Chapter 2 part 5

Saturday arrived. Leaving Kura in the hands of the manager, Holmes and I headed for the hotel where the ikebana exhibit was being held. The venue was an event hall in Kyoto Hotel Okura, which was located near city hall. In other words, it was within walking distance of Kura.

“Aoi, did Saori’s younger sister say anything to you at school?” Holmes asked as we walked.

“Ah, yes.” I nodded. “The next morning, she was waiting at the entrance, and when she saw me, she warned me, ‘Please don’t tell anyone about yesterday.’”

“Understandable. If the girls at school heard about the Saio-dai receiving suspicious letters, I imagine the news would spread like wildfire. Was she nervous that you might’ve already told someone by then?”

“I think so. But either way, I didn’t tell anyone, and I wasn’t planning on it,” I answered with a strained smile.

Holmes squinted. “Do you have any friends you trust at your current school?”

I hesitated before answering, “Not at my current school.” Ever since I was faced with the fact that my closest friend was dating my boyfriend behind my back, I kind of lost faith in the idea of friendship. If all I do is go to school, make small talk, eat lunch with people, wave goodbye, and go home, then nothing will go wrong. Since I don’t talk to anyone about my worries and pain, I also don’t have any friends I can share secrets with.

“You and Katsumi make a really good couple! I’ll watch him to make sure he doesn’t cheat on you, so don’t worry about going to Kyoto.”

The words of my once-best friend Sanae rang in my head, and I felt a stinging pain in my chest. Why, Sanae? Why would you go out with Katsumi? You should’ve known how I felt, right? Did you think it didn’t matter since I wasn’t around anymore? Or were you only pretending to support us, when really, you’d always liked him? Were you suffering? In that case, were you happy when I went away?

I started having trouble breathing. This always happens. I keep questioning myself, unable to find an answer. It hurts, I can’t stand it, and I’m dying to know the truth.

“Isn’t the weather nice today, Aoi?” Holmes asked cheerfully, looking up at the sky.

I came back to my senses and looked up. The cloudless, bright blue sky looked like it was shimmering. “You’re right, it is.”

Come to think of it, ever since I started working at Kura, it feels like I’ve been spending less time trapped in my painful thought loops. It’s as though every time I fall in, Holmes’s nonchalant words lift me back up.

I looked over at Holmes, and he smiled back. My cheeks flushed. It’s scary how perceptive he is, but he’s also saved me many times. It was wrong of me to try to sell my family’s belongings, but I’m truly glad that I went to Kura and met Holmes.

After some more walking, we arrived at the event hall in Kyoto Hotel Okura. At the entrance was a sign that said “Hanamura School Ikebana Exhibit.” I’m sure it must’ve been written by an esteemed calligrapher. Visitors were greeted by a large flower arrangement in the center of the hall, and the students’ works were lined up on all four walls of the room.

“Spectacular,” Holmes said, looking fondly at the central flower arrangement, which was wider than the average arm span. I assume he likes flowers.

“It looks like this is the teacher’s work,” I remarked.

“Yes, it depicts the brilliance of spring in Kyoto. Despite its size, it manages to be both delicate yet bold. I can sense the artist’s passion for this exhibit.”

I looked at the flowers again. At first, I’d only thought, “Wow, it’s huge!” but after hearing him say that, I realized that it was delicate despite being so big. Just like the pattern on the Yuan blue and white pottery, it felt like there were nerves reaching to the tips of the leaves. Flower arrangement is profound too, huh?

“As expected of the school’s head. The exhibit is a success, too,” Holmes continued.

“It really is,” I replied. Most of the visitors were women in traditional clothes. Many of them were elderly, but I also caught sight of students like us, as well as the school’s students, including Saori Miyashita.

“Umm, we’re pretending not to know her, right?”

“Yes. For now, let’s look at the displays.”

“Okay.” I nodded and looked at the creations laid out on the white cloth. Each student had two works on display. As I was looking at everyone’s arrangements, I overheard someone speaking.

“My, it’s the work of this year’s Saio-dai. How lovely.”

I spotted Saori bowing thankfully to a visitor. She paused for a moment when she saw us, but then bowed gracefully like she did to everyone else. We bowed back and turned to her works.

One of them was a dynamic piece that used tall flowers. The other was small, but displayed a perfect sense of balance with its horizontal branches and small flowers. It looked delicate and fleeting, yet gave off a feeling of steadiness.

There’s something about these two works… I absentmindedly crossed my arms.

“These two works give quite the different impressions,” Holmes murmured softly, apparently thinking the same thing as me.

Saori heard him and began to speak, but was interrupted by a firm voice coming from behind us: “That’s because they were made in different ways.”

Surprised, I turned around and saw a middle-aged woman in a kimono smiling cordially at us.

“Ah, Hanamura-sensei,” Holmes said with a bow. My eyes widened at him in surprise. So, this person was the ikebana teacher. Wait, Holmes knows her?

“My, is this Kiyotaka from Seiji’s place? You’ve grown up,” said the teacher.

“Long time no see.”

“You attended the prefectural university, if I recall correctly?”

“I’m at my dream school now, Kyoto University.”

“Oh, you got in for grad school? Impressive!”

“It’s fine; go ahead and call it sneaky.”

“Why, I would never!”

I felt overwhelmed by their cheerful conversation. Apparently, he knew this ikebana teacher through the owner. Kyoto really is impressive with all of these connections.

Holmes looked toward the two flower arrangements and changed the subject. “These are the Saio-dai’s works, right?”

The teacher nodded emphatically. “The large one was created in the classroom, while the small one was brought home to work on. Miyashita’s talent seems to manifest when she’s focusing at home by herself, so the small one has better craftsmanship.”

I inadvertently nodded at her explanation. It was true that the small one was much better. It showed the same attention to detail that I’d sensed from the teacher’s work. Perhaps Saori couldn’t maintain her composure in the classroom where her ex-friends were present. It’d be hard to get into the mood for elegant flower arrangement when you’re next to people who might’ve sent you harassment notes, after all. It’s only natural that she’d be able to make something better alone at home. I had no doubt that it was like lying on a bed of nails for her.

“The work of young artists is so nice and lively. Are there any works by young people besides the Saio-dai?” asked Holmes nonchalantly.

The teacher chuckled. “Young people’s work? You talk like an old man, Kiyotaka.”

“You know how my grandfather is. I guess I’ve finally ended up the same way.”

“That I understand. Seiji’s a rascal, after all. Right, besides Miyashita, we have two other university students,” said the teacher before walking away briskly and stopping in front of the works further ahead. Two university-aged girls dressed in kimono were there, possibly the two that had sent Saori the letters. Their eyes lit up when they saw Holmes.

“Oh no, he’s hot.”

“Ah, he’s coming this way!”

“Kiyotaka, this is Keiko Kawase—her family owns a Japanese restaurant in Ponto-cho—and Yuuko Mikami—her family runs a long-standing inn in Gion,” the teacher said.

Keiko and Yuuko. They seemed completely ordinary—it was hard to believe that they could’ve sent the letters. They were so normal that I might not have been able to tell they were from honorable families if it weren’t for the kimono.

“Girls, this is Kiyotaka, the grandson of a famous appraiser named Seiji Yagashira. He attends Kyoto University and assists at Kura, an antiques store in Teramachi-Sanjo with a long history.”

After the teacher’s introduction, the two girls bowed and said, “It’s nice to meet you.” Holmes returned the gesture with grace, and they both blushed.

Then, as though having just noticed my presence, the teacher smiled and said, “Kiyotaka, is that lady beside you your…?”

“No, she’s a high school student working part-time at our shop. She’s here with me today for educational purposes,” answered Holmes.

“Ah, I see. A high school student—how cute! Please enjoy the exhibit at your leisure.” The teacher smiled warmly at me and I hastily bowed in response, saying, “Th-Thank you, I will.”

“Allow me to take a look at Keiko and Yuuko’s works.” Holmes immediately set his eyes on the arrangements, which had their flowers and branches reaching towards the sky. They seemed vibrant and full of life. Perhaps it was because I was used to seeing Kura’s antiques? Is this what they call youthful energy? They lacked detail, subtlety, and any sense of transience, and the craftsmanship itself may have been poor, but I felt myself being drawn to them.

“They convey your enthusiasm,” Holmes said with a graceful smile. The girls blushed again as though they’d been shot through the heart.

“Indeed. Only today’s youth could produce such works,” said the teacher with a chuckle.

“You must be proud that one of your students was selected as Saio-dai.”

I was startled by how suddenly he dived into the heart of the matter. H-He’s already going to ask? I immediately peeked at the girls, who now looked somewhat unamused.

At that moment, Holmes went, “Ah,” and took out his smartphone. “Sorry, I received a phone call. I’ll have to excuse myself. Aoi, please stay here.”

I stood there dumbfounded as Holmes sped out of the hall, holding up his phone. What was that all of a sudden? With Holmes gone, the teacher said her courtesies and left as well. I stood there all alone, not knowing what to do, until I received a text message:

“Aoi, I think there are things that girls will only reveal to other girls, so please ask Keiko and Yuuko some questions. I’d appreciate it if you could ask, ‘Aren’t you frustrated that someone else from your class got chosen as Saio-dai?’”

It was from Holmes. I stared at it for a bit.

Wait, what? He was planning on using me from the very start! And first of all, how could I possibly ask something like that?!

As I was glaring at the phone screen, someone suddenly called out to me, “Hey, high school girl.”

Surprised, I turned around. “Y-Yes?”

“Are you going out with that guy?” It was Keiko, smiling yet looking dead serious. I felt outmatched.

“N-No, I’m just a part-timer. Really.”

The two looked at each other gleefully.

“Thank goodness! You don’t come across good-looking guys like that every day.”

“Yeah, and he goes to Kyoto University!”

I was rendered speechless by their lack of tact.

The two then hushed their voices.

“Wait, oh no! She’ll hear.”

“Yeah, I saw she had her eyes on him.”

“Are you talking about the Saio-dai?” I asked meekly.

“Yeah. Look, it’s her.”

I peeked over at Saori.

“She’s super pretty, right? She’s always been popular with the boys.”

“She always gets the spotlight. And now she’s the Saio-dai.”

“Ugh, I can’t believe it.”

I was rendered speechless again, this time by how they could be so open in front of someone they were meeting for the first time.

“I-It’s frustrating that someone else from your class was chosen, right?” I didn’t think there was any way I’d be able to ask it, and yet it came out surprisingly easily.

“It’s nothing new.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“We’ve been frustrated for a long time already.”

“The guys all like Saori the best. The ones we liked also said they were into her.”

“We were done being her foils, so we cut her off, and then her mom came and yelled at us.”

“Seriously, it was ridiculous. But thanks to that, we got to break ties with her. I’m glad we’re not stuck making her look better anymore.”

“Yeah, it sucks being with the pretty girl who gets all the guys.”

“And now she’s the freaking Saio-dai. Can she be any more perfect?”

“Isn’t her family overreaching, too? Going for Saio-dai when they aren’t as influential as they used to be?”

“Uh huh, there’s nothing special about them now. She only got picked because the store’s name is famous.”

“Her mom’s a big show-off, too.”

They spoke frankly as though they’d forgotten I was there. I was stunned.

Saori, Keiko, and Yuuko were good friends in high school, but Saori was much prettier than the others, and everyone’s eyes were always on her. When the guys Keiko and Yuuko had crushes on praised Saori, the girls’ pent-up jealousy exploded, and they cut Saori from their group. When Saori’s mother found out, she got angry and stormed over to their houses. That severed their friendship for good.

Now they turned to me. “Anyway, what do you think of that guy?”

“Do his good looks make your head spin?”

The two started pressing me for answers, as though they’d suddenly remembered why they were talking to me in the first place.

“W-Well, he certainly is good-looking.” Honestly, he does make my head spin sometimes. “He’s…kind of eccentric.” The moment I said that, the girls stiffened up. Huh, was it that off-putting?

“I’m sorry to hear that, Aoi,” said Holmes from behind me. This time it was my face that went pale.