bet || m. tokito

8 • moonlight

you sighed as you rolled in bed once again, staring at the ceiling in the dark bedroom. 'i can't sleep...' you settled for going out to get fresh air, quietly and carefully getting up from the bed in order to avoid waking up aoi, who slept in the cabin bed beside you.

feeling the cold air the second you opened the door, you slowly stepped outside. you sat at the doorstep, listening to the sounds of the night. in the distance, you could hear the sound of small splashes of water. out of curiosity, you followed the sound, which had leaf you to a small lake at the campsite. in front of the lake, you saw the figure of a boy, holding some pebbles in his hands as he grazed them across the surface. 'muichiro?'

you quietly made your way to stand beside him. muichiro, who hadn't noticed your presence, stayed focused on skipping his stones across the still water. when his pebble did not go as far as he wanted, he sighed in frustration, slamming a pebble to the ground and accidentally hitting your foot. "ow-" you groaned in slight pain, kneeling down to check on your foot.

muichiro flinched upon hearing your voice, slowly turning to face you in slight embarrassment. "y/n? why are you out here so late?"

"i could ask you the same thing," you retorted, standing back up to meet his eyes. "what were you doing?"

he showed you the handful of stones he had in his hands, "just skipping stones. i find it calming." he picked a stone from his hand, gently throwing it and watching it skip across the surface of the water. it splashed four times before sinking into the water. he motioned for you to open your hand, giving you a stone. "would you like to try?"

he noticed that you were a bit hesitant, stepping behind you and grabbing your hand to help your body get into position. "bend your knees a little, and focus on the water," you could feel him breathing against the back of your neck.

you did as he said, trying your best to copy the position you saw him standing in when he threw the rock. "now instead of regularly throwing, force it against the water so that it doesn't sink right away." you took a deep breath in, finally releasing the stone in your hand. you saw it splash against the water a few times before sinking.

the moonlight shined against the dark waters, catching you in a daze before muichiro appeared in front of you with a light smile. "that was good for a first try," he stated. you smiled back at him, sitting down to stare at the water. muichiro settled next you, the both of you enjoying the silent sounds of the night.

"hey, y/n?" muichiro spoke up. you hummed, turning towards him. "do you know how to play chess?"

you blinked a few times for laughing out loud. "that's a random question. why do you ask?" muichiro looked away, slightly embarrassed. "i just...want to know what kind of things you like and what you like to do, that's all.." your smile widened after hearing his words. for another hour or so, you and muichiro sat together at the moonlit lake, talking about anything and everything. what kind of things you both like to do, funny stories about yuichiro, and everything in between. that night, you truly felt like you were getting closer to muichiro.

~♡~

you sighed as you flopped down on your bed. after you and muichiro noticed it was getting late, you both walked back to the cabin, bidding each other goodnight.

"and where were you off to this late at night?" aoi's sudden scolding surprised you. you sat up on the bed, being met by aoi who was also sitting up staring at you, waiting for an answer like a mother scolding a child.

"i was uh...at the lake...yea.." you averted eye contact, looking anywhere but aoi's eyes. "with who?" you froze at her question, deciding that it would be best to keep quiet. "was it perhaps...muichiro?" your eyes widened, feeling shy that you were caught. 'wait, why am i embarrassed? there's nothing odd with hanging out with muichiro alone in the middle of the night. wait-'

"you know you two have been oddly close lately. you were even holding hands with him when-"

"that was a game!" you cut off her teasing. aoi laughed a little at your embarrassment. 'he's just an acquaintance, a group member. no way am i losing that bet with yuichiro..'

"yea, yea okay. let's just get some sleep now, yea?" aoi stopped her nagging, she was too tired to ask you more anyways. you hummed in agreement, laying back down and letting sleep overtake you. 'this is crazy..'

♡♡♡

"YOU TOUCHED HER HAND? THAT'S GREAT MUICHIRO!" tanjiro whisper yelled. upon muichiro returning from his late night talk with you, tanjiro drowned him in questions, knowing that he was probably out so long because he met up with you.

muichiro blushed lightly as tanjiro continued to hype him up in support. "how sweet. it's about time you start making moves. you got this muichiro, i'm rooting for you!" tanjiro smiled lightly before deciding that it was also time for them to get some sleep, since inosuke was already lost in the slumber world. muichiro stared at the ceiling, unable to wipe the grin on his face. 'tonight was...good...'

a/n
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