Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 13 Chapter 3 (section)

== 3.00 OPS3 Part 11 ==

They came to a city about a two-hour train ride away from Kurobishi Town.

Ayukawa Chiharu was the one who led Shiika’s group to this region.

According to the girl who was once Sanbikime—Aria Varei—she sensed Sanbikime’s scent from this town.

“Definitely here.”

Chiharu turned to Shiika and the rest and said this.

Namie and Lucifera raised brows and looked around them.

“Will Sanbikime really be in a place like this?”

“Being here means—that Sanbikime is someone in here?”

It was an international airport.

This airport was home not only to international air routes that went abroad, but also domestic airlines that connected to the country’s important cities. Obviously, there were many people there, and the lobby Shiika and the rest were in was packed full.

Nanana looked around her and spoke.

“This is an international terminal. You don’t mean to tell us that Sanbikime felt that C was in pursuit and decided to flee abroad, right?”

“Eh.”

Shiika turned to Nanana.

“I see… so Sanbikime thinks like humans.”

She hadn’t thought of it, but now that the possibility was raised, it made sense.

Until they came there, Chiharu had told them about when she made Kakkou into a Mushitsuki.

Sanbikime themselves no longer had any personality. They would simply parasite on people nearby those that had delicious dreams and copy their personality.

Inciting the person they parasitized, Sanbikime would eat delicious dreams.

However, Sanbikime themselves had cursed their own duty—

Lucifera’s cellphone rang. She spoke while reading the mail sent to her.

“Since this is the lobby for arrivals and not departures, I believe they’re not trying to run away.”

“But if they’re not running away… are they waiting for someone?”

Shiika tilted her head, but no one could answer her.

The people going through the spacious lobby were varied. There was those who dragged carry-on bags after them, and also those who welcomed the new arrivals. Even just counting the airport workers, tour guides moving from the reception counters, janitors cleaning the floor and store employees carrying luggage on trolleys, there were too much people.

Shiika could do nothing but watch all these people.

Sanbikime was somewhere in this sea of men and women of all ages.

However, no one knew how Sanbikime currently looked.

“Chiharu-san, can’t you narrow the source of the scent or something?”

“Sorry, but any more than this is…”

As Chiharu shook her head, another ringtone resounded from Lucifera’s hand.

“If the scent’s not moving, we can ignore those moving about. We can narrow it down to any passengers staying here or maybe the staff.”

''I see, that makes sense.

Shiika and the rest ignored passersby and those who just arrived from flights and looked among those sitting on the benches or staff in the lobby.

Only Shiika, Chiharu, Aijisupa, Namie and Lucifera arrived there to find Sanbikime. Their other comrades also came to the airport, but they were watching Ebina Yuu—Erii—outside the building.

“Ah, that woman looked over here! Might be her?”

“She’s staff, she just glanced at us because we’re standing dab smack in the middle of the lobby.”

“That man that passed just now turned to look at Chiharu. Isn’t that suspicious?”

“Those eyes were just saying ‘oh, what a cutie’. He did look at Chiharu-san, though.”

“Aria…”

Once they started looking for anything at all, everyone in the lobby looked suspicious.

Not giving up, Shiika kept looking around, and—

“…?”

Her eyes were drawn to a certain place.

She could see a small head sitting on a bench from behind.

Judging from the height, this child was probably in the latter grades of elementary schools. She could tell nothing more. Since she was looking from behind the face wasn’t visible, and because of the backrest she couldn’t even see what they were wearing.

There were two empty seats on both sides. And it remained like that ever since Shiika’s group arrived there.

“What is it, Snow-san? Found someone suspicious?”

Being asked this by Lucifera, Shiika stealthily pointed toward the child she got curious about.

“I-it’s that child.”

“Hmm? Where… oh, that one. Do they look like Sanbikime?”

“T-that’s not it, I just wondered where are their parents.”

“Snow-san… this isn’t the time to worry about something like that, you know.”

Lucifera was shocked, but there was a ringtone indicating a new mail received.

“…Let’s go check it out for the meantime.”

Probably ordered this by her mistress, Lucifera reluctantly approached the bench. Shiika and the rest also followed her, coming in front of the child.

Shiika now saw he was a boy. He was playing with a portable game console. His casual outfit consisted of jeans and a sweatshirt and he wore headphones.

Unheeding of Shiika and the others watching him, he was focused on his game.

She could see nothing suspicious about him at all.

“S-sorry, it’s just a normal boy…”

Perhaps he was waiting for his guardian who was returning from some international flight. Thinking this, Shiika apologized to everyone and turned. However—

“—Aria?”

Chiharu suddenly asked the boy.

“Eh?”

Everyone else spoke together.

“You’re Aria, right? —Yup, no mistake about it.”

As Chiharu approached the boy, she leaned down and looked at his face.

“I finally found you.”

Meanwhile, the boy didn’t even change his expression.

However, his fingers—stopped on top of his console’s buttons.

“’This is the worst option from what I’ve hypothesized—”

Raising his face, the boy was expressionless. He looked at Chiharu and removed his headphones.

“’Did you recall me, Chiharu?’”

“…!”

Shiika and the others gasped.

Chiharu smiled.

“Your tone sounds somewhat stiff. Is that your personality right now, Aria?”

“’You know already that I don’t have any personality.”

The expressionless boy spoke in an adult tone. It was a bizarre sight.

“If you’re calling my tone stiff…”

“’If you’re calling my tone stiff…’”

Chiharu and the boy spoke at the same time.

Speaking to the surprised Shiika, the boy continued.

“’It means that this boy has a stiff tone.’”

“Right.”

Chiharu grinned at him again.

They reunited here, in the airport lobby, where multitudes of people passed and the announcements of landing flights echoed.

Ayukawa Chiharu as well as the elementary schooler with headphones—Aria Varei—reunited.

One of the Original Three, Sanbikime.

The monster said to give birth to Fusion-Type Mushitsuki was right there—

“I-is that boy really Sanbikime? One of the Original Three is right here…?”

The boy looked at the shuddering Lucifera with a side glance.

“Eek…”

“It’s fine, don’t be scared. Aria’s a good person.”

Chiharu spoke with a smile, but it was the boy himself who denied her words.

“’Are you still saying that sort of stuff…?’”

The boy spoke and exhaled his breath. It looked like he was sighing.

“But something’s strange. Is the one speaking now the boy? Or Aria?”

“…”

Chiharu asked this, but the boy was silent.

Shiika looked at him attentively.

She felt no fear, unlike Lucifera. This completely normal elementary schooler didn’t look like someone dangerous and there was something else she was curious about.

“E-err, nice to meet you, Sanbikime—sorry, Aria-san.”

Shiika bowed and spoke.

“Or maybe, err… should I greet that boy instead?”

“…”

The boy said nothing in response. He only looked back at Shiika’s eyes expressionlessly.

Chiharu raised a brow.

“Hey… aren’t you acting a bit strange?”

Right, Shiika also thought about this.

From what Chiharu told them, although the person that served as Aria’s host was troubled by a hunger for dreams, it had no major effect on their mind and body.

But the boy in front of them was—

“’—Chiharu. Why are you here, after all this time?’”

Chiharu apparently also noticed that something was out of place. She stopped smiling and furrowed her brows.

“Aria…?”

“’Revenge? Maybe you want to kill me because I’ve taken your precious brother…’”

“N-no! Hey, listen, Aria—”

“’Can you wait a little, though?’”

Cutting off Chiharu’s words, the boy spoke.

“’The person I’m waiting for will soon be here.’”

“Huh?”

“’I’ll eat his dream. So—you can do whatever you’d like after this.”

Chiharu gulped.

Before the paling Chiharu could say anything, Shiika went on the offensive again.

“You can’t!”

“’You… from the smell, you’re a Mushitsuki of Elvioréne?’”

“You can’t create any more Mushitsuki—definitely not!”

“Right, Aria! You don’t actually want to do this, either!”

However, the boy still remained expressionless.

“’This time alone there really is nothing I can do…’”

Looking at the other party’s eyes, but his mouth moved mechanically. The words spilling from this puppet-like boy were ones he was terribly tired of.

“’He’s coming here soon.’”

Everyone was puzzled.

“He?”

“’This boy’s best friend. He’s coming back to this country.’”

The boy raised his face and looked at the timetable for arrivals.

“’We’re going to meet with him for the first time.’”

“…!”

“’In my humble opinion, he’s very cool. The kind of man even other men fall for. This boy also trusts him and respects him more than anyone. They met many times until now, spoke and played together and cultivated their friendship. —Online, that is.’”

“If he’s that important…!”

Shiika called loudly without thinking. Other passengers focused their gazes on her.

“Then you really can’t turn him into a Mushitsuki!”

“’Yes, it’s just like you say. But you know, things are different from how they were until now. The boy I’m possessing right now—is a very good guy.’”

The boy Aria spoke of.

Meaning, the boy speaking expressionlessly and mechanically they were currently looking at.

“’Too much of a good guy, really.’”

“What do you mean?”

“’After feeling guilt about the hunger he felt for his friend’s dream—he stopped thinking of anything.’”

Everyone gulped.

“I need to get out of this boy as soon as possible. If not, it could be too late. And for that—for the first time, I’m going to eat that boy’s friend’s dream without hesitating.”

“…”

“’His friend’s quite the manly guy too. After I sent him a fake mail requesting his help, he immediately came literally flying here.”

“—You can’t.”

Chiharu grabbed the boy’s shoulders. She spoke with a serious expression.

“Aria, this is really wrong… if you eat his friend’s dream, this boy really will break. I know this—and you actually know it as well, right?”

“’I couldn’t think of any other way. After I separate from this boy, you can take your revenge on me or whatever you’d like. So for now—‘”

A ringtone echoed.

Smiling, Chiharu turned to Lucifera.

“It’s alright, Aria! There’s this really smart girl. I’m sure she’ll think up something good!”

By a smart girl, she was probably referring to Lucifera’s mistress.

“R-right. There should be some other way!”

Shiika also expected some strategy of avoiding this—

However, Lucifera had a stiff expression after seeing the mail.

“—That’s fine, she says.”

Chiharu’s smile froze.

“If we get more Fusion-Type pawns, our prospects of defeating Oogui increase—she says.”

Chiharu was speechless.

“N-no way…!”

Shiika also wanted to argue, but—

“’It will end up happening either way. I mean, no matter how much we resisted, fate never let us go. It will obviously be a situation where we must do so—”

“We won’t let this happen!”

Shiika desperately opposed this.

“Ever since I heard Chiharu-san’s story, I’ve been thinking. Aria-san says that they must always give birth to Mushi, but there should be a way to avoid this! This time for sure—”

“’It’s useless—‘”

Shiika and the rest startled and looked at the boy.

A lone streak of tears fell down the corner of his eye.

“’It’s always like this. Even now, look—‘”

While shedding tears, the boy looked ahead.

And it wasn’t at Shiika or Chiharu’s face.

The boy was looking at the airport staff hurrying around the lobby.

“…?”

As Shiika and the rest followed his gaze, they saw the staff acting abnormally.

“D-dear passengers, you must evacuate this place immediately!”

“Please exit through the automatic doors at the front and get—”

Not even using the intercom announcements, the staff shouted and rushed away from the reception counter.

“A landing plane has lost control and is heading here—”

As the staff shouted, the confused people of the lobby froze in place.

“’—It always ends up like this.’”

At the same time as Aria Varei shed tears and spoke in a self-deprecating voice.

A powerful vibration that shook the entire airport assaulted Shiika.