Hagakure Sakura Does Not Lament

Chapter 58

Hell in Your Eyes

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

“At that time, I was seeing things that I should not have been able to see.”

When he told her this, Suzune laughed in relief. In contrast to Suzune, Kisana widened his eyes in surprise at Tsugumi’s words. Was he surprised that Tsugumi admitted this so easily, or was it because he actually had a unique ability?

…He didn’t know which one it was but that reaction was too much after the threatening confrontation.

Tsugumi felt something didn’t add up, but explained about the flames he had seen that day.

The first time he saw the flames was two days ago. Unlike Suzune’s threads, they could be seen or unseen, depending on his actions. He didn’t say anything about the unusual ability right away because he had so many other problems that he had completely forgotten about it. It was talked about in a way as to not provoke Suzune as much as possible.

“That’s why, I didn’t mean to say that Sensei was unreliable. You see, there was also the matter with Chidori, so I didn’t have time for consultations…”

Tsugumi concluded his explanation.

Fortunately, Suzune looked much calmer, perhaps because she had calmed down as she listened to the conversation.

–This should be all right for the time being. Tsugumi thought so, and patted his chest in relief.

Kisara, who had been silently listening to Tsugumi, held his forehead as if enduring a headache and lightly poked at Suzune.

“See, you thought too much, didn’t you?”

“What? But…”

“And I told you yesterday that it would be better to wait until things had calmed down a little more, not in the morning when there was no time.”

When Kisara told her so, Suzune suddenly looked as if she had realized something and began to be flustered. Unlike the deadly look she had earlier, she looked more like the normal Suzune.

The sudden change in the two of them puzzled Tsugumi. Just like the way Suzune acted, Kisana, who had been so intimidating, was clearly less motivated. It was strange.

“Oh, yes, that’s right. Nanase-kun was being involved in a very serious incident, and I’m also…”

Saying so, Suzune apologetically lowered her gaze. Her face was pale and shaking slightly. It was as if she was frightened of something.

“Suzune-sensei? Are you all right?”

Tsugumi, concerned, called out and tried to touch Suzune’s shoulder. But Kisara, who was standing next to her, restrained his hand.

“Nanase, you don’t have to worry about it. –Nagisa, that’s enough for today. You should wash your face once. I’ll explain the rest properly.”

“…I’ll let you do that. –Nanase-kun, I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

Dizzy, Suzune stood up and bowed deeply, lowering her eyebrows in a terribly apologetic manner. Then, without waiting for a response from Tsugumi, she left the room at a quick pace.

While Tsugumi was stunned by this unfamiliar turn of events, a can of coffee was gently offered in front of him. Reflexively, he took it.

“I’ll give it to you. Don’t tell the other students.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Kisara opened the lid of his own coffee, leaned back in his chair, and let out a loud sigh. He looked somewhat like a tired office worker.

“My bad, you have to put up through all of this in the morning.”

“I don’t mind that much… .But if it was a personal matter, you could have called me at any other time. I thought something happened.”

When Tsugumi said this in dissatisfaction, Kisara cowered his shoulders.

“I’m the one who worked hard. She would have stormed into your house last night if I hadn’t stopped her. Would you have preferred that?”

“What’s with that, I’m a little scared. …Is Suzune-sensei all right? She seemed to be acting strange.”

Then, Tsugumi looked at Kisara with trepidation. No matter how he looked at it, Suzune was acting strangely.

–Suzune’s unusually devilish act was something that could never be imagined from her usual appearance. Even Tsugumi was suspicious for a moment, wondering if it was someone else.

Kisara cowered his shoulders at Tsugumi’s question, then began to speak as if he had given up.

“She couldn’t stay put when she found out you have the same power as she does. …Suzune at times like that, acts and speaks as if she’s possessed by something. I couldn’t stop her.”

The reason why Suzune was impatient could be guessed somehow. He heard about Suzune’s ability only once, but her ability was too irredeemable.

Perhaps it wasn’t surprising that when she realized the possibility that Tsugumi had the same ability, she went berserk.

-She probably wanted a fellow victim with the same power. It was too sad of a wish.

…But the issue of Suzune’s attitude was different from the issue of Kisara’s attitude.

“Then why was Kisara-sensei being so coercive…? You were glaring at me, being very aggressive, and I felt like I was being interrogated.”

–At that time, Kisara was like a veteran interrogator. Perhaps it was because he usually treated his students roughly, but he was too imposing. If he had felt even a little sorry, he would not have had to be so coercive.

“It was true that we didn’t have time. All this unnecessary gut-wrenching state was a waste of time. Besides, I didn’t mean to glare. I haven’t slept well because of Suzune’s persuasion. It’s no wonder my eyesight is getting worse.”

Kisara said so and brushed back his bangs.

“So, are you alright? I don’t know about you, but seeing paranormal things takes a toll on the mind, doesn’t it? Suzune often collapses from it.”

“In my case, it’s because I can’t see anything unless I strongly think about it. …Now that I think about it, it’s a little different from Suzune-sensei’s ability.”

Suzune’s unique ability was different from Tsugumi’s, she wasn’t able to turn on and off her vision. Besides, no matter how visible the mortality was, it would be of no use. If it were Tsugumi that possessed this ability, he would no doubt be mentally ill by now.

Kisara smiled at Tsugumi, whose expression was clouded with this comment.

“The world she sees is hell, to put it mildly. Do you know? She doesn’t watch any old movies or dramas. When she’s in bad shape, she won’t even turn on the TV. Do you know why?”

“Old movies…? No, I don’t know.”

“Her powers apply to the dead, too. Think about it, do you enjoy watching a movie where most of the characters are wrapped around threads? Especially if you know the reason for the threads.”

Tsugumi gently pressed his mouth shut as he thought of the images of what Kisara had told him. It was too sickening. It was understandable that Kisara called it hell.

He exhaled thinly to calm himself and looked at Kisara.

“…I didn’t think it was that bad.”

“Maybe. …It may be brazen of me to say this, but please don’t blame Suzune too much. I will make her apologize again after this matter settles down. If you are still dissatisfied, I’ll try to stay out of it as much as possible.”

Kisara then bowed his head toward Tsugumi.

–Tsugumi didn’t expect Kisara, who usually treated his students with a resolute attitude, to show this kind of behavior.

“I don’t really care that much. ….But even so, why does Kisara-sensei have to go to such lengths? Even if Suzune-sensei is your childhood friend, it seems too excessive.”

-I have been thinking about this for a while, but I am not quite sure about the relationship between Kisara-sensei and Suzune-sensei.

At first, he just thought they were involved in a love affair, but Kisara-sensei treated Suzune almost like a little sister. In addition, he could sense a feeling of shame.

When Tsugumi asked him this question, Kisara looked down, let out a big sigh, and then opened his mouth.

“I’ve forced you to talk, so it’s only fair that I tell you some secrets, too. Well… let’s talk about this. She probably already told you, but Suzune had an accident when she was ten years old which, unfortunately, blossomed her unique ability. –That accident was caused by me.”

“Huh?”

“I was playing in the river with my other friends when she slipped on a rock trying to join us. If I had been a little more careful, it could have been prevented.”

“But I don’t think that’s solely Sensei’s fault.”

As far as he could tell from the story, it was simply an inadvertent mistake on Suzune’s part. However, Kisara shook his head at Tsugumi’s words

“No. I was embarrassed to act with my younger childhood friend in front of my other friends. So I took the steep path on purpose and tried to get her off my back. …That’s how it went down. Don’t laugh.”

“That’s…”

That being said, Kisara mocked himself and Tsugumi couldn’t say anything.

–It wasn’t clear who had to be blamed. Suzune probably would not have blamed Kisara either. Suffice to say, it was just bad luck.

…But Kisara wouldn’t agree with Tsugumi’s words. …In his mind, the answer had already been decided.

“Don’t worry about me and her. Besides, frankly, I think it’s harder for you. If it gets too noisy, the school will warn the students, but even then there are limits. You should also think about getting the government to protect you in the worst-case scenario. You can rely on Rikka’s ‘Yukino Shizuku’ through Suzune’s message, but you never know how things will turn out in that case. You shouldn’t expect too much.”

“So, the acquaintance Rikka mentioned before is Yukino Shizuku. There’s quite a difference in age, what kind of relationship is it?”

“She is Suzune’s relative. Well, they didn’t seem to be related by blood.”

‘Is that so?”

Yukino Shizuku was a talented Magical Girl who had jumped to second place in the latest poll. It was rumored that she had a cold personality and didn’t want to get involved with others, but what was she actually like? He was curious, but there was no point in asking that now.

When Tsugumi was honestly impressed, Kisara began to speak in an admonishing voice.

“…The only person who would notice your unusual ability just from the images would be Suzune, but don’t try to blow it up. If that causes a fuss, I won’t be able to cover for you.”

“No, I’m not going to brag it around. …Do I look that stupid?”

Even in this age of Ancient Gods, prejudice against occult abilities was strong. Many people argue that it was wrong for those besides Magical Girls – those who had not made a contract with Gods – to use supernatural powers.

In addition, due to the special nature of their abilities, if they were not careful, they might be targeted by underground organizations as research subjects. In any case, there was no other choice but to stay quiet.

Kisara smiled a little when he heard Tsugumi’s dissatisfied response.

“At least, you don’t look that smart. You didn’t do too well on last month’s test, either. You should study harder.”

“Wow, you say that here now? I am hurt…”

Tsugumi gently clutched his chest, a little shocked. It was true that he didn’t do very well on last month’s test, but he had been sick at the time.

“Hmm, it’s a joke, don’t worry about it that much. –Oh, it’s about time. You’ll be back in time for the first period, so Nanase, go back to the classroom.”

“Shouldn’t I wait for Suzune-sensei?”

“She won’t be back for a while anyway. …It’s going to take a lot of time to fix the makeup from scratch.”

Kisara let out a heavy sigh. …The words were full of wasted feeling. It might be best not to go into it too deeply.

“Then I’m going back to the classroom.”

Saying so, Tsugumi stood up from his seat and turned away from Kisara. As if it was accidental, Kisara called out to him.

“Oh. –Yes, Nanase.”

“Yes?”

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“You’re hiding something else, aren’t you?”

The hand on the door stops at his words. Tsugumi slowly turned around and opened his mouth.

“What are you talking about? There’s nothing else.”

When he answered, Kisara shook his head with a wry smile.

“No, if you have another secret, you don’t have to tell me about it. I’m not going to pursue it, and I’m not going to find out.”

Kisara laughed, saying that he owed a favor.

Tsugumi looked at him quizzically, but somehow managed to swallow his agitation. It might just be a play of trick, but he couldn’t say anything bad back.

Seeing Tsugumi at a loss for words, Kisara said in a teasing tone.

“–Be careful. You’re pretty easy to figure out.”

“…Thank you for the advice.”

Then, as Tsugumi closed the door to escape, he heard a giggle and a small laugh from inside the room. …Really, it wasn’t good for his heart.

Tsugumi walked down the hallway at a brisk pace and spat out the words as if he were really tired.

“That person really has a good intuition…”

As expected, he really had a good nose. It seemed he let it off the hook this time, but Tsugumi couldn’t let his guard down. As long as Tsugumi did not turn against Suzune, it would be fine, but he still needed to be vigilant.

–Really, this school only has troublesome people.

With this thought in mind, Tsugumi strode to his classroom – a class full of troublemakers.