Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 4th Episode 16 (section)

===Part 1===

A gust of wind went by.

Walking with her sailor uniform fluttering, Munechika gazed up the blooming cherry tree.

She grabbed the petals falling to her white cheeks.

"Not bad."

Thus evaluating the cherry petal storm dyed by the beginning of summer, she narrowed her eyes.

The thing Munechika loved most of all was forms of art created by the complex yet orderly arrangement of inorganic matter.

Plants were simply involved in whatever occurred around them, asserting themselves. Munechika didn't hate this sort of philosophical way of life.

What she really hated was—

"Congratulations for graduating!"

When Munechika went to exit through the school gate, girls wearing the same uniform closed in on her. Now that she was blocked and stopped in place, the cubes in Munechika's hair rang.

She didn't know whether or not they noticed her furrowing her brows. Her juniors all looked up at the taller girl with uplifted faces. One held a flower vase toward her.

This wasn't anything rare. Since she was tall and had an androgynous face, she received presents even from girls.

"I have a request… umm, can I get your scarf?"

Munechika's eyebrows twitched.

"I want it as a keepsake."

The junior girl spoke to the unmoving Munechika. There were also people around who started crying despite them not even graduating.

"I refuse."

When Munechika bluntly rejected them, the girls all looked lonely.

Clothes weren't created for sentimentality. Also, throwing just one part of her outfit would destroy its value.

She also didn't like the unproductive idea of turning a scarf into a memento.

''That's why I hate people who don't know how to treat objects—''

She cursed in her heart.

"Those flowers… since you're the one who plucked them, take care of them yourself."

She asserted, breaking through the siege without accepting the flowers.

Walking inside the cherry blossom storm, she jauntily exited the school. She didn't look back at her middle school.

Come April she would enter into a girls' school not far from there. A school was a zone of irritating human interaction, but she knew there things she needed to learn other than those relating to her knowledge of production.

Since she belonged to the development unit of the West Central Branch, unlike the combat or the monitor units she didn't need to change her hiding place much. After entering the expected high school she would probably never change schools.

"And now I shall proceed to Akamaki City…"

Exiting the school, she headed toward the station, taking no shortcuts. Boarding on the train that arrived on time, she gazed at the scenery.

How stupid.

She'd halfheartedly gone through the real battle test and returned to her base a day ago. She would rather stay over there, but she first wanted to finish up her middle school life.

Her acquaintances often told her she spoke like an old man.

On the other hand, Munechika hated the word "outdated" which was without any potential of reforming.

She thought it was like floppy disks and antiques, but she couldn't sympathize with other people. The only kind of people Munechika accepted—those with the profession of creation—would probably understand her, though.

"So for the time being it seems like this'll be my first job."

There were empty seats, but she was standing in front of the door, shaken by the train. Buildings of all sizes and shapes passed outside the window.

"Such a stupid job."

Immediately after she joined the SEPB, Munechika had already unofficially completed several projects for the West Central Branch's development unit. It was during that time that she'd also created the Gemsteel hanging from her hair, and she'd already strengthened the gear of her comrades.

Since she was a member of the organization, she'd been in Akamaki City until yesterday to receive fundamental battle training. This was apparently a special case of some sort of selection training, so new members of other branches also gathered there.

Just when she safely finished her training and thought of heading back home, she received her first official mission.

It was the simple request to create equipment for a single Mushitsuki.

She'd just finish it quickly and go back home.

"…"

Her line of sight watching the flowing scenery outside suddenly went upwards.

She noticed that a single screw holding the glass window in place was slightly off. The glass would probably not fall off, but the resulting small gap caused the window to rattle.

Munechika frowned.

She reached for the pouch at her waist with natural movements.

"They're neglecting the maintenance here…"

Some minutes passed.

Munechika sat cross-legged right on the spot. The uniformed girl using an electric filing tool to adjust the thickness of the screw attracted curious gazes.

Yoshihara Munechika was born as the daughter of a hardware store owner. Their family also ran an ironworks factory downtown.

Her grandfather, who passed away a few years ago, had been a now-rare swordsmith. She'd heard him tempering steel on the fire of the bellows even from her mother's womb. She heard that dozens of generations ago, the Yoshihara family were excellent smiths employed by the shogunate.

At present swords had nothing but ornamental value, but the techniques to temper steel were passed along. The blood of the clan living with iron and steel seemed to flow even inside Munechika. Seeing her grandfather work his mallet ever since she was young, she also learned the techniques.

"Not bad."

Seeing the surface of the polished screw, Munechika narrowed her eyes.

By being too close to humans, one would mix their emotions with the purity of iron.

By being too close to iron, one would rust their wisdom as a human.

The one who connected "people" and "objects" was a blacksmith.

So she thought.

But in the present when the possibilities of metal were expanded to their limits, the value for their existence was not equal.

People forgot the value of objects, and the objects held in people's hands forgot their possibilities.

"Good."

The screw Munechika created fit the door perfectly.

Blacksmiths who connected people and objects were unneeded nowadays.

As the profession of a blacksmith vanished, the remnant of the clan enamored with iron became a tool maker.

A tool maker that single-mindedly altered the essence of objects was the proper form of worker in today's society. If people used only what they've created—

"…Hmm?"

Just as she felt satisfied at her work, one of the conductors tapped her shoulder.

—It took an hour until she was released from questioning.

"Stupid humans who cannot recognize their own weakness."

How could they have regarded her as a suspicious person? Normally you should call that people who run around naked or wave weapons around. —Well, when she'd sat cross-legged her underwear was visible and when questioned by the staff she brandished her hammer, but still.

Exiting the station while cursing, a wind smelling of the capital's exhaust fumes greeted Munechika.

After coming out of the second floor of the crowded station, she ended up standing in front of the large crossing.

''Clang''.

''Clang''.

She heard the sound of striking metal.

Was there construction work somewhere? In a city surrounded by iron and concrete, a pleasant noise metallic could always be heard from somewhere.

According to the schedule she got from her collaborator, the person of interest should pass there soon.

Not even looking at the crowd of people filling the square, she was for a while entranced by the scenery of metallic sounds and swarms of buildings.

"…"

Around the time the sun started to set, Munechika's gaze fixed on a person for the first time.

There were four middle-schoolers.

One was a healthy and stylish looking girl, the other was a tall girl with a pure image.

She could also see a boy. As the lone boy among them, he alone looked like a normal middle school student. He had no special features other than perhaps the bandage on his cheek.

Yet Munechika's gaze fixed on the ponytailed girl in the center.

"Ichinokuro Arisu."

She mumbled in her mouth.

Munechika's first job was creating equipment for this girl.

She noticed the silver butterfly fluttering around the smiling girl.

"Or perhaps… Hanashiro Mari."

The morpho butterfly—

At a glance it looked like an insect, but it was undoubtedly a Mushi.

But according to the material she received, it was a Mushi who Hanashiro Mari had passed along to Ichinokuro Arisu after dying from an illness.

It was a dubious story. A Mushi remaining in the world despite its owner dying and even possess another human was unheard of.

The mysteries surrounding the morpho butterfly involved a lot of people, and they still haven't found any clues.

But that didn't matter to Munechika in the least.

She only wanted to create. If she, as a tool maker, said she didn't crave the job to create equipment for one of the only three discovered Fusion Types, she would be lying.

Height, weight, finger length in proportion to her body, muscle quality, and the assumption that she was still developing—

In Munechika's mind, all of the data was being inputted and calculated.

"Besides the goggles and coat, she needs a weapon to fuse with—a rod, was it?"

Mumbling to herself, she stepped ahead.

Ichinokuro Arisu and Munechika passed nearby.

"As long as I don't mistake the amount of Gemsteel, it shouldn't be hard at all."

A metallic sound echoed from the cubes holding up her hair rubbing.

As it combined hardness and lightness with the best quality, the Gemsteel was all-purpose. By inserting it in threads it could become a cloth durable against anything, and by using it in an alloy it became a light yet unbreakable metal. Its usage in SEPB equipment left a real mark.

"Now I'll head back to HQ and start working…"

Mumbling to herself, she went down the staircase to the pedestrian crossing.

"—Was that enough?"

As she descended, a voice called out from behind.

She turned around. The boy that had been walking alongside Ichinokuro Arisu was looking down at her.

"Thanks for your help."

"…"

"The documents were all trifling information and they haven't even written anything about her body shape. I wanted to see her firsthand."

The completely normal-looking boy approached Munechika who stood in place.

Blaze Class Rank 1, Kakkou.

Originally he belonged to the East Central Branch, but was assigned to serve as Ichinokuro Arisu's monitor. Their circumstances as outsiders were similar, but she felt no affinity.

Standing in front of the station to check out Arisu wasn't a coincidence. She'd been waiting there since she knew about it from her collaborator, that boy.

"I have no need to know anything else about the human called Ichinokuro Arisu."

Asserting cleanly, she extended her hand to Kakkou.

Now that she knew the girl's body size, she just needed to create the best weapon. She hadn't even the slightest interest in the user's background and personality.

"What's with the hand?"

Looking at Munechika's hand, Kakkou made a puzzled face.

"Am I going to keep waiting for humans forever? Bring it out. You have it, right?"

"…?"

"You fool. Give it to me already. Is it here?"

"Oh… O-oi."

She stuck her hand inside the boy's clothes. When she put her hand around as if hugging him, her fingers touched something hard.

"You're full of openings. Are you really the Rank 1 demon? …Why are you blushing?"

"P-put it back. Don't bring out such a conspicuous item here, you idiot."

She felt a sense of weight in her hand. She'd be hard pressed to win against him with her woman's strength.

She heard that Kakkou was, just like Ichinokuro Arisu, a Fusion Type Mushitsuki. Most of the members knew that the strongest demon fused his Mushi with his gun.

"Nobody's looking. You're the only one who cares."

She pointed with her chin at cardboard houses made by the homeless.

Pulling out a sheet from her pouch, she carefully placed the gun on it. She also brought out her hammer and began lightly pounding it.

Confirming the metallic sound, Munechika frowned.

"A surprisingly basic material."

Most of the people walking in front of Munechika didn't even turn to look at her sitting on the ground. Perhaps they thought she was some street seller.

A scarab emitting a metallic luster sat on the hammer.

She pounded it hard once.

Just that caused the gun to fall apart. The screws spun in reverse and flew out with the other components also scattering.

"Hey!"

"I'm taking care of it. Shut up and watch."

Since Munechika had no duty to explain her ability, she asserted bluntly. Taking out a file and a driver, an oil bottle and cloth, she began polishing the gun parts.

"Many things seem to have been reconstructed… is this ready-made metal? If you'd ordered it from us we'd been able to get one that's much lighter and harder. This would get quite the metal fatigue."

"…We tried ordering too, but it just ended up breaking again and again. Apparently the burden from fusing with the Mushi is just too big. Since a specially-made item would actually immediately break, this is good enough."

He apparently lost the will to stop her. Kakkou stood in shadows so that he'd not be visible from the street.

"You did well to realize I hid the holster behind by back."

"Yeah."

Munechika's hand polishing the bullets stopped. It was because she recalled yesterday's hellish training.

"I heard from that raincoat girl. Because I was also chosen to be one of her sacrifices."

"Oh… that girl turned into a teacher. That selection training or whatever? It was actually a test for her to become a teacher, but how many of the sacrifices… I mean, trainees, managed to survive?"

"I dunno. I won't go along with this stupid human stuff."

They were probably the only ones able to understand their foolish-sounding conversation.

"Stupid training. I'm just a tool maker. I have no interest in becoming a combatant."

Munechika didn't need any battle training.

She had no interest in participating in the fights of humans.

But if told they were needed for battle, she'd create the best weapons. No matter who used these and where, they had to solve their own problems.

Neither human nor metal. Since Munechika was a mere tool maker, she couldn't speak of morals.

"People dare break objects even though they can't use them to their full potential. If so, then I want to try and build something unbreakable. —You could call this my fight."

She finished taking care of the gun.

Removing one cube hanging from her hair, she placed it on the removed gun part. Lowering her hand hammer, she struck it and the gun.

The scarab on the hammer faintly shone. The cube-shaped Gemsteel burst, scattering on the surface of the gun parts. It melted into their interior, born anew as a completely new metal.

"So is that your dream, then?"

"Exactly. I want to create something that'll never break—I turned into a Mushitsuki when I wished so."

''Clang''.

''Clang''.

The sound of hitting metal reverberated through the afternoon town.

The same as the sound Munechika had been hearing ever since her childhood, the sound of those who loved iron.

She couldn't allow herself to insert human emotions to a job that required removing impurities.

"If I'm able to make that true, it will become the proof to my living. I don't mind if I myself didn't remain in anyone's memories. I don't feel the need to assign a name to my creation."

Averting his eyes from the speaking Munechika, Kakkou muttered.

"So you don't want to remain in anyone's memories, huh."

The boy gazed at the passing people.

"You're probably… the exact opposite of Hanashiro Mari."

She didn't look at humans.

She didn't need to know the inside of people. As long as she knew their shape, she'd create the best equipment for them.

That's why she didn't ask back about his mutter.

"Okay."

Finishing maintenance and reforming the gun, she handed it back to Kakkou.

"It should be more than twice durable. I removed some extraneous parts, so it's lighter. Since I also raised its energy efficiency, it should have more firepower."

"…"

"I don't need thanks. I need to repay for your cooperation, and it's also something like a test product before creating the weapon for the morpho butterfly to fuse with."

Wordlessly gazing at his new gun, Kakkou started walking lightly. He entered into the darkness under a pedestrian bridge so that the people around wouldn't see him.

"So cold…"

The boy muttered.

"…?"

Munechika raised an eyebrow. It was obvious that metal was cold. Being cold meant it was strong against heat. It efficiently eliminated heat energy that would make the molecular binding brittle. 

Munechika's Gemsteel had high heat resistance. She was surprised at him feeling the difference from the previous alloy, but perhaps it wasn't strange when it was a user like Kakkou.

A green checkered beetle came from somewhere. Landing on the muzzle, its body turned into green tentacles, stabbed into the gun and fused with it.

But the next instant—

"Wha—"

The gun in Kakkou's hand crumbled to pieces. The tentacles parted, became a checkered beetle again and escaped to the sky.

Seeing the lumps of broken metal in the boy's hand, Munechika stood in shock.

"T-this can't be—"

[[File:Mushi_Uta_Bug_4th_p227.jpg|thumb]]

''Did I mistake the amount of Gemsteel…? No, I haven't miscalculated the density. It all had to be strengthened—''

Ignoring Munechika who entered a state of light panic, Kakkou waved his hand. Sighing, he took off without saying anything.

Coming back to herself, she caught the boy's shoulder and called to him.

"W-wait! What have you done, Kakkou! There's no way my product would break that easily!"

"Nothing special. I used it normally."

The boy's answer as he turned back was curt.

"T-there's no way that's true! My Gemsteel is the best metal. Since a ready-made product didn't break, there's no way that mixing in my Gemsteel would cause it to—"

"Then that means your product is even below that."

Below that—when Munechika heard those cursed words, her face blanched with anger and hatred.

Normally she would swing her hammer right about now. But she'd just seen her product crumble in front of her eyes.

"So I guess I won't expect much from Arisu's equipment, either."

Leaving a sneer behind, Kakkou shook off Munechika's arm and turned around.

He treated her creation like a defective product.

This unthinkable impression of his.

This unbearable shame.

"Wai…"

She tried calling out to Kakkou, but her hand went limp.

''Clang.''

''Clang.''

She heard construction sounds from somewhere.

The iron-pounding sound so familiar to the powerless tool maker beat her down even further.