It was a simple question with not really a simple answer. Driven by what seems to be a drunken state--even though Ichiru is sure he wasn't drunk--he found the strange and stupid courage to blurts out things which his sober self would never dare to say.

For example, about Sagara's personal stuff.

Or about the wife.

"I..... hate."

In the end, that's the only thing Sagara said after a loooooong, eerie pause. After that, he left Ichiru on his own account, and didn't return to the bar at all. When Ichiru arrived at Sagara's house, Sagara is there, however. And he didn't bother paying any mind to Ichiru. Since Ichiru is too used to be ignored, the treatment at this kind of awkward time kinda saved him.

But it's not Ichiru if he doesn't do anything stupid daily. As if forgetting what happened that night, when they have their breakfast together, Ichiru asked the same question. Sagara might not really glare like that night, but his face still saying that Ichiru just stepped over the boundary.

"What did you say?"

"Uhm...." Ichiru gulps and braces himself, "What's the thing you hate the most, aside from things which negatively affect your wife?"

The same long pause, the same deep stare.

"You know, if you don't wanna say then okay. Forget it."

"I'm more surprised to hear you spoke a proper sentence."

"Rude. I'm always speaking properly."

"You are?"

"......Sometimes. Forget about me. Do you wanna answer that or not? You left it hanging at the most inconvenient part."

"Which part?"

"The 'hate' part."

"Ah, that."

Sagara looks like he just noticed such thing happened, and it annoys Ichiru to be played that way. But his curiosity gets the best of him, and he chooses to stick with the topic than let himself swayed again. It still happened, though.

"So? What do you hate?"

"I..... hate."

Ichiru gives him a frown, but before he managed to say anything, Sagara cut him short.

"I was planning to say more, but then I think it works just fine, so I let it be."

"....."

"....."

"Dude, seriously?"

========