We decided that our theme from then on would be “sex, drugs, and violence.” If we steered our lives in that direction, we might be able to spend every day in a more energetic and happily youthful way. At least, that was our hope, and we clung to it.

Sex

Speaking of sex, it’s not for minors under 18. Speaking of “not for minors under 18”, erotic games! Even now, Yamazaki kept working on his erotic game. Why? No one could possibly know, but it seemed sad. It was lonely. That was all I knew. I had no idea why, but it made me want to cry.

Drugs

Using the money I had secured from selling my furniture, I bought some serious drugs.

“These are all legal!” Yamazaki complained.

I hung my head. “What else can I do? There’s no way I could buy illegal drugs by mail. For a hikikomori, this is the best I can do.”

“Pathetic. That’s so lame.”

Violence

Finally, Yamazaki and I ended up fighting in my six-mat, one room apartment. In the middle of the empty room, we faced each other in fighting stances. I imitated Bruce Lee, whom I had recently seen on TV. Yamazaki used fighting games as his reference, adopting the crane pose.

Then, we tried to beat up each other. As soon as we started, though, I slipped on the floor and fell. I hit the back of my head as hard as possible. The pain brought tears to my eyes.

“This isn’t fun at all”, Yamazaki complained.

“Don’t say that.”

“It just makes me feel even more empty. I know! Should we do this at the park?”

“Beforehand, let’s do the drugs, as we already have them. Don’t make fun of them just because they’re legal. They still work pretty well. We’ll have a good time.”

Actually, the drugs did work. In fact, the trip was so bad, I thought I would die.

I thought that maybe I should die.

Part Two

However, I didn’t die.

I might be living a dismal hikikomori life. At the moment, however, I did, technically, have plans to meet someone. As evening fell and all traces of other people had disappeared outside my apartment, I filled my stomach with a late dinner. When it was dark, I set off toward the neighborhood park. The summer night breeze felt good.

I sat on a bench and looked up at the moon and stars in the sky. A black cat sauntered leisurely in front of me. His eyes flashed with the reflection of streetlights.

Ah, it’s night. It certainly was night.

Misaki materialized, there in the park.

“You’re late.” She had been creaking the swing back and forth when, noticing me, she energetically jumped off. The black cat crept over to where she stood, and Misaki picked it up. The cat meowed but didn’t struggle.