Notes- Just another short timed challenge. I promise I'll get out the next chapter of Stay soon. Until then, I hope this can be enjoyed. Feedback is always-always appreciated and thank you.
Disclaimer: Wild Adapter is owned and operated by Minekura Kazuya.
A Confucian Conversation
Late afternoon sun streamed through the front windows, giving the store shelves and all their goods a golden hue. A thin thread of smoke rose from the corner where a single incense stick was burning, filling the room with a light vanilla scent. Kou sat on his stool behind the counter, enjoying the smell and the warmth and flipped a page in the book he was reading. His shop had been quiet all afternoon, ever since his young employees had left with their deliveries, and he had spent his time cleaning the store and going through his accounts. But as the light began to shade the shelves in deeper colors, he stopped working and decided to have a late tea. He glanced up at the clock and noted the time. It was later than what he had expected, but that was not unusual of the boys, so instead of allowing lines of worry to crease his calm, he placed a kettle on the hot pot behind the counter and waited for it to warm. As he listened to the water start to move inside, he traced his finger across a low shelf, looking over the choices for his refreshment.
The sound of a bell rang from the doorway and he sighed. He reached out to pick up two more cups. Company did always find the perfect time to share a meal, he thought to himself and smiled. He stood up slowly to greet his returning employees.
His calm face didn't betray the surprise he felt and in a smooth motion, he placed one cup back beneath the counter while leaving the other by his own. "Welcome," he bowed. "What may I do for you today?"
An older man stood by the door, looking carefully around the shop. He was finely dressed in a dark striped suit, and between his fingers he held a thin cigarette which at the moment was at his mouth. He turned his gaze from the shelves to Kou and walked slowly over.
"Are you looking for something specific?" Kou waved toward the jars and boxes hung up behind him, but his eyes remained on the man. He knew very well what the other was looking for, but he also knew that what he wanted wasn't there. Even if it was, it was not for sale.
"No, nothing much." The man looked around. "I just happened to be in the neighborhood and I thought I would stop in. I've heard so much about this place." He nodded towards a stool by the counter. "Mind if I have a sit down?"
"Please, at your leisure." Kou bowed his head in the polite fashion of a salesman, and then looked up towards the door. "Would your companions also wish to come in and take a rest?"
The man turned to see where he was looking. Outside was a small group of men also dressed in fine suits, all standing and smoking and looking about themselves. The man smiled and turned back. "No, they're fine where they are." A thin trail of smoke slipped from his lips and Kou picked up a slight scent of vanilla as it disappeared.
There was silence between them then, and Kou could hear the water in the pot start to bubble.
"I'm not here on business, you know?" the man said. "This isn't that kind of visit."
"Oh, I know." Kou bowed again and pushed his tinted glasses up, covering his eyes. "My humble shop does not share in the Izumo group's…benevolence. Chinatown perhaps is a bit too exotic in taste for them to enjoy fully."
"Oh, I don't know." The man leaned his back against the counter. "There may be a few things lying around here that even us downtowners can enjoy."
"Well, in that case, would you care for some tea?" Kou bent down to pick up the pot that had just hinted at a whistle. "I was just about to make some."
"Sure, why not."
The man watched him as he choose a small purple tin with a gold dragon wrapped around the sides, its tail and tongue meeting in the middle. He mixed the leaves and water together and then closed the lid on the pot, allowing it to steep. He then placed a small plate of wrapped sweets before the customer. "If you so wish, please take one."
"Thanks." The man began to unwrap one of the candies. "You know, you speak pretty good," he said, dropping the sweet into his mouth. "I wouldn't even know that you weren't from around here."
"Well, I have had a long time to learn the ways of your country." Kou smiled and poured the tea first in the man's cup and then in his own.
"True, time does change things, doesn't it?" The man picked up his cup and blew steam off the top. Kou also picked up his and after bowing his head, brought the edge to his mouth. His lips hadn't even touched the surface, but he could already feel the heat. He looked up to see his customer glancing at the clock.
"Do you have an appointment?" he asked, placing his cup down.
"No, nothing like that." The man took a sip and rolled the tea in his mouth before swallowing. "I was just wondering if I'd get a chance to see an old employee tonight. I believe he works here now, doing deliveries."
Kou cocked his head. "An old employee you say?"
"Yes, a young man, tall, thin, glasses, seems not to care for anything around him. Well, except for animals that is." The man smirked, but then covered it up with his hand, taking a long drag on his cigarette. "He always had this thing for animals."
"Well, there are no animals here." Kou smiled apologetically. "Outside of ourselves, that is."
The man looked up at him then and studied his face. "That's funny."
"Really? It is not a joke." But he smiled back anyways.
The man kept watching him and then turned to look outside. "It's late, don't you think? Too late for children to be out, what with bedtime and all."
Kou nodded and looked out to the darkening sky. "Very true. But there are no children here so there's nothing to worry." He moved to top off the tea in both their cups. "We have all night if you wish."
The man looked from him, to the tea, and then to the clock. He licked his lips and brought the cigarette back up. "It's not tea and candy that I want." He leaned forward a little and Kou could smell the vanilla on his breath, a duskier scent than the light air that traced the room from the incense stick. "I think you know what I want, Chinaman. So why don't we stop dicking around and you tell me where I can find it."
Kou smiled in response and moved forward. "Was it not sweet enough for you?" he asked. When he received a questioning look back, his finger lightly tapped on the ceramic side of the cup. The man looked down at the tea. "I did not try it myself so perhaps I did not make it right. The taste is supposed to be light, just a hint above water, so it barely feel likes anything is going down, only pure warmth." The man's eyes were widening as he continued. "It is difficult to translate the name itself, but if I may, I would call it, a last kiss on a summer evening as the sun slips into dark. Romantic, isn't it?"
The man stood up then and moved his hand towards his pocket, but Kou moved his own towards his cup. Lifting it slowly, he brought it to his lips and while watching the other's expression, drank. He closed his eyes and let the taste fill his mouth and then fall down his throat. "My, I am embarrassed. I used too much water." He placed the cup down. "Perhaps next time I can make it right and we can drink again." Behind the tints of his lenses, he saw the man breathe out slowly.
He looked up at the clock. "If you were waiting for my employees, I will have to apologize. It seems that they must have returned home after their job was completed. If you would grace my humble shop another day, perhaps you may see them. And then," he waved his hand towards the tea. "Perhaps we could share another 'last kiss'."
The man smiled at him then, a knowing and controlled smile of a snake who has watched his dinner fly off to the safety of the lake waters. "Well, I was treated this time." He turned towards the door. "I have to agree with you. You have been here a long time, long enough to know how to get around a downtowner like me."
"On the contrary, good sir." The customer looked back to see Kou lowering his glasses, revealing his dark eyes. "I learned my lessons from home. You see, it is said where I come from that the gentleman, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come. When in a state of security, he does not forget the possibility of ruin. Thus his person is not endangered, and his States and all their clans are preserved."
The man chuckled in response. "You Chinese always have a way with words, don't you? Gentleman, huh?" He laughed. "Well, your states are preserved for today. But I can't promise you that I will be as gentle in the future."
"That is to be expected." Kou answered evenly. "After all, there are no gentlemen here."
His customer gave him a strange look and then reached for the door. "You can tell Kubota-kun that I'll look for him again."
"Until next time." Kou watched as the customer and his men walked off down the street, the evening light making their suits even darker.
With one last look at the clock, he flipped the "Open" sign to its opposite side and then began to dim the lights. He had not been lying earlier. He was now sure that his young employees had returned home after work. They would be back in the morning to receive their payment. It was a usual routine he'd forgotten to share with his guest.
He looked at the cooling pot on the counter and picked up the cup again. The taste was lighter than what it was supposed to be, offering only a hint of its full effect. He smiled as he took another sip. Part of enjoying his security after all was preparing for ruin, and this was a cup he enjoyed every night.
"But there are no gentleman here," he repeated softly, extinguishing the incense stick with his fingers. "Only demons."
As night finally fell on Chinatown, all that remained in the quiet were a soft chuckle from a swan and the slight scent of vanilla.
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