Holmes of Kyoto: Volume 16 [Complete]

  Part 1

  Part 2

  Part 3

  Part 4

  Part 5

  Part 6

  Part 7

  Part 8

  The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Life is a journey, so everyone is a tourist.”

  Life is sometimes compared to a journey. We grow through various encounters and experiences, and the scenery before our eyes is constantly changing. Some paths are smooth and easy to take, some are dead ends, and sometimes one can’t even tell where they’re walking. What should one do when they get lost in the forest?

  This is a story of how we come to a standstill over trivial matters, struggle with indecision, and learn from the experience.

  Prologue

  The trees lining the street outside the window were vividly colored. It was already November, the time of year when fall had settled in and one could sense winter’s approach.

  Time flies. The four seasons had passed in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it, I—Aoi Mashiro—was about to enter the winter of my second year of university. My schoolmates were starting to prepare for the upcoming job-hunting season. I knew I had to think about it too, but now just wasn’t the time. I couldn’t focus on studying or job hunting when my thoughts were fully occupied by the exhibition. I’d been tasked with planning one for counterfeiter-turned-painter Ensho (real name Shinya Sugawara), and it was on my mind twenty-four seven—even right now, as I was having lunch with my best friend, Kaori Miyashita, in our university’s cafeteria.

  I sighed.

  Kaori, who was sitting across the table from me, frowned apologetically. “Oh, you don’t want to?”

  “Huh?” I looked up at her. “Sorry, I was spacing out.”

  Instead of being angry, she laughed and said, “I figured you weren’t listening.”

  The toasted sandwich in front of me had already grown cold, while Kaori was almost finished with her pasta.

  “You know how the flower arranging club’s on hiatus?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” I said, ready to pay attention.

  The flower arranging club had originally been founded by students two years our senior, with Kaori being the youngest member. It had become mostly inactive because the older students had been busy with a lot of things, and they had decided to make the school festival the other day—the Nakaragi Festival—their last club activity before quitting. Since no younger members had joined, Kaori was now the only member.

  I was more like a temporary member who attended occasionally, and Kaori wasn’t so attached to the club that she’d try to recruit new members in earnest. After all, flower arranging was something one could do on their own. It made more sense to try new activities while we were still students, so we were visiting various clubs and experiencing different things.

  That was how I ended up joining the pottery club. I got really into it—after making the mug and the teacup, I was also making small plates, flowerpots, and whatnot. The shapes had room for improvement, but I was told that the colors were coming out nicely—still within the realm of an amateur, of course, but the compliment made me feel good about myself, so I diligently continued to make new items.

  “A group was recently formed at our university called the Make Kyoto More Beautiful Project, or KyoMore for short,” said Kaori. “Why don’t you join too, Aoi?”

  I couldn’t give her a response right away. I had my hands full with the exhibition. Even if I had time, I didn’t have the mental capacity.

  “Did you already join?” I asked.

  “Yeah, sort of. Haruhiko’s the project leader, so it’s more like I’m helping him out.”

  “Oh, I see.” So Haruhiko’s involved.

  Haruhiko Kajiwara was the younger brother of a popular actor that Holmes and I were friends with, Akihito Kajiwara. He and Kaori had grown close while I was in New York. Apparently they’d hit it off; they often did things together as of late.

  “You and Haruhiko really are close, huh?” I said.

  “We’re both Kamen Rider fans, so yeah,” Kaori said nonchalantly.

  “Right.” I laughed.

  “Do you watch it, Aoi?”

  “My younger brother liked it, but I preferred shows with girl fighters, like PreCure and Sailor Moon. I even used to see the stage plays. I really looked up to those characters because they were so cute and powerful.” I remembered being obsessed with watching Sailor Moon reruns.

  “Oh, I liked those too. I guess I just like everything,” Kaori murmured to herself.

  I smiled. “Well, anyway, since it’s your Kamen Rider buddy leading the KyoMore project, I’m sure he’ll be accommodating.” He does seem like he’d take my situation into consideration.

  Still, Haruhiko sure was active these days. He was part of the pottery club too, and the other day, he and Kaori had acted as extras in Akihito’s TV drama.

  “Now that I think about it, Haruhiko’s involved in a lot of things, isn’t he?” I asked.

  “Yeah.” Kaori nodded and folded her arms. “He suddenly started doing a bunch of things. I wondered why too, so I asked him, and he said he wants to try different things while he’s still a student. I think there’s more to it than that, though.”

  “Like what?”

  “I feel like it has to have something to do with his breakup,” she said quietly.

  I gave a silent nod. Until recently, Haruhiko had been going out with Akari Meguro, a member of the flower arranging club. However, their relationship had ended with him getting dumped.

  “Before it happened, he sensed that Meguro was avoiding him and picked up some new hobbies to distract himself from his fears. And in the end, they broke up, right? So I think he’s drowning his sorrows by being even more active. Poor guy.”

  “Kaori, are you, um, interested in him?” I asked softly, curious.

  She burst out laughing. “No way. It’s not like that. Why would you think that?”

  “Well...because you seem to get along really well.”

  “We’re just on the same wavelength, that’s all. It’s not love, though. I’ve never met someone like him, where I’m not conscious of him being a guy.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep.” She nodded. “Haruhiko’s older than us, but he feels like a younger brother. He doesn’t make my heart race at all, which is why it’s easy to hang out with him. That’s not love, right?”

  “I guess.”

  Haruhiko did have a younger brother vibe. He was like a puppy; you could feel at ease around him.

  I dropped the subject and returned to the original topic. “What kinds of things does the KyoMore project do?”

  “We just started up, so we haven’t done much yet, but we cleaned up litter in the streets a few times. The other day, we picked up garbage at the Kamo River and had a picnic—without leaving our own trash, of course. Not very exciting, huh?” Kaori laughed.

  I shook my head. “Actually, I think that’s really nice.”

  I sometimes noticed litter while walking along the Kamo River. I would’ve liked to pick it up, but it’s difficult when you aren’t prepared for it. Students taking the initiative to clean up garbage would surely have a positive impact on the neighborhood, and it seemed like an activity I could participate in on a casual basis.

  “I think I’d be able to help with that,” I said. “I do have work, though...”

  “You don’t have to push yourself. He said you can just join in when you’re free.”

  “I can do that.” I nodded. “I might end up being a ghost member, though.”

  “That’s totally fine. Great, if you’re around, it’ll be more fun for me too.”

  “Same.” I smiled.

  Kaori looked relieved. “Good. You seem happier now.”

  “Huh? Was I not happy?”

  “You’ve been sighing a lot lately.”

  “Oh.” I shrugged. Have I really been sighing that much?

  “Did something happen with Holmes?”

  “No, not at all.” I laughed. “It’s not because of him.”

  “Oh, okay.” Her expression relaxed.

  Thinking about it, Kaori always tended to worry about my relationship with Holmes. When a couple is together for a long time, issues are bound to come up. The same went for us, but we overcame them, and as a result, our relationship was stable. Also, it wasn’t as if I had told Kaori the details of what had happened, so I was curious as to why she was always concerned about us.

  “Does our relationship seem that rocky?” I asked.

  Kaori hummed and tilted her head. “I’m not really sure. Sometimes you look stable like a married couple, but sometimes you surprise me with something suddenly happening. I don’t know how to explain it. I mean, I don’t understand Holmes that well in the first place.”

  Her words were vague, but I got the gist of what she was saying.

  Kaori then lowered the tone of her voice and said, “He’s really attractive and he probably meets a lot of people. I thought you might be worried.”

  “Worried?”

  Holmes did have an eye-catching appearance. He had handsome features, and he was tall and stylish. Sometimes, when we were walking around, women would clearly turn to look at him. In the past, I thought he was completely out of my reach. It wouldn’t be surprising if I felt insecure, but...

  “I don’t think I’m that worried... Well, it does happen, b