Would you like a cup of tea? || Shigeo Kageyama

Chai Tea

Mob and Hotaru sat together in silence as they both looked out the window blankly. The sky was freshly blue with clearly outlined white clouds hovering above them. "Today is such a relaxing day, isn't it, Hope?" Hotaru leaned against her chair.

"It is..." He looked up at the sky as if he was used to sky gazing.

"It's been a while since you last came here too..." She murmured to herself.

"..." Mob let out a small sigh, recalling how he had teamed up with Teru and Dimple to save Ritsu and the Awakening Labs kids from Claw.

Noticing that he was getting distracted by his thoughts, she smiled at him. "So what's your favorite type of sky?"

"Hm?" He blinked in confusion before a thoughtful expression settled on his face. "Well... I like normal skies with some clouds... Not enough for rain to come, but enough to cover some of the sunlight."

"Ah, the typical sunny days then." Hotaru tapped her chin.

Mob took a sip of his Chai tea. "What about you?"

"I like..." There was a great pause of silence. Her smile suddenly dimmed. He set his cup down and turned his gaze from the sky to her expression. "I don't have a favorite since I never thought about it before." Her facial expression remained almost empty - as if she lost herself. However, in seconds, she reverted back to an excitable one. "But! I do want to see HUGEEEE rainbows and have fluffy clouds floating around a bright blue sky!"

"That would be nice to see." He murmured to her, gazing down at his Chai tea.

That was when Hotaru leaned against her arm. "So how do you like the tea today?" Her eyes seemed to sparkle as she asked that.

He blinked and then took another sip of his tea. "It's very... milky and filling. I like it." He set the cup down. "It's very flavorful and deep, but with just enough lightness that reminds me of the clouds during the autumn days..."

She nodded her head in agreement. "You have a way with words, Hope."

"...Really?" Mob stared at her in surprise. "That... I never heard that from anyone before..."

She sipped her tea before leaning against her seat again. "Is that so... Well, it's what I think." Before silence could settle in between them, she changed the subject. "So what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"Eh?" It was so random that it took Mob a moment to process her question. "Ah, well... I don't really know yet, but... I do know that I want to become a person who is capable of confessing to the girl I like." He blushed as he whispered the last part. "What about you, Taru?"

"...I don't know." She smiled brightly, heavy silence settling in between them right after.

Mob fidgeted with the cup and then murmured to her. "...Then how about owning a cafe since you love tea?"

Hotaru held the cup to her lips and set it back down, looking down at it with a bittersweet smile. "Perhaps..."