A year had passed, and Muichiro and Nezuko were now both 7 years old. Their bond had only grown stronger, and they remained each other's best friends. Their routine of spending time together after school continued, but there was an underlying something that was slowly changing, though neither quite realized it yet.
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It was a typical day after school. Muichiro and Nezuko were sitting on the soft grass of the school playground, taking a moment to rest. Muichiro was leaned back on his palms, looking up at the sky, while Nezuko was sitting next to him, drawing something in the dirt with a stick.
Muichiro glanced over at Nezuko, curious about what she was drawing. He leaned over to get a closer look, and realized she had drawn a very cute, albeit wobbly, heart in the dirt.
A sense of curiosity and puzzlement came over him, and he found himself asking without thinking too much,
"Hey, Nezuko... why did you draw a heart?"
Nezuko, sensing his question, looked up from her drawing with a shrug. She seemed a bit embarrassed but kept her cool, her cheeks slightly dusted with a hint of pink.
"Oh, uhm, I don't know. I just felt like it, I guess. Why, does it look bad?" She glanced back at the heart, assessing her own handiwork with a bit of self-consciousness.
Nezuko watched as Muichiro picked up the stick and started writing inside the heart she had drawn. Her cheeks grew a bit pinker as she saw him scribble the initial 'M' inside the heart. She looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness, wondering what he was doing.
She was quiet, but her heart was starting to beat faster in her chest, and a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
With her own stick, Nezuko carefully and slowly wrote the letter 'N' into the heart, completing the initials of their names together in the drawing. They now both saw their initials within a wobbly, but charming, heart shape drawn in the dirt.
Nezuko looked at the combined initials, a blush still noticeable on her cheeks. She looked over at Muichiro, a hint of shyness and anticipation in her eyes.
Muichiro looked at the combined initials, feeling a new wave of emotions wash over him. He didn't quite understand the extent of what these emotions meant, but one thing was clear to him - he liked seeing their initials intertwined together like that, inside the heart.
He glanced back at Nezuko, noticing her shyness and nervousness. He could almost sense her heart beating rapidly, just like his. He couldn't help but smile a little, and he asked a simple innocent question.
"Does this mean we're a couple now?"
Nezuko looked a bit flustered at Muichiro's question, her heart fluttering once again at his words. She managed to compose herself a little and responded with a hint of shyness in her voice.
"Oh, no, not now. Not a proper one at least. We're still young, Mui. We're only kids."
She then added, an attempt at seriousness in her voice, but the smile on her face betrayed her excitement.
"But... we will be. A couple, I mean. In the future."
Muichiro's eyes widened slightly, his expression a mix of surprise and excitement. He hadn't expected her to be so certain about their future as a couple. He couldn't help the small grin that crept across his face at her words.
"Really? You promise?" he asked, a hint of playfulness in his tone, though there was also a hint of genuine hope in his voice. He wanted to make sure that she was serious about this, that she truly meant what she said.
Nezuko smiled wider at Muichiro's reaction, reassured by his apparent eagerness.
"Yes, I promise, Mui. I mean it. When we grow up, we'll be a real couple. It's a promise."
She reached out and grabbed his hand, her small fingers wrapping around his, and squeezed it gently, as if sealing the deal.
Muichiro felt a surge of excitement at Nezuko's words and the feeling of her hand in his. He squeezed her hand back, feeling the warmth and safety of her touch. He tried to act nonchalant, though his heart was racing.
"Good. I'm going to hold you to that promise, you know. No backing out."
Nezuko smirked, her confidence growing.
"Don't worry, I won't. I make promises seriously. You're stuck with me now, Mui."
She scooted closer to him, still holding onto his hand, and leaned her head against his shoulder.
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Short, I know
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MUINEZU || childhood friends, or more.
Romance*Muichiro and Nezuko are best friends, they are 8 year olds here. They are still growing, and when time passes they'll be older. Still will be best friends, unless they develop feelings for each other.* In a much more better explanation ↓ *Muichiro...
