Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 1st Episode 04 (section)

===Part 1===

''Mushi''—.

Infesting young boys and girls, they were a mysterious existence that feeds on the hopes and dreams of their host in order to grow.

They were labelled Mushi as such due to the fact that their external appearance resembled insects. Despite the government’s official refutation of such existence, witness testimonies of sightings since ten years ago had cemented a deep fear in the hearts of the populace.

In exchange for feasting on the host’s dream, the Mushi grants them inexplicable powers. The more the host uses the power of the Mushi, the more their dream is devoured, eventually leading to their death. Rarely, a Mushi which has completely consumed the dream of its host will mature, gaining its own will and going on a rampage. On the other hand, Mushitsuki whose Mushi were killed turns into a ''Fallen'', an empty shell lacking will and emotions—.

To die from having their dreams completely consumed, or to become a Fallen from having their Mushi killed. With only the possibilities of these two endings, there remains no proof of the existence of Mushitsuki. Still, with the increase in sightings, the negative views towards Mushitsuki only proliferates one-sidedly.

“''Haah… Haah…''”

A light metal sound resounded in the dark room with a ''kara''.

There was only one bed in Akamaki Central General Hospital room 3F300. A typical hospital room housed two to four patients, and only this room was special. In addition to the high-class bed and large screen television, there was also a large bookshelf brought in for ''her''.

Entering the room through the window, she then unfused from the morpho butterfly. To climb up into a room three storeys high with just the flesh body would have been an impossible feat, no matter how athletic one was.

The crutch rolled on the floor with a ''karan''.

Without even turning on the lights, she reached out for a glass bottle on the shelf next to the pillow. Taking out three tablets, she off-handedly swallowed them.

“''Haah…''”

She could feel her heartbeat relaxing.

She removed her hat, muffler and other clothing roughly, tossing them into the closet. She then dressed herself in the hospital garb left on the bed instead.

Walking to the basin, she grabbed the cup and pitcher. Just as she was about to drink some water, she froze.

She saw her reflection in the mirror.

Her face in the mirror lit up by the faint moonlight was deathly pale. No matter how tired she was from ''hunting'', the sharp look in her eyes did not look like it belonged to a thirteen years-old girl. Seeing the animosity reflected in her gaze, she thought of the hostile cat and the frightened security guard.

Averting her eyes from the mirror, she gulped down the contents of the cup in one go.

“Looks like it wasn’t the right one tonight either, Mari.”

The figure of a young man appeared in the mirror. He was seated in the visitor’s seat in front of the shelf. Just a moment ago, the seat had been empty.

“…”

However, she—Hanashiro Mari, was not the least surprised.

The lanky young man was dressed in a doctor’s white coat. Under his unkempt hair, his calm eyes looked into Mari’s.

“Are you going to continue this? Akamaki City is the headquarters of a ''certain organisation'' after all. They would not remain silent about this.”

Ignoring the young man, Mari went straight to lie down on the bed.

“Besides, the Mushi of Elvioréne are innumerable… please, just stop. Even if you manage to find the Mushitsuki of your objective—the Undying Mushitsuki, what would it even do for you?”

The young man’s tone was tinged with a trace of anger. No, it may have been sadness instead. Either way, Mari knew that his words were definitely heartfelt.

“Mari…?”

The young man asked inquisitively. He must have realised that Mari was just laughing in silence.

It wouldn’t do a thing for me after all, that’s right—.

It was just as he said.

For someone like me who can’t even see through the continuation of my dream…

On the verge of closing her eyelid, she saw the sorrow in his eyes.

Still smiling, Mari fell into slumber.

—The next morning.

“So you took these tablets again.”

It seems like she was in quite a deep sleep.

To Mari who had just woken up, the luminosity of the morning rays caused her to narrow her eyes. The discrepancy between her having just fallen asleep and the arrival of daybreak made her felt groggy.

Her attending doctor was by the side of the bed. He was holding the glass bottle which contained the tablets.

“Although this medicine will ease the pain by prohibiting the contraction of your blood vessel, it is not recommended to take so many—”

Mari rubbed her eyes and looked at the visitor’s seat.

Obviously, the young man from last night was not there.

“…”

Looking at the Mari who was just staring out of the window mutely, the middle-aged attending doctor gave a small sigh. From his attitude, one could tell the difficulty he had with handling Mari.

Mari had been admitted to this hospital for over one year. The reason for her stay was due to complications from a heart attack, a congenital heart problem she had since young. Since last autumn, she had rarely even left the hospital premises. Notwithstanding her primary school graduation ceremony, she also did not attend the entrance ceremony for the prestigious Horusu Seijou Academy at which she was due to enter.

Mari’s family, the Hanashiro house was a head family with many followers in business and politics who practised flower arrangement. The VIP room which Mari was in depicted their prestige and tremendous financial wealth. As a matter of fact, with the Hanashiro house a major investor in the hospital, the attending doctor would not dare getting on Mari’s bad side even by mistake.

Also, the main reason why he had so much trouble dealing with Mari was because she knew her own body’s condition.

As a result of the assortment of drugs that she had to take, her organs were severely weakened. Furthermore, due to the hardening of her arteries, no one knew when her heart would just stop—.

“Preferably, you should reduce the use of this medicine so as to allow your body’s immune system to recover. This way, you will also be able to discharge sooner. Let’s work together to make that happen.”

With a smile, the attending doctor said in a placating tone. Even though his tone was somewhat awkward, he was truly concerned for Mari and was definitely not a bad doctor.

“…”

However, Mari continued to stare out of the window wordlessly.

Sighing again, the attending doctor left the room saying, ‘I’ll be back again in the afternoon.’

Once more, Mari’s morning began with emptiness.

Boredom can kill a person—who was it who said that.

There was nothing ahead of the day for Mari, having repeated day after days. Her day was only punctuated by medication time and consultations, followed by lights out. Due to the need for her to be hospitalised to recuperate, she did not manage to make any friends in primary school. Furthermore, she had yet to even step foot into her middle school since she was enrolled. As such, there was not a single soul who would come to visit her. As for her parents, they were so busy socialising and managing their practice that they only showed their faces occasionally in the hospital.

Having lived this life for days, then months and now for a year, she could not imagine there being any change to this situation.

However, when was it that such unmoving, boring and empty days have changed?

“…”

From the slightly ajar window, a pair of silver-coloured wing reflecting the morning sun approached.

It was the morpho butterfly.

The one who granted Mari her Mushi—it was none other than the young man in the white coat who was seated next to Mari right now.

“Here’s a new book, Mari.”

Out of nowhere, the young man appeared with a smile holding a book out to Mari.

The sudden appearance of the young man was no longer a surprise to Mari.

“This is the original work of the latest popular drama. It’s fine to read something like this occasionally, isn’t it?”

Facing the young man with a mischievous smile on his face, Mari pondered.

—Why is it that he can still smile like that?

Mari first met the young man just a few months ago. —Despite the tedious, repetitive days, these past few months had passed very fast.

After meeting Mari and turning her into a Mushitsuki, he had also imparted to her considerable knowledge about the Mushi.

Mari did not hate him for turning her into a Mushitsuki, for she knew that he had suffered as much as she did. Also, like Mari, he just lived waiting for the ‘end’ to come.

“Recently, there has been a surge in this kind of stories, these somewhat tragic love stories. However, there are still plenty of fun parts around…”

Ever since she met him, Mari’s days have changed.

For Mari who had lived her life without a single purpose, she now had one thing to look forward to.

Night-time—.

Mari looked forward to the late night.

Night was when she had the freedom to run and jump around, to use her brimming strength to do whatever she wants. In addition to this freedom, she had an objective to fulfil at the same time.

“It’s fine for today. …Pass me that book.”

Mari said, holding out her hand out of the window. The morpho butterfly then rested on her pallid arm.

“That book again?”

With a bitter smile, the young man inserted the book into the bookshelf. In exchange, he took out a thin book.

It was a picture book titled, “Potion of Magic”. Mari took the book from the young man and placed it by the pillow, turning to her sides.

“I’m going to sleep.”

In preparation for night-time, Mari needed to preserve as much of her stamina as possible. Even if her body was strengthened from fusing with the morpho butterfly, the energy to move still came from herself.

“…How is your research coming along?”

After lying on the bed for a while, Mari asked. Even though she could not sense his presence, Mari knew that the young man was still seated next to her.

“It was just finished the day before yesterday. Despite how I look, I’m a pretty outstanding apprentice, you know? Although I’ll be leaving this hospital where I met you… whenever I have time, I’ll come by to see you.”

“Is that so…”

Her voice sounded like it was coming from afar. Soon after, she felt her eyelids became heavy.

In the midst of a light sleep while waiting for night to approach, Mari’s consciousness drifted in the interstice between reality and dream.

The colourless landscapes of the past flowed past her mind before disappearing into nothingness.

—She had met the mysterious young man clad in a white coat during a summer day with clear skies.

With the reason that air-conditioning was poison to the body, the windows were fully opened, allowing the cries of cicadas to enter the room. That was when he appeared in front of Mari who was gazing at the fluttering curtains.

He wore a long white coat covering his entire body, something she thought did not suited him at that time. With a head of unkempt hair, one could not leave the impression of a student from him.

From the words of the attending doctor who brought him along, he was just a research resident fresh out of university, in other words, an apprentice. Mari thought that he had been brought along to act as a conversation partner for her, who led an uneventful life at the hospital. In actual fact, she knew that his role was to study Mari’s rare illness.

—Would you please tell me your name?

He should have already known her name from the patient chart, but what annoyed her even more was how his wording sounded as if he was speaking to a child.

—It’s Patricia.

Mari spitted out in displeasure.

What Mari depended on to stave off her boredom day after days was a large collection of books. Patricia was the name of the heroine that appeared in the book “Potion of Magic”, a picture book translated from an overseas fairy tale.

The content of the story was as follows.

A witch visited Patricia who had fallen sick.

The witch offered her two kinds of potion; one made by an angel, and the other by a devil.

If she drank the angel’s potion, in exchange for losing her loved one, her sickness would be cured and she would be able to live a long life.

On the other hand, her sickness would not be cured if she drank the devil’s potion, but her loved one would ''always'' be by her side.

Even at her deathbed, Patricia was still undecided.

If she chose the angel’s potion, everybody would lose their memories of her. And in return, she would live to a ripe old age, released from the fear of death.

However, if she drank the devil’s potion—.

In the end, Patricia drank the devil’s potion.

And so, she left the world. Even so, her loved ones would often visit her grave.

No matter how hard Mari thought, she could never figure out why did Patricia chose as such.

If she was Patricia, she would have chosen the angel’s potion without hesitation. As long as her illness was cured, she would not have to face the fear of death creeping up on her.

Why did Patricia pick the devil’s potion?

Not knowing the answer to this question, Mari read the picture book time after times—.

—Patricia…?

The young man was surprised.

His reaction was obvious. She did not think that he had read the picture book before, and he would not have expected that a young man who just recently graduated such as himself would be ridiculed by a girl much younger than him.

She saw the young man taking a peek at her bookshelf.

That was where she had kept the picture book.

—Do you understand Patricia’s feeling?

He asked with a bitter smile.

At his unexpected words, Mari was speechless.

Till now, Mari still did not understand the true intent behind Patricia’s choice.

—It’s fine even if you don’t know. Take your time to slowly look for the answer. That’s because you are different from Patricia, you still have a long road ahead of you.

From that day on, the young man would visit Mari whenever he had some free time. He would visit even when there were deep shadows around his eyes, probably due to a lack of sleep from spending his time in research.

At first, she thought that he was visiting her out of a sense of mission as a doctor. It would not take long for a young resident to sympathise with Mari’s situation.

He would talk about various things from his research to about books. At first, he would ramble on and on by himself. Eventually, Mari began to exchange a few words with him as well.

Be that as it may that a doctor’s mission was to save their patients, Mari was perplexed over why did he cared so much for her.

However, before long, she knew the reason after hearing about his secret.

That was because of how he could see himself in her, similarly bound by the threads of destiny which they could never escape.

—Mari. What is your dream?

Being asked that question, Mari answered unwaveringly. She had already heard from him the consequence of answering that question.

—I want… to live.

Biting her lips, Mari croaked out a voice that trailed off. That was the first time that she had revealed her tears in front of him. Also, that would be the first and the last time that he held Mari in his arms.

—Then, live on. Let us live on and see the continuation of the dream…

And so, Mari became a Mushitsuki.

Then, he told Mari about various things.

About the Mushi. About the existences known as the Original Three. And also, about the Mushitsuki known as ''Kusuriya Daisuke''.

—He is strong. Even as he hesitates, he knows that he must continue. Although I have never actually met him… by all means, I want you to meet him.

Although the young man went out of his way to mention him, Mari had absolutely no interest in that person. She thought somewhere in her mind that she would never meet that person.

More so than him, Mari was interested in a certain Mushitsuki borne by Elvioréne—dubbed Oogui by a certain organisation, an existence that gave rise to Mushitsuki.

The Mushitsuki with the attribute of ''Undeath''.

The existence of such Mushitsuki is closely intertwined with that of Oogui’s. As such, they are someone that Mari must defeat eventually no matter what—.

“…”

The outside of the window was that of darkness.

The bedside lamp lit up the last page of the “Potion of Magic” propped up at the side of the bed.

Mari closed the picture book.

Looking at the wall clock, it was currently one o'clock deep in the night.

Mari got off the bed and opened the closet. She retrieved the white coat hidden at the back of the closet and swapped out of her hospital garb.

After covering her face with the knitted hat and muffler, she approached the window which exposed the blackness of the night.

“Please stop this already, Mari.”

The young man’s voice came from her back.

At a corner of the seemingly empty room, a familiar young man in a white coat stood. As usual, there had been no sound of the door opening.

“Didn’t you promise me? To see the continuation of your dream together—”

“At the very least, I am aware of the condition of my body.”

Mari cut into the words of the young man.

“Please just let me do what I want in the end.”

“It’s not the end. You are still…”

Mari ignored his words. When she opened the window, silver light entered the room.

The morpho butterfly landed on Mari’s shoulder and transformed. Its feelers fused with her body as well as turning the crutch in her right hand into a silver spear.

She felt strength fill her entire body. But at the same time, she felt something at the depths of her heart being eroded.

“Also, didn’t you say so. That Mushitsuki… if it’s me, then it might be possible to defeat that Undying Mushitsuki. Apart than me, who else could?”

She had spoken without her true intentions. The reason why Mari was searching for the Undying Mushitsuki was definitely not to defeat him.

The young man scarcely choked out some words.

“Even so, there is no reason for you to have to deal with it…!”

“The one who gave me this strength was you. That’s why you have a responsibility to watch over me till the end.”

Without giving him an opportunity to reply, Mari jumped off the window from three storeys high unhesitatingly.

“Mari!”

Following the sound of slicing through the wind, Mari landed on both of her legs with a fierce impact. With her legs strengthened by the combination with her Mushi, she immediately broke into a run after her landing.

Running across the silent hospital premises, she jumped right over the fence.

Once again tonight, a silver bullet traced around Akamaki City under the moonlight.