Me: *faints* She's so fast. Y U SO FAST.

Diana: Motivation.

Me: IT'S FOREIGN

Diana: -_- Read and review

Kira's POV

Okay, it's time to focus now, I thought. If I were a dog, where would I be?

"Maybe we could check the bushes?" I suggested. That seemed like the most reasonable place for a dog to hide, as they couldn't get up in the trees, and there was really no other place to go. I looked around at the bushes currently surrounding us. If this dog had been missing for a couple of days, which it looked like she had, she would need a source of food and water. Which meant..."And we should probably look for sources of food and water," I stated. See, people think I'm dumb, but when I put my mind to it, I think I'm pretty smart. Go Kira!

"She's right," Diana added, which made me feel better. She was the real brains in this group, and her confirmation made me feel like less of an idiot.

"Yeah, since this dog's been missing for a while, it would need food and water. Nice pick, Kira," Inazu added. I was glad everyone was following my train of thought.

"Unless it's dead," Asui said nonchalantly. We all turned to look at him. I was horrified at the thought. If Princess was dead, I could basically kiss my chances of getting a new key goodbye.

"Would we still get a reward if we brought back her dead body?" Inazu asked. Diana tapped her chin, considering, before nodding her head. Maybe I would still get the key after all.

"Technically, we would still be fulfilling the objective." She stated in her factual manner. Asui stopped suddenly in the middle of the road, head raised to the air.

"Do you smell something?" Inazu asked. Asui turned around, staring at his friend like he was the stupidest person in the world.

"No, Inazu, I just like the feeling of the wind in my hair," Asui snorted, "Yeah, I think I got somethin."

"Hey, you do stupid stuff like stopping to feel the wind all the time!" Inazu yelled defensively.

"HEY!" Diana interrupted. "This is no time for a fight!" I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for Diana and her authority. She wasn't afraid of stepping in the middle of something, especially if she found it inconvenient or a waste of her time. I figured this would fit into both of those categories.

"What are you smelling?" I asked. Apparently I was the only one who realized the sooner we found this dog, the sooner we'd be able to go home and get showers and a change of clothes. Or maybe I was just the only one who cared about stuff like that. Was I really the only one out of all of us that found all this traveling through the woods gross? There was dirt, and bugs, and who knows what in all that foliage around. Figures the guys wouldn't mind, but did Diana really not care, either? Maybe they were all just too focused on the task at hand to be bother by such nuisances. When we got back home, though, I was definitely getting to shower first.

"It smells like...earth," Asui said. Inazu sighed exasperatedly.

"Really? We're in a forest and you smell earth?!" Maybe Ina was bothered by this environment, too, and that's why he was getting so grouchy and moody. Now that I really thought about it, these boys may not have a place to stay. What if they couldn't take showers right when we got back? The thought disturbed me, but did not make me any more willing to give up my shower time.

"No. Like fresh earth. The wet, squishy kind." His description made me shiver in disgust.

"Do you mean mud?" Diana asked, raising an eyebrow. Yes, mud was a much nicer way to put what Asui just said. Mud was also a sign of water. And where there was water, there was almost always some sort of food. Which meant we were close to where we should be. Or, at least, where I thought we should be. But Diana agreed, so it was definitely where we should be. I was so ready to leave this icky place. What if there were creepy, scary, dangerous animals in the water? And how far away were we if we needed some sort of help? I just hoped everything would work out, and we could be on our way back home with more money than we came with, and a new key for me. Then I tripped and fell face first into some dirt.

"Hey!" I called out. Were there really three other people who were paying attention and nobody warned me about this root it the middle of the path? "Why didn't you tell me about this root?!" I dusted off my knees and elbows.

"I guess we thought you were paying more attention than that," Diana said, casting a concerned look over her shoulder to me.

"Or we thought your boobs would pad your fall," Asui called over his shoulder. Diana's fist went flying and Asui's neck cracked as his face was punched farther to the side than I thought humanly possible. I huffed, continuing to dust my shorts and shirt. Inazu nudged Asui and whispered something in his ear, triggering a snort from the latter.

"Are we almost there?" I asked. Fatigue was starting to kick in, and I was ready to stop for the day. We'd been walking for what felt like forever, and even though I'd taken a little nap while Ina and Dia were talking to that Guild Master guy, I was still feeling kinda tired.

"Even if we get there," Diana pointed out. "We may not find anything."

"But we would have a source of water, even if we don't find any food," Inazu pointed out. He was so sensible. It would definitely cancel out all of my crazy flightiness. I was totally sure we would make a perfect match. It would be a whirlwind romance, just like in the movies.

"Are we sure we have enough food?" I asked, finally noticing how hungry I was. That probably meant everyone else was probably twice as hungry. How nice it would be if my powers included summoning food from the Celestial Spirit world. At least I knew that if I fell out, Inazu could and would carry me until we got to a resting point. He was so sweet and caring. And the yellow hair, diamond-cutting jawline, gorgeous blue eyes...that, oddly, reminded me of Mira. Ah, Mira, bearer of foods, back at home. I suddenly felt kind of nauseous and dizzy. This thinking was too much. Besides, I really needed to start paying attention, or next I knew, I would be walking into a lake. Which is when I noticed the sounds. It was as quiet any more, the air filled with the sound of rushing water. We had finally made it. I looked around at the bushes, covered in berries, and even the trees had some sort of fruit. It was like walking into an oasis in the desert, except this was very real.

"Are we sure any of this is safe to eat?" Diana asked. She looked guarded as she stared around, unsure of anything. "Because I really don't feel like toting a dead body all the way back to the guild."

"Well, if Asui drops dead, I guess we'll know," Inazu grunted. He jerked his chin at the Slayer, who was picking bushes clean of berries.

"Maybe we could just stop here for the day? Or at least for a little while," I said, plopping down on a dry patch of ground.

"No. We have to keep moving," Diana droned. She was so boring sometimes, always focused on the task at hand, and never having any fun. That's why she had me; to spice up her ordinary life.

"I think we're all getting a little tired," Ina stated. My heart fluttered. He was so kind! So considerate!

"Not me. Full meal? I'm good to go!" Asui laughed, patting his full stomach. "Also, the job's almost done. We just have to start heading back." I stared at him in confused amazement.

"What do you mean?" Diana asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Well, that started following us a while back, I thought it was some random rat or something." He pointed at a small, rat-like creature hanging around by Diana's feet.

"WHAT is THAT?!" She shrieked. He shrugged, then whistled.

"Come 'ere, Princess." The rat thing trotted over on all fours before plopping down by his feet. Asui grinned. "I guess it's our dog."

Me: Okay...0.o it's raining like the apocalypse outside my house as I post this...lol! Review please! Thankiessss~