Furthermore, because of his position as the head of our partner company, President Kaneyama was also informed of Baba’s betrayal. The response that came back from him was “That guy promised that he would make Shiori-san happy even if he had to exchange his life for it, so I’m sure he’ll be back.” I mean, yeah sure, I do plan to come back eventually, but that... isn’t exactly the reason for it. Not that I’d refute it out loud, but, yeah...... As always, he’s a weird man who seems to see through the true state of things and yet is still spinning his own wheels.
So with all that settled, Amaterasu was going to have to continue running for a while with both Baba and myself out of the loop. Although a lot had happened indeed, it was our hope that Touka-chan and Shouta-kun would go on to enjoy the high school arc of their secret organization battle story.
⚔
Touka Hasumi, a first-year high school student, was walking around the streets at night in a casual outfit coordinated with a cardigan and culotte skirt. She was on her way home after having stopped by Ama-no-Iwato after school.
Although the rainy season was right around the corner, the night air was still a bit chilly on the skin. However, Hasumi’s heart was actually even colder than her skin at the moment.
Three days after the traitor incident, Kaburagi and Takahashi seemed to have accepted Sago’s and Baba’s death and resurrection and were beginning to get back on their feet. In contrast, as the sole person unable to do the same, Hasumi had been in the dumps ever since. There were more and more bouts of her zoning out and losing herself in her thoughts. It had gotten so bad that her parents were actually starting to get worried.
She understood that life would continue on regardless of what happened. She knew that she couldn’t just remain depressed and that she had to pull herself back together. But she just couldn’t bring herself to do so.
As Hasumi turned onto a deserted, narrow path that was a shortcut home, she noticed someone walking toward her from the opposite end. The moment she made out the person’s features, she sucked in a sharp breath. That person, who was wearing jeans and a dress shirt with the top button undone, looked like the spitting image of Kinemitsu Sago.
“Excuse me, please hold on.”
“Yeah?”
Upon being addressed, the man stopped with a baffled look on his face. The lack of recognition in his eyes caused Hasumi to doubt herself. Is he someone else entirely?
“I’m sorry if I’m being rude, but can you tell me what is your name?”
“Wut? Why should I?”
Hasumi faltered at the casual response that seemed so incongruous with the reticent Master that she knew so well. This man was also displaying a wealth of different facial expressions, and seemed open and frank.
“No, it’s just that you look really similar to someone I know.”
“Oookay? Ah why not. My name’s Yaku.”
Relief and disappointment washed over Hasumi in equal measure as she became even surer that he might just be an accidental resemblance. With that said, however, he really did bear an extremely uncanny resemblance to Sago. Just to be sure, Hasumi pressed, “What about your last name?”
“Mm~mmm, funny you should ask that. Thing is, I actually don’t remember. Amnesia, they told me. To be honest with you, I didn’t remember my first name either; ‘Yaku’ is just a random one I picked to get by. Oh, but please spare me the police, yeah? It’s not like I’m having trouble getting by just because I lost my memory, after all.”
“......Could it be that the memories you’ve lost are from 3 days ago and before?”
“Whoa, that’s freaky, girl. How’d you know? Wait, did we know each other? Or are you an esper?”
The sight of Yaku being surprised for real fully convinced Hasumi that he was indeed Kinemitsu Sago without his memories.
Hasumi had declared that the moment she found Master, she would help him pass on into the cycle of samsara. In accordance, she was just about to conjure her flames to purify this evil spirit that was unnaturally clinging onto the mortal plane in defiance of the natural order when—
“Why’re you crying?”
“What......?”
—just as Yaku had pointed out, she realized that there were tears flowing down her cheeks.
This was no time to be crying. She had to return this walking corpse to the realm of the dead. However, no matter how strongly she told herself that, her body seemed controlled by another, much more powerful emotion which was preventing her from moving. Her flames wouldn’t come to her.
“Did something sad happen? Um... oh, right, uh, need a handkerchief?” asked Yaku while hesitantly proffering a handkerchief. Through that clumsy gesture of kindness, Hasumi saw a shadow of Master that had apparently remained even through the memory loss. It was the last straw. She could no longer control her crying after that.
“That’s... not it. I’m happy... even though I shouldn’t... be happy... To think that I would be so happy... to know that Master is still alive... I... I just......!”
Hasumi was thoroughly mortified at her immature self. She was mortified at how happy she was about an ungodly entity whose very existence was unforgivable by nature of its deviance from the natural cycle of life.
However, if this was an indication of immaturity, then she wanted to remain immature the rest of her life.
Yaku seemed much more carefree and happy than the Master that Hasumi knew. To know his past was to suffer the fate he had before, and Hasumi could not bring herself to be the one to damn him to it. Surely there were things that were best left forgotten. Hasumi wanted, from the bottom of her heart, for the kind and clumsy Master to have his shot at becoming happy. Though admittedly, Ama-no-Iwato was going to feel extremely lonely without him.
After wiping away her tears and calming down, Hasumi had the smile of a Buddha on her face as she asked, “Yaku-san, are you enjoying life right now?”
“Uh, seriously, what’s with all the weird questions...... Well I mean, sure, I guess. You probably won’t get what I’m saying, but for some reason it feels like something really heavy has been lifted from my shoulders.”
“I get it.”
“You really do?”
“I really do.”
Yaku blinked in response to Hasumi’s firm reply.
Since he was happy and satisfied with his current life, then there was nothing more for Hasumi to say. Of course, if she was being entirely honest, then she would want him to return to Ama-no-Iwato. However, Sago had been beating himself up with guilt and shouldering the burden of fighting against the World Shadows for a long, long time already. He deserved a rest.
Hasumi thought that the longer she dawdled, the harder she would find it to part with him. So she gathered herself to ask only one last question. “Yaku-san, would you happen to know a little girl with silver hair and pointy ears?”
“Okay, whoa, no, now you’re actually really freaking me out. Yes she’s with me, but how’d you know? What do you know about me?”
“Fufu, I’m an esper, after all. Please don’t mind me. However, if you ever find yourself in trouble or in need of a helping hand, come to this place called Ama-no-Iwato. Me and everyone there will always be ready to welcome you with all our hearts. I’ll be off now.”
Hasumi handed Yaku a business card with the address of Ama-no-Iwato written on it, then turned to walk off once more into the night, leaving a bewildered Yaku staring at her back.
She never turned back again after that. Not even once.