"Um..."

"The venue's kind of small,
but we can always reserve a private spot for you!
Just say the word!"

"..."

Face flushed,
Ichinomiya glanced down
at her hands encased in mine.

"What's wrong--ahhh!"

Embarrassed,
I quickly loosened my grip.

"S-sorry...

I was making you uncomfortable, wasn't I?"

"Yes."

Ouch!

Her unwavering honesty stung.

"And I don't like live events."

Double ouch!

"But why?"

"The noise..."

Critical hit!

Ichinomiya resumed eating.

"Then how about-"

She cut me off
before I could finish.

"You don't get the meaning of a hikikomori,
do you?"

"Huh?"

"I don't want to leave the house, period."

"Come on, don't be so stiff!"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you want to go outside sometimes

and, you know...

get some food,

see some sights,

meet new people?"

"...I don't need any of that."

"But-"

"Please..."

Ichinomiya Megumi's face

contorted in displeasure.

"Don't push me."

She was looking down,

trying to hide her expression.

But even then,

I thought

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 I

could hear

tears in

her voice.

.

.

.

Perhaps the simple me has grown too greedy
in such a short time.

Hoping to take one large leap forward,
I charged ahead without care,

and
instead,

fell

ten

steps

backwards.