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As Ichigen-sama spoke
Shiro: Kuroh! Neko! I’ve got castella cake, do you want some?
Kuroh: Shh! Neko just fell asleep.
Shiro: Ah, true. That’s our Neko for you, she sleeps as sound as a baby.
Kuroh: Good grief. When she’s awake, she’s so boisterous, and the next moment she dozes off just like that regardless of place. What an impossible person.
Shiro: Hehaha.
Kuroh: What is it?
Shiro: I just thought that you’re a kind guy, after all, Kuroh, despite you and Neko always fighting. Even now, you covered the sleeping Neko with a comforter.
Kuroh: Ghm. I just couldn’t watch her sleep so messily. Besides, we’ll be the ones inconvenienced if she catches a cold.
Shiro: Fufufu. As I thought, you really are kind.
Kuroh: As Ichigen-sama spoke, if someone did something for you and it made you happy, you should do the same for someone else.
Shiro: I see… Ichigen-san was a kind person, then.
Kuroh: I know right! When I was small and accidentally dozed off, Ichigen-sama quietly put a comforter around me. Even now I vividly remember the joy I felt when I woke up! The comforter Ichigen-sama was kind enough to cover me with wrapped in warmth not only my body but also my heart.
Shiro: R-Right…
*rustle*
Shiro: Oops. Kuroh, Neko has just kicked away the comforter you covered her with…
Kuroh: Keh! Stupid sprawling cat!
Shiro: Easy, easy. Anyway, want to snack on this castella with me?
Kuroh: Uh, all right. I’ll make us some tea.
Shiro: The way you make tea is so thorough, Kuroh.
Kuroh: It’s only to be expected since it was Ichigen-sama who taught me.
Shiro: Was Ichigen-san strict when it came to things like proper etiquette and ceremonies?
Kuroh: No. As Ichigen-sama spoke, one doesn’t have to do it in the exact way the tradition demands, rather one should do it the way one finds the most suitable to oneself; the ceremonies, however, are the most beautiful way of doing something that people of the past came up with, so a man should learn them.
Shiro: I see. He said some deep things.
Kuroh: I know right?! Starting with small everyday activities, like moving his chopsticks or doing his bedding, and ending with tea ceremony and flower arrangement, Ichigen-sama was perfect in all kinds of ceremonies!
Shiro: Y-Yeah… s-sure…
Kuroh: And yet sometimes, he wasn’t bound by them and made tea in a free style, and that, too, demonstrated Ichigen-sama’s flexibility and greatness, and–
Shiro: Oh! I’ve got a lucky upright-floating tea stalk in my cup!
Kuroh: Ugh. Hmph. Good for you.
Shiro: I wonder if something good is going to happen! *sips* C'mon, Kuroh, have a taste of this castella.
Kuroh: Yeah, I’m going to. *eats* It’s pretty good.
Shiro: It sure is! This place’s castella seems to be pretty famous.
Kuroh: Castella was specialty of Watanabe-san from the neighborhood, and I had her teach me how to make it.
Shiro: Eh? So you can make even castella, Kuroh?!
Kuroh: Yes, I can. I made it with lemon flavor, with green tea flavor, and in spring I added sakura petals.
Shiro: Sounds nice. And tasty.
Kuroh: Actually, castella turns out better if you let it lie for a while after it’s baked, so that the taste mellows, but I was tired of waiting and wanted to eat it already, so I just helped myself without waiting.
Shiro: I know the feeling! The fact that they’re freshly baked makes any pastry special somehow. Anyway, I’m surprised that you got along not only with Ichigen-san but also with a neighbor.
Kuroh: Yeah. As Ichigen-sama spoke, getting to know a lot of people and learn all kinds of things from them is the secret to making one’s life rich.
Shiro: Uh-huh, that’s very true.
Kuroh: I know right?!! Ichigen-sama—
Shiro: Hold it, hold it! Going by Ichigen-sama’s teachings, you should learn something from me, as well, shouldn’t you?
Kuroh: From you? Just what can I learn from someone like you?
Shiro: Hm, well, since you’re so uptight, you should learn how to relax and take it easy.
Kuroh: You’re way too relaxed. So random, willy-nilly, and always, always so lazy and slippery–
Shiro: Oh come on, stop with your fault-finding. Didn’t Ichigen-sama speak that learning from people is the secret to making one’s life rich?
Kuroh: Agh… All right, what do you suggest?
Shiro: Today’s a nice warm day, right? So I think, forget the place and just lie down and have an afternoon nap, like Neko.
Kuroh: That is what I’m supposed to learn from you? Afternoon naps are unnecessary to me! Every night I make sure take a good and efficient night rest.
Shiro: Come on, just do it. *lies down* See? When you lie down in a place under the sun like this, you’ll get pleasantly warm and will feel drifty drowsiness of a very different kind than when you sleep in bed at night.
Kuroh: Ugh… True, I suppose. But I just can’t let this lazy desire take over–
Shiro: Like I said, don’t be so uptight today. The time you spend lazing about like this with a friend is invaluable.
Kuroh: With a… friend…? Hmph. Well, be it. Only for today.
Kuroh: *groans* Agh?! It’s already nighttime! Damn! Shiro talked me into this, and my afternoon nap stretched on this late! Hm? This is… a comforter? Shiro covered me with it?
Shiro: Oh, are you awake, Kuroh? Morning!
Kuroh: You… just what are you doing?
Shiro: Since you were sleeping so soundly, I thought I would make dinner for a change. I’m in the middle of attempting to make curry. So, did you sleep well? Afternoon naps can be a good thing sometimes, don’t you agree?
Kuroh: Hmph. If only sometimes. I wouldn’t outright deny the possibility that maybe sometimes, but not too often, it’s not altogether wrong to relax a little, just a tiniest bit, and idly spent time might not necessarily be all that bad a thing, although it’s only a possibility, which isn’t to say that it’s a good thing either, it’s just–
Shiro: Not being very honest there, are you. Didn’t you see any good dreams while napping relaxedly in a warm place?
Kuroh: I saw Ichigen-sama in my dream.
Shiro: Hee.
Kuroh: Ichigen-sama spoke, “Don’t believe rumors, see it with your own eyes. If you took a liking to someone, value that feeling and become friends with them. And then, walk the path that will put a smile on your and your friends’ faces.”
Shiro: Hehihihi.
Kuroh: What! Don’t giggle in that creepy way.
Shiro: Ah well, I just thought that you really are properly following Ichigen-sama’s teachings, Kuroh.
Kuroh: What’s with that all of a sudden?
Shiro: Well, you properly saw to the person I am and became my friend, right?
Kuroh: Ugh! No one’s talking about you!
Shiro: Heheh. Let’s walk the path that will put a smile on our faces together.
Kuroh: Egh! Ghhmmm… Huh?
Shiro: Alrighty! Today, Kuroh’s friend Shiro-kun will make special curry, so just wait for it a little, ‘kay?
Kuroh: Huh? Hey, Shiro, did you just add curry roux?
Shiro: Yes, I did, what of it?
Kuroh: If you put in curry roux when it’s boiling at such high flame, it’ll just lump together and harden into balls! Turn off the burner for now.
Shiro: Huh? Won’t it still be alright even if you don’t worry about such small things? C'mon, don’t you remember? As Ichigen-sama spoke, there is no need to be obsessed with proper ceremonies and such, just go ahead and do it your own way, something along these lines, no?
Kuroh: Don’t insult Ichigen-sama with your unreliable recollections of his words! I can’t bear to look at your cooking. Give me that!
Shiro: Geez! Trampling all over my good will to make dinner today.
Kuroh: Ichigen-sama, indeed, was a person who, even in cooking, didn’t get bound by a recipe and cooked freely, but he always listened carefully to his ingredients! As Ichigen-sama spoke, one should take care of the ingredients as one would of a girl he loves, and prepare vegetables, meat, fish, always thinking of what he should do to make that girl’s smile shine the brightest.
Shiro: Eh? That’s a bit too much… After all, ingredients get chopped up, boiled, fried and in the end eaten. Doing all that to the girl you like is, uh…
Kuroh: With that shallow and foolish thinking of yours, you have a long way to go before you can even hope to understand Ichigen-sama’s profound thoughts. Cannot be helped then. Since I had the pleasure to be by Ichigen-sama’s side, I will tell you all about him all over again.
Shiro: E-e-erm, Kuroh? We’re only making curry, okay? So I don’t think there is a pressing need to talk about Ichigen-sama right now, you know?
Kuroh: Don’t be modest now! As you must already know, Ichigen-sama was kind and gentle and possessed profound wisdom, impressive flexibility of mind, novel way of thinking, creativity, compassion, strictness, true strength, rich emotions, broad-mindedness, decisiveness, faith, courage, affection… He had all of the above!
Shiro: Kuroh…
Kuroh: And the thing that became what should be rightfully called the crystallization of Ichigen-sama’s magnificent world was… his haiku. Do you yearn to listen to one of them?
Shiro: It’s hopeless. I’ve been carefully controlling myself and avoiding saying it for the whole of today…
Kuroh: Should I now explain to you about Ichigen-sama’s haiku in order for you to understand the magical magnificence that Ichigen-sama gave birth to?
Shiro: But I think I’m finally at the end of my patience here…
Kuroh: Hm? What is it?
Shiro: Gross!!!
Kuroh: Wha…?! I’m speechless!!!