The Shut-In Next Door [Hikikomori! Japan X Reader]

The Shut-In Next Door Part 3

It would take another day, or two, and then you would be done. You brought a hand to your forehead. You felt tired again. How come you were tired? You slept in longer than you were supposed to. Perhaps it probably doesn't even have to do with sleep, but with what you were doing. Organizing a new home, unpacking a mountain of boxes, building furniture... Your energy levels have been down recently because of that. If you weren't tired then something must be wrong.

You were looking out the window at the moment. It was still raining. The weather app on your phone said that it would continue to rain throughout the week. That sucked for you because you needed to go out—buying groceries and job hunting, and all that.

Not to mention you needed to get an apology gift for your new neighbor.

Only you would start a feud within 48 hours. How is that? You wanted to blame it on people for getting offended too easily. But you also knew that you needed to take responsibility for your actions. After all, you would want someone to clear things up if you were the one who was offended. Plus, taking action of the situation was the responsible, and mature thing to do.

You needed to be responsible and mature.

You went to grab your phone from your room. It was on the floor, the charger plugged into it. The single colored wire curled around the plug-in spot. You unattached it and headed to the kitchen. You opened the system's default browser and started typing.

"Stores... Near... Me..." You said as you typed along to the words.

A few locations popped up: A convenience store, a flower emporium, a supermarket, and a store that sold video games. You checked out their websites. They all seemed decent, for the most part.

Convenience stores can offer a quick snack or drink. They always seem to have jobs open as well. However you weren't so sure about working in one. You don't have anything against it, but the pay probably wouldn't be enough for you to live off on. As a part time job, yes. Full time, not so much...

Having a supermarket nearby was good. You could get groceries from there. You looked around your kitchen. It really did need something to help it come to life.

You thought about the other two stores. You could buy flowers and send them to a family member. Or you could buy them for yourself. Flowers made good decorations. Who wouldn't want a nice bouquet of flowers in their home? With the video game store, you didn't see yourself going into there often. You did not have a gaming system, so buying games seemed pointless. But you never know, maybe there will be a time when you'll shop there.

Your mind went back to your neighbor. What would they like? Part of you thought about sending flowers. However, you were worried about doing so. If you sent flowers they would be allergic to, it would restart the entire cycle. You did not want that. You also thought about sending chocolate. Of course, it might also be an allergen or something similar for them.

When did buying people gifts become difficult? You wondered. Anything could spark a negative response. There has to be something that won't come off as an annoyance... Suddenly, you remembered that stationery was an option—you could write a note!

They sent you one sometime between last night and this morning. That obviously means they are comfortable with communicating through writing. You planned to begin writing an apology note. The only problem was that you had no paper or any writing utensils. The only solution was that you needed to buy them.

You inhaled and exhaled; Taking in air and letting it out. The action was simple but it did wonders for your mind. You had begun to feel slightly calmer, and ready to start another task. You stared at your phone again and then looked out the window. Every fiber of your body wanted nothing to do with the weather. You did not want to go out at all. But you needed to. Not just for your neighbor, but for yourself. You still needed groceries and you still needed to find jobs.

You could find a job online, though, so maybe you don't have to go out for that. Surely someone would post an ad on the internet requesting for help. You could also order groceries online as well, however you didn't always like buying groceries via the internet.

Anything could happen to your food while it was being shipped. And you were always concerned with porch pirates—package thieves. Buying anything else online did not make you as nervous, mysteriously enough. You did not want to pay over and over again while still being food less and starving. That was the most logical answer you could come up with for that fear. Yeah, that seems like a good answer.

A minute or two passed before you proceeded to leave your home. You put on some shoes and did what you needed to do with your hair. Earlier you had discovered a rain coat in one of the boxes. Just as you were about to go and retrieve it, you heard loud noise. The noise echoed for a bit, and then faded away. You knew what that noise was: Thunder.

Of course. You said mentally. Just as I decide to go out, I hear that noise. Wonderful. You rolled your eyes. It doesn't matter if you hear thunder or not. You made a decision to go out, and you are going to go out.

"Now where's that coat?" You said.

You walked into your room and found the box it was in. The raincoat was still folded. With both hands you picked it up and put it on. Now you were ready to leave. You grabbed your [Color] bag and locked your door. You headed outside to do your errands. How you will get back home untouched by the rain... You'll see how that goes.