Wyatt Abrahms.
The solemn pattering of raindrops hitting dimly lit pavement had quickly turned to a light downpour in the mostly abandoned streets of Verthaven's Iron District. Even those with business to be out and about at such an ungodly hour certainly would go about it with haste, or not at all when the weather took such an unfortunate turn for the worst. Such an empty street might even be seen as serene if this town's nights weren't so often fraught with danger.
In disregard to this supposed danger and taking shelter from the unnatural rain, Wyatt Abrahms sits upon the 12th Avenue bus stop bench. Under cover of a fairly large awning he was certainly content to stay here and keep shelter from the rain slapping at the sidewalk in front of him. The only striking thing about this night compared to any other was just how... boring it was for him.
His normal habit while waiting for the 6 o'clock bus from 12th to his place of employment in Chinatown, a distance not very difficult to walk for someone with the amount of time he has on his hands; but the act of taking the bus strikes him as quaint, was to 'people-watch'. Observing the early-morning denizens of the Iron District as they lived their varied and distinct lives. This was normally just watching the large variety of gangs harass people, the drug sellers meeting with their common junkies, or -most interestingly- the normal people that needed to be somewhere in a hurry as their lives took a surprising turn. Imagining the struggles of others was so captivating for Wyatt that he eschewed the normal comforts of his home, not that there were many comforts to be had, to sit on a wet bench and wait three hours for his bus.
All this only makes it sadder that no one felt like braving the rain today; though he really couldn't blame them.
With a heavy sigh, Wyatt turned his eyes from the dark, water-clogged street to the incessant flickering streetlamp some couple of feet to his right. Its flickering flashes of light, while merely a minor annoyance to any normal passerby, left Wyatt a bit restless in his current position. The electricity, normally a quite hum of temptation, was currently screeching at him through some poorly insulated wiring. The restless energy was just begging him to come taste of it's nectar.
Though truly tempting, Wyatt hasn't managed to live in modern society by being weak-willed. Unlike those average passerbys, I was always confronting my demons in the form of these delicious, oh so tasty, easy to consume, just a few joules won't h--
Wait no. Where was I? With a couple of slaps to his cheeks, he had refocused on the task at hand! Waiting... three hours for the bus... With a long face harrowed by insomnia and the never ending buzzing of the god-damn streetlamp he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "It's going to be a long day.."
"Did you hear me, Abe?"
"Huh? Oh sorry. I uh, can you repeat that for me?", Wyatt muttered while taking a moment to wipe his bleary eyes. Today at the cleaners had been so slow, with only a few people coming in for drop offs and no deliveries scheduled until later this afternoon. Getting his bearings about him once more, he looked back over at the woman standing across from him that he had supposedly been in a conversation with.
Akemi Shinoda was by all intents and purposes a quiet, quaint woman. She was a good foot or so shorter than Wyatt and quite a bit plumper. She was fairly youthful looking with her brown hair done up in a bun today and she had a small amount of makeup on. She was his boss and owner of 'Asian Word - Grimebusters' or something, never thinking to ask what the first part actually says. When working in Chinatown, you kind of get used to places being named in Chinese.
She had taken up my offer to work for her and didn't even question my lack of credentials to back up my alias. Though certainly not in a position to refuse the job, it made me a bit worried about what kind of person would actually hire me;
I was certain I wouldn't hire himself if that was an option, that's for sure. But it could also be said I am mildly paranoid, and a large amount of these thoughts came down to his wild mind making judgements off the people I meet.
All-in-all though her face was scrunched up with frustration at this point, she was usually quite kind.
She began anew after gaining his attention, "You can head home early after you make today's deliveries."
In a bout of confusion and a little insecurity about his most recent lapse of attention, Wyatt was all to quick to sputter out a response, "That isn't necessary Ms. Shinoda! I know I was a bit out of it earlier, but I can still my job. I promise I can stay awake."
Akemi seemed a bit taken back by his sudden defense, before she began to laugh softly and wave his concerns off, "No-no this isn't about -that-. Though you should take care to sleep more, you don't look very well. We are closing the store early because my nephews are coming to stay from overseas today. I want to make sure they are all set and settled in tonight."
After a moments hesitation, Wyatt joined the earlier mirth and they shared a moment of mutual laughter. Feeling a bit silly after jumping to conclusions earlier, he was quick to excuse himself after a few words of agreement, "Of course, of course! I will be out of sight out of mind shortly. I will go gather up the orders then." Akemi seemed to want to say something more, but Wyatt had already excused himself to the back of the store.
A long while passed before he had managed to get all the cleaned clothes together and placed in their plastic sleeves for transport. As he began stacking them to carry them easier, he began to hear muffled conversation on the other side of the counter.
"Akemi...oba-san,"
"This isn't Japan, so drop those stupid honorifics. Just 'Akemi' is fine... Anyway, make yourselves home. Dinner isn't ready yet, so you can go unpack your stuffs upstairs first... Asami can be so stubborn sometimes. Took her long enough to realize she can't drag you kids around the globe forever."
Wyatt gathered up the clothes and waited on the other side of the door until the conversation came to a clothes to slip out the door to the front of the shop. Glancing to the spiral staircase to his right that lead to the upper floor, he managed to catch the backs of two young men that looked strikingly similar from the back ascending the staircase.
Hastily pushing his way onto the street, certainly not wishing to interrupt any family business, he quickly found his day become rather free. The busy street full of vendors and rather loud pedestrians was quite the contrast with the quiet street that started this day. Despite this, as the drops upon the back of his grey beanie began, the rain seemed to have stayed consistent. Rain aside and with no obligations, except the stack of clothes in his arms, he set off with the idea of finding something interesting and some food. Not necessarily in that order.
