“Where did the old bastard go?!” a shout echoed out from the darkness of an alley.

“He’s got to be around here somewhere!!”

“I know I plugged him! I know I did!!”

There was the sound of scuffling feet running before another voice shouted. “Look out for blood!”

Vicente staggered down an alley as he grunted and held his side. He could feel that warm blood issuing out from his side. It flowed so freely that Vicente was sure that his own fingers had taste buds on them because he could practically feel that coppery tasting liquid as it poured over his flesh. It was a taste he knew many times over, both from spilling from his own body, as well as when he devoured animal flesh. It was not a taste he could ever forget. But what he did not like was the amount that sticking hot against his own hand as he tried to keep pressure on the wound.

Tonight was not a good night.

Stupid. So *Explicative Deleted!!*-ing stupid!! he thought to himself. And with good reason.

It was just supposed to be a simple job. Some rat was rumored to be talking to the cops so Falcone had sent Vicente out to silence the man before he said anything incriminating. But what both Falcone and Vicente did not know was that the rat had gone to one of the other families for protection. He was playing both sides. He was going to rat out Falcone family to the cops, but also seek out the comfort and care of the one of the other mafia families in town. Unfortunately as Vicente came to his house to put a bullet between his eyes, there was a gang of protectors waiting for him.

Bullets flew, bones were broken, and Vicente was sure he killed one or two of them, but at the cost of getting shot in a rather grievous manner. He did not see one of the gunmen as they came out of the bathroom and put a slug straight through Vicente’s left side. The bullet passed clean through but it came so close to hitting a necessary organ that the assassin actually counted his lucky stars. Instead of instantaneous death, he would slowly bleed out unless he could get help.

Staggering down the alley, the assassin groaned and grunted as he struggled to keep himself going. He knew that he was leaving a trail of blood. No matter how much pressure he put on the wound, he constant movement was going to open and reopen it with every step.

Drip--Drip--Drip

Little drops of ruby cascaded onto the concrete ground as the man pushed on. Hospitals were a no go, they would want identification. His own home was much too far away. A drug store…maybe if he could break into a drug store then he could…

His eyes rolled up into his head as the man felt himself collapse down to one knee and then the other. It was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open and it seems that no matter how much he pushed himself forward, the heavy sleep that descended over his eyes was unable to be ignored any more.

Gripping the rim of a trashcan, Vicente collapsed forward onto the ground and groaned. Across the street, the neon sign of a closed “Wal-Greens” glowed and taunted like a beacon of hope he would never be able to reach…

Ilaria huffed as she opened the back door to La Dolce Vita, her candy store, and took a few meek steps into the alleyway. She dropped one huge trash bag and took the other enormous bag of trash that she had been hauling and tossed it inside the bin, shaking her head as she clapped her hands, as if completing an intense job. Well, for her it was. She hated taking out the trash and gave that task to Kitty. It was really one of the only things she was suppose to do, so of course she never did it.

She stood there for a moment, pigeon toed as she looked up and down the alley, head cocked. She heard men yelling, though that wasn't unusual. She also smelled something...like wet dog mixed with tequila. She wrinkled her sensitive nose and grabbed the other trash bag she had dropped before she spotted him.

He wasn't looking all that well, that much was certain. She was about to poke him with a nearby stick when someone appeared at the other end of the alleyway and began to stalk towards her. Quick as she could, Ilaria put the bag of trash on the fallen man and took a few steps forward to greet the man, who had a gun in his hand and was looking rather spiffy in his two piece suit and fedora hat. A bit cliché, but spiffy all the same.

“Ara, what seems to be the problem?” Ilaria asked. The man took no time to even bother looking at the teal haired woman as his eyes followed the trail of blood that even the magnificent camouflage of the trash bag Ilaria had put on the half dead man could mask. “Oh. Dog-han seems to be having a bad day.”

“'Bout to get worse, lady.” the obvious mobster said, pointing a gun at the fallen man. “Much worse.”

He stopped as Ilaria grabbed his wrist and twisted, making the gun clatter to the ground. She knew there were more of his friends around, and if the movies had taught her anything it was that mobsters always got revenge. Not knowing what else to do (and in a bit of a panic) Ilaria slightly bopped the man's head, knocking him out cold. She stood for a moment, biting the nail on her pointer finger before rushing over to the fallen, bleeding man and, without a second thought, hoisting him up on her shoulders with relative ease.

“Please hang on, Dog-han.” she said as she ran into the store.

Luckily Kitty was already back there, though her spitting out part of the apple she had just taking a bite out of was unexpected, and gross. Ilaria wrinkled her nose and was about to comment when Kitty pointed, making noises and sputtering about the man Ilaria was carrying.

“Ah, yes. Dog-han needs help. Please get the first aid kit, yes?” Ilaria bowed slightly. “There is another matter I must attend to.”

Quickly she went back outside and picked up the mobster she had knocked out. If there was another thing she learned in the movies (and various books), it was that mobsters had pride. And the one that she had knocked out would never tell his friends that the person that had taken him down was several feet shorter then he was...or female.

It was a simple matter to drag him out into the sidewalk where one of his friends spotted them and ran over, asking what the hell was going on. Ilaria weaved a tale of how she had seen a man (looking very much like the man the unconscious mobster was about to shoot) take out his friend and then run off. She apologized to him that there wasn't more that she could do (he snorted at this) and bowed (offering him some candy before she left, which he accepted), and left the fallen mobster to his friend.

Honestly, she didn't know she had it in her. She felt bad for lying, but a man's life was at stake. She couldn't afford to be diplomatic in this. Besides, they were mobsters. They were always the bad guys. She went back into the store and sighed as Kitty was bandaging up the wound. She eyed Ilaria with an exasperated look and shook her head.

“Lucky you got him in here, Pucky.” the blond said, patting the huge man that was lying on a table that was barley accommodating him. “The wound is cleaned, through and through shot. He is lucky, but he will live. Gimmie the store card, I shall go get more supplies. He is gonna be in pain when he gets up.”

Ilaria nodded, handing her the card that held the stores funds absentmindedly. She knew that the Frenchwoman was going to charge other things on there, but she didn't care. Now she had to deal with a man that was bleeding all over the table where she made some of her hand made candy, and she really didn't know what else to so. So, she reached into her knowledge of first aid and movies, and got a wet washcloth and began dabbing it on the man's head. Never mind that he wasn't feverish or anything.

Always worked in the movies.

The rest of his experience was purely visceral. The man felt the hard concrete beneath his person but other than that his mind slipped away from intelligence and became pure feeling and sensation. There was not deciphering the events that happened outside of his body, instead all the assassin felt in his unconsciousness was the gentle oozing of the blood from the wound at his side that simply was not closing fast enough. It was as if he were laying in a pool of his own life, his essence finally free of the fleshy prison and out to seek to rejoin the ether of the universe.

But there was no care in the world for Vicente to stop it anymore. His hand was firmly pressed under his body, still trying to hold the wound. As he lay there and felt the coolness of the concrete seep up from the ground and gently start to branch out over his body. It was the gentle hands of the chilly afterlife ready to embrace him back into the ground from whence he was born.

At this point Vicente showed no fear, nor did he care about trying to survive anymore. The drive of his personal thanatos was beginning to overtake his mind. Maybe it was simply better to just let go. He would escape so much: the echoing steps of a man on concrete, the soft lyrical voice of a young woman, the gentle thud of a man collapsing to the ground…

…then the sensation of being lifted as if he weighed little more than a feather. This was it.

The scents that penetrated the darkness of his mind were hard to ignore and for a moment he was taken back to his carefree times as a child. A time before his baptism in blood and ritual. A time when his mother would spend hours in the kitchen making all kinds of a savory and sweet treats. She always let him have the first one out of the oven and that always put the brightest smile on his face.

Would he see her in the underworld? Was that smell of sweetness and candy actually her beckoning him to let himself go? If it was…

More soft whispers echoed around him. The whispers of the dead? They sounded so caring…compassionate…tender…

He muttered once he felt the drip-drip of something upon his forehead. His mother? The god’s blessing him to allow entry into their world? All the assassin could mutter before unconsciousness fully took him over was…

“¿Ma-Madre?…Lo...Lo…siento…”

Oh god, he's delirious and speaking on tongues!!

The thought that the huge man would be speaking in another language she didn't know never even crossed her mind. She hadn't moved from dabbing his forehead with the damp washcloth in what she could only assume was a tender manner. The big man had only started to move after about fifteen minutes (where the heck was Kitty?!), and he was mumbling something or other before he became clear in his words...which weren't clear at all. They were nonsensical, and Ilaria needed to help him snap out of it.

She nimbly climbed on top of the table and kneeled on the big man's chest. She doubted that, even if awake, she would register at all to the man she was so small (miniscule), so she was pretty sure she was safe. She looked to her side to make sure she wasn't putting any unneeded pressure on his wound and then leaned forward, putting her hands on Dog-han's shoulders as she came near face to face with him, nose to nose. And, like all the great decisions she'd made today, she based this next move on something she'd seen in a movie.

“WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!!”

Ilaria shook the man as hard as she could, thinking that hey, Kitty wasn't around and therefore it would take everything she had to even attempt to move the mumbling man, as opposed to having Kitty around and being all super strong and stuff. She forgot, though, that Kitty usually had terrible timing, so Ilaria didn't really notice that she was actually shaking the shot man until she heard teeth rattling and Kitty's insane laughter.

Oh.

“Oh!!” she repeated, only this time out loud and not in her head. She let go of the man who smelled of wet dog and tequila, his head slamming on the table with thunderous force. “I'm so sorry Dog-han!!”

Vicente felt everything slipping away. The only thing he wanted to do now was to fully give up, to let the underworld take him away so that he could be judged and weighed. He no longer wanted to keep fighting because it simply hurt too much. Giving up, letting his spirit free from his body, that definitely seemed like the best option at the moment. To no longer have to kill, to no longer have to bathe his soul in the blood of those whom he had removed from life, it sounded so peaceful. All he had to do was stop fighting…

But even as the man tried to let go, he felt an anchor on him. Something was holding him back to his earthly body. He could not fully shed his mortal form. It felt almost as if there was a tiny weight on his chest that was holding him down, keeping him in the realm of the living.

Just let me go… he begged the Earth. Please…

He knew the argument would be futile but just as he felt himself return to his body, he heard the reassuring and angelic tone of a spirit whispering to him…

>> “WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!!”[/b]

The voice rolled through his head like a thunderclap and it was enough to send breath back into his body. Vicente gasped as he greedily sucked in air and clutched the sides of the table he lay upon with his massive hands. It almost hurt to breathe right now because it only made him more aware of the wound at his side. He wanted to reach over and touch it, he wanted to make sure that the bleeding was stopping but as he tried to do so, he felt that there was indeed someone else with him.

Then..his head slammed back against the table. Which he answered with a growl and groan…

>> “Oh!!...I'm so sorry Dog-han!!”

He gasped as his lungs suddenly felt itchy and stiff. His whole body was wracked with pain and now even the back of his head was hurting. He definitely felt like he was back in the mortal realm. So, the spirits did not want to take him yet. That only meant that they were not ready for him. But how was he still alive? The last thing he remembered was collapsing in the middle of the alley. Not even those goons would have been stupid enough to overlook him…

Eyelids slowly fluttered open and he saw that he was no longer outside. He was inside…somewhere. Captured? He snarled as he began to sit up…

Ilaria, still kneeling on top of the bog man, continued to hold her hands up to her mouth on horror. She had further injured him, and now he was snarling. Snarling!! Like the wet dog he smelled like!! He was also trying to sit up, and Ilaria knew, no matter what, that probably wasn't something he should be doing. So she took a finger and pushed the man back down, shaking her head.

“Oh no, Dog-han has to stay lying down.” she reprimanded, keeping her voice soft as she took to sitting on the fallen man Indian style. “Kitty...Kitty...KITTY!! Stop laughing and help Dog-han. He needs fresh bandages.”

Kitty took a moment to recompose herself before she waved off Ilaria's worries and went to a nearby table to unpack the supplies she'd gotten. “Should have taken a video of that. Oh sweet Jesus that was funny.”

“Not that funny...” Ilaria pouted, looking down at the man she was sitting on and poked him in the cheek. “Is Dog-han awake now? Is he?” she continued to poke him all about the face and eventually tweaked his nose. “Dog-han's face is funny. He's awake Kitty. Be gentle with him.”

Kitty gave Ilaria a deadpan look before looking back to the huge man, taking in the various tattoos and visible scars.

“Yeah, I think he can handle this, Pucky.”

“Phooey.” A beat. “Just be careful.”

“Whatever.”

There’s was an obvious problem with sitting up. Someone did not want him to. Vicente attempted to sit up as his blurry eyes attempted to focus on the world around him but before he could even get halfway into a sitting position, a single finger was pressed against his chest. Normally this would have meant nothing to Vicente. He would have knocked that hand away, maybe even broken it under the assumption that this was his captor. But there was something odd about this. Maybe he was weak from the gunshot or something but there seemed to be an extraordinary amount of strength behind that single digit and all of his managed to shove him back down to the table.

>> “Oh no, Dog-han has to stay lying down…Kitty...Kitty...KITTY!!

Dog-han? What the f— he thought harshly as he struggled to get up again. Of course that was halted once more…by someone actually sitting upon his chest.

Vicente really had no concept of what was going on. His eyes were only now starting to focus but whenever he looked up, all he saw was this mass of teal colored hair. What the hell was that supposed to mean? He had managed to figure that he was not actually dying anymore, but there was just something funny about this whole situation. And not in the “Ha, Ha” funny.

He wanted to growl again as he lay there but the weight of the miniscule girl and the disorienting sounds of voices around him. There was another person in the room; a person who was laughing. As much as Vicente was irritated by the sounds, he could do nothing about it. He felt far weaker now with the girl sitting on his chest and after the excitement of trying to sit up. He wanted to get out of here, he needed to path himself up and move one before those goons caught him in a weakened state.

But…what was to say that these two were not working for that Family?

Eyes, finally focused, he watched intently as the teal-haired girl communicated with another young lady in the room.

>> “Dog-han's face is funny. He's awake Kitty. Be gentle with him.”

>> “Yeah, I think he can handle this, Pucky.”

>> “Phooey….Just be careful.”

>> “Whatever.”

He watched out of the corner of his eye as “Kitty” stepped up to do something. He could smell and hear medical supplies. What was their game? He growled again as he looked between the two of them.

“Let me go, now,” he muttered harshly but with still a weak tone. “If you don’t, I have no problem breaking both your necks!” As he shouted the last word, Vicente felt a rush of blood to his head he groaned and rested his head back down. He was in no condition to threaten, but at the time, he didn’t care…

>>“Let me go, now. If you don’t, I have no problem breaking both your necks!”

And then there was silence.

Ilaria and Kitty looked at each other from the corner of their eyes, then slowly turned their heads back to the shot man, then back to each other. They watched as he growled out his words and then fall back to the table. More silence...and then they both simultaneously began to laugh, Ilaria clutching her sides as they began to hurt.

“Oh Dog-han.” she shook her head as she reached down and pinched his cheek. “There will be no neck breaking today, yes? After all, I just saved Dog-han's life. I even took care of the people that were after him and helped patch him up...though Kitty did most of that, I helped!!” She looked indignant for a moment before she lit up, bright as the morning sun. “I know, I can make Dog-han some candy!! Candy fixes everything.” A resolute nod.

“No candy.” Kitty sighed and shoved Ilaria off of the big man. The teal haired girl flailed a bit before falling off, only to bounce back up, arms akimbo with what she assumed was a “Furious Face”, though it only really looked like a wounded duckling. Seeing the look, Kitty waved a hand dismissively. “He can have some after he has been all patched up and is ready to go, okay?”

Ilaria cheered as she began to gather up what she would need to make what she called a 'Super Special Dog-han Candy Mix of DOOOOOM~!' while Kitty made the huge Mexican sit up so she could change his bandages. Kitty didn't really do small talk, though, but she was a bit more...shall we say 'experienced' when it came to judging men and this one...wooo boy.

“She brought you in, half dead.” she whispered. “She can't look at you and see what you are, but me? Yeah, I can see it. I've been around the block, after all.” A beat. “Doesn't take much to see you're dangerous. And being here puts me and her in danger as well. And while I can handle it, she can't. She doesn't know how. And it was only by pure, stupid, retarded dumb luck that she managed to get those people off your trail. So do yourself a favor and thank her. And if you hurt her, I'll gut you here and now with the knife I have hidden up my sleeve.”

The entire time she was talking she was fixing him, and of course whispering so only the Mexican could hear. But she had a smile on her face when she caught his eyes on the last comment, going as far as to show the popable knife she kept as a defense mechanism in the sleeve of her baggy, yet somehow still revealing, shirt.

“No offense, though. She's important to me is all. And you...” another shrug. “You're an unknown. By the way...watch out.”

“Dog-han!!” Ilaria rushed over and unwrapped a lollipop, which she promptly shoved into the Mexican's mouth. “Ummm...it's hard to guess for Dog-han, but I don't have any Tequila flavored candy. I can make some though!! So for now, your second favorite flavor is strawberry.”

And then she was gone again, presumably to make some tequila flavored candy.

Laughing? They were laughing at his threat? That was enough to make Vicente want to slip into a rage but it was obvious that such a thing was not going to be happening. Even if he wanted to leap up to the attack, it was evident that his body was in no way prepared to do so. The gunshot wound was pretty damn near close to fatal so his body was still in a bit of shock. He needed to rest for a bit before he could even attempt to make good on his threat. Unfortunately that meant have to deal with these two, very annoying, young women.

Where the hell was he anyways?

And why were they talking about candy?!

He growled a little as he rested his head back down and glanced at the other woman known as “Kitty” as she started to mend his wound. Suspiciously he watched her every move once the teal-haired girl was gone. What was their game?

The girl known as Kitty helped him to slowly sit up as to not ruin the dressings that she had already put over the wound. Vicente, despite himself, actually groaned painfully as he sat up. This was a man who was used to pain, but at this time he was simply too weak really keep up appearances. He was hurt, he lost blood, and his body was aching from head-to-toe. Simply was not his day.

He warily eyed the other woman out of the corner of his eye.

>> “She brought you in, half dead…She can't look at you and see what you are, but me? Yeah, I can see it. I've been around the block, after all…Doesn't take much to see you're dangerous. And being here puts me and her in danger as well. And while I can handle it, she can't. She doesn't know how. And it was only by pure, stupid, retarded dumb luck that she managed to get those people off your trail. So do yourself a favor and thank her. And if you hurt her, I'll gut you here and now with the knife I have hidden up my sleeve.”

He watched her closely. She’s serious.

It was not that Vicente was scared of her, but he respected someone who had the real intent behind their eyes of whatever they said. It was obvious that she was not kidding. Whoever that teal-haired girl was, she cared a lot for her. And she was going to threaten and harm anyone who harmed her. How…sweet. Vicente had an inkling of respect for the girl, but that did not mean he was going to let either of them off the hook.

Despite the fact that, if what Kitty was saying was true, the teal-haired saved him, he still did not fully trust either of them. At least Kitty was not stupid. She recognized how dangerous the assassin was. Hopefully she would use that knowledge to expedite his exit from this place.

>> “No offense, though. She's important to me is all. And you...You're an unknown. By the way...watch out.”

“Huh? What fo-“

>> “Dog-han!! Ummm...it's hard to guess for Dog-han, but I don't have any Tequila flavored candy. I can make some though!! So for now, your second favorite flavor is strawberry.”

Candy…was shoved into his mouth. Vicente looked surprised for a moment as that hard candy on a stick was shoved between his lips as his taste buds were hit with the sensation of sweet strawberries. For a second Vicente was really at a loss of what to do. He wanted to spit out the candy and throw it back into the teal girl’s hair, but a glance at Kitty seemed to show that that would not have been the best course of action.

Instead he took the lollipop out and let it dangle between his fingers before he glanced at Kitty.

“Why does she keep calling me a dog?” he begrudgingly asked.

>>“Why does she keep calling me a dog?”

His response was from Kitty, who shrugged as she continues to clean his wound, picking out various hairs and such and making sure it was clean. “I do not know. I'm guessing it's because she doesn't know what else to call you.” she sniffed, then nodded. “Or it's because you smell like a wet dog.”

Kitty finished bandaging up the big man and gave the bandage a good slap, just to see the man wince. She winked and sauntered back over to the table that she was working on, now littered with dirty bandages and unclean tools that she began to dump in the trash can. Not that she couldn't clean them, but she secretly didn't trust any kind of disinfectant when it came to someone that looked like he had lived through several wars and gotten the crap end of the stick.

“My suggestion to you, my friend...” Kitty began as she washed her hands. “Is to give her your name. Also, agree to whatever she wants to do. If I know her well, and I do, she's going to want to take you out to eat. Probably for ice cream. Ice cream, like candy you see, fixes everything.” Kitty held up a finger, smiling as she looked over her shoulder to the Mexican. “It's really not so bad, you know. Just sit back, eat the ice cream and listen to her ramble. Who knows, you might even make a friend. Guy like you could probably use some, oui?”

Ilaria shuffled back over, lips pursed as she hopped up on the table next to the Mexican and crossed her arms, looking slightly miffed. “Well, I happen to be missing the main ingredient; tequila. And no one believes me when I go to buy alcohol when Kitty asks me to.” She looked to her huge counterpart, eyes glistening and big with her lip jutting out. “Dog-han can take me, yes? He can buy me some tequila. Then I can make him that tequilas flavored candy!! He'll do it, right?”

Wibble wibble. Wibble wibble.

“Or...” Kitty sighed as she started to leave the room. “She can ask you to buy her booze. Be a sport and hold her hand, okay? She gets distracted by shiny things pretty easily.”

He winced when patted the dressing on his wound. He ground his teeth, seeing that she took particular pleasure in that.

When Kitty turned away, Vicente arched a brow and turned his head, sniffing himself. He didn’t smell like wet dog! He partially resented that remark. But at the moment he was not going to voice his opinion to the scary French woman or her exuberant, teal-haired companion. Instead the assassin kept his mouth shut. So long as he played along, he just might be able to get out of here quicker. If there was one thing the man did not want was there to be any hitches in his escape. These candy girls were…odd…to say the least.

>> “My suggestion to you, my friend...Is to give her your name. Also, agree to whatever she wants to do. If I know her well, and I do, she's going to want to take you out to eat. Probably for ice cream. Ice cream, like candy you see, fixes everything…It's really not so bad, you know. Just sit back, eat the ice cream and listen to her ramble. Who knows, you might even make a friend. Guy like you could probably use some, oui?”

He said nothing in response. To be honest the killer really had no use for friends. Anybody he let close in his life would simply turn out to be a liability. Assassins could not risk there to be liabilities in his life.

But he did not argue the point with the scary young woman. After all he doubted there was a point to it. For all intensive purposes, he was a prisoner right now. He could not leave without causing a commotion and he did not know how many of those goons were still sniffing about the alleyways. For now, this candy shop would prove to be a good cover.

He reached down and patted the dressing she had done to his side. It was a particularly good one, to say the least. Impressive.

>> “Well, I happen to be missing the main ingredient; tequila. And no one believes me when I go to buy alcohol when Kitty asks me to…Dog-han can take me, yes? He can buy me some tequila. Then I can make him that tequilas flavored candy!! He'll do it, right?”

“What?” he asked in a disbelief. Really? They expected him to go out and buy tequila for them just so that they can make candy?

But one glance over to the one called Kitty and he saw of course that there would be no option in this. Just had to stick it out until he could get out of here and that meant playing nice.

>> “Or...She can ask you to buy her booze. Be a sport and hold her hand, okay? She gets distracted by shiny things pretty easily.”

He watched Kitty leave and turned back to the expecting eyes of the teal-haired girl as she looked up at him. It was obvious why she had difficulty buying alcohol. One look at her and people automatically assumed that she was twelve years-old. He did, actually. But it was apparent that she was older than that.

With a slight roll of his eyes, he held the dressed up wound and slowly began to get off the table.

“F-Fine,” he grumbled as he stepped off and turned back to the girl. “I’ll…buy you tequila…”

He sighed. Why did he get the impression that this night was only just beginning?

Ilaria sometimes wished she was tall.

Sure, being short (miniscule) had it's perks, but all in all she thought that if she was tall, she'd be pretty. Like Kitty, who always seemed immaculate unless you slept in her bed and saw her in the morning like Ilaria did. Then she was still kinda messy but she was still pretty in her own way, and she was tall too. But for the life of her, the Japanese girl couldn't figure out a way to get taller. So, she took what she could to give her that illusion, if only for a few minutes.

“I'm HUUUUUGE!!” Ilaria cried, waving her hands in the air like she just didn't care. From this height it was magical. She didn't pay attention to all the stares and looks she was getting as she was having too much fun. “Isn't this great Dog-han?”

She didn't really listen for a response. It wasn't long since they left the candy store and were heading for a nearby liquor store, and truthfully Ilaria didn't want to walk. They had a car but she hated driving...being tiny (miniscule) and all, putting a phone book under her butt to shit on made that all much more apparent. So, with her inherent laziness and addition of a new friend, she did the only thing that came to mind.

She asked for a piggy back ride.

And that's how she ended up on the huge Mexican's shoulders.

It wasn't without protest though, but Ilaria quickly found out (early in life, actually) that she could get much of what she wanted if she pouted enough. And that's why she only sometimes wished she was tall. Because, in her mind, her pouting wouldn't be as effective if she were tall. Being short had it's advantaged after all.

Suck it tall people!!

“Faster Dog-han!!”

>> “I'm HUUUUUGE!! Isn't this great Dog-han?”

Vicente said nothing.

Well he could have. But everything single other word of it was a curse and a cuss and a threat and that girl, Kitty, had already threatened him once. The last thing he wanted to do was to piss her off enough to either call the cops or those Mafia goons he escaped from before he was even one-hundred percent well. But still…this was just getting absolutely ridiculous. They had left the candy store, being careful to not waste too much time around the neighborhood. Vicente had promised that scary Kitty that he would do as the teal-haired girl asked. If only to keep her happy long enough for them to come back.

That was the reason why she was now sitting on his shoulders, cheering like a small child.

God he hated the smell of candy right now. Right now he was thinking that his best option would have been to die in that alley. At least he would not be as outright embarrassed as he felt right now.

He sighed and grumbled to himself as he stalked down the sidewalk with the girl still cheering excitedly from his shoulders.

>> “Faster Dog-han!!”

A passing couple shot him a strange look as they looked between him and the girl piggyback riding.

“What?” he growled at them and immediately sent them scurrying away for safety.

It really did make a strange sight. The tall, muscular Mexican man, covered in tattoos and scars having an extremely lithe Japanese girl with teal colored hair riding on his shoulders. That was a sight enough to make anyone turn their heads in absolute surprise and curiosity. Vicente did not like this much attention though. It made him feel exposed. But thankfully, he spied the lights of a local liquor store and came a halt, screwing up his eyes towards the girl.

“We’re here,” he said with a growl. “And stop calling me a Dog. I told you, my name is Rafael…”

>>“We’re here. And stop calling me a Dog. I told you, my name is Rafael…”

Ilaria said nothing.

For about three seconds, before she burst out in melodic laughter. The little girl shook her head violently, sending teal colored hair splaying all over the place before she clutched to her ride's head as if supporting herself. It took a moment for her to calm herself down, and even then a occasional giggle punctuated her speech.

“Nope. That name does not fit.” she tapped her chin as if in deep thought. “Not in the least. So...perhaps a change of pace? Puppy-chan sounds good!! Rafael sounds so...” she scrunched her face as if tasting something unpleasant. “Nope.”

She hopped down with practiced ease before falling on her behind. Undeterred, Ilaria took hold of Puppy-chan's hand and tugged to get him inside the store. It was a lot harder this time around, and Ilaria was quite miffed that her strength seemed to be gone. She gave Puppy-chan a slight pout before going into the store, where she immediately encountered problems. As per usual.

“Not you again.” the man behind the counter groaned. “Come on, the ID you gave us last time was fake. Get outta here.”

“No, it wasn't.” Ilaria huffed, stomping a foot in frustration. “I got a new one, and Dummy-han still said it was fake!! Not my problem Dummy-han can not tell the difference. I'm old enough!! Accept that!!”

“Stop calling me that will you!!” The man slammed a fist on the counter. “My store, my rules. And I don't care whatcha say, I'm not serving you!!”

“But I am getting tequila today, and not for Kitty.” Ilaria crossed her arms. “I am inventing tequila flavored candy. For him.”

Ilaria pointed at Puppy-chan, and the store owner turned to look at the huge Mexican, only to double take and stare for a moment. Well...maybe longer then a moment. The guy was huge, and he didn't look like he couldn't fight. In fact, the guy looked like he ran in the opposite directing in The Running of the Bulls and managed to survive...twice. He swallowed hard before nodding.

“Uhhh...okay. Yeah, sure. Whatever you need.” he scurried away, away from the scary looking Mexican that was looking at him like he would a particularly looking morsel of food. “Just...you know...take your time, yeah?”

“Sure thing, Dummy-han!!” Ilaria bounced up to Puppy-chan and clapped her hands. “Come on, let us get the good stuff, yeah? I bet Puppy-chan will looooove the candy I make for him!!”

Puppy-chan?!

Vicente was truly on the edge now. He wanted nothing more than to ring this girl’s neck. All she has done since the very second that he met her was to irritate him to no end. Yes, she saved his life, but damn it, there had to be a limit, right? There had to a line that she needed to not cross that would keep her from dying at his hands. All-in-all it seemed that no matter how many warnings he gave her, however many instances and chances he gave her to keep him from wanting to throttle her, she continued to cross it again and again!

The assassin was at his rope’s end. Was she just that naïve about the world? Even that Frenchwoman back at the candy store knew what he was. She knew he was dangerous and she knew that even though she threatened him with a knife, it was foolish to take her eyes off him!

But this girl! She was simply proving far too innocent and sweet for his likely. He should have just done her the favor of taking her out of this existence. It would have been as simple as snapping that thin, miniscule neck of her’s, then both the he and the world itself would be free of her sickening insanity.

Yet, even as Vicente mused on these thoughts, he followed the girl into the liquor store…

…and witnessed the display that shot back and forth between both the proprietor and the teal-haired girl. Apparently he was not the only one that wanted her gone. Maybe he could get the man to hire him so that way he would at least get some money out of the death. But even then, considering the way things were going, he would have been willing to take up the case pro bono.

He shook his head, crossed his arms over his massive chest and stepped back to watch as the argument slowly shifted to include him. Once glance in his direction and the store owner seemed to shiver in fear and surprise that Vicente was with this teal-haired nightmare…

>> “Uhhh...okay. Yeah, sure. Whatever you need…Just...you know...take your time, yeah?”

>> “Sure thing, Dummy-han!! Come on, let us get the good stuff, yeah? I bet Puppy-chan will looooove the candy I make for him!!”

He growled in response and followed her in. he would argue the point, again, that that was not his name but he doubted that she would have listened away. Shaking his head he followed her towards the liquor a shot the man who watched them a warning glance. He didn’t know whether he should threaten him or ask for him. So instead, he just glanced and turned back to the girl.

“Whatever,” he snarled in response and watched as she led him on. “Can we please hurry up? Its…been a long night.”