It was a quiet night in Japan, despite several employees working late to make ends meet. it was especially quiet in the forested mountains that surround Tokyo. That was until a sudden flash of light was emitted within the forest at midnight frightening the local wildlife. when the light dimmed down, a massive green dragon was left in it's stead. The green behemoth growled in pain as it rolled to it's left, revealing a massive blade in lodged in her right side, blood flowing out of the wound in rivulets. The beast rested on it's left in a vain effort to ease the agony. it closed its eyes and slowed it's breathing, as if it was preparing for it's end. it laid still for minutes, slowly slipping in and out of unconsciousness as time went by. It's senses began to fade, growing weaker each second...until its ears picked up a peculiar sound. it opened its eyes and turned it's head to the direction of the sound, making it out to be footsteps. human footsteps. the dragon growled in annoyance, for it hoped to at least die in peace, but it couldn't even have that. it used a spell to make itself visible and waited as the human appeared in the clearing seconds later. it was a man, wearing a light grey shirt and black pants. he had lightly tanned skin, leaf green eyes and shining gold hair. The human seemed odd to the dragon, both in appearance and behavior, for it had not expected any humans to appear in the forest at this time.
"Hello?" the man called out, not able to find anything of interest. "this can't be right. The energy signature I detected led me right here. how can there be noth-".
he stopped in mid-sentence, as he breathed heavily through his nose.
"blood." he muttered, looking in the direction of the highest scent.
He soon spotted what was indeed a puddle of blood seeping into the ground. he then saw the source; a stream of blood flowing from mid-air. he approached the area, but before he could get within five feet of the wound, he heard a loud rumbling, and a menacing, feminine voice calling out;
"Begone, human, before I decide to make a snack out of you."
With that, the dragon dispelled the invisibility spell, revealing itself to the man. The dragon expected the human to turn and run from it in terror, but he instead stood there, surprised, but one that lead to curiosity.
"A dragon, how peculiar." he surmised, placing a hand to his chin. "I wasn't expecting an actual dragon to be here. you seem to possess quite the intellect, dragon, so I must assume that you are the cause of the energy spike I detected in this area?"
The dragon in question was baffled by the man's nonchalant attitude towards it, which was soon replaced by annoyance. it decided to answer the man's question in hopes of getting him to leave.
"If you must know, then yes, I am. This 'energy spike' as you refer it as was due to me using my magic to enter into this world. I did so with the intent of escaping a vicious battle against God and his soldiers, though I ended up with a fatal injury in the process." it explained, looking over to her wound. "now that I explained to you what has transpired, leave me, so I may die with some quietness."
the man, however, did not leave, instead walking over to the wound, inspecting the blade stabbed into it's side.
"Oh no no, I simply cannot leave you here without providing medical aid. we must make sure you are in heathy condition." The man stated, placing his hand on the dragon's side. "it is my duty as a doctor to ensure this."
the dragon stared at the man in utter confusion, trying to process what he had just said.
"You would help me, a mighty and fearsome dragon, when you had just met me? Why would you do so? what do you hope to gain from me in return?" the dragon questioned in a menacing tone.
"what I would hope to gain is the simple satisfaction of helping someone when they need help. now, since you're a magic dragon from another world, I'd imagine you would have some kind of healing ability?" he inquired.
the dragon shifted her weight to get more comfortable, before nodding her head in confirmation.
"that's good, I at least won't have to worry about tending to the wound when I pull it out." he replied, before gripping the blade with both hands before pulling.
"wait, don't touch that, or you-" the dragon began, before it stopped suddenly, shocked by what it saw. The man stood there, holding the massive sword above his head effortlessly, before tossing it behind him. The sword clanged loudly against the dirt ground, before it disappeared in a flash of white light.
"I'm sorry, were you saying something?" the man asked, looking at the dragon.
"...that blade was made by the hand of God, and you pulled it out without any problem at all. That must mean that you lack faith, for a normal mortal would go insane just by touching the sword." the dragon stated, starting to gain back its bearings, breathing more easily as the wound started healing. "...you have my gratitude, human."
"Ah...well, for what it's worth, you're welcome. I must ask, though. do you intend to head back to your world, or do you wish to stay here?" the man responded, waiting for the dragon to answer. The dragon took a moment to contemplate, before answering:
"No, I will not go back to my world. I dare not risk it, for I may be hunted and pursued by God's forces."
"Where do you plan on staying, then? I could hardly call a forest in the mountains a comfortable home." The man asked, concern in his tone.
"...I was hoping that you may be able to answer that, human." the dragon replied. "You have saved my life this night, therefore my life is yours."
the man's eyes widened in surprise, clearly not expecting it say such a thing.
"Please, please, you shouldn't feel as if you owe yourself to me, I was happy to help. there is no need to make su-" he began, but stopped when he noticed the dragon's expression.
It seemed to be somber, as if it felt dejected by the man's words. he thought about what the dragon said, trying to decide what course of action was best.
"...right, well, if you do wish to offer yourself to me in service, then I suppose I'll allow it." he finally answered, rubbing the back of his head.
the dragon in turn raised its head in excitement.
"You mean it?!" it exclaimed
"Well, there may be a problem with fitting you in...I mean, no offense, but you are rather large for a normal, human sized house..." he stammered.
"Oh, that won't be a problem, I can just shapeshift myself into a human, space wouldn't be an issue at all!" the dragon responded.
The dragon was then enveloped in a flash of light, causing the man to avert his eyes. when the light died down, the dragon was gone. in it's place was a young woman, one that had a voluminous body structure...and bereft of clothing. The man instinctively turned away from the woman as a result, sweat forming upon his brow. The woman tilted her head in confusion, before catching on to the situation, and in another flash of light, has now donned herself in a simple dress. The man slowly turned back to the woman, letting out a sigh of relief as he saw her fully dressed.
"hmm...I must say, you look rather nice. This would also help with the room issue." The man stated, looking up and down her figure.
"well, if we're going to live together from here on out, I think we should know each others names. I am Hiro Watanabe, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss...?"
"Tohru." The woman replied, taking Hiro's hand. the two then began walking out of the forest, down to the bottom of the mountain.
"I'll be able to drive us to my home, it's only a thirty-minute drive from here." Hiro explained.
"Drive? you mean you possess a horse-drawn carriage?" Tohru asked.
"No, not a carriage. those have been unused for a while now. I'm referring to a car." Hiro answered. he stopped and motioned his hand forward. Tohru followed his direction. she then spotted a large, navy blue contraption in front of her, gleaming under the moonlight.
"What is this metal thing? it's not like any form of transportation I've ever seen. there isn't even any horses to pull it. how does it move?" Tohru inquired, looking over the vehicle.
"Hop on in and I'll show you!" Hiro said enthusiastically. he walked over to the right side of the vehicle, opening the door and getting in. Tohru opened the door on the left and sat down on a seat next to Hiro, finding it to be rather comfortable.
"Alright, here's how it works." Hiro began, rummaging through his pocket. he pulled a set of keys seconds later.
"First, you use the car key to turn on the ignition, just left of the drivers wheel. This will ignite the fuel in the gas tank, like so." he went on, placing a key in a slot next to the wheel in front of him. he turned the key, and a loud strange sound was emitted. he let go of the key and the dashboard lit up, displaying all types of words, numbers and symbols.
"Once the car is turned on, switch the gears from brake to drive with this lever." Hiro went on. he pulled the lever between them from the top to the middle.
"Then, to get the car moving, you push your right foot on the accelerator here." he finished, doing as he said.
with that, the car moved out of the area, surprising Tohru. The car made it's way down the mountainside, Hiro going on into further detail on how it works. he also explained that to get one, person needs a drivers license, showing his own as a reference. The two were now at the base of the mountain, heading towards the city.
"This place is Tokyo city, the capitol city of Japan." Hiro said. "The view is beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yeah..." Tohru murmured, staring at the skyscrapers. They soon drove into the city's outskirts, driving for a few minutes before stopping at a large two-storey house.
"We're here." Hiro announced. he turned the key back and pulled it out before getting out of the car. Tohru followed suit, walking next to him as he locked his car. They both walked to the front door, Hiro finding the key to unlock it. They then walked into the house, revealing a large, spacious room with several types of furniture. another room was next to it, with a table and various kinds of kitchen utensils.
"The bedrooms are upstairs. come, I'll show you yours." Hiro said, leading Tohru up a staircase. once they reached the top, he led her down a hallway, until he opened a door near the end. The doorway revealed a simple room with a bed, dresser and closet.
"sorry if it seems rather empty, I really only keep it furnished for guests. I have an extra set blankets and bedsheets for you to use." Hiro stated, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.
It's fine, Hiro, in fact it's great! I've never been inside a room before. at least, not like this. and the bed, it's so soft and comfortable..." Tohru replied rolling to the bed.
"I take it that finding a place to live was hard for you, eh?" Hiro inquired. "Can't say there would be many comfortable space for a dragon."
"You're right about that. I've tried living in caves, ancient ruins, mountains...I've even slept while flying a few times as well!" Tohru answered, lightly hopping on the bed now. "Thank you, master Hiro."
"Master?" Hiro asked, confused. "Oh! right, that. well, please, just call me Hiro. referring to me as master makes it feel like you're my slave."
"I thought I was though, right?" Tohru asked, looking at Hiro in confusion.
"No, not at all. if you were a slave, you'd be serving me against your will." Hiro explained. " You're willingly serving me, as far as I can tell, so you would be more like a maid, I suppose."
"Ooohhh, I think I get it..." Tohru murmured, looking down at her dress. suddenly she jumped straight from the bed.
"Right, so from here on out, I am your personal dragon maid!" Tohru exclaimed. a pair of wings then popped out of her back, along with a thick green tail and a pair of horns. her attire changed as well, morphing into a typical maid outfit.
"I am glad that you are enjoying your new life, but you should wait until morning before you start your new job. It's getting late, and you should get some rest, especially after what had just transpired tonight." Hiro explained.
"Right, Right. well, until tomorrow, then!" Tohru stated, hopping back onto the bed.
"Until tomorrow, indeed. good night, Tohru." Hiro said, heading out.
"Goodnight, Hiro..." Tohru responded, already falling asleep.
Hiro closed the door behind him, quietly walking down the hallway, down the steps and into his living room. he sat down onto his sofa as he recalled what had happened last night.
'A dragon from another world has appeared in the mountains of Tokyo. That is something that cannot go unnoticed. ' he thought to himself. 'chances are, someone or something from her world would try to get here in order to look for her. They may not be as negotiable as Tohru. This is something that needs to be addressed.'
He looked towards the staircase for a moment, before letting out a small yawn.
"This issue will have to wait until tomorrow, though." he said to himself. he rose from his seat on the sofa and walked up the stairs, going to his room at the beginning of the hallway. he strolled into the room, undoing his clothing at the same time before placing them into the laundry bin. after doing so, he put on his pajamas and rolled over the blanket to slip into his bed. Hiro then closed his eyes, slowly drifting into sleep, resting for what is to come the next day.
