2

“––Orihata-san! Attention, please!”

The sharp rebuke almost caused Aya to drop her bowl and spoon.

“S-sorry!” she apologized immediately. But the instructor, Kusunoki Rei, was merciless.

“You sample the product, then you pass it on. I’ve told you this before, correct? Efficiency is everything in this line of work!” she said, criticizing her sharply. Then, turning to face everyone, she loudly added, “And that goes for all of you as well!”

“I’m really, very sorry!”

Apologizing, Aya passed the bowl of peppermint green-colored ice cream to the student next to her. The kid winked and comforted her with a quiet reassurance. Aya returned a nod, as if to thank them.

It was a cooking school. After dropping out of high school last month, Orihata Aya had been in attendance here. Having joined mid-term, she’d been working hard every day to make up for the lost time.

Once the confectionary workshop had finished, Aya breathed a sigh of relief. At which point, her classmate, Natsuko, patted her on the shoulder.

“Aya, really, don’t worry about it. It isn’t always like this.”

“Yeah, that teacher’s always lashing out at someone,” added another student, Tezuka, with a nod. “Just the other day, she was like, ‘You’re stirring too slowly!’ and she gave me the biggest glare. Man, that gave me a scare.”

“I get that she’s got talent…but she shouldn’t have to be such a diva about it.”

“Probably cause she’s young. Isn’t she, supposed to be like, about twenty?”

“And despite that, she’s already the executive of a cake company, huh… She’s a genius, that’s for sure.”

“I guess us amateurs’ll never know what geniuses are thinking…”

Natsuko and Tezuka sighed in tandem. Their timing was so unexpectedly perfect that Aya had to laugh.

“Thanks, guys,” she said. It was easy to beat herself up about things, and she knew that they were trying to cheer her up.

“Yeah, lighten up, okay?” Natsuko patted her on the shoulder a second time.

“But Orihata, serious question… Why did you freeze up back there?” asked Tezuka, her tone turned serious.

“Hm? Oh, uh, that’s because…"

“Did you…notice it too?”

“…Yeah.”

“What are you guys talking about?”

“Uh…so, this ‘original’ ice cream that Kusunoki-sensei claims to have made? I’m…pretty sure I’ve tasted that flavor before, somewhere else. Right, Orihata?”

“…Yeah.”

Once, her boyfriend, Taniguchi Masaki, had treated her to ice cream, telling her that the place had gotten rave reviews. It was delicious, for sure. And she felt that the fundamental flavor of the ice cream that Kusunoki Rei had just brought out was the same.

Natsuko was turning pale. “Wait a second. I-isn’t that…plagiarism?”

“I dunno, but…”

“I mean, Kusunoki-sensei won a lot of awards in contests, and she’s had a bunch of products on sale, and… And… ––What does this mean?”

The three of them had just gone silent when the chime rang out. It was time to prepare for the next class. If they didn’t get a move on, they’d get a similar earful from another teacher.

The girls hastily began to get ready.

* * * * *

Asukai Jin was, in fact, a peculiar man.

The log house that he’d brought Tosuke to was full of painting utensils, yet there was little that could count as furniture.

“Anything you’d like to eat?” he asked. But one had to doubt that there was anything at all.

“…Ice cream.”

He thought he might as well ask, but Asukai smiled.

He lit the stove and warmed up the pot. Once Tosuke took the steaming bowl, he came to his senses.

“…Thank you. This is the first time I’ve eaten something proper in a long time.”

“It is a guy’s cooking, though, not to mention I’m up against a pro. Don’t judge me too harshly.”

“No…it’s good.”

It really was good–packed full of daikon, burdock root, and all kinds of mushrooms. Outside of sweet things, Tosuke normally couldn’t really gauge whether food was good or bad, but he truly thought that he’d never had such delicious miso soup.

“By the way, Kigawa-san, why are you up here living in the mountains?” he asked, pouring a cup of tea for himself.

“………”

Tosuke was silent.

“…Because I don’t really have anywhere else to go.”

“I wonder. I’m sure that, if you put your mind to it, you’d have the talent to blend right in among human society. That is, in fact, what you’ve been doing, isn’t it?”

“………”

It’s true that Teratsuki Kyouichirou had taught him a lot. But…

“Well then, what about you? How come you’re up here drawing in such a secluded place?” he countered, trying to dodge the subject.

Like Tosuke, Asukai’s face darkened.

“True… You have a point. Things don’t easily go the way you want them to, do they?” he murmured, and took a gentle sip of tea.

Tosuke’s eyes widened.

“So, you…messed something up as well?”

“More or less…” A self-deprecating smile formed on Asukai’s face. “I failed to jump from the top of the tower.”

“Huh?” This surprised Tosuke. “W-what do you…”

But Asukai appeared to have no intention of continuing, and the question was left hanging.

“………”

“………”

The two of them continued to drink their miso soup and tea in silence. After a time, Asukai spoke up.

“How about…?” he asked.

Tosuke looked up––he hadn’t heard him very well. “Hm?”

“I asked you if you wanted a refill,” Asukai answered, grinning.

“Ah, yes. Please.”

Tosuke offered up the bowl with an embarrassed smile. Taking it in his hands, Asukai casually asked, “So which part of the Towa Organization did you belong to?”

“Huh? What did you say?” replied Tosuke, not understanding what he meant.

“Ah, forget I said anything. I was mistaken,” replied Asukai immediately, dropping the subject.

“……?”

Tosuke tilted his head as he received a second helping and resumed eating. Asukai regarded him with a complex gaze.

……So he doesn’t know. Did they have him completely in the palm of their hand? Or had nobody simply told him?

Asukai then wondered what to do.

“About your…name.”

“Yeah, it’s Kigawa Tosuke.”

“So Kigawa is your…?”

“Ah…kind of. He’s the one who took me in. Sort of a foster parent,” Tosuke answered with a smile. “I don’t even know where I came from, myself.”

“I see. …But that’s equally true even for me, and for every one of us.”

“…Maybe so. What with everyone neglecting their pain…” replied Tosuke in a murmur.

“Pain? What do you mean by that?”

Tosuke then spoke the plain truth, to which Asukai nodded, not taken aback in the slightest.

“That’s similar to my power,” he said calmly. “But what I see are what you might call ‘flaws in the heart’.”

“Huh?” Tosuke’s eyes grew wide, but he knew from Asukai’s calmness that his words were no joke.

There was a brief silence, but not because any particular mood had filled the air. It was a perfectly normal self-introduction. Tosuke nodded to himself thoughtfully.

“So then, what does this pain of mine that you feel tell you?” Asukai continued.

“I’ll tell you if you tell me what my flaws are too,” Tosuke asked back with a smirk.

Asukai drew in his chin and spoke serenely.

“You don’t really have any ‘leaves’. You must think that life provides no nourishment.”

“Spot on. But the same goes for you too, Jin. Because your pain is the vague type. I’ve got no idea exactly which ice cream would be good for you. In that sense, you’re really similar…to Rei…” In the instant that he’d spoken her name, Tosuke’s face clouded over.

“’Rei’. So that’s one of the big holes in your heart,” said Asukai almost in a whisper, and Tosuke looked downward.

“…I really don’t have any nourishment, it’s true,” murmured Tosuke despondently.

Asukai replied coolly. “Then it’s the same for both of us.”

The two of them shared stories of their past.

“…That’s amazing.”

Upon hearing of Asukai’s strange scheme to “try and fill the flaws in people’s hearts,” Tosuke was genuinely impressed.

“You can do that? I wonder if there’s someone out there who can perfectly fill in the flaw in mine.”

“Actually, it didn’t turn out all that well in the end. I was arrogant. Flaws weren’t something you could simply work out by sticking two people together. I learned that the hard way.”

“It’s still incredible. The fact that you were trying to fight against those absences is something that other people wouldn’t even dare to attempt. It’s really noble of you, Jin.” Tosuke regarded him with admiration. But Jin shook his head.

“No, you’ve got it the wrong way around, Kigawa-san,” he answered, to Tosuke’s surprise.

“Huh?”

“I think you’re the one who was filling in everyone’s flaws, and greatly so. With that miraculous ice cream of yours.”

Tosuke blinked by Asukai’s words.

“I…never meant to.”

“But in the end, that’s what happened. Your ice cream, which soothes the pain of the heart, might have been a superior method by far. My plan paled in comparison.”

Asukai’s words were sincere.

“…I wonder.”

“I think people probably acknowledged you far more than what you ever thought. I think they valued you.”

“…I don’t know. I don’t want to admit it, but in the end, it was only ice cream. Though I don’t like saying things like this,” said Tosuke dismissively. “I tried so incredibly hard, but in the end, wasn’t everyone simply scarfing it all down?”

“Is that what you think? Is that something you could say to Kigawa Norisuke-san too, the man who raised you?”

Asukai’s words were tinged with anger, bringing Tosuke back to his senses.

“No… You’re right. It’s hard on Norisuke to be talking like this,” he said, nodding sincerely. Asukai saw this and smiled.

“I knew you were better than that, Kigawa-san.”

“Tosuke’s fine. In fact, just call me Tosuke. It feels like you’re teasing me when you say ‘san’.”

Asukai smiled wryly at his little sulk.

“I hadn’t intended to make fun of you. After all, you’re the president, aren’t you?”

“…That right there is what I’d call teasing.”

Asukai smiled even more broadly, and Tosuke became even more sullen. But when he happened to turn his head toward the canvasses that Asukai had piled up against the wall, his eyes lit up.

“Ah, those are your pictures, right? Can I take a look?”

No sooner than had he cheerily finished asking, he was already touching them.

“Oh, they’re nothing special.” Asukai was a little embarrassed.

“Hmmm. A girl, huh?”

“No, it’s a picture of a ghost,” he said quietly.

But Tosuke, deeply entranced by the painting, didn’t give much thought to the other man’s words, and openly voiced his opinion.

“It’s an unusual painting, huh? It’s pretty, but you can’t tell what the girl’s thinking. What kind of person was the model?”

“I didn’t know very well myself. I don’t think I could fully understand what it was that she was thinking.”

“Oh yeah?” said Tosuke, moving on to the next painting. That was when his face broke into a smile.

“Aha. Now the girl in this one, I understand.”

“Hm?”

“Jin, you like this girl, don’t you?”

It wasn’t a question, but an affirmation. Asukai was a little lost for words.

“…What makes you think that?”

“Not ‘think’. I know.” Tosuke nodded to himself in agreement. “You didn’t draw this one using a model for reference, did you? You drew her from memory. That’s why I feel your honest wishes through it. You were thinking of how wonderful it would be if you could soothe her pain.”

“………”

Asukai, having been read like a book, couldn’t hide his surprise. This was the second time someone had been on the mark about something only he knew, and in both cases, they had been amateurs when it came to art. The first was a very intelligent girl, and now it was Tosuke. But he believed that the two of them had no connection with one another.

(Suema Kazuko… There was something about her that was similar to me, so her, I can understand, but in Kigawa Tosuke’s case, it can’t be because of talent or emotional sensitivity.)

Just as Asukai’s surprise had begun to wear off, he felt fear crawling up his spine. Could it be that his power was like the thing that once controlled him…?

“Kigawa-san, you-”

“Tosuke. I told you.”

He’d been told off, but this time Asukai corrected himself and asked him again without any teasing.

“Tosuke. You…haven’t met a black, shinigami-like figure, have you?”

“Huh? What now?”

“So you haven’t met him?” Asukai insisted.

“What are you talking about?” Tosuke was perplexed.

“Because if you have,” Asukai said with a sigh, “you might need to prepare yourself. You’ll likely be considered an ‘enemy of the world.’”

“The ‘world’…?” Tosuke frowned. This was the third time he’d heard that word being used in this strange fashion. Teratsuki Kyouichirou had said it not long ago when he asked him “Don’t you feel like showing your talents to the world?” And the very first time…

* * * * *

“Tosuke, I’ve become painfully aware of the fact that the world is a place made up of envy and hatred.” Kigawa Norisuke had said this after he’d come home looking disgusted and had greedily finished off Tosuke’s ice cream.

“Something’s happened, hasn’t it? You’ve got a lot on your plate.”

Tosuke was used to this, so his reply was somewhat flippant. To which Norisuke chuckled to himself and returned to his usual self.

“By now, you must more or less understand from watching the television and all that what it’s like outside. Tell me, Tosuke, what do you think of the world?”

“Dunno. I don’t know much about it. And I’m not sure that I really want to.” Tosuke spoke somewhat indifferently, and the old man smiled at his perhaps innocent attitude.

“If only everyone could be like you. From the bottom of my heart, I dream that humans could live in a world where they only had to think of delicious things. Wonderful things.” The old man narrowed his eyes, as if Tosuke were a brilliant light before him. Tosuke dished out another helping of ice cream, paying no particular heed to the old man’s rambling.

“Tosuke, you mustn’t go outside. It’s an ugly place out there, filled with dreadful things. I refuse to let those things poison you. But…” The old man sighed, much like he always did. “I can’t help but think I’ve been monopolizing you like this. Is there some way of letting you outside? It would have to be a way guaranteed to prevent you from ruining your beauty. What to do…”

Just as he finished another sigh, Tosuke’s new creation was placed on the table.

“Oho. You made another one? But this is…” The old man looked happy but observed the ice cream with a critical eye.

“Yep. This one’s matcha flavor.”

“You know I’m not keen on these peculiar Japanese things.” The old man’s preference was Italian gelato.

“Come on, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. I didn’t just pick a Japanese flavor without good reason,” said Tosuke with a wink.

Suspiciously, the old man raised the ice cream to his lips, and a cry of awe slipped out.

“Ohhh! This is…!” It was a familiar scene, with a familiar exchange. But now, the spoon that the old man held paused in mid-air.

“I was naïve. Anything you touch really does turn into something wonderful, doesn’t it? It’s like magic. It would be a such a shame to smother that talent… Or perhaps, you just might be able to turn all the ugly things into something wonderful. But…if you do that, then you’ll…” He shut his mouth here. It wasn’t like him, and Tosuke peered at his face.

“What’s wrong?” he inquired.

“…Tosuke, do you remember the other day, when I said that the world was made up of lies?”

“Yeah.”

“When the time comes for you to go outside, those lies will likely try to control you and use you…and you won’t be able to do anything about it. When I found you, my treasure, I discovered what it truly means to be happy. But what about you?” The old man gazed at Tosuke with sad eyes. Tosuke was perplexed.

“Though you would be able to make others happy, your own personal happiness may be out of reach… I can’t help but feel it is so. Maybe that is your destiny. After all, your talent’s worth can only be equalled by that of the world.

TL Notes for ACT.3 part 2