"Wow! I’ve never seen so many trees before Dad," Kenji exclaimed, pressing his hands against the left-side window of their helicopter. "And all of them are so big!"

"Yes, they are," Imakarum said, watching indulgently as Kenji looked back and forth, seeming to be trying to take in the entire vista at once. "We’re currently flying over the Amazon rainforest, one of the largest in the world. We’ll also be arriving at Chronos Brazil soon, so I want you to be on your best behavior."

"I will, Dad. Don’t worry," Kenji said, turning to look over his shoulder as he spoke.

"That’s my boy," Imakarum said proudly, leaning forward to stroke Kenji’s tied-back hair.

"Um, Dad?"

"Yes, Kenji-chan?"

"Who’s Waferdanos? I don’t think I’ve ever met him before."

"It’s true you haven’t really met him," Imakarum said. "However, you might remember that he was there on the day that I presented you to the Council. He was the one sitting next to Lord Hamilcal. You remember Lord Hamilcal, don’t you?"

"Uhm…" Kenji paused to think for a moment. "Oh! I remember him; I still think he looks like Santa Claus."

"You’re never going to let that go, are you Kenji-chan?" Imakarum chuckled, leaning back against his well-padded seat.

"Nope," Kenji chirped, smiling over his shoulder.

Imakarum chuckled deep in his throat, leaning closer to Kenji so that he could play with his son’s hair. Kenji had decided to start wearing his hair in a ponytail a week-and-a-half ago, claiming that his long hair made the back of his neck itch. At first, Imakarum had been leery of the idea, which was presumably why Kenji hadn’t expressed the desire to do that kind of thing much earlier and had just resorted to scratching the back of his neck at odd times.

Miaka had always worn her hair that way, and with Kenji’s already uncanny resemblance to her, Imakarum wasn’t particularly eager to have his son doing something that would make him look even more like his long-dead mother. But all of that had been before he’d seen how cute Kenji looked with his hair tied back. The look really did suit him, even as much as it sometimes threatened to distract Imakarum from his assigned duties.

But right at the moment there was no one to see them, no one to see that he was not acting as an Overlord of Chronos was expected to, and so Imakarum continued to play with Kenji’s hair. Kenji’s obvious pleasure in such a simple act made Imakarum very reluctant to stop, but when the pilot announced that they had arrived at Chronos Brazil and would hence be landing soon, Imakarum knew that he would have to do so soon. Once the transport had landed, Imakarum gently helped Kenji to stand and took his hand.

He knew that the physical contact would help Kenji to not feel so bereft after losing his father’s ministrations on his hair, and so Imakarum gently tugged on Kenji’s hand to get him to follow along.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Kenji?" Imakarum turned to look at his son over his left shoulder.

"What’s Chronos Brazil like, anyway?"

"I don’t know," Imakarum admitted, making his way out of the main heliport and down from the roof of Chronos’ Brazilian installation. "I’ve never been to this Section before."

"Why not?"

"I just never saw any particular reason to come here; I wasn’t particularly curious, and there were no major problems reported in the area."

"What made you want to come here now, Dad?"

"I finally decided that I was, in fact, curious about this Section of Chronos," Imakarum stated, knowing even as he spoke that his words were only half true. "I’ve never been to a rainforest either—at least not one of such an immense size."

Masaki Murakami had been to a rainforest, but Masaki Murakami was dead, and Imakarum was not about to rely on the memories of a dead man to tell him anything about the place that he was now going to. Kenji seemed to realize that the conversation was ended, since he said nothing more on the matter of what they were doing or where they were going. That was good, since it let Imakarum consider just what he was going to say to Lord Waferdanos when they met.

He knew that the Third Zoalord, who held dominion over this Section of Chronos, was very loyal to Lord Alkanphel’s cause. So there was no reason to discuss things of that nature with him. Perhaps he could take in the scenery at the spa when he wasn’t looking after Kenji. It really was a pleasant place, this Paradise Valley Health Spa that Lord Waferdanos had created as the focal point of the South America Section.

It was certainly an interesting way to get the humans to respond positively to Chronos, at least in this area of the world.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Kenji?" Imakarum said as he turned to look over his right shoulder.

"Can we have something to eat before we go look around at Chronos Brazil? I’m hungry."

"I think we could manage to do that," Imakarum said, chuckling. "We don’t have any real schedule to keep, after all."

Turning slightly as Kenji touched his left arm, Imakarum smiled as his son slipped his hand into his. Imakarum gently squeezed his fingers before he started down the stairway that would lead them into Chronos Brazil. He had to let go for a few minutes while they descended the staircase, since it wasn’t wide enough for the two of them to walk abreast, but when they reached the main floor Imakarum took Kenji’s hand again and stroked the back of it.

Kenji turned his sun-bright smile on Imakarum, and they continued on their way into the main area of Chronos Brazil. They would have to avoid the humans in this place, since he wasn’t dressed for dealing with them and Kenji was still so obviously a child – in mind if not in body – but that would be very easy for someone like him.

He’d managed to find a janitor’s supply closet and a uniform that fit him without looking too baggy, and now Ryan was trying to find a way to get out of… of wherever it was that he was being held. He’d long since made up his mind that this place couldn’t possibly be any kind of hospital, no matter how they tried to dress the place up—there were too many big, armed guards, for one thing, and for another the place was entirely too empty.

Not empty of people, of course, what with the massive amount of guards and… other types of people they had running around in the place.