Send đŁ for my muse to say how they really feel about yours // accepting
   âHara-kun and me? Weâre friends, but itâs complicated, because sometimes his personality is kinda bad and he gets carried away if you donât call him on stuff.ââ
   Her words are as straightforward as everâlacking in malice but also lacking in tact. Itâs important to be honest, though, she thinksâeven when people donât like it (which is about half of the time, at least).
   âWhen we hang out, itâs a lot of fun, âcause weâre both people who can make plans on the fly based on what sounds like the most fun without worrying about all that annoying small stuff, but if itâs too much at somebody elseâs expense, then itâs no good, and I gotta tell him so. Usually itâs pretty chill, thoughâmore than youâd expect, maybe. Hara-kunâs kinda nice when heâs not going out of his way to be mean, I thinkâbut whenever I tell him so, he always seems to go the other way just to spite me. Thatâs way too cheeky, right? One of these days, Iâm gonna put him in a headlock over it.ââ
   âWhen it comes to basketball, thoughâŚâ Her playful demeanor sobers at this, eyes roaming aimlessly over her surroundings. ââŚAhh, itâs no good. I donât like the way Hara-kun plays it at all. I only went to one game, and I wonât go to another unless he plays a clean one. Thatâs what I decided. I told him as much, but I donât really know what he thought when I said itâor if he thought about it, period.â She deflates a little, scuffing the heel of her shoe into the floor. âMaybe it didnât really matter to him at all.â
  ââŚIâm frustrated,â Nana adds after a beat, a little quieter now. Her brows furrow, shoulders bunching up, fingers drumming restlessly against her sides. ââŚI donât get how a game like that can be fun, how winning could possibly feel good when you do it that way. I⌠really love basketball with all my heart, so I canât understand it at all. Is Hara-kun really happy playing like that? It makes me angry.â
  âItâs no good if I give up completely, though, right?â She huffs through her noiseâfalse bravado. She gestures sweepingly with her hands and her next words come out a little unevenâjittery, like sheâs rushing to get them all out. ââCause⌠maybe Hara-kun doesnât have any other friends whoâll say stuff like this, and thatâs no goodâif you spend all your time with people who all do the same things as you, then you never have to think about why youâre doing them, or if it even really makes you happy.â
   Nana puts her hands out in front of her, watching them curl and uncurl from fists like the words she wants to say will appear on her palms if given enough time to do so.Slowly, her bunched-up posture uncurls and she tips her head upwards again. When she raises her head, her expression is clearerâstill lacking its usual toothy grin, but⌠brighter, more resolute now.  Finally, she brings her intense gaze fully upwards, and despite the somber subject sheâs fallen into, she speaks clearly nowâalmost painfully earnest.
   âThe type of basketball Hara-kun plays without underhanded tactics just to see how it feels, the kinds of expressions heâll make when he realizes how fun it is⌠I really want to see that.â