momo
“How old are you?” asked Momo.
“I'm nine,” said Pon.
“Same age,” said Riku.
“What about today? Where are you going now?” asked Momo.
“I'm going to kendo practice...” said Pon.
“Forget that! Come play with me!” said Momo.
“......” Pon fell silent for a moment, his face turning red.
“Pon-kun, Momo really likes you. Why don't you come play?” Riku said.
Riku would later become the healing Riku, but Pon still couldn't quite trust him.
“...Sure, okay.” said Pon.
“Then let's go!” said Momo.
Pon had meant to say yes and refuse, but he felt a little troubled.
Today was Friday. Later that night, he'd have dinner with Opo, Nobo, and his mom, Kyō. So, Pon decided to play with Momo until then.
The two left the field, left the school gate, and headed toward Momo's house.
“Here it is. My house,” Momo said.
The house had a slightly old-fashioned appearance, different from Pon's apartment building, and Pon was surprised.
Inside the house, Momo's family wasn't there. According to Momo, they had gone out to earn money.
“What should we do?” Pon asked.
“First, let's drink some orange juice and talk!” Momo said.
Pon and Momo drank orange juice while chatting in Momo's room. Pon felt a little nervous. Momo seemed in high spirits.
“I've known about you for a long time,” Momo said.
“Oh...” said Pon. He felt a little sleepy.
“I've always loved stories about love.”
“I like stories about knights and wars more than love,” said Pon.
“I see. You're a boy, after all...” said Momo, finishing her orange juice.
“Do you understand love?” Momo asked again.
“Yeah. It's when a boy likes a girl, right?”
“That's true... but sometimes there's love between boys too...”
“...I like girls better,” said Pon.
“Do you know the love story of the greatest knight and princess in the old kingdom?”
“No.”
“I'll tell you the story!”
"Once upon a time, there was a prince and his sister. The sister and the prince had a fight, and the sister died... After that, the sister became a princess. The prince became the greatest knight in the kingdom.
Then, without knowing she was his sister, the prince fell deeply in love with the princess. They were always together. The prince had a very scary personality, and the princess was even scarier than him. The prince's specialty was squats. He tried to do everything with squats.
One day, the prince thought, “I'll do a squat that won't make the princess cheat on me.” The result? The squat got really angry, and the princess was devoured by a dragon and died.
The grieving prince composed a song. It was a song where the princess sang, “Are you here, there, everywhere...?” The end.
」
“Huh, that was interesting.”
“Right? I love this story.”
“I should probably head back soon...” said Pon, getting ready to leave.
“Wait!” said Momo, planting a kiss on Pon.
Pon was a little surprised.
“Come back again!”
Said Momo, and the two parted ways.
