As soon as Endrance had seen that Haseo signed on, he immediately sent the younger boy a flash message.
Haseo! Where have you been?
But it was right after he had sent the message that Haseo warped right in front of him. Immediately, Endrance moved closer.
"I was so worried. Not being able to see you for so long, and without a word from you... it was horrible," Endrance said, his usual airy tone tinged with worry.
Haseo stared at him for a long moment, brows furrowed together. He put a hand on his head, gloved hands burrowing into silver hair.
"I'm fine," Haseo said shortly. "I had to catch up on school stuff."
Endrance hesitated; that did sound logical. But... it wasn't like Haseo to just leave without a word. Not for three days, anyway. Because Haseo played such a crucial role in this game of epitaph users and AIDA, and Haseo took that role seriously. If he could save Shino by doing it, then he would.
Swallowing, Kaoru straightened up in his chair, hands gripping the controller tightly.
"Here's my number," he said, sending the number as a flash mail so only Haseo would read it. "If you ever need help, please call-"
"I don't need any help," Haseo grumped, hand dropping from his hair to fold across his chest.
"Even if it's just for school. I've graduated already, so plea-"
"I'm fine." It was obvious Haseo was getting annoyed. Desperately, Kaoru thought for something to say. Anything to say, because if Haseo left now, what if he didn't sign on again? If Kaoru never saw Haseo again...
"I'm going to go see Shino. I'll be on later," Haseo said, shifting his weight from one foot the other. "I promise."
And with that, he logged out, leaving Endrance feeling more hopeless than he ever had before.