in which the karasuno boys encounter a mysterious girl working in their coach's convenience store, only to find out she's ukai's daughter. when someone sends the wrong thing to the wrong groupchat, all the volleyball teams find themselves falling fo...
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𝐝𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐨𝐰 6.8
The rich smell of matcha danced through the air, blessing her nose with its lush aroma. It was naturally sweet, the type that wasn't sickening and overwhelming. It had earthy undertones, almost as if you could imagine a plethora of green once you inhaled the scent. It was both nut-like, similar to almonds or nougats, yet floral, almost like the sweet pollen that drifted off the anther with the wind.
It was hard to describe the unremarkable smell of matcha, because it was such an odd taste, an odd taste that most people loved, that was so familiar yet so different to anything anyone has tasted.
Daichi watched the traditional ceremony with wide eyes. He had seen it millions of times before, sure, but it was never in the occasion in which he had to pay attention, take notes and remember what to do. His full attention was on the old man, and (Y/N) could see that as she sat next to him, knees tucked under her respectfully. It wasn't the exact traditional ceremony, since it was both out of the blue and it wasn't the whole procedure with the guests, but she had proposed the idea so that Daichi's tea shop dream felt more real. She wanted the dream to become, well, not a dream. For him to start to feel it solidly in his hands.
"Why go through so much for tea?" Their host, Ikkei Ukai had lectured before beginning, "Why do we set up the tables to look elegant when we have people over for dinner? We want our guests to feel special, to feel cherished. Ichi-go ichi-e, I suppose. A philosophy in which every meeting should be treasured. So, something as simple as tea should be done so there is purpose between the host and the guest, so that the interaction is one that can never be reproduced- not in the same way, emotionally at the least. Most avid tea makers, or anyone who remembers their Japanese history classes, would know of the way of the tea. Harmony, respect, purity and tranquillity."
(Y/N) had found the history of tea in Japan fascinating. From Sen no Rikyu and how tea became so intertwined with politics to his seppuku with his tea master.
"In the Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo," Ikkei had continued, "There is a quote that says 'It insulates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order. It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life.'"
She thought deeply as they watched him pour the water into the bowl, soak the bamboo whisk in it, empty it and clean it, every move done with utmost delicacy and care, savouring every small thing. Yes, tea-making truly was an incredible thing, and Uncle Iroh was definitely onto something. (nah because im actually thinking of writing a fanfic centred around tea AKJHSKJA)
