CH 72

Place of Memories

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

Last Saturday of Golden Week.

Tsugumi was sitting on a bench at the meeting place, staring uncomfortably at the ground. It was because when he looked up, he made unusual eye contact with passersby.

It felt like they were watching him. …They didn’t even call out to him, but he wondered if his disguise was still too lax.

With this in mind, Tsugumi looked at his attire.

He was wearing a pair of colored glasses given to him by Mebuki and a newsboy cap. He bought a set of clothes worn by a mannequin, so the outfit shouldn’t be that funny. He tilted his head inward, but no correct answer came out.

–During this time, Tsugumi was completely unaware, it wasn’t his appearance or his clothes that were attracting people’s attention, but the atmosphere around him.

His body had lost some unnecessary fat due to the strengthening of his vessel, but it did not lose its softness, and his slender arms and legs were well-proportioned, reminding one of a supple black cat. There was also a strange sensuality in his laid-back appearance.

Even if his face was hidden, there was something about Tsugumi that drew the eye. It might be easier to understand by describing the atmosphere as celebrity-like.

Unaware of such a thing, Tsugumi looked at his cell phone idly, looking away from the gazes, and suddenly felt something approaching him from behind. Then he was lightly tapped on the shoulder.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Tsugumi-kun! Did you wait long?”

“No, I haven’t waited that long, but…?”

Tsugumi looked up diagonally and opened his mouth wide. He pointed to the person who had approached him and said in a surprised voice.

“Eh, are you really Suzushiro?”

Suzushiro had twin tails hair, large red-rimmed glasses, a white blouse with a black cardigan over it, and a navy blue flared skirt. No matter how he looked at it, she looked like a lovely, innocent young lady. It was too different from her usual atmosphere that his brain couldn’t recognize her at a quick glance.

“That’s right! Hehe, does it suit me?”

“It looks good on you and you look cute, but I’m a little surprised… One outfit can change the impression so much. …Um, could it be that the person behind you is Mibu?”

He called out fearfully. Then, a short boy behind Suzushiro smiled.

“Good answer! You’re watching very carefully.”

Saying that, Mibu leaped in front of Tsugumi.

She wore a light gray shirt with laced cuffs, a sleeveless vest and tie, plaid short pants, and long boots. With her bangs parted to hide one eye and half of her face and a navy blue beret on her head, she looked like a cute little boy.

In terms of their clothing, when standing side by side with Suzushiro, they looked like siblings.

“Ran-chan prepared everything for me, but this is a boy’s outfit, huh? I don’t know much about that kind of thing, does it suit me?”

“It looks good on you. …I think you’ll be more popular than me. My senior in particular is going to really like it.”

A small smile crossed Tsugumi’s face as he pictured Mebuki happily taking care of Mibu in her boyish form.

However, in this situation, their disguises shouldn’t be revealed. The two of them looked quite different from their usual lively appearance, and they had a calm and sophisticated air. It was unlikely that they would be recognized as members of Rikka-no, Jukka, at a quick glance.

…But he felt the two of them were attracting a lot of attention, perhaps because the facial deviation value jumped up now that these two were here. It would be safer to leave early.

“I didn’t specifically ask, but where are you planning to go?”

When Tsugumi said this to change the subject, Suzushiro answered happily, smiling.

“Of course, we’re going to ‘Tenma Amusement Park’ for revenge!”

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

After a cab ride, Tsugumi and the others arrived in front of the Amusement Park.

–The Amusement Park. It was the place where they had met and fought together. He had heard that it had reopened for business in mid-April, but he never expected to visit this place again with these two people.

They bought a free pass ticket and entered the Amusement Park. Although it was the middle of a holiday weekend, the park was sparsely populated and didn’t look too crowded.

…The accident at the opening of the Amusement Park was probably still lingering in the air. Japanese people believed in bad omens. No matter how accidental it was, there was no doubt that it left a bad impression. However, in terms of avoiding the crowds, this might be a good place to go.

With the help of the two happy people who seemed to be having fun, he cruised through the Amusement Park attractions one by one in turn. When he visited in February, there wasn’t much time to look around, but it seemed there was a rather interesting selection of things to do.

A high-speed spinning coffee cup and a roller coaster that ran upside down. A haunted house based on the Cthulhu Mythos and a merry-go-round with strangely realistic horses.

…There were a lot of specialties, with all these eye-catching attractions, it would have been quite popular if it weren’t for the accident. It was really just bad luck that it had become a place for an irregularity to occur.

While giving a hearty cheer to the Amusement Park management, Tsugumi wandered around the park as he was swept away by the two. Some of the rides were tried more than once. They kept moving almost nonstop so it was quite painful.

But for Tsugumi, who was tired of the daily hardships, today’s outing was truly refreshing. Seeing the two of them enjoying the Amusement Park with carefree smiles on their faces, he felt as if his dirty mind was being purified.

He had other friends besides Yukitaka, but they were all twisted in some way, and many of them had strong habits. So it was a refreshing change to be around pure people like these two.

After the three of them played around the sparsely populated Amusement Park like young children, they watched the setting sun from the Ferris wheel then Mibu whispered to him.

“Come to think of it, I think this might be the first time I’ve forgotten all things about Magical Girls and feel this excited. …Thanks, both of you, for today. And Ran-chan, you brought me all the way here because I was concerned about this place, right?”

When Mibu said this, Suzushiro took off her glasses and smiled.

“Yuri-chan, you were pretty disappointed after the accident. I thought you were really looking forward to the Amusement Park. There didn’t seem to be many people coming to the Park yet, so I thought it would be a good time for us to go out.”

“Oh, it was a lot of fun as I expected! I feel like I’m human again for the first time in a long time.”

To Mibu who said such a thing, Tsugumi opened his mouth with a wry smile.

“Don’t say that. Is the job of government’s Magical Girl really that tough?”

“Hmmm. It’s more because of the way I’ve been treated by the people around me. The people in the government, the other Magical Girls, and the general public all see me as ‘a blade that kills Demonic Beasts’. I don’t mind that, but even I want to complain once in a while. I’m still a human being, after all.”

When Mibu said this, he couldn’t say anything. This was because until he got to know Mibu and started talking to her, he had been thinking the same thing.

–Even Magical Girls have hearts and feelings. They weren’t just idols who fight against Demonic Beasts and smiled at the world, but they were also proper human beings. No one wanted to recognize such an obvious fact. This was probably the biggest distortion that this affluent country was facing.

“Yuri-chan…”

Suzushiro raised a concerned voice. In response, Mibu answered in a quiet voice.

“–I have only been diligently honing the art of killing Demonic Beasts. That was all I had, and I didn’t need anything else. But then, by chance, I started working with Ran-chan, and I made a kindred friend named Tsugumi. And then we would break away from the framework of being Magical Girls and have a conversation about nothing else. I never knew that it could bring such peace of mind.”

Mibu smiled beautifully as she said this.

“Nezha–my contract God told me. I’ve become a lot more human these days. This is all thanks to the two of you.”

“…I’m not doing anything special.”

Aside from this, Tsugumi didn’t take any particular action. It was just a normal response, the same as he would give to his classmates or to Yukitaka. He didn’t do anything to be thanked in this way. But Mibu shook his head at Tsugumi’s response.

“That’s not true. Tsugumi treated me not as a Magical Girl, but just as ‘Mibu Yurie’. That’s enough to save me.”

“Is that what it is?”

When Tsugumi curiously twisted his head, Mibu answered, cowering her shoulders.　

“That’s how it is. …Tsugumi is not suited for that kind of dullness. You should reflect on that.”

“Eh, why do you raise the topic and then drop it… Isn’t that terrible? Hey, what do you think, Suzushiro?”

Then Tsugumi looked at Suzushiro next to him and was startled.

“Wait, oi, why are you crying. Are you okay?”

Holding her mouth with both hands, Suzushiro shed large tears as she tried to hold back her sobs. The drops of tears trailed down her hands and wet her cuffs. Suzushiro then stood up and hugged Mibu tightly. The gondola of the Ferris wheel swayed greatly with the force of the hug.

“I-I love you too, Yuri-chan! I’m really happy that we became friends like this!”

“Ra-Ran-chan?”

Suzushiro said in a tearful voice as the embraced Mibu wandered her hands around in dismay.

“Yuri-chan is always happy to listen to my stories and is so much fun to be with! Next to God, you’re my favorite! …I really wish we had gotten to know each other sooner.”

-I would have felt more comfortable working in the government if I had done so. Saying this, Suzushiro strengthened the strength of both hands that embraced her. Mibu looked puzzled, but also somewhat happy.

Watching this heartwarming scene, Tsugumi thought of his own friend, Yukitaka. It was no exaggeration to say that Yukitaka and Tsugumi were best friends, but they had never been so open and honest with each other. It might be because they were both men, but at the core of their relationship, they were somewhat cold.

–There was a line that Yukitaka didn’t allow to step over-Until now, he had never thought about it, but when he saw them embracing in front of him, Tsugumi felt a little pain in his heart. He pretended not to notice it and drove the thought from the corner of his mind.

I have to talk properly with Yukitaka someday. But it seemed that now was not the time to think about it.

After hugging Mibu, Suzushiro held on to her for a while, then suddenly let go of her hand, stood up, and sat down next to him. Wiping her eyes with her cuffs, Suzushiro looked at Tsugumi and said.

“I like Tsugumi-kun too. Next to Yuri-chan.”

“Eh, thank you…”

Suzushiro’s sudden words made his cheeks redden involuntarily.

…He knew that she didn’t him as a man and just liked him as a friend, but he was still embarrassed.

“I also consider the two of you as important friends.”

Tsugumi answered with a smile. While the debate raged on as to whether friendship existed between men and women, Tsugumi couldn’t develop romantic feelings for either of them. They were indeed two lovely girls, but he was afraid to look at them that way.

For these two people, he felt a sense of undeveloped childishness in their hearts. Perhaps it was the result of having spent so much time as Magical Girls. He felt sorry to have such feelings for these two people who were waiting for such innocence like baby birds.

–If I have younger sisters, it probably would have been like this.

Thinking about this, Tsugumi smiled gently. He could understand a little bit Shiro’s desire for an older sister and a younger brother.

And so the three of them exited the Ferris wheel with a friendly air, and they left the Amusement Park. Since they were going in different directions on their way home, they split up at the station.

When they parted, Suzushiro took his hand and said, “Let’s play together again!” Waving his hands behind their backs as they headed for the ticket gates of the other train line, Tsugumi thought absentmindedly.

–I wonder what those two would think if they know that Nanase Tsugumi is “Hagakure Sakura”.

Would they feel choked up about the deception? Or, more likely, would they be disappointed and dislike him? His heart sank a little when he thought about it.

“One day I will have to take responsibility for this silence. …Until then, not yet.”

–He still wanted to enjoy this lukewarm happiness.

◆　◆　◆

–In a cafe inside the train station, Suzushiro and Mibu were sitting facing each other.

Sipping a cold cup of coffee, Mibu said.

“Tsugumi is really a strange guy.”

“Yuri-chan. I don’t think you should say it like that.”

Suzushiro warned her, Mibu didn’t care and continued to speak.

“It’s only been a few months since we met, but he stands next to us with a natural look on his face as if he had been like that from the very beginning. It’s strange. I don’t hate it.”

“Certainly, Tsugumi-kun is like that.”

As she answered, Suzushiro remembered the first time she met Tsugumi.

They had run around in the maze together because of the circumstance, holding hands and waiting for the Demonic Beast to come up the stairs. -That time, Suzushiro really had no intention of telling him about God.

But without realizing it, she had told him about her situation as if it were spilling out of her mouth. Perhaps she subconsciously thought that he would listen without making fun of her.

Tsugumi had such a mysterious charm that he soaked into the gaps in people’s hearts. In retrospect, she might have forced the exchange of contacts in the hospital because she didn’t want to break this relationship.

–Both Suzushiro and Mibu were different in kind, but they had a lot of distortion. The fanaticism toward God and the urge to cut down. Tsugumi didn’t change his attitude in any way when he later heard about Mibu’s situation. He accepted it as a matter of course as if it was natural.

In addition to that, Tsugumi did not treat the two of them in any special way. The two of them who had the power of Rikka were in a position to be favored by those around them. When they first exchanged contact information, he was a little reserved, but after that, he treated them like normal friends, without being flirtatious.

He also made silly jokes and complained about school. The other day, when he suddenly sent a video of his classmates doing something stupid, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Recalling that time, with a small smile on her face, Suzushiro said what she had been thinking for some time.

“You know, maybe Tsugumi-kun doesn’t have feelings of ‘jealousy’. I think that’s why he can look at any person as an equal.”

To a greater or lesser degree, humans had a propensity to envy others. When they saw someone better than them, they became envious, jealous, and smoldering with a sense of inferiority. But she never saw any sign of it in Tsugumi. It was better to think of it as a function missing from the beginning, rather than as a human being.

So Tsugumi could treat them ‘normally’ as if it were natural, even if both of them were great, strong, or warped.

“Yeah. Is that why he’s not afraid of us, I wonder.”

“It’s just a guess.”

However, it was very pleasant to communicate with Tsugumi without such negative emotions involved. Mibu probably felt the same way.

“Ah. I wish Tsugumi-kun was a girl.”

“Why?”

Mibu questioned Suzushiro’s words with a curious look. Suzushiro’s lips twitched in dissatisfaction, and she put both of her elbows on the desk.

“If he gets a girlfriend or something, she wouldn’t be happy about it. You don’t want him to be in trouble, right?”

“Hmmm. I don’t think you need to worry about that for a while. …A half-baked woman can’t overcome that older sister wall, right?”

“Ah, maybe…”

Although Tsugumi himself wouldn’t admit it, he had a ridiculous sister complex. His first priority was his own sister – Chidori. That was the one thing that probably would never change, no matter what.

When he talked about Chidori, he looked happier than she’d ever seen him before. That alone showed how much he cared about his sister. As long as Chidori was around, no one could be number one for Tsugumi.

–When she thought of this, Suzushiro’s chest pricked up.

“…Hmm, huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

Mibu called out in concern to Suzushiro, who suddenly clutched her chest. Suzushiro gave a small shake of her head and said with a troubled laugh.

“No. It’s nothing.”

And so the two of them enjoyed their last time on holiday, exchanging their impressions of the Amusement Park with each other. Tomorrow, another day of killing Demonic Beasts awaited them. But for now, they wanted to remain oblivious.

After parting with Mibu a while later, Suzushiro gently patted her left chest and twisted her head curiously.

What was the pain in her chest at that time, she wondered. Right now, no one knew what that faint feeling was.