Hey, everyone. So, here is the next chapter, as I told you. While I had aimed to make this chapter longer, I did not want to make you wait longer.
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The walk to the lake had been quite peaceful. In fact, he had not enjoyed walking like this for a long time now.
As Moon walked with him and looked at almost everything with awe, Nobita couldn't help but shake his head in amusement.
"Is that the lake you were talking about? It looks very pretty." Moon almost gushed at the sight and Nobita smiled at her, continuing to walk towards the lake.
"Yeah, that is it. You like it?" Nobita asked with a little tilt of his head and Moon immediately nodded with vigor.
"Yes! It is really pretty. I've never been to a lake before." Moon admitted with a skip in her step and Nobita chuckled lightly at her.
"I'm glad that you are excited-"
Before Nobita could actually complete his sentence, something caught his gaze and he almost frowned.
The area near the lake was being used by Jian and Suneo, and his other classmates. They were having a baseball match, it appeared.
"Nobita? Is something wrong?"
Nobita turned his face to look at concerned Moon. He noticed that he had stopped walking.
Nobita shook his head with a smile. "No, something just crossed my mind. Let's go."
Believing in him, Moon smiled before she began to skip again.
What Jian and Suneo were doing didn't matter right now, he was here to accompany Moon. He couldn't let them ruin her joy.
As they began to descend down the steep ground, Nobita almost forgot that even a match was being played.
He couldn't help but just look at Moon and how she began to run towards the lake with her melodious laugh filling the atmosphere around him.
She looked to be brimming with life and happiness. At the sight of her joyous expression and her glittering eyes, he couldn't help but have his heart warmed up.
Thud.
Wait, what?
"Hey! Watch out!"
Nobita was alerted immediately and he looked at the source of the voice before he sharply looked up to see the baseball heading towards Moon. With his eyes wide, it only took a fraction of a second for him to pounce into action.
Dashing through the thick grass, Nobita did not even think about telling Moon to look out. If he did that, it would be too late and she might be hit by the baseball.
Moon was overjoyed to such an extent that she neither heard the yell nor noticed the swishing sound beneath her. However, she did notice that out of nowhere, Nobita was standing to her right. Upon noticing him, she could not help but be surprised.
"Nobita?"
Upon noticing closely, Moon saw Nobita holding a baseball. Had he caught it?
He had done it and he could not help but let out a sigh in relief. Nobita had managed to catch the baseball without letting it hit Moon.
"Phew. That was a close call. Are you alright?" Nobita asked with a glance at his back and he blinked when he saw shining stars in her eyes. What?
"That was so cool!" Moon could not help but gush. How had Nobita managed to catch it?
Nobita had a sweat-drop as he scratched the back of his head lightly.
"Thanks, I guess." He was slightly embarrassed at how Moon was praising him. It was unlike how Shizuka ever…
Before Nobita could actually continue his train of thoughts, a slight swishing of grass caught his attention and he looked at his side to see both Suneo and Gian standing there with the former looking quite surprised.
"Nobita, how did you catch the ball? I saw it." Suneo asked and Nobita knew that it was going to become irritating for him.
Gian nodded with skepticism clear in his eyes. "Yeah, how did you do it? In our previous matches, you were never able to land a catch before."
Nobita almost sighed at the questions. It was pretty clear that Gian and Suneo were both trying to belittle him in front of Moon who was looking a little lost on the conversation.
Even though he could tell them that he had been practicing, what would he even gain from it? They would not believe it. In fact, they might think he was using a gadget. Moreover, he did not want to ruin the chance for Moon to actually see the lake closely.
Thus, he shrugged with a slight smile. "I guess it was just a fluke. I obviously suck at catching."
He did not want to lie but it was undoubtedly the easiest way out of this situation.
"Really? But you did catch it."
Now, Nobita did not why but he did not really like the frown and disappointed look on Moon's face. He almost wanted to tell her but before he could say anything, Gian gripped his shoulder.
"Honestly, Nobita, you came at just the right time. We are short on one player and you can fill the place." Gian told and Nobita immediately shook his head without waiting for even a second.
"Not today guys, I am accompanying Moon and I cannot leave her alone."
At the response, Gian frowned and Suneo raised his eyebrow before looking at Moon and then at Nobita. However, he did not say anything else.
"No, no, no! Nobita, you can join your friends without worrying about me. In fact, I will even watch you play!" Moon told Nobita enthusiastically and from the sidelines both Gian and Suneo smirked. Obviously, the girl did not know how poor Nobita actually played.
"Are you sure? Don't you want to see the lake?" Nobita asked with slight creasing of his eyebrows.
Moon smiled before shaking both her head and her hands. "It is completely fine. We can see the lake after your match."
Nobita continued to gaze at her for a second before he finally relented and smiled at her.
"Okay then, let's go."
Unknown to him, both Suneo and Gian were digesting the scene in front of them with interest. Apparently, both Nobita and the girl appeared quite close to each other.
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