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Clan meetings have always been a bore, Satoru laments. He hates doing seiza for hours and having to hear a bunch of adults talk about boring stuff.
There's nothing to look forward to, nothing except-
"Satoru-kun!"
As expected, Naoya is waiting for him at the gates, smiling widely as he waves his arms excitedly. He jogs over to approach him, the long sleeves of his kimono flapping around as he makes his way towards him.
Today's meeting is being held at the Zen'in estate, and his friend Naoya is here, ready to play with him.
Satoru grins, “Wow, you really miss me, don't you?” he watches the younger boy catches his breath, amused.
“Hehe,” Naoya bounces happily on his heels, “It’s been a while, Satoru-kun. Of course I miss you!”
“Uwah,” Satoru clutches his chest and makes a face. Naoya made him so happy it hurts.
“What? Are you not happy to see me? You don't miss me?” Naoya pouts, his chubby cheeks puffing cutely.
Satoru’s face goes warm.
“I'm,” he starts, eyes looking away from Naoya’s gaze, “... Happy to see you, too…”
Naoya squeals excitedly, throwing himself onto the older boy and hugs him tightly. Satoru can’t hold himself back from smiling widely. He hugs his friend back.
He really misses him. He misses playing with him and running around causing trouble. The last time they met was around a month ago, at the Kamo Estate, and before then, it was two months ago at the Gojo Estate where they first met and became friends.
"Follow me, I wanna give you something cool!" Naoya grabs his hand and Satoru lets the younger boy guide him through the estate.
They make their way through the courtyard and into one of the buildings, until they finally reach a room near a tiny pond and plum tree. Naoya opens the shoji and ushers him inside.
It’s a typical washitsu, pretty much barren except for a desk on one side of the wall with stacks of books and stationeries on top of it. Satoru assumes that this room belongs to the younger boy.
“Wait here! I’ll go grab my stuff!” Naoya makes his way towards the closet and disappears inside. He rummages around while Satoru grabs a zabuton and makes himself comfortable.
Naoya closes the closet door and steps towards Satoru with a plain wooden box. He sits in front of him and opens the lid.
“Look!”
The box is full of marbles of varying sizes and colors. Satoru can see tiny reflections of him on their surfaces.
“Wow,” Satoru stares, wide-eyed, “you have so many.”
Naoya grins proudly at his collection and digs around the box, searching for a particular marble. His eyes light up when he finds what he's looking for.
“Look at this one!” Naoya holds up a clear, cyan marble under the sunlight, and Satoru can see bits of glitter in it, sparkling beautifully.
“Pretty,” he mutters, and Naoya smiles brightly.
“Right? It reminds me of your eyes,” Naoya grins, “... but I think your eyes are prettier.”
Satoru feels warmth spreading throughout his body. His cheeks feel particularly warm.
The younger boy sets the marble on the table, and hands the box to Satoru.
“You can take one! Go ahead and pick one you like.”
“Really?” Satoru looks at Naoya with wide eyes. The younger boy nods eagerly.
"Yeah, I still have a lot, so giving you one or two is no big deal. Oh, but you can’t take this one because it’s my favorite!” Naoya gestures to the one on the table.
Satoru laughs, "Sure, I've got the better one right here, anyway," He points to his eyes.
He reaches out to grab the box, but before Satoru manages to get his hands on it, Naoya pulls the box away from him and closes the lid.
"Wait! I forgot!" the boy nervously looks up at him, holding the box protectively.
The older boy huffs in annoyance, pouting. "Are you kidding me?"
Naoya shakes his head vigorously and looks at him with pleading eyes. "I'm not. I'll give you my marbles, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. I don't want other people taking my marbles."
Satoru sighs and holds his pinky up, "I promise."
Naoya blinks at him, not understanding the gesture. Satoru loses his patience and takes the younger boy's hand, linking their pinky fingers together.
"This is a pinky promise! If I lie and tell anyone about your marbles, I will swallow one thousand needles and cut my pinky!" he says, to which Naoya gapes at him, "Really?"
"Of course!" Satoru responds, tightening his hold on the other's finger and shaking their hands for good measure. Naoya seems satisfied and he grins brightly, squeezing Satoru's pinky finger in return.
"Okay, then here you go!" he opens the box again and slides it towards Satoru.
The blue-eyed boy spreads all the marbles on the floor and inspects them one-by-one, admiring each of them. The sunlight shining against them casts colors against the tatami.
He spots an amber-colored bead with yellow and green glitter in it. He holds it up against the sunlight and sees the insides sparkle.
It reminds him of Naoya’s eyes.
“I’ll take this one.”