Miss Tohru's Dragon Butler

Chapter 6: Meisuke and Instruction

"Alright, Riko," Meisuke said as she lead the girl out of the house, "Let's start with the basics. We're going to into town and try to make sure you understand how traffic works. First of all, you'll see these big light things hanging up with three big circles. Now, when you see these-" Riko interrupted Meisuke, raising her hand to halt the woman's explanation.

"I'm not stupid, y'know!" Riko fumed. "I get how this all works! Just watch and I'll show you how this goes!"

Meisuke cocked a skeptical eyebrow at the overconfident girl. "Oh, do you now?" She asked. "Then show me."

Riko smirked as they arrived at the street and exclaimed, "Gladly!"

...Promptly before walking off of the sidewalk and into the street. In front of an oncoming car.

Riko's expression shifted immediately to one of shock, awe, and fear of the metal box rushing at her; images of a knight on a horse-or perhaps a horse AS a knight-charging at her filled her mind, and her long life began to flash before her eyes.

She couldn't help but bemoan that most of it was boring.

Suddenly, Riko found herself pulled out of the way at the last instant, and the car swerved just slightly to avoid hitting the girl. She hugged herself tightly, still shaking from the near-collision when she realized that Meisuke was still holding her by the neck of her shirt. Blood rushed to Riko's face as she realized the older dragoness appeared to have saved her life. Riko shook her head, flailing her arms as if to chase away the embarrassment as she cried, "Put me down! I can walk on my own!"

Meisuke shrugged, gently setting the girl back onto the sidewalk. Riko crossed her arms, hanging her head as she fumed for a moment before finally saying, "...I could figure this all out on my own, but it'd probably be faster if I just let you show me a couple things." She glanced away, unwilling to meet the older dragon's gaze. "...so you had better show me a few things." She then turned to face Meisuke, her confidence beginning to return. "But not everything!" She added, glancing away again. "I can figure out some things on my own."

Meisuke shrugged as the two began to walk along the sidewalk, a small smile beginning to play across her face as she said, "Whatever suits you."

Meisuke took in her surroundings as she began her lesson, saying, "Alright, first things first: the stuff we're walking on is the sidewalk. The black stuff between each side of the street is the road, and you can only cross it at the white striped paths. Got it so far?" She paused for Riko to nod in assent before continuing, "If there's a box hanging above the ends of the sidewalk, you can only start walking when it's green; otherwise, you might get hit by a car-" She paused, shooting a weary glance at the younger dragoness who had suddenly found an intensely interesting crack in the ground to look at instead of her before continuing, "-again. When there's no box, wait to make sure no cars are coming and then cross."

Riko tilted her head in confusion, saying, "What are cars, anyway? How do they work?"

Meisuke sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she answered, "I'll explain it when you're older and have a working understanding of chemistry, mechanics, and thermodynamics; until then, let's just say that it's magic, alright?"

Riko nodded before asking, "Does Miss Tohru have a car?"

Meisuke grimaced at this, answering, "I don't even think she has a license. I know I wouldn't let her have one; she'd probably crash within a few minutes of getting it. Plus, I don't think she could afford the loans or upkeep."

"Awwww." Riko moaned. "I wanted to ride in a car... why's power always got to have a price-tag attached...?" Riko paused for a moment before she turned to Meisuke again, asking, "Why don't you just carry her to work...?"

Meisuke threw up her arms in an 'x', saying, "No way. That'd be way too obvious, and whenever she stumbled out of whatever alley I dropped her off at, she'd get really funny looks. Plus, between you and me," Meisuke paused, glancing around to make sure no one was listening in, "I didn't want to say it, buuut... she's kinda heavy, and carrying her's KILLER on my back."

"Always the generous one, aren't you?" Riko deadpanned, to which Meisuke could only respond with a sheepish shrug.

...

"Another boarder...?" Takeshi asked.

Meisuke sighed, nodding her head. It was her lunch break, and she had been invited to eat at a small nearby diner with the eccentric man; she found that, before long, she was dumping all of the news of the last two days. "She's an... um... Relative of Meisuke's." She answered.

Takeshi rubbed his chin, considering this new information before asking, "...and how do you know Miss Meisuke, again?"

Tohru jolted at the question, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck with a sheepish smile. "Um..." She began, "...old family ties?"

Takeshi gave a knowing grin, but to Tohru's relief did not push the subject. However, the man's eyes flashed dangerously as he asked, "And this boarder... is she...?"

Tohru paused, unsure what he was asking until the answer clicked and she burst into laughter. "No, no!" She answered. "She's WAY too young to be a butler."

"Hmm." Takeshi said. "I suppose you have to be in your midlife to be a true butler."

"Hey!" Tohru shouted, drawing a pair of swirly-lensed glasses from her purse. "Don't knock the young monster butler! It's the modern craze!"

...

Riko hummed uncomfortably, her bravado visibly faltering as Meisuke looked on.

The older dragoness sighed at Riko's obvious confusion before beginning, "That device is called a 'see-saw', and it-"

"HAAAAH!" Riko shouted, throwing up her hands to cut Meisuke off. "Don't tell me! I can figure it out on my own!"

"Well then," Meisuke responded, "tell me what you think it is."

Riko jolted at the question, crossing her arms and turning away as she began to splutter, "well, obviously it's... it's..." She began rubbing her temples to jog her memory, before with a snap of her fingers she answered, "It's a training catapult! It's how the human children of this world learn to fight flying monsters!" Riko smirked, saying, "I'm right, aren't I? Of course I am! Because I am Saikawa Riko the Great!"

Meisuke smacked the child on the head to cries of 'hey!' as she said, "Not quite, Riko. Humility's a virtue, you know. Anyway, that's a 'see-saw', and kids play on it by having one sit on each end and moving up and down."

Riko considered this for a moment, her face lighting up as she declared, "That sounds incredible! Riko, you must ride the seesaw with me!"

"Nope." She answered without missing a beat.

...

"What's the smell?" Riko asked as sniffed the air.

Meisuke tilted her head before having a sniff herself, and she began to crack a smile at she pointed at a nearby food truck. "Aaaah. That's the crepes those guys are selling. You want one?"

Riko beamed, nodding quickly at the offer as Meisuke went to purchase a pair of the sweets.

A few minutes later, the dragonesses were sitting in a nearby park as they enjoyed the treats.

Riko smiled as she ate the crepe, watching the people stroll throughout the park or simply frolic carelessly. "...the humans of this world are so peaceful..." She noted.

Meisuke nodded in agreement, saying, "Some parts of this world, yeah. But we have to be careful; they don't have dragons or anything like us here, so we can't let them see us in our true forms."

Riko frowned. "There aren't any other dragons here? Did they leave or die out or what?"

The older dragoness shrugged, answering, "I don't really know. I'd like to think they got a nice, peaceful end, though I can't really say how likely that is."

Riko considered this answer for a moment before dismissing the thought, instead asking, "So we're stuck like this from now on?"

"You can't use cognitive inhibition magic yet, Riko?" Meisuke asked with a wry grin.

Riko's frown shifted quickly into shock and then again into a pout as she said, "Wha-? Yes, I-! That is, um... I mean, i-it's not like I had much reason to learn it, right! In our world it was just what cowardly dragons learned, and-"

Meisuke held her hand to stop the child short. "It's okay, Riko," she began, "I didn't really expect you to, and honestly? You're kinda right. It wasn't really useful there. But I'm sure you'll learn that and a bunch of other important magic as you get older." She paused, giving the child a thumbs-up and a wink as she said, "I believe in you, so it should be okay, yeah?"

Riko nodded, smiling again as she answered, "Yeah!"

The pair stood up and resumed their walk.

...

"Hey, Big Sis Meisuke..." Riko piped.

Meisuke blinked, turning to the child with a curious 'hmm?'

Riko glanced around uncomfortably, unsure of what to say before finally beginning, "I'm not sure if this world is a bad place, but it is pretty weird. I just... I don't get it. Why did you come here?"

Meisuke rubbed the back of her neck as she considered the question. It was a fair one, really; this world WAS pretty strange, and even though it was peaceful, it took some getting used to. So why bother going through the trouble? "Yeah," she eventually answered, "it's pretty weird, huh? Honestly, I only came here in the first place because I randomly came across it when I was escaping. I thought I would die here, and then it wouldn't matter if it was weird or not. But..."

She paused, scratching her cheek as she turned wistfully to the setting sun before continuing, "Miss Tohru found me then, when I should've died. I figured I was done for, but... I wasn't. I was going to live, all because she saved me, because she almost killed herself without realizing it. I couldn't just leave after that, so I stayed; I had decided to help her, and whatever else could just go and die for all I cared. I barely told anyone I was here, and the few who I did were just shut-in friends of mine, so it should be okay."

Riko narrowed her eyes, clearly unimpressed as she stated, "So basically you just gave up and retired, right? Lazy Big Sis Meisuke."

Meisuke chuckled awkwardly, saying, "Yeah, I guess you're right. But..." She trailed off.

Riko cocked her brow, asking, "But what?"

Meisuke turned to younger dragoness with a smile. "But right now, being in this strange world makes me happy, because... this world is the one with Tohru."

Riko cocked her head, stopping for a moment to consider Meisuke's statement. Realizing that the child was no longer following, Meisuke paused, turning to the child as she asked, "What's wrong, Riko? Do you want something?"

The girl nodded. "I want to see Miss Tohru."

Meisuke frowned. "If we do and get seen, her boss might get mad at us."

Riko pouted in response, saying, "As if someone as simple as her boss would stop me!"

Meisuke smiled. "You're in luck today, Riko." She began. "Any other day I would have scolded you. But today... today, I feel like going to see her, too." The older dragoness extended her hand, and a magical circle appeared as light began to envelop them both...

...

"Uwaaah," Tohru bemoaned in the back of the kitchen as she washed the various dishes the day had produced. "Why do I ALWAYS get stuck doing the stupid jobs! It's boring, and I could do so much more... why must life be so cruel to someone so adorableeee?" She sighed. "It's just not fai-"

She paused, glancing out the window. She wasn't sure, but she could almost swear that she had seen something... Beautiful. Glistening.

...oh well. She couldn't help but feel better now.

...

"And then she asked me why I wasn't working and then she yelled at me and it was awefuuuuuuul!" Tohru moaned, face pressed against the couch.

Meisuke exchanged a guilty glance with Riko. "Man, your coworker yelled at you for just glancing off into space? That's rough, and totally unfair."

Riko nodded, unwilling to look at Kobayashi. Neither she nor Meisuke would ever be quite sure how responsible they were for Tohru's suffering that day.

...

Riko moaned with pleasure, stretching luxuriously under the window as she basked in the afternoon sunlight. For a moment, she seemed content to soak in the light.

However, that moment passed quickly, and her joyful expression quickly shifted to one of disinterest as she turned to Meisuke and Tohru, saying, "I'm booored. I wanna go out and play! Big Sis Meisuke, take me outside!"

Tohru blinked as she said, "But weren't you just watching cartoons?"

Riko shook her head. "I got bored of that!" She declared. "I wanna go outside now!"

"Riko's only a kid, you have to remember." Meisuke said. "I was kind of a layabout as a kid, but I was more of an exception than the rule, so... I guess it's not surprising that she would want to play around outside on a nice day like this."

Tohru considered Meisuke's point. Eventually, she said, "Yeah, I guess you're right; kids shouldn't spend their whole lives inside, after all." Smiling, she added, "I was pretty insatiable at this age, too. We should go out! C'mon, Meisuke, let's all go together!"

Rubbing the back of her neck, Meisuke awkwardly said, "Eh... it's kind of a drag, y'know? You guys should go out, yeah, but I think I'll just stay in."

The other two glared at the older dragoness accusingly, censuring remarks regarding her laziness and selfishness written in full essays across their face.

"...Fine." Meisuke said, caving to their pressure. "It's gonna still be a drag, but I guess you guys being there will make it better."

...

An exhilarating ride across the oceans later, Meisuke set Tohru down in a grassy field far from her home as Riko set down across the plain. Gazing around, Tohru couldn't hold in an excited, "Ooh! Where are we now?"

"No idea." Meisuke answered. "I just looked for somewhere where Riko could be happy, so we ended up here."

"Big Sis Meisuke!" Turning to find Riko shouting at her, the dragoness in question shouted back an inquisitive "What?"

Smiling boldly, Riko declared, "Be ready to meet your match! I've been practicing lately, so I KNOW that I'll be ready this time!"

With a quiet chuckle to herself, Meisuke replied, "Well, then, come at me!"

***End of Chapter 6***

A/N: Sorry for the shorter chapter, everyone! I've had a shitty week, so I've been kinda... off. And I ESPECIALLY apologize to anyone who reads my other story, It's Not My Fault We're Together! I didn't mean to take a week off so early, but things have been...

Bugh.

Sorry, all. I'll try to be better.