Chasing Dreams (Dropped)

Chapter 62: A Sparrow's Dance

"This place is a bit odd." Ren thought this as he gazed around the room. The way it was organized was a bit different than most. The walls of the room were extremely thin, allowing him to hear the murmurings of people outside of the room.  

Similar to the walls the doors throughout the home were also rather thin probably due to the composition being mostly made of bamboo and paper, rather than the glass and wood normally present in American homes. 

"Ageruyo Tachibana-san" Ren's attention redirected itself as he noticed a small cup was placed before him. He stared at the cup for a moment before the smell of flowers filled his nose "Tea?" Ren raised the cup to his nose before smelling it once more and smiling somewhat  from the pleasant aroma. 

"Ah, this smells fantastic!" Ren said joyfully unable to contain his excitement. He then looked over only to notice an older gentleman staring down at him with warm eyes. He held a plate in his hands, and had an odd glow to him giving him an earthy vibe that reminded him of Natsumi.

"Hey thanks the Tea smells great!" Despite Ren's compliment the old man didn't avert his gaze, in fact he didn't seem to react to his words at all. 

Ren gave him an odd stare, as his complexion lightened somewhat "Why isn't he saying anything?" Ren thought as the two continued to stare at one another.

As their eyes clashed a brief thought ran through his mind "Didn't he address me with San?" Ren tilted his head somewhat as his thoughts began to compile "Maybe he can't understand me?"

"Arigato?" Ren muttered, his Japanese was rough and awkward. Bad enough to make any fluent speaker of the language cringe from it.

But despite this the Old Man's expression didn't change. He kept his warm smile and spoke to Ren in his light but aged voice "Your Japanese, not so good." his accent was thick, but still clear enough that Ren could understand him.

"Same with your English." Ren retorted.

The Old Man's smile deepened as an amused laugh came from him "Ah you are right, but I do my best." 

Ren gave him a similar smile as he lightly stared at him, he didn't say anything for a moment allowing the pleasant air flow freely between them. 

But eventually he broke away his stare choosing to take a drink of the tea presented to him. He lifted it up by the side quickly ready to take a quick sip when the Old Man stopped him. He didn't speak initially simply covered the top with his hand, before pulling the drink away from Ren.

"What are you-" Before Ren could finish his sentence the Man adjusted Ren's own hands over the cup, shifting one of them at the bottom of the cup and the other towards the front.

"If you move that fast you spill." Ren raised a brow at this as he felt his hands slowly bring the cup to his lips "Move slowly." The Old Man told him. 

Even though he had the urge to argue, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Something about the Old Man made him feel inclined to listen. Ren took a quick sip as the pleasant smile from before resurfaced "It's really good, thank you." 

The Old Man let go of his hands before nodding in agreement "Of course, it because I use my secret ingredient."

"Secret ingredient?" Ren questioned "What is it?" 

The Old Man smirked somewhat as he leaned towards him "Guess"

"Lemon?" Ren questioned "No that can't be it. It's to sweet." Ren continued to ponder "Honey? Berries?"

The Old Man began to shake his head.

"Hm don't tell me its something corny like Love?" Ren asked, as he noticed the Old Man's amused expression. The Old Man motioned for Ren to come closer.