When You're With Me (ch7)

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY $30+ PATRONS!

Gosh I've been dying to write these two... I just needed to get them out of my system cuz they've been too darn cute in all of season 2 again. It ended up as hurt/comfort and fluff again somehow cuz that's my brand.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon.

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					Chapter 7. By The River

"Kanna-san, Kanna-san!" Riko chants cheerfully as they begin their walk home from school. "Can we take the long way home? Georgie said the flowers by the river have started to bloom! I want to see them with you!"

Up until this point in their walk, Kanna has been thinking about one of their school lessons from earlier in the day. Their teacher had taught them about the life cycle of frogs. In her homeland, frogs were much bigger and often had small wings and tongues so long and powerful they could snatch eagles from the sky.

But in this world they apparently start out as tiny little tadpoles and then only grow up to be frogs that can fit into the palm of her hand, and all they eat are bugs. Kanna had never eaten a frog before, but she's been wondering lately what one might taste like.

"Kanna-san?" Riko prompts her again, giving her a soft nudge with her elbow. "Earth to Kanna-san?"

"Oh." Kanna blinks out of her thoughts and turns to her friend. "Sorry. What is it, Saikawa?"

Riko smiles, blushing faintly.

"I'd just asked if you wanted to walk back by the river today so we can see the flowers."

"The river…" Kanna envisions the shallow water along the bank, swimming with tiny black tadpoles like she'd see in the video in class. "Mm. Let's go."

Riko lights up, and her face turns even pinker.

"R-Really? Okay!"

The two little girls follow the sidewalk away from school property for a little ways, then take a different path home than usual. It requires them to cross the road. As they're waiting at the crosswalk, Riko is beside herself with excitement.

She said yes! I get to have a nice romantic walk home with Kanna-san! She sways and giggles to herself mirthfully.

And then she feels a soft hand around hers. Riko's heart backflips.

"K-Kanna-san?!"

"Saikawa," Kanna says in her usual monotone. "Let's hold hands when we cross."

Riko starts to overheat like a tea kettle.

"Y-Yes!" She curls her fingers around Kanna's tightly, sending out a silent prayer of thanks to the gods.

When the light turns green, they cross along with a few other kids and adults. Once they've reached the other side, Riko respectfully lets go of her friend's hand. Kanna gives her a curious look.

"Saikawa?"

"W-Well, you'd said just for when we cross! B-Besides, if we held hands any longer, I don't think my heart could-"

"Let's keep holding hands."

"Y-Yes!"

And so they do. They continue holding hands until the sidewalk splits off with a second path that leads down toward the grass that eventually leads to the river. The two girls take that manmade path down a small incline of a hill.

"Hey, Kanna-san! Let's do what we did last time and only step on the white parts!"

Kanna nods.

"Sounds good."

They let go of each other's hands, and though Riko is a little sad for it, she definitely needs a moment to catch her breath and wipe the clamminess off her palm.

They each start on a white section of the cobblestone path and start hopping along. Riko giggles out loud all the while, always planning her next jump carefully. Kanna makes each leap with ease, without even needing to call on her dragon skills.

And just like last time they end up bumping into each other as they land on the same spot.

"Wah-!" Riko scrambles, torn between trying not to fall and trying not to grab onto Kanna for fear of making her fall too. But Kanna puts her arms around her and steadies them with little effort.

"Gotcha."

Riko turns red, but slowly regains her balance.

"Th-Thank you…"

"We're almost at the river."

Kanna takes Riko's hand again, causing her to squeal a high-pitched wheeze as they continue.

They pass by a few little patches of colored, decorative stones, and then a few flowerbeds people had planted, all sprouting with different blossoms. Riko cries out with excitement at the sight of just about every single one of them.

"Kanna-san look! These crocuses are so cute! And look at those snapdragons!"

"They smell nice," Kanna comments, crouching down beside her. "Saikawa, you smell nice, too."

"E-Eeeh?!"

They continue walking a bit more slowly so they can admire the flowers. Kanna lifts her nose to smell for the scent of the river to guess how close they are.

That's when Riko suddenly lets out a startled gasp.

"Kanna-san, look out!"

From behind them on the path, two older boys come speeding down on their bicycles straight toward them. Riko gives Kanna a frantic shove and pushes them both down into a patch of stones just as the boys go racing by.

Kanna lets out a small "oof" as she lands in the rocks, and Riko whimpers beside her. With a huff, she sits up and turns around to glare at the boys that pass them by, laughing. Kanna opens her mouth and shoots out a very small, very fast burst of energy. It beelines straight for them and hits one of their back tires. The two boys shout in surprise as they both go crashing into each other and end up in a hedge. Kanna puffs out a satisfied breath, then turns back to her companion.

"Saikawa, are you okay?"

"Ow…" Riko pushes herself up on the rocks, wincing slightly. When she lifts up her hands, both of her palms have been cut open and are smeared with blood. Tears start filling her eyes. "Oww…"

Kanna instinctually tenses at the sight of blood. Being that her own skin is actually her scales, the rocks hadn't so much as scraped her at all. But Riko is bleeding from her hands and her knees as well.

As the tears start dripping down, Riko clasps her hands together at her chest.

"Th-This is nothing! I'm a big girl-"

Kanna has seen her sad and even sick before, but never hurt like this.

But before she can start to worry too much, she remembers the little first aid kit Kobayashi had shown her she'd put into her backpack's side pocket. Kanna quickly takes off her backpack and unzips the pocket to take out the kit.

Normally in the dragon world, injuries were healed by licking, because their saliva contained healing chemicals.

But Tohru-sama told me I can't do that with humans.

So Kanna opens up the little kit, finding a few disinfectant wipes, tissues, and band-aides inside.

"Saikawa, give me your hands."

Riko had her eyes shut, but when she reopens them a look of relief crosses her face. Slowly, she extends her left hand first. Kanna holds it gently and pads a wipe over the bloody scratches. Riko flinches, but doesn't let out the yelp of pain. Kanna cleans off the wound gently.

"Does it hurt?"

"O-Only a little…"

Once the wound is clean, Kanna peels off a band-aide and covers the worst cut with it. Then she motions for Riko's other hand. Riko complies, so amazed by Kanna's handiwork that she'd stopped crying so she could watch her.

Kanna gives her right hand the same treatment, then looks to her friend's scraped knees. Riko shifts to stick her legs out, holding up the ends of her dress a little. Kanna wipes her knees clean and places a band-aide on each, then puts all the garbage back into the kit to throw away later.

"There," she says at last. "Saikawa, you're all better."

Riko sniffles one last time.

"Kanna-san…" She's amazed by Kanna's ability to stay calm and think clearly. And she really does feel much better already. Her hands and knees still ache a little, but that's all. But then Riko leans forward worriedly. "Wh-What about you, Kanna-san? Are you hurt? I swear I'll find those boys and-"

"I'm fine," Kanna says, showing her hands and knees. Riko sighs with relief.

"Thank goodness."

Kanna puts her backpack back on and stands up, then offers her hands to Riko. Riko wobbles a little bit on her feet, so Kanna keeps hold of one of her hands.

"Do you wanna go home?" Kanna asks. But Riko shakes her head determinedly.

"No, we're almost there! I really wanna see the flowers with you, Kanna-san!"

Kanna casts out her senses that allow her to feel for other beings. She can still feel a slight twinging coming from Riko's hands and knees, but overall she's all right. Kanna nods in satisfaction.

"Okay. Let's go."

They help each other back onto the path, and keep walking.

It's only a few more minutes before they can see the river. Having already forgotten the accident, Riko excitedly pulls Kanna along onto the grass.

"There!" she points. "The flowers!"

Just as Georgie had said, clusters of tiny pink and purple flowers have sprouted up along the riverbed. Riko pulls Kanna right over to them, and they both crouch down to observe.

"They're so pretty!" Riko squeals. "Even though they're all so tiny, there's so many of them that they still color the whole riverside! The pink and the purple flowers with all the green grass and the blue river behind it, and then with a bit of sunshine… It's like a painting!"

Kanna listens with interest.

"Maybe we can paint it for art class."

"Yeah!"

Riko scours the plants around her for a perfect flower with all its petals, then plucks it at the base of the stalk.

A perfect one for Kanna-san!

As she's steeling herself to give it to her, Kanna has slowly leaned over when Riko wasn't looking to give one of the wildflowers an experimental lick. She chomps down on it and chews, contemplating, but after swallowing decides against eating another one.

By then, Riko has worked up the courage to turn around.

"K-Kanna-san!" she yelps, holding out the pink flower. "H-Here! Something for you to remember this by!"

Kanna blinks and accepts the gift, and Riko nearly faints. Kanna picks a purple one and hands it to her in return.

"For you, Saikawa."

"Eee! Th-Thank you!" Riko pulls the flower to her chest and kisses it softly.

They admire the flowers for a few more minutes, slowly making their way through the tall grasses and plants toward the edge of the river. Each still holding their flowers, they look out to gaze at the water.

"It's so clear and pretty!" Riko smiles. "Ah, Kanna-san look! Fish!"

"Oooh." Kanna peers in to watch the fish, remembering the times when she would sit at the river in the other world and stick her head in and bite down on handfuls of them at a time.

They walk a little farther down before Riko tugs on her sleeve again.

"Kanna-san, a froggie!"

Kanna follows her finger to a little green frog sitting at the edge of the shore. Kanna marvels at it.

"Ooh. It looks just like the one we learned about in class."

"Yes! I think they're cute from a distance, but you shouldn't touch them."

"Got it."

They stand and watch the frog and the fish for another few minutes. Kanna glances at Riko to find her beaming.

"I'm so happy we came this way today!" she sighs. "Seeing the flowers with you was like a dream come true, Kanna-san!"

"I had fun, too. Thanks, Saikawa."

"D-Don't mention it."

They'd both been so caught up in the scenery that they'd failed to notice the clouds rolling in. Kanna lifts her face and sniffs the air, scenting rain.

"Saikawa, we should go back now."

Riko also looks fretfully up at the sky.

"Y-You're right. I didn't know it was going to rain…"

Kanna can tell she's a little sad to have to cut their fun time short. So Kanna offers her hand. Riko smiles and accepts.

They walk away from the river together, still holding their flowers in their other hands as they head back to the path. But the sky darkens, and the rain comes all at once in a sudden downpour. Riko shrieks as she's drenched within seconds.

"Wah! Wh-What the heck!"

Kanna looks up the small hill of the path to the nearest shelter, a bench covered by a big tree.

"Saikawa, let's go there."

"O-Okay!"

Kanna tightens her hold on Riko's hand. They share a nod, and then take off running.

Kanna assess the footing and leads Riko to the driest spots, but the rain is quickly soaking every inch of the path.

Riko does her best to keep up, holding on tightly to Kanna. But she feels it the moment her shoe splashes into a big puddle, and suddenly her balance starts to topple.

"K-Kanna-san-!"

But Kanna is so focused on their destination that she doesn't even realize Riko's hand has slipped right out of hers until it's already too late. She continues on for a few paces alone until she hears a thud and a cry of pain. Kanna halts and turns back.

Riko had fallen face-down on the path, and every inch of her is soaked through. Kanna hurries back to her.

"Saikawa-"

"Ahh, ow, ow…"

Kanna casts out her senses again. She can feel a fresh wave of heat and pain coming from Riko's ankle. She picks up Riko's hands in each of hers, helping her lift herself up a little. There's a trickle of blood on Riko's lip, but the rain washes it away instantly.

"Saikawa, are you okay?"

Riko has started to hiccup, looking terribly miserable and waterlogged.

"I-I'm okay-" she sniffles. "This is nothing-" Squeezing Kanna's hands, she tries to get up. But her ankle gives immediately and she collapses just as Kanna reaches out to hug her. "Aaah- ow-!"

"Saikawa." Kanna pats her back, looking around in search of help. But there's no one else around. Riko has started to cry again, harder than before. Kanna hugs her tighter.

"I'll carry you."

Riko shakes her head.

"I-I'm too heavy…"

"I can do it."

Riko sniffles.

"Kanna-san…"

Kanna tucks her flower into her backpack first. Riko had managed to hold onto hers through the fall, so Kanna takes that too and carefully tucks it in with hers. She slips the strap of her backpack over her arm instead, then turns around to face away from Riko.

"Saikawa, hold onto me."

"E-Eh…?"

"I'll carry you."

Riko can hardly see clearly past the tears and rainwater flooding her vision. But she can feel the pain in her ankle like fire, and she knows she won't be able to walk on her own. Slowly, she reaches her arms around Kanna's neck.

"O-Okay…"

Kanna reaches back to hold her legs.

I've seen Tohru-sama carry Kobayashi-san like this before when she drinks a lot. I can't transform in front of Saikawa, so it's best to do it this way.

Kanna is completely confident in her abilities, even in this body. However, Riko is panicking.

"K-Kanna-san, I'm too heavy! You're gonna hurt yourself!"

"Hang on."

"E-Ehh-?"

Kanna holds onto her legs and starts to stand up. Riko yelps and clings onto her as tight as she can.

And to her amazement, Kanna manages to stand up without a hitch. Riko wipes her face into the sleeve of her dress and blinks in shock.

"W-Wow! K-Kanna-san, you're amazing!"

"Saikawa, you're really light. Let's go to the tree."

"O-Okay."

Riko holds onto her as Kanna starts walking up the rest of the path through the rain.

Kanna pouts a little, since she doesn't have the ability to clear the skies and change the weather like Tohru does just yet, so they're going to have to wait the rain out. She doesn't mind it herself, but she can feel Riko shaking on her back, and there's still a sense of painful twisting coming from her injured ankle.

Kanna herself had never been hurt like that before. Whatever injuries she'd sustained in her dragon form had been minor enough to be healed with a lick or two, as she wasn't old enough to get involved in territorial disputes or other fights yet. She hadn't gotten hurt in her human form either, because her scales were so sturdy.

But Riko had gotten hurt twice today, just from some rocks and some rainwater.

And yet, the last thought on Kanna's mind is that it makes her weak.

Even though she was hurt, Riko kept saying she was okay. She kept trying to get up. Most creatures would have just curled up and taken shelter or given up.

But even if the young humans like Riko would cry, they always kept trying.

Even now, Kanna can hear Riko trying to hold back the sobs. She tilts her head back a little bit, letting it brush against hers.

"Saikawa, you're really strong."

Riko sniffles again and lifts her head.

"Me…? Kanna-san, you're the strong one. You're carrying me!"

But Kanna shakes her head.

"No. Saikawa is stronger."

"Eh…"

Hearing Kanna of all people say that about her makes Riko crack a smile through the pain.

At last, Kanna reaches the bench and the shelter of the tree, even though both girls are already drenched by now. She puts down her backpack first, then slowly crouches down to let Riko off onto the bench. Riko flinches and bites back a few more whimpers, keeping her bad foot dangling off the ground.

Kanna turns around and sits down beside her. She can still sense the pain in Riko's ankle is spreading, but Riko is doing her best to hold back more sobs. Kanna touches her hand.

"Saikawa, are you okay?"

Riko nods several times.

"I-I'm fine…"

Kanna frowns.

"You shouldn't lie."

Riko gasps, and her eyes immediately overflow.

"It… It hurts-" she hiccups. "It hurts… Kanna-san…" Riko breaks down into a caterwaul, covering her face with both arms.

Though Kanna had been the one to tell her to be honest, it still stings to hear Riko make such a sound. Kanna pulls her into a hug, and Riko shivers from the cold rain and her wet clothes.

And now that Riko isn't looking at her, Kanna can risk sending out a flare. She breathes it out quickly and aims it into the sky.

Tohru-sama, please come help…

For the moment, Kanna just holds Riko as she wails.

"I… I just wanted… t-to see the flowers with you, Kanna-san… a-and today turned out like this…"

"Saikawa…" Kanna hasn't felt emotions like this in the human world since the time Tohru had been forced to leave. She wants to cry, too. But she doesn't really know how to, so instead she just hugs Riko more.

"I had fun," she says. "I'm sorry you got hurt."

"Kanna-san…"

Riko sobs a few more times before Kanna can sense her consciousness fading. At that point, Kanna lets out her wings to shield her from the rain.

Only a few moments later, she senses a shifting on the wind and looks up. Tohru appears, streaking toward them with her wings and tail visible, though she'd blocked perception. The moment she smells her, Tohru calls out.

"Kanna!"

"Tohru-sama."

Tohru lands in front of her, already startled with concern.

"Are you okay? What happened, Kanna?"

Tohru kneels down to wrap an arm around Kanna and the other around Riko. Kanna hugs her back.

"Saikawa and I went to see the flowers. But then it started raining and she fell."

Tohru eases back to sense for the little human girl.

"She's hurt."

Kanna nods.

"I carried her, but I couldn't fly."

Tohru gets back up and pats the little dragon proudly on the head.

"You patched up her external injuries very well, and you kept her warm. Good job, Kanna. I'll take you both home now."

Tohru first touches her fingertip to Riko's forehead and casts a gentle spell to ensure she'll stay asleep a while longer, and also one that helps with pain. She then scoops the two little girls up into her arms and crouches to let Kanna pick up her backpack with the flowers in it.

With her perception blocking still in effect, Tohru spreads her wings and takes off, batting the air enough to keep the rain from touching them. Kanna soon falls asleep in her arms with both her hands holding onto Riko's.

Tohru brings the two girls back to the apartment, where a stunned Kobayashi quickly gets them both dressed into warm dry clothes before calling Georgie to explain what Kanna had told Tohru had occurred.

Once Kobayashi has wrapped Riko's ankle and laid her in bed beside Kanna, Tohru casts a bit of magic to help the little girl's injury heal faster, as well as a spell to fend off sickness.

Ilulu helps Tohru make supper as Kobayashi watches over the little ones.

Kanna wakes up first to the smell of food, blinking in confusion to find Riko sleeping next to her.

"Saikawa…"

"She's gonna be just fine," Kobayashi says kindly. "You took good care of her, Kanna-chan."

"Kobayashi…" Kanna opens her arms, and Kobayashi hugs her gently.

Riko wakes up a short while later, looking a bit dizzy. When she realizes where she is and that Kanna is sitting up staring at her, she turns cherry-red.

"K-Kanna-san?"

"Saikawa's awake."

"Oh, good," Kobayashi smiles. "Dinner's almost ready."

"K-Kanna-san's mom-?!"

"Tohru-sama brought you back to our house," Kanna explains. "Saikawa, does it still hurt?"

"Eh…?" Riko had admittedly forgotten about her injuries. She looks down at her new change of clothes and finds that her hands and knees don't sting anymore. And even though her ankle has been wrapped and iced, it doesn't hurt at all.

"It… It doesn't hurt," she says at last. "And I'm not lying. I promise."

Kanna gives a nod, then hugs her again.

From there, they all have supper together. Riko talks to Georgie on the phone and is permitted to stay the night. After eating and brushing her teeth with a spare brush Kobayashi gives her, Riko tiredly follows Kanna back to her bedroom.

"Saikawa, since you're sleeping over you can use my bed. Ilulu will sleep on the couch."

"Eh? I-Is that okay?"

"Yeah. She doesn't mind."

Before they reach the bedroom, Tohru gives both girls a pat on the head, and Kobayashi hugs them each.

"Sleep well, you two."

"And if you need anything, just ask."

Kanna and Riko nod.

"Okay."

"Th-Thank you very much."

The two little girls climb into bed together and cuddle up beneath the blankets. Kanna is worried Riko might still be cold so she hugs her right away. Riko stiffens and turns pink again.

"K-Kanna-san-"

"Saikawa, you're soft."

"E-Ehhh-" Slowly, she drapes her arms around Kanna as well. "Kanna-san, you're soft too…"

"I had fun," Kanna says. "I like going on adventures with you, Saikawa."

Riko clings to her a little tighter.

"M-Me, too. Please keep coming with me, Kanna-san."

"Okay."

Finally, Riko drifts off to sleep. Kanna nuzzles into her hair and closes her eyes too.

Somehow, both girls end up sharing the same dream, of the two of them splashing around in the lake catching frogs.

And on the nightstand, placed in a small vase beside them, are pink and purple flowers.

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A/N: I didn't intend to hurt poor little Riko this much... it just happened... If she ever seriously got hurt I wanna see how Kanna would react. I wanna see her protect Riko and take care of her ;w;

I tried to write Kanna as best I could. Unlike Riko, Kanna doesn't show much emotion so it was a little tricky to balance her outer reactions and her (sometimes random) inner thoughts. Let me know how I did!