Playground Dinosaurs

The day was wonderful and sunny, not too hot nor too cold; all in all, a perfect day.

But…something was about to happen. Something that would put all parties involved to the test. A gruesome display of willpower and courage would be needed to brave such a trial.

Yes, and that trial was…preschool recess.

As the children flooded from the building to the playground, one in particular stood out from the rest. It wasn't because he was the last one outside, it wasn't even because he chose to bring a book outside with him either.

This child in particular stood out because of his leaf green hair.

Kazu had noticed him back inside, but he had been so absorbed in his book he felt it would be rude to interrupt him, even if he was only asking to play. So now Kazu made a beeline for him, before he could start reading again.

He was almost to him when, as the greenette was passing in front of the swings, one of the swingers collided with him, sending him sprawling and his glasses flying.

Kazu rushed over to help, but stilled a moment to glare at the offender, a girl with braided black pigtails, who liked to pick on the other for reading books all the time.

She didn't even stop to say she was sorry, just kind of looked at them like insects and kept on swinging with her friend. Kazu had the distinct feeling of a predator sizing up her prey.

He hurriedly knelt beside the other, who was on his hands and knees looking for his glasses.

Kazu picked them up and held them out to the other, who took them with a small thank you.

He sniffed, and Kazu saw that his right cheek was red, probably from colliding with that brat's knee.

The boy sniffed again and wiped his cheeks with his hands before putting his glasses back on while Kazu straightened out the book that had been knocked askew.

Kazu nudged his shoulder gently. "Are you bleeding?"

He murmured. "A little." Came the rueful reply, accompanied by a hand rubbing his injured cheek.

Kazu frowned, then moved his hand away and kissed his cheek. "Feel any better?"

The other's ears turned red, but he smiled just a little and nodded.

The girl and her friend had since departed, so Kazu helped the boy up and dusted him off, leading him over to the swings. "What's your name by the way? I'm Takao Kazunari, but you can call me Kazu."

He held out his hand, and the other took it. "Midorima Shintarou."

Kazu took his hand and shook, grinning. "Alrighty, I'll call you Shin-chan!"

Shin-chan made a face, but didn't object. Kazu patted one of the swings. "Come on, I'll push you."

Shin-chan reluctantly came over, but sat on the swing nonetheless, and Kazu began dutifully pushing him.

After a while, Kazu joined him on an adjacent swing, looking sideways at Shin-chan quizzically. "What's up?" He asked. "You're really quiet. What're you thinking about?"

Shin-chan looked up. "Eh…nothing really…"

Kazu made a face. "Come on, you can tell me!"

Shin-chan paused for a moment before he seemed to make up his mind. "Dinosaurs." He said simply.

Kazu grinned. "Oh cool! Which ones do you like best? Is that what your book is about?"

Shin-chan's face seemed to light up. "Yes, you like dinosaurs too? Everyone else thinks they're weird and scary."

Kazu made a small dismissive noise. "I think they're the ones who are weird and scary." He wrinkled his nose and Shin-chan laughed. "I like Diplodocus, it was the largest known dinosaur, it was eighty-seven feet long."

Kazu's eyes widened. "That big? Woa. How about Brontosaurus and Brachiosaurus? Do you know about them?"

Shin-chan thought for a moment. "Well, I know Brachiosaurus was the heaviest, so Brontosaurus is kind of the middle of the three I guess. But I like Triceratops a lot too. I remember seeing a comparison of it to a house, and that was almost twice as long!"

Kazu glanced at the houses across the street. "Wow. Try to imagine the bigger ones. Like T-rex! Its head was as long as my dinner table! And when I went to the museum and saw its teeth, oh man, they were so big, they were as long as half my arm!"

Shin-chan nodded. "I like T-rex too, just not in The Land Before Time movies, I don't like the Sharpteeth at all."

"You like The Land Before Time too!? That's awesome! No one I've met knows what it is and boy are they missing out! I actually found a parrot once, he was missing one wing, and since he couldn't fly I named him Petrie."

Shin-chan grinned at this. "Good name."

Kazu grinned back. "You know, some time you should come over to my house. I have all of the movies up until seven! My favorites besides the first one are four and seven! I like the villains in those 'cause they're so funny!"

Shin-chan nodded. "Me too! But…" He trailed off and Kazu looked at him questioningly. "What?"

Shin-chan offered a sheepish look. "The first one makes me cry."

Kazu nodded slowly, sharing his feelings and understanding very well. He reached out and took Shin-chan's hand as their swinging slowed.

"That's okay. I do too."

A/N

Oops, my hand slipped...no really. I'm right in the middle of writing a trio of proposal ficlets, and this kind of just...happened. And just FYI, I am a friggen adult, okay? But when I am in my college's library and come across a book about dinosaurs I revert back to age 11. Not even kidding. It's a bit amusing actually. The same when I watch The Land Before Time movies. Those were my movies as a child and they still are. So put these two factors together and BAM you get the most childish fanfiction I have ever written (which, lets face it, is somewhat normal.) But hey, when the mood strikes, cha know? And btw, the story about the parrot is true. I found him on vacation in Florida when I was like, 10, and he was the cutest dam thing. I loved that parrot. WOW sorry to rant like that O.O Welp. Enjoi I guess ^^;

characters (c) Fujimaki Tadatoshi

story (c) MarluxiaSutcliff116