The Tsukinomori Girls’ Academy tea room sat in a quiet nook behind the main school building, concealed by cherry trees at the end of a meandering stone path. Inside, the four-and-a-half tatami room was exquisitely designed in the chashitsu style. In an alcove set into the wall, a hanging scroll read One Seed, Bountiful Harvest in a flowing cursive.
Past the window, petals danced in the air. It was spring.
“I really don’t know why I agreed to this,” Soyo sighed.
Across from her, Tomori and Raana sat in seiza; Raana rocking impatiently from side to side, and Tomori fidgeting nervously. They both wore their respective schools’ uniforms, but had a visitor pass lanyard hanging from their necks.
“…I don’t even like matcha that much,” Soyo muttered under her breath. “Raana-chan. Remind me why you’re so enthusiastic about this?”
“It’s cool. Elegant. Refined. And it’s matcha.”
“And you had to do it here because…?”
“The tea club at my school’s always too busy to let me in,” she said. “And Tsukinomori’s fancier.”
“U-um!” Tomori spoke up. “Thank you for having us, Soyo-chan… I-it must have been really difficult, getting permission and all…”
“…It wasn’t a big deal.” She did want to go on a rant about the five-page long form she had to fill out, but the look in Tomori’s eyes turned the words to ash in her mouth, and she swallowed them down.
“But how come you’re here, Tomori-chan? You know you don’t have to let Raana-chan drag you wherever she likes.”
“She does,” Raana interjected.
“I-I was curious! I was surprised by how… excited Raana-chan was about it. It felt like… a side of her I hadn’t seen before.” Tomori smiled. “A-and I thought it might show me another side of you, too, Soyo-chan.”
Soyo rubbed her forehead. She had clearly bitten off more than she could chew.
“…All right,” she said. Steam rose from the kettle in front of her. “Water’s ready. Let’s get started.”
She presented her guests with two pieces of wagashi.
“O-oh.” Tomori eyed the sweet; it looked like tamagoyaki, but with a deeper, amber color. “What… is this?”
Raana raised a hand. “Kankoro.”
“…That’s right. Sweet potatoes and rice, pounded together like mochi,” said Soyo. “It’s a delicacy from Nagasaki prefecture. …You know the strangest things, you know that, Raana-chan?”
Raana answered with a smug grin.
As the guests ate, Soyo dutifully carried out the chanoyu. After pouring matcha powder into each porcelain cup, she stirred in a small amount of water; once it formed into a thick slurry, she filled the cups the rest of the way.
“Tomori-chan. Here.”
“T-thank you.” Tomori bowed.
“Raana-chan.”
Raana reached for the cup without an ounce of grace.
“Say the magic words, Raana-chan. And a bow, if you would.”
“…Thanks,” she said, and gave a polite, if forced, bow of her own.
Tomori turned to look at her. “H-have you really not had matcha on its own before, Raana-chan?”
“Nope.”
“I’m… glad I’m here for your first time, then.”
Finally, the two of them lifted the cups to their mouths, and took one small sip each.
Immediately, Raana spat the matcha out.
“Soyo,” she hissed. “You made it wrong.”
“I can assure you I did not.”
“But it’s gross. It’s bitter.”
“Raana-chan.” Soyo forced a smile. “You do know that matcha candy contains sugar, right?”
Raana looked into her cup and pouted.
“U-um.” Having swallowed her tea, Tomori began rifling through her bag. “Excuse me,” she said, and pulled out her notebook andpencil.
She hurriedly jotted something down on a fresh page, looked it over, cleared her throat, and read it aloud.
“A bitter flavour.
Unsweetened, astringent, yet
Warm and inviting.”
Soyo blinked in disbelief.
“Is that a haiku?,” she asked.
Tomori nodded.
“…I have to go,” Soyo said, standing up in a hurry. “Club practice is starting.”
“A-are you okay, Raana-chan?,” Tomori asked, once they were both alone.
“Mm.” Raana swirled the matcha around in her cup. “Maybe I can get used to it.”
Comments