audience: shess

[cyclists]

Comments

[nonbelligerent]

[...

he smiles back, though not without somberness.]

It would be.

But Ookurikara wouldn't appreciate that role going to anyone but him.

[unsaid]

You have my gratitude for your consideration of him.

[rather simply, even as he gestures for shess to sit with him]

Even so, I worry if he is up for the task...

[don't be a rude bitch]

[nonbelligerent]

[he does so.]

Not much of a choice. He'll have to be, for everyone's sake.

[unsaid]

... then I suppose that time will tell.

[he can't promise that he'll make it easier on them - it'd be dishonest and possibly lead them into a false sense of security if he were to even make a jest of it

so he won't]

[nonbelligerent]

... In any case, I thought we might as well share one last drink before it's all over.

[unsaid]

Oh?

Do you have a preference? For such an occasion, I will defer to you on what you would like to enjoy.

[nonbelligerent]

Anything's fine with me.

[unsaid]

Very well, very well...

[then the tea in front of them will gradually disappear - replaced instead by a different pot, far more ornate and beautiful than it has any right to be. two tea cups will be filled with a very fragrant tea, something floral and high in quality once shess cares to taste it.]

Then something a bit sweeter.

[nonbelligerent]

[why do you have such fancy tastes all the time, mikazuki

he takes a sip.]

The ability to produce items at will must be rather convenient at times.

[unsaid]

[he's a national treasure]

I will admit that I have enjoyed it - I do not know how to prepare my own tea, so it is nice to be able to conjure what I have been served before from memory.

[nonbelligerent]

Maybe that's what you should do once you have the time. Learn how to brew your own tea.

[unsaid]

[ . . . ]

But others are kind enough to do so for me....

[GRANDPA]

[nonbelligerent]

It's called independence.

[unsaid]

Mm, I possess that as well...

[he just doesn't

exercise it]

[nonbelligerent]

... What will you do if there's no one available to make you tea?

[unsaid]

Perhaps then I shall learn.

[unlikely]

However I have been fortunate to find that if you walk long enough, and ask kindly enough, there is always someone who is available to make tea.

[nonbelligerent]

[he can't help but laugh at that.]

Very lucky for you, I guess.

[unsaid]

Indeed, indeed. I have lived a life blessed with good fortune and grace.

[a soft laugh]

My only hope is that others are able to enjoy the same, as much as the fates and their choices allow.

[nonbelligerent]

Hopefully.

Though being able to appreciate the good moments among the bad can be a skill that takes a while to refine.

[unsaid]

[ah - that manages to make mikazuki smile]

Tell me... Do lotus flowers grow where you are from, my friend?

[nonbelligerent]

Not much grows in the sura realm.

[unsaid]

No...?

Perhaps if you take the lotus flower I had given you, it will find a way to retain life even in such a place -

[he has no idea if this is true but listen he's making a point]

Lotus flowers bloom in adversity. Its roots sink deeply into the darkness of the mud and each day it repeats the cycle of submerging itself into the murky, dirty waters that it dwells in, but will later rise and bloom again, beautiful and untouched by its surroundings.

Time and time again...

[he smiles softly]

Perhaps life would be altogether more beautiful if people were able to be as persistent and proud as a lotus flower.

[nonbelligerent]

[...]

Are lotuses your favourite flower, Mikazuki?

[unsaid]

[ . . . well.]

I cannot say if I have a favorite.

[he receives so many and he likes them all...]

Perhaps they are simply the flowers that remind me most of dear friends.

[nonbelligerent]

... I'm sure your friends would appreciate the sentiment.