Five years after the Uchiha's coup, days of orange skies and ash-filled air, no Uchiha are allowed to become shinobi. Devastated and distraught, Sasuke seeks comfort in an old teashop. In a world where all hate his name as much as they hates his blood, Sasuke dives deeper into what started out only as a hobby but may now hold a bright yet fragile path of restoring his clan's honor.
An array of glass jars sits before the two, gleaming in the soft morning sunlight that filters in. From deep green powders to thin green-greyish strips of dried leaves to dried leaves mixed with toasted brown rice, from tiny orange flowers to deep red dried fruits, the scent of earth and leaves fills the room. Sasuke walks around the long and narrow room with shock and wide eyes. He turns around and around trying to take it all in. Over a hundred, no, five hundred, no…perhaps thousands of teas rest in identical glass jars on dark wooden shelves. A fine powder settles on Sasuke more and more as he moves forward. His eyelashes bat it away and his hair, usually sporting a sheen in the sun, has taken on a matte color from all of the powder.
"There are many types of tea, Sasuke-kun."
"You don't say…" Sasuke says absentmindedly as his legs carry him farther and farther from the doorway.
No labels or engravings exist on the shelves or jars. Sasuke stops despite his muscles urging him to move and his eyes eager to look round and round to see and learn. He gazes at two jars, whose green leaves look, no matter how he tilts his head or squints, exactly the same.
Something pulls Sasuke to keep walking.
Fluidly, Sasuke's feet cut through the air and his mind keeps him moving forward. His world slowly blurs until he focuses on a single point in the distance where he supposes the end of the collection is.
"Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke flinches hard and nearly falls over as he lets out a cry of surprise.
"Jī-san!" Sasuke exclaims. He stares at the man for a moment, and then takes his outstretched hand.
"Overwhelming, I suppose," he chuckles, "You're not the first to be captivated by the sheer amount of variety. But, regardless…" Sasuke follows the man as he shuffles towards the doorway.
"Did you notice it?" he looks at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye seriously.
"Notice what?" Sasuke asks.
"I take it you didn't then," he walks with his hands behind his back, "There's 'something' pulling you to look more and more. Yet, the desire to look overpowers the desire to take anything. Eventually, if I left you here, you'd waste away gaping and stumbling at the jars. You wouldn't ever open one; you'd just gaze at each one like you've never seen it before. You'd forget that you've spent hours, days, and months here. In the end, you'd starve and die."
Sasuke cringes, "Why do you have something like that?"
"It's a one-way barrier that once a chakra signature has been in it for a certain amount of time, a series of illusions cloud common sense and reason. You might wander to the doorway at some point by chance, but signatures can only go in and never out," the man laughs, "Scary, right? I use it for security purposes, since some of the tea here are rare and valuable. But don't worry, Sasuke-kun. As long as you have a drink of tea before heading in there, I'm sure you'll be fine."
"You don't sound too convincing," Sasuke admits.
The two reach the doorway and he closes the door, much to Sasuke's obvious relief. He sighs and shivers with narrowed eyes that speak to his lost trust in the door that in the beginning seemed to hold so much wonder. Come on, Jīsan! Show me! How else am I going to master sado if I don't get acquainted with the tea I'll be using? Pressing his lips into a thin line of wariness, Sasuke huffs indignantly at the deceptive door, looking as ordinary as the one that led him from behind the counter to the 'back' of the shop. I can't believe I said that earlier...how stupid.
Jī-san looks at Sasuke, "What? Weren't you the one who was dying to go in there? Why, you sprinted here and breathlessly demanded that we have some tea. Upon looking around as you sipped along, you saw a few jars under the counter and identified them. Eagerly with a glitter in your eyes," the man stifles a laugh, "You insisted that I tell you if your predictions were correct. Then you wanted to see if I had any more jars and I thought I should let you experience it for yourself," he can't hold his laughter in and simply cackles as he takes a seat behind the counter, "'Come on, Jīsan! Show me! How else am I going to master the art of making tea if I don't get acquainted with the tea I'll be using?'"
Sasuke scowls, "I've never seen anything beyond the counter, you know."
He laughs harder, "Even though you've gotten taller, you're still as curious and innocent and easily conned as you were a few years ago!"
"Alright, I get it!" Sasuke crosses his arms and huffs, "Just teach me sado!" He furrows his brows and shuts his eyes in mild irritation and embarrassment.
The man cups his chin, feigning deep thought as he looks into the distance, "Well..."
"Hn?" Sasuke opens one eye halfway, wary of the old man's sharp words and sharper tricks, "Well?" he mimics, looking at the man with distaste.
"Sasuke-kun…" the man starts in a warbling voice, feigning deep wisdom.
Hope, like a small flower, slowly rises in Sasuke's heart as the man's words—
"Truth be told, you were wrong for every jar."
"Shut up!" Sasuke's ears burn with humiliation. I'm supposed to be the heir to my clan, not made fun of like a puppet to entertain you, Jī-san!
He titters into his sleeve as he looks at Sasuke with half-lidded brown eyes and points a finger at him, "Hehe, you're more easily riled up than I thought~"
He pours yet another cup of steaming tea into the porcelain cup. He carefully sets down the teapot. On a white background, orange birds splash and dance and dive around the teapot's surface, surrounded by wide deep green leaves and small blue flowers. The edges of the lid are decorated with a raised series of royal blue half-circles joined at each end.
It was on sale last week in a store down the street, and the old man couldn't help himself.
Blindfolded, Sasuke reaches for the cup.
I've been at this for over two hours.
The old man props his feet up on another chair. Sunday, huh? The boy's been at this for two weeks now…he's failed at identifying any tea by its scent or taste. I wonder if he's truly cut out to be a Teishu to be serving tea to his guests…
Sasuke breathes in the fragrance of the tea.
Still, the old man has some hope.
I hope he gets this right. It's costing me tea.
Sasuke takes a sip.
Well, Sasuke-kun?
He takes another.
Now you've certainly gotten a taste. What's your answer?
A bead of sweat runs down his face. He takes another.
Just confirming, right?
"What kind of tea is this?" the old man slides his feet off of the chair and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
Sasuke doesn't reply immediately.
I've only brewed five different teas and given him a random one each time. This'll be…
"This is…" Sasuke starts.
Cup number…
"Sencha?" Sasuke pulls up the blindfold, revealing one eye.
Two hundred and fifty-four!
"Hojicha," the old man groans as he covers his face with a hand, "Don't you taste the toasty, roasted flavor? These leaves, grown in late summer, are not the first leaves to grow—those are picked in spring. After harvesting, at high temperatures, these leaves are then roasted over charcoal. Sencha is pressed and steamed and has a mildly bitter taste. In spring, the first and second flushes of leaves are harvested to make sencha."
Sasuke takes another sip and looks away, "Y-yeah. I knew that. You told me that last week."
You didn't!
