Welcome to Gaia! ::

The sun was nearly below the horizon, yet in spite of that, the humid air refused to let up. He improvised a fan with a folded up piece of newspaper he found not too far away. His wrist grew tired in his feeble attempts to cool himself with it. All the while, he admired the scene that lay before him. Beside him on the cement sat a travel cup half full of cold tea in which he periodically took a sip of with his free hand. Fantasies of air conditioned rooms lined with shelves loaded with books often tempted him of leaving this place yet he continued to sit. The only library was at the university several miles across town. He had no desire of walking that distance in this heat, let alone ride a muggy bus loaded with people.

His work attire, a dark blue jinbei with the logo “Lily Ocha no Shouten” across the back, hung loosely over his shoulders. Yet another vein attempt to cool himself off.

Deciding it was a good time to head home, he collected his beverage and stood up from his favorite spot on the harbor pier. Taking one more breath of the salty sea air, he began the walk back.

This man’s name was Nagi. Now at the peak of his youth, he was tall, pale skinned and thin with blue eyes and short black hair. Usually baring a friendly countenance, he was always smiling and good in nature.

He had lived in this town for a while now. Upon his arrival he had very little money and even less wisdom of city life. He now resided near the harbor above a quaint, traditional tea shop where he earned his living, making tea and serving it to the customers. This man wasn’t often adorned with luck, but it was on his side the day he went in there his first time. Using the last of his expenses on a small bowl of Uden and a cup of tea, he immediately was appalled by the flavor of the beverage. Polite in nature, Nagi was not the one who had spoken up for at that moment, another man seated not too far away raised his cup and loudly proclaimed his disgust. The server, also the shop owner, was a tiny old woman with thin white hair knotted on the top of her head immediately came rushing over to him. Her rusty colored kimono hung over her tiny frame like an old sheet draped on a withered tree blowing in the wind. The shop owner bowed in apology over and over but the man would have none of it. He demanded a better cup and if it was not to his satisfaction, he’d order his gangsters to obliterate the shop before nightfall.

Getting up from his seat, Nagi proceeded to the back of the shop to find the old woman in hysterics.

“I have no sense of taste.” she admitted in a dialect that was difficult to fully understand. “My husband who passed away last week made the best tea and now I am losing my customers. I don’t know what to do. Now I am going to lose my shop.”

Reassuring that he was able to be of some help, Nagi did what he could with what ingredients the shop could offer and sent the woman back out with the tray in hand. Peering from the back room, he witnessed the angry (he guessed Yakuza) man take the first sip and nod with satisfaction. Returning to the back room, the woman dropped to her knees and begged Nagi to stay and work for her. Somewhat embarrassed, Nagi agreed and had been there ever since.

Unlocking the gate to his apartment, he climbed the stairs to the second floor. Upon sliding open the door to his room, a blast of warm air and the scent of tea greeted him.
“I live in a tea pot…” he sighed to himself while removing his shoes.
He seated himself at the old kotatsu, removed a half burned cigarette from an ashtray and lit it. The old lady had warned him many times that smoking was bad for his health. At this he’d laugh and agree, thinking to himself that it was bad… for humans.

He turned his attention to a book and read until nightfall.

Feeling his core temperature raising to above comfortable levels, Nagi unleashed a weary sigh and paused to wipe his head with his wrist. It didn't help that he drinking the heaviest of the brews to wake himself up. He had stayed up late reading that stupid book and managed to finish it in the wee-hours of the morning. He was paying for it now.

He was in the middle of grinding a fresh batch of dried tea leaves with a grinding stone when the shop owner walked in from the main floor.

"Customer already." she mumbled. "She talked funny but I think she wants the special with an attractive woman in it..."

Nagi stared at her for a moment before realizing her dilemma.
"She meant 'honey', Babba-san." he said with a smile as the old lady grumbled and walked back out. He crushed the leaves a little more before pouring them into a mesh bag then added a blend of herbs before sealing the bag tightly with a piece of twine. He then added it to a pot of boiling water, let it steep for a few minutes, then poured it into a small ceramic pot and added a generous spoon of honey to sweeten the deal. As he did so, he felt as if he had done this before. Perhaps it was so strange because it was rare for someone to ask for honey.

Thwarting away his thoughts, he placed the pot on a tray with a matching tea cup, a spoon, and some napkins and rang the bell. "Babba-san" returned for the tray and carried it out to the old lady's table.

"Will that be all for you ma'am?" she asked politely.

Babba returned to the kitchen grumbling in her usual tone. She gave Nagi a glare.
"The customer would like to see you." she said, making the situation sound much worse than it really was. "She said something about not enough honey and wants you to bring her more. Take responsibility!"

Nagi blinked, wondering what the world had come to. Someone complained!? About his tea? Figuring that it was also a good thing that someone criticized his best brew, he wiped his hands on a damp towel, grabbed a small jar of honey and made his way out onto the main floor. He wasn't usually out of the kitchen during business hours for his appearance wasn't something to be admired. The blue jinbei was mostly hidden under a tea-stained white apron and the knees of the matching trousers were dirty from kneeling so much to re-kindle the stove. On top of that, the hachimaki* he wore to pull his hair off his face was damp from sweat and steam. He looked as though he just got out of the bath.

Approaching the old lady's table, he halted for a moment, feeling something familiar about the air. His eyes fell upon the lady and an eyebrow rose. She was just an old lady, or was she? Not paying any attention, he bumped his elbow on the door frame, sending the pot from his hands. His brain saw the object do flips in slow motion through the air. The lid fell off immediately. In the blink of an eye, he lunged forward, catching the pot in one hand, and the lid in the other. Letting out a sigh of relief, he got back to his feet, glad that honey was thick in consistency.
You're being an idiot.

Shaking from his thoughts, he strode up to the table nonchalantly (as if nothing happened), sat the honey jar before her and bowed slightly.
"My apologies if it is not to your liking." he said, surprised that the sound of his voice sounded a little nervous yet confident. He was prepared to be verbally punished by this babba.

Stunned, Nagi blinked, not knowing what to say when the woman started to cry.
Holy cow... she must really like honey.
It was then when she touched his hand that sent a spark like a 200 watt hand buzzer. A blast of spiritual energy pulsed up his arm and into his very core. Pictures and memories flashed before his eyes in an instant. He felt happiness, sadness, fear, and total bliss all at once. The next thing he knew, she was embracing him, but he wasn't clueless as to why.

"...Y-Yuki?" he gasped, trying his best not to fall backward. His shock paralyzing was to say the least. The soul concealed within nearly burst out, making his chest begin to throb. It had been about three years since he felt her riatsu, but it felt much longer than that. Now he was stuck with a crisis. What was he going to say? How would he explain himself?

Feeling his hairband become heavy with moist Nagi was too stunned to even remove it as it slid down his face and around his neck, allowing his jaw-length hair to fall around his face. Her hug was surprisingly strong in spite of her elderly frame. He knew that this was just a prelude to the fiery soul that was held inside. For an instant, he could see her- that red hair, radiant face, petite frame, and the intrepid countenance she always had. She hadn't changed a bit in his eyes.

As she fired away with her words, guilt suddenly took hold of him and his tongue bound up for a moment. It wasn't until she suggested that they go elsewhere when he spoke again.

"Yes, we do have a private sitting area." he said in a down-to-business tone that was somewhat loud. He glanced toward the kitchen to see the owner watching them. It was obvious that he spoke loudly so that she could hear him. "Allow me to show you the way."

With that, he walked around her and toward another sitting area with a tetami floor and kotatsus- for those who enjoyed traditional dining. The back wall was sealed off by two traditional style Tategu door. He slid it open to reveal a smaller room with a single kotatsu in the middle with two sitting pillows on either side.

It was at this point when he realized that his face was incredibly red. He could feel the heat radiating off his cheeks.

"I hope you do not mind this one." he said, allowing her to walk in first. "I will fetch some more tea."
His last statement was more of a hint that he hoped she'd catch.

Nagi still felt the hair standing on his neck as he made his way back to the kitchen. Nothing had changed. The way she looked at him, spoke to him, teased him... He felt a new sensation now. Somewhere resting in the pit of his stomach was immense joy and excitement and... other things. His face immediately got redder. This wasn't good.

He felt some relief in knowing that it was still early and nobody else had journeyed into the shop yet. Old Babba was the only one who had seen the odd occurrence. Certainly she was wondering what was transpiring between him and an older woman. His flushed cheeks didn't help matters at all.

Babba was in the kitchen bagging some of the tea for the day. She shot him a strange look as he headed for the shelf of fresh pots.

"Who was that?" she inquired, "Is that woman someone important?"

"You could say that." Nagi replied as he got the next batch ready. His brain was either too slow to think of what to say next or too riddled with other things to not make room for anything new. He had come back here to give Babba an excuse for his absence but had shown up empty handed.
Think think think...

"Such a strange woman... she must come from far away." Babba commented.

Nagi paused, coming to a realization with such force that he nearly dropped the teapot. He was never known to be a very good liar as he hated to deceive anyone. In this instance, he was going to tell the truth.
"She is somebody I care about very much." he said, sounding surprisingly calm now. Perhaps it was because he was no longer hiding. He had no need to. "I haven't seen her since I left home and she has been very worried about me. I owe it to her to give her some of my time, if that is okay with you, Babba san."

He flashed a smile at the owner, who nodded back.
"Very well.' she said, "Just don't take too long. I don't want to run out this tea if more customers show up."

For the first time in a long time, Nagi actually felt relaxed after hearing Babba's reply. The tension in his shoulders eased up and the irritating pressure behind his ears seemed to melt away in an instant. Even the heat of the kitchen was no match for this new found relief.

Maybe now he had the guts to face Yuki and tell her the truth without looking like an idiot.

This was short lived.

The moment a contorted face revealed itself from behind the old woman Nagi's eyes nearly flew out of his head. The adrenaline and fear unleashed itself with such force that the hand he held the boiling pot of tea became jello and in no time at all, the lid flew off the pot and hot liquid splashed up his arm. This didn't bother him too much, considering he had a high pain tolerance, however, his inner instincts sent a different message to his brain.

ARRANCAR!!!!!!

He was suddenly feeling very dizzy. The idea of it sent a wave of fear through him that he thought he had escaped from.

It wasn't until Babba let out a shriek at his sudden freak-out attack that he came to his senses. It was blatantly obvious to him what just happened. Yuki's riatsu filled the room with the potency of the strongest incense.
With a shaky hand, he sat the half-empty pot beside the stove and placed a hand wearily on his chest. Catching his breath? Not really. It was more of an act of impulse. It was what humans did when they got the living crap scared out of them.

"What is the matter with you boy?" Babba inquired, now looking terrified herself. "You look like you saw a ghost! Scared the daylights out of me!"

A ghost? You could say that...

"No... it's nothing at all..." Nagi said with a small laugh. "I thought I saw a cockroach."

He couldn't even look at Yuki at this point. Now seeing her in true form once again, he wanted to go to her and... strangle her.

Nagi did his best to not look as though an "invisible woman" made contact with him in the eyes of Babba, who already thought he was a crazy person. Although his face flushed a bit, he thought he did well and even managed to catch a glimpse of Yuki's face before she made her exit. Meanwhile, he internally kicked himself for the lame excuse he presented earlier.

A cockroach? Really? You couldn't come up with anything better than that!?

Not only was he crazy in the eyes of Babba, but he was also a wuss.

In no time at all, he finished the brew, got more honey, and placed them on a tray. He then excused himself and exited the kitchen back onto the main floor where he found Yuki waiting for him. Just the sight of her made his jumble thoughts vanish. Everything was focused on her now. He instantly realized that her hair was longer than before, but he did not mind it in the least. He actually found it quite cute.

He lead her back to the private sitting room where sat the tray on the kotatsu and seated himself across from... a dead old lady?