Baron turned the map left, then tilted it right. However, no matter which way he looked at it, he still couldn't figure out where Haru lived.

Once he'd made the decision to find Haru, Belinda had given him a duffel bag with "anything a young man could possibly want or need" and a slip of paper with Haru's address on it.

He frowned at the paper, then tugged on his collar. Belinda had also provided new, 'trendy' clothes for him to wear, but the shirt was unbearably itchy against his bare neck. He longed for the soft cotton of his suit, but Belinda refused to give him one.

"You'll stick out like a sore thumb," she'd said. "Someone might mistake you for an escapee from a mental hospital, or something."

He'd read about those. They were certainly places he never intended to visit.

He just couldn't figure out this map! It wasn't that Baron was incapable of understanding one, but the map he'd purchased (the one thing Belinda had forgotten to provide) had so much ink on it he could barely distinguish streets from words.

Sighing with frustration, Baron collapsed on a bench and let his head fall back. Really, finding one girl shouldn't have been that difficult. He'd certainly accomplished harder tasks. He found the entrance to the Cat Kingdom, survived the eccentricities of the Cat King, and rescued the same girl from multiple dangers. Why was a map giving him so much—

"Excuse me?"

Baron brought his head forward and opened his eyes. A woman pushing a baby stroller had stopped in front of him, her dark eyes gazing at him with concern. "Are you okay?" she asked, wrinkles forming on her brow.

Baron quickly nodded. "Oh no, I'm fine," he replied, grinning. "I'm just a little lost is all."

"Oh? Maybe I can help," she said, brightening. "I know Tokyo like the back of my hand."

"Really? Well…" He reached into his pocket and dug out the slip of paper with Haru's address scrawled on it. "I'm trying to find this address," he said, handing the woman the paper.

She glanced at the address, then smiled. "I know where this is! My sister lives in that neighborhood. If you'd like, I can show you the way."

"Oh no, I don't want to trouble you. If you just give me the directions, I can find it just fine."

"Nonsense! I can take you. I was heading that way anyway."

"If you're sure…"

"It's no big deal, really." The woman extended her hand. "I'm Akiko by the way."

He grasped her hand and shook it, surprised at the sensation of bare skin touching bare skin, and the way his hand engulfed hers. Normally it was his hand that was dwarfed.

"Do you have a name too?" she asked after he'd gripped her hand longer than is customary.

"I'm…" He racked his brain for a name. He liked this woman, but was still a little uneasy about giving her his real name.

He recalled the last book he'd read, before Belinda had showed up and tampered with his very existence. The author's name floated back to mind… Hans was too strange, but maybe…

"I'm Christian," he answered, releasing Akiko's hand. "I appreciate your assistance."

Akiko waved her hand. "Don't even worry about it," she replied, her cheeks tinged pink.

Baron shouldered his bag and stood. Another oddity: he towered over Akiko. The only person he ever towered over was Belinda. Inwardly shaking his head, he fell into step beside the woman and they headed down the sidewalk.

"So, where are you from?" Akiko asked after a moment.

"Oh, England," he replied. Belinda had once told him that he had a British accent, despite his German-sounding name.

"London?"

"Yes."

"Wow." Akiko sighed. "I've never even been outside of Tokyo." Her sadness only lasted a moment before she brightened again. "So, who's at this address? It's a completely residential area. A friend, maybe…?"

Baron felt his cheeks go warm. "Yes, a friend of a friend actually. I met her… him, a few years ago and we decided to get together again."

"Oh." The woman raised her eyebrows. "A him, huh? Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then how come your cheeks are red?"

Baron immediately stiffened, restraining from touching his face. Instead, his eyes glanced around frantically for something to distract her. They fell to the baby stroller.

"Is this your baby?" he asked, looking down pointedly at the white stroller, decorated in tiny pastel flowers.

"Oh, yeah!" Akiko's dark eyes lit up excitedly. "You wanna see her?"

Before he could answer however, Akiko had already stopped and was leaning over the stroller. He peered around her as she lifted out a yellow bundle and cradled it in her arms. She pulled back a corner, and Baron was gazing into the round little face of a sleepy baby. She wriggled around in her mother's arms and opened her liquid eyes. Her tiny lashes fanned out on her cheeks as she blinked before opening her little pink mouth and yawning.

Baron's heart melted. "What's her name?" he asked softly, reaching out to brush a finger against her soft cheek.

"Kaoru," Akiko murmured. "My husband and I love her to pieces. She looks just like him, too."

Electricity shot through his arm and out his fingers, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He jerked his hand back to his side as his heartbeat turned erratic. The nightmare from the night before flooded his head as Akiko's words echoed in his brain, and he had to grab onto the stroller's handle before his knees gave out.

Akiko shifted her baby around in her arms as she reached out to touch his arm. "Are you okay?" she asked as her brow creased again. Baron flinched at her touch.

"I'm fine," he said, forcing a smile as he straightened. "Please, don't worry."

"Are you sure?" She carefully tucked the baby back into the stroller as she eyed him suspiciously. "You looked ready to faint."

"Really, I'm fine," he continued, striding forward. However, Akiko had to grab his shoulder and steer him around a mailbox he almost walked into.

They continued in an awkward silence, Akiko keeping a gentle hold of his shirt as Baron walked unseeingly down the sidewalk, desperately trying to push images of kittens with long head fur and dark eyes out of his head.

After another block and a half, they stopped in front of a little white house with a strands of ivy beginning to creep up the gutter, and pink and yellow flowers poking up around the concrete stepping stones. Akiko smiled as Baron gazed at the mailbox, softly tracing the characters painted on the tin.

"Well, I hope your reunion with your friend goes well," Akiko said, turning to continue up the sidewalk.

"Wait!" She stopped and turned around. "Thank you, Miss Akiko," Baron said, bowing gracefully. Akiko giggled and gave a clumsy curtsy as Baron straightened. "Is there anything I can do for you, in return…?"

Akiko waved away his offer. "No, I don't need anything. That dreamy look in your eyes as you looked at the mailbox was thanks enough, really." She turned to go again. "Have fun!" And then she was walking away, the baby stroller bouncing slightly as she crossed the street and disappeared into a back alley.

Baron turned back to the little house. It was definitely hers. The characters on the mailbox made that clear enough. Carefully he stepped through the gate and went for the door. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his hand to the door and knocked one, two, three times. After a moment he heard footsteps, and the door was flung open. Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, he smiled.

"Hello Haru."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO