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With soil on his face and sweat on his brow, the boy hoisted the last potted tree up onto the shelf in the greenhouse. In three rows were tiny, mature trees that have been refined over the years to be such gorgeous things. Miniature glimpses into life, a representation of nature’s majesty, a monument to effort and beauty. A forest of bonsai.
“Whew… that’s the last of them,” the boy said to himself, stretching out his shoulders.
Not only was that the last of the bonsai, that was the last of his chores for the day too. He swept the floors, wiped down the shop counter, watered the newer trees, brought in bags of new soil, and took a total of 45 bonsai trees out from the chilly outdoors into the lush greenhouse. He was drained of all energy, but since he had newly found time…
He could get some training in.
Hey, maybe he could! He could refine his craft! He could learn the little tricks of the trade! He could learn more about how to make a real bonsai that someone would buy like what his master does! He ran to the storage closet for gloves, trimmers, wires, everything-
“Izuku!!”
Izuku skidded on his heels when an old, gruff voice yelled from outside the greenhouse. He called back, “Y-Yeah!?”
“We have a customer, get to it!!”
Izuku groaned to himself. Just as he got some free time, he had to do another thing for his lazy master. “R-Right, sir.” And he sulked out of the greenhouse closet to attend to their customer.
Customers were rare for their business, Gran Torino Bonsai, for two big reasons. First, the shop was high in the mountains of Japan, at least an hour drive from the nearest big city. The small town the shop was in had a few similar places like the Shiozaki Vineyard and a mushroom farm, but those were a lot more touristy than the traditional bonsai shop.
The second reason is that these bonsai trees were madly expensive. The cheapest came to about fifty thousand yen. That was more than Izuku had in his entire savings account.
Disregarding his poverty, Izuku shivered in the small yard between the greenhouse and the back of the shop. Mountains peeked up over the fences, snow-covered peaks rising above the little plateau the shop stood on. Winter frost still lingered on the ground, and the small pond in the corner of the yard was frozen over. The sun gave a breath of warmth, but Izuku could still see his racing breath billow out after carrying all those pots. He sighed and melted when he walked into the warm store.
Hardwood from normal-sized trees lined the pristine floors that Izuku swept earlier. Not a speck of soil could be found, not even near the rows of display bonsai trees. The trees were lined up perfectly with the bright light of the windows. Where there weren’t windows in the wall, traditional scroll paintings added to the aesthetic. With all the additional shop supplies matching the warm wood, it was the perfect place for a girl with a fluffy black ponytail to loiter in.
A very, very pretty girl with a hand on her chin as she contemplated over one of the display trees.
Izuku was frozen stiff for a moment, and it wasn’t from the temperature. He needed nine whole seconds to recover from her stunning looks and do his job. “Ahem- Uh- Hello! Welcome to Gran Torino Bonsai!”
The girl looked over her shoulder. The fuzzy hood on her jacket blocked her lower face, but her eyes were bright in the window light. “Oh, hello! Are you Mr. Torino?”
“Eh? N-No, I’m just his assistant, Izuku.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Uh. Yeah.”
The girl turned to face him, and Izuku chewed on his lips. The first thing he noticed was that she was taller than him. Standing next to her and looking up, even as she wore a kind look, made him shrivel and shy away. The second thing was that she was in front of one of the more extravagant displays, with three little trees shading a frozen pond. The kind of display that attracted either middle-class people who could only dream of a centrepiece like that or an aristocrat who needed an extra bauble in their mansion. The third was that she was even prettier up close.
Izuku swallowed and put his hands into his jacket pockets, the sleeves halfway up his toned forearms. “Erm, so, do you need any help, miss? I’m more than happy to help you with anything you need!”
“I’m here to pick up an order, for one ‘Nijuu Yaoyorozu.’ I’m just admiring the plants right now,” she admitted. “They’re quite stunning, I must say.”
“Ah! Thanks- I-I’ll get right on that order!” Izuku bowed and scrambled over to the shop counter to pull out a number of papers and forms. His frenetic fingers rifled through them as he muttered to himself. “Order, order… Y’s… Ya’s… A-hah! Got your order, Miss Nijuu!”
The girl tilted her head with a queer look, then she put her hands up. “Oops! Oh, um, that’s my mother actually. I’m Momo.”
Izuku went crimson and hid his face behind the papers in hand. “O-Oh! My apologies.”
“It’s okay, you didn’t know.” Momo smiled and continued to linger around the trees, specifically in the back corner where she would hunch over and get a close look at the young bonsai.
Izuku peeked over the papers and studied her for a moment before going back to his job, filling out lines and boxes in the paperwork to confirm the order. It took him a while normally because he didn’t have the tact for boring filing, but it took even longer this time because he kept looking back at her and what Momo was doing. She had to be knowledgeable in bonsai to have such an attentive and focused eye on the plants in the corner. The back corner, where his own-
“Izuku!”
“Eep-!” Izuku jolted when the gravelly voice of Mr. Torino rasped in the shop.
A tiny figure stood in the doorway to the winter weather outside, a yellow scarf flapping in the wind from the air pressure. Mr. Torino frowned and ambled over with his cane. “Have you helped this young lady yet? Or do I have to teach you your manners again!?”
“I-I have!”
“Mm. Good. You’re improving, kid.”
Basking in his master’s praise was a rare but welcome feeling. It reminded him of all the work he’d done as well as his plans for today. Maybe he could still get that training in. Izuku inhaled and decided to shoot his shot. “Um, sir, I’ve done all the chores today. Do you think after we serve this customer, you could teach me some more about bonsai, like with your special projects?”
“Patience, kid. I’ve got my own work to do too.” Mr. Torino immediately shot him down.
“Yes, sir…” he mumbled, retreating behind the counter.
It stung in the slightest, but Izuku understood. The art of bonsai was demanding, and his master wasn’t getting any younger. But he wanted at least one special project to start; all his work had been with the baby trees and the simple sets with a single tree that could handle an amateur’s impatience. He wasn’t impatient!
Mr. Torino grumbled and pulled up a step stool beside Izuku to reach the papers on the counter. He put one foot on the bottom rung, then the other on the same rung, then again on the next rung, and again, and again until he reached the top. Izuku had half a mind to pick him up like a child to get on with it, but he just grimaced and gave Momo a reassuring yet pained look, who observed them.
“Mmm… This is the order for the Yaoyorozu family, eh?” Mr. Torino asked rhetorically with the order form in hand. He signed something off and made a few notes, then he side-eyed his assistant. “Well? What are you waiting for? Go get the lady’s bonsai, you dolt! Lot 36!”
Izuku snapped to attention. “Y-Yes, sir!” And he leapt over the counter and ran outside.
Of course, the weather pierced through his jacket and into his core. It bit at his bare ears and nose. But he had a job to do, so he bustled across the yard without a moment to reflect on the cold. However, when he arrived at the greenhouse, he didn’t go into the main greenhouse where the new plants were; he went for the other door locked up by padlock and chain.
Past the door were the special projects he mentioned: old bonsai. The masterpieces, the magnum opuses of not only his master but his master’s masters. Tiny trees painstakingly cared for over years, decades, centuries… There were even a few from the turn of the millennium—and no, not this millennium. Though ancient, they were all breathtaking in their unique way. Living works of art, as Mr. Torino would say.
Izuku walked past centuries-old bonsai trees and searched. “Lot 36, Lot 36… oh.”
In Lot 36 wasn’t a bonsai tree but a whole bonsai dreamscape. The wide pot held rocky soil and three tall stones reminiscent of the mountains outside with extra crags in the cliffs. All around the three ethereal mountains were the bonsai trees, some sprouting from the pebbles below, some with roots tangled up on the cliff face, but all with ancient bark and fragile leaves. Vines crawling all around the scene added to the mysticism. Just staring at it took Izuku into the past. Who first designed this piece? What were they imagining? How much work did they put into each tree? Did they ever expect their work to come this far, or to be sold?
His wide eyes trailed down to the appraised value on the price tag. Thirty-five million yen. That snapped him out of his trance.
“Oh jeez,” he muttered to himself as he remembered how far he had to take the potted plant. He took a deep breath and limbered up. “Okay.”
It took a while for Izuku to properly grip the pot with his relatively short arms. He strained and gritted his teeth, and veins and tendons bulged in his arms and neck as the bonsai rocked off the greenhouse shelf and onto his hips. The weight of the bonsai staggered him and forced his body weight to his heels, but he stayed upright. This bonsai had to stay perfect for their customer! Their pretty, pretty customer…
With surging strength, Izuku trudged out of the greenhouse and brought the bonsai through the cold weather and back into the store flawlessly.
Mr. Torino and Momo were discussing the last part of the contract—probably the payment—as Izuku plodded by. Momo had to do a double take, and she gasped. “Oh my goodness! Do you need help!?”
“N-Nah. I’m g-good!”
Despite his protests, Izuku felt the wind as Momo ran past him and opened the front door for him. He could make out her awestricken face between the tall trees and rocks in the pot when he passed. “Into the truck, please!” she added.
Right outside was a black pickup truck of a luxury brand Izuku didn’t recognise. He waddled along the side and found the flatbed and its special straps for secure transport. With all his might, he heaved the bonsai dreamscape up and onto the flatbed, ready for its trip to its new home.
As he caught his breath off to the side, Momo climbed up and strapped the expensive set down then hopped over to him. “That was quite impressive, Izuku.”
“Hah, thanks… Gotta be patient with these bonsai, until you gotta pick them up!” he chuckled. His laughs stirred her to laugh too, and she giggled into her fuzzy coat. Izuku checked the bonsai in the truck then looked up at her. “Will you need help with this when you get back home, ma’am?”
“No, my mother has security guards who can do that. I should have brought them along so you didn’t have to go through all that trouble—sorry—but I’d hate to come up here to this quaint little place and bring all that bustle.”
“You don’t need to apologise, I’m happy to help!”
Momo couldn’t hold back the smile in her words. “Oh, you’re too kind!”
Izuku repaid the smile in kind with a toothy grin. For a brief moment, he felt like he was within the scene of the bonsai he just carried. Like he was sitting under a tree at the peak of the mountain, alone with the girl in front of her. While Momo’s smile relaxed, he studied every inch of her.
“Well, I’ll take my leave now,” she said not after long. “Thank you very much, Izuku.” She bowed her head and looked back at the shop. “Oh, and thank you too, Gran Torino!”
“Thank you for supporting the arts!” Mr. Torino replied from the doorway. The geezer was on cloud nine from the sale.
Momo gave him a bow too, then she gave the apprentice a small wave. “See you later,” she added before climbing into the driver’s side of the pickup and departing down the mountain.
Izuku watched the taillights disappear in the hills and sighed with his hot breath billowing out into the cold air. “Later, Momo…”
Not only was that the most lucrative deal he had seen at the shop, but the sight of Momo breathed something into his soul. Her hair, her skin, her poise, her smile; she enchanted him with courage and inspiration.
He turned to his master and tried again. “Um, sir? I know you said no, but could we do some more training? Maybe I could start a new project?”
Mr. Torino glared at him from the doorway for at least nine seconds. But, he then smiled in his muppet-like way and stepped outside. “Sure, kid. Go get your tools and a sapling, then wait for me. I need some taiyaki first.”
Izuku could hardly believe his ears! “Ah! Yes, sir!” he squeaked as he sprinted through the shop and to the greenhouse.
He nearly collided with the closet door before looting it of its contents. Gardening gloves, snippers, pliers, wires, spray bottle, tweezers, anything he might need for caring for a tree. He clutched it all in his arms and went to the special greenhouse to set up a new bonsai among the ancient specimens. Soon, the grass-stained working desk was covered in tools and displayed a young bonsai in a tiny pot right in the middle.
The jitters helped him ignore the cold, even if he kept shivering. He was so excited! A new project! This could be his lasting impression on the world, a project passed on to his apprentices in years to come. A magnum opus of his very own. It could sell for millions, billions, of yen! It could be a totally unique, abstract tree that transcends the art of bonsai. No longer a representation of nature, but a representation of the soul… Of a beautiful, feminine soul.
The aroma of soil and his bubbling thoughts bewitched him. He couldn’t start yet—his master commanded him to wait—so he just stared, letting his mind drift on the possibilities.
Centred on the tree, all his thoughts reflected fair skin, gleaming smiles, black fluffy hair…
It was dark when Mr. Torino came back.
The old man had closed up the shop and came into the stuffy greenhouse with crumbs on his cheeks. He noticed Izuku at the work desk with all the tools ready, which sparked a twinge of guilt in him. It didn’t last long though. His cane clacked on the floor, and he gently kicked Izuku’s chair. “Hey, kid. How are you doing?”
Izuku said nothing.
“Hmph. Don’t give me the silent treatment, kid, I didn’t forget about you. This was just a test for your patience, and I think you passed,” Mr. Torino hastily admitted. There was still no response. “Uh, kid? Did you hear me?”
Izuku nodded, eyes tracing the abstract ideas in his head onto the little tree’s potential shape.
Mr. Torino leaned over to analyse Izuku’s hypnotised eyes. Then he nodded too. “An old man’s gotta rest, but a young man’s gotta create. Get your gloves on, Izuku, let’s get to it.”
The tree was the most beautiful creation Izuku had ever made. He nurtured, trimmed, watered, guided, and cared for the tree every day, and it now held its shape as a full-fledged bonsai: it grew up and out like the smoke from a volcano, its bark was a light shade of coffee and remained unblemished, its juniper leaves budded just like the trees on the mountain, and one large branch hung off the right side of the main trunk with leaves waterfalling down back to the square pot. To an ignorant observer, Izuku had captured a tree from the spirit realm, brought it back, and shrunk it down.
The apprentice spritzed water a final time, causing droplets of water to form on the mini leaves. He then spritzed his own sweaty face and rubbed it dry with a cloth over his shoulder. The greenhouse was stifling, but his work was done. Izuku carefully picked up the bonsai and stepped outside into the summer sun.
The past six months had been fruitful for his work, to say the least. Mr. Torino and he had delved deep into the gardening books, bought new tools for grooming the trees, and met with other bonsai enthusiasts to share secrets of the trade. All that work had brought them into the scorching hot Japanese summer months.
Izuku looked up to the blinding sun and squinted. His freckled arm instinctively came up to block the rays of sunlight from his eyes, and his skin already sizzled. Even his bonsai shrivelled away from the intense light. Izuku speedwalked into the shade of the store and sighed at the incredible comfort of the A/C inside.
Nothing had changed inside the shop; it was still as pristine as ever. Display trees lined the walls, windows let rays of sun pierce the air, and there was not a speck of dust or soil anywhere on the hardwood surfaces. Izuku adored the place and the trees, and he had one more to add. He placed his project as the centrepiece to his little corner in the back of the shop.
Izuku cooed to himself as he stepped back and admired his bonsai grove. Weeks, months, years had gone into it all, into the pinnacle of his work. And it was magnificent!
This hot day could not get any better, he mused.
Then the front door opened and someone gasped. “Izuku!? Hello!”
Izuku spun around at his name and glowed brighter than the sun when he saw, “Momo!? Hey!”
There she was, in a tight t-shirt and short shorts but with the same ponytail that he saw in the winter. This was the first time in his youthful career he met a customer returning to the store. It was probably weird to be so excited to see a familiar face, but he couldn’t control himself; he ran up to her with big grins on both their faces.
As his stomach turned into knots from looking up at her again, his brain miraculously worked. “I remember helping you out with that order! Uh, Lot 36 for Yaoyorozu! Did it get home all safe? Is it on display?”
She nodded and smiled in that familiar way. “Yes, it’s all safe, and it’s now at the front of our foyer! It’s cared for by the maids, everyone loves it, guests always praise it, it’s really the best thing-”
“Izuku!!”
Momo jumped at the voice roaring from the back door, and Izuku groaned petulantly and shouted back. “Yes, sir?”
“We have a customer, get to it!!”
“I’m already in the shop! I’m talking to her now!”
“...Oh. Keep at it, kid.”
“Yes, sir,” he huffed. His petulant pout curled back up into a smile sooner than he expected. Momo was an exceptionally easy customer to tend to. “So, uh, is there anything I can help you with today, Miss Momo?”
“Yes, actually. I don’t have an order, but I was looking to purchase a bonsai for myself. Not for my family or my house, just for my room and for me.” She scanned the room of bonsai trees. “Are these all available for purchase?”
“Of course! They’re display trees, but any one of them can be bought for you and your room!”
“Wonderful!”
Not a moment later, Momo was zooming all around the shop to check out each tree individually. She dared not to touch them, but her eyes studied each bonsai. Perhaps not to spot imperfections but rather to find what spoke to her. Izuku let her be, standing behind the counter ready to serve her every whim. He almost envied her for the chance to interview all the longstanding bonsai for then first- err, second time.
There were no chores left for today, so Izuku simply lounged and watched Momo as she got closer and closer to the back corner where his new project sat amongst his older works. In fact, after each tree, Momo sped up her examinations as she got closer to the corner. She actually skipped a handful to get there faster.
Izuku held his breath as she narrowed in on the corner. “Oh my goodness…” she muttered, walking closer to the centre bonsai.
“No way…” Izuku muttered back. Momo stared at his latest project.
Momo was staring at his latest project!
When Izuku trimmed the leaves of that bonsai, watered and cleaned that bonsai, potted, wired, and shaped that bonsai, he had the very girl staring at it in his thoughts. It was a tad bit perverse to recall, but it was true. And God forbid, if she chose that one for her room, he wouldn’t know what-
“This one. It’s this one.”
Izuku audibly squealed. He then cleared his throat and pretended nothing happened. “Ahem- um- Of course!”
Momo hid her grin behind her hand. “I like this one a lot. It’s perfect. I’ll definitely buy it. Is it new?”
“Yes, that’s, uh… That’s my latest project, actually.”
Momo nodded sagely and studied the plant a little more. “It’s wonderful. You did a good job, Izuku.”
By now, Izuku looked sunburnt. It was a lot to take in! But, he controlled himself. “T-Thank you, Momo. Here, I’ll get it ready for you-”
Izuku got everything ready for the purchase. He slalomed around the counter, brought the tree back, tidied it up to perfection, and began considering cost. At that moment, Mr. Torino ambled in on his walker—he had to get rid of his cane after a nasty fall. “Eh? Yaoyorozu again? Another order?”
“No, sir. She’s buying one of the display trees.”
“Really? That’s gonna be at least forty thousand yen.”
“That’s okay!” Momo replied. “I’m ready to pay however much for all the effort put into these trees!”
Mr. Torino hummed and smiled. Even Izuku felt seen by her. Rich people admiring the arts is a wondrous thing. Izuku tallied up the cost and gave Momo a form to sign for the deal. She signed it right away. Izuku sighed as well, and Mr. Torino made the slow climb up to the counter and signed at the very bottom of the page.
“Hey, kid,” the old man whispered. “It’s your tree, so this is your money. Keep it.”
“What? R-Really!?” Izuku gawked and almost teared up. “Thank you, sir…”
“No Problem. It’s a pleasure doing business again, Miss Yaoyorozu!”
“Pleasure doing business!” Momo bowed kindly. “Erm, do you think you could take this out to my car, Izuku? It’s not as bad as last time, right?”
Izuku didn’t even need to respond. He already had his special bonsai in his arms and was halfway to the door.
Momo’s pickup was waiting out front. Unlike the last bonsai she bought, this one was small enough to fit in the exquisite cab and not the flatbed in the back. A glance back at Momo leaving the shop behind him confirmed that he could sit the bonsai in the front with her.
With the bonsai buckled up in the passenger seat of the pickup truck, Momo bowed again. “Thank you so much!”
“No! Thank you!” Izuku bowed right back.
They continued this game of thanking and bowing for a couple minutes until Momo finally caved. “Well, thank you, and I should be going now. But…”
Izuku tilted his head to look up at her in his bow. “Yes?”
“I don’t know how to take care of a bonsai tree, even after all the studying I’ve done. Do you think you could… help me with it, maybe?”
Izuku stood up as his eyes widened. “H-Help you!? Y-Yes! Of course! It is still a young tree, after all.” His eyes flickered between her excited eyes and, like that day in the winter, shot his shot. “Maybe we could talk it over with some tea? Maybe?”
Momo giggled. “That would be great. I’ll see you then.” And with one final flirty wave, she hopped up into the cab of the pickup and drove away.
Izuku watched the taillights disappear over the hill and half-smiled for the greatest day of his life.