Hagakure Sakura Does Not Lament

Edited by LyraDhani

Tsugumi let out a small sigh at the door of the student guidance office.

The morning’s call seemed unreasonable, but on second thought, even Tsugumi had a lot on his mind. Perhaps it was just a revelation of something he’d done. He was depressed about what was going to happen next. But if he ran away, he’d be suspended from school in a heartbeat.

“Excuse me…”

Tsugumi said so, and opened the door to the guidance counselor’s office with reluctance.

“Oh, you’re here. Sit in that chair for now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kisara, who was waiting for him in the room, further pointed to a seat. He had no complaints, so he quietly followed the instructions.

“I don’t want to go into details, but I’d like you to take that thing in your breast pocket and put it out here.”

“…What?”

The sudden words stopped him in his tracks. Did he have something strange in his breast pocket? To be clear, Tsugumi had no idea what it was.

Perhaps annoyed at his absentmindedness, Kisara rushed him with a strong tone, “Get on with it.”

Mysteriously, Tsugumi fished around in his breast pocket. He then touched something rough, and at that moment, he remembered what it was.

–It was a good-luck charm given to him by Suzune-sensei.

Come to think of it, he had forgotten that he had left it here. Thinking about it again, the fact that his life was saved just in time might have been due in part to the blessing of this amulet.

As he thought about this, Tsugumi put the amulet out on the desk. It was a gift from the teacher, so there shouldn’t be any problems. That’s what he thought.

But that naive thought was scattered on the desk.

–Ah, maybe this is dangerous.

“This is… –What the hell did you do?”

Kisara looked astonished and stared at the amulet on his desk. This might be it. The amulet was so stained with blood that it was immediately recognizable. The gold embroidery and the white cord were cruelly discolored reddish black, although it’s not that noticeable since the original was black.

In all likelihood, it must have been attached to Tsugumi when he was almost killed. He was caught off guard because the uniform had been completely restored. It never occurred to him that this thing wouldn’t be the same as it was then.

…No matter how you look at it, this thing reek of crime, doesn’t it? From the blood-stained amulet, it even looked like one person might be dead.

It was Tsugumi’s blood, but it wasn’t clear whether or not Kisara would believe that this was incidental. There’s only one way to go about this.

“I think I may have spilled my drink. Oh, this was given to me by Suzune-sensei, so I apologize for making it dirty.”

Tsugumi tried to look as apologetic as possible. Because, no matter how much he was prodded, there was nothing he could talk about. Even though it was Tsugumi’s blood, there was no way he could explain it now that he wasn’t even injured. The only option left was to deceive.

“Huh? Do you really think that excuse will work?”

However, it seemed that this did not convince him. Kisara laughed at Tsugumi’s words in a moody manner.

–It’s impossible after all. Tsugumi already knew that, but he couldn’t tell the truth.

“There is no excuse or anything. In the first place, are you suggesting that I did something to cause the bloodshed? If you doubt me, you can take this to the police. Then you’ll know that I didn’t hurt anyone.”

Well, it’s Tsugumi’s blood. It might be a problem, but unless he was injured, there’d be no case. That’s why he gave such a strong response.

The standoff between Kisara and Tsugumi continues. The one who broke first was Kisara.

“Well, originally I just wanted to check on you.”

At these words, Tsugumi patted his chest in relief. It’s safe for the time being.

“You can talk to Suzune-sensei after this. –She’s the one who told me to call you in the morning… Just to be clear, don’t try anything strange.”

“…What am I supposed to do with a teacher?”

The advice was given in a very serious tone. Kisara didn’t have to worry about such things.

But what does it mean? If it was Suzune’s order to call up Tsugumi, he couldn’t see any reason other than the exchange on the way home the other day. It seemed she was worried about Tsugumi and wanted to confirm his safety.

“Oh, yes. How did you know this was in my breast pocket?”

Even Tsugumi had forgotten its existence. In particular, the pockets weren’t unnaturally bulging, or it could have been mistaken for a cigarette.

In response to Tsugumi’s question, Kisara gave a Buddhist monk’s face and a small click of his tongue.

…This man had a bad attitude even though he claimed to be a life coach. He was still popular with girls, probably because he was young and looked good, but he’s basically not well-liked by boys.

He was similar to Yukitaka in that aspect, but if Kisara heard it, he would surely get angry.

“I have a better sense of smell than most people. That’s all.”

“…I see.”

If it were Yukitaka or Akiyama here instead of Tsugumi, they would have said, “You’re like a dog, Sensei!” but he wasn’t that stupid.

Tsugumi tried to smell it, but he didn’t smell anything. It’s said that some people have a constitution that makes them hypersensitive to certain smells, and Kisara might have such a constitution.

While he was thinking about this, he saw a figure at the door of the next room.

“-Oh, I’m glad. Nanase-kun, you came.”

The door to the adjoining preparation room opened with a subdued “rattle, rattle” sound. With a relieved expression on her face, Suzune entered the student guidance room.

“Suzune. Are you feeling all right now?”

With a worried tone, Kisara asked Suzune.

“Yes. I’m fine now. I’m sorry for worrying you too, Yukari-niisan.”

Yukari-niisan–.

Tsugumi looked at Kisara with a blank expression. As he recalled, Kisara’s first name was Yukari. But many students made fun of his feminine name, and for various reasons, it was now taboo to call him by his first name. And she was that friendly about it?

…What kind of relationship do these two have?

When he was staring with such thoughts, Kisara coughed badly.

“Hey, I told you not to call me by my name at school.”

“Ah, I’m sorry…”

Suzune was surprised and immediately made a depressed face. Looking at her, it somehow looked like Kisara was doing the wrong thing.

As he watched the situation of these two teachers, Kisara turned around and said to Tsugumi.

“–Nanase. Forget what just happened. Understood?”

“What happens if I say something?”

“Your math grade will be a 1.”

“What a tyranny! …No, I’m not going to say anything. I just wanted to ask.”

What a terrible teacher. There’s no way to mix public and private.

Tsugumi felt indignant, but the grade thing was probably Kisara’s joke. He’d like to think so…

But at this rate, they wouldn’t answer his question about their relationship. It might be quicker to ask Suzune secretly later.

“Hmm. I’ll leave my seat, but I will come back later. Is that okay, Suzune-senseii?”

“Yes. Thank you, Kisara-sensei.”

Saying so, Kisara left the instruction room. Suzune sat down quietly at the seat Kisara had vacated. –She then looked at the amulet that was left on the desk and lowered her eyebrows sadly.

“Is there anything you want to ask me, Nanase-kun?”

Suzune said this to Tsugumi abruptly.

What I want to ask Suzune -There were several things. Why did she give him this amulet that day? Why did she collapse this morning? What’s her relationship with Kisara? But if he had to pick one, there was only one thing he could think of.

“Suzune-sensei, what did you think would happen to me that day?”

In hindsight, Suzune’s response at that time was too strange. It was as if she could see a future where Tsugumi was about to be killed・・・・・ Otherwise, she wouldn’t have tried so hard to give away the amulet like that.

If someone had told him that the barrier accident was Suzune’s scheme, he would have been convinced by the timing.

When Tsugumi stared at Suzune, she opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind to do something.

“Do you believe in fate, Nanase-kun?”

Saying this, Suzune smiled.