Akane Sumire

Akane Sumire (赤根スミレ) is a character in Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun. She made her debut in Chapter 66 of the manga.

She is part of the Akane family, to which No. 6 stated that they are the kind of family with children who are offered to God (specifically because of their coveted bloodline). Nene suspects that her full name must be Akane Sumire, and her family name has been confirmed by Teru in Chapter 70.

It has not been confirmed on whether or not Sumire is Aoi's ancestor yet.

Appearance
She has long black hair similar to Aoi's, pale blue eyes, and pale skin. According to the September 2020 issue's color spread, her yukata is of pale lavender with magenta hues. She also wears a pair of geta shoes and plain tabi socks. On both wrists, she wears bracelets composed of bells. She gave one of them to Nene, stating that they served as protection charms.

Sumire's talisman also holds an identical resemblance to Tsukasa's seal. The only difference is that they are in different locations, with Sumire's on the side of her neck and Tsukasa's on his right cheek.

Young Appearance
In her younger years, which involved a flashback of her hiding in a cave with No. 6, she was shown to wear a large hair bow and kimono much similar to now. It had magenta hues, with a sky blue bow tied behind her waist and white-blue flowery patterns on the ends of her sleeves.

Ghost Appearance
In Chapter 62, there is an unusual spirit that closely resembles Sumire as it leads Nene and Akane to an elevator. Her eyes are concealed, but she says phrases in a sing-song voice about No. 6 and his yorishiro. Her clothes drift behind as bright particles float around her. It is still unknown whether this is truly Sumire's spirit or not.

Personality
Nene notes that Sumire's personality shows a great resemblance to Aoi, in which both demeanors are cheerful, helpful, and lighthearted in their interactions. However, she also has a manipulative, almost sadistic side. This is shown in Chapter 89 when Sumire takes care of wounded animals, and explains that she enjoys looking after them because she has absolute control over them. Sumire has a strong infatuation with keeping Nene and Hanako-kun as her newfound pets, stating they reminded her of 'lost raccoons'. Because of this, she established precautions such as creating an electrifying barrier around her home to prevent escapes and putting Nene in doing housework.

In their first meeting, Sumire held a cold demeanor when it came to meeting the mountain villagers that invaded her garden. She also has an authoritative position, shown by how all of the villagers bowed to her presence. To Hanako-kun, her identity remains suspicious as he deduces that she must be following No. 6's orders. Her memories featured her being the kannagi for sacrifice in the past, and she intended to substitute Nene as the sacrifice in hopes of getting a response from No. 6.

As seen at the end of Chapter 66, Sumire is in love with No. 6 and is going to get married to him. She compares her situation to Nene, who also has a crush on Hanako, saying that loving a supernatural is taboo.

Past
Sumire was born in a village that was relatively near a cliff rumored to lead to the Far Shore. She was given away as a sacrifice at the age of six. While crying near a cluster of jizo statues, she was saddened by the fact that she had never seen her father or mother's faces, and that the rest of the villagers continued to ignore her. Even her own family ignored her, as seen in Chapter 70 when they stood a distance away from her in a family picture. The only caretaker she had was No. 6 due to his master's orders. This was for the purpose of making sure she wouldn't escape while she was being safeguarded.

As they grew up together, Sumire acted like a housewife to No. 6, calling him her "husband" and cooking meals for him. She was affectionate towards him, despite not receiving any affection back. The two often ventured outside. One of Sumire's earliest memories was them taking refuge in a cave while it rained, and asking No. 6 if he would always be there for her. Sumire never showed any despair about her fate as a sacrifice. When news of her imminent sacrificial ritual was coming, she prayed to the jizo statues and wondered if a new one will be made for her once she was offered to God. Only when she witnessed the true ending after becoming a yorishiro did she know the Far Shore was never a place to be near God's side.

The village where Sumire used to live was the place where Kamome Gakuen was now built on.

Lightning
Similar to Teru's lightning cage, Sumire has the ability to establish a lightning barrier around her home, which prevented Nene and Hanako-kun from escaping. On several occasions, she also stuns Hanako-kun by simply flicking her finger on his forehead. Later, there is a scene that shows Hanako-kun laying unconscious near Sumire as her blade crackles in lightning.

Seeing Supernaturals
She can see supernaturals and apparitions ever since she was a child, especially when it came to meeting No. 6 and playfully referring to Hanako-kun as 'Gon' as a new nickname.

Yorishiro
In Chapter 68, Sumire explains that being a yorishiro meant that this world would rewind every time she died, referring to it as a prison of time. Although No. 6 hasn't visited her once when she was awakened as a yorishiro, she has relived the same day and death of her wedding ceremony over and over.

Trivia

 * Her name, “Sumire”, is the Japanese name for violets, the flower.
 * Sumire's initial appearance was based on the urban rumor called the Elevator Game. A certain numeric input will allow one to witness a visitor from another world deemed to be the place of the unliving. In Chapter 62, Hanako is seen holding a note with the numbers: 4-2-6-2-10-5-1-6.