Though his eyes were swollen and red from his recent tears, he now smiled widely. The anime songs had stopped playing.

Rooted to a spot by the door, I asked hesitantly, “Why are you here?”

“What about you, Satou?”

“I…” I started to tell him that I had just happened to move into this building because it was close to my university; but unconsciously, I hesitated. I didn’t want Yamazaki to learn my true status: unemployed, dropout hikikomori.

Not noticing my difficulties, Yamazaki voluntarily explained his situation. “This summer, I entered a technical school. When I looked for a cheap apartment close to school, I happened to like this one.”

It really did seem to be complete chance.

“Anyway, please come in. My room is dirty, though.”

The unbelievable coincidence still confused me, but Yamazaki warmly urged me inside. Obediently, I took off my shoes and stepped into the room.

Of course, the layout was no different than my room.

But… what was this? I stood frozen in place.

There was a strange atmosphere to Yamazaki’s room, an extremely faint air that I had never before experienced. The room contained odd posters stuck haphazardly to the walls, two gigantic computer towers, a mountain of manga that nearly reached the ceiling, and various other kinds of furniture and decorations. Everything combined to create a peculiar, troubled ambiance.

“Please, have a seat there.” Yamazaki’s voice brought me back to reality.

Following his directive, I unsteadily ventured deeper into his room.

Suddenly, something shattered at my feet with a loud crack. I jumped nervously.

“Oh, that’s just a CD case”, Yamazaki said, “Don’t worry about it.”

Manga, novels, videotapes, DVDs, plastic bottles, empty tissue boxes, and other rubbish littered the entire floor.

“My room is rather dirty.”

This was an understatement. I had never seen such a filthy room.

“Still, I’m really happy. I never would have guessed that I lived next door to you, Satou.” Seated on the edge of the bed, Yamazaki spoke with a faraway look in his eyes, paying no mind as I trampled something different with each step.

Finally, I reached the computer desk and sat in the revolving chair.

My drunkenness had worn off. It had worn off completely.

Not knowing what to say, I stared at his seventeen inch monitor. It displayed a wallpaper for an anime I didn’t recognize.

“It’s strange that we’ve never run into each other here, even though it’s been half a month since I moved in.”

I half listened to him while examining the figurine displayed on top of the monitor. The model was an elementary school girl carrying a red schoolbag on her back.

Meanwhile, Yamazaki droned on. “This must be what they mean by ‘urban disinterest’ in one’s neighbors.”