He didn't come by today either...

That guy...

Sighing,
I closed the window curtains
and plopped back onto my bed.

After how things ended last time, it's no surprise that Yamakai had stopped visiting altogether.

I'll admit that I went too far.

But did he really have to disappear without warning?

Along with Kaito's absence,
naturally,
the amount of disturbances in my life had decreased.

My routine made a comeback.

Everything was the way it was supposed to be.

Gilbert had taken a few days off as well.
Something about visiting a sick relative back in his hometown?

So for once,
no matter what I choose to do,
no one could reprimand me.

I can finally read those novels I ordered from that online book store.
Watch daytime TV dramas.
Take afternoon naps.
Order takeout.

Do everything I've always wanted.

I should have been celebrating this new-found freedom.

However,
without a single human presence loitering about the house,
I couldn't shake the feeling that something was...off.

Had the room always been this big?

This wide?

This...

empty?

Even to a hikikomori who had grown accustomed to a closed environment,

a nagging thought screamed out
in the crushing solitude of my safe haven:

something was missing.