Cloudshipping (Kaiba Noa/Kawai Shizuka)

. . .

The umbrella blew over the fence, tangling up in the tree that Noa's window looked out at. He jumped a little at the sudden flash of red, but after seeing what it was, he just stared. What was that doing all the way up here? Was it that windy outside today?

Noa slipped off his chair and wiggled the window open. He leaned out—could he reach it.

"O-Oh!"

A tiny voice floated up to him, and he looked down. On the other side of his fence, there was a little girl—younger than him, he thought. She might have been six or seven, and he was already ten, so he was definitely bigger than her. Her red hair was done up in fluffy pigtails, and it was hard to see from this distance, but he thought she might be on the verge of tears. She walked backwards from the side of the fence so that she could see him better.

"U-Um!" she said, her voice raising up so that he could hear her on the second floor. "T-that's my umbrella...c-could you get it down for me?"

A big gust of wind buffeted Noa in the face and he almost lost the last half of her words, but he got the gist. Well...it couldn't hurt, right?

He leaned out the window, reaching as far as he could. His fingers just barely grasped the edge of the umbrella and...got it!

He had to pull it towards him and then close it to get it through the window.

"I'll be right there," he shouted, but the wind hit him in the face and stole his words away. She just stared at him—so he guessed, or hoped, that she would stay there.

With the umbrella hugged tightly against his chest, he ran for his door. He had to check to make sure none of the staff were around so that they wouldn't tell father that he was going outside in the middle of his language practice. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he bolted down the stairs, around the railings, and back into the kitchen. He pulled the back door open and hopped outside—he hoped it wasn't too muddy or anything, because he hadn't gotten his shoes, and his father would be mad if he saw Noa had mud on the bottom of his socks.

The fence was big, but lucky, the place where the girl had been standing had a little chink in it that he could look through. He ran over there, bending down to peek through.

He could still see her, or at the very least, her big red rain boots and the bottom of her bright pink poncho.

"Hey," he said. "Down here."

The girl's feet jumped. He saw them scrabble both ways, and then she seemed to realize where the voice was coming from, and she dropped down into a crouch, her face coming into view. She squinted for a second, and then her eyes widened, and she smiled, scooting forward on the balls of her feet til she reached the hole.

"You came!" she said, her voice bright and happy. "Do you have my umbrella?"

"Yes," Noa said. "I'm going to have to toss it over, all right?"

She nodded quickly. He stood up, away from the hole, and gripped the umbrella. He threw it kind of like a javelin, the red shooting through the air like a firework, and then dropping back down on the other side of the fence. Luckily, the wind had died down a bit, so it didn't get caught in any more gusts.

He heard it hit the other side, and her boots scuffled across the ground.

"Thank you!" she said. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Papa would be so mad if I lost it!"

"No problem," Noa said, leaning back down towards the hole in the fence again.

The girl's face popped into view, and he almost fell backwards with the abruptness of her appearance.

"Thank you so much," she said again. "What's your name? I'm Shizuka."

"I'm Noa," Noa said. "It's...nice to meet you, I guess."

A weird way to meet, but politeness shouldn't be forgotten.

"Why are you dressed up for the rain, anyway?" Noa said. "It's not supposed to rain today."

"But the sky's all gray and stuff," Shizuka said. "So there might be puddles."

"You're waiting for puddles?"

Shizuka's eyes lit up and she nodded.

"They feel so nice to splash in, you know?" she said.

Noa grimaced.

"I don't know, actually. I'm not allowed out when it's wet because I might catch cold."

"That's what the poncho and umbrella are for, silly!"

Noa just grimaced again, and Shizuka giggled.

"You should come with me someday," she said. "I'll show you how to splash in puddles as thanks for getting my umbrella!"

Something moved in the window, and Noa glanced up. Oh, geez, his father was probably home. He needed to get back.

"I can't," Noa said. "I have to study."

"Please, Noa-kun?" Shizuka begged. "It's fun! We can do it sometime when you're not busy. Okay?"

She really did have a very smiley voice, Noa thought. In spite of himself, he smiled.

"Okay," he said. "I promise. Someday."

"Yay!"

That washis father in the window, and Noa ducked down to make sure the bushes hid him. He really had to go.

"I'll see you again, then?" he said. "I really have to go."

"Okay! I'll see you again, Noa-kun."

He smiled, once, tentatively. Then he jumped back from the fence and ran, hoping to make it back to his room before his father noticed.

And, he hoped, before he saw the big red umbrella disappear from the side of his fence...

. . .

A/N: Look I love little kids becoming friends okay? It's cute af. Next is Cliffshipping (Jonouchi's dad x Jonouchi).