Three Days of Happiness

“By the way, Kusunoki,” Naruse said in remembrance. “Do you still
draw?”
“Nah,” I promptly replied, then carefully looked for the right words
to follow with. “...I haven’t drawn at all since I got to college.”
“Thought so,” Naruse laughed. “If you were still drawing, I dunno
what I would’ve done.”
That put an end to it.
I knew it was bizarre, but that exchange, not even ten seconds long,
obliterated all the fondness I’d built up for Naruse over three years.
All too quickly.
As he kept running his mouth as if trying to smooth something over,
I spoke his name without speaking.
Hey. Naruse.
That’s the one thing you can’t laugh at.
True, I gave up on it. But that absolutely doesn’t mean it’s
something that’s okay to laugh at.
I thought you would have understood that.
The smile I gave Naruse gradually came to have nothing behind it. I
lit a cigarette and stopped talking myself, just nodding at Naruse.
Miyagi spoke from beside me.
“...Now then, let’s compare answers.”
I shook my head slightly, but she went on regardless.
“It seems you’ve just now come to hate Mr. Naruse a bit. But in
truth, Mr. Naruse is not as fond of you as you believe. Originally,
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