Black Tea/A Spoonful of Sweet Poison - 4

He~y, I've finally found you... All of you seem to be enjoying yourselves quite a bit, hm?

Wah~ The oni found us~ Haa~kun~ Help me~ He's gonna eat me up~ ♪

Nnhyaah!?!?! I told you— Ritsu-senpai, you're much more dangerous than the actual oni! Just why are you trying to hide under my shirt!?

's warm is why... Warmth's the best. This thing we call "life" alllllll boils down to body temperature.

Prez~ ♪

Oh? Tori? And Anzu-chan, as well. Welcome to our tea party... ♪

Mm. We ended up with more people than we started with and I was getting bored of playing kick the can, so I figured it'd be fine to find a place that let us rest.

Well. I'm getting bored, but I'm guessing this game would still be pretty fresh and fun for you, huh, Ecchan?

... "Kick the can"?

Ah, that's the game we were playing. President bought so many snacks and drinks from the vending machine, and...

There was this empty soda can just sitting there, so after we ran out of things to talk about we decided to play a game as a change of pace. We've been doing these things to have a little fun lately.

Yeah, but kick the can isn't that fun when you only have a few people...

So we quit halfway, and Haa~kun started talking about when he first joined the club.

Hmmm. And here I was wondering just what you'd all been talking about while you were having fun without me.

But I understand now. So Hajime-kun was reminiscing about what it was like when he first joined the tea club.

That's something of great interest to me, actually. I was hospitalized at the time, so I don't have a clear idea of the details— It's the perfect topic to have fun chatting about over tea.

Fufu. We weren't leaving you out on purpose, don't worry~ It's just that you were the oni, so we didn't want to get caught, is all.

I understand that much. However, mmm... That was awfully sly. I'd assumed you would run somewhere much further away, but here you were hiding out in our usual tea spot.

You were right under my nose the whole time.

Hehe~h, my strategy won... ♪

Mm, it did. I'll be a good sport and recognize your victory; in the end, it's only a game.

Someone like you, who's terribly averse to putting in any effort, wouldn't go too far; when opportunity allows, you keep to one place.

Honestly, I should have been able to deduce that much. My calculations were lacking; this is my loss.

That's right. And for our Ecchan who's gone and lost, it's time for a punishment game: let's have him gulp down this brand-new drink~ Even I don't know what it's made of ♪

I... wonder if this is really okay to drink...? Its coloration is... incredible, to say the least... Please wait for a moment; I'm checking the ingredients label.

President, here~ Have some sweets ♪

Mm, thank you, Hajime-kun. You're always so thoughtful.

......

... Hm? Is something the matter, Tori? Anzu-chan, you, too— Please, don't hold yourselves back. At this tea party, there’s no need to stand on ceremony ♪

Y-Yeah, sure thing. I was running around everywhere picking up tennis balls earlier, so I kind of am hungry.

(Uuuu...! I want to curl up and purr on Prez's lap, but...! But! Hajime's here, and I want to act cool in front of him!)

? Is something wrong, Tori? Ah, here— these particular snacks have an oddly delicate taste... Please, do try some ♪

T-Thanks...

Oh? How fascinating. I think I'd like to try some too, Hajime-kun.

Of course~ Then, let's do it like we always do~ Open wi~de~ ♪

Ahhhhh~ ♪

(...?! Huh?! Hajime's just... hand-feeding Prez like it's the most natural thing in the world?! Even I haven't gotten to do that yet! No fair, Hajime!!)

? Uhm... Has something been bothering you...? Are the sweets not to your liking...?

N-No... I'mmmm! Great! It's delicious!

(Munch, munch) This has quite the subtle flavor for something invented for modern men with no sense of palate.

This contains reduced salt and fewer calories... It seems the snack industry quite a bit to consider when creating a product.

Ecchan, you wouldn't happen to run a sweets company too, would you? You've got a genius patissier right~ here~ who's gonna totally change the landscape of the sweets industry, so introduce me to some connections if you've got any~ ♪

Ritsu-kun, haven't you been a little distracted from your idol work lately? Just where did this idea to revolutionize the sweets industry come from...?

Nah, 's pretty much the opposite. I'm pouring myself into being an idol these days; totally different than before.

That's true. ... Just take care not to push yourself too hard, all right?

Don't wanna hear that from you, E~cchan~

Um... This may be a little out of the blue, but I guess you could say I'm curious now... Sort of returning to the previous topic— when did the two of you start getting close?

Close?

Us? Is that how we look?

Of course. I remember you both talking about it over tea before... About how tea club was a joint effort between the two of you. When I heard that, I thought there must have been a wonderful story behind how the two of you first bonded ♪

It reminds me of me and Tomoya-kun. Two people who trust each other more than anything... So I presumed the two of you must be long-time friends.

No, not at all. I'd say Keito is effectively my only long-time friend?

Yeah, for me 's basically just Maa~kun... Doesn't really feel like I'm close with Ecchan or anything. Actually, my first impression of him was pretty much just the worst?

Tea club was just somewhere we'd waste time messing around in... Somewhere along the way we ended up like this, I guess.

Mm. Come to think of it, are we friends?

I mean? I guess knowing if you're friends with someone isn't as simple as becoming someone's boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever... Like, it's not like you confess to someone all, "Please be friends with me!" or something.

There's no clear "before" and "after" with friendship, so I don't really get it that well...

Fufu. My upperclassmen have such a mysterious relationship... I can't articulate it very well, but I think that, however you define it, what the two of you have is an especially wonderful thing ♪

Mm, it truly is a relationship you can't find anywhere else. We enjoy ourselves having tea and sweets; we talk of nothing in particular; and, on occasion, we play around—

Perhaps this is what society would call "friendship"?

Nooooo clue, I'm not the kinda person to have friends, so. All I need is Maa~kun and peaceful sleep and I'm good...

... Wait, no, I also need fresh blood... and Knights too, I guess... and I love Haa~kun also...?

Fufu. Look at you; you've come to care for so many more things than you used to, Ritsu-kun.

When we both met, this tea club was something empty, like a barren teacup. Now, it feels as if it's begun to fill up with something warm and wonderful.

It's all thanks to you, Ritsu-kun. Thank you, for protecting the one place that let me rest.

's nothing to thank me for. It's what we promised, after all.

...?