Princess Tsubakiri Chapter 1 - Nanohana part 1

Three years ago... A quiet afternoon in a small countryside town somewhere in Western Europe.

Atop a hill blanketed in blooming rapeseed flowers, with no one around...

A gentle breeze drifted through the soft sunlight...

And then, without warning, she appeared in this world.

She didn’t emerge from hiding, nor did she fall from the sky. The girl was born, abruptly, completely, from nothingness itself...

A barefoot child, maybe ten years old, dressed only in a simple, undyed cotton dress. Her lustrous, jet-black hair like polished obsidian fluttered in the breeze, and her scarlet eyes, calmly opening, reflected the golden field of flowers like flickering flames...

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

A loud growl from her stomach broke the atmosphere. The girl, only now realizing she was hungry, held her belly and stared curiously at her small hands and feet.

Her crimson eyes scanned the surroundings, searching until she spotted a small countryside town beyond the hill. She raised both arms excitedly.

“Food!”

There was no fear in her eyes.

She had nothing. Not even a name.

From the moment she was born into this world, the girl understood she was alone.

And yet, she possessed basic knowledge about things such as language, common sense, the essentials of living. It was as if she had just now “learned” about the world, along with her surroundings.

Just by gazing at something with her scarlet eyes, she could see its essence as naturally as a newborn cries. That’s how she instinctively knew the commotion in the town was due to a “harvest festival.”

She didn’t know who she was.

She wasn’t lost, nor suffering from amnesia. She simply knew no one in this world recognized her.

Even so, with bare feet and a spring in her step, she walked toward the town, without a trace of fear or despair. In fact, her eyes sparkled, and a smile bloomed on her face.

Maybe it was part of her nature. But that strange, almost experienced kind of optimism led her to act differently from normal children.

A fierce thirst for life itself.

And so the girl...

“Mister, more of that grilled meat and veggies, please!”

“What an appetite, little lady! Want to try some of this sausage, too?”

She casually mingled with the festival crowd, chatting as if she belonged, and devoured the food people gave her. The adults, wondering whose child she was, couldn't help but smile at her hearty eating and kept offering her more.

“It’s just so good! Even the veggies are sweet!”

Fresh from our fields! Tasty, huh?”

“Oh my, what a cute girl! Here, have some bread made from our wheat!”

“Try our cheese too! It’s great!”

Charmed by her adorable looks and sunny smile, tipsy festival-goers continued to dote on her.

Seeing the girl in such plain clothes, some women brought gently used outfits from home, playing dress-up with her and giving her small gifts.

Later, as the girl helped with cleaning up, delighted, an elderly lady gave her some pocket money and asked her name.

“Umm...” the girl hesitated, realizing the inconvenience of having no name.

“It’s the same as that yellow ‘flower’ blooming on the hill.”

That word for “flower” ¹ became the name she chose for herself.

With only that name in her possession, the girl set off on a solo journey.

Everything she needed had been given to her by the kind townspeople.

“If I don’t know who I am, I just have to go find out.”

It's a simple idea but maybe deep down, she instinctively knew staying still would get her nowhere.

Her journey began in that small Western European town.

Her goal was to discover who she was. To find the unknown.

A true journey of self-discovery, across countless countries.

And all she carried was a single name.

Three years later...

In every land she entered, she introduced herself using the local language.

And in the country she was heading to next, she would call herself:

“Nanohana.”

***

The sky above was so high and blue it made her dizzy just looking up... The salty scent of the sea and the sound of waves drifted by, and as she turned her face toward it, an endless blue ocean spread before her.

“Hey, Hana-chaaaan! Don’t lean over too far, you’ll fall in!”

“Okaaay!”

A crewman called out to the girl idly gazing from the ship’s edge, and she responded with a cheerful wave.

Ah, right. “Hana-chan” is me.

When I introduced myself as Nanohana in Japanese, someone said “That’s too long!” and started calling me “Hana-chan” instead.

...Honestly? It’s kind of cute. I like it.

So yes, as you can guess, I’m currently at sea—on a big ship.

I got lucky and befriended some sailors.

Back in Vietnam, the lady who ran the inn was apparently the local wife of a ship captain, and she helped me get on a boat heading for Taiwan.

...

Well, let’s not avoid reality.

I’m not on a ship to Taiwan. I’m currently on a Japanese cargo ship.

How did this happen? Well, a few not-so-deep reasons and a bunch of coincidences.

I’ve been traveling alone for three years.

You might think it’s impossible for a ten-year-old to go on a solo journey, but with enough determination, it’s surprisingly doable.

I slept in trees, bathed in rivers while doing laundry.

I once stole raw potatoes from a field because I was starving and got a terrible stomachache—thinking back, it’s a fun memory now. (Sorry, Mr. Farmer...)

Also, when you’re a lone child, people are often willing to take you in.

There were times I almost got kidnapped or sold off, but I made it through.

I traveled from Western to Eastern Europe, passed through conflict zones, made it to Southeast Asia and finally reached Vietnam after three years.

The hardest part was crossing borders.

I have no passport, no nationality, no records. I’m 100% an illegal immigrant.

I even got warning shots fired at me once while trying to sneak across a border at night in Eastern Europe.

Sometimes I wonder if it would've been easier if I’d just pretended to be a lost amnesiac and gotten taken in somewhere...

Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

Why am I on a Japanese ship, when I don’t even have a passport?

I was stowed away in a cargo container on a passenger ship from Vietnam headed toward Taiwan.

The ship took a long route, passing Palau and the Philippines. Sinxe it was going to be a long trip, I considered getting off early.

Then pirates attacked.

Yes, pirates still exist in some places.

Not the skull-flag kind, just armed fishing boats from a certain country. But it didn’t turn into a big issue.

Which was the problem.

Naval forces from a nearby country came quickly and drove them off. But then they decided to inspect the ship.

Normally, no big deal.

Unless you’re a stowaway. Or trying to smuggle something.

So I thought hard. It was nighttime. Some panicked crew members were prepping the lifeboats...

There was only one answer.

Spoiler: It was the wrong one.

I drifted alone in a lifeboat, nibbling preserved food.

My zero-planning, spur-of-the-moment nature had led me here. As I wondered whether my long hair could be used for fishing line, I realized—maybe the gods haven’t given up on me.

A large cargo ship approached. They rescued me easily.

When the captain asked suspiciously why I was adrift and where my guardians were, I answered:

“U-um... I’m going to see my daddy!”

In Japanese.

When I then gave a Japanese name, they misunderstood everything.

Maybe it was my ambiguous appearance, maybe my fluent Japanese, but they believed me.

They assumed I was a child of a Japanese father and a foreign mother, lost at sea trying to reunite with him.

The crew were so kind, they didn’t press for details. One of them even teared up, saying, “You’ve had a tough life, huh…”

I didn’t do anything wrong!

…Just feeling a little guilty.

And that’s how I ended up on a Japanese ship.

The food’s delicious. The baths are warm. I even got sweets.

Thinking back on my journey...

“Japan really is a peaceful country.”

Then came the sound of a horn and something was being announced. A voice shouted from the bow: “We’re here!”

People gathered, and a sailor led me to a good viewing spot.

A thin black line on the horizon.

That was...

“Japan...”

The next country I’ll walk in. My next step.

***

“If you ever run into trouble, contact us.”

“I-I will!”

When we arrived in Japan and I was about to disembark, the captain stopped me and had me ride in a car hidden in the cargo bay. They took me to a building, down into the basement, along a long corridor... and just when I started to worry, I emerged into sunlight.

Just like that, I’d (illegally) entered Japan.

I had prepared myself for the possibility of being arrested before even setting foot on Japanese soil... but maybe, just maybe, the captain knew everything and brought me here on purpose.

“...Is this really okay?”

I was so happy, but I also didn’t want the captain to get in trouble because of me. I whispered a prayer. Not that I really believe in gods though.

Inside the envelope the captain gave me were several large bills.

I bowed toward the direction he had gone, then turned and walked forward.

It’s important, but right now, I have to take care of myself first.

Namely to find a place to stay and something to eat. First priority, no matter what country I’m in.

“Also...”

I took out a small book from my bag and looked at it.

Though this journey began as a search for “myself,” somewhere along the way, a new goal was added.

This book was a gift from a kind grandmother in Romania. Most of it was blank, but the rest was filled with stories written in different languages, from different lands.

A handwritten book, passed down from stranger to stranger. Even my Eyes couldn’t reveal who had written in it. But I wanted to add something too.

“I wonder what kind of stories I’ll find in this country.”

***

On my second day in Japan, the trial begins.

“So salty...”

I muttered, sipping an overly sweet can of red bean soup, sitting under a roadside tree like a down-on-his-luck businessman. Passersby gave me strange looks.

Here’s what happened...

Like I’d done in every country, I searched for a restaurant that might let me work for room and board—but I was turned down at every turn.

Apparently, in this country, kids with no address or guardian can’t even get a hotel room, much less work.

Last night, I tried sleeping in a park while eating a meat bun. Got reported to the police.

Turns out the “information” I have is several decades out of date...

My Eyes can see the truth of what they behold.

That truth I can see is the nature of a thing. It's the essential foundation that allows it to exist as it is.

…That said, it’s not perfect.

Like this time, when I looked at a Japanese cargo ship, what flowed into me was the 'common sense of Japan from several decades ago', around the time the ship was built. Or sometimes, when I look at a wooden chair, I see the image of 'a cheerful lumberjack grinning warmly as he chops down a tree'.

It’s super inconsistent. And on top of that, really exhausting.

Something like a power inside my body gets used up, and when I try to look at something complex, I sometimes get so tired I can’t even stand.

Well, whatever. That’s not the issue right now.

"…What do I do?"

Maybe it’s because I’m in a city? Things might be different in the countryside, but how long would it take to get there on foot, I wonder?

"…Hm?"

While I was thinking about what to do next, I suddenly realized I was drawing a lot of attention from people around me.

…Am I standing out?

Well, I guess normal people don’t usually sit at the base of a tree. I stood up thinking that, but that just made me even more noticeable.

Why…? I tilted my head and pretended to look at the items in a nearby shop, using the glass display as a mirror to check my reflection.

Last night I stayed at one of those super convenient inns where you just insert money, press a button, and a key comes out. So I got to bathe, and my hair and skin are sparkling.

I’m wearing a bright white ao dai that an older woman in Vietnam gave me, and since this is a busy area full of foreign tourists, my jet-black crystal-like hair and red eyes shouldn’t stand out too much.

Yep. Nothing weird here.

Though I keep hearing words like “cosplay” and “photoshoot” around me… I honestly don’t get what that’s about.

"…Huh?"

I sensed something odd among the gazes reflecting off the glass.

Someone was looking at me with clear intent.

Where…? Who? I didn’t even need to search. The moment I wondered, my eyes locked onto his in the reflection of the street behind me. Across the road, a man was staring straight at me.

Something about him… didn’t feel ordinary.

He wasn’t Japanese. But if you asked me what country he was from, I couldn’t answer. His face looked almost stateless and even ambiguous in race.

Light-colored hair. Deep ultramarine eyes. While others were shedding their jackets in the warm weather, he alone wore a half-coat. Compared to the people around him, his presence was overwhelming.

"…!"

Without meaning to, my Eyes looked into him.

When it comes to people, especially complex beings like humans, it’s exhausting to “see” them, and I usually get nothing worthwhile. So I avoid using my Eyes on others.

And yet—I looked at him.

"Ah!"

The next moment, I took off running at full speed.

Crap, crapcrapcrapcrap! Why, whywhywhywhy!

Crap, crap crap crap crap!! Why!? Whywhywhywhywhy!? A chill like ice water poured over me and I instinctively bolted.

All I caught was the faintest glimpse of his surface thoughts.

But I clearly felt the unmistakable resolve within him, and a focused, undeniable killing intent directed at me alone.

"Isn’t Japan supposed to be a peaceful country!?"

T/N: To avoid confusion, this is the first chapter while the two preceeding chapters translated by I Do Hobby are the prequel.

1. Flower in Japanese is hana ↑