Chapter 30: Kuzuo Kuzuhara and Talent

It was at the transition between elementary and junior high, a period when the personalities of each kid start to form when Kuzuhara Kuzuo fully awakened.

I had inherited my father’s photographic memory and my mother’s superhuman body. With a base as strong as that, I got these unique skills and was on top.

As a result, I unknowingly hurt everyone around me.

“When I’m playing basketball with Kuzuhara I feel… Miserable.”

“I… I quit piano already. No matter how much I try, I’ll never beat that genius.”

“Wasted effort, huh… Looking at you, I can’t help but feel everything I’ve done is useless.”

I could do anything, no matter what it was.

One look, and I could learn anything.
One look, and I could imitate anything.
One look, and it was all over.

Eventually, I was all alone, rotting away.

My eyes, originally slanted, became even more muddy and stagnant. Everything I did, everything I saw in this world was tasteless and dry.

Wasted efforts…? You’re absolutely right.

This is an unfair world. Everything is decided by talent, which is something no one has control over and is decided at birth.

Over time, my ideology had hardened into a passive, overly-rational, results-oriented philosophy.

And I hated myself for being such a cold person, even though I couldn’t really help it.

One day, however, I met the real thing. My dad forced me to go to a violin concert with this girl.

… Tsk.

I was flabbergasted. Speechless.

Technically, she was still immature, and I could definitely play better than her… But there was a real tonal brilliance to the performance. She had the power to move people’s hearts in a way I, the fake one, couldn’t.

I’m sure she’s been working hard ever since those days in elementary and is way better than me now.

… A place that you can never achieve by normal means. A place where you can find this “Wasted effort” I’ve been bashing all along.

But I’m… Also here…

I wanted to change.
I had to change.

From that point on, my previously black and white world began taking color.

“—Ho, ho? How was your performance, miss?”

“… Tanaka-san.”

The path was already set.

“Huh?! Big bro, you’re going to Hakuou High School?”

“Huh…? Dad, are you not giving me the entrance fees?”

“Everything is free when you’re at the top.”

The path was shady with no sunlight.

“Kuzuo Kuzuhara…? Ah, there was someone like that, right?”

“Look, it’s that inconspicuous boy. He’s got bad grades and he’s not a good athlete. How did he get here?”

I put on the mask of an inferior student in order to be inconspicuous and not to hurt the other people around me as I’ve always done in the past.

And then—

“—I want to be pampered.”

With those words, I decided I’d support the growing little bird, the real genius, until the day its wings could spread over the entire world.

I will witness with these rotten eyes of mine the moment, the very second when my wasted efforts would come to fruition. Only then would my warped philosophy, this passive and overly-rational curse, rightly crumble away.

But well… Human nature doesn’t change easily, right?

At this very moment, the words that popped into my mind were “wasted efforts”.

That phrase brought an attitude that belittled effort, distorted the mind, and corrupted the process of thinking itself.

I haven’t changed at all, not even a sliver since the day I decided I’d change.

… But the fact is, it’s pretty hard to overtake Abashiri when he’s so far ahead…

And above all, it was strictly against my way of doing things to stand out in such a big crowd.

But…

And yet…

“Kuzuhara-kun, you can do it!”

With her cheering, I might as well try.

I’ll walk the path of these “wasted efforts”

Whew… I’m sure my muscles with be sore tomorrow.

And finally, I kicked the ground with gusto, using all my strength.