✯Close Enough to Forget✯

Location: Shinchan's House, KasukabeTime: Saturday, 2:48 p.m.

The afternoon light filtered through the white lace curtains of the Nohara living room, soft and lazy. Somewhere in the kitchen, the clatter of utensils said that Misae was busy. Himawari's toys were scattered across the floor, and a faint cartoon theme hummed from the TV.

On the table: open notebooks, a pencil box, and Kazama's perfectly aligned pens.Next to them, Shinchan sprawled sideways on the tatami mat, tapping his eraser against his lips.

> "Math again? You're evil," he groaned.

Kazama adjusted his glasses, unbothered.

> "You failed the last test because you thought π was just a bakery symbol."

Shinchan snorted, rolling onto his stomach.

> "Well, it sounds like pie! Don't blame me for being hungry during class."

Kazama wanted to stay annoyed, but the way Shinchan's laugh filled the room made it impossible. It was the kind of sound that tugged at you until you smiled too.

> "Sit up," Kazama said, tugging lightly at Shinchan's sleeve. "If you focus, we'll finish early."

Shinchan groaned again but obeyed, sitting cross-legged. His knee brushed Kazama's thigh. Neither of them moved away.

---

Kazama's POV

It was supposed to be a study session - quick, efficient.Yet two hours later, the math notebook was half empty and the air felt too warm.

Shinchan leaned over to see the page, close enough that his hair tickled Kazama's cheek. He smelled faintly of soap and sunshine.

> "So... if the angle's ninety, that means this thingy here's... opposite, right?"

Kazama nodded, though his mind had drifted far from trigonometry. His pulse felt uneven.

> "Y-yeah. Opposite side."

> "Cool," Shinchan whispered, his voice closer than it should've been.The silence after hung thick.

Kazama's hand twitched when Shinchan's finger traced the line of the triangle on the page - slow, careless. Their fingers brushed.

It shouldn't have meant anything. But it did.The touch lingered like a spark refusing to die.

Kazama pulled back a fraction, pretending to fix his pen cap. His face felt hot.This isn't how friends feel. Is it?

---

Shinchan's POV

Kazama had gone quiet - too quiet.Shinchan tilted his head to look at him. His friend's lashes trembled slightly, the tips catching the light. He looked serious, but softer than usual.

Why does he look like that? Shinchan thought. Why can't I stop looking?

He reached for another sheet of paper, but his hand brushed Kazama's again - deliberate this time, just to see what would happen.Kazama looked up, startled, eyes meeting his.

For a moment, the world outside - the sound of Himawari, the noise of traffic - blurred away.

> "You okay?" Shinchan asked softly.

> "I'm fine," Kazama said too quickly.

> "You sure? You look like you forgot how to breathe."

Kazama exhaled, giving up a faint laugh.

> "Maybe I did."

The air between them turned light again, but something unspoken stayed. Something neither dared to name.

---

5:02 p.m. - Later

They'd finished maybe three pages of work and talked through the rest of the hour. About music, about future plans, about nothing.

Kazama ended up sitting against the wall, Shinchan lying with his head on a pillow nearby, sketching random doodles on a spare notebook. The sky outside turned orange.

> "Hey, Kazama?"

> "Hm?"

> "You ever feel like... people expect too much from you?"

Kazama turned his head. Shinchan's eyes were half-open, voice quieter than usual.

> "All the time," Kazama admitted.

> "Yeah. Thought so."

Silence. Then a small smile.

> "Guess we're not that different, huh?"

Kazama's throat felt tight. He wanted to say something back - something honest - but before he could, Misae's voice called from the kitchen,

> "Kazama-kun! Stay for dinner, okay?"

Kazama blinked. "Ah-no, I-"

> "He's staying!" Shinchan yelled, grinning. "He still has to teach me how to find x in life!"

Kazama laughed despite himself.

The evening stretched quietly after that - comfortable, domestic, warm.And when Kazama finally left around 7:20 p.m., he found himself looking back once before stepping out the door.

Shinchan was standing in the entryway, hair messy, smile lazy as ever.

> "See you Monday, Mr. Perfect."

Kazama smiled back.

> "See you, idiot."

But the word didn't sting.It sounded... almost like affection.

---