Chapter 26 - "Welcome to the Migrant!"

'''Welcome to the Migrant! '''("Wataridori ni yōkoso!", 渡り鳥にようこそ！) is the twenty-sixth chapter of the Welcome to the N.H.K manga.

Summary
The mirage of Misaki Nakahara in the form of an angel fades away. The only conclusion Tatsuhiro Satou can draw is that Misaki must actually be an angel that was sent from heaven to watch over him. He brags about said mirage to Toro-Toro on the MMORPG, and Toro responds that he should probably go to the hospital to get said schizophrenia checked out. He has to defend himself in front of his friend, and Toro criticizes Satou's lifestyle right in front of him. He says that Satou's greatest pleasures are contained within his imagination, and that he is so deluded that he publicly brags about them. Satou tries to regain his composure to prevent into sinking into a depressed episode again, and in this reassurance, he once again uses Misaki as a means of relief.

Shizue Satou enters the room, with a face of pure dread. Tatsuhiro's room is literred with posters, frames and notes about how much he is in love with Misaki. Satou's father stops him right outside his room and demands that they have a talk. When confronted about what plans he has for the future, Satou fluctuates between mild fibbing and honesty depending on his father's reaction, but overall his father is very disappointed in him. Satou's father tells him that he will offer him a check to get him back on his feet, but only if he gets his life together; otherwise, they will undoubtedly bring him to the hospital. Satou tries to turn the tables in a relatively harsh way to divert the attention from his personal life, and asks his father why he gave up on his career playing guitar. He was trying to convey how hopelessness could divert one's lifetrack. Satou falters under his parents' expressions, and apologizes for his behavior, accepting a trip to the hospital. He runs back to his room and puts a bag over his head.

The mirage of Misaki reappears. She listens to the father trying to justify his inability to go through with his dreams, and then she returns to Satou's room. She leans over and tells him that he is still not living in reality. However, one day he will find his own reality.

Satou snappily makes a decision to go back to Tokyo, claiming that his mission is to save his angel from being bullied back in Tokyo. He takes his guitar and absconds. He takes a yacht from Hokkaido back to Tokyo.