Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 2nd Episode 05 (section)

===Part 2===

After alighting from the train, Arisu and Daisuke proceeded down separate passageways.

The lightings placed at regular intervals reflected off the metallic walls. The long passageway that Arisu entered did not have a single door apart from the one she entered from.

[Please proceed forwards and stop before the wall.]

She could hear a machine-like female voice coming from somewhere.

Arisu did as she was told and advanced. The small surveillance camera on the ceiling tracked her and slowly rotated as she walked.

When she reached the end of the passageway, she stopped. There was no door handle nor buttons, only a blank wall.

[Pulse and breathing are normal. Please stand by in the entrance room until the signal is given.]

The wall slid to the side, revealing a small hidden room.

There was another door with the same design as the one she entered through, as well as a large door and three exits. There was a poorly maintained bench by the side of the wall and several people dressed in clothes that seemed to be sewn from rags sat there.

Before the large door stood two people. They were cladded in long coats with excessive belts and large goggles that covered the face—either of which were what Daisuke wore during his missions except they were white in colour.

“Sit down and wait for your turn.”

The man in white coat instructed Arisu.

At his commandeering tone, she felt indignant. However, she recalled Daisuke’s words to ‘behave herself’ and sat down on the seat.

“Hey, is this the entrance room? What do you mean by turn?”

“Shut your mouth.”

The man fully clothed in white cut her off callously. A vein popped up on Arisu’s forehead.

“Bear with it, bear with it… I’ll just let all this annoyance out on Daisuke later…”

[Subject 2587 shall enter the room for the inspection and adjustment of their safety choker.]

The other smaller door similar to the one Arisu entered from opened.

“…”

What appeared completely stole Arisu’s gaze.

It wasn’t just her. Everyone in the entrance room—even the guards in white coat, turned towards the door.

A girl dressed in thin clothing stood there.

She was more beautiful than anyone Arisu met before.

Her age was around that of Arisu’s. She had a well-featured face, but what caught Arisu’s attention the most was her powerful gaze that held a strong sense of presence and an unbendable will.

However, something about the girl seemed to catch Arisu’s mind; it felt as though she recognised her from somewhere.

The girl entered the room expressionlessly. Arisu noticed the silvery chain wrapped her neck as she unreservedly took a seat nearby. A metallic plate was attached to the chains with a red light lit up on the surface.

Furthermore, both of her arms were bounded by restraints. The tough-looking restraints were joined together by a long wire. There should be no trouble for her to walk normally, but it would be impossible for her to spread her arms wide open.

The beauty of the girl stood in contrast to her prisoner-like appearance. Even this mismatch seemed to magnify her otherworldly gorgeousness.

The girl sat down next to Arisu. Even after she sat down, Arisu could not tear her eyes off her. She looked back at Arisu.

“…”

The two of them stared into each other in close proximity.

“…What is it, is there something on my face?”

Arisu must have been staring too hard at her, as her face turned stiff. The unapproachable aura around the girl dissipated.

Arisu looked at her unblinkingly.

“Notwithstanding your face… you have a choker and a pair of arm restraints on.”

“Indeed, I guess so.”

“Why do you have such things on?”

At Arisu’s question, the girl had a look of surprise for some reason, but that immediately turned into a grin. It was a smile that seem unbefitting for someone like her, yet it suited her more than anything else.

“You must be here for the first time.”

Arisu nodded.

[Subject 5987. Please put on the safety choker.]

A space appeared in the wall. The white coated personnel took out a pair of arm restraints and a chain from within, the same as that worn by the girl.

One of the people seated stood up and had the choker and restraints put on by the people in the white coats. The large door then opened, and another white coated personnel on the other side took him away.

“These are the so-called safety apparatus. That is, to them… in the eyes of SEPB.”

“Safety apparatus?”

“These things are remote-controlled and are set to be able to send a jolt of electricity at any time. The moment you show the slightest trace of suspicious behaviour, they can send an electric shock to render you unconscious. Well, it’s like an insurance against Mushitsuki.”

She tilted her neck, showing Arisu the chains. In contrast to the gravity of her words, her expression was bright.

“Without such things, they’d be too scared to be in the same room as Mushitsuki. Jeez, even if they call themselves the SEPB, they’re just a gathering of cowards.”

More so than the anger she felt towards the SEPB’s treatment of Mushitsuki, Arisu was more attracted to the girl’s spontaneous changes in expression.

She went from giving a lecture in an exaggerated manner, to sneering at the SEPB, and then nodding to herself in satisfaction. Her wealth of emotions made Arisu thought that she would be terrifying were she to be mad.

She looked towards Arisu abruptly.

“Hey, what is your dream?”

“Eh?”

Being asked all of a sudden, Arisu could not respond.

“If you’re unwilling, you don’t have to tell me…”

Saying that, she smiled.

''My dream—.''

She had met Mari, followed by Daisuke, and many other more Mushitsuki since then. In doing so, she had come to know of their dreams.

However, when she tried to think of one herself, she realized that she could not give an immediate answer.

“Because I’m not a Mushitsuki, I…”

Arisu spoke.

The girl slightly raised her eyebrows. She must have thought that Arisu was also a Mushitsuki.

“It doesn’t matter whether or not you are a Mushitsuki! It can just be something that you want to do, or perhaps just something that you want. Don’t you think that it is marvellous to have something like that?”

Raising her index finger, the girl spoke excitedly. That out-of-place dazzling smile almost seemed to overwhelm Arisu.

“Wha-… What is your dream?”

“Me? My dream is… to build a place of belonging for Mushitsuki.”

“A place of belonging… for Mushitsuki?”

“Even though they are feared by society, and even their loved ones avoid them for some of them… not to mention that they have something unknown lurking within themselves, they are actually no different from any ordinary person. Or rather, I feel like Mushitsuki are even more vulnerable than ordinary people. Though they may occasionally hurt other people, they are the ones getting hurt most of the time… I want to create a place of belonging where such Mushitsuki are able to smile from the bottom of their hearts. At the very least, it should not be a place like this, where their every move is monitored.”

Her words resonated clearly in every corner of the quiet room. Even the people seated and the white coated guards seem to have heard the words spun by the girl.

“It’s the same for you guys, right? There’s no way you enjoy monitoring the very same Mushitsuki as yourselves.”

The girl looked towards the guards. Arisu could see that the two of them were biting their lips.

“I will definitely create that place. When that happens, you will not need to fear the SEPB like this any longer. Just wait for me until then.”

Unlike the brightly smiling girl, it was obvious that the men in white coat were shaken. Even the thinly-clothed people hanging their head previously were filled with spirit now.

''This girl… she’s different from all the other Mushitsuki I’ve met so far—.''

Arisu was once again awed by the charm and charisma held by the girl. Her words were not merely an idealistic argument, it held a definite persuasiveness to it.

“Even so, I know that this is not a dream that can be realized so easily.”

Exhaling a breath, the girl looked down on her arms that are restrained.

“Starting with the SEPB, there are many other challenges that Mushitsuki face… The fact that I am imprisoned here also mean that I am powerless. However, I will make it come true by any means. I will keep on fighting, and resisting, even if I were to die someday. In doing so…”

When she raised her head, there was a smile on her face.

“Surely, my wish would reach somebody. Hey, don’t you think so? That no matter whom, their dreams will definitely connect with someone else somewhere.”

Saying so happily, the girl swung her legs. Unlike when she entered the room, this gesture seemed to express the youthfulness in her.

“Ah, there’s one more thing in addition that. Something that I want to do.”

The girl said, as if just remembering it.

“I want to know just what are the Mushi. Why do they exist and why do they consume the dreams of the Mushitsuki?”

Arisu jerked in surprise.

“I’m—”

Arisu unthinkingly grasped the girl’s hand.

“I’m the same! I want to know about the Mushi… why does Mushitsuki exists. And also, why—”

''Why did Mari become a Mushitsuki''—Arisu’s words became stuck in her throat just when she was about to vocalise them. She thought that the girl wouldn't understand what she was talking about even if she spoke about it.

The girl flashed a mischievous smile.

“Then, how about we go find out? The two of us, together.”

“…Eh?”

“Just kidding.”

Perhaps recalling her current situation, the girl gave a lonely sigh. But, she looked joyful seeing her grasped hands.

“Even though I mentioned this earlier, it’s not going to be an easy task. In addition to the SEPB, our enemies are aplenty… Hey, do you have the determination to fight?”

Arisu was silent.

The determination to fight—indeed, in pursuing after Mari’s dream, it may be necessary for her to be resolved to do as much.

For a year, Arisu had continued in pursuit of Mari’s dying wish. It was all for the sake of finding out the true thoughts of her close friend who passed on without saying a word. She would never forget the chagrin she felt day after days of not having a single lead before she met Daisuke.

Arisu stared back to the girl.

“I won’t lose. Not to anybody or anything.”

“''OK'', that’s the spirit.”

With a grin, the girl closed in her lips to Arisu’s cheeks. To Arisu whose heart skipped a beat, she whispered into her ears.

“If you want to know more about the Mushi, look for the ''Hunter''.”

Right next to Arisu with her eyebrows crossed, the girl spoke.

“That person knows about the Mushi… no, it seems like they know something even deeper. But, be careful. It was none other than their fault that I am locked up in here—”

She did not manage to finish her words.

[Guest No.19, please put on the safety choker.]

The white coats prompted Arisu to stand up. They wrapped the chain around her neck, but did not go so far as to put on the arm restraint. Arisu turned back to the girl.

“H-hey, what did you mean by…”

“We may never meet again for a second time. But—”

The girl held out her thumb and index finger at a right-angle pointed towards Arisu. Her pose with a wink reminded one of a model behind an easel.

[[File:Mushi Uta Bug 2nd p027.jpg|thumb]]

“If we ever do meet again… You would tell me the most awesome dream, right?”

Arisu smiled back.

“Of course. Who do you think I am?”

The two exchanged smiles before turning to their respective directions.