Hagakure Sakura Does Not Lament
chapter-32

Bad Children

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

–Yukitaka walked into the alley, making loud footsteps on purpose.

Obviously, anyone would turn around at the noise. The surrounding girls were no exception.

“Oh, don’t worry, you can go on. I’m just passing by.”

Yukitaka said this with a flirtatious smile on his face. The backlighting from the back of the alley where the girls were standing made it impossible to see their expressions, but they probably thought it was just a creepy guy who had arrived.

Then, the girl who seemed to be the leader among them stepped forward. Her eyes were full of willpower.

“…What are you?”

“Nothing special? I was just wondering what the ladies of that Asuka Academy are doing in such a place. Oh no, I never thought that the students of that prestigious school are a bunch of bullies! It’s the end of the world!”

Yukitaka said this as if he were a clown preaching. Perhaps intimidated by Yukitaka’s eccentric behavior, one of the girls who seemed to be part of the cronies took a step back and looked anxiously at the leader of the group.

–Asuka Academy. It was a prestigious school for young ladies in this neighborhood. It was rumored that there was a special class for those with Magical Girl aptitude, but the truth was not certain. Yukitaka probably judged it by looking at the uniform.

“Oh my, it’s impossible that we are bullies. We were just having a friendly chat. –Right, Itadori-san?”

The girl in the leadership position then asked the girl who was crouching – the one who had just been assaulted.

The girl, however, only shook her shoulders and did not respond, looking down and refusing to make eye contact with anyone. Her appearance was a testament to the current situation.

The leader of the group frowned at the girl’s attitude and mocked, “It seems she is embarrassed to talk in a place where there are strangers.”

“You guys sure get along well. Nowadays, elementary school kids pour drinks on the other’s clothes before they talk. I didn’t know that.”

Yukitaka then pointed to an artificial puddle of water. The girl at the center had her hair wet and dripping water. Seeing this, only a fool or an indifferent person would be able to say, “You guys seem to be on good terms!”

The girl in the leader’s position looked at Yukitaka and gave him a small tongue-lashing.

“Even if that’s the case, it’s none of your business, is it?”

‘Well, yeah. I told you, you can continue.”

Yukitaka smiled at the girl who told him so bluntly.

“You guys are doing that to Itadori-chan with your own beliefs, right? –Then isn’t it okay? You can torture her to your heart’s content without fear of anyone. Boil her, roast her, do whatever you want.”

As if reading from the Bible, Yukitaka announced such things in a high voice. What he was saying was so far out of the bounds of humanity that any reasonable person would not believe his words.

“Ah, what are you saying-“

Perhaps intimidated by Yukitaka’s strange behavior, even the girl in the leader’s position, who was very determined, was reluctant to speak to him. She was staring at Yukitaka as if she were looking at a maniac.

Yukitaka, not paying attention to her awe-struck gaze, laughed, tilted his head, and said.

“After all, it’s not up to me to decide if it’s right or not.”

Yukitaka then pointed in the direction of Tsugumi – to the second floor of the building next to the alley.

Six pairs of eyes were focused on Tsugumi, who was peeking out of the building’s window. –Or more precisely, at the cell phone he was holding up.

With a wave of his hand, he jumped out of the second-story window. At that height, he should be able to land without any problem.

Tsugumi, who landed on the ground silently, took down his cell phone and whispered.

“Now, here’s a question for you smart kids. –When do you think this video was taken?”

The girls’ faces suddenly turned pale at Tsugumi’s words. It felt as if he was bullying the weak, but it would be better if he had given them this much.

–The video of the girls pouring drinks on the other, let alone the exchange that took place earlier, was on video. It was enough evidence. The damage when it came out would be immeasurable.

“Are you going to tell the school? You can do whatever you want. –That much, it doesn’t matter.”

With her face contorted in frustration, the girl in the leadership position said so firmly. She was surely a young lady from a decent family as she attended Asuka Academy, but with this tone of voice, she might be a child of one of the most powerful families in the area.

Seeing the girl, Yukitaka opened his mouth happily.

“I won’t tell the school. Because that would be boring.”

“What would you do then? Do you want to threaten my father? I wonder which one of us will feel the pain then.”

Chuckling, the girl smiled. She must have absolute confidence in her own power.

–But there was no way that such logic would work on Yukitaka.

“You’re confident that your father loves you, aren’t you? –Well, let’s put that love to the test.”

“What?”

“I shall post that video on the Internet! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to hide your face. Yeah, but the internet love to pry. –I’m sure they’ll find out about you soon enough.”

With a smile, Yukitaka narrowed his eyes and laughed. To Tsugumi, that smile looked frightening.

–The video would go up in flames in an instant, and the person in the video would be identified in a matter of seconds. The school’s uniforms were distinctive. In half a day, the address of the girls might be exposed.

Perhaps they thought the same thing as Tsugumi, the girls were trembling with blue faces. Their expression was saying they never thought it would be such a big deal.

“Now that the world thinks you’re a [bad] kid, do you think your father will still love you?”

Tsugumi sighed a little, looking sideways at Yukitaka, who talked with genuine joy.

–As usual, Yukitaka had no regard for other people’s feelings whether he was dealing with children or not. Tsugumi wouldn’t complain, but if he went too far, he had to be stopped.

But in terms of punishment, maybe this was just about right.

The girl who was the leader of the group looked like she was about to cry and shouted.

“No, how much should I pay? Tell me the amount you want! You’re after the money anyway! That’s why…!”

“That’s right. What should I do? I’m at a loss.”

Yukitaka gave a sloppy reply to the girl who desperately pleaded.

…This was probably the limit. If they went any further, they’d be suspected of blackmail.

Tsugumi approached the girl who was crouching and shivering – the one who was called Itadori – and put the coat he was wearing on her shoulders. It was better than staying wet and exposed to the wind.

Then, Tsugumi said in a quiet voice to the girls who were looking at him.

“I’m not really going to post it on the Internet. –As long as you’re [good girls]. …You know what I mean.”

Tsugumi looked at the girl who had been called Itadori, and continued his words.

“I’ve known this girl for a little while. I’m telling you, next time I won’t warn you. Keep that in mind.”

When Tsugumi said this in a strong tone of voice, the girls in the circle apologized in rapid succession, saying, “I’m sorry,” “It won’t happen again,” and “Please forgive me”. Some of them were crying.

…Tsugumi regretted that he might have gone overboard. This behavior might not have been mature for elementary school students-though it looked like they were in upper grades. He didn’t mean to hunt them down until they cried.

But thinking about it calmly, it must be terrifying to be confronted by two high school boys, no matter what the situation. Even though he had a good reason, it would have been better to take a different approach.

–I don’t know which one of us is the [bad] kid. Tsugumi chuckled at that thought.

When he looked at the girl in the leadership position, she did not hide her frustration and bowed a little reluctantly. He wasn’t convinced, but she wasn’t so thoughtless as to take action at this point.

–At any rate, this incident should be good enough to serve as a deterrent. I guess that’s a relief for the time being.

Then Tsugumi pacified Yukitaka whose look was saying he hadn’t played enough, and released the girls from the alley, except for the child who had been called Itadori.

The girls in the crony group repeatedly begged him not to release the footage, but even Tsugumi didn’t intend to go that far. What he said earlier was just a bluff.

Well, Yukitaka’s story was so imposing that the girls did not even suspect it.

He was worried about the leader girl who was looking at him with a grudge until the end, but this was as far as Tsugumi could go.

“…Are you okay?”

Tsugumi gently rubbed the back of the girl who had been silent for so long – Itadori. Her uniform was still wet, and she might catch a cold at this point.

She had been looking down and shivering all day, but she looked up with a fearful look on her face and turned to face Tsugumi next to her. Her eyes were blurry as she stared at him

After blinking a few times, she shouted a little.

“…Are you the Oniisan that I bumped into at the hospital?”

“Ah, that’s right.–Hey! Are you okay!?”

Itadori smiled as if she was relieved, and then fell sideways. He held her before she hit the ground, but she did not respond when he called out. He thought it was unlikely, so he gently touched her forehead and found that it was unusually hot.

“She has a fever… Maybe she’s been sick from the beginning.”

“Well, do you want me to call an ambulance?”

Yukitaka, peeking out from the side, called out. It would certainly be better that way. Explaining the situation would be somewhat difficult, but they couldn’t just leave her like this.

Tsugumi called an ambulance and laid the girl on a bench just outside the alley. The girl was breathing heavily and coughing from time to time, as if in pain.

“I wonder what happened with those girls.”

Tsugumi mumbled. He had only met this girl once in the hospital, but she didn’t seem like the kind of girl who would be subjected to such insidious abuse.

“I don’t know. I think she stepped on a land mine or something. People are rather lax in their exclusion of others, and this girl is probably like that, too.”

Yukitaka then yawned and stretched in a troublesome manner.

“When the ambulance arrives, I’ll go home first. I have goosebumps because I did something unusual like helping people. I have to balance myself with something.”

Yukitaka rubbed his arms and said with a teasing tone. To such Yukitaka, Tsugumi opened his mouth with a wry smile.

“Just throw away that distorted balance. …Anyway I was saved today. Thank you.”

Thanks to Yukitaka’s prior efforts to upset the girls, the conversation became easy. If it had been just Tsugumi, it would not have gone so well.

It might seem strange later, but as long as they had the video, even the girls wouldn’t act badly.

When Tsugumi bowed his head, Yukitaka looked at him as if he were looking at something strange.

“Tsugumi-chan can bow his head for someone else. I don’t understand that kind of thing.”

“…It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Well, never mind. –Oh, I think an ambulance is on its way.”

“I guess so. –Excuse me! This way!”

Tsugumi raised his hand and called for an ambulance in a loud voice. Soon the ambulance pulled up beside them, and the paramedics got out.

Then, Tsugumi got into the ambulance with the girl and left Yukitaka on the spot. He was worried because Yukitaka looked like he had something to say, but surely he would have contacted him if anything had happened.

“…He’s not that bad.”

Tsugumi made a small comment. At least, he had been a good friend.

The people around him dismissed Yukitaka as [evil], but to Tsugumi, he looked like a child who didn’t know right from wrong.

–Well, it’s not a good idea to think about it now.

Thinking so, Tsugumi stared at the girl who was being treated by the paramedics. First of all, it would be better to see this girl settled down in the hospital.