Differing Paths...
Chapter Four
Ayumu Kasuga sat in her apartment. She looked at the wall, as she did every morning. Or was it 'morning'? She couldn't tell anymore. She stared at the wall for another half-hour, and decided to see the rate of progress of the outside world. She opened the curtains, and a blast of sunlight. She jumped down, and covered her head with her blanket. She awoke a few hours later. "Sunrise.", she thought to herself as she looked out the window, "Or was it sunset?". She sat on her bed and watched TV. By the time she had brought herself away from the set, it was dark again. She decided to sleep. The next morning she looked at the wall, as she did every morning. Or was it 'morning'? She couldn't tell anymore. Thus, was the life of the hikikomori. After making it into college, the group of friends was quickly disconnected due to their different studies, as well as travel, and though some had stayed together, Osaka quickly fell behind. She dropped out of school a few months in without the rest noticing once. She had lived in her apartment, never leaving, and eating occasionally off of her parents' living allowance. She hadn't been outside in a year and a half, but that was fine, given she was the type who could be perfectly satisfied in those conditions. The last time she had was when she met her neighbor the first time. While making her occasional change of clothes, she saw a shadow over the crack in the wall she had spent so much time examining. She walked outside, the middle of Winter, and entered the man's unlocked apartment. The walls were plastered with anime, manga, doujins, games and figures, as well as every piece of concievable bishoujo merchandise. "If you wanted to look at me, why didn't you just ask?", she asked, looking him straight in the eye. The otaku froze in his tracks. He wondered, were his dreams coming true? Was he hallucinating? Or, was this person really that maladjusted? The rest of the many hours he had put in watching her through the wall crack when she was doing other things hinted towards that, as she hadn't left her apartment in years and she spent every day doing strange and mundane actions, with most of the time being sleep. He desperately tried not to stare at her. She said, "Sorry, but the shows I usually watch at this time are on! I think... Anyways, if you ever want to look through the hole again, just knock beforehand.". The otaku stared into space for a few seconds. He would later make what would later be considered one of the greatest H-games of all time around this very concept. Despite all this, they never talked again. He would still look through the crack occasionally, but far less than he used to, afraid of the awkward situations that could take place. August 28th was another Wednesday for Ayumu Kasuga. The agenda: sleep, study the room, sleep, look outside, sleep, watch TV, sleep. Midway through her morning (or was it?) room-study, the doorbell rang. She had only heard that sound twice, a mail delivery bringing her a gift from an old uncle, and the lone visit she had had with the others while in college. She sat there, feeling uneasy. Should she open it and respond? Or let things continue to be so simple? Osaka was known for her lack of forethought into much, and opened the door after a half-second period of consideration. It was Tomo and Yomi, arrived to give her their thanks. "Oh! Hello!", she said, with more emotion that the others had remembered her for. Yomi figured it was just memory exagerrating her spaciness, but she seemed, more than ever, as she had remembered. "Come in...", Osaka said, her voice nearly at a whisper. "Oh, sorry,", she said again, "it's been a while since I talked to anyone.". The two walked in. Osaka's apartment was almost empty, with just a TV, a bed, and random supplies lying around. Tomo looked around, walking backwards and bending her neck slightly to get a better view of things. "This is a pretty nice place.", she said, staring at the ceiling as she did. "Oh, thanks.", Osaka replied. "So,", Yomi said, sitting down on the bed, "what do you do?". "Um...", Osaka stared around while it seemed she was thinking about something, "I sleep, and I watch TV. And... I...", she was about to continue, but Tomo cut her off. "No, work, stupid!", she said. "Oh...", Osaka replied, looking off into the distance. Tomo and Yomi wore bright smiles, now seeing one of their best friends from the one time life was truly great. "Not really much of anything, actually.". Their grins began to crack a little. "W-what do you mean?", Yomi asked, afraid of the answers she could get. "I've been hikikomori for almost four years.". Yomi nearly snapped right there, but tried to keep the friendly visage up. "Well...", she said, trying desperately to find something to say to that, "You certainly keep your house clean for a hikikomori.". She knew that was probably the wrong thing to say, but this was Osaka, it should be okay. "Really?", Yomi exclaimed, almost shouting, "What's it like not having to do anything?". "It's pretty fine.", she said, "Though sometimes it can be a bit boring.". Yomi decided to finally step in, "Are you sure this is good for you?". "Why?", Osaka wondered, turning her head to the side. "You know, like, are you doing anything wrong? I know hikikomori tend to become drug addicts or otherwise harming themselves. You aren't like that, right?". She gave a moment to let the statement sink in. "Nope.", Osaka replied quickly and in an oddly casual nature. "Well, that's a relief.", Yomi thought to herself, quickly before being cut off with a "Well..." on the part of Osaka. This is what Yomi had dreaded. During this rather intense exchange, Tomo simply wore a face of slight confusion and moved back a little. "Well...", Osaka continued, "except for the pharmaceuticals I always took.". Yomi was so glad, but at the same time so shocked, Her emotional response didn't get much time, as it was cut off by Tomo's "Well, that explains a lot!". Osaka and Tomo laughed, and Yomi nearly wanted to strangle the both of them. But, that feeling came up a lot around Tomo, so she decided to just let it slide. "How about we finish this conversation outside?", Yomi asked, hoping to be able to get in touch with Osaka and tell her to end her hikikomori ways. "Alright!", Osaka said, with a bright smile. The three walked into the warm, early-September night. They talked, until Osaka finally managed to get around to the topic on all of their minds. "So, why did you guys come to see me after this long?". Yomi was about to explain the whole situation, when Tomo cut her off the first word she spoke. "Well, there was this robber, and I was setting up an ambush, and there were snipers, and we fought, and she cut my eye, and... Long story short, I accidentally killed twenty-nine people.". Osaka looked appalled. Yomi, ever the onlooker, was glad to see that Osaka could respond to news like that the way a normal person would. Tomo continued, "Anyways, they took me to court and I had a crappy lawyer and there were supposed to be twelve jurors, but you didn't show up because you were hikikomori, and I got off free!". "So,", Osaka said, appearing to be in deep thought, "You made it into ICPO?". Tomo's face turned, for a few seconds, into that of extreme rage. Yomi cut in, feeling good in being the one to cut comeone else off for once, "She was in talks, and technically counted as an ICPO officer, but she had to stick to cases inside Tokyo. But it would seem that this little incident would put a hamper on that.". Tomo quickly snapped, "Well, at least I'm making us money! Miss The-Framed-Version-Of-My-Official-Diploma-Isn't-Here-So-I'm-Not-Even-Going-To-Try-To-Get-A-Job-Outside-Of-Humiliating-Service-Work-But-Am-Really-Just-Afraid-Of-Failure!". "Oh yeah, you- killer of innocent civilians, are clearly a saint compared to someone like me, someone who actually worked to get where they are!". They kept going, but eventually, Yomi looked away as Tomo kept snapping. Eventually, Tomo looked too. They saw that Osaka had disappeared into the crowd. They stood there, wondering between them what the impilcations of this were, and what might become of her. Tomo broke the first breath in the intensity of the moment.
"I suppose some people just... drift."