CH 131

The Problem of Cutting

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

Tsugumi walked down the corridor while being led by Mibu.

…Every time someone passed by and looked at him with a startled expression, he felt like he wanted to run away with teleportation. Actually, what they were paying attention to was the jacket–the bloody hoodie–rather than the swimsuit, but Tsugumi was so confused he couldn’t tell.

So, while being exposed to the public eye, he managed to get to the infirmary, which was not far from the Countermeasure Headquarters.

“Excuse me. I need you to look after an injured person.”

Mibu said in a loud voice as she entered the infirmary. Tsugumi followed her, saying “Excuse me” discreetly.

“Hmmm? Is no one here?”

When they entered the infirmary and looked at the unattended table, they found a paper with the words, “I’m currently out at the third infirmary”. Apparently, the doctor was not in the office.

“It can’t be helped. Let’s disinfect your arms and borrow some clothes. I’m sure they have at least a shirt and a skirt.”

Saying this, Mibu began rummaging through the cupboards. She found the clothes she was looking for and threw them toward Tsugumi, who was standing behind her. 

Accepting it in a hurry, Tsugumi thought to himself, “Mibu-san is so free”.

What was tossed to him was a simple white T-shirt and a long, tight blue skirt. He was a little worried about whether or not it would fit, but it was something he could figure out only after he tried it on.

With that thought in mind, Tsugumi sat down on a round chair at Mibu’s urging and took off his hoodie, which was in a terrible state. …It was his favorite outfit, but he probably wouldn’t be able to wear it again.

Holding a bottle of disinfectant in one hand, Mibu said admiringly as she gazed intently at Tsugumi’s wounds.

“Yes, it’s wrapped up neatly. But with this, I can’t disinfect the back part of the wound. Should we open it up again and disinfect it?”

To Mibu who said so casually, Tsugumi responded with a smile.

“Ahaha, it’s okay if you don’t go that far. Mibu-san apparently can joke like that. …It’s a joke, right?”

When Tsugumi asked her that just to be sure, Mibu stopped moving for a moment, smiled, and said, “I’m just kidding”. …She probably meant it.

As he smiled nervously while inwardly breaking out in a cold sweat, Mibu said, “So it’s okay if I disinfect it like this?” She then pulled the vial of disinfectant over the wound. A splash of cold liquid touched the wound.

“Hyah! It’s cold, it’s hot, it’s still cold!?”

The coldness of the liquid and the searing heat of the wound where the ethanol touched it. And almost at the same time, Tsugumi tasted a vaporizing cold that almost made him scream.

“W-what are you doing all of sudden…! You startled me! Disinfectant isn’t meant to be used like that.”

When Tsugumi raised his voice in protest, Mibu tilted her head with a curious look.

“I thought these things work better if you use a lot of them?”

“No, it’s not that kind of magic potion. …It is enough to put the disinfectant on a cotton ball.”

Thinking this was natural, Tsugumi gently told her so and Mibu nodded as if she was impressed.

“Is that so… I’m sorry, I’ll be more careful next time.”

“It’s okay, I know you didn’t mean anything bad.”

However, he was worried about the unusual smell of alcohol in the room, as if the disinfectant that fell on the floor had evaporated. …If there was a spark, it could have exploded.

With this thought in mind, Tsugumi pulled back the curtains and hurriedly changed his clothes. Fortunately, the clothes given to him fit perfectly and he didn’t feel that uncomfortable. The cute sandals he had borrowed from Yumeji’s villa were a little out of place with his clothes, but this shouldn’t be a problem.

…If he had one complaint, it was that the black swimsuit was a little transparent against the white T-shirt. It was hard to see unless one looked at it closely, but he wondered if this was really okay.

Feeling a little uneasy, he opened the window of the doctor’s office. The air cooled by the air-conditioner went out and in its place came the warm air.

…The window had to be left open to get rid of the alcohol smell, but he wondered if the doctor would be surprised when they came back. It might be better to leave at least one note.

Then, after writing down the matter of disinfectant and the borrowed the clothes, Tsugumi turned and spoke to Mibu, who had been standing idly by.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we go back to the Countermeasure Headquarters?”

“Ah, yes.”

Mibu replied in a few words, and stood in front of Tsugumi, looking up at him with an emotionless expression. Beautiful round eyes stared at Tsugumi.

“Hey. –Are you hiding something from me?”

Mibu’s quiet words made Tsugumi swallow his breath.

–Hiding something. He had a number of ideas, but he didn’t think he’d made a mistake that got him discovered. He felt goosebumps. He wondered if Mibu sensed something.

However, Tsugumi didn’t show any turmoil and replied with a calm demeanor.

“…What are you talking about? I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”

With a troubled smile on his face, he tilted his head slightly in consideration of the usual “Hagakure Sakura”.

After staring at each other in silence for a few seconds, Mibu looked away as if she had lost interest and smiled lightly.

“Ah, that’s enough. It was my mistake. Forget it.”

“Is that so? That’s fine…”

When Tsugumi said this while feeling relieved in his heart, Mibu said with a face that looked unsure.

“I thought I felt a strange presence, just a little bit. Like opening a box of rotten fruit. I wondered if there are still pieces of the Demonic Beast left in the wound, but I thought it was fine as long you were okay. Maybe it was the smell of alcohol that made my nose go crazy.”

When Mibu said this and nodded her head, Tsugumi tilted his head curiously. He gently sniffed his arms and other parts of his body, but there were no strange smells or signs of anything.

The alcohol must have temporarily affected her nose, as Mibu said. Tsugumi concluded and nodded in agreement.

As the two of them were heading back toward the Countermeasure Headquarters, Mibu opened her mouth as if an idea suddenly occurred to her.

“I’ve got a friend who looks exactly like Hagakure, maybe you guys are siblings who have been separated?”

“Hm, what’s with the sudden question?”

Hearing the sudden jab, Tsugumi choke on his own words and coughed.

“No, I’ve been meaning to ask this but I just remembered it today. That kid is one year older than me, but he doesn’t seem to remember anything from his childhood. I thought maybe you might know him, since you and that kid have some similarities besides the face.”

Mibu asked this question lightly as if it were an extension of small talk, and Tsugumi pondered on what to do.

–Part of the government, people such as Toono, had already found out the true identity of “Hagakure Sakura”. In that case, then it would be okay to reveal his true identity at least to his close friends like Mibu and Suzushiro. He thought so but he shook his head slightly in his mind.

Even if he wanted to tell them, it was still too early. Tsugumi’s purpose of hiding his true identity and getting into the government – the truth about Sakura-oneechan – had been reached, but there was still more work to be done.

…He felt guilty for hiding his true identity from his friends, but he didn’t want to increase the uncertainty factor until Yatagarasu’s true intention and the problem with Chidori were settled.

“Well, I’m sorry, but I don’t know. I don’t remember having a younger brother.”

“…I  see! Then it’s all right. I’m sorry for asking such a strange question!”

Mibu smiled and said so, then quickened her pace as if saying that this conversation was over. Apparently, she was satisfied for the time being.

Ha, Tsugumi patted his chest. Mibu and Suzushiro were also very important friends to him. There was a possibility that the two of them would be offended or hated him as a result of him telling this secret, but they still had to have a proper talk at some point.

–Because the worst offender was the one who was lying.

◆ ◆ ◆

–Listening to the sound of Hagakure’s footsteps coming up behind her, Mibu muttered in a low voice that no one could hear.

“Brother, huh? --No one has said a single word about him being a man.”

A sense of distrust slowly crept in. –Hagakure Sakura was definitely aware of Nanase Tsugumi. But she didn’t seem to have any intention of telling anyone about it.

“…Maybe I should talk to Ran-chan a little bit about it.”

Saying so, Mibu lowered her eyes and let out a sigh. Apparently, a lot of problems were piling up.