To a Very Special Person

As it so often happened, Kobayashi was unaware of what had transpired until the following day when, as it should never happen, she read about it on the local news app on her phone. The article was thankfully vague, but it was clear that a certain somebody who shouldn’t be seen in her true form, was spotted in the skies over Tokyo.

“Kanna!” Kobayashi called brusquely. “Come here, please!”

White-lavender hair and bright blue eyes peeked around the corner of the bedroom door, but dared not move farther than that. Kobayashi adjusted her glasses and closed her eyes, letting out a long breath to calm herself and tried again.

“Kanna? Could you please come here?”

The young girl hesitantly approached Kobayashi, her diminutive height making her seem all the more child-like despite her great many years relative to the humans. One might not know from looking, but this girl in the pastel gothic-lolita outfit with tribal accents, was actually a dragon. Indeed, her horns were visible on her head and a long thin tail with a ball at the end swished nervously as she awaited Kobayashi’s admonishment.

“Kanna-chan, what did we say about letting people see our true form?” Kobayashi asked, doing her best to remain as serene as possible.

“Nobody should see a dragon in Tokyo,” Kanna said softly, her voice nearly a monotone.

“Correct. And what did people see in the skies of Tokyo yesterday?” Kobayashi continued, her own voice softening in reaction to the cute dragon girl before her.

“They saw me,” Kanna replied.

“Can you please tell me why they saw you, Kanna-chan?” Now that she had shifted into a more motherly role, Kobayashi was having a much easier time remaining calm despite the news article’s blurry photo of Kanna’s dragon form as seen from the streets of Shibuya.

Kanna nodded and shuffled back to her room without saying a word. Kobayashi frowned, not knowing what to expect. Ever since she had taken in her dragon maid as well as the younger dragon girl, the software engineer’s life had been turned upside-down. It was downright shocking how well the young woman had taken all of this in stride, in fact moving to a larger apartment to accommodate the three of them more comfortably. Perhaps it was some subconscious desire for companionship that overrode Kobayashi’s human survival instincts and allowed her to cohabitate with the mythological beings from a parallel world.

After a couple long minutes, Kanna returned to the living room with a neatly-wrapped package - a small blue red box with a shimmering golden ribbon tying it closed, a beautiful bow topping it all. Perplexed, Kobayashi accepted the package from Kanna, looking back to her adorably round face for further instruction.

“Open it. It’s for you,” Kanna stated with what could almost be confused for a hint of excitement as her large blue eyes shone expectantly.

Removing the bow was a simple matter and Kobayashi was soon looking into the box with a mix of emotions. At the top of the box was a card with the name ‘Kobayashi’ written in a neat, but slightly childish hand. Setting down the package on the coffee table, she opened the envelope and withdrew the card. It was a cute design, mostly butterflies and flowers. It read, “To someone very special.”

Kanna said softly, “I’m sorry it’s a couple days late.”

Kobayashi opened the card and on the inside, there was a drawing of Kobayashi and Kanna holding hands next to the words “Happy Mother’s Day.” It was signed “Kanna Kobayashi.”

Choked up with emotion, she set the card down on the table and looked back in the box. There was a silky red tie with the embossed image of a pair of dragons entwined around its surface. Without hesitation, Kobayashi removed the yellow tie that was a signature part of her appearance and put the red tie around her neck, quickly knotting it in a Double-Windsor and pulling it taut.

She looked to Kanna, whose eyes were welled up with tears and whose mouth was curled into the barest hint of a smile. This was Kanna’s over-joyed face - an expression rarely seen but heart-warming when viewed. Kobayashi pulled Kanna into an embrace as if guided by an outside force. When she realized what she had done, she pulled away and coughed.

“Thank you very much for the gift, Kanna. It’s incredibly thoughtful and I really appreciate it,” Kobayashi said in a slightly shaky voice. In truth, it was one of the most thoughtful things anyone had ever done for her and it filled her with a mix of emotions that threatened to bring out tears of her own. “Can you do me a favor, in the future, Kanna-chan?” she continued, if for no reason than to calm that turbulent feeling in her chest.

“Yes, Kobayashi?” Kanna replied quietly.

“Next time you need to run an errand outside of town, please ask Tohru to go with you? Tohru can use magic to hide you from view. Otherwise, please use the trains! I know they’re slow - I use them every day. But it’s the safest way to keep your secret so you can keep living with me.” Kobayashi, accustomed to being the voice of reason in most situations, was doing her best to remain logical despite the burgeoning maternal feelings welling up within her. She turned her phone towards Kanna, who looked at the picture on the phone and frowned.

“I’m sorry, I will make sure nobody sees my true form but you and Tohru and our friends.” Kanna rarely spoke this much at once, so Kobayashi knew that the young girl was being very earnest in her response.

Kobayashi smiled warmly, another rare expression for a woman who is normally described as having “dead fish eyes.” She reached out and patted the pastel-colored girl on the head, an action which elicited a contented smile from Kanna as she accepted the head-pats.

Tohru peeked from around the corner of her room, jealousy kept at bay by the sincerity of the moment. Sneaking a camera up into position, she surreptitiously took a picture and smiled. Looking down at the warm scene on the LCD screen, she scrolled back and saw the picture of Kanna as seen from the streets of Shibuya. Tohru nodded and turned off the camera. Next time, she thought, Kanna would be more careful - and more decisive in giving gifts. And less likely to be in the news.