Howdy, everyone! Heh..sorry I took so long to update. Hopefully it will be worth it! Enjoy!

azab: Umm...maybe you shouldn't kill Zander? Kanone will be along shortly. Well, next chapter, but I don't know how much longer that will be...Anyway, I'll get chappy 9 out of the way, so you can bug CeTe about chapter 10!

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Eyes allowed himself to be pulled along by Zander, who seemed to know right where he was going. Sure enough, a few moments later they ended up in front of Tohma's door. Zander knocked three times, and felt Eyes pull his hand out of the older one's. The latter simply smiled at him, and turned his attention to Tohma as he opened the door, "Hello, Eyes, Zander." he greeted, "Was there something you needed?"

"Actually, there was." Zander replied, glancing to Eyes, telling him to speak. Taking the hint, Eyes stepped foward, "I want to request a short break." he stated. Tohma tilted his head to the side, "A break?" he repeated, nearly laughing, "We've only started the tour, how can you expect to go on a break now ?"

"It's a personal matter." Eyes explained, "Something that needs my attention."

"This tour needs your attention." Tohma corrected him, "I can't just let you leave. You do remember signing that contract, correct?"Eyes glared, "Of course I do, but I'm not quitting the tour, just taking a samll amount of time off."

"It doesn't matter." Tohma countered, "You signed on for every concert, the entire duration of the tour. I can't make an exception for you, I'm sorry." With that, he started to close the door, but Zander halted the action with a hand on the door. Tohma glanced back to him, "Yes?"
"Perhaps we could offer a trade." he suggested.

"A trade?" Tohma asked, a little intrigued, "What kind of trade?"
"You want our little angel here to sing, am I wrong?" he asked, grinning at the interested look on Tohma's face. Eyes glared at the use of the nickname in front of others, but he'd grown accustomed to it due to Ryuichi's overuse of his own nickname.Tohma nodded, "I understand." he said, looking to Eyes, "And you'll be willing to sing if I allow you this break?" he asked.

Singing was the last thing Eyes wanted to do. Even if he was good at it, he never sang for anyone except those really close to him. Sharing this with the entire world seemed so impersonal, and he was completely against it. Still, if it would get him to Germany...Admitting defeat, he nodded, "Yes."Zander smiled, and turned back to Tohma, "Then we're agreed, Eyes will go to Germany and, when he returns, he'll sing on tour." Tohma nodded, "I don't think I need to remind you that you're under contract." he said, looking to the Blade Child, "Return as soon as possible." Eyes hesitated, but finally agreed. If he did find Kanone's sister, and she knew where Kanone was and told him, then what was he supposed to do? He couldn't just ignore the fact that he knew where Kanone was, and also risk him leaving that place before the tour ended. He didn't like the idea of this all being a waste, but he'd cross that bridge if and when he came to it. He also doubted Tohma would tolerate any more absences on his part, and he had nothing else to bribe him with. Tohma smiled, satisfied with the outcome, "Have fun." he said, and went back into his room, shutting the door.

Zander turned to look at Eyes, "Well, we should get packing?" This snapped Eyes out of his daze, "We?" he asked, though he knew what Zander meant."Well, I am the one who convinced Tohma to let you go." the crimson-eyed man pointed out, "Besides, I want to see how everything turns out." Eyes didn't neccessarily want Zander coming along. It wasn't that he thought the other would get in the way or anything, but this was a personal matter, and he really didn't know Zander all that well. The older one made a point, though, he did come up with the idea, even if it was forcing Eyes to agree to something he wouldn't have normally agreed to. It seemed that he was doing it once again, too. Eyes would end up agreeing, whether he wanted to or not, so he decided to just get on with it, "Alright."

"I'll meet you back here in...an hour?" Zander asked, wondering if that was enough time. Eyes agreed, and said that he would be ready, and the two split paths. Back in his room, Eyes tried to quietly pack without alerting anyone to his activities, but with Dark as his roomate, that was about impossible. The purple-haired one peeked his head in Eyes' room, invading any privacy the pianist might have had, "What 'cha doin'?" he asked, walking into the bedroom.

Eyes winced invountarily as he heard Dark's voice fill the empty silence, "Packing." he answered, not wanting to answer the slew of questions that he knew would follow. "What for?" the other one asked, "We're not leaving yet."

"We're not, but I am." Eyes corrected him.Dark opened and closed his mouth a couple times, "Why are you leaving?" he asked, a little sad, "Is it because of me? I really can control myself..." he trailed off, wondering if he really could control himself or not.

"It's not because of you." Eyes assured him, though it wasn't like the other boy was keeping him here, "I have some business to attend to." Dark grinned, and wrapped his arms around Eyes' neck, "See, you do like me." he said.Eyes briefly wondered where that kind of logic came from, but then remembered it was Dark he was talking to...and getting molested by, "Get off." Eyes told him, shrugging him off.Dark took the advice, not wanting another lump on his head, and sat on the bed next to the suitcase Eyes was currently putting clothes in, "So, what kind of business?" he asked."Personal." Eyes replied simply.

"When are you getting back?"
"I don't know." he replied again, getting quickly annoyed with the questions he knew he'd have to answer a million times more when the others found he was leaving.

"Will you be back before the next concert?" the annoying one asked."I suppose that depends on when the next concert is." Eyes pointed out. Dark sighed, giving up on the questions due to the short and uniformative answers he was receiving. He quickly regained interest in something else, though, and that was spreading the word of Eyes' departure. Running out into the living room, he nearly ran into Kouji, "Jeez, Dark, slow down." he suggested.

"Hey, did you hear?" Dark asked, sounding like an old lady with some gossip."Hear what?" Kouji asked, only slightly interested; Dark tended to think that everyday things were very exciting and big news. He wouldn't be suprised if the singer was going to tell him that the microwave cooked food faster than the oven. "Eyes is leaving." he informed Kouji, "He's going to Germany."

"Leaving?" the other asked, confused, "Like, leaving the tour?" Dark shook his head, "No, he's coming back."

"When is he leaving?" came the next question."Ummm..." Dark thought, which didn't prove very useful, "He didn't say. He's in his room packing right now, though." Figuring that the boy himself would have more useful answers than Dark, Kouji walked past the purple-haired one to Eyes' room. Dark sighed, and went off to find someone else to tell.

Miraculously, Kouji had been the only other one to ask him about his trip to Germany, and Eyes wondered if Dark had lost interest in telling other people, or if he just couldn't find anyone else. Not thinking that either of those options were very likely, he figured maybe they were ready to ambush him outside his room. Having already had his things sent downstairs, Eyes hesitantly pulled his door open and stepped out into the hallway. He was suprised when he found it deserted, and even more suspicious. He knew at least Ryuichi would want to say goodbye, though it would be nice if they all just went about their business and let him go about his.

Down in the lobby, Eyes figured he was home free. That was, until he saw all of the tour members crowded down there, talking amongst themselves. The only one that wasn't talking was Ryuichi, who was looking around for Eyes. When he spotted the silver-haired boy, he smiled, "Eyey-chan!" he cried, running over to Eyes, "Is it really true you're leaving?" he asked, hoping that it wasn't.

Unfortunately for Ryuichi, Eyes nodded, "Yes." he replied, and tried to make his way through the crowd. Of course, Ryuichi wasn't about to let that happen, and grabbed onto Eyes' arm, "When are you coming back?" he asked, upset. Eyes gave him the same answer of 'I don't know' that he had given everyone else, but that didn't seem to be enough for Ryuichi, "How can you not know?"

"It won't be long." he promised, hoping that would be enough. It apparently satisfied the hyperactive man because he let go of the pianist's arm.Eyes finally made it to the doors, but was stopped by the group shouting his name. He turned back, annoyed, to see what they wanted \i now . His attention fell to Cagalli, who had called out. She seperated herself from the group, and approached him, smiling, "I hope you have a good time." she said, "We'll all miss you."

Eyes nodded, and looked to the next one, Shuichi, "Do you realize what a mess Ryuichi is going to be?" he asked, more annoyed than anything, "You better get back soon." he turned then paused, "Oh, and have fun!" he said, smiling. Riku was the next, and seemingly last, of the line of tour members. Eyes had the distinct feeling there was someone missing, but he shrugged it off, "Hurry back so we can continue with the tour." she said, in a little of a warning tone, "If you don't, I'll hunt you down!" she joked, smiling. Eyes mentally flinched at these words, and suddenly wondered about the Hunters. They hadn't heard anything from them in a while, and he wondered when they would strike again.

He was shaken out of his daze by someone jumping on him and clinging to his side. He snapped back to reality just in time to support whoever had tackled him and himself so they wouldn't fall over, "I'll miss you!" Nakuru said as she smiled brightly at him. Eyes simply glared at her, and shrugged her off, "Didn't I ask you to not do that again?" he asked. What was it with people hanging off him? Nakuru frowned, "Well, yeah, but this is a special occasion, I thought it would be okay!". "Nakuru." Cagalli said in a warning tone, telling her not to tackle Eyes anymore.

The brown-haired girl just stuck her bottom lip out, "Fine." she then turned to Eyes once again, this time in a civil manner, "Bye!" she exclaimed, resisting the urge to hug the silver-haired boy.

Eyes glanced around to make sure there was no one else that was going to tackle him. When he discovered the coast was clear, he heard the front door open. He turned, and was quite relieved to see Zander there, "Hey, Eyes." he greeted, knowing better than to call him Angel in front of the entire crowd; he had seen the look he got when he said it in front of Tohma, "You ready?"

Eyes quickly nodded, and headed out the door, "Let's go." he whispered urgently, but low enough for only Zander to hear. Without having time to ask questions, Zander smiled at the group, and followed Eyes outside."What was that all about?" he asked, confused as to why Eyes was in such a hurry; was he really that impatient?

Eyes turned to him as he opened the limo door, "I've spent the last half an hour getting tackled, hugged, and being told I'll be missed by people whom I hardly know." he explained. That seemed to be enough because Zander smirked, understanding exactly how they could be in a situation like this, and climbed in the limo after Eyes.

The ride to the airport and even the plane ride was extremely uneventful. Eyes and Zander silently agreed not to make any small talk, seeing as how it would do neither of them any good. Once the plane landed in Bremen, Eyes and Zander got in yet another limo to take them to a hotel. Checking into the hotel proved to be more of a hassle than they would have thought. Apparently, Eyes had a lot more fans in Germany than Japan or England. Well, at least more vocal fans. Zander took care of the lady at the desk, who finally paid attention to him only after Eyes disappeared from sight.

After beating their way through the crowd, Eyes was never more thankful for those police barragades they always had set up at his concerts to keep, what now appeared to be very mild-mannered, fans back. They finally reached the safety of their room, and both let out a bit of a relieved sigh, "I never knew you were so popular here." Zander commented, smirking.

"Neiter did I." Eyes admitted. After recovering from the major glomping that had just occured downstairs, Eyes pulled out the phone book that came standard with every room. He flipped through the pages to the 'H' section, and scanned the thousands of names listed on the pages. Sighing, he closed it, and threw it back under the nightstand. "No luck?" Zander asked, though the answer was obvious.

Eyes shook his head, "No, I didn't expect it to be that simple, though." he thought for a few moments, then shook his head. The entire day had been quite exhausting and he really just wanted to go to sleep. However, he couldn't rest until he found Kanone's sister. Even if he had wanted to pass out right then and there, which he kind of did, his body wouldn't allow him to lay so still while there were so many unanswered questions. He hadn't even considered the possibility that Sonja might not be in Japan, but that fear was fast becoming a reality.

Zander saw the younger one's frustration, and smiled faintly. He walked over to Eyes, who had taken a seat on the bed, and told him to lay down. Eyes was about to object when Zander placed a finger over his lips, "You need to rest." he informed Eyes, as if he didn't already know this, "I'll take care of it." With that promise made, Zander turned and exited the room, leaving a very bewildered Eyes to do the only thing he could: sleep.

Zander found that, without Eyes by his side, the fans didn't get as in the way. A few that had seen him come in with the pianist tried to stop him and ask him questions like why was Eyes here, and they heard he was on tour, so shouldn't he be with the rest of the members? Zander just did his best to ignore them, and finally found his way outside. Looking around, he found exactly what he was looking for, and that was a payphone. He inserted the neccessary change, and dialed the operator's number. He gave the information, glad that he had traveled a lot, and learned to speak German, but his face fell when the operator replied that there were no listings for a Kanone Hilbert.

Sighing, Zander started to walk the streets in hopes of maybe seeing a giant, flashing sign saying 'Kanone's House Here'. Of course, the likelihood of that was about...nevermind, likely was no where near the right word for that possibility. He snickered as he thought of just running around the streets, asking random people if they knew Kanone Hilbert or his sister...what did Eyes say her name was? Sonja? Zander supposed he should get the sister's name right, since that was who they were there to find.

Kicking a pebble on the ground, Zander failed to see the girl he was about to crash into. The girl herself was looking through a bag she was carrying; the perfect recipe for a head on collision. Sure enough, the two collided, sending the girl's bag flying to the ground, "Entschuldigung!" she apologized quickly, bending down to pick up her bag.

"Ich habe Schuld." Zander replied, bending down to help her. He grabbed the envelope that had fallen near his feet, and stood up straight as she did, handing her the envelope.

"Vielen dank." she said, gratefully. She smiled at him, and Zander noticed how striking her features were. She had pinkish purple eyes that seemed to glow with her dazzling smile. Her hair was down to her waist, and was the most exotic red color he had ever seen. It resembled wine moer than anything. Her simple white dress made her amazing features stand out even more.

Zander smiled, "Bitte, gern geschehen." he barely galnced at the envelope he was handing her. He froze at the name printed on it, Kanone Hilbert, and looked up at her, "Du kennst er?" he asked.

She took the envelope, and quickly stuck it in her bag, "Ja, er ist..." she paused, looking at Zander suspiciously, "Wer ist du?"

"Ich heisse Zander." he replied, extending his hand.

She looked at his hand, then him, before smiling and shaking it, "Hallo, Ich heisse Amare." she paused and looked him up and down, "Do you speak English?" she asked, noting that he didn't look german or have the same accent as one would if they had been born in Germany.

Zander smiled, "Yes." he confirmed her suspicions, "So, you said you know Kanone?"

"Yes, how do you know him?" she asked, acting a little protectively of the boy.

"I don't know him personally, but my friend has been searching for him for a while now. We came here because we heard that his sister might be here, and we were hoping that she could tell us where he was."

Amare just stared at Zander as if he had grown a third head, "I don't know who you or your friend are, but you must not know Kanone too well if you think his sister is here." she informed him.

Zander tilted his head to the side, "What do you mean?" he asked, sensing a flaw in their plan. Still, if this girl could point them in the right direction, then it wouldn't matter.

"Forget about it." she said, not wanting to display Kanone's private information to anyone who didn't know him that well, "What's your friend's name?" she asked.

"Eyes Rutherford." Zander told her, and was a bit relieved at the reaction he got.

"Eyes?" she bit her bottom lip. She knew that name all too well, Kanone talked about him all the time, "Alright, I'll tell you where he is, but I want to talk to Eyes directly."

Zander smiled, "Of course." he said, "We're staying in a hotel right up the street." he knew the silver-haired boy would be fast asleep, but he would wake up for this.

Amare took out a pen and a piece of paper form her bag, and scribbled something down, "Here." she said, handing Zander the paper, "This is where I live. Actually, it's Kanone and Sonja's old house, but I'm staying there now. I have to drop off this letter before the post office closes, so why don't you two just take the night off, and stop by tomorrow?"
Zander glanced over the adress, 120 Swan Lane, and smiled at her, "We'll be there." With that, the two said goodbye, and went their seperate ways.

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Jeez...I thought the last chapter was long...Oh, I guess you're probably wondering what they were saying. Here's the conversation translated:

Sure enough, the two collided, sending the girl's bag flying to the ground, "I'm sorry!" she apologized quickly, bending down to pick up her bag.

"It's my fault." Zander replied, bending down to help her. He grabbed the envelope that had fallen near his feet, and stood up straight as she did, handing her the envelope.

"Thank you very much." she said, gratefully.

Zander smiled, "You're welcome." he barely galnced at the envelope he was handing her. He froze at the name printed on it, Kanone Hilbert, and looked up at her, "(Do) you know him?" he asked.

She took the envelope, and quickly stuck it in her bag, "Yes, he is..." she paused, looking at Zander suspiciously, "Who are you?"

"I'm Zander." he replied, extending his hand. (Literally 'I am named Zander')

She looked at his hand, then him, before smiling and shaking it, "Hello, I'm Amare." (Literally 'I am named Amare')

I think that's it...there, now you can impress all your friends and say random german phrases around them! Alright, I don't think there's any other notes for the chappy. I've explained all I'm allowed to for the time being, so ask CeTe if you've got a question. Other than that, see you in a couple chapters!