Y.O.W

Chapter 1: FBM

The birds chirped obnoxiously in the trees as he sat on a park bench mindlessly chewing on an onigiri, a rice ball with salmon inside, from his convenience store bento box. The rice tastes a little saltier today, or is that the fresh salmon? He sat under the sakura trees, taking in the fragrance of spring as tiny pink cherry blossom petals floated down in front of his face and landed on his knee. Ren looked up at the clear blue sky and watched the clouds roll by as Tokyo's skyscrapers partially blocked the skyline. He let out a sigh. I want to go home. I want to see Mary-chan.

"Yamato-senpai, come join us." A young Japanese man with a smile full of vigor named Nagasawa Shiju approached his bench. He had a can of beer in one hand and a sandwich in the other.

Ren looked over at his younger coworkers sitting on a blue tarp, laughing and chatting as they enjoyed the cherry blossom viewing. I wonder if Y.O.W will do an event with cherry blossoms. Ah... I want to go viewing with Mary-chan. But I'll just get kicked out of town again if I touch her.

"Ya... Yamato Ren-senpai?"

Ren snapped out of it when he heard his first name. When was the last time I heard someone say it? It's not like he had any friends outside of Y.O.W. His parents had been in their late forties when they'd adopted him at the age of three. They had borne no children and wanted an heir to pass their name onto. His father passed away from a heart attack when he was ten, and then his mother passed away from a brain tumor when he was just starting college. They'd left him enough inheritance to live on his own and pay for college, so he had no family left to call him informally either.

"N-no, I'm fine. I ha-have to leave soon. I st-still have work..." He stuttered. Why is it so hard to talk to real people? He lied about having more work. He just wanted to go home and plug into Y.O.W as soon as he could.

"Oh, too bad. Do you need any help to finish up?" Nagasawa glanced back at the group. His gazed was trained on a small petite woman with shoulder length black hair and a small button nose.

She doesn't hold a candle to my Mary-chan.

Ren shook his head, his shaggy black hair flopped into his eyes. It was about time to get a haircut. "N-no, I'll be f-fine. Thank you."

"If you're sure..." Nagasawa was already edging back to the group.

"I-I'm sure."

"Alright, then. See you tomorrow, senpai."

His younger coworker returned to the group, and Ren let out a sigh. Quickly scarfing down his dinner, he disposed of his trash and headed to the nearest station. Even if Nagasawa saw him heading that way instead of back to the office, no one would care. He had a hard time connecting with the younger members of the corporation. Actually, with anyone outside of Y.O.W. His boss had told him to come to the picnic but then hadn't even shown up himself. Real life interpersonal relationships were a pain. Boarding the packed train, he did his best to fit into a corner where no one would notice him. Making eye contact with strangers was uncomfortable. Thankfully, his neighborhood was about two train stops away from his company's building. When the train stopped, he disembarked and walked a couple blocks from the station. Once he was away from the crowds, he let out a sigh of relief. He lived in a neighborhood with older buildings. The paint on the walls was cracking, and the windows were a little dusty, but it was quiet. No people to bother him.

"Good Evening, Yamoto-san."

Well, almost no one. Ren slowly turned to the raspy older lady's voice. She gave him a crooked smile while she gazed up at him from the permanent arch in her back.