CH 96

Behind the Hero

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

Sakura Akane was the name of a great hero who pioneered the Magical Girl movement. However, her background before she became a Magical Girl remained a mystery even now, more than 20 years after her death. –The reason for this was the paralysis of the administrative agencies at the time.

Just around the time when Sakura Akane started her activities as a Magical Girl, there was an incident in which part of the administrative system was destroyed by a Demonic Beast attack, and the family registers of millions of people were lost.

Taking advantage of the confusion, she abandoned her original name and began a new life under the name Sakura Akane.

Even after the government recovered its functions and Sakura Akane became a hero, she stubbornly refused to talk about her past. She kept her mouth shut when asked about her family, her relatives, where she lived as a child, and the school she attended.

By that time, the government had begun to have doubts about Sakura Akane’s origins, but since she was a peerless hero, the matter was never mentioned.

–But why did Sakura Akane hide her origins? The reason for this was probably to create a place to escape to in case of an emergency.

Asakura spoke to Nanase on the phone in a quiet voice.

“I’m sure it started out as an act of pure justice. She wanted to save those within her reach, so she took God’s hand. She even went to the trouble of changing her face in a hallucination so as not to cause trouble for her family. If only I had realized it right then… No, there’s no point in saying that.”

Asakura continued to Nanase who was silent.

“That child–She took on her mother’s maiden name, Sakura, and threw herself into the battle against the Demonic Beasts. …Foryou, it must have been a hell of a time.”

Listening to Asakura’s words, Nanase recalled the events of thirty years ago.

◆　◆　◆

–One day, Demonic Beasts suddenly appeared in the world and began to overrun everyday life. Many were optimistic at first, but it was not long before it turned into despair.

People were on the run, their hearts were gradually breaking, and the atmosphere in Japan at that time was like the apocalypse. Some wealthy people were making plans to escape from the muddy boat-like Japan. Nanase was one of them.

Nanase used all the connections and funds he had as a businessman and managed to obtain the right to travel to the United States. As Nanase was on his way back to his family to tell them the good news, he found out the true despair of his life.

When Nanase returned home, the first thing she saw was her wife lying on the floor covered in blood and her daughter’s room, which had been destroyed to the point of destruction. There was so much blood everywhere in the room that he could only assume that his daughter, Nanase Akane, had been eaten by a Demonic Beast.

Having lost his beloved wife and daughter all at once, Nanase gave up the idea of going abroad. There was nothing left that he wanted to protect by fleeing abroad. Therefore, there was no need to flee abroad–he thought so.

Eight years had passed since then. Nanase lived quietly in a village at the foot of a mountain, avoiding any contact with people.

The world was in an uproar over the death of the hero, Sakura Akane, and even in the quiet village where Nanase lived, there were strong signs of turmoil and sadness in the air.

In the midst of all this, Asakura and a woman came to visit Nanase, who had retreated to his house to escape from the troubles.

The moment Nanase saw the young woman, his faded vision turned colorful, a sensation he would never forget.

–The woman who had been brought to Nanase by Asakura – a woman who looked so much like his late wife – uttered the word “father” in a trembling voice. The moment Nanase heard those words, he stood up unsteadily and walked toward the woman. Then he slowly stood in front of the woman and embraced her with trembling hands.

–No matter how much time passed, there was no way he could have mistaken her for anyone else. His daughter–Nanase Akane–had not died.

“Ah, I am so glad you come back…!!”

Nanase forgot the presence of Asakura by her side, clung to the woman – her daughter, whom he had not seen in eight years, and began to cry. 

After the daughter, who began to cry as if being dragged along, fell asleep, Asakura, with a mysterious look on his face, began to tell the story of how she came to be.

Ten days ago. Asakura apparently found her standing there, stunned, in front of Nanase’s former home – a place that Asakura, who now lived nearby, managed.

Her appearance was so similar to Nanase’s wife that he thought it was impossible and asked her about it. She told him in an anxious voice that she was the daughter who used to live here, and told him her name. Nanase Akane – the name of her friend’s child.

Asakura took her into custody when she said she had nowhere to go, and after much discussion, he decided to bring her to the house where Nanase lived.

“…When I first found her, she was in really bad shape. There were chronic dark circles floating under her eyes and she didn’t seem to have any life in her. It breaks my heart to think of her loneliness over the past eight years.”

“Loneliness?　Do you have any idea what she’s been through?”

“Only a little. Akane-kun told me about it. …Don’t be too surprised to hear this. For the past eight years, that girl has been on the front lines as a Magical Girl. Under the disguise of her own name, Sakura Akane.”

“Sakura Akane? What are you talking about, Asakura? That girl and Akane have completely different faces, don’t they? Besides, Sakura Akane died just recently. Don’t joke with me!”

Nanase shouted angrily and Asakura shook his head.

“It seems that her face had been transformed into another human being with the help of God. Sakura Akane’s martyrdom was faked with the help of the contract God. -In the first place, the premise is wrong, Nanase. Sakura Akane died, that’s why she was able to come here.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Sakura Akane was rightly a ‘hero’. If Sakura Akane, as a hero, made a move, she would surely somehow take care of the situation, no matter how difficult it might be. We unconsciously thought so. The adults around her – the people in the government – probably thought the same way. No matter where we were or what we did, that sign always followed us. …They don’t even know how cruel that is. –It’s repulsive. That expectation is what drove that kid over the edge.”

The name “hero” was just a fancy name. People’s pure expectations turned into a heavy responsibility and became an inescapable chain that wrapped around Sakura Akane. Therefore, there was no other way for Akane to escape but to kill Sakura Akane.

Nanase trembled with disappointment at his own inability to notice anything, but Asakura admonished him, saying.

“What she needs now is love from her family and enough rest. You’ve finally been reunited. I’m going to have to go home. Even though it looks like this, I’m busy.”

Asakura then left, saying that he would come back again soon.

–And a few days after the reunion. Akane, her daughter, began to talk to Nanase about everything that had happened to her.

When she almost died, she made a contract with God and became a Magical Girl. She told Nanase that Sakura Akane was the form she had transformed into. That she ran away from home out of regret for not being able to save her mother and hatred for Demonic Beasts. Akane said in tears that she had been unable to come forward all this time because she was afraid that her father, Nanase, would hate her.

Holding his daughter’s thin hand, Nanase made a strong decision. –This time, he would protect his child.

Several years had passed since the reunion of father and daughter, and Akane, who was spending her days peacefully, met a young man who had come to the foot of the mountain to recuperate. Although physically weak, the young man was gentle and kind, and became irreplaceable support for the heartbroken Akane.

As if guided by something, the two were united, and a girl was born to them – Nanase’s only granddaughter.

–I just thought this happiness would last forever. …he was thinking like that.

The collapse began with the sickly young man’s death who died of a worsening disease he had suffered from for many years. His wife, Akane, and granddaughter, Chidori, who was six years old at the time, were sad and devastated.

However, no matter how much they cried, the dead would not come back. They knew that better than anyone else.

A few months after the death of the young man. Nanase made a proposal to the mother and daughter, whose wounds had not healed yet, in the hope of providing a distraction.

“I got a call from an acquaintance of mine that his company has built a new playground for children. It’s a little far from here.”

The mother and daughter nodded hesitantly at Nanase’s invitation. Perhaps they somehow sensed that Nanase was concerned.

-Nanase still deeply regretted this choice.

The last time he saw that mother and daughter together was when they went out holding hands and smiling at each other.

◆ ◆ ◆

“After that, Chidori went missing for a while, and Akane’s body was never found, but it is certain that she died in the great fire. –Yatagarasu came all the way to your place and told you that, didn’t he?”

“…Ah, yes. Yatagarasu left a final message.”

With these words, Nanase recalled the words of the God who had descended before his eyes ten years ago.

[Akane went to the source of the fire to retrieve her kidnapped daughter, and was killed by the ringleader. Your granddaughter is at the shelter. You should go pick her up. –And as for your granddaughter and the child she is with, take care of them together if you can. But–]

The three-legged black raven bent his neck and declared in a cold voice.

“[Don’t pry. If you’re not careful, you’ll lose your life]. …Yatagarasu told me this. I disobeyed him and hired a detective to investigate Tsugumi’s background, but there wasn’t much information. I wonder who he really is.”

Nanase said bitterly, his face contorted in frustration.

–The beloved granddaughter, who was contacted by Yatagarasu and reunited with him at the shelter, had forgotten everything about her grandfather, Nanase, and her mother. The only thing she remembered was her own name and her false brother.

The false brother – the unidentified child who called himself Tsugumi – acted as if he had been Chidori’s brother from the beginning, and stood next to her as if it was natural.

…Although he was told so by Yatagarasu, Nanase himself had no intention of taking in Tsugumi at first. But there was a reason why he couldn’t do so. If he tried to separate them, one of them would start crying and out of control.

For this reason, Nanase decided to take Tsugumi in with her, even though he didn’t want to. …Chidori seemed happy, it was the only saving grace.

Later, when he looked into Tsugumi, Nanase found out that he was involved in no small way with the religious group at the center of the great fire – the Star of Dawn. Considering his age, he might be more like a victim who got involved, but even so, just the fact that he was a member of the organization that caused his daughter’s death didn’t make him feel any less disgusted. Therefore, it could be said that his response to becoming cold was unavoidable.

Nanase then took Chidori and Tsugumi to a villa in the city instead of the house at the foot of the mountain. In doing so, he made some changes to Chidori’s family register, registering her as an unrelated person. This seemingly meaningless act had a good reason.

–If by any chance the world discovered Sakura Akane’s true identity, her whole life would be ruined. Nanase thought so.

Nanase guessed that the reason Chidori was kidnapped at that time was because information about Sakura Akane and Nanase Akane had been leaked somewhere. Fortunately, the kidnappers seemed to have died in the great fire, but Asakura warned him to be careful.

Nanase kept his distance from them, trying to avoid suspicion and to have a minimum of contact with them. While leaving basic care to the housekeeper, he used to check on them regularly when they were young, but lately, he had been away from them completely.

…It was because Chidori looked a lot like his daughter–Akane. Whenever she smiled with a face that looked so much like Akane’s, regret and lamentation cut deep into his heart. He didn’t want to see her, even though she should be very important to him. This contradictory feeling tormented Nanase.

But Nanase’s troubles did not end there. Even though they mistakenly believed that they were sister and brother, two people of opposite sexes living together at the same age – one of them being her own precious granddaughter – he wondered if they should live together in the same house forever.

The original plan had been to send them to boarding school when they entered junior high school and separate them, but unexpectedly, Chidori showed some reluctance.

Nanase gave in to Chidori’s pleas and reluctantly allowed them to continue living together, but that, too, must now have been a mistake.

As a result of a certain amount of neglect, Chidori was surrounded by the government as a person with the ability to transport, and although he didn’t know what went wrong with him, Tsugumi was engaged in Magical Girl activities under the alias of Hagakure Sakura.

After the incident at the Amusement Park, Nanase finally learned of this situation when Asakura told him about it.

“Fortunately, Chidori-kun has no talent for fighting. The abilities she acquired are also suited for logistical support. But Tsugumi-kun – Hagakure Sakura is different. If you’re not careful, he may end up following in the footsteps of Sakura Akane. You probably don’t care that much about Tsugumi-kun, but if the identity of Hagakure Sakura is revealed, Chidori’s surroundings will become noisy. I want you to remember that.”

“…I know that.”

–For the sake of Chidori’s peaceful life, it was not a good idea to keep talking as it was.

“I guess we should contact Yatagarasu first. –It’s that God who faked the death of ‘Sakura Akane’. I don’t know why he has remained silent, but it would be a good idea to tell him a few words before speaking to the government.”

The clumsy God who dragged his daughter – Akane – down the path of Asura and sent her back to her parents before she could be destroyed.

Akane had expressed her gratitude at Yatagarasu whenever she could. In that case, there was no reason to hold a grudge.

“…I see. Well, I’ll lend a hand. I have a certain amount of contacts in the government. I’ll talk to someone from the Ministry of Divine Worship.”

“Ah, that would be helpful. –I’m really sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused.”

–For the past 30 years, Asakura had caused him nothing but trouble. Asakura, like Nanase, also had his wife killed by a Demonic Beast, but he was always concerned for Nanase’s recovery, throwing words of comfort as if reprimanding him when he was in a depressed mood. After his daughter was found, he visited her regularly for diagnosis and went out of his way many times to visit her at the foot of the mountain.

And even now, he still went out of his way to help Nanase in his time of need, offering him advice and support. Such a kind friend had always saved Nanase’s life.

The moment Nanase told Asakura this, he heard a gasp on the other end of the phone. As if nothing had happened, Asakura said in a cheerful voice.

“Don’t concern yourself with it. –I’m worried about you and Chidori, too.”

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

“–Yes, there is no need to be concerned. I have my own purposes.”

After hanging up the phone, Asakura muttered to himself as he sat deep in the leather chair in a dark room.

“There is no need for heroes anymore. –From now on, the era when humans rule over God is coming.”

Saying this, Asakura took out a photograph from his desk drawer. In the picture, next to a girl smiling cheerfully, Asakura appeared a little younger than he was now.

Asakura gently patted the girl in the photo, smiled gently, and opened his mouth.

“…Just a little longer, Shikabane Sakura-kun. I look forward to seeing you again.”