Chapter 3: 1.1

Chapter 1: Art is not a pleasure trip; it is a battle

Translated by 64990022
Edited by Storm, Fen01lalune

 

Chapter 1: Art is not a pleasure trip; it is a battle

 

Part 1

 

 

I had always been fighting against an overwhelming force called talent.  

 

After Utako moved away, I had been with the “genius”, Kashiwazaki Yuri ever since.

 

After that incident back in the sixth grade, she had lost the will to draw. In the past four years, she has only completed a few pictures, none of which by her own will. Despite my efforts, my paintings were still nowhere near as good as hers. Didn’t matter whether it’s competition results, acknowledgements, or anything, she was always better. 

 

“I want to be popular…”

 

Yuri suddenly muttered in the six tatami mat sized room – Yuri Kashiwazaki, “genius” who now completely betrayed both expectation and envy from others, looked at Seino and me in exasperation. 

[TN:6 tatami mats = 9.72 square meters, 104.6 square feet]

 

“It’s Sunday, and I can’t stand the thought of sitting in Marina’s room reading manga. Really, I want to go on a date with a handsome man that will make everyone envious.”

 

“You’re insulting me, aren’t you?” 

 

Seino, the owner of this room and the one who offered Yuri the manga, raised her eyebrows. Despite that, Yuri continued reading the manga with a nonchalant look on her face, completely disregarding Seino’s angry voice. She was an artistic genius, but that didn’t stop her from being eccentric. As far as memory served, she had been called “unique” and “weird” by many people. 

 

And the one who said the earlier remark was Marina Seino. She was a friend who started hanging out with Yuri in high school and became close to me as a byproduct. She was a self-proclaimed gal who likes to dress in flashy outfits despite her innocent sounding name. 

 

But in reality, she was just a normal girl in this rural town, just a little flashy looking and trendy…No, maybe a bit unordinary. The fact that after being pushed around by Yuri, she still chose to hang out with her was a peculiarity. Perhaps she was a masochist of some sort.

 

After she had finished venting her anger on Yuri, Seino said a parting remark. 

 

“At the very least, a woman who comes to someone’s house and just starts reading manga couldn’t be popular, I can tell you that.”

 

“Hoh? You said what? Well, let’s go outside. We’re going to do a reverse pickup.”

 

She grinned and raised the corner of her mouth as if to say she had come up with an interesting activity. She snapped the manga close and sat up. 

 

“What?! Reverse pickup?! Wait! We can’t just call out a random guy.”

 

“Well, let’s lower the difficulty level. Let’s attack the guys who are on their way home from club practice.”

 

It was a common scene of Yuri making a ridiculous suggestion to the reluctant Seino. But with the word “attack”, it didn’t sound like a pickup to me anymore…

 

“It’s even worse if they’re guys who know us!  They’ll think you’re either a freak or a pervert if you suddenly try to pick them up!”

 

“You’ve got no guts at all. Then who will even work for you?”

 

“If it’s the guy closest to you?” The two of them turned their gaze towards me at the same time. “Komiya is acceptable, and he should fit the definition of a pickup, wouldn’t he?”

 

“No, not Sousuke. By the way, why are you even here?”

 

“You are the one who called me here?!”

 

This was the way Yuri treated me. And I didn’t treat her like a woman either, which was fine. But I didn’t think I’d be able to stand straight again if it was Utako who said something like that to me. 

 

“Well, I don’t feel the slightest attraction to him as a man, but he can be a good training ground. Come on, get up. Try being useful for a change.”

 

“Do you really think I’m going to go along after just being told that?”

 

“Ugh, I already know that you are annoying. Well, I’m postponing the reverse pickup for a time being. For now, I must study the mind of men. I’m sure you have some shojo manga for reference.”

 

A sigh escaped my lips when I saw Yuri rummaging through the manga in the bookshelf. What a talent wasted. If only I could use this time to be in front of a canvas, I was sure I would be able to create a decent painting. God of art, please give me the same talent you gave this lass. I would definitely put it to good use. 

 

“I’m going home now. I’m starting to have a headache.”

 

“Is that so? Oh, Sosuke. I called you here today to give you this, here.”

 

What Yuri handed me was a ticket to Shohei Kawabe’s solo exhibition at the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art. He was a famous oil painter from Hokkaido. And since the exhibition was being held nearby, I was already considering visiting at least once. 

 

“Really? I can have it?”

 

“Yeah. It was a gift from the director, but I’m not interested at all.”

 

“I’m sure you understand, the director gave you this ticket because he wanted you to come. Is it really something you can just give me?”

 

Yuri completely ignored my words and started reading the manga in her hand. It was a bad habit of hers to run away at the first sign of any unpleasant or troublesome things. 

 

“I mean, why don’t you just give it to him at school tomorrow? Do you really have to come all the way to my house on Sunday just for this?”

 

“Don’t you know, Marina. Sosuke here has been our obedient errand boy all along.”

 

Suddenly, it all made sense. It was true that all these snacks and juices that these guys were feasting on were things that I bought from the convenience store, all by Yuri’s order.  

 

“Oh, I see… Or rather, it was so subtle that I didn’t notice. I’m sorry, Komiya. I know you are a good guy, but you can’t keep being Yuri’s slave forever, you know?”

 

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

 

It’s not that I was a person who couldn’t say no when asked to do something, but rather I didn’t notice that I was being used in the first place. I had never been good at swimming with the tide.

 

Even so, I had worked hard and diligently on not just what I wanted to do, But also what I didn’t want to do, and what I had to do. It’s not that I was looking for any return, but if I were allowed to ask for one thing, I…

 

No matter what kind of pictures I draw, it was just a painting of an ordinary person.

 

I wanted to become an even better painter than Kashiwazaki Yuri herself.

 

***

 

Yuri and I used to play together since we were little.

 

Seeing how much I loved to draw even as a preschooler, my parents started sending me to the only art class in the city when I entered elementary school. It wasn’t because they wanted me to become a painter in the future or anything like that, but out of pure parental love for their son to do what he loved.

 

That was the first time I saw art materials, the first time I was taught how to draw by a kind and skilled teacher. I was getting better and better at drawing as time passed. I still now remembered how much I looked forward to the weekly class day. 

　

On the other hand, Yuri’s mother, who was worried about her restless child, decided to send Yuri to class too after hearing from my mother. She seemed to have been considering sending Yuri to art classes for a while, since Yuri’s drawings were better than average, but decided against it because of her fickle nature. But then she seemed to change her mind once again when she heard that I also went to art class. Perhaps it was because she thought that having a friend could be a reason for Yuri to keep on drawing.

 

When her mother forced her to come to the school for the trial class, she had been fuming that she didn’t want to learn anything. But when she saw the oil painting book in the instructor’s waiting room, she immediately became entranced. 

 

And then, despite having no experience with oil painting, Yuri had painted a better apple than anyone else in the classroom, even better than me who had been taking the class three months prior.

 

I still remembered the look of astonishment on the teacher’s face at that moment. The look of excitement and anticipation in her eyes, as if she had found a treasure trove. A look of admiration that she never showed to any of us.

[TN:The teacher’s gender isn’t mentioned, only referred to as teacher. ‘She’ here is just an assumption]

 

Yuri seemed to enjoy the class and soon decided to enroll. After that day, the two of us drew countless pictures. When my teacher saw my drawings, she would say, “You’re very good at staying true to the basics, good job”. In fact, I was confident that I was better than other kids my age, and I even won prizes when I submitted my work to competitions. 

 

However, it was always Yuri who drew the pictures of higher appraisal, and it was Yuri who drew the pictures that people would remember, pictures that stuck in people’s minds. Whenever people tried to describe her talent in words, “genius” was the only fitting expression. It was used to a point of being a cliché, a common, yet inevitable expression.

 

Ten years had passed since then, and I had changed my class to the exam course for art school. While I was still going to painting classes, Yuri quitted right when she graduated from junior high school. But even now that she’s gone, the teacher’s eyes continue to follow her. Maybe this feeling of inferiority had been there since that day, her first day at the art class.

 

The reason I was reminiscing about the past on a weekday morning must be because the steam rising from my cup of hot cocoa, soothing me, bringing forth those memories. It was as if the cocoa was trying to lure me back into the world of sleep. With effort, I got up and opened the door, saying, “I’m off.”

 

The moment I left the house, I was driven awake by the piercing coldness. 

 

It was November, and the first snowfall had already been confirmed. For a high school boy living in a snow country, there was a famous trick to get a hairdo without waxing; just put a little water on your hair and go to school as it was. However, what kind of hairdo you get depends solely on the direction of the wind that day, and furthermore, the effect wears off once you go indoors. 

 

I walked the long way to school, along the large sidewalk that had been cleared of snow. Then I was called out when I was passing the front of the staff room. 

 

“Good morning, Komiya, is Kashiwazaki coming to club activities today?”

 

The one who called me was Hiiragi-sensei, the advisor of the art club that we belong to. The school we attend, Maiei High School, was said to be one of the top three schools in Hokkaido, with a high rate of students entering former imperial universities and famous private universities every year. There were also classes called the “Advanced Course” where the top students were gathered, but unfortunately, there was none for the art department. 

You are reading story Blue Outline at novel35.com

 

Despite this, the art club that Hiiragi-sensei advised had many members, coming from all over Hokkaido, and ranging from students who simply like to draw to those who were serious about pursuing a career in the field of art.

 

This was because Hiiragi-sensei was a renowned painter in the art world, a heretic who had been painting in Paris since graduating from art school because he despised the Japanese competition system. He only came back to his hometown, Maimori City ten years ago to take care of his parents. It was no wonder why so many people wanted to join the Maiei High School Art Club, so that they could be taught by such a great painter. 

 

In particular, oil painting was Hiiragi-sensei’s specialty. Many of his students had won prizes in various competitions of this theme… Besides Yuri, who refused to draw any pictures and thus didn’t contribute to the statistics. 

No matter the students’ enthusiasm, Hiiragi-sensei had a reputation for his ability to develop their personalities and teach them to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses. However, when it came to Yuri, he left all the decision making to me. 

 

“I don’t know. And why do you have to ask me every time…”

 

I answered without hiding my displeasure, only for him to laugh at.

 

“Well, because you’re her boyfriend, aren’t you?”

 

“You already know that I’m not. Aren’t you an advisor, why not just try advicing something to her?”

 

“If I gave her the wrong advice, it would only make the matter worse. You should know that. If anything, you’re my best shot at this.”

 

I sighed, then said “Got it. You want me to ask her about the Koji Competition right? I’ll tell her.”

 

The Koji Exhibition Competition, a famous open competition accepting high school students and older. There were no restrictions in terms of theme and technique used, as long as it was two-dimensional. It was said that anyone who wanted to become a painter, to go to art school, or just wanted to test their own ability should try it at least once.

 

The oil painting that I submitted last year didn’t win any prizes, it wasn’t even nominated.

 

“Oh, thanks a lot. Hmm… since she didn’t participate last year, I really want her to this year… Well then, Komiya, I’m counting on you!”

 

Hiiragi-sensei patted me on the shoulder and left. I let out a sigh as I watched his back.

 

For the past few years, Yuri had no enthusiasm or whatsoever for creative activities. Only in the second and third years of junior high school did she really try her hand on summer school assignments, but that was just to get into Maiei High School, the closest and the most convenient for commuting. 

 

It was like a well-planned crime. As if on schedule, she won the grand prize in the student art competition for two year in a row and was accepted into the high school by that merit.

 

But there was one thing she miscalculated. She must have planned to just screw around, but because she was accepted by her art portfolio, she had no choice but to enter the art club.

 

Well, it was only natural, wasn’t it?

 

In the end, it’s not like Yuri had any admiration for Hiiragi-sensei nor wanted to be taught by him. Every time I remembered that there were people who had been in tears when they knew they weren’t accepted, a childhood friend or not, there was no way I wasn’t indignant.

 

More than anything, she had been willing to break her promise with Utako without any reluctance. That was unacceptable.

 

When I entered the classroom, Yuri was merrilly chatting away with Seino.

 

Seino had auburn hair and piercings, a combo clearly violating school regulations, and a layer of makeup to add. And besides her was Yuri, with her long hair she kept because of her laziness to go to the hair salon, her big catlike eyes, and the corners of her mouth that would twerk up mockingly. Two opposite styles, yet oddly fitted together. The ability of humans to adapt and get used to their environment was frightening.

 

“Yuri, Hiiragi-sensei wants to know whether you will participate in the Koji Competition. He really wants you to enter this year, since last year you didn’t.”

 

I was just acting as a messenger, yet Yuri didn’t spare me from that look of complete disgust.

 

“Hmm? Oh, it’s okay, not that I mind. I’d like to go to a mixer too, Marina. Take me,” said Yuri, completely disregarding me.

 

“A mixer?! Don’t tell me you seriously think that you know how to be popular just because you spent yesterday reading shoujo manga?” I interjected. 

 

Seino let out an exasperated sigh. “Mixer? Hmm… I think there’s one upcoming… Usually I wouldn’t invite someone prettier, but if it’s Yuri… No, especially someone as eccentric as Yuri. There’s no way you’d not sour the mood,” she mumbled.

 

“Haha, are you envious of me? I won’t blame you, Marina. You and I are of different levels of femininity.”

 

“Where does that confidence come from?! Whatever, I give up. I’m going to a karaoke with the guys from Wada Industries around next month, tag along if you want to”

  

 

I was surprised to see that Seino had backed down. I didn’t expect her to actually take Yuri with her. 

 

“Are you all right? You’re really taking her with you?”

“It’s just too much trouble telling her not to. I’m not in the mood to argue. And it would be quicker to just show Yuri the reality.”

 

Once Yuri had made up her mind, she wouldn’t budge, leaving no room for compromise. That was a fact that I, who have known her for a long time or anyone who knew her enough, understood.

 

During a summer break when she was ten years old, she once decided that she wanted to live a “self-sufficient life”, so she camped out in a nearby mountain. 

 

Everyone, including me, thought that she would get bored within a day and would return, but she never came back.

 

Panicked, her parents went into the mountain to search for her, only to find her enjoying fishing with her makeshift fishing rod. In the end, Yuri enjoyed a life of survival for four whole days until she finally gave in to the cries and begging of her parents. 

[TN: A bizarre girl indeed…]

 

In the winter when she was fourteen, Yuri planned to hitchhike to Tokyo and actually carried it out. She didn’t tell anyone about the plan, knowing well that we would definitely disapprove. Consequently, it led to a huge commotion, even involving the police. The fiasco came to an end when Yuri was found ravenously devouring Nama Yatsuhashi samples at a tourist spot in Kyoto. Yuri’s energy and recklessness brought her not only to Tokyo but even to Kyoto. It even became a hot topic nationwide at that time.

[TN: Wait, she did what now?!]

[TN: Nama Yatsuhashi, one of Kyoto’s famous mochi-like souvenir snack]

 

I was amazed and tired of this stupid, stubborn and crazy Yuri, but I find her interesting and… stimulating… to be with her, although it was true that it was taxing, it wasn’t something I cannot handle. It was probably the same story for Seino, which was why they hang out together even though they are of different types.

 

However, I really felt sorry for Seino when I thought about the amount of mental suffering she needed to endure at the mixer.

 

“But I’m still concerned…It’s as if I’m throwing a wild uncontrollable beast into a crowd of people… Yuri, I can’t make you behave properly, I have already given up on that… But still, at least don’t pick fights or use any violence. Do you understand? There are some guys from the Wada Industry who are interested in me, so at least please behave for my sake, will you?” Seino warned with a strong tone, looking into Yuri’s eyes. 

 

“I know, I know. I’m going to spend that day as a graceful Yu-chan, no need to fret about it.” She said, seemingly in a very good mood.

 

I had never seen Yuri this relaxed before, and I did not think I ever would. My eyes met with Seino. We both shrugged, probably thinking the same thing. 

 

“You surely don’t know how to choose your man, Marina. I can teach you a thing or two.”

 

“What? Why are you suddenly acting so high and mighty? You say I don’t know how to choose my man, but you don’t even know a single thing about my lovelife!”

 

“I don’t know, but I have some guesses. It could be a flirtatious, neutral looking guy, or a guy who looks a little badass but has good manners and says his hobby is dancing, or a band member who’s obviously gobbling up his fans.”

 

“How can you be so malicious in your predictions? I’ve been crushing on the tough looking guy from “The Fishmen” lately.” 

 

“The Fishmen” was a young comedian duo that was currently on the rise, and I had heard that they’re rapidly gaining popularity among women. The world seemed a smaller place than you might have thought when you found out that someone close to you was one of the world’s influencers. 

[TN: In the original version, the duo was called “フィッシュマン” which was treansliteration of “Fisherman”, but for the sake of grammar I changed it to “The Fishermen”]

[TN: It seems that The Fishermen lives in Maimori, and will be a relevant character later]

 

“They are funny and I don’t hate them or anything, but… you’re following the trend. Next year you’ll have forgotten their name.”

 

“Oh, shut up! I think they are cool, so don’t judge me, will you?! Then what about you, what kind of guy is your type, Yuri?”

 

I didn’t have the slightest bit of romantic feelings towards Yuri, but I was genuinely curious to know what kind of man this eccentric woman would prefer as we had never talked about such things before. 

 

In response to Seino’s question, Yuri merely interjected, “Hmm.”

 

“I’d like someone who doesn’t complain about what I do… and gives me lots of money when I ask for it.”

 

“That’s just an ATM! I don’t think you’re capable of loving someone!” I said. That kind of answer deserved a retort.

 

“By the way… Since they say they’re coming in three, I want to take another girl with me… I wonder who I should invite.”

 

Grinning, Yuri caught Seino’s hand as she reached for her phone. 

 

“I’m fine with any girl. I don’t care who you bring, they won’t steal any attention from me.”

 

“Is your eyesight bad or something? Go look at yourself in the mirror!”

 

I remembered that when Yuri won a prize in a realistic painting competition, she was described as having extremely observative eyesight. However, that excellent eyesight seemed to only be effective when she was painting, so I couldn’t say for sure… 

 

Anyway, objectively speaking, Yuri might be more attractive than average. But because we had been together for so long, my judgment would not be accurate.

 

“Hey, Yuri. I know it’s your first, but you’ll be disappointed if you get carried away by that enthusiasm of yours, you know?” 

 

“I won’t be swayed even with that ‘I know it all’ tone, you know?”

 

Teasing people and sticking tongue out at people like a kid, no one would have believed if we were to introduce her as a genius painter.

 

I let out a sigh as I looked at Yuri. Smiling happily and wasting her life away, her talent deserved better than this.

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