Kibitoshin couldn't help but give a hurt look at her response. There was just no pleasing some people!

"I didn't say you were," he answered ruefully, "I just said that you might be at a disadvantage." Nevertheless, all the rue in the world couldn't have stopped him from dropping his gaze into his lap as quickly as possible. Maybe he was overreacting. Just because he hadn't been able to handle one little terrifying doll-monster that didn't mean she couldn't. He wasn't exactly the greatest of-

N-no! Stop right there! It was that kind of thinking that let Franziska walk all over him, and he'd promised her he'd try harder! In the end, though, he just shrugged. "Better safe than sorry. It's really dangerous out there."