So I decided to make this short story a two-shot. Or something. I don't know, I might make this a (short) series of drabbles of them as little kids or whatever. Because it's cute; does there need to be another reason?

Tell me if you guys would like that.

The next day Ritsu was hoping to see his new friend again; he'd even brought one of his favorite toy trucks with him to the park so he and Moony could play with it. His parents were confused as to why he would want to visit the same place so eagerly two days in a row—he was known for changing his mind rather quickly—but they didn't question when he pulled on their wrists and whined about going back. Laughing and pretending that the truck could fly—in his mind, it could!—he ran ahead of his mom as they walked over to the nearby park. She only shook her head and smiled at his playfulness.

Once Ritsu reached the park, he immediately scanned the entire area for Moony, finding other little kids and parents and even a teenager sitting on a bench to the left, but no Moony. He drooped, pouting and suddenly feeling like he didn't want to play anymore. His mom nudged him forward as she looked around to find a seat.

"Come on, Ritsu. Didn't you want to play today?" She asked with a kind smile.

Ritsu kicked at the pavement. "Yeah…but I made a friend yesterday and he's not here." He directed his pout up to her, his lower lip trembling.

"Aw…" His mother kneeled down to him and pulled him into a hug, secretly wondering who this friend was because she'd kept an eye on him the whole time they were there the day before. "Well, maybe he's just not here today and he'll be back tomorrow. Don't worry, sweetheart."

Ritsu sniffed as he looked over the park again, like Moony would have showed up in the two minutes he didn't check. "Okay, mommy. Can I go play now?"

She laughed softly. "Sure, pet. Go on ahead." She patted his head.

He let go of his mom and hurried down the path to where the grassy area was, plopping down onto the ground and rolling his truck around, though he didn't feel as enthusiastic as when he'd been playing with Moony. His mother looked on a bit worriedly; her Ritsu had never been this upset over not meeting a friend again. He'd always been able to make new friends easily, even at such a young age. Ah well…he would grow out of it in a few days.

In a few minutes, Ritsu was slightly more cheerful than before; he was pretending that his truck was crushing all of the nasty bugs in the grass, a monster that would destroy anything in its path. Making car sounds that were completely inaccurate—he was only six, after all—he ran his truck around and felt a little better when he crushed an actual bug. Bugs were gross, like girls. He paused to wrinkle his nose for a moment before continuing on with his adventures.

After a while, though, he grew bored, and he looked around the park to see if there was anything else he could play with. Since all there was to play with were the playground—and it wasn't any fun unless he played with someone else—or the other kids—who were strangers, and his mom had always said not to talk to strangers—Ritsu felt that he didn't want to spend any more time here.

Dusting off his shorts, he bounded over to his mom and tugged on her hand. "Mommy, I want to go home now."

She put down the book she was reading. "Already? You haven't been here very long."

"I know, but I'm bored and I have more toys and books at home," he complained, pulling even more insistently on her arm.

Sighing, she rolled her eyes and smiled at him. "Alright, Ritsu. Let's go home."

As they left, Ritsu never noticed the sad amber eyes watching them from behind a tree.

Ritsu hummed, in a much better mood after his favorite breakfast—natto (1), which was surprising since most little kids hated it—held his mom's hand and followed her as they crossed the road to the park. Since he didn't expect Moony to be there again, he had brought some of the books his dad gave him, simple ones with lots of pictures. But he enjoyed them immensely anyways because they were always so happy.

He sat down underneath an opening on the playground and cracked open a book, already loving the illustrations on the first page. Following the words on the page with one small finger—because that's how his teacher told him to read!—he mouthed the words silently to himself, some kind of story about a baby chick and what he did every day. He loved this story, and always giggled whenever he read it.

As he reached the part about the baby chick needing a bath, another finger made its presence known on top of his book. Ritsu looked up and gasped, for there was Moony leaning into his secret hideout with one hand on the playground supporting his weight. Ritsu placed the book on the ground and lunged at his very-missed friend.

"Moony! I missed you!" They both tumbled onto the sand, the grainy substance getting onto both of their clothes, but Ritsu didn't care. He was too busy being happy about seeing his friend again.

Moony patted at Ritsu's back hesitantly. "I…really?"

Ritsu pulled back to look at that face he missed so much, nodding furiously. "Of course!"

"But you saw me two days ago." Moony tilted his head, confused.

"I know, but…still! You're my friend and we're supposed to always be together!" Ritsu pouted.

A small smile coming to his lips, Moony replied, "Well, we can't be together all the time. What about eating and sleeping and bathing?"

Ritsu thought for just a second. "Then come over to my house and we'll do that together!"

Moony couldn't help but laugh softly. "No, I can't. I have to go home sometimes. Get off me, stupid!" He grinned, shoving at Ritsu.

"You're no fun." Ritsu shoved back teasingly, but acquiesced, standing up and holding a hand out so Moony could get up too.

"Why weren't you here yesterday, Moony?" Ritsu asked as they settled into his small hiding spot; they had to squeeze together tightly in order to fit, but neither minded.

Unbeknownst to Ritsu, Moony's smile tightened just a bit as he answered, "Oh, nothing. My parents just wouldn't let me. Busy, you know?"

"Busy with what?" Ah, Ritsu was so innocent, his eyes wide with such naïve curiosity like he couldn't possibly know what was going on.

Moony shook his head once, curtly. "Nothing. Just stuff." He felt his hands tremble slightly at the thought of it, but he kept them hidden in his jacket pockets. "A-anyways, what should we play today?"

Ritsu perked up instantly and picked up the books he brought with him. "You like books, right? Well, I brought some today, so maybe we can read them together!"

Smiling a bit tiredly—though Masamune made sure Ritsu would never notice—he angled his head in agreement. "Sure. We can do that, Ritsu."

So they spent the next hour reading through Ritsu's books—even though Masamune read through them a lot quicker than Ritsu—and occasionally making small comments here and there about certain things.

"How can someone have fun playing in the mud? That's so dirty," Moony wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Ritsu only giggled. "It's just a story, Moony! It doesn't have to make a lot of sense."

"Yeah, yeah," he sighed, and leaned closer to Ritsu to be able to read the words better. Ritsu's presence there was comforting and warm—he really wasn't sure what this meant—and he knew that he wanted to stay with him for as long as he could. "You could have at least brought some books that didn't have so many pictures."

"I can't read that much yet!" Ritsu sulked, and Masamune thought he looked cute like that. "What kind of books do you read, then?"

Moony shrugged, his shoulder brushing Ritsu's as he did. "Sarukani, Kasakojizou (2), those kinds of books."

"Those are little kid's books, too, Moony!"

"But they don't have as many pictures," he teased, poking Ritsu's nose.

Ritsu's lower lip jutted out, and he poked Moony's nose back. "You're older than me!"

"Yeah, but not by a lot. How old are you, anyways?" Moony bumped against Ritsu's shoulder.

"I'm 6 years old!" For some reason, Ritsu felt proud of his age and being able to read so much already, though he did feel a bit embarrassed that he was also so young.

"I'm 8. See? Not that much older."

"No fair!"

Moony only laughed and bumped against Ritsu's shoulder again. "Just because I was born before you. It doesn't matter, Ritsu."

Ritsu set the book down and proceeded to sulk again.

"Aw…." Not even hesitating, Moony pulled Ritsu into a hug, the kind only little kids could do that was still innocent. "Hey, guess what?"

Ritsu still didn't answer, but he lifted his head a little.

"If it makes you feel better, I think you're as smart as me." Moony smiled.

Eyes widening, Ritsu looked up at him. "R-really?"

Moony nodded fervently. "Really really. And…and if you work harder in school, you might even become smarter than me!" Of course not, but a little kid could dream, couldn't he?

Ritsu brightened up considerably with Moony's words. He pulled himself out of his embrace and punched a small fist into his hand, suddenly very determined. "I'll work hard so one day, I can be smarter than you!" Now completely joyful, Ritsu picked the book up where he'd left it and opened it again. "Let's keep reading, Moony!"

Sighing and smiling quietly at Ritsu's silly behavior, Moony settled back next to Ritsu's side and continued reading along.

He would tell Ritsu another day.

A/N: Ah, this is so cute. I can't even believe it.

(1) Natto is a fermented soybean dish that Japanese little kids apparently eat (I've read you either hate it or love it, so let's just assume Ritsu loves it).

(2) Sarukani and Kasakojizou are Japanese children folktales.

-ChemicallyEnhanced