Kiro placed the girl on his shoulders carefully. He could only hope she could see better than himself. They waded through the crowd until he heard a familiar voice.
"Master! That's my perch!" Toma complained as he pawed at Kiro's leg.
"Oh my! Who's this?" Elise asked emerging from behind some strangers as she followed Toma. She was so short it wasn't hard to believe he hadn't seen her.
"Daddy!" The girl yelled at the top of her lungs. Suddenly everyone was looking at him.
"Is he trying to kidnap that girl?!" A woman screamed. Suddenly everyone turned hostile.
"Wait! It's not like that! She just wanted to find her dad!" Kiro defended himself frantically.
"Hand over the girl, pervert!" A man yelled coming closer.
"I told you, I didn't kidnap her!" Kiro tried to get through to them.
"Angelina!" A gruff man with purple hair broke through the crowd. "Give me back my little girl!"
The man rushed at Kiro and slammed him to the floor. All Kiro could think was how dangerous that was as everything went black... Again.
"I think he's coming to." The female voice sounded like Leda but from far away. Slowly Kiro opened his eyes as pain and memory flooded back to him.
"You're awake!" Angelina squealed tugging on his arm. "Daddy! He's awake! Come apologise!"
Kiro sat up with his head pounding. Toma laid on his lap sleeping soundly. How he could sleep through her shouting, Kiro would never know.
"I'm very sorry, younge man. When I heard kidnapper and saw my baby girl, I over reacted. She explained everything while you were unconscious. I hope you can forgive me and allow me to thank you. My son runs a store here in town. I'm sure he'll give you anything you want as a thank you and an apology." The big man bowed his head. Kiro couldn't blame him after that.
"It's okay. Though, that tackle could have been dangerous not just for me but for her. I'm glad she's okay." Kiro patted the girl on the head who smiled wide.
"That's because the fox caught me. He's really soft." Angelina ran her hands over Toma's fur.
"We're just glad you're okay, Kiro. That's the second time you've been knocked unconscious." Elise grapped Kiro's hand and held it close.
"I'm okay. The first time was actually Toma's fault, but thank you for caring." Kiro squeezed her hand lightly.
"You rest up here. My son will be home soon and I'll tell him everything." The gruff man left the room followed by the girls who decided to leave him alone to rest.
"You've got some good friends, Master." Toma sighed quietly. "I'm glad I get to be a part of it."
"Thanks, Toma. Thank you for protecting the girl, too. I would've been upset if she'd gotten hurt because of me." Kiro ran his fingers through Toma's fur as he drifted off to sleep.
"It's time I give you something special, master." Toma whispered after Kiro had fallen to sleep.