Disclaimer: Same usual disclaimer.

Kanna-tan

Chapter 4: Recovering signora

Not long ago I had a dream that everyone wanted to make spaghetti.

Everyone was excited at the thought. They were asking me all sorts of things, like how it's supposed to be cooked, whether soba or ramen could be used in the recipe instead. They even asked for my approval.

I had none. No! No! I wanted to protest. Dame desu! Well, yes, it does look like noodles and oodles, or whatever they call it here, but no! Spaghetti is pasta, and it has to be made the right way, with cheese and meat and tomatoes, and everything else that makes it worth the real deal.

I remember taking Ohgami-san to eat it. I had to tell him so many times: "Don't slurp, it's indecent!" Sigh. That was quite a lunch.

Then there was also that time when all of us went to have soba for New Year's. But that's a different story altogether.

I never noticed it before until the first day I fell sick, but the ceiling of my room has a small scratch. Just up there near the corner, a long unmistakable line cutting through the paint. No one can see it from anywhere but here. It looks a little like one of Papa's palette-boards that got scratched by some cats in the village.

I've never felt this bored in my life. And this weak either. Ooh… it can drive me mad if this goes on! Why on earth did I have to catch this cold? Did I do anything to deserve this?

Actually, it's not half-bad to have longer siesta times, and relax all day. It's good for the body.

But still it can be a bore to the bone.

Urgh, and then there's the concoctions Kohran-san gives me, saying they'll make me feel better… Are they really meant to do that? It scares me a little more that I don't feel any different after taking them. Thank goodness they don't explode! The fever has long gone, though I still feel a little light-headed.

I wonder how everyone's doing at the training camp.

Now that I think about it, it's not such a bad idea to work together and make some spaghetti. Maybe once everyone is back and well-rested, maybe as a reward treat or something.

Ah, but then Sumire-san will probably make a big fuss. She'll say she has other things to do. And Kanna-san will say something that will get them both thrown into a volcano. The kitchen will be in a mess, while Maria-san, Sakura-san and Reni try to find a way to stop the hurricane. There'll be no spaghetti done, which will cause Iris-chan to cry a fountain, poor thing. And Kohran-san would maybe try to make up for it by whipping out an invention, which will then make one big black hole in the kitchen floor. Ohgami-san will have to gloom about it in his office with Kaede-san going over the list of all the damage we have made. Eventually we'll end up laughing at ourselves and forget all about making spaghetti! The end.

Splendido! Splendido! – Well, of course it isn't! Silly me.

Wait, why am I thinking so much? Shouldn't I be resting? If this goes on any longer, I'd end up imagining too much like Kanna-san with her wild fantasies.

I wonder what those two are doing now.

It must be hard for Kanna-san since she's become such a puny kid. If that's how she looked as a child, she must have worked incredibly hard to be what she usually is.

I feel that it can nevertheless be a good thing, though, that she turned that way. She can keep Sumire-san busy.

– Ah!

Oh right, I clean forgot! It's no good to leave those two alone!

…That means they are most likely lashing their tongues out at each other any time now. It's the same old thing, desu ne?

Oh well, it's none of my business. Best to leave them be. Besides, it can't get any worse, can it?

End notes: It was interesting for me to think through Orihime's mind. She is a very amusing character, always restless yet she loves to takes naps, elegant and sophisticated yet loud and often complaining, straightforward, fast-talking and simply unpredictably funny. The bit about soba on New Year's is actually a small reference to the 2004 Spring Kayou show scenario, but it's not important.

Thank you for your reading, and please review! Criticisms/comments are gladly welcome. See you next chapter!