Kanon and Leon 4 (10-Minute Novel)

[This is the 4th installment of Kanon and Leon]
I have written the 4th installment of Kanon and Leon, which I previously posted as a short-short story. This time it is a little longer than usual. Kanon and Leon's respective romances (?) might be developing. I would be happy if you could read it from the beginning.
Links to 1-3 are posted below the main story.
( Click here for a direct link to 1 / Click here for a direct link to 2 / Click here for a direct link to 3 )

[Main Story]
Thud!

Startled by the loud noise, the breakfast I was eating got stuck in my throat.
Coughing, I looked toward the table where the sound came from, and Kanon was sitting there with her head on the table, not moving.

Oh no!

"Woof, woof, woof!" I called out to Kanon. There was no response...

It was last Saturday, exactly one week ago.
Lately, Kanon had been able to wake up early on Saturday mornings. That was because she could talk slowly with Yuya-san on the bench.

"Are you free next Saturday?" Yuya-san asked in the middle of our conversation.
Kanon's eyes went wide for a moment at the sudden question. Then, her eyes sparkled as she replied.
"Yes, I'm free!"
"That's good. Then, would you like to have lunch together?"

When we got home, while Kanon was wiping my paws, she said,
"Leon, what do you think about that? I'm happy, but lunch for four people, no matter how you look at it, isn't a date... I wonder if it's like a return gift for the obligatory chocolates."
I don't know what to say when asked. She should just be happy. Kanon is complicated.

Even while saying things like that, Kanon seemed happy every day since then. She asked me what she should wear, but since I don't wear clothes, I don't really know. Besides, I think Kanon looks good in anything.

On Friday night, the night before Saturday, Kanon kept taking out clothes and trying them on one after another, worrying about it. I got sleepy halfway through, but she must have stayed up late. When I woke up a little at the sound of Kanon returning to the room, I glanced at the table and saw one outfit laid out. It seemed she had finally decided on tomorrow's clothes.

...And then, Saturday arrived.

I noticed at a glance that something was wrong with Kanon. Her cheeks were red.
After she served me my food, the moment she sat down next to the seat where she had laid out her clothes, she collapsed head-first onto the table.

There was no answer when I called out to her, so I grabbed her pajamas with my mouth and pulled at her feet.
"..Ah, Leon, I'm okay..."
She patted my head, but I knew she wasn't okay. The forehead she hit on the table was also red. This is the first time I've seen Kanon like this. Kanon has never been sick before, so I don't know what to do. As I was running around her feet, thinking 'what should I do, what should I do,' I suddenly had an idea.

Oh, that's it!

I hurried to Kanon's room. I jumped onto the bed and knocked the photo on the shelf down with my front paw. It was a photo taken when the four of us ate the sweets Kanon made for us the other day. I grabbed the photo in my mouth and hurried back to Kanon. I placed the photo at Kanon's feet.

"Leon, what is it? Oh, you shouldn't bring the photo."
I barked, "Woof, woof!"
"What's wrong? Are you telling me to contact Yuya-san?"
Exactly.
"He invited me, so I'm going. I'll be a little better in a bit, so I'm fine."
She said that and tried to stand up. That's impossible, so I grabbed her pajamas again and pulled with all my might.
"Geez. Alright, I get it, I'll call him."
I growled and watched to see if Kanon would actually contact him.

"Ah, is this Yuya-san? I'm sorry for calling you from the morning..."
"Ah, no, I'm fine. I think I'll get better if I sleep, but I was worried that if it was a cold, I might pass it on to you."
"No, no, I'm really sorry... I was really looking forward to it."
Kanon was speaking as if she were in pain. I couldn't hear what Yuya-san was saying, but I knew he was worried about her.

"Yes, thank you. No, Leon is fine. He already ate his breakfast." I had only eaten part of it.
"Yes, I'm really sorry."
After hanging up the phone, Kanon let out a sigh.

"Well, Leon, I'm going to rest a little more. Sorry, be a good boy, okay?"
I'm always a good boy.

After seeing Kanon off to her room, I returned to the living room. I thought about eating the rest of my breakfast, but I was too worried about Kanon to be hungry. I lay down on the floor and stayed still.

I wonder how much time has passed. I must have fallen asleep without realizing it. I woke up feeling a presence outside. My hearing is unnecessarily sharp.

Knock, knock. It must be Yuya-san! I have good intuition, I'm sure of it.

I have to wake Canon up. I hurried to Canon's room. Canon is sleeping soundly. Usually, I get scolded if I jump on the bed, but I couldn't worry about that, so I jumped up. Canon was hot. She must have a very high fever.
"What...? Leon, you can't do that." She seems worse than before.
I barked, jumped off the bed, and pointed toward the entrance with my face.
"What's wrong? Did someone come?"

Canon stood up slowly and headed to the entrance in her pajamas. She peeked through the door viewer and recoiled. She said, "Oh my."
"What should I do? It's Yuya-san." I barked and urged her to open the door.
"Sorry for the sudden visit. Your voice sounded painful, so I came to check on you," Yuya-san said through the door.
"I'm sorry... could you wait a moment?" Canon said, and
"If you look okay, I'll leave right away, so please open the door," Yuya-san replied.
Canon, saying "What should I do, what should I do," slowly turned the key. As soon as it clicked, Yuya-san opened the door forcefully.

Perhaps relieved to see Yuya-san, Canon swayed forward.
"Are you okay!"
Yuya-san, who was holding Himawari-chan in his left arm, caught Canon with his right arm.
"May I come inside for a moment?"
Saying that, he set Himawari-chan down at the entrance, then held Canon by her shoulders with both hands and led her to the living room. Himawari-chan and I followed behind in a line.

This is the second time a man has come to Canon's house. As for dogs, Himawari-chan is the first.

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's messy. And in this state. It's embarrassing..." As soon as she entered the living room, Canon hurriedly picked up the clothes on the table and said that while covering her face.
"I'm really sorry, I was worried, so I came over even though I knew it might be rude," Yuya-san said apologetically.
"You seem to have a fever. Did you check it? I brought a thermometer just in case," he said, taking a thermometer out of his backpack.
"I've never even had a cold, so I don't have things like that. I'm sorry..." Canon borrowed the thermometer from Yuya-san and checked her temperature.
There was a beep, and Canon took the thermometer out. Yuya-san also looked in to see.
"Oh no, it's 39 degrees! Let's go to the hospital!"
"I think I'll be fine if I just sleep..."
"No! Let's go right now!" Yuya-san immediately searched for a nearby hospital on his smartphone and called them.
"I found a hospital that says they'll see you if we come now, let's go."
"Yes... thank you..." Canon seemed somewhat relieved.
"I'll go change my clothes. My hair is messy too, it's embarrassing."
"Don't worry about that. I'll wait for you to change."

Canon went to change her pajamas into a sweatshirt and sweatpants. When she returned about 10 minutes later, her bedhead was gone too. Even though she didn't need to worry about that, I thought the same thing as Yuya-san.

"Shall we go then?" Yuya-san said, turning his back to Canon and crouching down slightly.
"Eh? Oh, no, that's okay, I can walk on my own."
"You were staggering, weren't you? Please don't worry about it. I may not look it, but I have stamina."
Whether he looks it or not, Yuya-san clearly has stamina and seems reliable.
"Are you sure? Then I'll take you up on your offer," Canon said, and was carried on Yuya-san's back.

"Himawari, Leon, I'm going to take Canon-san to the hospital, so could you two wait for a little bit?"

Eh?
The two of us?

I was stunned, as I had intended to go along.
Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof! Himawari-chan barked frantically at the back of Yuya-san, who was carrying Canon.

Yuya-san, while mindful of us, asked Canon where her health insurance card was, grabbed his backpack, and efficiently prepared and left while carrying Canon.

Himawari-chan tried to follow until the very end, but Yuya-san threw a treat he took out of his backpack toward the living room, and while she went to get it, the two of them left. After eating the treat, Himawari-chan returned to the entrance and barked for a while, but after a bit, she seemed to give up and trudged into the living room.

Now, what to do. I had never been in the house with another dog, so I didn't know what to do. And it's Himawari-chan. For now, I brought out the breakfast I had only managed to eat halfway. She didn't even look at it. Conversely, I suddenly got hungry, so I decided to eat it.

Himawari-chan was looking around. It seems it's unusual since it's someone else's house. She was also interested in the crate I usually go into. I thought she might want to go in, so I opened the door for her, but she didn't go in. There was nothing else I could do, so I decided to leave her be.

After a while, perhaps bored of wandering around, she came near where I was lying down and sat. It's winter now, and the floor heating is pleasant, so when Canon isn't here, I'm usually lying down. I was impressed that Himawari-chan sat properly. Seeing Himawari-chan's poised figure, I suddenly felt embarrassed and decided to sit too. As we sat facing each other, I remembered seeing something like this at the shrine we pass when I go for walks with Canon.

We sat for a while, but I got tired, so I lay down. I felt sleepy and let out a big yawn, and then I met eyes with Himawari-chan. She was giggling at my yawning face. This is the second time I've seen Himawari-chan smile. The first time was last month when we all ate Canon's snacks. The photo from that time is on the table right now. She's cuter when she's smiling. I thought that again today.

After a while, Himawari-chan seemed to get sleepy too and lay down. It seems she couldn't resist the power of the floor heating. Before we knew it, both of us had fallen asleep.

I was tapped on the head. I was woken up by Himawari-chan. When I woke up, I felt a presence from the entrance.

They're back! There was the sound of the key turning, and the door opened.

"I'm home!" It's Canon! Her voice sounds energetic! I run to the entrance with Himawari-chan.
"Himawari, Leon, sorry to keep you waiting. Were you good boys?" Yuya-san said gently.
"Woof woof!" We replied in unison, wagging our tails.
"Oh my, you two are such good friends now," Canon said, patting my head.

"It seems Canon-san had a kind of fever from excitement; she was so looking forward to yesterday that she stayed in an excited state and developed a fever. She got an IV drip and is completely better now. Leon, you can rest easy now." Yuya-san explained it to me, but it was difficult and I didn't understand at all.
Anyway, I'm just glad Canon is better.

"It's really embarrassing... like a child the night before a field trip..."
"I was happy that you were looking forward to it that much."
"Oh, stop..."
Huh? Canon's face turned red again. Is she okay?

"Let's go to that lunch we missed today another time," Yuya-san said, patting our heads.
We both replied with a "Woof!"

Then he turned to Canon and said,
"Since Canon-san's fever just went down today, how about we order something in and eat together?"
"Oh, are you sure? Of course! It's a bit cramped, though."
"Thank you. That's great, isn't it, Himawari? You get to eat with Leon."

Huh? I instinctively looked at Himawari-chan. She had her usual composed expression.
Oh well, I guess so.

Yuya-san moved efficiently, just like he did this morning. He asked Canon what she wanted to eat, looked it up, and placed a delivery order. He checked the fridge and said he would go out to buy drinks and such. He took Himawari-chan and me with him. It was nearby, but we hadn't gone for a walk today, so it felt good. Canon stayed behind to set the table.

On the way back, as I glanced back and forth between Himawari-chan next to me and Yuya-san holding my leash behind me, I imagined Canon waiting at home and thought that this kind of thing feels like a family, and that's nice.