CW: tea and coffee.


Chapter 12: 'This is why no one wants to hang out with us.' (18/7/17)

In opposition to the streets, where the sun baked the dark-colored pavement, a pleasant chill reigned in the café. Of course, the constant whirr of the air conditioning gave it away as the culprit, but Shiho didn't mind. And nobody else seemed to, either – cheesy couples, parents trying to prevent their kids from covering the floor in milk, groups of excited teenagers, staff chatting behind the bar between one order and the next. Unexceptional.

'Anything good?'

Shiho's attention returned to her sister, sitting in front of her. Akemi's forearms settled at each side of her iced tea on the small table.

'You seem very interested,' she explained with a smile. 'Is there anything good to see… or to listen to?'

Shiho made a smirk of her own.

'Nothing.' She reached for her iced coffee. 'Boring people having boring conversations.'

'Nothing is boring,' Akemi claimed. Shiho sipped her drink. 'It depends on how you look at it. The approach is everything. Someone could think we ourselves are boring. But I don't think we are.'

Shiho arched an eyebrow. 'Why not?'

'For starters, all human beings are complex (and thus interesting) by definition,' Akemi argued. 'But some people are not aware of their own complexity. Those are the truly boring people.'

'But you said nothing was boring.'

'Nothing (and nobody) is boring in its essence. But some people are boring in their behavior, in the sense that they bore others.'

Shiho relaxed her expression and let out a laugh.

'This is why no one wants to hang out with us.'

To her surprise, Akemi grinned too and shrugged her shoulders.

'Not that we need them,' she stated.

Shiho's grin widened as she lifted her drink above the table. Akemi, understanding her sister, raised hers as well in response and the glasses touched with a clank.

'You're deep today,' Shiho pointed out.

'I always am.' The sister's glasses withdraw. 'What are we toasting to?'

'To you.'

Akemi advanced her torso. 'To us,' she responded. 'To the Miyano sisters.'

Shiho nodded and sipped her drink. The tea tasted sweet, bitter and sour at the same time. She liked it.

'To the Miyano sisters,' Shiho repeated. 'And proud to be one.'