Chapter 3: A Day Full of Trouble

Morning arrived at the Nohara house.

A peaceful morning.

A quiet morning.

A—

"SHINCHAN!"

The peaceful morning ended.

"Wake up! You'll be late for kindergarten!"

A small figure was completely wrapped inside a blanket.

"Five more minutes..."

Misae Nohara crossed her arms.

"You said that five minutes ago."

"And now I need another five minutes."

"That is not how time works!"

From the living room, Hiroshi sighed while drinking his coffee.

"Every morning feels like a battle."

Misae looked at him.

"And whose fault is it that he gets this from?"

Hiroshi immediately looked away.

"Ah... the weather is nice today."

Misae stared.

"You're impossible too."

After a lot of rushing, running, and one missing sock later...

Shinchan finally reached kindergarten.

He entered the classroom with his usual confidence.

"Good morning, everyone!"

Nene smiled.

"You're late again."

"I wasn't late."

"You came after everyone else."

"I was giving everyone a chance to miss me."

Masao looked confused.

"Did anyone miss you?"

Shinchan thought for a moment.

"...Kazama?"

Everyone turned.

Kazama looked up from his book.

"Why am I involved?"

"Because you were thinking about me."

"I was not."

"You looked at me."

"Because you were making noise."

"Exactly. You noticed me."

Kazama sighed.

"I don't know why I argue with you."

"Because we're friends."

"We are not."

"Okay."

Shinchan smiled.

"Best enemies."

Kazama paused.

"...That's not better."

After kindergarten, the children decided to play at the park.

The sun was warm, and everyone was enjoying their afternoon.

Shinchan ran toward the playground.

"Race you to the slide!"

Kazama adjusted his hair.

"Why would I race you?"

"Because you don't want to lose."

"I don't lose."

"Then prove it."

Kazama immediately started running.

Nene watched them.

"He fell for it."

Masao nodded.

"Every time."

Bo-chan quietly said:

"They understand each other."

Everyone looked at him.

Because somehow...

Bo-chan was always right.

A few minutes later...

Shinchan and Kazama sat on the bench.

Kazama looked tired.

"You know, normal people don't turn everything into a competition."

"Normal people sound boring."

"Sometimes I think you don't know the meaning of calm."

"Calm is when you're sleeping."

"That is not what calm means."

Shinchan laughed.

Then suddenly...

A ball rolled near them.

A younger child looked worried.

"My ball..."

Before anyone could move, Shinchan picked it up and returned it.

"Here you go."

The child smiled.

"Thank you!"

Kazama watched quietly.

Everyone thought Shinchan was just troublesome.

But moments like this showed something different.

He was careless.

He was noisy.

He was unpredictable.

But he was kind.

"Why are you staring?"

Kazama looked away.

"I wasn't."

"You were."

"I was thinking."

"About me?"

"No."

"About my potato drawing?"

"No."

"About how cool I am?"

"Definitely no."

Shinchan laughed.

Kazama tried not to smile.

He failed.

That evening, the Nohara house was loud as usual.

Misae was cleaning.

Hiroshi was relaxing after work.

And Shinchan was proudly explaining his day.

"Today Kazama and I had a race."

Misae smiled.

"Oh? Did you win?"

"Of course."

Kazama's voice suddenly appeared in Shinchan's memory.

"I don't lose."

Shinchan smiled.

"Maybe it was a tie."

Hiroshi laughed.

"Sounds like you two had fun."

Shinchan thought about it.

Fun?

Maybe.

Annoying?

Definitely.

But somehow...

The days felt more interesting when Kazama was around.

And somewhere else, in his own house, Kazama was probably thinking the same thing.

Not that he would admit it.

Never.

Because admitting Shinchan was fun to be around?

Impossible.

At least...

That was what he told himself.

Thankyou so much guys!!! ✨

TBC~ 🌟

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