Sasami-san @ Ganbaranai

Chapter 8: Fossil of Mother and Daughter

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VOLUME 3

Chapter 8: Fossil of Mother and Daughter

It was evening on the same day.

After my mother finished dealing with all matters concerning the sinister occult society Arahabaki and the Slothful Patron of Graves Baron Samedi (filing paperwork, healing wounded priestesses, recharging charms, etc.), she began walking through the Tsukuyomi Shrine grounds.

My mother’s job was to use the power of the Supreme G.o.d to construct a world that was convenient for humans to live in.

To achieve that end, she would close her eyes, look down at the world from a G.o.d’s-eye view, and create many alterations.

From the side, it might’ve looked like she just didn’t care about anything and was just loitering around.

However, everyone in the Tsukuyomi Shrine knew the truth.

The truth was that in this shrine… no, in the entirety of j.a.pan… my mother was trying harder than anybody else.

What she was doing was incredibly draining, but she didn’t let out a single yawn as she walked around the Shrine with her back nice and straight.

Suddenly, she stopped.

“Stop moving around so restlessly like that.”

My mother seemed to be muttering to herself, but I suddenly saw my brother appear in response to my mother’s call.

He was a small boy, standing in the dim darkness and wearing all black.

He didn’t look like someone who should be standing in a holy sanctuary like this… he looked more like a zashiki-warashi (1), or a ghost.

“A puzzling creature you are…”

My mother walked to my brother’s side and seemed to be trying to figure him out.

“I acknowledge that you mean no harm, but if you do happen to bring misfortune upon this shrine… no, upon this land, then I shall crush you immediately.”

My brother continued looking blankly at my mother.

He seemed like a simple-minded boy (I guess a crueler person might call him stupid), and my mother let out a sigh.

“I feel no pity for you, and no sympathy. However, I do hope that one day you will find salvation…”

“I…”

My brother began to answer slowly.

“I’m pretty happy with my position here… with my fate.”

“I see. Then I will say nothing more.”

My mother turned her gaze away from my brother and slowly began to walk down the hallway.

“I’ll go back to nursing Sasami-san then.”

My brother gave a quick, neat bow and then also left.

My mother suddenly looked over her shoulder, watching my brother’s back retreat through half-lidded eyes.

“He has appeared, which means Sasami has chosen… or perhaps I am approaching my own limits…”

Growl.

At that point, a dull sound came from my mother’s stomach, interrupting her serious thoughts.

“I seem to be hungry…”

My mother continued showing no emotion as she lightly looked down.

“No, a Tsukuyomi Priestess must be free from selfish desires. She must persevere through all personal wants, and must clear her mind and hea-”

Grrrrowwll.

“Hm…”

My mother wandered around the shrine, making her way to the kitchen that looked out on the building’s backyard. She poked her head in through the wide-open kitchen door.

Inside the kitchen was the same Micchan as before, who was now donning an ap.r.o.n while cooking.

She was probably making dinner for all the people living at the Tsukuyomi Shrine.

This was a huge load of work, but Micchan seemed to be having fun, and was even humming.

My mother stood by and watched for a while before quietly speaking up.

“Micchan, when will the meal be ready?”

“Uwah, hahh?!!?”

Micchan almost dropped the pot she was holding as she hurriedly turned around and began bowing profusely.

“W-W-W-Why are you here, Juju-sama? Did you need something?”

“There is no need to be alarmed. Be at ease. It was my fault for interrupting your work.”

My mother roamed around the kitchen, opening the lids on pots while picking at and taste testing some of the food that was lined up. She was acting surprisingly bad-mannered.

“Umm, okay. Excuse me then…”

Micchan returned to her cooking, seeming a bit puzzled.

“But this is quite a rare sight, Juju-sama. I’ve never seen you down here.”

My mother was a big shot so she never partic.i.p.ated in the ch.o.r.es and other small things around the shrine.

“The food will be ready soon, so just wait a bit longer.”

“Understood.”

My mother nodded at Micchan’s words and then cheerfully moved to one of the corners of the kitchen. She plopped herself down.

If my mother were a dog, right now it was like she had been told to “wait” and was sitting there wagging her tail.

Exactly how hungry was she?

“Umm… if you stare at me like that, it’s a bit hard to work…”

“However, I would be of no use to you in the kitchen. Most of the other priestesses have been wounded, and so I cannot engage in my normal duties until they have recovered. The incident earlier today has also been settled completely, and so to be honest, I am quite free. Please just think of me as a potted plant.”

“You’re my superior here, the person who raised me, and also the most important being in j.a.pan, who has the power of the Supreme G.o.d. It’s really hard to think of you as a plant…”

Micchan seemed to be at a bit of a loss before clapping her hands.

“Ah, Juju-sama. Should I make some porridge for Sasami-sama?”

“Hm?”

My mother c.o.c.ked her head to the side as if this idea had never occurred to her.

“Porridge…?”

“When Juju-sama caught a cold, I also made some for her.”

“Hm. That soppy soup, then? That was quite delicious. Certainly, it may be a good idea to provide Sasami with something easy to digest. Okay, Micchan. You can make some.”

“No no, not me. Juju-sama should make some for Sasami-sama.”

“Hm? But I cannot cook.”

“I’ll teach you! When it comes to things like this, I think Sasami-sama too would prefer it if she got porridge handmade by her mom.”

“Is that so…?”

My mother stood up, looking a bit troubled. Micchan chuckled.

“Sasami-sama really loves her mom. She’ll definitely be ecstatic. Well, it’s not like I’m that knowledgeable about mother-daughter relationships… so I can’t say for sure.”

“You were spirited away, after all.”

My mother muttered as she stood in front of the gas burner in her priestess outfit.

“You come from a truly esteemed family lineage that has served the Tsukuyomi Shrine from antiquity and were born with a tremendous amount of spiritual ability. An evil G.o.d discovered this and kidnapped you. All your spiritual abilities were sucked out and taken from you, and after many months and many years you finally found your way back to this world.”

“Yes. My spiritual abilities were all gone, but Juju-sama still took me in and allowed me to help with the ch.o.r.es at the shrine. I am truly grateful.”

Micchan let out a cheerful smile and seemed to stare off into the distance.

“That evil G.o.d ended up taking everything from me. Memories of my parents, my true name… well, it’s all recorded somewhere, but none of it feels real to me. I’m also completely worthless as a priestess here…”

Her eyes seemed to pierce through me as I lay inside my mother, seeing this vision of the past flash before my eyes like a dream.

“So, I understand all too well what Sasami-sama might be going through.”

Micchan put a hand up to her chest and continued.

“Of course, I had my spiritual powers taken from me, but Sasami-sama is just young and untrained, so we’re different. But I understand how insecure it makes you feel to see how much more talented everyone is around you… how driven into a corner you might feel…”

These words, spoken by a kind adult in the far past, lent me encouragement in the present.

“It is hard to not be able to measure up to your ideals. You try, you try, you clench your teeth and try some more, but you never can get anywhere. You don’t have enough time… enough training… enough talent. You might be earnest, you might be trying your best, but that makes it all the harder to take. When you feel like this, it’s nice to have family at your side, supporting you, but Juju-sama and the shrine head are both very busy.”

“Hm. Certainly, I do regret not being able to pay more attention to Sasami…”

I saw a fleeting look on my mother’s face, a look I had never seen there even once before in my life.

“There is so much to do, and I never have enough time. Someday, I will have to leave my daughter in this h.e.l.lish world, so I desire to purify it, to repair it, to bring peace to it, even if only a little. That is the only present I can give to my daughter. Even if she resents me for it, even if she feels abandoned because of it…”

My mother groaned; her face warped in pain.

“No… I constantly use that as an excuse and am always running away from that girl who has attached herself so closely to me. However, I am a priestess. I am the Tsukuyomi Priestess. I do not know any other life. I can never become a normal woman, a normal mother. Micchan, what is it that I should do…?”

“Juju-sama…”

Micchan’s eyebrows drooped as she searched for words that might be able to cheer my mother up. But…

“……?!”

Suddenly, Micchan froze. She readied herself, and took out a number of charms from a bag.

“I feel a bad presence… Juju-sama, get down!”

It was right after Micchan yelled out.

The wall of the kitchen facing the garden in back cracked in several places, and not long after, something smashed through the entire wall.

Pieces of wood and plenty of dust flew everywhere as a huge boulder flew into the kitchen.

No, it wasn’t a boulder. It was a huge hand made of boulders. It was almost unnatural how elaborately crafted that hand was.

The boulder hand formed a fist and slammed into Micchan, who was quickly sent flying.

She soundlessly rolled across the floor before hitting the wall hard. She fell still, blood dripping from her forehead.

“Micchan?!”

My mother panicked, summoning her own weapon – her golden staff – out from midair.

My mother looked out at the garden behind the Tsukuyomi Shrine, beyond the cracked wall.

And then, she gasped because she saw a sinister monster there, a monster that should never have been able to set foot beyond the powerful barriers that protected the Tsukuyomi Shrine.

It was giant, five meters tall, and completely made of rock.

A golem.

That word immediately came to mind.

The rock giant looked down at my mother, steam gushing out of various places on its body.

Immediately my mother noticed something.

“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d…!”

On that giant’s forehead was buried a girl… it was the young me, Tsukuyomi Sasami.

I was embedded there, completely motionless, looking like a fossil that had been halfway excavated.

It was like I was in the midst of being eaten by this rock giant.

The young me didn’t seem to be conscious… I couldn’t remember something like this ever happening either.

The giant had probably kidnapped me and taken me in while I was in a deep sleep.

A red-hot aura of anger began to emanate from my mother’s entire body.

“Maggot! Release my daughter!”

My mother roared out, but what answered her was the seductive voice of a girl mocking her.

–

“Ke ke ke! Oh my, I apologize, but I cannot do that!”

–

The giant’s body shook as he shrugged his shoulders with much more skill than a clumsy frame like that should be able to muster.

“This girl here is my lifeline. If I release her, then I can already see you chopping me up! Ke ke ke! I am quite a weak G.o.d, you see… I must take a hostage like this, or I would certainly be terrified! And of course I would never be graced with an audience with the Tsukuyomi Priestess!”

“Identify yourself!”

My mother bellowed, even as the air around her warped from her anger.

“How did you penetrate the strong barrier that surrounds this shrine?!”

“Hm? There was no need to do such a troublesome thing such as that.”

The girl’s voice was filled with mirth.

“This girl here, she likes to go wandering around the town, does she not? It would be impossible to break into the Tsukuyomi Shrine, but the town outside is quite a different story. The Slothful Patron of Graves, Baron Samedi caused quite an uproar outside and lured you all out. Then, this girl came out to play in the town, which is when I possessed her, and that is how we found ourselves here.”

The voice sounded quite proud of itself.

“The rest was quite simple. Lying inside this girl’s body, I was not detected by the barrier of the Tsukuyomi Shrine nor by the other priestesses, and I successfully infiltrated your shrine. Even in the original timeline, n.o.body noticed my presence at all.”

Original… timeline…?

My mother’s face darkened at those words.

“What… are you saying…?”

“Oh my, but I was not talking to you.”

The voice continued in a singsong tone.

“You are here, are you not? Tsukuyomi Sasami.”

Throb. My mother’s body shook.

I felt myself, who had been forced into dormancy by my mother’s strong will, who had been seeing this dream of the past… I felt myself suddenly pushed to the surface.

“What are you? What… are you…?”

I felt my fear grow as I squeezed that question out.

“Do not look so worried. I came all this way to strike a deal with you.”

The golem spread its arms out in a false sign of courtesy.

“I have laid in hiding for years in order to bring this advantageous proposition to you, waiting for the right time. I have come as your messiah. Well, depending on the circ.u.mstances, you could also call me a time bomb.”

And then, she finally identified herself.

“I am an a.s.sa.s.sin of the sinister occult society, Arahabaki. I am a vessel for the divine spirit Tamamo-no-Mae, the One who Dances on the Scales. My abilities are the implantation of myself into spiritualists, and the alteration of history.”

And then, she uttered words I didn’t understand, but words that were oddly tantalizing.

“You there. Have you ever wanted to change the past?”

TRANSLATOR’S NOTES

(1) A cla.s.sical j.a.panese youkai who generally looks like a 5-6 year old child with bobbed hair.

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