Mika and her best friend lay in the long grass between his house and the woods in silence, hand in hand companionably. It had been less than a day since they had kissed by the swinging tyre with butterflies fluttering around them, the dappled shade of the canopy smoothly camouflaging their uncertainties.

'Mika…' started the boy tentatively, looking over at his best friend who was trying to stifle a large yawn. She made a small "hmm?" of recognition and looked over at him, her mouth still wide from her contented yawn. 'Do you want to marry Niisan?' he asked, trying not to let his own yawn develop.'

'Of course not.' she answered smiling at him amicably, watching him let his mouth widen as he yawned. 'But my Otousan and Okaasan promised me, didn't they.' she continued looking back up at the clouds as they floated across the bright blue sky lazily. 'I don't really have a choice, do I?' she asked sadly, relishing the sensation of intimacy their hands were giving her. The boy sighed unhappily.

'Do you think there's any way we can… change that?' he asked hopefully although he knew there wasn't. She wasn't free to choose who she wanted to be with. He watched her smile and shake her head slowly, gazing at him again through her gorgeous brown eyes.

'But your brother is nice.' she said, trying to look on the bright side of her situation. 'And at least if I'm married to him I can still see you a lot.' she continued, raising her eyebrows to the lethargic clouds. 'If I was married to somebody else they might not let me see you… Ever! And I might have to move far, far away!' she added, wincing at the idea. The two eight year olds fell silent, hand in hand, gazing up at the bright blue sky, watching as a pigeon flew hastily across the field, ignoring them. In the distance Mika heard chickens squawking, followed by angry calls from a familiar voice and smiled at the idea of Mizu reeking havoc.

'Mika…' started the boy again, rolling onto his stomach and pulling his hand out of Mikas as he did so.

'Yes.' she answered rolling onto her own stomach and picking a piece of grass which she put in her mouth, watching it sway with her tongues movement.

'Who do you prefer?' he continued steadily. He watched as her face lit up at the idea of playing the "which one?" game. 'Me or my brother?' he finished making her face fall.

'Blue, you know who I prefer.' she said, sighing exasperatedly. 'Why are you so insecure all of a sudden? You know I'd choose you over him any day.' she picked herself up and sat back on her feet, watching him closely. He sat up too with a frown on his forehead. 'Do you have a reason to be insecure? Have I given you a reason to be insecure?' she asked quickly, pulling a blade of grass out of her plum coloured hair.

'You're going to marry my brother, Mika.' he answered shortly, still frowning at her. She sighed with a tired smile on her face, leant forwards so that she was on all fours and placed her lips on his softly, feeling the warmth and comfort of the proximity clash with the adrenaline of doing something naughty.

'Only because I have to.' she said after she'd pulled away gently, smiling dreamily. His frown slowly disappeared and was replaced by a friendly smile. 'Otherwise you know that I'd marry you.'