A/N: This is a little drabble-thing based off of what I like to call the 'Shad Arc' of the manga. I thought that Senri's actions were just too adorable for words, and needed to be added to just a little bit.
Hmm, maybe sometime soon I'll actually write something original about these two that isn't based off of a scene in the manga. XD
Senri X Cooro (light romance)
++Hurt++
Husky and Nana left in search of Cooro when he didn't return from his distracted flight. They know that sometimes the little crow would get sidetracked and might wander for a while, but it's been too long this time. Normally he comes back by dinner time, since he's constantly hungry. Yet it has been an hour since they ate up their dinner, and night is a couple hours from falling. If he's not back soon… they'll have to sleep and continue with a more thorough search in the morning.
Left with himself at the campsite, Senri folds up his legs close to his chest and thinks idle thoughts to himself. As his mind drifts, he looks up at the sky, the slowly sinking sun warm on his shoulders. He sighs and digs around in his bag for his precious book. He flips it open and finds the page he's looking for: a wordy page with a small black feather placed in the center. He lifts it and inspects the small black fibers branching out from the stem. "…Cooro," he whispers. He nods twice to himself, confirming who the feather belongs to and what his feeling are: he misses the younger boy, and prays that he's safe. Putting the feather back on the page and slamming the book shut, he returns the book to it's rightful place in his bag.
Then, glumly, the bear leans back against a rock and closes his eyes. He's asleep before Husky and Nana return.
xXxXx
The next morning, it's raining hard. Senri hardly pays attention to Husky's complaints of the two not waking him up to tell him that their sleeping spot is flooded, or Nana's response about how he's part fish so it hardly matters.
After collective shivering and an attempt to find a higher place to make a fire and warm up again and perhaps dry their clothes, Senri wanders out into the rain once more. It's still coming down in sheets, but he doesn't seem to mind.
"Senri, get back over here or else you'll catch cold!" Nana hollers out to him.
"Leave him be," Husky harrumphs as he crosses his arms over his slim chest. "He can do what he wants."
She stares at the tall, distant figure. "He must be really worried about Cooro; he keeps staring off at the mountains where we last saw him."
Husky shrugs. "I don't see why he worries so much. Cooro can take care of himself; if he gets into trouble, he can always fly away, even in rain like this."
"True," Nana sighs as she pokes the fire with a stick. "I just wish I could explain that to Senri."
Meanwhile, Senri is pacing forward again, his nose sniffing the air. The bear genes in him isn't only good for clawing with his right arm; it's also improves his sense of smell. Vaguely, in through the rain, he can smell Cooro's scent. It's a warm smell, like baked apples, mingled with a fresh smell, like bird wings in the wind.
Nana's bat ears pop out and perk up. "Husky," she says, "I hear flapping wings. Do you think it's Cooro?"
"Probably," Husky grunts. "And it's about time, too!"
"Senri!" Nana calls out to the grey-haired teen. She points toward the flapping noise. "I hear Cooro! Can you go get him? We'll keep the fire going and wait here where it's dry."
Senri nods solemnly and races off in the direction that the bat-girl pointed out. His eye scans the horizon, looking for anything the color of midnight black. Then, once he reaches a clearing, he spots it: a ball of black, two wings as curved around a body like shields from the rain and outsiders.
The Kimunkle's pace slows as he approaches what he knows can only be Cooro. The wet grass squeaks under his moccasins, even crunching a bit due to the nearing winter. As the icy rain pelts his clothing and runs coolly down his face, Senri leans down to stare at the black bundle. "Cooro," he says softly, his voice barely above a murmur.
"Go away, Senri," the black bundle replies after a moment of recognition. "I'll be fine."
But the bear is having none of that. He kneels down in the slightly muddy grass and reaches out. In seconds, he pries the wings apart and stares directly into Cooro's rain-soaked, flushing face. The crow-boy blinks in surprise, but doesn't say a word. The way he's crouched… almost in fetal position, with his arms hugging his knees and his head only seconds ago down on his arms… it sparks a memory in Senri's mind, although he's not quite sure what the memory is of. All he knows is this: the memory makes him sad.
Between Cooro's eyes a lock of hair drips rainwater onto his nose. Just above it, Senri finds as he lifts Cooro's dark bangs, is a scuffed patch of bloody red and torn skin. "Hurt…" he says with concern.
Cooro glances at the ground as he sighs. "No, it doesn't hurt anymore. But… I'm tired."
Senri cocks his head, wordlessly asking what happened.
The crow +Anima curls in more on himself. "I… I wanted to stay longer, but he told me to leave… I thought we were friends; he even gave me cheese. But maybe he's right… maybe, without meaning to, I was mocking him."
"Who?" Senri questions as he hauls Cooro to his feet and pulls him onto his back. He decides to carry Cooro, piggyback-style, back to camp since he's so tired.
"Shad," Cooro replies as more pink blooms onto his cheeks. He wraps his arms around Senri's neck and burrows his face in Senri's damp hair. "He was someone I met up in the mountains. He makes gliders and raises goats."
To keep the rain off of them as Senri hikes back to the campsite, Cooro arches his wings upwards like an umbrella hanging above them. Despite the chilling rain, Senri's back is warm against Cooro's chest, and the subtle motion of Senri's footsteps is enough to almost lull Cooro to sleep. He lays his head down on Senri's shoulder blade and shuts his eyes.
"Senri…"
The older boy pauses and peers over his shoulder in response.
"Thanks for coming to get me. And… I'm sorry that I left in the first place. It wasn't a smart idea."
Senri lets go of one of Cooro's legs to reach up and pat the younger boy on the head. It's his way of saying, 'it's alright, Cooro'.
And then they're marching back again in silence, Cooro slowly falling asleep.
When they arrive, Husky and Nana notice immediately Cooro's relaxed limbs and closed eyes, and are careful not to be too loud so not to wake him. They lay him down by the fire to dry, and ponder aloud if they should wake him to give him something to eat. But Senri shakes his head and simply lies down behind the young boy protectively, his arms latching onto Cooro's waist.
Husky and Nana shrug, not sure what this means. The fish-boy tells Nana softly that he'll be right back; he's going to go fishing for dinner. "Watch over those two, will you? Make sure that they're not getting sick," he says.
"You can count on me," Nana replies wholeheartedly. Once he's gone, she can't help but stare down at the two resting bodies and wonder what Senri knows about Cooro's disappearance. But the bat-girl is content to wait and find out when the two awake. Smiling, she murmurs to herself, "They sure look cute like that."