Exactly five days later another baby boy was born in a different house hold. The party for this child was just as big as the previous one, but with one very special guest: the newborn baby Mitsukuni.
If it had been anyone else, the mother of this child would have said it was too dangerous for the tiny baby. However, this wasn't just any baby, it was a Morinozuka, so an exception was made.
Baby Mitsukuni wailed and made a fuss when they wrapped him up in a blanket, because what kid likes being dragged out of bed on a chilly morning? Strangely he stopped crying as soon as the started nearing the other families mansion.
If one was observant, one may have seen the he was holding his stuffed rabbit (which the father had been unsuccessful in his attempts to get rid of) quite tightly. If you looked even closer you could see that his already large eyes were even bigger than normal.
What had this baby, who should have been only able to eat, sleep, and cry, so excited?
The two new mothers came up to each other to give congratulations. The baby now named Takashi's mother confided that they thought the boy might be mute, since he hadn't yet cried, even during birth.
As they talked the children's eyes met for a brief second. They knew, in that back part of the brain that even babies have and that no one truly understands, that they would be the best of friends, closer than close.
Then they both smiled, because that's what babies do. They smile and they cry and they poop.
They don't anticipate things or act greedy or predict who they will be lifelong friends with.
And yet, maybe they do.