A/N: Second chapter. Yay!

Disclaimer: Sakura Taisen is not mine, nor its characters.

Kanna-tan

Chapter 2: Decision

The salon of the Great Imperial Theatre.

"This is extraordinary, Kanna-han," Kouran breathed. "I have never seen anything like it. It's only your appearance that is affected, it seems."

Everyone had gathered there shortly upon Sumire's request, all sitting round the table (even Orihime who insisted she was well enough to be there), where Kanna faced the inevitable wave of wide-gaping stares. It could have been a major wake-up call for those who may have had wished for a longer night's sleep.

The poor Okinawan could not stop herself from blushing.

She had earlier kept away her tights and karate gi which was of no use to her for the time being. Due to her current small frame, the red singlet that she was so accustomed to wear seemed to wrap around her like a dress.

Ohgami tapped his fingers on the table top. He was recalling a previous incident. "The change took place just this morning, am I right? It's probably due to the strain the night before. What do you think?" He turned to Kanna, only to remember that she was no longer two metres tall. He flushed and coughed.

"Taichou," the karate expert whispered in annoyance.

"I'm sorry," he replied, laughing weakly before lowering his gaze. "As I was saying, you outworked yourself too much back then."

Sakura gasped. "Now that you mention it…."

Next to speak was Maria. "It's rather strange for a logical reason, but possible. That was quite a rough battle we had."

"Putting it simply," Reni said beside her, "as a result of outstretching the limit of her spirit power, Kanna's body resolves to compensate the loss by turning into the body of a child."

"A seven-year-old child," Sakura added, with a hint of sweetness in her voice. It appeared to her that a young Kanna among them was an adorably good change for once.

Said 'seven-year-old' crossed her arms with a tiny pout.

"Iris thinks Kanna is kawaii," giggled the French girl, who had sauntered up to her to give a teasing pinch on the cheek.

"Not you too, Iris?" Kanna groaned, though somewhat contented that the young blonde was happy.

"But it's true! Iris speaks the truth. Doesn't everyone think so too?"

Sumire looked away and said quietly, "Indeed. A baby monkey would've done just as well."

"I heard that, Cactus Woman!"

"Oh, did you?" Sumire feigned mock surprise to hide her anger and covered her lower face with an elegant hand. "How unfortunate for you, o-hohohoho….!"

Maria sighed. "Well, is there anything that can be done?" She was addressing Kaede and Ohgami.

Kaede sat back in her chair and gave Kanna an eyeful. "I'm afraid we'll have to wait and see what happens. This has never occurred before, as we all know."

"Should I take her to the Hana-yashiki and look into the problem?" Kouran asked.

"No, we have a tight schedule to follow and a training session to fulfill. I say we leave Kanna out of this and let her stay here until we get back. She won't be able to do her training while she's stuck in a child's body. How does that sound, Ohgami-kun?"

"Yeah, I agree with Kaede-san. We've no other choice."

"Just a moment, please!" Sumire stood up. "Does that mean I have to babysit Kanna-san also?"

Orihime shrugged. "What's wrong with that? They say 'three's a folla felice'." She ignored the raised-eyebrows she received, going on nonchalantly in spite of her condition, "Unless you're saying you think you can't manage the job at all."

A cool pause soon followed.

"My, such a wild guess," Sumire let out a bitter laugh. "It shows that you fail to read my capabilities. I only asked because it is only a matter of confirmation on my part."

"Then I take it you've no objections, Sumire-kun?" Ohgami said, smiling.

"Of course not."

"Good. Anyway, it wouldn't be so bad. Both of you can get a head-start to rehearse for the next autumn season play, since you have the lead roles."

He had to remind them of the play. He just had to.

Kanna chuckled nervously. She wondered if she could really rehearse the play as she was now. It'd look so wrong. Looking up, she figured that the same idea must have struck Sumire, who bit her lip as they exchanged glances while the latter said, "Do you think this will go on for a long time?"

"Beats me," Kanna curtly replied.

The mini-bus emerged from the bustling traffic and sped along the winding road. Summer was almost at its end.

The Hanagumi had endured years of fighting, and at long last, with the help of the Paris Troup de Fleur in their recently previous struggle, peace was restored to the capital. On another hand, other surrounding areas outside Tokyo were still under threat by new monsters and mysterious phenomena. This still meant no rest for the team, but who would complain? They were just getting started, still able to learn more and grow stronger together. And this camp was called solely for that, especially since Kouran planned to make new adjustments to their koubu, which were set to be delivered at the training site through arrangements made with the Wind Division.

All this swirled within Maria Tachibana's mind – chin rested on one hand, staring out through the window, although not really paying attention to what was outside, and deeply absorbed with her thoughts. She began to close her eyes. Drowned by the noise of mingling languages and laughter, she could hear a catchy familiar tune playing from the radio Kaede was handling. It took her a while to recognize the song, 'Ai wa Daiya'.

Then she felt someone tap her lightly on the shoulder. "Maria-san?" It was Sakura.

"Hm?" Maria did not shift, her eyes remained shut.

"Was it right to leave them as it is? I mean Kanna-san, Sumire-san and Orihime."

"I don't know, but what else can we do?"

"One of us should have stayed with them, I think."

"Three people are already enough. We don't need any more to hinder our training."

The bus moved into a shady patch of road, which momentarily blanketed the vehicle and its passengers in darkness. The blonde lifted her head and opened her uncovered eye, still facing away from the others. Shade and darkness turned the window glass into a kind of mirror, and with it she silently observed the swordswoman's worry-etched features. Behind them, Iris was pressing Kouran and Reni to return Jean-Paul to her. In front, Ohgami made a few comments about some theatre repairs.

A while later, the sun burst forth, spilling light. The reflection was gone in a flash, replaced by trees, crossroads and buildings. Maria closed her eye again, listening as the younger woman fidgeted in her seat.

"I'm sorry," Sakura apologized.

Maria chuckled. "There's no need to apologize, Sakura. I understand how you feel."

"But it's not easy."

"Orihime will be fine, she knows what's best. I don't think she'll spend much time outside her own room. She'd rather earn her rest alone."

"I hope so. And what about—," Sakura left her sentence unfinished; the words seemed to hang in the air, filled in by the two singing voices pouring out of the radio.

"Who knows?"

A click, and the song was cut off abruptly.

End notes: A rather quiet bus trip, isn't it?

Do pardon my failure to keep consistency with the timing of the games. Although I love the franchise, I don't really play them. I watched snippets of various scenes for the 4th game, so I don't remember which season it is when it ends. Instead I chose late summer because I found it more appropriate.

'Ai wa Daiya', literally 'Love is a Diamond', is one of the duet songs by Kanna and Sumire, for the play by the same name which appeared in the 2nd drama CD, the 1st episode of the second OVA series, and in volume 5 of the manga.

Kanna isn't exactly 2m tall. But in the Kayou shows, her seiyuu often stresses, ironically, on this exaggeration.

Thank you for your reading, and please review! Criticims/comments are gladly welcome.