants. They followed at the exact step she took, each looking more and more haggard the farther they went on.

"You won't even grace me with a name, my princ- er, my poor father? Does this babe not even have a mother's warmth? Perhaps I could fill it. Those nights must be... lonely," Lavinia purred. Kanda, at this point, was sincerely thinking about tripping her, and letting the chips fall where they may.

"Not really. I have three other housemates," Kanda stated, seeming to exude a fine layer of 'back off'. Lavinia deflated slightly at the mention of other people who may or may not be competing with her affections.

"Oh. Is that so? Surely you have room?" She batted her eyelashes as she trotted to keep up with Kanda's long stride. The dog bounded next to him, happy for a challenge.

"I have three too many housemates," Kanda grumbled, finally stopping to stare at the woman. She scrambled to stop, her three servants piling up behind her in a humorous pile of limbs and bags. Kanda gave them all rather nasty looks before turning around to walk away -

The dog suddenly began to bark in a worried tone, whining and yelping in fear. Kanda immediately unsheathed his sword, Nthanda automatically recognizing the prelude to battle and hanging on for dear life. The dog ran behind Kanda while Lavinia screamed in the most high-pitched, annoying shriek she could manage.

The Akuma slobbered in the street. It stalked back and forth, watching Kanda with wide open eyes. Too soon it recognized the swordsman, and the Akuma froze. It had hoped that, perhaps, just maybe, the baby might be alone again. No luck, obviously.

And, for the second time that day, the Akuma turned tail. Several sharp bits of metal flew towards it, missing it by hairs. Spell tags fluttered, and Kanda readied himself for the maneuver he knew was coming. Lavinia, amazingly enough, took another breath and continued screaming. Her stolid servants had dropped their packages and cowered behind her ample skirts. Suddenly, Vanya vaulted over a building, and Kanda swept his sword outwards in an attempt to catch it at the waist while Vanya herded it into position.

However, the Akuma was surprisingly fast. It suddenly snatched Vanya with a hidden tendril underneath its belly, and the CROW found herself unexpectedly turned from hunter to prey. To add insult to injury, the Akuma took Lavinia as well. Kanda honestly wondered for all of a moment if he should leave the both of them, but that part of him that was still rose-tinted knew he would do no such thing.

You've got more in you than to do that.

The voice was quiet, tiny, and barely there, but nevertheless it was present, and it distracted Kanda for the crucial second he should've used to hack the creature to pieces. However, it barreled around a corner, bypassing all of Lavinia's frightened servants and knocking Ellis down for the second time.

"Oh... BOTHER!" Ellis shouted, throwing her hands up in frustration. Kanda smirked at the old lady's ire towards the Akuma. That biddy was tougher than fruit cake after Christmas. Nthanda, however, tugged on his hair, bringing him back to the matter at hand with a very serious babbling-to. Kanda rolled his eyes, already knowing what Nthanda was trying to tell him. Vanya was one of his favorite playmates. She was one of the few willing to do patty-cake for extended periods of time. Nthanda loved patty-cake.

"Fine. You owe me when you're older," Kanda grumbled, stowing the baby into his customary sash. He was almost too big by now, and Kanda wondered for a minute what he was going to do when Nthanda got too big to carry... A dog barked, and Kanda looked at the Rhodesian that had been trailing him for the past half an hour. The dog gave a goofy grin, circling the samurai before nosing a line of blood. It seemed Kanda had nicked the Akuma. Unfortunately, it must've been shallow considering the blood trail soon stopped a few feet around the corner.

However, the dog seemed to know exactly where he was going. He looked up at Kanda expectantly, wagging his tail enthusiastically. Kanda slouched in disbelief. This dog... was seriously going to track an Akuma for him? Without any sort of treats or training? Well, not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Kanda waved his hands at the dog, and the ridge-back took off at a loping run. Kanda went after him as fast as his feet could keep up.

Meanwhile, Ellis, who'd finally managed to get up, could only watch as Kanda started to run off. Din himself had thought it better to stay on the rooftops in order to watch from above and direct from there. She stamped her foot.

"BOLLOCKS! I miss everything!" she complained.


"Zis is... demeaning," Vanya lamented to herself, hanging limply from the Akuma's grip. She was surprised it hadn't tried to eat her yet, considering it had a mouth full of plate-like teeth that it enjoyed gnashing together. It was still running away, and it was getting fairly close to the outskirts of town. Vanya had tried to free herself, but she didn't think she had the necessary spells to free herself from the beast without also injuring the other passenger and victim.

Lavinia, much to Vanya's distaste, was still screaming herself hoarse, bemoaning the fact that her dress was ripped, that she was going to die, and that her corpse was going to look like a homeless destitute. She had tried to curse the monster half way to the ends of the Earth, so Vanya had to hand her some credit to her audacity. She was honestly wondering if the woman was trying to annoy the creature so much that it would much rather drop her and be done than carry her around.

The Akuma suddenly stopped at the edge of town, screams echoing as people raced to get away from the giant demon-fox-octopus hybrid made of metal and gears. It licked its chops as it lifted Vanya and Lavinia up in the air, ready to devour them now that they were relatively far from that pesky Exorcist. Vanya sighed as she readied herself for a single spell, hoping that she could inflict damage without harming Lavinia harm. As much of a nuisance as she had made herself, Lavinia didn't deserve to die, at the hands of an Akuma or via friendly fire (in a very literal sense) from a CROW spell. Besides, the mountain of paperwork her death would entail could potentially bury the small CROW member.

Just as she got a grip on a fire strip she'd painted the night before, a black blur cut through the tentacles wrapped around both Lavinia and Vanya. Both were left in the air for a moment, all three parties stunned as the two women began a downward journey from their respective perches in the air.

Kanda, who of course was the black blur, was met with a dilemma. Both women were falling, both were going to hit the ground at approximate the same time, and Kanda didn't have the ability to be in two places at once. Nthanda was not willing to give his input either.

And so, Kanda decided that Vanya could probably survive the twenty-foot-tall drop, while the poor Comtesse would have a much rougher time for it (and protest much louder). He raced for the noblewoman and neatly caught her in a single leap, wincing as he watched Vanya fall to the ground with a very definite whump.

The Comtesse, of course, was very very please to find herself in the arms of a handsome (if somewhat rude and hard-to-get) samurai. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she cooed, "My heeeeroooo~." Nthanda very suddenly popped out of his sash, seeing as he was being shoved by the woman and her jostling, and began to gurgle at her in irate tones, finishing up with a definite slap to her bust. The woman's jaw dropped as the baby gave a definitive nod, and to add to her misfortune Kanda dropped her in the interest of fighting the giant octopus-fox monster. She screamed raucously as Kanda blocked the monster's jaws, its tendrils whipping about. Kanda gritted his teeth as he pushed back, trying to keep away from those plate-like teeth.

Kanda hastily looked over at Vanya, hoping that she hadn't suffered any ill effects from her fall, though more in his own interest than hers. However, she was had already vacated her current spot, and Kanda felt a twinge of concern, but no more than a twinge.

Nthanda waved his hands at the Akuma, trying desperately to touch it, and Kanda side-stepped the monster in order to keep the baby out of its reach. A tentacle darted towards him, and he chopped the tip, though barely. This Akuma was stunningly fast, but that and its extra tentacles seemed to be the only special attributes it sported. Suddenly, Kanda felt something grip his ankle, and he cursed loudly as he was suddenly whipped into the air. Nthanda seemed to float out of his sash in slow motion, and Kanda desperately grasped at the child with both hands, for a moment letting go of his sword. Too soon he realized his mistake when he was abruptly jerked to the side, Nthanda still in his tenuous grasp. The child screamed in fear as Kanda tried to shield him in case the monster should attempt to slam him into the ground.

Ellis flashed past Kanda's field of vision, and he hastily yelled, "ELLIS! CATCH!"

With that, he threw Nthanda to her, the baby flailing in the air. Ellis, already winded, gave a very loud, unladylike expletive before catching the baby in a saving dive, narrowly avoiding Kanda as he was swung around when Din seemed to materialize and yank her away. Vanya crouched on the ground by them, looking a little worse-for-wear, though not unduly injured. Din and Vanya shared a look.

"You okay, miss? Need water?" Din asked politely, holding a water bottle. Vanya took the water bottle gratefully, swallowing great gulps of water.

"Oh, look at this mess! My favorite traveling dress, ruined!" Ellis breathlessly gasped as she tried to comfort the distraught Nthanda. A dog very suddenly sat at her feet, panting and grinning at her, and Ellis immediately began rubbing his head, as she was very much a dog sort of person. Vanya shook her head at the shenanigans of the old woman, stolidly ignoring the fact that her fellow comrade was being used as a rag doll.

"I em shoor you ken find anozher von," she sighed.

"What IS that thing!?"

All three looked over at Lavinia, who was still on her spot on the ground where Kanda had dropped her. She hastily scooted back, picking herself up and dusting off.

"Zat, dearest, is en Akuma," Vanya answered blankly as the three watched, quite avidly, as Kanda was twirled with quite some grace. It was sadly entertaining, in that terrible, horribly funny sort of way.

"Shouldn't you help him?" Lavinia asked haughtily, straightening herself out despite her hair being a mess and her dress beyond repair. She sincerely wished she could've at least gained a rip in the bodice - it appeared that this woman, who ever she was, happened to be her competition and it wouldn't hurt to have her attributes a little more... visible. How unfortunate this was not so.

Vanya might have answered with something quippy, but her proximity to the Akuma had given her quite the disadvantage (and Kanda, the advantage) of grasp. Kanda, on his fifth whip-around, suddenly grabbed her by the back of the shirt and yanked her along for good measure. She didn't even have to time to curse him.

The dog watched with avid curiosity, too intent on watching the waving to really comprehend the problem. Din and Ellis were too busy gossiping and staring at the two unfortunates currently battling their own manhandling. Lavinia was preoccupied with primping herself.

Which, obviously, left Nthanda to finally get the job done. It figured that you had to send a baby to do a warrior's job.

Meanwhile, Vanya and Kanda were having a... conversation.

"YOU IDIOT! VY DID YOU GRAB ME?!" Vanya shrieked indignantly, one of the few signs of emotions she was willing to display.

"BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T PAYING ATTENTION, THAT'S WHY! I'M BEING USED AS A CHEW TOY, AND YOU'RE STANDING THERE GOSSIPING -!"

"I VAS DRINKING VATER!"

"WHATEVER YOU WERE DOING, IT WASN'T HELPING ME!"

Kanda suddenly curled up around Vanya as he made a very abrupt acquaintance with the ground, and Vanya hung on like a burr as they were suddenly lifted off again. The two had managed to coordinate their movements while hanging on to each other so that they could subvert the movements of the tentacle currently playing with them. The Akuma suddenly snapped at Vanya's foot, and Kanda delivered a rather well aimed punch just as Vanya kicked it in the eye. It screeched as it hurled Kanda in the air, and Vanya removed a spell-tag she'd been saving. She threw it down, and there was a massive fireball as the tag ignited.

The Akuma, enraged and on fire, suddenly reared up and threw both Vanya and Kanda into the air, releasing the samurai. They both went wide-eyed as they realized that there was no longer anything stopping them from hitting the ground from nearly a hundred and fifty feet. There was a single moment where they both looked at each at the pinnacle of their climb, and Vanya could only say one thing.

"I blame you," she stated blankly.

Kanda frowned at this sentiment.

"Likewise," he retorted.

Their fall resumed, and Kanda was seized by an idea as they came down. He reached for Vanya's hand, but he couldn't pull her in. If he could just cushion their fall... maybe minimize impact, possibly save both their lives -

And, as if by the will of God, Nthanda was falling with them after a sharp pop! resounded, grasping onto Kanda's ponytail as he fell above them. Kanda's eyes widened as he realized what the baby was about to do.

"Grab me!" Kanda demanded, holding his hand out to Vanya. Frantically, she grabbed him, and there was a sudden moment of pure, silent nothing.

It was just as he remembered it. This dark nothingness full of an absolute absence of sense, no smell, no temperature, no feel, nothing besides the sensation of Vanya's dry skin clamped around his own hand. Images flashed past them as they continued falling, but in what direction they didn't know. Images did flash past them in all directions, odd spurts of events like automobiles of some sort, people talking into devices next to their ears, and giant animals with scaly skin that looked vaguely like lizards. Beautiful buildings, wonderful works of art, and horrendous replays of wars from another time seemed to fly away from them. Light was absent, but so was dark, and it was as if they were being compressed, pushed, shoved, crammed into this strange space and -

- he could hear chanting, this low, rhythmic hum of voices that were speaking in a language he couldn't understand. They were so quiet, it was almost inaudible, but it was there. Those voices held an ancient wisdom, but if he could just understand it -

POP!

Kanda and Vanya, along with their baby passenger, were crammed back into the world of the normal, and both received a well-loved hello from the ground. With a groan, the both of them curled up in pain, Kanda with a broken nose and Vanya with a near-bitten through tongue. They'd landed heavily on their faces and chests, not having enough time to put their hands in front of them to break their fall. Nthanda, however, was perfectly fine, seeing as Kanda's back had been a welcome substitute for the ground. For several days, Kanda would have a baby-butt shaped bruise in the middle of his back, and Nthanda would complain every time he was sat down.

The dog sniffed at Kanda, mostly due to the fact Nthanda was sitting on top of him, and Kanda shoved the dog rudely, causing it to yelp. It quickly took its place by Din, who'd as of late been feeding him beef jerky and had come to be a fast friend.

"Oh! Poor dear, look at you, you're nose is broken! Here let me fix that!" Lavinia gushed, jumping on the chance to induce some sort of Florence Nightingale effect on the object of her affection. However, Kanda would have none of that. The last thing he wanted was to have a woman swarm all over him because of something as trivial as a snapped proboscis.

"Woman, if you touch me, I will personally carve off your nose," Kanda threatened angrily, lifting Nthanda off his back and standing in one smooth motion, neatly towering over the Comtesse. The Comtesse, not used to having her attentions so suddenly spurned, was taken aback, and Kanda used this chance to forge back into battle before anything else could possibly happen. Nose dripping blood, he went to retrieve his sword and finally put an end to the poor monster that was beating itself against the ground in an attempt to put out the unnatural flames bathing it.

The Comtesse, however, was not one to be so easily put off. If anything, her intentions to have this particularly feisty man doubled. It was obvious he needed a woman in his life to temper his, uh, temper! The poor soul was secretly yearning for a woman's touch, and he was merely in denial! That was why he was so vehemently against her - he was denying her because of the need he felt for her, a thing he could not possibly understand! For, after all, the Comtesse was devilishly beautiful, and what man could understand the unmentionable desires she invoked within them? Surely, it was the same for this fellow! She must redouble her efforts to win him!

And, of course, as the Comtesse was off in her own fantasy land, Din and Ellis had rushed to Vanya's aid while Kanda took care of the big, bad Akuma. They helped the poor woman stand as she wiped the blood from her mouth. She tried to speak, but it came out a garbled mess as she screeched in pain. Her tongue was cleanly cut almost in two, and it was apparent that stitches would be needed.

"Oh, my dear. We need to get you to a hospital, quickly," Ellis said seriously, grasping the woman by the arm. Vanya nodded, leaning heavily on the older woman as she suddenly went fuzzy-headed.

"I kin watch deh two over dere while you go. He'll b'fine, mum," Din insisted as Ellis glanced back at him uncertainly. She nodded tight-lipped, and she went off at a quick trot towards the doctor.

And, almost as soon as Din had said this, the Akuma landed at his feet in a burnt pile, completely cut through in perhaps fifteen different places. Kanda had not been kind to the creature. His facial expression did nothing to refute this claim. He gave it a vicious kick before giving a very triumphant, "Che."

Din stared at the pile of creature at his feet with wide eyes, looking up at Kanda incredulously.

"Ent ye gone a little bit, uh... overboard?" Din asked as Kanda sheathed his sword, which he'd finally regained, and shifted Nthanda. The baby was happily sitting in his pouch, give a raspberry to the dead Akuma. Din sighed, shaking his head as he thought about the implications of Nthanda's personality as he grew older. There wouldn't be any holding him back, that was for certain...

Kanda raised a single eyebrow at Din as an answer before looking down at the dog that was now sitting in front of him, eyes as wide and puppy-ish as they could go, and tail a-wagging.

"No," Kanda stated.

The dog yelped, shifting disappointingly as it tried to contain its enthusiasm.

"I'm not taking a dog," Kanda told the canine.

Those eyes seemed to get a little bigger, and... were those tears? Dogs didn't cry!

"Eh... Mistuh Kanda, y'might wanna consider deh dog, considerin' we had a run in wid deh local animahls now 'n agin, y'know? 'Specially dem monkehs..." Din sighed. He himself liked the dog, and Nthanda was definitely for keeping the mutt. He was practically falling out of his pouch reaching for his trusty steed. Kanda looked between the three of them, Nthanda, the dog, and Din. He licked his lips, tasting blood, and he let out a sigh, throwing up his hands.

"Y'know what, why not? Not like I don't have everyone and their grandmother already on this stupid mission as it is," he grumbled under his breathe as he stomped off. The dog barked happily as he followed at Kanda's heels, glad to have found another pack while Nthanda babbled and batted against Kanda's chest trying to convey his wish to ride upon the dog's back. It was actually quite... enjoyable, after all, feeling so high and mighty atop such a large beast (at least, large to the baby). Din could only smile that luminescent grin as he watched the trio: dog, baby, and samurai.

Who would have thought?


The Comtesse watched them go with a renewed feeling of vigor. She looked over at the monster that had been slain, noting the steaming piles and massive amounts of foul smelling blood-like oil. That man must fight these things, and if that was so, perhaps... she could gain his affections in this manner. She suddenly took on a rather devious smile. Oh, yes, she could most certainly do something of the sort and turn this to her advantage! After all, her papa was quite influential, and Uncle definitely knew quite a few... clandestine organizations and whatnot. Perhaps he'd know a thing or two about these terrible... things.

She made a face at the dead body, and she began to head into town. Her three loyal servants had stayed far back from the fight, preferring to watch from the relative safety of an overhang in a church, hoping that perhaps the creature couldn't step on hallowed ground (for after all, it could NOT be a holy being!). She snapped her fingers at them, and the three hastily took formations around her. Even after all this time, they had not abandoned their boxes and bags or their posts. She turned around to them in a rush of skirts, and she said, "My dearests, we're going to be traveling quite a lot. I have a new mission!"

The servants restrained a groan. They knew she'd had her eyes set on that one the minute he'd taken the baby and she'd gotten a good look at him. They'd hoped that she'd drop him after his brutish treatment of her, but his chivalrous rescue of her must have sealed the deal. She was his new target, and she wasn't about to let him go.

"My sights are set on that one!"

"Um... Ma'am, what is his name, praytell?" one of them asked hesitantly, peering around his mountain of cargo. The woman stopped her tracks, mouth wide open with a smile on her face before her expression seemed to fall off and crash on the ground like so much plaster. She blinked, spluttering.

"I haven't the foggiest idea!"


"You're lucky your nose hadn't healed yet," Ellis remonstrated. Kanda touched his nose gingerly, grimacing in pain.

He wasn't surprised Ellis had been observant enough to catch his faster-than-normal healing rate. She'd displayed an uncanny knack for knowing everything Kanda didn't want her to know.

The doctor had had to snap it back into place, and soon after it had smoothed back into its regular, straight appearance, though Kanda still had the customary bruises under his eyes from the pooling blood. His body may be able to heal itself from miraculous (and some not-so-miraculous) injuries, but it knew how to prioritize. If it didn't need to be fixed or broken down pronto, it wasn't going to be doing it too soon.

Vanya, meanwhile, had just had her tongue stitched. She was lying in a hospital bed, looking very disgruntled and a bit loopy. She hadn't said a word, unsurprisingly. Nthanda was asleep in her arms, his unnaturally warm body much hotter than usual. They'd fed him nearly three bowls of cereal in the past hour to make up for the energy loss he'd incurred by going between places so many times.

"Tch," Kanda muttered under his breath. At his feet, the Rhodesian ridge-back that had followed them slept soundly, happy to know that he'd found a new home. After all, his old pack wouldn't take him, if they were still around. Those dogs were so rude! Always sniffing him when he didn't want to be sniffed, chasing him around if he'd found a nice piece of garbage to chew on... In his sleep, the dog whined and kicked his feet, running from imaginary enemies. Ellis tutted at the dog, gently slapping it awake with a knock of her cloth bag. The dog started with a jolt, and Kanda could sympathize.

"Now, I've found us the hotel -" Ellis said, but Din gave her a pointed look from his position by the hospital window.

"You found the hotel? Try, I found the hotel. You nearly had us lost... again," Din muttered, crossing his arms as he stared back out the window. Ellis opened and shut her mouth, but she had nothing to say, so she refrained from saying anything.

"Dingane, dearest, found the hotel. There are three rooms, so Nthanda can room with you, while I room with Vanya, and Din may have a room to himself. This will not pose problems, will it?" Ellis asked pointedly, looking between Vanya and Kanda. The two of them shared a dark look, and Kanda leaned back in his chair against the wall as an answer. It was quiet for a few more minutes before the silence was too much for Ellis.

"Alright, alright, let's get this cleared up once and for all! What is the matter with you two?!" Ellis demanded. Nthanda woke up with an irate cry, turning over. Vanya cooed at him, but she immediately slapped a hand over her mouth as the stitches in her tongue began to tug and pull. Kanda stood up, and he took the baby, shushing him and rocking him.

"Now look what you did," Kanda grumbled, though the words had no real bite. He was exhausted. All he wanted was a nice bath, some soup, and a good bed. Realizing that he had eyes on him, Kanda looked up. Ellis gave him an expectant stare while Din glanced over with badly hidden curiosity. Vanya looked chagrined, and the two of them avoided each other's gaze.

"I don't want to talk about it," Kanda spat out. However, upon realizing that no one was willing to yield their looks, Kanda sullenly sank in his chair and looked at Nthanda. The baby had gone back to sleep and was no help at all. There went his opportunity of distraction...

"Monkeys stole our clothes," Kanda haltingly admitted, not willing to meet their gazes. There was a moment of silence.

"Monkeys... stole your clothes?" Ellis asked.

"Are you deaf as well as blind and directionless?" Kanda quipped, and she ruffled with a 'harrumph!'

"But... dat don't explain y'bad mood wid Missuz Vanya," Din pointed out, gesturing with a finger to the invalid woman. Kanda took a big breath and closed his eyes. Maybe if he held it like that, eventually he'd pass out and he could escape.

But, of course, he couldn't do that. Go figure.

"Fine... well, it was hot yesterday and we went to the river..."


A/N: So, I'm evil, and I'm going to leave it at a cliff hanger. You'll just have to read the next chapter to understand the goofiness that is African travel.

So, big big thanks to karina001, Lotus seed (please, ramble to your heart's content!), and Kai-Chan94. A thanks as well to the anon who gave the comment on the Hamlet reference. It, of course, was used rather incorrectly (as I had not yet read the play), but I like Shakespeare nods nonetheless.

A large thank you to all the people who read this story! I have no further subscribers/favoriteers to report.

And, instead of the usual discussion questions, I've decided to do a sort of poll instead: would a romantic subplot detract too much from the story? And if there was a romance, between which two would it be?

And for the discussion, I want to know what your favorite part of the story has been so far, as well as what's made you cry, made you laugh, and made you downright angry! Tell me your favorite moments and the thoughts accompanying those things. Tell me your own stories as well! Don't be afraid to put just about anything in that review box. It all helps.

God bless you, and watch out for flesh-eating bacteria! If you're anywhere near North or South Carolina and it says not to swim... don't swim.