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Even though Korekiyo Shinguji loved his travels, he considered himself very lost.
Travelling to town after town, he usually had a place to sleep. A cozy inn that was a reeked of all the signs of a tourist trap, on a hardwood floor in a dojo, hell sometimes just a small hut that a family of locals was kind enough to let him share. Those were the closest things to "houses" he had. However, nothing could even come close to a "home" for him.
So what did Korekiyo do? He just continued to travel, continued to find people he felt might keep his sister company and just...live.
One day, on one of his travels, Korekiyo had a brilliant, yet almost uncharacteristic idea to break his boredom. To take a small break from these quiet villages in Japan's countryside and wander around the biggest city in Japan: Tokyo.
Initially, the anthropologist decided against it. Small villages comforted him. Each village he went to, he found new and exciting rituals, learned different things about humanity. Going to a big city...would just give him headaches. Though the more bored he got, the more lost he felt, which eventually made him feel desperation. And so, he finally gave in and traveled to Tokyo in hopes of igniting a spark in him and give him a new fire in life. And possibly learn more about himself.
Immediately, Korekiyo realized his mistake of visiting during the summer. The summer heat combined with his thick, dark uniform made his entire body feel almost on fire, the only relief being some of the cold sweat on the back of his neck. Though that wasn't his biggest issue; he'd literally endured hundreds of rituals enduring heated conditions, near-boiling water, and straight up fire.
No, Korekiyo's biggest issue was what felt like thousands of eyes on him and his outlandish outfit. Even for Tokyo, filled with hundreds of people with drastically differing fashion styles to straight up people in costumes for various reasons, Korekiyo's outfit attracted the eyes of most of the strangers who passed by him.
These two factors, combined with a lack of sleep from the amount of travel he'd done that day and the general feeling of being out of place grated on Korekiyo's nerves, and the hotter he felt, the more annoyed he felt.
What was he doing here? What had possessed him to come to Tokyo of all places? He'd much rather travel somewhere exotic with rich, unfamiliar culture that was entirely unfamiliar to him. In this city, he could take an easy guess that the only things about were petty drama and money.
As his irritation compounded with each step, so did doubt in Korekiyo's decision. Looking back on it, coming to the city simply because he felt "lost" seemed like a piss-poor excuse to make such a big decision. He wondered if maybe he could head back to the train station and go back to the cozy countryside...
Cough. Korekiyo broke into a coughing fit, reaching up to touch his throat when he realized just how dry it was. He stopped where he was and peered around, and through the small gaps in the crowd, he spotted a small cafe, titled LeBlanc. Suddenly desperate for a drink, he decided to take a small break from wandering the streets and shouldered his way through the crowd moving in the opposite direction, until he finally reached the front door and pushed himself inside.
The cafe is incredibly small, only large enough for a few booths, a long bar, and a few stools. Korekiyo also took note of a staircase in the back, probably leading up to an attic of sorts, as well as a backroom used for cooking. The whole place had this atmospheric feel, however. The overhead lights were soft and warm, the shelved behind the bar and the bar itself was lined with several jars filled with exotic coffee beans. Korekiyo didn't examine too much of the rest of the building when his eyes were caught by two males, both seeming to be his age.
One of them stood behind the bar, cleaning a pure white coffee mug. He had a very forgettable appearance, wearing a plain white shirt and a green apron, with some squared-off glasses and messy black hair. The other wore the uniform of a prestigious school uniform, a high collared white uniform shirt with an emblem on his left breast and black trousers. His hair was dark, tinted blue, with piercing dark eyes. A moment after Korekiyo entered, the two halted their conversation to examine him in his inform.
"...Ahem. Is it possible you serve ice coffee here?" the anthropologist asked, his eyes on the boy in the apron.
"Of course." the employee nodded, turning to face his customer. "How do you want it?"
"Don't bother with cream and sugar. Simple iced coffee would be fine." Korekiyo had tried plenty of coffees along his travels and he's learned he tends to dislike flavored coffee from big city cafes, so he keeps his orders simple and orders his coffees black.
Nodding in response, the boy puts the mug he was polishing down and begins to make Korekiyo's coffee.
Taking the opportunity, Korekiyo took a seat in one of the booths, setting his things down beside him, before peering over to the two high schoolers. Leaning back in the seat, he shivered slightly, feeling unnerved by the air conditioning. He'd much rather deal with the hot air, had his throat not gone scratchy and this cafe be the nearest place he could find.
Sighing softly, the long-haired boy absentmindedly looked around the room, going back over the directions in his head on where his hotel was.
He was broken from his trance, however, when the whispering of the barista and the blue-haired boy caught his ear. Staying silent, he tried to listen in on their conversation, but could already guess that they were talking about his attire, but Korekiyo could care less. Most times he went into the city, he heard talk of his outfit everywhere he went.
...that gentleman...seems...tricate...find it intriguing...Maybe...he'll...paint..."
"Paint" was the word that really caught Korekiyo's attention, and he unintentionally began to look over there, until the pair noticed him and silenced their conversation. After an awkward moment of silence, the barista carried Korekiyo's order to his booth.
"Here you are, sir."
"Thank you."
Before drinking, Korekiyo looked into his bag to find his eating/drinking mask, finding it after some shuffling around. Turning his back to the pair so they didn't see him, he quickly swapped out the masks, setting his everyday mask on the table before taking his drink and "taking a sip" in his own way.
For a while, he just sat in silence, blocking out the conversation between the two high school boys, his mind wandering different topics until he once again felt pairs of eyes on him, and their gaze seemed to intensify whenever Korekiyo took a sip of his coffee.
Their conversation continued for a bit before Korekiyo noticed the barista go into the back, leaving his companion alone.
It was then the silence began.
Even though Korekiyo was used to-no-enjoyed silence, the air felt so thick with what the anthropologist felt like silent judgments and unanswered questions, to the point where it made him uncomfortable. Deciding to try and take his mind off of things, he let his eyes wander around the cafe...until his eyes fell upon her.
The work was simple, yet intricate, with a yellow wash background with a white circle to represent the sun. A delicate branch that twisted naturally into many different curves and arches was in the background, covered in beautiful flowers. But the main focus of the picture was a gorgeous woman, with long dark hair that was pulled back to expose her delicate face looking down peacefully at the bundle in her arms. Her child, who had a slightly displeased face, as if he were about to cry, but the fact his face showed so much emotion astounded Korekiyo, to the point he realized after a while he was holding his breath as he marveled at the beauty.
"That...that painting is beautiful," Korekiyo said aloud, not particularly aimed at anyone as he was in a trance looking over at the painting.
"Ah, you like it?"
Korekiyo was broken from his trance as he heard the pale, blue-haired boy speak, turning his gaze towards him as he continued.
"It's called the Sayuri. It's a famous work in the art world for its expressiveness and the emotion conveyed in the painting."
Korekiyo resumes looking over the painting, his head tilted to the side as he looks it over. "I can't get over just how beautiful it is. It's as if each brush stroke contained all of her emotion...contained all of her love and compassion. Looking at her son even though her son is about to cry, her love is so unconditional it warms my heart to the very core. Truly, it shows the beauty of humanity in its rawest form."
"A-Ah..." the blue-haired boy paused as if he had something on his mind. Peaking Korekiyo's curiosity, he turned his head to the other and lifted an eyebrow. "Is something the matter...?"
The high-schooler paused as if contemplating his words for a moment. Korekiyo didn't push him to speak, just waited for him to make his decision.
"...The painting was recently part of a scandal, involving a major artist in the art community, Ichiryusai Madarame. He was found to not be the man who made this painting but in fact...a woman." The boy paused. "...my mother."
Korekiyo's eyes widened, and while he couldn't hide the surprise that this was the son of the maker who made such a wonderful painting, he also immediately felt a strong kinship, since the reluctance to talk about his mother made the anthropologist wonder if something to happen to her, something that might've been similar to what happened to his sister.
"Where is she now?" Korekiyo asked carefully, not wanting to cross the boundaries.
"She...passed away when I was young." Looking away, Korekiyo's new companion's face fell, as if he was reminded of bad memories from his past. "She had a seizure when I was a baby."
"Oh..." While Korekiyo held no surprise in the high-schooler's words, his sympathy was not lessened. Leaning in the back of his seat, the anthropologist chose his words carefully before speaking.
"When I was young..." Korekiyo began. "...my sister and I were very, very close. She was my whole world. However, she was very, very sickly, and was always in and out of the hospital. However, when she was out of the hospital, she made me something." Korekiyo spread his arms to give the other a better look. "My attire."
The other man raised his eyebrow, pausing for a moment, before finally standing up and walking over to his booth, sitting on the other side with interested eyes. "It's certainly gorgeous. I love all the intricate details and little additions. I especially like the color scheme it uses. Very Earthy."
"Kukuku..." Korekiyo chuckled, crossing his arms. "It's incredibly comfortable. I wear it almost every day during my travels. It's one of my most prized possessions."
"You wear it every day?" The boy noted curiously, tilting his head.
"Yes?" Korekiyo replied a dark undertone in his voice, his easiness with the man suddenly disappearing for a moment. "Is that a problem?"
"I'll be honest," the other began. "It looks more like a piece of art than something to wear every day."
The traveler chuckled, shaking his head, though, underneath his mask, his face flushed slightly. "Thank you. Though I have to say, you seem to adore art. Are you, perchance, an artist yourself? What's your name? I want to keep up with your works."
"Yusuke Kitagawa," Yusuke smiled, his eyes sparkling at the mere mention of him being an artist. "And yes, I am an artist. Though I'm still only a student, art is truly my passion, not just painting pieces, but also observing the works of others. Truly it gives you a glimpse into beauty in nature, in the world. In humanity itself."
Korekiyo's eyes lit up at Yusuke's last words. "I...I agree. My name is Korekiyo Shinguji" The raven-haired man agreed, coughing his throat to regain composure. "I travel a lot myself and I have several hundred pictures from my travels. All of the different artworks, statues, traditions, anything from small tribes in Japan. Would you like to see?"
"Y-Yes! Absolutely!" Yusuke's voice raised in delight, moving over to the other side of the booth to sit next to Korekiyo, much to his barista friends' surprise when he finally came out of the backroom.
--
Akira leaned in the doorway of the backroom, his lips curving into a small smile as he watched Yusuke interact with his new friend, the two of them going on about their love of beauty and art, talking about the stranger's travels, Yusuke's attention entrapped by the other's words.
Looks like Yusuke made a new friend today.