trans_9 | Roommates

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Roommates

There was another pile of books all over the floor at Atori.

Actually, no. "Pile" would imply that they were stacked, that there was some semblance of order. These were just lying all over the floor in the cafe area, and Ren could only imagine the looks of shock on his former housemates' faces back home.

"Where do you keep finding these?" Ren asked Phillip.

If anyone were to walk through the door, they would find an incredulous young Japanese man trying to pick up a small library that had covered the floor.

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"All sorts of places," said Phillip as he paged through a medical textbook. Yes, even those were considered reading material. "Its amazing what you find in the abandoned areas of the ship's city area."

Sho was almost done exploring the city. He was walking down one of the streets when he sees the tea house.

"Hmm. Well, I am kind of thirsty. And I could use some real food." Sho says to himself before walking inside. He immediately finds that there are books all over the floor and stumbles over a thick one he hadn't noticed. Sho gets his balance back, then sees the two young men there.

"Uh, hello there."

For a brief moment, Sakura had thought Sho has been announcing his intention out loud because he'd caught sight of her as she rounded a near-by corner. It would have been odd, considering he was facing away from her, but not out of the question. People back home had incredible powers of observation, or even just that kind of general awareness.

Still, it was curious to her to see a teahouse that looked lived in, if not outright operational. She waited to see if Sho was going to turn right around and come back out. If he didn't, she intended to come over and see if anyone was home -- or what her fellow crewmember might have gotten himself into if not.

Ren looked over as Sho greeted them.

"Welcome to Atori Teahouse," he said with his best attempt at friendly service--which, while not cheerful, at least wasn't rude at any rate. "Watch for the mess. Phillip, turn on the kettle while I clean."

A sudden thought hit him, and he stopped. The last thing they needed was for Phillip to somehow mix up the vinegar and water, and Ren did not want the smell of boiling vinegar all over the place.

"Never mind," he said, setting what books he had collected down on the counter. "I'll start the kettle."

"So much trust in me," drawled Phillip as he swung his legs over the chair arm he was laying in, shutting his book which was now an Autobiography of Julius Ceasar. How he managed to get through the medical textbook in record time was beyond anyone.

"I'm Phillip, that's Ren Akiyama. This is his place but we do serve tea here." explained Phillip. "And we've got room for two more people, if you're looking for housing as well."

"I see. So there's a tavern and a tea house in the city." Sho says as he takes a seats and bows his head to Phillip and Ren.

"My name's Sho Fukamachi." He thinks a moment about the housing offer. "Well, now that you mention it, those weird holes in the wall are kind of uncomfortable. I don't need to pay you anything to stay here do I? I don't have any money."

Nothing so far. Sakura considered her options, then rolled her shoulders. Guess I'm heading in. She opened the door, calling out a polite, "Hello?" as she did so.

A glimpse around at the books littering the general area. It was a mess, in her opinion, but it was a mess of books. Stooping down to pick one up, she looked at the spine, then toward the men in the room. "Not quite what I'd expect at a tea shop." She smiled. "Anyplace this should go?"

Or was the floor it's proper home?

"Blame Phillip," Ren said by way of greeting. But when a guest came in and noticed the mess your roommate left all over the place? Yeah, blame the roommate.

As the water boiled, he answered Sho's question by saying, "There are two rooms left here, and we can clear them out quickly. Don't worry about payment; not many here have money to start." And he wasn't sure on how the system worked to begin with. He'd never had a reason to worry about it.

"Any preference for tea?" he asked their visitors.

Phillip sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "I'll get to moving the books to the RevolGarry," he said, clicking a cellphone and punching in a short number sequence.

The rumble of an engine could be heard soon as a huge vehicle pulled up and Phillip picked up an armload of books.

Sho turns to see Sakura when she enters the tea shop, surprised to see a familiar face. He waves to her and smiles. "Hey Sakura-san. What are you doing here?"

He turns back to Ren and orders. "Green tea, please. If money isn't an issue then sure, I'll stay here. It kind of reminds me of home." Sho riases an eyebrow, then gets a shock when he sees the big strange vehicle pull up, eyes wide.

"Just when I start getting used to this place..."

Sakura smiled at Sho, returning his wave. "Hello, Sho-san. Nice to meet you, Phillip?" The question was in part due to the noise she heard from outside, and the subsequent shock of seeing a large, rumbling something pull up to the store.

Seeing things at the media library, and even stopping by the hangar, wasn't the same as seeing vehicles moving around in person, on their own. There was nothing really comparable back home.

Phillip was unconcerned, as far as she could tell. Sho looked surprised? Sakura wasn't watching him well enough to tell, but for her own part, she was trying to figure out if she needed to be on the offense or take it slow against whatever that thing was. "What is that?"

There was a canister or two of green tea in one of the bottom cabinets, Ren remembered. Sanako kept a couple of green, white, and oolong teas for the customers who prefered them over black, though she charged extra. He checked underneath and found the right can, scooping out some tea leaves into a cup.

"For you?" he asked Sakura.

And at the rumbling, he just gave an amused look. "Don't worry. That's just one of his vehicles."

"I see. It's from your world then?" Sho asks. "Er, well, is it from his? Sorry, I thought you two might have come from the same world. Thank you for the tea. Could I take a look at the room before deciding?"

"Black, if that's all right," came her belated reply, still looking at the door. A moment later, she finally responded to Sho's earlier question. "I was curious when I was walking by... though it sounds like I've interrupted something. My apologies for being so rude."

She bowed, a short, shallow affair, keeping with her intentions of politeness more than anything else.

"It's the RevolGarry," replied Phillip calmly as he returned for another armload. "I park it back at my old home but now I live here."

"It's nice to have a fuller house," he said simply. "And as far as we can tell, the possibility is high but the time frame index is different. I come from 2010. Ren from 2003."

"There are two rooms upstairs," Ren said as calmly as usual. "I'll clear them out if you're interested." Only one of the rooms was empty, and that was Sanako's. Ren hadn't had the heart to clean out Yui's, even though he knew she would never emerge from the pods.

He pulled down a canister of keemun tea, a fruity and slightly pine-scented blend, and put it in a cup for Sakura as the kettle whistled. He then poured water into both cups and set them on the counter.

"We have some honey and sugar," he said. "No milk, though." It hadn't kept, and he'd been forced to dispose of what he hadn't finished.

"Plain is fine, thanks." Sho says before blowing some of the steam away from his cup and taking a sip.

"And I am interested. This is a nice place. Quiet, cozy, and I don't feel like I'm always being watched in the city like in the rest of the ship."

"A little sugar would be nice." Something sweet, different than everything Stacy produced for them to eat.

"You said two rooms?" It seemed a little ambitious to move someone into both at once, but she was curious enough to ask. Even if it was a little rude to press on a subject she wasn't expressly invited to discuss.

Ren took out the sugar bowl and a small pair of tongs for the cubes and set them in front of Sakura.

"Yeah," he answered. "One hasn't had everything moved out yet, but I can get that done quickly if needed."

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