The smartphone screen had never felt this heavy before. Maoto sat slumped on the sofa, staring intently at the device in his palm. The black screen reflected only his own face, looking slightly gaunt. He tapped it with his finger, waking it up. The lock screen showed no notifications. Of course it didn't. No one would be contacting him anymore. Seio's number was gone. His coworkers from the warehouse job had all drifted away. The thin threads connecting him to the outside world had all snapped, one by one, over these past few weeks. He opened his contacts app. Only one name floated on the screen. Akari. That was it. There wasn't even anything to scroll through. His finger unconsciously tapped her name, bringing up her number and their past message history. Every single one was some variation of "Where are you now?", "When are you coming home?", "It's late—are you okay?"—a litany of worried, gentle words. (*It's like a chain, isn't it.*) Maoto thought this absently. An invisible chain. A chain named kindness—soft, yet utterly unbreakable. He set his phone on the table and leaned his weight against the backrest. The air conditioner's breeze, lukewarm, brushed against the nape of his neck. Early August. According to the calendar, today was Tuesday. But his sense of weekdays, his sense of dates, had long since grown hazy. "[gentle]Maoto, would you like some tea?" Akari's voice came from the kitchen. When he turned, she was standing there holding two mugs. Her deep crimson hair was down today, and she wore a simple outfit of a white blouse and jeans. A thin band was wrapped around her left wrist, as if to hide the scar from that night. "...Yeah, thanks." Akari smiled brightly and set a mug on the table. Steam rose from it. "[gentle]What were you looking at?" "Nothing, really." Akari gently took the smartphone from Maoto's hand and glanced at the screen. The contacts app was still open. She said nothing, just quietly placed the phone face-down on the table. "[gentle]Hey, Maoto." "Hm?" "[gentle]Don't you think... you don't need this anymore?" Akari tapped the face-down phone with her fingertip. Maoto stared at it in silence. (*Don't need it.*) The words echoed in his head. She was right. He didn't need it anymore. A tool for connecting to the outside was now just a heavy slab. No calls from anyone. No messages. It was as good as nonexistent. "[sad]I'll go cancel the contract." The words slipped out so smoothly, it surprised even him. Akari's eyes widened for a moment. Her odd eyes—one amber, one silver—stared at Maoto without blinking. Then, the corners of her eyes reddened just slightly— "[whispers]...Really?" "[serious]Yeah. I don't need it anymore." "[crying]...Okay." Akari pressed her lips tightly together, as if holding back tears. Then, in a trembling voice, she said: "[sad]Can I... come with you?" "[gentle]Yeah." Akari took Maoto's hand. Her fingers were surprisingly cold, yet they held a strength that said she would never let go. --- The carrier shop was on the fourth floor of the station building, "Maruto City." Perhaps because it was a weekday afternoon, the store was nearly empty. Maoto and Akari finished checking in and sat side by side in the chairs in front of the counter. Akari never let go of Maoto's hand the entire time. "[business]Alright then, please sign here on this document." A young male clerk held out a tablet device. The screen displayed the contract cancellation paperwork. Maoto picked up the stylus pen. For a moment, his fingers stopped. (*Is this the final line?*) Once this contract was terminated, he would no longer be able to contact anyone. Not even Seio—never again. But that was fine. Enough was enough. Maoto wrote his name in the signature field. "[business]Yes, confirmed. The cancellation process is now complete. Thank you for your patronage." The clerk's formulaic words sounded as if they were coming from somewhere far away. Deep in Maoto's chest, a faint weight detached itself without a sound. A quiet *thump*. It wasn't a sense of loss, nor a sense of liberation—just a quiet feeling that something had ended. Akari squeezed his hand tightly. When he looked up, she was smiling through her tears. --- When they returned to the apartment, Maoto used both hands to take the calendar off the living room wall. The dates of August were lined up in their square boxes. Part-time shift schedules, plans with Seio—all of it was now just the wreckage of plans that had lost all meaning. He traced the written characters with his finger, then quietly rolled up the calendar. He opened the lid of the trash can and tossed it in. A dry rustling sound. When he turned around, Akari was standing at the entrance to the bedroom. She was biting her lip, her shoulders trembling. "[crying]Maoto..." Akari collapsed to the floor right there, sitting down as if crumbling, and covered her face with both hands. She was crying, stifling her sobs. Her slender back shook slightly with each shuddering breath. Maoto walked over and crouched down beside her. "[sad]Is there... really nothing left in the outside world?" Akari asked the question in a trembling voice. Her eyes were bright red, tears overflowing endlessly. "[gentle]Nothing." His own voice was surprisingly flat, and surprisingly certain. It wasn't a lie or bravado—he truly felt that way. There was nothing left for him in the outside world. "[crying]Ah...!" Akari broke down crying like a child and buried her face against Maoto's chest. Both her hands clutched tightly at his T-shirt. Maoto simply, slowly, stroked her back. How many minutes passed like that? Eventually, Akari stopped crying and stood up. Her face still bore the traces of tears, yet she smiled quietly. "[gentle]Wait here, just a moment." Akari opened a drawer in the living room and took out a small case from the back. When she popped the lid open, inside were several keys to the apartment. The main key, the spare key—all of them. One by one, she threaded them onto her own key ring. The silver metal made clicking sounds, *clink, clink*. Maoto watched her hands in silence. Finally, Akari headed for the front door. *Clank.* A heavy metallic sound. The chain lock was fastened. A single chain, completely severing the inside of the apartment from the outside. *Click.* This time, the sound of the main key turning. Akari looked back. Her face still bore the traces of tears, but she was smiling. "[gentle]Now we'll be together forever, Maoto." Maoto nodded quietly. And then, he took a step forward on his own and placed his hand on Akari's cheek. He kissed her. Tears spilled from Akari's eyes again. She wrapped both arms around Maoto's neck and held him tight, so tight. "[crying]I love you... I love you so much..." Akari's lips trembled right by Maoto's ear. --- When she took his hand and led him into the bedroom, the curtains were completely shut, leaving the room dim—only the summer light slipped in as thin white lines through the narrow gaps. Akari didn't let go of Maoto's hand, guiding him straight to the double bed. As they lay down together, the springs creaked softly. Akari placed her hands on the hem of Maoto's T-shirt and slowly pushed it up. Her fingertips traced his skin, and the shirt was pulled off over his chest. Maoto, too, reached for the buttons of Akari's blouse, undoing them one by one. "[whispers]Love you, love you, Maoto... I'll never, ever let you go." Akari repeated the words as she pressed her lips to the nape of Maoto's neck. Her hot breath brushed against his skin. She removed her bra, and her small breasts spilled free. Maoto wrapped both hands around her waist and gently pulled her toward him. Their sweat-dampened skin pressed together. Akari's hand undid the button of Maoto's jeans. The sound of the zipper being pulled down. Her slender fingers touched Maoto's penis, already beginning to harden through the fabric. "[whispers]It's so warm..." Akari whispered as she pulled down his boxers. Maoto's erect cock was exposed in the dim room. Akari gently traced the tip of the glans with her fingertip, then wrapped her whole palm around it tenderly. Slippery pre-cum wet her fingers. "[whispers]Does it feel good?" "...Yeah." Akari smiled, then took off her own skirt and slipped her panties off her legs. Her secret place was already drenched with love juices, glistening slickly. Akari straddled Maoto and positioned the entrance of her pussy against his penis. Her slippery, wet vagina engulfed the glans. "Ah, aahh..." Akari slowly lowered her hips. Her hot, tight vaginal walls swallowed Maoto's cock down to the base. When the glans touched her cervix deep inside, Akari's body jolted. "[whispers]It's inside... Maoto, you're inside me..." Akari whispered in an enraptured voice and began to move her hips. She wasn't slamming down violently. It was like the flow of water—gentle, but with a definite rhythm. *Squelch... squelch, squelch...* Lewd wet sounds leaked from their joined bodies. "Ah, aahh... Maoto, I love you, I love you so much..." Akari's moans echoed through the quiet bedroom. She repeated "I love you" over and over, grinding her hips. Maoto supported her waist with both hands and thrust up slowly from below. *Schlick... schlick, schlick...* "Ahhn, that's... that's good... it's hitting deep, so deep..." Akari's vagina clenched tightly around Maoto's penis, squeezing rhythmically. Maoto sat up and laid Akari down on the bed. In the missionary position, he looked down at her from above. He gently spread Akari's white thighs and positioned his penis against her drenched vagina. *Schlick, schlick, schlick...* They joined together again. "Ahhh!! Yes, like that... more, thrust deeper inside me...!" Akari threw her head back, enduring the pleasure. Maoto quickened the movement of his hips. Following pure instinct, he thrust into Akari's depths fiercely, deeply. *Slap, slap, slap...* The sound of their hips colliding. The love juices overflowing from their union ran down Akari's thighs, staining the sheets. "Ah, ahn, aahh! I'm coming, I'm going to come...!" The moment Akari reached her climax, her vagina convulsed in waves. Clenching down on him so intensely, Maoto couldn't hold back any longer. "Akari, I'm...!" "[crying]Inside, cum inside me...! Fill my depths with your semen, Maoto, give me all of it...!" *Throb, throb.* Maoto's semen was released hotly deep inside Akari's vagina. The thick, white cum filled her cervix, pulsing out in repeated spurts. The overflowing sperm leaked out from their union, frothing white. "Ahhh... it's so warm..." Akari wrapped her arms around Maoto's neck and held him tight. Her insides were still twitching, as if trying to wring out every last drop from Maoto's penis. Their skin, damp with sweat, was slowly cooled by the air conditioner's breeze. "[whispers]Stay here forever." Akari whispered into Maoto's ear. "[gentle]Yeah." He answered just that, briefly. Outside the window, the sound of cicadas droned on without pause. The only things in this room were the cold metallic feel of the chain lock and the sound of their breathing. Before long, Akari fell asleep on Maoto's chest. Maoto stared up at the dim ceiling, then closed his eyes. There was no lingering attachment to the outside world within him now, no will to escape. Inside the cage he had chosen for himself, he quietly sank deeper. Toward a sweet, ruinous destination.