Hagakure Sakura Does Not Lament

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

Toono slowly opened her eyes after Tsugumi disappeared from the room. It wasn’t that she had fallen asleep–it was simply that she hadn’t slept well. The fact that Toono would be awakened by the faint sound of the window opening must have been unexpected for Tsugumi who had left.

Toono, staring blankly at the window with sleepy eyes, muttered.

“That child is really sweet. He’s a softy, a pushover, and can’t shake off a hand that grabs him. –And yet, why should such a righteous person have to die?”

Then Toono lowered her eyes sadly.

Nanase Tsugumi was a decent person who knew how to live a normal life. That’s why Toono felt sorry for him.

The remnants of the evil God that existed within Tsugumi. It was predicted that one day it would eat through his body and bring destruction and chaos to this Earth. No matter how it would turn out, Tsugumi wouldn’t live long.

–Yes, just like Toono Sumire.

“I still have four years to live. Once that passes, I must retire from Magical Girl and fulfill my original duties. –As the next generation’s vessel of Amaterasu.”

Saying so quietly, Toono clenched her hands in prayer.

Toono Sumire was a vessel for Amaterasu–a design baby adjusted to be a sacrifice. This was a high-ranked secret within the Ministry of Divine Worship and only the higher-ups of the Ministry knew the details of the process. This was against humanity, but it was all for a good cause.

Amaterasu’s power had been raised by the power of the people’s faith and she had become more powerful every year. Therefore, the temporary body – the low-strength spirit entity – was no longer able to control her enormous power.

If her alter ego was destroyed, the barrier would shatter, and another era of chaos would descend upon Japan. In order to prevent this, the first temporary flesh vessel was conceived. By covering the spirit entity with a body of flesh, the sorcerers of the time thought of creating armor that would shoulder the damage.

Amaterasu’s subordinate Gods, on the other hand, were delighted with the plan of the sorcerers.

For the old Gods, mikos were servants who did their bidding. To use a miko as a disposable vessel was praised as an honorable act, but they didn’t feel sorry for the miko.

This inhumane project began about 25 years ago.

–When Sakura Akane was still publicly alive, the sorcerers planned to have Sakura Akane play the role of the honored sacrifice–Amaterasu’s vessel.

It wasn’t because they had any ill will toward Sakura Akane. It was because they believed that it would be the best honor for the hero. In a sense, it was a flailing of good intentions.

But Sakura Akane escaped. And most of all, with the help of Yatagarasu, Amaterasu’s confidant.

Amaterasu made no mention of the matter. Did she forgive him or did she not care? Toono, a mere mortal, didn’t know.

The problem was there were people who were affected by her escape.

One of them was the second candidate for the vessel of Amaterasu. A beautiful woman who was an excellent sorcerer and an exceptionally talented Magical Girl. –She was Toono Sumire’s genetic mother.

After giving birth to her modified child, Toono, she immediately ended her life as a vessel of Amaterasu. …No, her body was still alive, but if her personality, soul, and everything else had been painted over by Amaterasu, then she could no longer be called alive as a human being.

And Toono, the daughter of that vessel, grew up thoroughly controlled by miko who knew the secrets.

She lived in a small world where she was not allowed to question being a sacrifice, was taken advantage of for her good looks, and was forced to assist in politics even though she didn’t want to. Thanks to this, she learned how to behave toward adults, but Toono had always been lonely.

She was praised as a noble person and was raised apart from children her own age to prevent her from harboring strange ideas. The only people who were around Toono as a child were Amaterasu fanatics with mechanical smiles and filthy adults seeking profit. Among those people, she couldn’t forgive anyone.

Perhaps taking pity on Toono, Yatagarasu asked her to become a Magical Girl when she was fifteen years old, just as ordinary people were graduating from junior high school.

…Yatagarasu must have felt guilty toward Toono for letting Sakura Akane escape.

The miko in charge of monitoring her told her to refuse. Even so, she overcame the opposition and took Yatagarasu’s hand because she wanted to know about the outside world.

–However, the world that she had so gleefully ventured out into was harsher than she had expected.

On a daily basis, her colleagues–Magical Girls–were dying and leaving with broken hearts. There were girls who spoke with her from time to time, but due to the differences in their upbringing, they were never able to become friends.

…No, to be more precise, she was jealous of them.

Unlike her, these girls were able to choose their lives as they wished. Although they were almost the same age as her, they looked so dazzling to Toono, who was already on a predetermined rail.

Toono spent a limited amount of time acting free and uninhibited while harboring gloomy thoughts. It was during this time that Yatagarasu ordered her to contact Nanase Tsugumi, a task that changed Toono’s mindset.

Like Toono, he was an unfortunate boy who was born to be a vessel of God. Although he wasn’t aware of it, his circumstances were similar to Toono’s, even the fact that his life would be scattered in a few years.

There were too many similarities to be called a coincidence. It was only natural that Toono would be interested in Tsugumi.

–When she talked to him at the movie theater, he seemed like an ordinary boy.

–When they met in the food court, she envied him for living a normal life.

–When they talked in the conference room, she refrained from saying that both of them were going to die in the near future anyway.

She called herself a friend, forced her longings on him, and acted selfishly. It didn’t matter if he hated her. No matter what Tsugumi thought of her, they would both be dead in a few years anyway. So it would be better to live without regrets.

–But then, Tsugumi took Toono’s selfish hand. That made her really happy.

A friend with a deadline. A short relationship until one of them died. If he was unlucky, Toono might have to kill Tsugumi, who had been consumed by an evil God.

“…I don’t really want to die, but I can’t do anything about it.”

She spilled out in a small voice. She would never say that kind of line when the mikos were watching, but there was no one here now.

It was not that Toono didn’t want to be Amaterasu’s vessel. Being a vessel itself was a great honor, and if it was for the good of this country, then she was convinced that it was the right thing to do. But that and the heart were two different things.

–She wanted to experience the normal life of going to karaoke with friends after school, going on trips, talking about other things, and so on, just like Tsugumi was talking about. She wanted to live freely without being bound by a mission.

But it was still a dream that wouldn’t come true. –Because it was just a dream, it looked so dazzling.

–Tsugumi was so so kind, Toono was sure he would do anything she asked.

But it wasn’t because Toono was special. It was simply because he was a good person who was kind to his friends.

Toono was fine with that. For Toono, Tsugumi was her only friend, but it wasn’t the case for him. It was a little sad, but it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t put her first.

On the other hand, Toono’s dislike for Nanase Chidori, Sakura Akane’s daughter, was, in a way, inevitable.

Because of Sakura Akane’s escape, Toono’s fate was decided even before she was born. In fact, it was admirable that she didn’t take it out on the daughter of the woman who caused it.

–But she was not happy about it. She was just one of many, but only Nanase Chidori was special to Tsugumi. He wasn’t even related to her by blood, and yet he was so brazen about it.

It was because of this dissatisfaction that she said bitterly to Tsugumi earlier, “But Chidori-san isn’t your family, right?”

“…I’m not good with that girl. Because it’s unfair that she lives happily alone.”

–I wish she would have taken over the role. Her parents were originally going to be the vessel anyway, so why not the daughter this time? Toono thought so, but she didn’t say it out loud.

She knew that if she said it out loud, she would lose the reason for her existence.

“In the end, there is nothing I can do about it now. Ha, I’m sick of it.”

No matter how much she lamented, Toono’s fate wouldn’t change. And also Tsugumi’s fate, the vessel of the evil God.

“But I’m relieved that I’m not the only one suffering like this. –Even if we both die at different times, I am sure we will meet in the Underworld soon.”

She wasn’t the only one who was being forced to endure unfairness. Just thinking about it lightened her heart a little.

That’s why, Toono thought.

In the limited time available to them, it would be fine if they loosened up a bit. Both of them would die in the near future anyway. Until then, it wouldn’t hurt to have fun like children.

“Fufu, I wonder what I should do next time. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Muttering these words, she crawled under the covers. It had been a long time since she closed her eyes with such a peaceful feeling.

As if slipping down, her consciousness sank to the bottom of the water. It didn’t take long for Toono to fall asleep.

–On the other hand, as Toono fell asleep again, Tsugumi went down to the courtyard and ran into an unexpected person.