No question about it: the main character here is Kunagisa Tomo. Let’s just make that clear.
Now then, as for who Shinya-san was accompanying, well, she was right under the cherry blossom tree. With those thoughtful, thoughtless eyes, she gazed at the fluttering cherry blossom petals.
She had blue eyes and hair of gold. Her dress, pale in color, was out of some French movie, and was accented with dazzling jewelry. Just one of her necklaces or bracelets was likely worth more than my liver. Even if I sold off every part of my body I still couldn’t pay for it.
Ibuki Kanami. One of the geniuses.
Having, supposedly, suffered problems with her legs from birth, she was confined to a wheelchair. And thus Shinya-san, as her caretaker, had tagged along on the trip. As I’d heard it, until a few years ago, she had also been totally blind. Her blue eyes were not a sign of foreign blood.
Kanami-san was a painter.
Even I, without the slightest knowledge of that field whatsoever, had heard of her. She had earned a reputation as a painter who possessed no single style. I had never actually seen any of Kanami-san’s paintings, but I thought that maybe she was gazing at the cherry blossoms in that way so as to later portray them on canvas.
“What’s she doing?”
“As you can see, she’s watching the cherry blossoms. It won’t be long before the petals start falling. She has a fondness for that ‘moment just before death,’ if you will, the ephemeral things in life.”
Most of the trees on the island were just your standard fare, but for some reason, there was one cherry blossom tree. It looked quite old, and the fact that there was only one on the whole island was nothing short of bizarre. Most likely, Iria-san had transplanted it here.
“So they say dead bodies are buried under cherry blossom trees, eh?”
“How dreadful.”
Ouch.
I was just trying to make conversation, but instead ended it in one fell swoop. of course, it was pretty dreadful.
“Just joking,” Shinya-san laughed.
“Personally, I think it would make more sense if that legend was about a plum tree. But then I guess it wouldn’t be a legend, but a myth? Hahaha!”
“By the way, boy, have you gotten accustomed to the island yet? This is your third day here, right? Um, how long were you planning to stay again?”
“A week. So we have another few days.”
“Mmm, that’s too bad,” he said, with a tinge of mystery.
“What’s too bad?”
“Oh, it’s just that I hear Iria-san’s favorite will be coming here in a week. But if you’re leaving in four days, you’ll just miss each other, won’t you? That’s just too bad.”
“Oh, I see.” I nodded and thought about it for a moment.
Iria-san’s “favorite.”
In other words, the genius of geniuses.
“A chef, a fortune-teller, a scholar, an artist, and an engineer. What could be next?”
“Well, I haven’t heard any specifics myself, but apparently this person is capable of just about anything. Not a ‘specialist,’ but a ‘generalist.’ Hikari-san tells me this person is as sharp as a tack and full of knowledge, and has lightning reflexes.”
Hmm. Yet another totally amazing person. Let’s assume it was just some ridiculously over-the-top rumor. The fact that such a rumor even existed suggested that this particular genius wasn’t just anyone. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued.
“Couldn’t hurt to meet this person, I guess. What do you say to asking for an extension on your visit? I’m sure Iria-san would more than welcome you.”
“Sounds nice and all, but…” I probably looked less than excited. “To be honest, this island is a little stifling. For a regular kid like me, I mean,” I said.
Shinya-san guffawed boisterously. “Now, now. Now, now, now, now, now there, lad. Is that how it is? Kanami-san and Akane-san and all of them haven’t given you a complex, have they?”
A complex. Even supposing it wasn’t something you could put so bluntly, what I felt was certainly something similar. Shinya-san gave me a firm pat on the shoulder.
“There’s no reason to feel inferior to that lot, right? Let’s keep it together, brother! Whether it be Kanami-san…” Kanami-san glanced up from under the cherry blossom tree. “Whether it be Akane-san, Yayoi-san, or even Kunagisa-chan, if they were to play the two of us in rock-paper-scissors, they would only win one out of three times. I suppose Maki-san would be an exception there, but nevertheless.”
“That’s a pretty blunt way to put it.”
Not to mention Shinya-san had just referred to his own employer as part of “that lot.” I’m not saying they were at each other’s throats or anything, but maybe Shinya-san and Kanami-san weren’t quite the best of friends.
“Talent isn’t such a big deal. In fact, I, for one, am glad I don’t have any. Talent isn’t worth spit.”
“Why’s that?”
“If you’ve got a talent, you’ve got to exert effort. Being ordinary is a breeze. Having nothing to master is an advantage, if you ask me,” Shinya-san said with a cynical shrug. “I think we got a little off-topic. Anyway, I don’t think it would be a terrible thing if you were able to extend your stay, if you ask me. And hey, just maybe this ‘generalist’ will beat us in rock-paper-scissors all three times.”
“Well, I’ll talk it over with Kunagisa… It would hardly be right for the tagalong to decide something like this on his own.”
“I thought so,” he said. “You’re a lot like me,” he said, looking me in the eye.
His gaze was deeply disconcerting. It gave me that uncomfortable feeling you get when you’re being watched.
“Me and you? Alike? How do you mean? In what way?”
“Don’t sound so happy about it. In particular, you’re practically identical in holding the idea that you yourself are a part of the world.”