A/N.: Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you really much for liking my one-shot (for the views, reviews and the ones who favorized it), and I would like to warn you beforehand that THIS ISN'T A NEW CHAPTER! It's just after thinking about again Starlight AT's review about how my one-shot was lengthy piece and also from Bladedknight about the sentences being awkward (I'll try to improve my writing style next time), which is why I decided to separate it into a two-shots instead, hoping that it would be easier for the readers like this (sorry if this proved to be unneeded attention). There would be nothing new here so if you don't want to read the same thing, you can feel free to not do so. OH! But I have decided to put a review corner to answer or thanks the people who reviewed (more for the Guests and the others, I have already through PM for Starlight AT and ShiragaKizuato). I sincerely apologize if I disappointed the readers who expected a continuation...

"...I just felt a chill running down on my spine, is that the Rich girl and Kasukabe's doings?" As he was searching through the forest where Kuro Usagi disappeared, Izayoi couldn't help but rubs his arm to warm up himself a little, even earlier he sneezed a few times, it wasn't like he felt cold or that he was allergic or anything so why?

'More importantly, where is that stupid rabbit anyway? Making someone search her like that... To think that [Moon Rabbits] could already run that fast even as children... no, because she is that small, there might be some clues she overlooked behind?' He did slammed his fist on his chest and proudly said 'Leave it to me!' to the two ladies so if he were to come back without Black Rabbit, wouldn't it be utterly humiliating for someone as prideful as him? Especially if the Black Rabbit in question got herself lost somewhere where he couldn't reach, he remembered her words about how she never went outside of her hometown in the past but also never left the Community before, if he doesn't find her quickly...

"―Oh? If it isn't Sakamaki Izayoi-dono from the [No-Name] Community...?"

"...!" Izayoi was quickly back to his senses, to think that he didn't noticed someone approaching despite his superior senses (though they might be losing against Kasukabe or Black Rabbit and a few others) just because he was too immersed into his own thoughts of worry for his comrade's wellbeing, such a blunder would cost his life during battle! But upon seeing the figure of who had approached him, Izayoi quickly relaxed the battle stance that he was preparing. "If I remember well... you are the unicorn from back then..."

"Yes, I am still grateful for your help for last time." A body covered in a beautiful bluish white gloss and the lone horn that stems from the forehead. This is a horse that is commonly known as the unicorn. The 'last time' he was referring at was surely when the problem childrent trio encountered him facing his race's worst enemy [Batsu] and they took care of it in an instant, in return, he gave them a unicorn's horn as a sign of gratitude (Kuro Usagi was aware of it much later though so she firstly gave them a scolding on their actions on their knees).

"Consider us as even then, the horn that you gave last time helped to save my life after all." When he was saved by Jack and send back to the Community covered with wounds, it was Lily who treated his wounds with the help of the unicorn's corn after all, it was thanks to that that he was still alive here and now. "But if you still feel overly grateful, I want you to answer one of my question."

"If I can be of any help towards you I would gladly do so."

"Thanks. Well for starters, did you happen to see Black Rabbit―or rather a smaller version of the [Moon Rabbit] running somewhere around here?"

"The [Moon Rabbit]? Did something perhaps happened that would need my assistance?"

"Nah, it's alright. Just answer my question and it should be enough."

"If you say so..." The unicorn reluctantly accepted Izayoi's ask, he thought that it should be improper to further want to intrude into other's business despite his good will to help them. "Well, I doubt that what I have seen was actually the [Moon Rabbit] that I knew but I have indeed seen someone who ressembled her besides for a younger version with black hair, I tried to call out to her but I doubt she heard me, it seemed that something was occuping her mind―" Confirmed, it was her.

"I see, and do you know where she was running towards?"

"I belive it was the place where Shirayukihime-sama used to own prior to join the [No-Name] Community..."

"You have my thanks there!" Izayoi was about to run over there before, "Wait!" He was called back by the unicorn, "Though I know it may sound arrogant of my part, would you like to ride on my back? It can make us gain time with it to catch her up."

Izayoi seemed to consider it for a second before shaking his head, "No, it's alright. I have pretty much confidence in my physical abilities and I can assure that my speed don't even lose to Black Rabbit's!" With that he run ahead and left a gust of wind behind.

The unicorn chuckled slightly as he was immediately reminded of the time when the trio was summoned, he proposed the same thing to Black Rabbit and she answered in a similar manner. 'Is there some kind of fate at work?' He couldn't help but think like this before running back to his earlier activies, if it was this young man, he could without doubt find her with no problems, he didn't knew why but he was assured so.

'...Found her.' Izayoi thought almost in irony; the place where she was was the same exact place where he challenged Shirayukihime, and strangely close to the place where they were first summoned too. It was a good thing that the snake girl wasn't in her territory currently and at the Community, well she probably would forgive Black Rabbit for intruding but he is on another story, and knowing her berserk anger, he couldn't be sure of being able to protect the current Black Rabbit while fighting her.

"..." It was how Izayoi found her; curling herself into a ball, her arms crossed over her knees that were retracted at her chest, he couldn't even see her face but it was pretty much sure without the need of checking that she may have cried here, all alone and being hidden from all views. Her lone figure was being illuminated by the moonlight, now that he thought of it from what he heard from Jin, his Highness called her 'Goddess of the Moon' right? As if, now she was just a little kid who only had the moonlight as ally as if the latter was comforting the former. In the end, her blue hair would have reflected the light better than her darker one though...

He then was trying to be as silent he could as he walked step by step closer in a very careful manner, he didn't knew if her ears were still connected to the Little Garden's core but even without that, she has an extremely good sense of hearing so for now he has to avoid any branches or things that can make noises upon being stepped on though it is more difficult to do than to say as he was surronded by grass.

'But sneaking behind her may scares her too, so let's give up that idea... more importantly, it would be too much of an hassle to walk carefully like that, what do I look like? An handicaped person?' Izayoi gave up on the tactic that didn't seemed something he would do usually and decided to do something more like himself―

"OI!" ―He didn't sneak behind her like some kind of assassin but instead decided to call out to her to announce his presence directly. ...But it seems that he didn't adjusted the intonation of his voice correctly since the little rabbit girl covered both her rabbit ears down on her head with her hands while flinching before looking at him with a mixture of shock and fear. Now that he thought oabout it, great hearing go with sensitive ears, wasn't it? Though it seems that he didn't cared much about it up until now, since the three of them were always tugging at Black Rabbit's ears for fun.

"...Uuh?!" After recovering from the loud 'surprise attack', Black Rabbit send a fearful glance towards Izayoi before preparing to escape once more but it didn't happened so easily unfortunately―

"Gotcha." Because Izayoi already closed the distance between them and grabbed her by the collar and started to hang her like some kind of cat or freshly washed doll. Just like the times when he stopped kicked doors open and instead walked into the rooms through the windows; it can be considered as a great progress for someone like Izayoi (grabbing her arm was also an option but she could have escaped more easily like that and to tell the truth, it would have been far less funny than to see her struggles from his hold).

"L–let go! Don't touch me and just let go of me!" And as expected, she started to shake her arms and legs in order to free herself but it was useless since he was grabbing her by the collar; so he would just enjoy the show until she got tired on her own and then he would finally begin to try to speak to her, it would be useless to try to speak to someone who doesn't want to listen to you after all, if tired, her will power to fight would be less strong than earlier. Thus, here the beginning of the countdown!

[One hour later on...]

'I didn't thought that she would keep it going during one full hour though... I had understimated her here―small or big―[Moon Rabbits] are sure stubborn, aren't they...?' Izayoi didn't expected to be tired of hanging a squirming rabbit girl on his arm during one hour would be so tiring, did he started to get too old or lazy? As if. Though her teary reactions were worthy of it. "So now are you finally willing to listen to me? I won't chase you to cook you or anything so don't try to run away from now on, 'kay?"

"..." Sullen and teary from fatigue of her earlier actions, Black Rabbit only nodded while pouting and sulking; it seems that she understand now. So Izayoi decided to put her down finally, if she tried to run away or anything he would immediately catch her up though.

After her feets finally touches the ground again, Black Rabbit let a sigh of relief before sitting down on the grass silently. Izayoi was surprised over the action and was wondering if she was too tired to stand up until the little rabbit girl send him an hesitant glance (or was it a glare?) which confused him even more. And the fact that she has been opening her mouth and closing it like a blobbing fish didn't helped him to understand either, after a few attempts she finally spoke out: "You wanted to speak, right? So go ahead and speak!"

"...Oh. So you were waiting for me to speak out?"

"...I promised to listen after all."

"Good to know that you became more obedient. There we go." Izayoi sat down near Black Rabbit which make her go backward of a few meters in a rapid motion, "Wh–why did you suddenly came closer for?!"

"How can I talk to you if you are so far away? I already promised that I won't do anything so come closer!"

"Sh–shouldn't it be fine with that distance?"

"So you just want me to shout everything to you?"

"...Ahem." After coughing slightly in embarrassment with a red blush quite visible on her face, Black Rabbit walked closer to Izayoi and sat next to him. The young man couldn't help but think that she seemed more like a scaredy cat than a rabbit. Black Rabbit then looked at him with a little frown on her face, "So what do you want to talk about then?"

"The rich girl is saying that she is sorry for what happened earlier."

"...'Rich girl'...?" Black Rabbit cocked her head on the side, it seemed that she couldn't recognize of who he was talking about, not that he could blame her for that and he wasn't one to call her by her name after all. "The lady in red dress that slapped you earlier."

"...!" Black Rabbit immediately looked down as she realized now of who he was talking about, Izayoi then continued to speak. "Despite her looks of spoiled princess, she is a compassionate person. When she reacted like that earlier is because she thought you were making a bad joke. She wanted to apologize to you but you ran away before she could and thus it ended with me searching for you. If she went after you you may have ran away again after all."

Black Rabbit looked up slightly and Izayoi could see that her gaze soften a bit just like when she talked to Lily, "...But still why are you people are going that far for me? You guys seems to know me but I don't know you... though I admit I may have did something bad about that fox girl... what was her name again?"

"Her name is Lily."

"Lily... I see, I will remember it when I'll go apologize to her." Izayoi smiled at that, now all he hopes is that Lily would be understandive enough to accept it but knowing her, it should be fine.

"However answer to my earlier question; why you people are going so far for me?" When Black Rabbit looked at him with her big innocent eyes, it makes Izayoi pauses a little. ...Now he regretted a little his decision of coming searching for her all alone.

'...How should I answer now?' There was no way he could say that to the three Outlanders, Black Rabbit is an important existence who granted each of their personal wishes by summoning them to Little Garden. Did you saw how they reacted when she was about to open the present bag they gave her? Besides none of them could look her in the eye during that moment. And now here he is trying to say the common answer they shares about her question all alone, where is comrades when you needs them seriously? The two others must surely have laughed at him if they were to see that. But he couldn't turn around the matter while trying to avoid it so he has no choice but to try to say it honestly.

"Well... you know, members of a same Community are comrades, right? And comrades must help each other in need." Okay, it wasn't the entire truth, but you can't blame him there! Sakamaki Izayoi isn't someone's honest to begin with!

"'Comrades of the same Community'... huh?" Black Rabbit muttered those foreign words that rolled on her tongue with a slightly guilty look before looking at Izayoi in a more peaceful manner compared to her earlier glares that can probably kill someone if which was ironical since rabbits were supposed to be cute and innocent creatures unable to hurt a fly (from the girls' opinions though). "You... say the same things as Canaria, don't you? And you are also similar as her..." The adult Black Rabbit also said that when he was braiding her hair after she lost her rabbit ears temporarily but for the loli Black Rabbit to also say that... guess that it is truly like mother like son, huh?

"―Oh. By 'Canaria', I mean―"

"The strategist of the Community, right? Yep, I know her."

"I–is that so...? Well if you truly are part of the same Community as her then you should know, right. Look like it was some unneeded attention from me... sorry."

"It's fine. You probably thought that I didn't knew and tried to explain it to me, right? I don't mind. For a newcomer like me who doesn't even know the real name of his own Community." Unknowingly, his hand landed on Black Rabbit's head.

"FUGYAA~?!" Oh? Even though he didn't pulled her ears, he heard the comeback of a familiar scream she used to make when he was doing so.

"Hm?" His hand was quickly but more gently than before, squatted away as Black Rabbit had her hands on the place his hand patted with a red expression on her face, wherever she was angry or embarrassed, Izayoi didn't knew. It seems that he was better at reading the adult Black Rabbit than the kid version.

"Y–you shouldn't do that so suddenly!" She said hastily, fluster filling her voice while Izayoi just cocked his head in return. "Why?"

"Wh–why, you ask...?!" The girl was looking at him as if he asked a stupid question, however Izayoi made sure to not pull on her ears so she shouldn't be hurting, right? "It didn't hurt right?"

"W–well..."

"So shouldn't it be fine?"

"Fweh...? M–maybe, yes... I–I mean no! Does that man doesn't know the definition of 'delicacy'?! ...Wait, that word has nothing to do with the current situation, right? Touching a girl so directly like that shouldn't be fine, and yet... Oh. That might be I'm still a child..."

"What are you muttering to yourself?" Izayoi looked at Black Rabbit who was back into a ball-like shape as she hugged her head and muttering incomprehensible things to herself, strangely her hair didn't turned pink, maybe it was only a thing possible when her hair was blue? But now that he thought about, he may did it unconsciously because her current build was similar to his adopted younger siblings; Homura and Suzuka's.

After finally taking a deep breath, Black Rabbit went back to him after another cough. "A–anyway! Please at least warn before doing something like that! I need to mentally prepare myself for it."

"For what? And besides if I warn you beforehand, it wouldn't be as fun than to see your surprised expression now."

"Ugh..." When Izayoi nodded seriously to his words, Black Rabbit just sighed heavily before bonking him on the head with her tiny fist. "Geez... Why do you need to be similar with Canaria in that part too...?"

"Yeah, yeah. And so? What about Canaria?"

Black Rabbit suddenly pouted and huffed a little as she crossed her arms, "Actually it would have been better if she just pats my head, but she comes at me with flying hug attacks, and since she is surprisingly athletic, it is like a struggle to escape from her. I–I'm a little glad to hear her say that I'm cute but if she could greet me normally instead of those usual actions... and she treats me like a pet too, making me sits on her lap and stroking under my chin."

"Ahahaha! Seriously?! Yeah, it seriously sounds like an hassle to deal with!" The scene was just too funny to imagine; Canaria pursueing a little Black Rabbit just for the sake of cuddling with her! Rather, the way she treats her isn't supposed it be with a cat instead of a rabbit? Oh, he almost wanted to be here to witness it!

Izayoi's sudden roar of laughter made Black Rabbit jump of some small meters in surprise. "Is, is it that funny? Personally, I think that it is troublesome!"

"But it's not like you entirely hated it, right?"

"W–well..."

"See?" When Izayoi pointed it out, Black Rabbit blushed until the tips of her ears but her hair still didn't turned pink. "Well, I do admit that sometimes that woman's overprotectiveness on her family can be suffocating. But she is always thinking the best for them so don't blame her for this."

"Mm...? Why do you know that?" Black Rabbit was confused over the fact that Izayoi know Canaria so well, which was far beyond the relationship of fellow Community comrades from the fond tone in his voice.

Izayoi chuckled slightly before giving away his answer and was prepared to see her reaction to it, "Because I'm a member of that said 'family'."

"...EH―?!" Black Rabbit immediately frowned upon hearing his words, and her face adopted a comical expression that reminds the ones he saw in the humoristic mangas he bought for Canaria during her stay in the hospital. It seems that you can read what she is thinking just by looking at her face and he could almost read the 'IMPOSSIBLE?!', it took Izayoi most of his willpower to not burst out of laughing here and roll himself on the floor while hugging his stomach, remember that this little Black Rabbit is more delicate-hearted than the usual one! It took him a while to get her talking more casually to him, he wasn't going to waste all those efforts!

"I–impossible, I mean, Canaria is still young right? ...Or at least she told me that she was... so having children so big already is..." Black Rabbit herself seemed to be unsure of it, just what did that old hag told her? Izayoi couldn't help but thinks so... and he didn't knew until recently that she was already over 200 years despite her looks in her twenties. For some reason, he felt the envy of teasing her building up inside him...

"She may looks young, but she is old as a granny (by now), a real smelly old hag!" He said it so seriously that she can only believe him, the kind of face he make when he is battling for example. "E–EH?! Is that true?!"

"And she already have two other children besides me. The two of them should be around your age."

"Ha–hawawaaa..." Black Rabbit took a mortified shocked look as she started to tremble under the unexpected revelation, "I–I've heard that asking a women's age was really rude, but I never realized that it was to such an extend... Hm? But wait... C–Canaria looks in her twenties, and she already have a big son and two children of my age, which means that she must had given first birth... at the age of...!"

If Canaria was hearing that, she would probably kill him, Izayoi had no doubt over it but the reaction was still worth of it, besides the old hag is already dead to begin with so there was no way her wrath could reach him. It was now to finish it. "Though we aren't related by blood."

"...Fweh?" Black Rabbit who was full of panics now looks at Izayoi with an even more confused glance, seeing that it was working, Izayoi then faked a confused look at his turn, "Eh? What's wrong Black Rabbit? Don't tell me you thought that Canaria birthed the three of us?"

"Eh―Um, ah... S–so that's mean―" Black Rabbit's face flares even more in realization, not to Izayoi's words but that of her own misunderstanding. Izayoi, who saw that, gave his best to keep the mischevious smirk on his face down and then tried to give an innocent smile totally unlike himself as he repeated the next words as if he was only stating a fact totally unrelated to his teasing: "She only adopted us."

"..." Though there was no sounds coming from Black Rabbit's mouth, her face was entirely red as a tomato to the point of steam was coming out of her head like an overheating machine and she was trembling slowly as she quickly covered her burning face with her small hands as Izayoi snickered wickeldy before he took another fake innocent voice as he asks her with fake worry, "Oh? What's wrong Black Rabbit? Is there something wrong? Did you thought that Canaria gave birth to me when again? To think that the great [Moon Rabbit] heiress was having naughty thoughts at such an young age when she shouldn't even know that kind of things, how terrifying the future looks like to me!"

"~!" The Black Rabbit Rocket is prepared to fire in space! Izayoi is currently preparing himself for the upcoming impact. Countdown starts now into, 3... 2... 1...!

"―Y–y–y–you... YOU BIG IDIOT~!" A red faced (wherever it was embarrassment or anger) Black Rabbit stood up and shouted to the great night sky, her desperate cry resonated at meters away to the point of Izayoi was sure that their Community even heard it, Black Rabbit then start to use her tiny fists to hit Izayoi's head; of course it doesn't make much effects on the superhuman that defy human common sense named Sakamaki Izayoi (besides Black Rabbit is currently small-sized and so is her usual physical strength; or rather it seemed more like a granddaughter massaging her grandpa's shoulders).

'Oh? So that's how she reacted before gaining the paper fan skill, huh?' Izayoi thought with faint amusement but also relief washed him over when he noticed that there were still similarities into the reactions of the little Black Rabbit's and the bigger one; so it isn't like her heart entirely died, maybe it was thanks to Canaria's efforts back then... Ah, talking about Canaria―

"Black Rabbit, I want to ask you something about Canaria..."

"E–even if you try to change the subject it won't work~!" Black Rabbit angrily puffed her cheeks and didn't stopped the tiny blows on his head, but Izayoi continued, totally unfazed. "Back then before you run away, why did you called Canaria a liar?"

"...!" Surprised by his question, Black Rabbit stopped to hit his head and released her fists slowly. She looked almost midly embarrassed, just like a child who got caught by his parent in the middle of doing a nasty prank. It was the words she said just before running away, she didn't expected him to hear it though because it was faint as a whisper. Izayoi on the other hand was quietly waiting for her to explain herself patiently and didn't pressed her just like he did in the past. After 10 seconds, 50 seconds, one minute... Black Rabbit finally opened her mouth: "―Well... it was because I thought she lied back then... when she told me that 'the world is harsh but kinder than what you think'..."

"...Continue." Though he wanted to sound more passive, it seems that his reply sounded more like a command, Black Rabbit flinched slightly in response but didn't close herself like she did earlier and instead continued to speak out as if she was searching for which word to use. "Erm... I lost my family and all my clanmates during the attack Azi Dahaka launched on us, I barely survived because Canaria appeared and saved me... I–it's not like I hated humans to begin with! It's just that... when Canaria saved me, I knew that there are still kind humans around... but humans are also the reason for why Last Embryos like Azi Dahaka were born. Of course I don't mean something like 'humans should never existed to begin with', there are still a lot unrelated people to this so to accuse them for that... but I can't deny the fact that I never thought it. And I didn't knew wherever I should hate humans or try to get along with them anymore... but Canaria always tried to get me choose the latter, I don't hate her and I know that all her actions are sinceres. But..."

"You're afraid that she might turn into one of the humans you hate?"

"..." Black Rabbit guiltily cast her gaze down and Izayoi sighed as he passed a hand in his hair.

Black Rabbit mistrusted humans as she couldn't communicate with them properly anymore after what happened to her clan, she wanted to trust Canaria who tried so hard to get along with her sincerely but couldn't bring herself to do so in fear that something similar to what she had been forced to endure start again, which is why she put her distance between everyone. There are people you want to trust and other that you don't want to, but to be betrayed by the people you trust the most is far more painful than to be hurt by some strangers. Black Rabbit was afraid that if she start to trust humans again and it fails, that it may left an uncurable scar in her heart and would lead her to break again. He had no right to deny her fear because in the past he too wished for someone whom he could trust to appear and was disappointed over the fact that it never happened for a while to the point of distrusting others, however...

"―She won't become like that."

"Eh...?" Black Rabbit made a sound of surprise while Izayoi just laid on the grass, with hands behind his head acting like a pillow as he directed his gaze towards the night sky, the sky was clouded and the stars had yet came out.

"The Canaria that you described and the Canaria that I know are exactly the same, so I can assure you that she won't change. After all not having a double-face is a sign of sincerity. And despite being a dreamer, Canaria is also a realist, if there was even less than 1% of chance to save someone, as long as it didn't reached zero, she wouldn't hesitate to use everything she could to reach that goal. Canaria is really caring about you, I can tell from personal experience." He can at least assure her that much, not to ease her worries or anything but just assure her that Canaria was someone that can be trusted. After all when nobody found him, Canaria was the only one who searched for him throughfully and managed to find him. Then she took him to all kind of places to give him back the envy of living, to show him that the world could be a more beautiful place that he could thought of, even with the current ressources left from what humanity already wasted.

"..." Black Rabbit looked at him as if she was astonished but light of hope were coming back in her red empty peeples, Izayoi who caught the glance turned his own towards her and frowned, "What?"

Black Rabbit who seemed to be still in daze shook her head in a slow manner as she told him the reason of her shock, "No, it just... I never expected you to be the type of person who will support her verbally like that."

"Hoh? You sure know your stuff, but how do you know that?" Was she perhaps slightly influenced by her older self?

"Because of the way you told me of her earlier wasn't that... How should I say it... rude?"

"I'm always rude, it's not like it was a first."

"Well, I could tell it at least..."

"Heh? So you've been listening to me that intently, huh?"

"I–it's not like that...!"

"Continue like that, little rabbit. Keep on like that and you'll grow into a fine teasing material, that's just what's missing to our Community."

"W–what does that even mean in first place..." Black Rabbit pouted at him at first and Izayoi stared her back, the silence last for one full minute before―

"Pff―!"

"Hahahaha!" Both of them exploded with laughter, or at least Izayoi was laughing and openly while Black Rabbit first began to giggle, trying to keep her voice quiet before finding it impossible and started to laugh her heart out too. Soon all the air were now filled with their laughter and no more tension or awkward move were present anymore. Both of them continued to laughs until tears got in the corner of their eyes and that their stomachs started to hurt in return, it was then that Izayoi remarked that he never laughed like that with Black Rabbit as they always made fun of her for their own amusement, this feeling isn't bad either in a way. And more than anything, she started to smile again; a smile full of energy like the ones he used to see and that he start to miss recently, he had no idea of how much Black Rabbit had impact on his life (and not only his) and would probably never knew if this event never happened.

After finally calming down and took a deep breath, Izayoi sat back on the ground and then noticed that despite the Outlanders spending the majority of time with Black Rabbit, they didn't knew much about her while she knew too much about them, so to re-adjust that balance, Izayoi asked Black Rabbit about things the older her would probably never tell them while he had the chance. In return, he told her about his first meeting with Canaria, where she took him to, the adoption of Homura and Suzuka but of course he kept the fact that she died off, it was too early for her to learn this anyway. He would eventually tell the older her about that but the current young her still need an emotional support until she become mentally strong enough to accept it on her own.

"But still travels, huh? Canaria promised to me too that she would take me outside too when I'll be older enough to protect myself." Now that her expression softened quite a lot, Black Rabbit showed an envious smile which made Izayoi remember about what she said earlier about how she never went to the [Underwood]. As the heiress of her clan, she must have been overprotected thus never left her hometown from the yearning that he could hear in her voice. He originally thought that just like him, Canaria surely must have taken her outside, but...

'In the end... that promise went unfulfilled, right?' Without doubt, Canaria sincerely wanted her to see the world she likes so much just like she did for him, but before being able to do so, she was send to another world due to the loss in a Gift Game and during her absence, Black Rabbit gained enough strength to grow up in appearance, Canaria was unable to return which makes Black Rabbit thought she was captured by the enemies all this time. From what the two other Outlanders ladies and Leticia's reactions to her words, it can be guessed that Black Rabbit never went with Canaria on a trip during those last 200 years and is probably still waiting for the opportunity to do so once she had rescued her... but such a thing would never happen since Canaria is no longer alive, Black Rabbit is unaware of that fact and taking count of her unwavering loyalty, would surely wait for Canaria forever.

...It was truly heartbreaking sad, if Black Rabbit were to learn of Canaria's fate, how would she react? Even though he already know the answer, Izayoi doesn't want to see it in real life. It's as if he stole Canaria away from her, everything that Kuro Usagi wanted to do with Canaria was done with Izayoi instead. Knowing Black Rabbit, she would probably never hate him for that taking account of her benevolant nature, but he can never forgive himself for this, it was a similar case to the one where Gry lost his wings because of him, the former didn't mind but the latter couldn't forgive himself thus forcing the former to accept his 'apology' when he asked Tokuteru Mikado (or Indra) to give him a new pair of wings. He hated to have to reimburse debts but this was on an entirely different case, so the least he could do was...

"Then how about I take you outside?" ―The least he could do for her was to atone for that sin he commited and she isn't aware of, he would grant her wish of going outside of the Community and fulfill the promise that Canaria couldn't keep.

"...Eh?" Black Rabbit looked at him completely dumfounded, it was understable, for someone that one just met today (or at least to her perceptive) to promise such a thing to another stranger as if they were acquainted for a long time already. But not taking count of Black Rabbit's sudden silence, Izayoi continued. "The situation of the Community eased a bit, so why not take a break during that time? One would be foolish to not enjoy free time when we are given some. And I'm pretty sure that nobody would refuse anything even to the [Highborn of Little Garden] if the latter wish to take a break for all the hard work she had done up until now―"

'Why... is this person...' Black Rabbit was now unable to hear what Izayoi is saying because she was too shocked by his earlier announcement. There should be no reason for him to do so, not any responbility should bind him to do so, there should be no reason for her to trust him, there should be no reason for her to look forward of anything, the possibility of being betrayed can still happen, the possibility of the promise being unfulfilled can still happen, and yet why...? Why did she wanted to trust this man's words so much?

'I don't know him... this is the first time that I ever met him...' So there should be no familiar feeling filling up in her chest, no warmth blossoming in her chest and no sign of recognization. This was a similar yet different feeling for what she felt towards Canaria, her heart beats much faster, was it out of anticipation or something else? She couldn't name the feeling right but she has no doubts that the man in front of her would keep his promise. He was never one to lie anyway, he was much too proud for such a dirty tactic... she didn't knew why she even knew such a thing but she had the feeling that this man had helped her a lot though she couldn't remember any of it...

"―So what about it, Black Rabbit?" Izayoi addressed her but she didn't answered so he snapped his fingers in front of her face to make her react. Black Rabbit then stood up dazily and walked forward towards him, she then tripped and landed on Izayoi much to his confusion since such a clumsy action didn't seemed like her, so he teased her about it. "What's wrong, Black Rabbit? Trying to force yourself on a man isn't good for your reputation you know?"

"..." However much to his disappointment, he got no reaction. She had definitively heard it thanks to her superior hearing and the fact that they were so close to each other, so she must surely ignoring it. This proved to be the case as she regarded him with an excited gaze, her eyes were shining and Izayoi found back some of the innocence he usually found in her eyes. "Is, is this really true?! If, if Canaria doesn't managed to fulfill her promise... will you truly take me 'outside'?!" She asks so almost desperatly. To Black Rabbit, the word 'outside' surely means everything that is outside of the Community, which she never managed to see or explore.

"To be moved by such a verbal promise, what a kid."

"Ouch!" Izayoi flicked Black Rabbit's forehead which forced her to move away from him. Izayoi couldn't help but sighs. To think that Black Rabbit of all people would be the one who would push him to the ground... and the roles were even inversed to begin with it! Izayoi hoped that nobody saw this embarrasing display otherwise he would never hear the end of it. But still when he stood up, he declared to the Black Rabbit who was moaning in pain with her hands hovering her small bruise, while avoiding her gaze. "But a man never go back on his word, right? I made a promise to you so I'll fulfill it."

Black Rabbit was originally about to complain about his surprise attack earlier but once the words he said registred in her mind, she didn't even minded the earlier action anymore as the tears that were at the corner of her eyes and originally from pain turned into ones of joy as she flashed a brilliant smile beaming with happiness to him that ressembled the one she gave him when he agreed to help her Community at their first very encounter. "Yeah...!"

Izayoi felt that the smile was too dazzling for him despite the nighttime so he squinted his eyes before returning her smile with one of his own. However what Black Rabbit said later on caught him off guard, "Then pinky swear!" So she asked him to do as she extended her own pinky towards him.

"...Sorry, come again?"

"Pinky swear to me!"

"...Why?"

"Because humans do pinky swear to seal a promise!"

"What am I? A kid? ...Who taught you that in first place?" He had a vague idea of who it might be but prefered to ask for confirmation before concluding anything on his own. And unfortunately for him, when Black Rabbit answers him of the name of the culprit all his hopes for a misunderstanding were crushed down, "It's Canaria!" Black Rabbit flashes him an innocent smile and being totally unaware of his inner turmoil when he received her answer just like a catcher's reaction after receiving an unexpected fireball from the pitcher in a baseball game.

'Damn that old hag... she must surely be laughing at me in her grave!' He felt all the respect for her that build up inside him crumbling away to dust and being blown away by the imaginary wind in his head. What the heck did she taught that rabbit? Sure it wasn't false but there was no way he could do such a thing! He had his pride as a man, why should he make a promise like some kidn of little girl?! And why is that rabbit girl believing everything she is being told to? Can't she understand Canaria's character better?!

"...What's wrong?"

"Black Rabbit, I'm telling you, I'm definitively not doing it."

"Why?"

"I have my pride as a man, and besides there is no need to absolutely do a pinky promise to seal a promise, just leave it verbal is enough."

"No."

"'No'?"

"No." She repeated, her gaze firm on him, Izayoi who was under that gaze filled with hardened strong will felt a slight drop of sweat descending from his forehead to his chin and dropping to the ground. Black Rabbit shoved her pinky close to his face in a quick motion which almost make Izayoi misunderstand that she was trying to pierce his eye out, "Pinky promise." She repeated as she openly declare that she won't give up on it.

"I refuse." To answer back her declaration of war, Izayoi answered with a similar will in his eyes.

"..."

"..."

Tendrils of electricity seems to travel between the two as they now glare intensely at each other, each of them had eyes lits up with flame of determination and hardened with the will of not wanting to yield to the other. The air grew thick with tension and even their own auras seemed to class with one another. If you look carefully at the background, you might see the image of a roaring tiger behind Izayoi's and that of a flying dragon behind Black Rabbit's (despite the fact that she is a rabbit, yes that's curious...) roaring at each other. They kept it going for quite a while and in the end, Izayoi had no choice but to give up first otherwise he would never be able to go home, so he swallowed back his manly pride and wrapped his pinky around a satisfied Black Rabbit's who smiled in a satisfied manner to her victory that was long to finally reach. However the 'if you don't respect your promise, I will make you work until you pass out' bet made Izayoi lost on how to react; wherever she is young or old, Black Rabbit would always be a slave driver.

"Are you satisfied now?" Izayoi asked wearily to Black Rabbit who answered him with a smile full of energy that was totally unlike her earlier gloomy self. "Yeah!"

He thought that he would almost forgive the embarrassing display she made him suffers through with such a smile that could heal dozen of ill hearts but on afterthought, he would not let it pass, he would just get back at her when she would be back to her older self, teasing a young crying Black Rabbit too far might be bad for one's heart. "I see, I see, it's great isn't it...?"

"...? What are you talking about―?!" Black Rabbit immediately shuted up, her eyes narrowed slightly in wariness and her rabbit ears twitched a bit. Of course none of them were directed to him, he can almost say proudly that she totally warmed up to him, rather it seems that since now she is in a more calm state she has noticed the same things he noticed just now. However before she could say anything, Izayoi raised a finger to her mouth to tell her to stay silent, she seemed to be confused but nodded reluctantly as she looks at him in a way saying 'So what to do now?'. As if to answer her, Izayoi silently picked up a nearby rock lying on the grass and―

"AH, MY HAND SLIPPED!" His voice sounded fake obviously and he made no efforts to hide it as he threw the rock at the speed of a missile towards the bushes a little behind from where they were currently, a gust of wind blew due to the strength of his throw and two scared female voices were heard as they were surely surprised or even traumatized by what just happened at a hair breath of them. Ignoring that, Izayoi picked up another rock that he jungled in his head as he said as a warning with a smile still on his face, "If you don't wanna have a another experience like this then show yourself! Rich girl and Kasukabe!"

""Geh...!"" After knewing that they could no longer hids after that, the two girls made their ways out of the bushes with a slight embarrassed look on their faces. Izayoi only looked at them with a knowing smirk full of his smug attitude while Black Rabbit was watching them with a confused expression that turned into a frown.

"Izayoi-kun..." Asuka started to ask nervously as she averted his gaze, "Since when...?" 'Since when did you noticed?' or something cute along these lines.

But Izayoi took no matter of these though he could use them later as blackmail material against his victim―no his comrade, yes, his comrade! So instead he did the best innocent smile like the one he showed to Black Rabbit, "Hm... Let's see, taking count of how the two of you are panting heavily, I guess you only arrived around some minutes earlier?" But not early enough to witness the pinky promise thanksfully.

"Ah, geez!" Asuka slammed her fist into the ground before quickly regretting the act as pain started to be spreaded in her delicate hand who unlike Yō and Izayoi who are more used to those kinds of physical action.

Yō near her sighed in desperation which was unlike her usual quiet self, "Hah... I even proposed to get some birds friends to observe them but Asuka wanted absolutely to see it from her own eyes."

"Kasukabe-san, don't act like you didn't wanted to see it yourself too!" Asuka pointed an accusating finger at Yō who only averted her gaze in return, "Well, that is..."

"Oi, oi, the two ladies. Although I'm very honored to know that I'm researched like some kind of popular pop idol, don't the two of you have something to say?" The two ladies looked up to see him pointing at the little Black Rabbit near him, Asuka and Yō immediately noticed the light that returned to her eyes but tried to deal with it carefully in hope that it wouldn't disappear again, so when they were about to speak, Black Rabbit who got frightened by their intense gazes on her immediately hided behind Izayoi while hugging tightly his arm. The two girls then fell silent at the scene.

'Are they thinking that they are being rejected?' He knew that Kuro Usagi understood that they weren't bad guys and even that she wanted to apologize to them for the misunderstanding but doing it is far more difficult than saying it and the two may have thought that it was Black Rabbit being cold again, so he was about to clear the misunderstanding when―

"IZAYOI-KUN!" "IZAYOI!" However the two ladies immediately appeared in front of his face with eyes shining with interest like stars and it surprised him to the point of stepping back a little and shielding Black Rabbit with his arm in fear of what the two girls may possibly do to them in their current states. "What...?"

"Just what kind of magic did you used, Izayoi-kun?!"

"Or rather what did you said to her to tame her to such an extend!"

"You better tell us all the juicy details that happened!"

"And don't you dare to forget anything!"

"..."

"..." Oh... So that's what that? The two were more interested about that? Now that he thought about it, despite not being in a romantic relationship at all, Canaria too was passionately curious that kind of thing... Is that perhaps a trait that all the girls shares? Even so he gave them back a smug smirk, "Too bad both of you, if you came just a little earlier than you might have seen something really interesting but unfortunately you were too late, ah, what a shame!"

"That's not fair Izayoi! We want to know too!" It was also rare to see Yō being so active, the last time wasn't it with that experience with the strong men dolls...? Though that time was more out of disgust than interest.

"Izayoi-kun, don't make me..."

"Using your Gift? However should I reminds you that it won't work on me, Rich girl? And dares to try that on Black Rabbit and you have signed the contract of losing her trust forever."

"Uuh... You're right." Asuka reluctantly pulled back but then came forward again, "But don't forget that we have many other ways to make you speak!"

"Sure, sure, then I'll wait to see them."

"You..." Asuka was growling to Izayoi but soon stopped upon noticing Kuro Usagi's small figure hidden behind him, and now she felt a little guilty that she didn't came to apologize to Black Rabbit for earlier. Izayoi who sensed that, sighed wearily before pushing the little Kuro Usagi forward, making her almost fall forward. "W–what are you―" But once she saw Asuka, Black Rabbit froze, this time she didn't ran away but she was at loss on how to answer back.

"Black Rabbit―" Asuka slowly stand up and walked towards her, Black Rabbit shutted her eyes closed in fear as she remembered the hard slap from before, but however...

"I am so glad that you are alright...!" However this time she got engulfed into a warm embrace, this surprised enough to make her eyes go wide open immediately after the sudden action, while Asuka was sobbing on her shoulders like a child as all her dignified self were now gone. "I'm so sorry Black Rabbit! I was wrong everything, everything was my fault, I misunderstood everything. Please forgive me! No, you don't need to even forgive me but please just come back at the Community! Everyone is worried about you, Lily is the same, she isn't angry at you, so please...!" Tears were flowing like a waterfall from her eyes as she cried out her apology.

"..." Black Rabbit was dumbfounded on how to react. Was she really the harsh lady who cruelly accused her earlier? She truly sounded sorry and more importantly, her tears didn't seemed like a lie. It was as he said, she was really sorry for what she had done. So making her mind up, Black Rabbit too hesitantly spoke up as she hugged her back in a shy manner, "Erm... I am sorry too. I said some awful things to you people, that's why, erm..."

'Please don't cry, we are even now' was the unspoken thought she had; she had hurt them first and she got hurt in return as a punishment, now that she thinks about it, isn't everything her fault to begin with? So she should be the one who apologize to them, yet the red lady then cried out 'You don't need to apologize for anything, just let me apologize!' and repeated the pattern again and again, the blond guy and the brown-haired girl near him smiled wryly at the scene but their gazes also carried a certain level of warmth towards her she could feel, it made her chest feel warm too... but strangely in a different meaning than how she felt towards the man, she didn't knew why but neither felt unpleasant.

While Black Rabbit was comforting Asuka (while it should be the other way around), Izayoi got informed by Yō that after he went to search for Kuro Usagi, Jin rushed to them to tell that Shiroyasha send him the informations about the plant that almost devoured Black Rabbit; it wasn't a rabbit-eater plant but something similar to it in a way, it is a carnivorous plant that release a pollen smoke in order to weaken its pray before eating them, however when Black Rabbbit panicked and eletrocuted it, it 'weakened' her by making her younger than she was thus reducing her strength.

"I see, I see. But is the state reversible then?"

"Yeah. Shiroyasha said that she should be back to usual starting from tomorrow."

"I see. Well I guess that it's a relief, I won't have to play the babysitter anymore."

"Yes maybe, I miss the usual Black Rabbit but I still wanted to spend time with the little Black Rabbit too... I wonder if I can make it last longer even if it is just a little?"

"Oi, oi, don't wish for further misfortune, it may truly happen."

"Sorry." Yō lightly knocked her fist on her head and stuck out her tongue in a cute manner, well if her face was more expressive at least. "But still, I'm curious too Izayoi. What did you do in order to get her trust you so much in such a short amount of time?"

"I'll just say that we have a lot in common."

"This isn't a proper explanation. And you and Black Rabbit don't look alike at all, personalities and all..."

"I wonder? But I guess that we'll say goodbye to this Black Rabbit soon."

"EH?!" Unexpectedly, the one who answered wasn't Izayoi's Outlander comrade but the subject of the talk, Black Rabbit herself. 'Oops, I messed up?' was what Izayoi was transmetting through eye contact to Yō who only gave him an insecure glance too. They thought that Asuka's loud and unlady cries would be enough to hide their discussion from Black Rabbit's ears specially if they were speaking in whispers, but it look like she heard that one.

Now that Asuka was calmer but still rubbing her eyes, Black Rabbit separated herself from her and ran towards Izayoi in a worried manner, "A–are you leaving?"

'The one who is going to leave is you to be more precise... well at least your current self, that is.'

"Are you going to leave the Community?" Look like she misunderstood it, well it couldn't helped with her currently limited knowledge of the situation. It seems that there was some restless feeling in her eyes that somebody else that she managed to trust would leave her side and she was scared of that. That she would find herself back all alone without nobody to understand her... wait, did that meant that his rank of Black Rabbit trust was higher then Canaria now? If so he would like to boast about the victory in his foster mother's face! But that wasn't the problem now, he must deal with the little Black Rabbit who seemed on the verge of breaking down in tears, so...

"Kya?!" He gently ruffled her hair earning an adorable squeak from her before kneeling to her eye level and flashed a grin with a gentle voice that was unlike himself, "She's saying that we have some work to do for the Community so we'll be out of it for a little while. Don't worry, we aren't going to leave or anything."

"R–really?" Black Rabbit looks up at him with moist eyes hopefully and he grinned back but she still refused to let go of his sleeve she had been clenching ever then, "Yeah, we may met again even earlier than you think... so that's why, Kasukabe, Rich girl, stop smirking and help me getting off her iron grip from my sleeve!" Izayoi screamed, annoyed, by how the two ladies were smirking at the scene with some thoughts that are probably unfits of the situation. However, the fact that Izayoi cares specially about Black Rabbit and vice-versa doesn't seems to be wrong.

'Canaria was right...' Black Rabbit silently apologized to Canaria for calling her a liar earlier. The world wasn't as cruel she thought, there are so much people who cares about her after all... Though there still might be bad humans who would create Last Embryos over and again, there would be surely good humans who would come to stop them... The earlier cloudy night sky was now clear and full of shining stars, it was almost as if it reflected Black Rabbit's heart.

The tales of Black Rabbit's time regression ends here. When they had returned to the Community, Little Black Rabbit was this time being hugged in relief by Lily and had to revive something similar than with Asuka, the day later on she turned back to how she was usually and showed no signs of remembering what happened. After that, each of the problem children trio departed towards differents ways; Yō would stay at the Community as their new leader, Asuka would travels to the outside worlds to reunite back the lost members of the Community and Izayoi would travel through Little Garden... of course Black Rabbit and Gry's presences at his sides as his travel companions was unexpected. Oh, and talking about Black Rabbit...

"OWOWOWOWOW―! What are you doing, Izayoi-san?!"

"Nothing much, I just missed this nostalgic sensation." Izayoi nodded to himself with a satisfied smile as he pulled hard on Black Rabbit's rabbit ears as the latter cried out in pain and her blue hair turned pink because of it. Having to restraining himself all this time was hard after all, so as a compensation, after Black Rabbit turned back to normal, the problem children trio enjoyed the feeling of pulling her ears to their heart content much to her own confusion.

After feeling that he was now satisfied, he let go and Black Rabbit glared back at him with her teary eyes, on her face was filled with nostalgic expressions he unexpectedly missed, "W–what does that even mean to begin with... Besides I have already told you that Black Rabbit's wonderful rabbit ears are connected to the core of Little Garden but also really deep in our head, the nerves are almost connected to the brain thus are very sensible, so please don't pull it out like that...!"

"..." Izayoi was immediately reminded of the time when he did the same with the little Black Rabbit, unlike the big one, she didn't whined in pain or complained but simply doing her best to endure it while keeping the tears from falling off of her eyes. This caused him to have a bitter taste in his mouth.

Noticing his silence, Black Rabbit approached him worringly because it didn't seemed like himself, "I–Izayoi-san...? There is no need to overthink it that much, Black Rabbit is starting to get used to it... but that don't mean that you can keep it like that! A–as long you understand..." She tried to reach a hand to his shoulder in order to perhaps calm him down but before she knew it, his hand sneaked on her waist and pulled her forward on his chest.

Once she felt the contact, Black Rabbit immediately blushed beet red while her hair that calmed down a little back to blue was now back to pink showing her current feelings in turmoil. She then felt a gentle tug on one of her rabbit ears before a gentle voice that almost make her dizzy sounded: "Is that better like this?" She was pretty much sure that she almost died by heart attack(?) by now.

"Black Rabbit?"

Still refusing to look up even when she was being called and with mixed thoughts of wherever it was just teasing or not, Black Rabbit muttered while still being buried in Izayoi's chest (which she had noticed to become more toned surely thanks to the fight he went through up until now though she would never admit it otherwise she would be accused and teased to be a pervert): "―I–Izayoi-san... it is dangerous in a lot of meanings... for my heart, that is."

"...What with that? You selfish rabbit. For once I decide to be gentle and this is how you take it?"

If it were her usual self, then Black Rabbit would immediately retort with a pout that 'So Izayoi-san admit that he isn't gentle usually!' but her blubbling emotions took over that reasoning and could only let her deal herself with her embarrassed (yet slightly happy) self. "O–of course it is not that I am ungrateful! But... if you could only warn me beforehand."

"...Saying the same thing over twice, but even if I told I doubt you could handle it anyway." Now Izayoi had a strong feeling of déjà-vu as he compared this moment to when he patted Little Kuro Usagi's head last time.

"Ahem! The two of you! Please don't go in your own world while still being on my back!" Blakc Rabbit immediately separated herself from Izayoi upon hearing Gry's awkward voice beneath them, that's right, walking on your journey is quite tiring so Gry offered them a ride on his back and they were still flying. He got embarrassed just by listening to them.

After her blush calmed down (which took a while), Black Rabbit coughed to hide her embarrassment, "A–anyway, Izayoi-san is far too reckless in his actions so he needs to be monitored at least―"

"And this is the reason you used in order to come stalking me?"

"―And this is the reason Black Rabbit used... as if it is! Don't make Black Rabbit sounds like a weird woman, you big idiot!"

*SPACK!* The return of the paper fan attack was happily welcomed as Izayoi laughed in response of the blow he just received and no, he isn't a masochist but it just that he surprisingly missed that habit of hers too, if you a about then the logic behind it would surely be: Black Rabbit + pulls her rabbit ears = you will receives a paper fan attack on the head in return. It didn't happened when she was back as her younger self though.

"But still, I'm surprised that the two of you suddenly tagged along." Izayoi ruffled his unkept hair where Black Rabbit landed her blow earlier.

Gry answered first as if it was obvious, "Isn't it obvious? The one who gave me back my wings is you, therefore those wings are yours to use."

"Though I'm grateful for the attention, your gratitude is way too heavy." Izayoi cringed slightly as he remembered how Gry reacted when he was given back his wings, that look wasn't one of gratitude at the beginning but he came to accept it later on, for the gryphon, sacrificing his wings for the sake of saving his comrades was an honor but to Izayoi, it only made the guilt even more heavy on his heart. Feeling that his mood start to sullen again, Izayoi turned to Black Rabbit to change the subject, "So what about you Black Rabbit, besides for stalking me, what's your reason."

"Like I said it isn't that! If Izayoi-san is left all alone then who know what kind of Demon Lord you would challenge and the consequences of it would suffers our Community as a result! Besides even a [Moon Rabbit] who is the symbol of loyalty like me, needs to take a break from time to time! Nobody should be angry at me for that!"

"Ahaha! Who know? Maybe Shiroyasha is currently crying that she wouldn't be able to... Wait, what?" For some reason, Izayoi felt like he already heard this sentence somewhere, now that he thought about it, wasn't he the one who said that to the little Black Rabbit back then...? But unaware of Izayoi's sudden silence, Black Rabbit continued to speak. "Besides Izayoi-san already promised me that he would take me outside... Ah." Black Rabbit immediately clasped her mouth with both hands as she realized her blunder but it was too late by then, Izayoi already heard it.

"Then how about I take you outside?"

It was the promise he made to her back then, with how she acted it was probably that after coming back to her adult self, she would forget everything that happened to her when she was under the effects of the pollen release. Even if it were to happen Izayoi would still accomplish his promise towards her, a real man is one who respect the promises he make after all, but from how she forced herself in his trip and the way she spoke of it earlier...

"Black Rabbit... could it be that you remember everything that happened―"

"B–Black Rabbit doesn't understand what Izayoi-san is trying to ask!"

"...At least let me finish, you stupid rabbit."

"Wh–what with the 'stupid rabbit' again?! Black Rabbit prefered the time when Izayoi-san called her 'little rabbit'... Ah."

"...You, are definitively no good at keeping secrets for yourself, look at how you are blurting everything out the one after the other."

"..." Having nothing else to retort anymore, Black Rabbit just averted her gaze from Izayoi while pouting slightly but the flush on her cheeks even reached her already pink ears. Izayoi was just continuing at staring her with half-lidded eyes, it would be hard for her now to return such an intense gaze back which she felt glaring holes at her as he was pressing her to answer in a silent action. Gry was uncomfortable about the mood and sighed slightly in desperation, he hoped that it wouldn't be like this during all the time of their trip.

However unknown to him, both the problem child and the rabbit girl secretly smiled in a similar manner to themselves, knowing that the other is probably sharing a similar expression but refused to see it unless they wanted things for them to become awkward again, but during this time of silence both of them understood a fact; Black Rabbit's dream would be now realized and Izayoi's thirst of battle by the same occasion. With that, the promise that Canaria left behind was safely entrusted to Izayoi and he would make sure to realize it, for both Canaria, Black Rabbit and his own sake. The three then departed towards new horizon while looking forward to how would turn their journey. Still the development of the relationship between those two would be the most interesting gossip to look forward for into the world of Little Garden, and yet...

[REVIEW CORNER]

– ShiragaKizuato's review at the previous chapter: "Although there are some typos here and there, it's rather new and fresh experience.

The trio never really know how to dealt with kids so their confusion was understandable and expecially Izayoi. He may lives in an orphanage with many other kids but his interaction with them is still awkward at best so his confusion, reaction and forgetting to adjust his usual behavior and causing pain to Kuro Usagi in both physical and mental emphasize the fact that even if he holds great power and responsibility, at the end of the day he is still young and somewhat immature. It was a good great and I really like the ending."

My answer to your review: (Already thanked him or her in PM previously.)

– Guest's review at the previous chapter: "Hoh? It's interesting..."

My answer to your review: Thank you very much, I'm really glad that you liked it!

– Starlight AT's review at the previous chapter: "W-what is this feeling of inadequacy and jealousy in my heart? I feel as if I got one uped and then some and lost the battle.

This was amazing good. The large chunk of text was difficult to read though but I liked how you portrayed the characters. Gods its good, beyond what I was expecting. And to be honest I'm sad someone beat me to the punch with this. Gah! The result of my laziness!

This is a lengthy piece but an especially well written one. The interaction between Loli Usagi and Izayoi especially had me feeling a tad jealous that you could portray them so close to their canon counterparts so easily. That was wuthout a doubt the highlight of the fic. I especialy like how Izayoi srruggled a bit yet still had an idea of what to say based on his own experiences. His feelings of guilt towards robbing Kuro Usagi of the promise she hade with Canaria, that actually got me to wonder if Canaria did those things with Izayoi to also make up for the promise she couldn't keep. Even so this one fic made me accept Kuro Usagi going with Izayoi and Gry a bit more since that felt a bit off for me when reading it.

My only concern is Asuka slapping Loli Usagi given she knows the circumstances it did feel a bit forced yet at the same time if Asuka didn't underdtand it it would be in her character to go a bit overvoard like that. Asuka's goal in Little Garden is to understand people but at the same time the placement of the fic on the mondaiji time line is weird for her to do that.

A couple missed typos here and there but otherwise wonderfully done!"

My answer to your review: (Already thanked him or her in PM previously.)7

– Bladedknight's review at the previous chapter: "I was not going to read this originally, as I have stopped reading fanfiction altogether, but my friend gave me the link to your story and through her reaction, I decided to also take a look.

It took a little bit for me to get used to the bit of awkward sentences in the beginning, but as I read more, that stopped being a problem, especially with how things began to pick up.

I was pleasantly surprised by how the story turned towards when Izayoi pulled on the young Kuro Usagi's ears. When she looked at everyone with those cold eyes, there was a sense of the pleasure that comes from seeing retribution. It was good. Going from there, how Kuro Usagi talked to Leticia, her subsequent apology, to confusion with Lily, and finally the rapid mood change from Asuka's slap that caused Kuro Usagi to run away, it all lead to a very enjoyable read.

The next part was even better for me. First, the way Izayoi handled Kuro Usagi was a bit too literal, but it also stayed true to how he might have really acted. Truthfully, the moment you had Kuro Usagi mention Canaria, I was wondering just what Izayoi was going to do when he finally found Kuro Usagi. Overall, I liked that it wasn't too serious of a scene in terms of mood. It felt just right for someone reconciliation with a little child. Sometimes, all one really needs is a heartfelt talk, and this delivered. Something different than what I wrote in my oneshot about a child Izayoi."

Of course, when Shiroyasha then said Kuro Usagi would probably revert the next day, I thought Izayoi might take her to Underwood, and I was slightly disappointed when that didn't happen. However, I suppose having Kuro Usagi remember what happened, and the promise by proxy, was a good second."

My answer to your review: Is that friend that you've mentioned known as "Starlight AT"? If so, then I'm thankful that he or she introduced this story of you and I'm happy that you liked it (I was afraid that it may have a bit too dramatic since it's seems that I'm some kind of tragedy-mania). Please forgive me for the arkward sentences, I'm glad that they didn't gave you much trouble. I'm sorry if you felt disappointed that Izayoi didn't took Kuro Usagi to the Underwood but it was because in the 3rd volume of the light novel, she already went with Yo and Asuka so I wanted to try something different and it occured to me when I saw the ending of the light novel with them and Gry traveling together. By the way, I also read your story and I liked it!

– Sofia's review at the previous chapter: "I ship Izayoi x Kuro Usagi. And i love they too"

My answer to your review: To say the truth, I also ship them... (^^)

– EHAOs's review at the previous chapter: "Veri n1c3c0Fst0riR5"

My answer to your review: Um... Are you trying to tell me "Very nice story"? If so, thank you very much~