Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 12 Chapter 1 (section)

== 1.03 Monma Makoto Part 4 ==

Makoto left the tent no more than ten minutes after she remained there alone with Miguruma.

There were still many Mushitsuki packed inside the dome. However, as the final battle was soon to commence, everyone ran around in a hurry.

“…”

After walking a few seconds away from the tent, Makoto stopped.

She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t even sigh.

The truths Miguruma spoke in front of the branch heads.

The experiments that took C as a medium and the truth of the Central Headquarters having hidden Shinpu. The final Rank 1, Sleeping Beauty. —As well as Oogui’s true ability and so forth. These were all things Makoto never knew.

Also, the fact that the East Central Branch alone managed to dig out these secrets on their own was an additional shock. No, rather than the branch, it was more like Kakkou’s achievement. What had they been thinking of and what had they been fighting against? Makoto was overwhelmed by the mere thought of this and the realization of how miniscule she was. This stage was completely different than the one she had been fighting on this far.

And this pathetic Makoto—

“I’m probably… gonna die in this fight.”

She mumbled.

Makoto had remained in the tent and had been given even more despair by Miguruma Yaeko.

A few secrets regarding C.

Various truths that, were she to speak of them in front of the branch heads, would create a panic for sure. Even they might lose their will to fight and realize they were helpless. Because she knew that, Miguruma had conveyed those facts to Makoto alone.

“Despite me working so hard to survive until now…”

She never thought she was someone special. Not even once.

The stronger a Mushitsuki was, the stranger they were. Their way of living and even speaking held the reason for their strength.

On the other hand, Monma Makoto had nothing that made her stand out.

If she took off her equipment, she was just a middle schooler. She was definitely no beauty, and not really skilled either. It wasn’t as if she was terribly athletic as well. She wasn’t so smart, either. She had no unwavering beliefs, and she didn’t hate matching herself to others.

This kind of normal Mushitsuki had somehow made it up to Rank 2—

Tempted by the bait called Rank 1, she became the commander of the century’s largest battle.

“Won’t someone praise me right now… Telling me I’ve done a good work this far…”

As Makoto smiled self-derisively, she heard a voice from the side.

“Terasu!”

It was her boss, North Central Branch Head Takemi. He rushed to Makoto and ruffled her hair roughly.

“Good job!”

He was a middle-aged man with a curved beard and an amiable smile.

“You being in charge of a battle of this scale is huge! It means that you’ve been acknowledged as one of the most superior Mushitsuki in the SEPB!”

While being completely at his mercy, Makoto wore a bitter smile.

Her unpleasant boss acted like everyone’s friend, was mean, didn’t know his limits, was ambitious, was a coward, was smooth-tongued, was deeply envious, and never cared about anyone—but she didn’t hate the fact that he gave honest praises when there were results.

Even if it was different from what she wanted, even if those were empty praises.

“Hah, thanks. It only means that Kakkou and those East Central Branch guys aren’t there, though.”

“That’s exactly why. When this fight ends, our branch’s influence should grow accordingly.”

Takemi smiled wide, looking to be in a good mood.

Usually he’d annoy her, but in this situation, he was actually conversely so funny that she lost all tension. Apparently, he was convinced that all of his branch’s Mushitsuki including Terasu were going to return from this battle safe and sound.

“Oh, branch head. The vice minister and all those other people are coming here. Should we leave?”

She saw the same vice minister who was at the tent before walking to them.

“No, they seem to have something to talk about with you. I’ll be the one excusing myself.”

Saying this, Takemi put a hand on Makoto’s shoulder. —She’d been thinking this for a while, but in a normal workplace this amount of physical contact would count as sexual harassment.

“Tell me later what they said. You don’t have to follow their orders.”

He whispered in her ears with shrewd eyes. His face was close.

“You’ll do great. I’m expecting a lot of you.”

“Sure, like always.”

She’d been thinking she was lucky to not be a beauty like Lady Bird. If she was that beautiful, she couldn’t tell what this man would’ve done to her.

Takemi left and in exchange she was surrounded by the vice minister and his followers.

One of the aides started speaking without any prelude.

“Special Environmental Preservation Bureau North Central Branch member, Terasu. Real name, Monma Makoto. You were born in… and became a Mushitsuki while 12 years old. After you’ve repelled 35 of the SEPB’s assassins, you were finally captured by the cooperation of Kakkou as well as Asagi. After receiving training, you were admitted as a SEPB member and attached to the North Central Branch. Following this, your mission completion rate was 94%. You were always loyal and caused no problems—”

They were apparently saying that they thoroughly investigated her already. They were probably going to start something unpleasant.

The aide who was reading from some document spoke to the vice minister.

“There are no issues with her achievements. She stands out among members.”

“Hmm, she doesn’t look like that…”

“I’m simply desperate.”

Makoto raised her visors up to her forehead, showing a bitter smile.

As the vice minister glared at Makoto’s face as if to appraise her, he spoke in an exaggerated tone.

“Since your achievements look promising, I will give you a secret mission from the Cabinet Office.”

“Eh?”

“First, you are to carefully observe Miguruma Yaeko’s behavior during this operation down the minutest detail. If there are any errors or points of failure to the operation, please report them in detail later. Secondly, while you are on the way to C, you are to bring back anything that could serve as evidence of Miguruma’s blunders.”

“B-but that is…”

“It’s for the sake of this country. This is much more important than you can imagine. You obviously can’t tell anyone, and if you go against orders, you will be heavily punished.”

“For the country… a-alright, I understand.”

“I expect a lot from you. I count on you.”

The vice minister gave several more orders and several times more threats and left.

While seeing his back, Makoto sighed. She scratched her neck with her fingertips.

“Heavy punishments mean nothing to us.”

If she made him relaxed by responding normally it was no problem at all. And she had no intention of disobeying these secret orders or whatever. —If they really thought that revealing one or two mistakes made by Miguruma Yaeko would keep her quiet, the country’s bigwigs had really misjudged her.

“Really, all of them are such…”

A person approached Makoto yet again. Her expression appeared fierce.

“Terasu-san… right?”

It was Fuyuhotaru.

She appeared before Makoto alone with no one to accompany her.

“Err, well—”

She looked like she wanted to say something, and after hesitating a bit, she clenched her fist as though determined.

“Let’s both do our best!”

She made a small fist pump and said this.

Fuyuhotaru was supposed to be the most horrible Mushitsuki, one that everyone in the SEPB was scared of. When this great enemy that could even be called mythological appeared in front of Makoto, it did cause her some tension, so she unconsciously put herself on guard.

“I-I’m obviously going to do that, though…?”

[[File:Mushi Uta 12 p121.jpg|thumb]]

Fuyuhotaru nodded strongly.

And—she turned around and tried leaving.

“Eeeeeeh?!”

“Hmm?”

Fuyuhotaru turned back, looking puzzled.

“T-that’s it? You came here just to say this?”

“W-well, yeah…?”

Makoto was confused and Fuyuhotaru looked equally confused.

“You’re Fuyuhotaru, right? That… that Fuyuhotaru from the stories, right?”

“P-probably. Ah, in Mushibane they call me Snow Fly, though.”

“I-I see. Then… you’ve got nothing else to say? We’re going to go fight C with a much smaller force due to your selfishness… you can, like, apologize, or—”

Rank 1s really did piss her off. She could only think that Fuyuhotaru came there to make fun of her.

“Or say that you’re expecting a lot from me.”

Fuyuhotaru looked amazed.

Perhaps feeling flustered that she had to say something, she started thinking with a panicked face—

And what came out at last—

“—”

Was wordless.

All she did was look at Makoto with a gaze free from any hesitation.

Now she remembered—

This strength that Fuyuhotaru had shown from time to time.

It was the same that Makoto once saw—in Kakkou.

A gaze that held within it determination that never thought of losing and knew nothing of retreat.

“…”

Just from seeing Fuyuhotaru’s face, she understood.

She had no intention of abandoning Makoto and the rest at all. She really was intending to defeat Oogui and then come rushing to help them.

And on top of her showing that determination—

She was compelling Makoto as well.

She was being forced to win and survive.

Without realizing how it would affect a normal person like her—what kind of pressure it put on her.

“Goodbye.”

Bowing, Fuyuhotaru turned her head again.

“—Say something.”

Makoto unconsciously stopped Fuyuhotaru again.

The girl turned back for the second time.

“What was… Kakkou for you?”

The one who turned Kakkou into a Fallen was without a doubt the girl in front of her eyes. Thinking of her strength, it was natural. There was also the fact that she took revenge on him for turning her into a Fallen before.

However, the moment before she turned him into a Fallen—it looked to her as if he’d accepted Fuyuhotaru attack out of his own will.

She didn’t know why.

However, Makoto felt that she must know the reason for that.

After thinking for a while, Fuyuhotaru smiled.

“A friend.”

Although they turned each other into Fallen, she called him a friend.

What reason she had for not calling him an enemy? To Makoto it looked as if it was hidden not in her words, but in her smile.

“What kind of a person was Kakkou-kun to you, Terasu-san?”

It was an unexpected counterattack.

Being asked this by an innocent smile, Makoto’s mind recalled scenes from the past.

''—I wooon!

Her own form, howling with Kakkou in front of her.

She already thought of it as ancient past.

“I… once defeated Kakkou…”

She mumbled this unconsciously.

No one believed her. No one would praise her.

And even she herself tried forgetting this.

Just like everyone else, Fuyuhotaru also seemed shocked to hear it.

And she opened her mouth.

She was definitely going to tell her a “liar” just like everyone else—

“Wow!”

As Fuyuhotaru said this, for some reason she wore a genuinely happy smile from ear to ear.

Makoto could hear Fuyuhotaru’s comrades calling for her from afar.

Noticing that, Fuyuhotaru bowed again and left.

A voice called to Makoto as well.

High-ranked Mushitsuki and the branch heads all gathered nearby. Her boss Takemi called Makoto’s name, gesturing to her. Apparently, they finished forming the suicide corps.

“I don’t get it… all of those Rank 1s really piss me off.”

Shaking her head, she came back to her senses.

Although the two were enemies, they showed no signs of hating each other. Even so, she believed Makoto’s words of having defeated Kakkou and even looked happy.

''—Wow!

Fuyuhotaru’s carefree smile was burned into her eyes.

Who could believe that at such a time one of her hated Rank 1s would praise her.

She hated Kakkou still. Never mind him not acknowledging Makoto, but every time they met, he treated her and the North Central Branch members like tools.

Therefore, all Rank 1s thought of Mushitsuki other than themselves as weaklings—not only that, but even as trash.

However, Fuyuhotaru—

Was an incomprehensible Rank 1.

If Makoto returned alive from this fight, then perhaps even she herself could become one of them.

Right, she could stand shoulder to shoulder with Kakkou—be equal in position to him.

“…!”

While heading to Takemi, Makoto struck her cheeks with both hands.

''Get a hold of yourself—

She told herself.

“I’m gonna die anyway…”

She mumbled.

As she reconvened with the branch heads, many Mushitsuki looked at Makoto.

“This is the suicide corps for C annihilation operation. What composition are we going with?”

Takemi asked, all smiles.

Not even knowing they were mere stepping stones for the Rank 1s—

By the moment she went out of the tent, Makoto made a certain resolution.

Thinking of the worst-case-scenario, meaning that the operation failed, she couldn’t take the really strong Mushitsuki along with her. She thought to exclude the high-ranked Mushitsuki with reasons such as injury or fatigue and take lower ranked combatants with her as the best course of action.

They were sacrificial pawns anyway.

Even as insurance, she couldn’t allow the high-ranking Mushitsuki to die.

High-ranked Mushitsuki able to go on a journey to the land of death—just herself was enough.

“We’ll obviously—”

However, Fuyuhotaru’s smile from before got stuck in her mind.

Her powerful gaze that resembled Kakkou’s, too.

This resolution was the exact opposite of a normal person like her who lived by safe play after safe play.

Her anger toward the hated Rank 1s already went way past the limit.

Therefore—she found herself speaking words she’d never have imagined.

“Go with our strongest.”

Saying this, commander Terasu lowered the visor on her eyes.