Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 4 Chapter 1 (section)

==1.02 The Others==

Damn it…! So, in the end, I’m the only one left of the team!

“''Ugh''…”

Kanata, a Rank 3 Blaze Class member of the Annihilators from the Central Headquarters of the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau, groaned from within the darkness.

After overexerting his strength getting away from ‘URBAN’ last night, he spent the night collapsed in the shadow of a back alley. It would take him some more time before he recovers to a degree that allows him to move about. Though not to an extent where he can get full-fledged medical treatment and recuperation, he still needed to find a place out of people’s eye that allowed him to apply first-aid.

It was by luck that he managed to find a bankrupt pharmaceutical store in the corner of the shopping district of Nishito City. Trespassing into the store by forcing open the backdoor, he found medicine boxes scattered all across the floor. Seems like he would be able to find some painkillers. In addition, he found some bandages, which he roughly wrapped around his wounds.

Treating the medicine boxes as a bed, Kanata laid down with his face up. He wiped away the sweat perspiring from his face, producing a ''zaza'' sound as it rubbed against his stubble. With his dishevelled hair and moustache, most people who saw him would not have guessed that he was only nineteen years-old.

When he looked at his hand which he used to wipe away his sweat, he saw red blood sticking onto his hand. —Having already lost feeling on half of his face, he forgot that a deep gash was etched from his cheek till his ear.

“''Haah''…”

Disregarding the wound on his face, the injury on his abdomen ached with each breath he took. His mental strength seemed to sap away together with his blood. On the surface it was just a laceration, but it was clear that that was no ordinary wound.

The Annihilators that Kanata belonged to was an elite squad wrapped in secrecy that reported directly to vice-director Miguruma Yaeko. They received mobilisation orders in the off-chance that someone defects from the SEPB. As can be told from their name, their mission was not the capturing of the target. It was to annihilate, leaving nothing left behind.

An order was passed down from Miguruma.

The content of the order was the erasure of a target known as Horisaki Azusa who had escaped from the confinement facility.

A special team of six person was expressly assembled to annihilate a lone person, and a girl at that. All the members chosen were Rank 6 and above. He had expected the opponent to be considerably strong, but that with this team, he had no doubts that they would be able to fulfil the mission in no time and return.

Despite all of that, he had ended up in this pathetic state.

Thinking back, this mission had reeked of suspicion before they even departed. For Kanata who had worked as an assassin before joining the organisation under the Annihilators, he had felt a nagging doubt on his mind.

“''Kuu…!''”

Now that he remembered, he felt irritated.

—Hey, Kanata-san. Did you know? The mission you were given is the same as that of Kasuou, to silence one of the resurrectee of a certain experiment.

The one who had said that was a boy (or perhaps it was a girl) as Kanata was prepared to set off from Headquarters. If he recalled correctly, he was one of the comrades of the shady Rank 1, Harukiyo. Harukiyo had referred to him as Ume.

—What experiment?

—The experiment to bring a Fallen back to life. Though the other resurrectee, Centipede, seemed to have been dispatched of by Kasuou already.

—That’s impossible. Fuyuhotaru was supposed to be the only resurrectee.

—That’s right. Then how was it that were they able to come back to life? No, it’s more like, why is it that '''only they came back to life'''?

That’s ridiculous, thought Kanata as he left with a laugh. Those were truly the words of someone incomprehensible, he could not make sense of anything he said. He did not understand why were they allowed to join the Annihilators, not to mention why did Miguruma let them run loose.

‘If you’re so curious, then why don’t you ask Harukiyo to join the team?’, Kanata said so sarcastically to Ume, to which he replied.

—‘I am not a simple-minded one-celled organism like Kakkou that I would rejoice from just defeating a ''fragment''’, or so, Harukiyo said as such.

There’s no doubts that they were absolutely dubious people. It was as if they were aliens from another planet, I can’t grasp what’s in their mind at all.

It was an easy matter to track Horisaki Azusa’s footsteps.

There was a member in the team that had the ability to pinpoint the target’s location based on their smell. Azusa had first headed to Ouka City before coming here to Nishito City. There was no consistency to her movement at all as she travelled east before heading to the west again. Her movements seemed to be like that of Kanata and the rest, as if she was chasing after someone.

Finally having chased Azusa to Nishito City, Kanata and the rest moved in to assassinate the girl without hesitation.

But—.

“Damn it…!”

Cursing out loud reflexively, pain wracked his wound.

—Before he even realised, the only one left standing was Kanata alone.

The only person to witness the whole event from the start till the end was probably only him alone as well. Azusa had turned around with a grin to face him and the rest who were about to assault her.

He recalled the darkness that seemed to cloud her eyes as well as the ominous sound that rang out.

''Goong''… the sound of a bell heavily reverberated. Immediately, the air in the surroundings turned viscous, like as if they were breathing in water.

—It can’t be helped that one of the ''vessel'' seeking the king hast lost its objective… but this ''vessel'' hast yet to fulfil its duty. If ye dare to obstruct thee, thy shalt spare no mercy…

The words that came out of the girl who had darkness in her pupils sounded like that of a hoarse old man. From the shoulder of the girl holding one hand up, countless caterpillars could be seen crawling up.

A black fog enveloped the area, with anguished screams sounding after each other. The Mushi of the team members seemed to be assimilated into the fog, losing their shapes.

The fog that ''ate'' the Mushi then converged onto the girl and disappeared. The scene of the girl swallowing a gulp then was only seen by Kanata. Only his Mushi barely held onto its shape, while the rest of the team had already been turned into Fallen and collapsed onto the ground.

Raising a roar, Kanata set his two-headed centipede onto the girl. The centipede drew out its remaining strength, raising a trailer and throwing it at the girl. However, the girl easily dodged it. Having most of its strength suck out, the centipede’s speed was considerably slower.

The girl wrapped in the black fog used her hand to rip into Kanata’s body.

—It seems like there’s still some time needed to head to the king’s side. Thy child by thee side wouldst surely obstruct thee for the sake of thou dream… Thou canst end the life of thy child who is destined to protect the king…

The recipient of the mutterings did not seem to be Kanata. Paying no more attention to him who had collapsed, Azusa then left the area.

Though he had no idea who Horisaki Azusa was, the greatest mystery was still what happened after.

Chasing after Azusa while bearing wounds, what awaited him as he arrived at ‘URBAN’ was something blocking his way.

It was a single white cat.

For him who was lost in rage, he wanted to dispatch even that tiny animal and continue on his pursuit of Azusa. By that time, the only thought that ran through his head was slaughtering everything that stood in his way.

However, he never would have thought that he would receive a counter-attack. The white cat evaded his attack and even dug its claws into his face. Furthermore, as if to divert his attention, it ran into the tower before being cornered on the rooftop. Even then, it tried to scatter gasoline all over the rooftop, with the intention of burning him to death along with itself.

And also—.

—''Kuhuu''.

The cat laughed.

All of the senses and fear that had been numbed in the middle of the battle assailed Kanata. He thought that he had finally snapped and gone crazy.

“What the hell is with this mission…! What’s with this city! Just… what the hell is going on!”

Breathing heavily, he shouted out in anger while quivering.

The target for assassination, Horisaki Azusa, was a Fallen who was resurrected (if Ume’s words were to be believed).

Seeing the current actions of Horisaki Azusa, there were no doubts about it. The reason she came to this city was to look for a specific person. The king, was what she mentioned.

Chasing after Azusa, what appeared was instead a strange white cat. Did that have anything to do with Azusa? Or was it a completely different matter from her?

But, Kanata was still alive. Even if he had gone mad, he still survived.

He had grasped Azusa’s ability. If he stayed away from the fog, he would be able to keep damage to a minimum. Keeping a distance away and attacking in one breath, dealing as much damage as possible—he should be able to win against her this way. He had deduced that the fog was unable to block physical matters judging from how the girl had dodged his attacks.

There’s no escape for her the next time.

He will show that he is able to fulfil his duty, the one assigned to him by Miguruma.

“…”

Duty.

Yes, the duty allotted to Kanata was none other than to fight.

At the age where children of the same age as him went to primary school, he had been brawling in the back alley the whole time. After defeating those who were in the same circumstances as him, the mid-teens him was had been employed as a bouncer in the local gangs. The hostile gangs all feared his style of fighting, which lacked any mercy and limits.

But, the gang was demolished after a round-up by the local police. Having lost the place for him to fight, Kanata was left with nothing. The realisation that he was empty inside due to the disappearance of his fighting ground left him in shock.

—Somebody… give me a place to fight… if not, I…

Clinging onto that thought, it became his dream.

Ever since he became a Mushitsuki, he never ran out of battles. And then, he was chosen by the Central Headquarters to enter the Annihilators that was organised by vice-director Miguruma, to massacre all who would defect from the SEPB.

—From today onwards, I will give you my love. That’s why you should give me your love too.

Being the one who had given him a new stage to fight, he saw Miguruma Yaeko as a goddess.

As long as Kanata fought, Miguruma Yaeko would acknowledge his existence. This way, he was also fulfilling his dream as well.

That was why he had never once bore any doubts about his missions or duties.

That was until now.

—''Kuhuu''.

His ears seemed to pick up the laughing voice of the cat.

That white cat—the laughter of the cat that may have been born out of Kanata’s hallucination was imprinted onto his eardrum and would not stop.

The figure of the cat laughing proudly even as it was wounded seems as if… yes, as if it had fulfilled the purpose for which it was born; looking as if it was jubilant that its life has borne results.

It seems that the cat had a reason to fight.

For whom? For what purpose?

If the cat has been fighting for the sake of somebody—if it was following the orders given to it by somebody, then was it satisfied to have been able to fulfil the order?

Then, what about Kanata?

To fight, to get injured, and then head on to the next battlefield, would he be able to find salvation eventually with such a dream…?

“Just what the heck was that cat… I don’t understand it at all…”

He grumbled to himself.

He suppressed the tiny emotion that sprouted from within his heart. Ignoring the matter about the cat, he focused his attention on completing the mission ahead of him.

With his deep wounds, he still required some time before he can move his body again even after he stops bleeding. He needed the help of somebody else. He thought of how he could contact the other members stationed in this city after he has recovered to the point where he could move.

The next time they meet, he would definitely kill Horisaki Azusa.

However, there was also the possibility that the one who would be killed would be him instead.

—''Kuhuu''.

If he was at death’s door, would Kanata be laughing as the cat did while welcoming the last moments of his life?

“Who the hell cares… a cat like that… has nothing to do with me…”

He spat out a few mutterings.

He wiped his cheeks, recalling the smile of Miguruma Yaeko.

“If I continue fighting, that person would give me even more battlefields… till the next battlefield… and the one after that…”

Until he passed out from the fever due to his wounds, Kanata muttered over and over again.

—Horisaki Azusa must have exhausted much of her strength.

There were no doubts about that. That was the reason why she did not finish him off. He also saw that the darkness surrounding Azusa was about to fade away as she approached ‘URBAN’.

Azusa must have wanted to rest her body in this city. Also, from her previous words, there seems to be someone else who is trying to stop her. She must have been trying to store energy, waiting for the opportune time to take action.

However, Kanata was similarly weakened. Kanata had confidence in his healing ability, he needed just a few days before he returns to a level fit for combat.

It would be time to settle the fight once and for all once Kanata’s stamina is restored. If Azusa was not able to completely recover, then he would finish the match in one breath. To prevent her possible escape, he would need to prepare some kind of bait. Including that, he still had lots of time to devise a plan.

In a few days, Kanata would show that he can defeat Horisaki Azusa. That was what he pledged of himself.

“I would complete this mission without fail… so, continue to give me more battles… vice-director Miguruma…”

As the assassin bated his breath in the dark, he seemed to hear the cat’s laughter in his ears.