Y.O.W

Chapter 8: Flickers

Mary stared at him blankly, her mouth slightly open.

"T-that came out wrong. I mean I am Ren, Yamato Ren, but I-I don't look like this in IRL. I-I mean in real life. I'm a lot older and fatter, I definitely can't do magic. I'm just a salary man at a company in Tokyo." He took a breath and found her expression even more confused.

"Ren..." She started, but he put his good hand to silence her.

"No. Let me f-finish. I, uh, well, I think I died in my world and then came to this one. Somehow, I took over this Ren's body. Pr-probably because he looks like my avatar Knight in Y.O.W. Uh... Y.O.W is a game I play called Your Own World. There is a Mary-chan in Y.O.W that I like a lot, but she's just an NPC, a non-player character. B-But she wasn't a real person." He took a breath and watched her face as she stared at him.

Mary blinked and asked, "Are you done?"

He nodded. Is she just taking it in, or does she think it's a joke?

"I-I'm not joking..." He looked at the table. Maybe I shouldn't have told her, but I don't like the idea of stealing a life that isn't mine. Even if my other life wasn't that great. Plus, it's this Ren she seems to like, not me.

"Ya... ma... to...," Mary whispered.

Ren looked up at her. She was looking at the table, smiling, her cheeks pink and touching her lips. What kind of reaction is that?

"M-Mary-chan?"

Her head jolted up and their gaze met. She quickly covered her face, but he could see that her ears were red. "I-I was just testing it out."

"Testing what out?"

She peaked at him through her fingers. "How my new last name will sound when we're married."

Ren's heart skipped a beat. So, cute!

"W-wait, I'm trying to t-tell you that I'm not your Ren ri-right now." He panicked. How can I make her understand?

Mary lowered her hands and looked thoughtful. "I didn't really understand a lot of the words you said or what you mean by another world, but one thing is for sure, you are my Ren."

"No, I just took his body, I think, I'm not—"

Mary held up a hand to him, then smiled as she put it in her lap. "I don't really know how to explain it well, but I'll try. Firstly you, only you, are my Ren. You haven't taken anyone's body. That's your body."

"Mary-chan..." This wasn't going anywhere.

Mary shook her head and continued, "Hmm, how do I explain this. You've always been my Ren and will always be my Ren."

I can't seem to make her understand. He ran his fingers through his hair and Mary looked at him concernedly.

She pursed her lips, then sighed. "I'm not explaining well... I don't know how to explain it in your terms, so I'll try it in mine and see how much of it you understand first. You think that you took that body, but your wrong. It's always been yours. Though you've never mentioned it not being your original before... Ah! This is so hard to explain. If I could show you a Flicker, I could make this easier to understand."

Ren watched as Mary tugged on her hair and bit her thumbnail.

"Wait, you're not questioning that this isn't my real body?" Ren asked.

Mary pouted at him. "It's your real body."

He hesitated before asking, "You don't doubt me saying I'm from another world?"