YO! Mira back with another, this one on a sadder side, as my work usually is. Everyone's favorite pairing, Shinaya! Well, my favorite at least. I like this one enough, and that's saying something, I usually despise my work! Anyways, enjoy!

- Mira

Shintaro leaned back in his chair, slowly sliding down until only the upper part of his body remained on the chair. Why. Why did that annoying pest always have to ruin everything? This was the twenty-seventh song she had erased and he had only had her for a few months! Thinking about it, where exactly had she really come from? She always seemed to dodge the question when he asked, and he was starting to get suspicious…Oh well, it's not important anyway. That matter could be left for later, he supposed. Looking to his computer screen, he was greeted by the smiling face of his mortal and artificial enemy, Ene.

He could feel his eye twitch at her innocent expression. Really, who did she think she was fooling? Every time he tried, she always ruined his attempt at making a song. All he wanted to do was make one little song, was that so hard? Then, upload it to Nico Nico Douga and so on and so on until he was signed up to a recording company. If his sister could do it, why couldn't he? He had been trying for about a year and a half now!

He stopped at that thought. Now that he really thought about it, he really hadn't left his house in a year and a half. That was…really sad. It's not that he didn't want to go outside necessarily, though he didn't, he just…couldn't. His head hurt thinking about what it was exactly that made him want to stay inside, his heart would begin to beat uncomfortably and he would feel the slight prickle of a sob starting in the back of his throat. Though, for the life of him, he couldn't remember why. Well…that's what he wanted to say, but in actuality he wouldn't let himself remember.

The closest he would get to grasping onto that memory would be a flash of flowing hair the shade of a looming shadow, eager to disappear at any moment. Other times it would be the faint image of a smile, as bright as the strongest star, but every star dies; and all light fades to darkness at some point. It bothered him to no end. Who exactly was he thinking of?

Well, he supposed that wasn't what was important at the moment. Sighing, he stared at the artificial girl's hapless grin. It seemed it was going to be another tiring day. He supposed it was better than those monotonous years he had spent in school- in only some ways. At least he wasn't bored anymore. If anything, Ene had that going for her; no matter how aggravating she was she always managed to do something to piss him off. Though, he supposed he would get bored of her too after a while. It was inevitable after all.

Groaning to himself, and ignoring Ene's continuing pestering, he put his hand back on the mouse and began to redo his work. This was going to take hours to fix…Not that he planned on leaving the computer during that time anyways, but still. As Ene continued to try and get his attention, eventually pouting and giving him the "silent treatment", the doorbell rang from downstairs. Shintaro's eyes widened and his hand on the mouse froze momentarily, before continuing what he had been previously doing. His mother would answer anyway, she always did.

After another few minutes of blissful silence, he heard the annoying tune of the doorbell once more. Where was his mother? He wondered, why she wasn't opening the door right away like she usually did was beyond him. Shintaro paused after that thought, pausing once more in his work. She…was home, right? Now that he thought about it, the house had been oddly quiet for the last few hours.

She…she hadn't left, had she? His eyes widened at the thought as he remembered faintly hearing his mother yelling to him that she was going out for the day with some friends. At the time, he had been too engrossed in his work to pay the exclamation much attention, but now…That meant he had to open the door and…talk to the person standing there. It was just his luck, that someone would come the one time his mother was out…

Swallowing uncomfortably, he wondered if the person would leave if he just ignored them. Then again, if it was someone or something important he was sure to get yelled at…He should probably answer it, but he didn't think he could take talking to a random stranger. This year and a half inside had really done a lot to him, it was kinda pathetic, he thought to himself, not seeming very pleased by it.

Ene was giving him a curious look, having quit her sulking to investigate what was wrong with the boy. Upon hearing the doorbell's chime, a wide grin painted her face and she exclaimed excitedly, "Master! Here that! Someone's at the door, you know! You better go answer it or else your mother will get mad," she continued somewhat cheekily.

Just hearing her say that made Shintaro's eye twitch. That tone of voice she used was so…Well, f-fine, he would answer the d-door no problem. Sitting up in his chair, he stared down at her smiling expression and replied, "Shut up! I get it already…I'll g-go answer the d-door," he stuttered on a few words. His present lifestyle had really made him unfit to socialize of communicate with the rest of society unless via internet.

Getting up out of his seat, to the cheering voice of Ene, he made his way over to his bedroom door and opened it, stepping into the hallway. He soon made his way down to the front door, pausing as he reached out for the handle. Staring at it, he began to question his decision. This was the threshold of his journey. If he left now, he wouldn't have to answer the door, and he could at least tell his mother he had tried. Was it really a good idea? What if there was a murderer on the other side? Or a robber? Or-

Shintaro began to make himself confused and began to sweat with his over thinking. This continued on, it came to the point where he didn't even hear the doorbell and annoyed sigh at the other end. It seemed the person on the other side was just about to give up and leave when Shintaro remembered Ene's words and snapped out of his thoughts. He was going to prove that annoying pest wrong, he would open the door, and he would do it now.

Gathering his courage, he grasped onto the cool metal handle and turned, opening the door slowly. The person on the other side stopped their own thinking, on whether to leave or not, and straightened up, looking straight at Shintaro.

Once the door was completely opened, Shintaro stared blankly at the person, well, man, on the other side. The male was fairly average looking, brown hair with matching brown eyes, obscured by a pair of square-framed glasses. He was wearing what seemed to be a white lab coat with a red and gray stripped shirt underneath it, the sleeves of which peeked up from under the coat near his hands. He was also staring right on back at Shintaro.

The two continued to stare at each other silently, one with both nervousness and slight recognition, and the other with confusion and also a hint of slight recognition. This continued on for a few moments before the other male snapped out of it, coughing into his fist awkwardly and nodding to the hikikomori. Shintaro blinked out of his own reverie and nervously nodded to the other in return, "Ah…um…i-is there something you n-needed? P-please don't hurt me," he asked shakily, having not had face-to-face communication with anyone for over a year.

"Yes…I was wondering if this is indeed the residence of Miss Kisaragi Momo," he asked, more like stated, staring down at Shintaro. Shintaro mentally sighed, if this was another one of his sister's stupid insane fans- No, this man didn't seem to be. Then again, appearances can be deceiving… He was snapped from his thoughts when the older male continued, "I am her homeroom teacher and I would like to discuss her schooling," he said.

Oh. Well, he supposed that made sense. The other did look the part, so he supposed it could be true…He shifted his eyes back to the other, relief clearly visible as well as a lingering slight suspicion. Making sure he wouldn't stutter this time he replied, "Ah…well, she does live here yes," he confirmed.

The man nodded to himself, "May I come in then? I would appreciate having a discussion with her parents," he said, guessing the other to be the older sibling.

Shintaro wasn't entirely sure what to do in this situation, he could always tell the other his mother wasn't home, but…He ignored the wriggling in the back of his mind at the plural word "parents" and replied, "She-She's not home right now, s-sorry," he apologised, hoping to be able to close the door again.

The man pondered this a moment before replying, "Will she be home soon? It is imperative we speak," he really didn't want to have to cause an inconvenience, but…His students' school lives were an important factor to his career. Shintaro shook his head at the other's question, prompting an aggravated sigh from the aforementioned man, "I see, in that case, I shall return tomorrow," he said.

"A-alright then, goodbye," Shintaro said quickly, going to close the door. The man stopped him, using his foot as a door stopper. This was where Shintaro began to panic.

The man wondered what on earth was wrong with this boy that he kept stuttering, but left it at that. There was something else bothering him, something that reminded him of his deceased daughter. When the boy went to close the door he instinctively moved his foot to halt it. There was something he wanted to confirm. Looking through the space left between the door and the frame, he asked, "Excuse my asking, but what is your name?"

Shintaro froze at the question, many different and terrible scenarios running through his head. In the end, he decided to answer the other, thinking the other might attack him if he did not reply, "S-Shintaro Kisaragi," he replied shakily.

The man paused at that, a slightly shocked look overcame his expression at the other's reply. The memory of a young girl talking excitedly about her new best friend "Shintaro Kisaragi" repeating endlessly in his mind. Quickly, he composed his expression, wondering how he had never made the connection before. Glancing at the other again, he replied, "…I see, my name is Kenjirou Tateyama," he replied, hoping the other would recognize the last name.

Something in Shintaro turned cold at that moment, it was as if time had slowed down. When he had heard that name, the image of a grinning young girl appeared in his mind. His eyes widened as the image lingered, he knew that smile. That…that was the smile that would flash in his mind every so often. This…did this man have something to do with the girl from his memory? The thought made him uneasy, and already he could feel a mental blockade being washed over the images. Whoever she was, obviously he did not want to remember. He had to get away from this man as soon as possible.

Shintaro did not realize it, but he had gone completely rigid during this mental exchange. Kenjirou watched on in interest, his suspicions confirmed on the other's identity. His eyes softened at the memory of his daughter, obviously the two had been close for him to react in such a manor. Perhaps it would be best to let the subject drop with only a few words…for both the boy's sake and the dull and ever-present ache in his heart. He supposed now would be the best time to leave, as the other was quite obviously uncomfortable with his presence, "Well…it was a pleasure to meet you, Shintaro, but I suppose I must be on my way," he said.

The black-haired boy was snapped from his thoughts at this statement, and upon hearing it relaxed his stance. If the other was going to leave, he had no reason to force the other out. With a nod he replied, remembering his manners, "A-ah, yeah…nice to meet you too, Kenjirou," he said, using the other's first name. He couldn't bring himself to speak the man's surname…

Kenjirou nodded at the reply and turned to leave, "Well then, goodbye, Mr. Kisaragi" he said, pausing where he was for a moment.

"G-goodbye," Shintaro replied, still in the midst of composing himself.

"…" Kenjirou remained silently standing there for a few moments before muttering one final sentence before walking away.

As he took off, the question remained in Shintaro's mind, bouncing around in his head. He closed the door silently, sliding down it's wooden back and leaning against it as he seemed to space out. Quietly, he repeated it to himself, "…She was a good girl, wasn't she?" he mumbled to himself, pulling his knees up to his chest. Bringing his head down to his knees, he replied in an almost inaudible voice, "…Yeah, she was…"

He remembered now, all about her. She had been the one person to care in his life. She was the reason he had become a hikikomori. She had been the most important person in his life. And in the end, she had….

A quiet sob

An inaudible whisper

A broken heart

"…Ayano…."

Ene later would ask why his face was so red.

He wouldn't be able to answer.