Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 2nd Episode 06 (section)

===Part 2===

When they left the male changing room, Daisuke took a heavy sigh.

“Why do I have do this… Damn it, it’s all that stupid Arisu’s fault, sticking her neck where she doesn’t belong.”

The boy by his side lowered his head to him after keeping his mobile phone in his pocket.

“I’m so sorry for causing you all this inconvenience.”

His expression was pretty much the same, but his tone sounded very apologetic. It did not show on his face, but he must have felt quite bad. The two of them had come all the way to the male changing room to retrieve his mobile phone.

“Yea, this sure inconvenienced me all right. If you’re gonna have a fight, have it somewhere other people won’t see.”

Saying so grouchily, Daisuke walked ahead. Unlike Ena and Takako, this boy had nothing to do with his day-to-day mission. He had absolutely no reason to be courteous.

It appears that his name was Sugihara Kouta. Kouta followed after Daisuke hurriedly.

“Erm… I’ll be alright from here on.”

“I also need to go retrieve the idiot who is together with your girl.”

“I see.”

Different from the impression of him when Daisuke saw them fighting, Kouta was rather calm, or perhaps even cold.

Arisu and the girl seemed to have joined the queue for the ‘Horror Laboratory’. Daisuke walked briskly towards their destination with no intention of matching the boy’s footsteps at all.

“If you had just chased after her then, we wouldn’t have had to gone through all this trouble. Why didn’t you run after her straight away.”

“That is…”

Kouta’s tongue was tied. Maybe there was some particular reason, but he did not voice them.

Daisuke also did not really want to pursue his reason and just gave another sigh as he walked.

After walking a while in silence, Kouta asked Daisuke suddenly.

“Erm, is the person called Arisu Daisuke-san’s lover?”

“I see. So, you want me finish you off right here.”

When Daisuke heard his name, he had given him his as well. Seeing Daisuke crack his knuckles, Kouta flurriedly shook his head.

“N-no, thank you, if I was wrong then nevermind. It’s just, if that was the case, then I have something to ask.”

“Something to ask?”

“That is… how do I patch things up with her.”

“…”

“Even though we got separated like this today, I… couldn’t say anything. It was because she said something ridiculous that we ended in a fight. Because this is the first time this happened, I don’t know what to do at all.”

“Like hell I’d know. That has nothing to do with me, and neither am I interested. Go figure out something by yourself.”

Daisuke replied grumpily.

Kouta was somewhat annoyed.

“I guess that is so, sorry for asking you. …I’m sure you wouldn’t have understood it anyway.”

“I can hear you loud and clear. Or rather, did you purposely intend for me to hear that, Huh?”

“I’m sorry, please don’t get violent.”

“So, you revealed your real nature eh, you brat…”

The two of them glared at each other in front of the ‘Horror Laboratory’.

“In the first place, I hate wilful girls. Like that idiot Arisu, your girl seems to be one of those as well. How could I possibly understand a guy who willingly get together with such a girl.”

“She’s not wilful at all, okay. I know because I’m always with her.”

Shaking off Daisuke’s hand that is holding his neck, Kouta proceeded to enter through the entrance.

“It may be true that there are times when she just jumps into things without thinking, but… she also thinks about various things, much more than I ever do. Just like the time she confessed to me, she can be very reckless, but she is in fact a coward at heart… She’s the type of girl that gets uneasy whenever I’m not around with her.”

Is this guy showing off his girlfriend to me? Daisuke thought with a sneer.

“''Haah'', then why didn’t you chase after her immediately.”

“You think I didn’t want to…!”

“What is it? Is there a reason you can’t chase her?”

Facing Daisuke who grinned provocatively, Kouta bit back his lips. He flipped back a question with a glare.

“What about you?”

“Ah?”

“Do you know anything about that person called Arisu? She may hold some secrets that you are unaware of for all you know. Aren’t you also not trying to find out about them?”

He questioned Daisuke in a tone unlike that of a primary schooler.

''—There are plenty of things that you wouldn’t know if you do not speak out.''

Daisuke recalled Arisu’s words and the face of his war buddy who had betrayed the SEPB, Aki. But, with a mocking smile on his face, those thoughts disappeared.

“Ha, lame.”

“…You’re probably just jealous yourself because you do not have a girlfriend.”

“Like I was saying, I hear you just loud and fine.”

“I’m sorry, please don’t raise your hands towards a kid.”

“You this snotty brat…”

Releasing his hand from the boy’s neck, Daisuke headed to join the queue.

However, his feet stopped.

All of a sudden, a chilly gale assaulted him.

''What is this—.''

A sense of insects crawling up his body assailed him, causing a chill to run down his back.

Kouta’s countenance too changed dramatically. His face was frozen in fear, turning deathly pale.

“Hey, somehow, it feels extremely scary all of a sudden… Let’s not enter?”

“There’s probably a breakdown. It feels kind of off-putting. Let’s go somewhere else.”

The people making up the queue left in droves.

In a matter of moments, the people in the surroundings all left. It was as if there was an invisible wall placed over here, creating an empty pocket of space.

“…!”

A vast green fog seemed to be wrapped around the mossy building. The green fog coalesced into a single form with a long torso—into a silhouette that resembled a millipede.

[[File:Mushi Uta Bug 2nd p093.jpg|thumb]]

The only ones who saw it were Daisuke and Kouta. All the other people had either left, or were facing the other side from the building, none looking in this direction.

''A Special Type Mushi…? Is its host inside here?''

Daisuke had reflexively moved his hand over to his pouch. There was only his usual mission-use goggles stored inside the waterproof pouch. For an instant, he hesitated over whether to retrieve his weapon back at the changing room.

''No, a weapon would be ineffective against a Special Type. …Not to mention, this one seems to be especially troublesome—.''

A figure dashed past Daisuke who was running simulations in his mind. It was Kouta.

“Himeko…!”

“You idiot, wait up! Inside, there’s a—”

The staffs tried to instruct the people with a, ‘C-currently, we’re experiencing a malfunction…!’ But, with him crouched on the ground, he did not stop the two from entering.

The insides of the building led to a dark tunnel. It appears that people were meant to ride on a rail car that lay on a track submerged in water.

Kouta leapt into the water without batting an eye. Creating splashing sound, he ran through the shallow waters into the dark tunnel.

Daisuke chased after him, clutching his shoulder to bring him to a stop.

“Didn’t I tell you to wait! You go wait outside!”

“I have to stop Himeko or else…!”

When he turned around, Kouta had a desperate look as he spoke.

Daisuke’s expression changed.

“Stop…? What do you mean?”

As Daisuke questioned him, an unpleasant premonition spread in his heart.