Disclaimer: None of these fine characters belong to me. It's called Fanfiction for a reason ¬_¬
The transfer train to Oarai offered the views that I had looked forward to see on a train ride; Views of wide open farm land greeted me as my ride sped through the country side. The lush, wide summer greenery and gentle river was a pleasing contrast to the stifling claustrophobic cities of impersonal steel and glass; paired with the clickety-clank of the train, it provided a relaxing feel to the start of my summer holidays that I had even set aside my light novel to take in the sights as my mind wandered.
Of course it inadvertently wandered to my earlier encounter with that stranger. Through the soft fabric of the carrier, his gift to me laid on my lap; Though cool to the touch, it radiated a feeling that warmed my heart.
I am looking forward to my dinner.
And before I knew it, the low lying houses of Oarai rapidly replaced the farmlands and the train pulled into my destination, depositing me on the open air platform where the slight saltiness of the distant sea permeated the air. With one hand pulling my luggage and the bento in the other, I made my way down the stairs.
Walking out the gantry, the first thing that greeted me was a huge Girls Und Panzer poster. I smiled a little as it was one of the unique things of Oarai: the place where the anime was supposed to be situated. Allowing the tourist in me to indulge in this curiosity, I took a moment to browse through the material at the display. And what tourist would I be without a commemorative photo? So I reached for my cell phone,
"Heya, I was waiting for you." A familiar voice interrupted me with a start.
I spun around, and there he was, in casual attire of a simple beach themed blue tee shirt, khaki slacks and cheap flip-flops: Yukihira Souma. "Why are you here?" I blurted out my surprise.
"Well, you did tell Mitamura-san your arrival schedule, and the restaurant needed some supplies so I rode here on the restaurant's scooter to fetch you and do some shopping."
Curious, "how are you going to go shopping on a scooter? And you mentioned fetching me, have you considered I will have luggage?" I glanced down to my trolley bag beside me. He grinned and assured me that It is no problem and grabbed the handle before leading me out the station.
Ah, so that's how it's going to be.
Connected to the scooter was a trailer. It was shaped of a small tub and was simply designed to increase the carrying capacity while keeping the versatility of the scooter. In a swift motion, he placed my luggage into the trailer with a light thud.
Recall, I mentioned it was quite heavy for me to lift? I will concede that he seemed strong for a moment there… if only he had not looked to me with a slight smirk and said, "what do you have in there? Gold bars?".
My eyes rolled at the cliché as I passed the bento to him to deposit carefully into the trailer. He then secured the hatch.
I then realised the implication of this mode of transportation: we are going to pillion ride!
"Here," he had mounted the bike and held out a helmet with another on his lap. "Hope it's alright, we're heading to the wholesalers' first." As if sensing my hesitation, he asked, "this is your first time on a bike, isn't it?"
While I haven't sat on one of these things before, my concern was not so much about sitting on a bike, it was more about the fact that pillion riding means that I will be sitting behind him… you know, considering the average size of a scooter seat? I would be practically pressed up against him.
"No worries, I've done this many times safely," He grinned confidently, "Tadokoro can attest to that. Just hop on behind and I'll tell you want to do."
For some reason, hearing Tadokoro Megumi's name got me moving. Perhaps, it had given me assurance that it's nothing to be alarmed about.
Or perhaps there was a subconscious reason that I didn't define at the time.
I took the spare helmet from him and strapped in. "Alright, now take a seat behind me and just keep your balance. Hold on to me to if you need additional stability."
I did what I was told and had used his shoulders to help me mount the bike. Despite my earlier concerns, it actually felt… not as bad as I thought it would be. Oh, in case you were wondering, my hands were placed on my lap.
The scooter travelled down the road at a comfortable speed, allowing me to take in the sights of the town as the moving bike had the summer air caressing my skin. Oarai had a more laid-back atmosphere compared to the hustle and bustle of a city like Tokyo: There was noticeably lesser traffic and people had a more welcoming demeanour.
Speeding pass low lying commercial and residential buildings, we finally arrived at our destination; It was a stretch of warehouses by the sea with moored boats visible behind them, a silent testament of the freshness the goods. Inside we were treated with a visual spectacle of a variety of makeshift stalls of different wholesalers: from fishes of different sorts, to shellfish and goods that are used in preparation of such delights.
My interest was drawn to a store that advertised a myriad of green teas to match the many flavours of the sea. Being a specialist in medicinal properties of food, tea shopping, particularly for rare leaves, was my cup of tea (unashamed opportunistic pun) when food shopping.
"I'll go on ahead," Yukihira said with a slight nod as indication for me to do what I want, waving a folded piece of paper which I naturally assumed had to do with shopping.
Focusing back to the store, I marvelled at the types on offer. From the generic sencha to the special matcha power that can be used for both ceremony and cooking, the shop had them all. "Welcome, may I help you?" a friendly obasan with a neat hair bun and pronounced laugh lines approached me.
"Obasan, you've a very wide variety to choose from," I said with admiration, "I'm spoilt for choice."
She grinned toothlessly, "I'm glad you like it, are you looking for something in particular?" to which I informed her of my interest in rare teas which made her brighten up with excitement, "It's so rare to hear a young person express interest in the art of tea appreciation, what have you tried before?"
Before I knew it, we were chatting animatedly about the finer points and tasting notes of teas that we've had the pleasure to enjoy. I listened in awe of her expense of knowledge on teas; the amount of details in her descriptions made me want to try them all. "I suggest you try this," she brought the conversation back to the present to reach behind the shelf and handed me a small handcrafted wooden cylinder, "this matcha is made from stone grinding tea leaves grown in Hokkaido."
"Hokkaido? Isn't it too cold to grow tea commercially?"
"Which is exactly what makes it rare: The low sunlight, cool climate, and rich soil gives the leaves high chlorophyll levels, making sweet and deep flavours. In my years of tea tasting, I can honestly say this is the best matcha that I've tasted… and from one tea connoisseur to another, I would like to share it with you."
She drew up a tea set and proceeded to prepare a bowl of the tea. Her deft motions exhibited confidence and experience: from the way she uncapped the cylinder, the way she spooned an amount into a finely patterned green ceramic bowl with finger dimples, the measured pour of water and finally to the way she whisked the drink to frothy goodness.
It was art in motion.
I gratefully accepted the drink and took a moment to admire the sight and smells within the delicate bowl. Exquisite, bold, and sweet: it conjured up a visual of a 19th Century Japanese prince with enticing character depth dressed in finery. And when I took a generous sip, that prince turned into a heroic samurai whose bravery warmed me on the inside, making me quiver in light pleasure as he fought away fatigue and replaced it with vigour. "This… this is… ", I was stunned, lost for words for the quality of the tea as simple words would not give justice to what I want to express, "wow."
Obasan nodded and smiled in pride for the delightful effect of her tea had on me. "I'm glad you like it. If you like, you can ask your boyfriend to try some too."
While I may understand why she might say that, considering both Yukihira and my age along with the fact we came here together, I respectfully told her that we were not dating.
"Ah, I see," she replied and paused to look at him, of whom was enthusiastically conversing with a stall owner, as I took another mouthful of the drink, "I thought you were together because you wore matching outfits."
I almost did a spit-take but knowing it would be a waste of a good drink, I held it in while placing the bowl onto the counter and shot a look at Yukihira's attire: blue tee shirt, khaki shorts; and then to my outfit, blue top and…khaki shorts! Even the blue was a very similar shade!
WHY HAVEN'T I NOTICED IT?
"Well, he seems like a good man," the obasan looked towards me and gave a light smile, "and you two look so good together so I assumed." She laughed, offering light-hearted apologies.
You know the feeling when you only realised something embarrassing when someone else points it out? That was what I was feeling as my cheeks burned.
All I could do was to give an unconvincing light laugh and attempted to steer the conversation to something else, "Well, he's just... he's too..." I had thought to bring up one of his flaws but I drew a blank. It was a good question though... what were his flaws?
"Yo, Hisako, I'm done. See anything you like?" and for the second time today, Yukihira startled me.
Off balanced, my mouth gaped for a beat as I was about to tell him off for using my first name, only to catch the old lady looking at us with raised eyebrows. Just so you know, 'Hisako' is a common Japanese female given name.
To think, just after I told the obasan that we were not dating, here he came calling me by my first name.
"Konnichiwa, Obasan. I am Yukiriha Souma of Restaurant Yukihira, I'm on a summer internship with Arato Hisako here." He cheerfully introduced.
"Ah, I see," she nodded and broke into a toothless grin, giving me an amused look. "We were discussing about rare teas. I then suggested to Arato-chan that you might like to try some of the green tea I've prepared."
His attention went onto the ceramic bowl, "This? Well, don't mind if I do." Of course, before I could do anything, he took a huge generous gulp from it. Now, would it be a shocker if I revealed that, thanks to the cup's dimples, he held the bowl at the same position that I did earlier?
You can figure out what that implies.
"Yukihira!" that came out automatically and both of them looked over at my outburst. Not wanting to cause more of a scene, what's done is done after all, I switched track, "you're not supposed to drink it like water, take your time and savour the flavours."
He made an apologetic gesture, "Ah, sorry, sorry, but this is great! It has a very sweet taste to it."
"Yes, it's sweet, isn't it?" Obasan should have noticed that he was drinking from the same position as I did and brightened to an even bigger smile, mostly directed to me, "It's a rare find and you have to take your time to appreciate it."
"I sure will." Bringing the bowl back to his lips, he took a drawn out sip, pleasure evident on his face. "Delicious!"
That was actually more embarrassing for me.
"I'm glad you like it," Obasan then presented the wooden container to us, "it's rare to find youths who can appreciate tea. It's not much but I'd like both of you to enjoy this."
"That's too generous!" Both Yukihira and I voiced out simultaneously. We looked to each other, surprised at our synchronisation.
Obasan chuckled, "I insist; I can get more from my connections. Besides, something this good has to be shared." She pressed the cylinder in my hands and gently patted the back of my palm before dropping her voice to a whisper, "and I'm sure you kids can benefit from the stamina boost."
Stamina boost? What does that- oh. Realising the tease, her words made me blush.
"Wow, thank you very much Obasan! I'm sure we will enjoy every drop!" Yukihira beamed at her, "I do hope that you come visit our restaurant Mitamura at Sun Beach and I will cook you a meal!"
Obasan joyfully nodded in mirth, "We'll see, we'll see. Most important thing is to enjoy your time here." She then gently added, "I'm sure you have things to do, so run along, now."
We courteously excused ourselves and headed back to the scooter with the tea in my hands.
"That was awesome," Yukihira said as he loaded his purchases into the trailer. I hmm-ed in agreement, my mind mused on the fact that I've received two gifts in a day; Awesome does not start to describe my feeling.
This summer is going off with a good start.
A/N: Just found out some interesting info about our Hishoko from SnS Volume 23 Bonus Feature:
Birthday: 10/14
Blood Type: A
Height: 161cm
Favorite Movie: Roman Holiday
On her days off: Goes shopping for rare teas
And here is a list of inspirations of the sweet things couples do that I got recently:
1) Having pillow fights
2) Listening to music together
3) Supporting each other during tough times
4) Greeting each other then we get home from work
5) Dancing together
6) Enjoy being lazy together
7) Cooking together
8) Fooling around in the kitchen
9) Traveling together
10) Going for walks together - Rain or shine
11) Enjoy the moment when we're reunited
12) Spending the day in town together
13) Reading together before bed
14) Falling asleep in each other's arms
15) Having breakfast together each morning
16) Snacking together late into the night
17) Cuddling
18) Going on dates
19) Enjoying the quiet moments together
Keep a look out for these scenes!
As always, please keep the reviews coming: it serves as a motivation and I love to hear your feedback! Cheers!