Satoko Tawada is an office worker. She's almost 30 years old, but she still hasn't been able to find happiness in her life. Fate brings her with Mashu Hayami, a beautiful 12-year-old boy whom she finds practicing soccer all by himself in the park. Out of a whim, she decides to help Mashu with his practice, with her knowledge of soccer at her disposal. As they practice together on an everyday routine, the two eventually develop an emotional bond. When Satoko's ex-boyfriend deceives her, Mashu gladly comforts her. And when Satoko learns of Mashu's mostly absent parents, she starts to concern herself with his personal life. The two lonely souls find common ground and develop an emotional bond that transcends their age difference and circumstances. With this newfound bond, new feelings start to sprout within Satoko. Are these feelings that of maternity? Or is it something else? 4t66y

An award-winner and top-seller in Japan, this provocative new manga handles its controversial subject with insight and sensitivity.

Satoko Tawada, a 30-year-old office worker at a sporting goods company, encounters Mashuu Hayami, a 12-year-old boy, playing soccer in a park at night. She was treated cruelly by a former lover, he is dealing with a high-handed and uninvolved family. Both are burdened with loneliness, and they sense that the other has something that they’re searching for… (From Vertical)