Kita thought the person who had been wasting so much food over the past few days had no right to say anything—but judging by this amount, Konan had definitely eaten her fill. She picked up a spoon and sipped the warm porridge. Then Kita asked,
"Tomorrow… what… do you want to eat? I… I'll make it for you."
"Anything~"
As long as Kita made it, Konan could eat anything.
"Century egg and pork congee… would that work?"
"Something light that you can eat too."
Kita smiled. "No… no problem. Minced… minced meat… should digest okay."
"That's fine then," Konan said, rising to make tea. The topic of whether they had done this before or not was skipped. Pulling out the good tea from under the table, Konan asked,
"How long have you been stammering?"
Kita froze, not expecting her to bring this up, but then answered,
"F-four years."
Hmm… four years. That likely meant she had regained the ability to speak four years ago. According to Shunin, that was also around the time she went to the Moon. Four years and still not accustomed to virtual vocal cords? Unlikely. It was probably more of a psychological issue at play.
Konan soaked the washed tea leaves in hot water. Meanwhile, Kita, having finished her own meal, cleaned the few dishes in the kitchen.
Although her standards weren't high, Kita's condition really needed treatment. Two delicate teacups were placed on the table, the tea steaming with a rich aroma. Konan invited Kita to sit after finishing the dishes and handed her a cup.
"When I'm at the office, I drink tea. At home, I like green tea—it's a habit from about five years ago. During a team-building event, he came across meat at half price in a supermarket. We bought a lot, ate until we were stuffed, oily as hell, drank a lot of alcohol, and had to drink tea afterward to balance it out. Since then, I've made tea a habit. I don't really know the rituals, I just like it because it feels nice. If you ask about tea ceremonies… I don't really know."
Konan explained her tea habits. Kita listened quietly, sipping the perfectly tempered green tea. It warmed her stomach thoroughly.
"And you? From the few times I've seen you drink tea, it seems like you prefer black tea?"
Kita nodded.
"You like black tea?"
Not really. She shook her head.
"Tch. Speak."
"O-Orochimaru… there… mostly black… tea."
"You seem close to him. That guy really doesn't match with us. We drink beer, white liquor; he drinks wine. We have barbecue and hotpot; he wants steak and pasta. Tch… incompatible vibes."
"E-eh—"
Her words were cut off as her mouth was covered. Konan pressed close, so close Kita could see the fine fuzz on her face.
"You just said 'E-eh'—I'm guessing you wanted to say 'each has their own love', right? You said the first character, now say the second. When I let go, you say the second character. Understand?"
Kita blinked. Konan released her hand, but in that awkward position, she couldn't speak. Before she could even turn away, her chin was gently held.
"Say it."
Kita's face turned crimson, wishing she could disappear.
Look at you. Even if you can speak, what difference does it make? You're still a stammering, awkward creature in front of her. Even if you weren't nonhuman, you're still not normal. You were mute before, now you stammer. Your body is flawed, just as your nonhuman nature is fixed. A high and mighty angel, and yet—
Her thoughts abruptly stopped.
Soft lips pressed against soft lips.
Kita froze as Konan pressed closer, step by step, until even her breathing was stolen.
"If you won't say it, I'll continue. You said you never did it—then today I'll teach you how."
Konan said this with no hesitation.
"S-say… say… wh-what…"
Kita stammered even more, her face burning red.
"What you were about to say—say it now. You already said the first character."
"H-have—"
She really had been muffled.
"Good girl." Konan said with a smile, lightly pinching Kita's cheek. "Next two words, one by one. The tone needs to rise slightly; your tongue touches the lower teeth. When you were studying, I noticed: for some words, it's not that you stammer, it's that your pronunciation is off. You know the concept in your mind, but your mouth can't follow, so you instinctively correct and repeat. That's not the right method. Don't worry about mistakes; even if you mispronounce, people can understand. Got it?"
Kita nodded shyly.
"Now say it. Repeat a few times."
Konan slowed her pace so Kita could follow.
"See? No stammering." Konan laughed, naturally stroking Kita's face, tucking her hand into the long silver hair, playfully pinching her ear. Kita blushed, lowered her head, and let Konan continue. Then she poured another cup of tea and said,
"Drink. Tea."
"Drink tea," Konan echoed. Kita nodded, smiling, while Konan lightly tapped her arm in playful insistence.
"Tch, you say it."
"Hehe… drink tea."
━━━━ ❖ ━━━
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