Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 15 Chapter 1 (section)

== 1.03 The Others ==

That steel box advanced while cutting through the white-crested waves of the ocean.

It was a large oil tanker.

There wasn’t even a single crew member on board of the mammoth ship that could carry hundreds of thousands of tons. Lying on the board nearest the bow was only one person, a youth with a ghastly white face.

“…”

The young man threw up his lanky limbs and stared up at the perfect, blue sky absently.

Haji Keigo. The moment after he’d been appointed Director of the SEPB, C’s machinations cut off the organization itself from the country. The ship’s hold beneath him held his resting comrades. They were the Mushitsuki who challenged C and lost.

Keigo came up to the deck to try and arrange his thoughts, but his tired body was being dyed by the morning sun.

He was deeply aware he was the kind of being who fitted the shadows better.

“…Have you slept well?”

Noticing soft footsteps approaching him, Keigo opened his mouth.

It was a nostalgic sound, one that he heard every morning. Since the girl couldn’t see, her steps were uncertain, but she always tried walking more quietly than needed.

Almost as if she was a burden to him.

As if she didn’t want to cause any further trouble.

But even with these completely misplaced worries—she still ended up relying on him.

“Yeah.”

Keigo’s little sister, Haji Senri nodded and sat next to him.

Senri was a liar not at all inferior to Keigo.

She had a very rare sensing ability. Keigo knew that she spent the entire night vigilant against any pursuers of the tanker. It was definitely a lie that she slept well.

Come to think of it, these siblings always lived inside a lie.

Keigo hid the fact that Senri was a Mushitsuki, while Senri hid her weak body and always acted lively in front of her brother.

It was the same even after she found out she was a Mushitsuki.

Keigo pretended to be unconscious, and Senri lived in a world without her brother, acting out the part of a strong Mushitsuki—

It really had been a long time since the two of them talked by themselves like this.

The last time was before Keigo abandoned the battlefield—just before last year’s Christmas.

“You should leave your work to other sensors and go sleep. The captain’s cabin is free.”

“No way, that’s abuse of your authority. Everyone else is sleeping inside cold tanks and whatnot.”

“How about having my dream for the first time in a while? I doubt it’d help, though.”

“No. …I no longer eat anyone’s dreams.”

Still lying down, Keigo looked up at his sister shaking her head.

Her hair became longer. She apparently grew a bit taller, too. These small changes could only be noticed by Keigo, who lived together with her.

At the same time, there was things he knew only because he was her brother.

Although she was supposed to be tired, Senri’s profile as she was caressed by the salty wind—looked overflowing with vigor. Much more than it had during those peaceful days removed from any battle, when things were quiet.

He knew why.

After Keigo used all his time to pretend being injured and watch over her from the shadows, he finally figured it out.

And when he accepted this, he wanted to throw away everything and die. He was probably never going to confess to anyone about it.

“I might have already said this—but you’ve truly grown stronger, Senri.”

Looking at his sister’s face, he gave his honest opinion.

“…!”

Her breath caught, tears rose to Senri’s eyes.

The girl’s hand feeling around the deck found his own. She grasped it hard.

“Big brother… are you really there? Are you really here with me?”

“Yes, I am. It’s fine, both of us are alive and together.”

Grabbing back her hand, they felt each other’s warmth.

Even this reunited pair had many things they wanted to tell each other or ask each other.

Keigo in particular had a question he always wanted to ask his sister, who had resolved herself to throw herself into the battles of Mushitsuki. While watching how a sickly girl like her chose to fight and become much stronger and more resolute from the shadows, this doubt swelled even further.

''—Perhaps it was actually me who was trying to kill you all this time?

He never considered Senri getting stronger.

Therefore, he hid reality from her and tied her to her bed.

Perhaps even someone foolish like him was actually an evil being who tried torturing his beloved sister to death.

Compared to him, perhaps it was actually Mushi that saved his sister?

He was scared of himself immediately feeling like that once they met again.

“We’re definitely here.”

However, while doing this—he came to realize that these doubts and fears held no meaning.

The sister who grabbed her foolish brother’s hand while crying denied his doubts.

Although he lied to her, she was going to save her brother who blamed himself.

And he was able to believe this lie from the bottom of his heart.

Nothing changed from before.

Since they only had each other, these siblings were going to keep lying to each other—keep believing in those lies, and live by supporting each other.

“Yes… yes.”

Senri nodded again and again.

Following that they spoke of nothing, simply letting themselves get hit by the salty wind. There were definitely many things she should have wanted to ask and inquire him about, but Senri said nothing.

Perhaps she wanted to feel each and every second of their being together in her own way.

If she let this present run away, she might never be able to gain that time again—

They were both aware that this possibility existed.

“—Haji-senpai.”

Being called by this familiar voice, Keigo finally raised his body.

Appearing next to Keigo and Senri was a suited woman. Although she was a working adult, she hadn’t fixed her bed hair, but it could already be called her own unique style.

“Have you waited until now to call out to me, Goroumaru-kun? For you to be conscious about our family quality time like this, it seems like you’ve learned to read the room.”

“Y-yes, thanks… wait, are you angry? I did want to leave you for a bit longer, if at all possible, but we can already see the island.”

Being told this by his subordinate Goroumaru Touko and looking to the front of the ship, he could see a small dot floating at sea.

“Ah, so this is Aoharima Island.”

They were wary of their surroundings to a cowardly extent and took great care to have the ship take a detour to reach this place.

It was the island floating ahead—Aoharima Island.

Succeeding in their caution, they somehow made it safely there.

“Everyone’s coming here soon to give a sitrep and start creating our strategy for what we do after making landfall.”

“I see. So you came here alone to purposely inform me of that? When you could’ve just come along with everyone?”

“Geez, you sure are in a bad mood, you should’ve slept a little… n-no, there’s actually something I personally wanted to ask you about, Haji-senpai.”

Keigo stroked Senri’s head, then rose up. Leaning against the rails, he looked at the distant island’s shade.

Resolving herself, Goroumaru Touko spoke in a mumble.

“It’s about what Vice-Deputy… I mean, former Vice-Deputy Miguruma talked about. —Have you used Kanon-san and Mimic-san while being aware they won’t come back, Haji-senpai?”

“I have already denied that, haven’t I? You are a naughty subordinate, to disbelieve your boss like that.”

Seeing how Keigo wore his thin smile, Touko pouted.

His subordinate glanced at Senri for a moment. Her glare at his sister made him realize Touko’s goal.

“Ah, so you’ve calculated this exact timing, thinking that I wouldn’t lie in front of my little sister. Even someone who used to be as innocent as you became quite sneaky. It makes me sad.”

“I-I was being used as your replacement for so long. So I can do at least this much…”

She probably wanted to look resolved, but as she fixed her fallen glasses and tried patting down her bed hair, she looked nothing short of suspicious. It was clear she was forcing herself.

Not even a single time before had Touko gone against Keigo. So for her to ask about Keigo’s true aims now of all times—it probably meant she was feeling conflicted about it in her own way.

No matter what happened from now on, she couldn’t survive this battle without ascertaining her boss’s intentions.

If she acted like this after being resolved, she was a reliable subordinate indeed.

“—Yes, I knew they were not going to come back.”

Keigo said this casually.

“…!”

“Eh…”

Goroumaru Touko and Senri were speechless.

Keigo did not erase his faint smile. He spoke while looking at the island.

“You like Mushitsuki too much, Goroumaru-kun. Even though you don’t love them as much as Miguruma.”

“Th…that…”

Keigo turned around, looking at Senri.

That parasitic monster was tormenting his one and only sister.

And it was also—that ugly monster that was trying to take a sister away from her brother.

The hatred he felt for this creature remained inside him, completely unchanged from before.

“I hate them so much—to the extent that if every Mushitsuki on ship other than my sister was sent to fight C and they killed each other, it would be the best result possible.”

“—”

“But since we’d just lose to C if we did this right now, it’s an issue.”

While Touko and Senri were frozen, Keigo spoke in a joking tone.

Instead of Senri who was rendered speechless, it was Touko who wrung out her voice.

“Is that… also a lie? Haji-senpai.”

“I’m telling the truth. But, well, you won’t believe what I say either way. —That’s fine. There was and will be only one person who would ever agree with me.”

“One… person?”

Senri tilted her head. If possible, he wanted the only person in this world who understood him to be his sister, but that wasn’t the case.

“—‘It’s fine if only I survive’.”

His one and only understander wasn’t someone as kind as his sister.

“He was the kind of guy who’d just end everything with that one sentence, no matter how I used him.”

“…!”

Touko and Senri gasped. They probably guessed who he was talking about.

“Changing the world to one where Mushitsuki aren’t born—it was our only reason to work together. Thinking back on it, it almost felt like playing a chicken race. If one of us tried doing things too half-heartedly, the other would definitely turn his back on him… and because we knew that none of us would ever draw back—”

It was fun.

He cut off his words, since he was about to say something completely unlike him.

Until now Keigo cooked up countless evil schemes. Thinking back on it, he had the feeling that whenever he did something like that, he was trying to imagine not the face of his opponent caught up in his plan—but the response his lone comrade would make.

And at times he would be shocked, at times angry, and at times even turn his gun on him.

Keigo would deceive him with a thin smile, and while that guy would complain and complain—he would survive, and then survive the next time as well.

However—he no longer had that rival.

“What a letdown. To think that he’d be gone now, at the most vital of times.”

Saying this, Keigo wore a shallow smile.

He feigned a joke and pushed down the feelings inside him.

Although they were in such an inferior position, it’d be so much fun if that guy was still there—he painted over these feelings with lies.

“C’s trying to create a world made of only Mushitsuki. On the other hand, I’m thinking I want to make this a world without Mushitsuki.”

It was too early to look back to the past. It was useless talking of what-ifs.

Although his understanders were all gone, he couldn’t allow himself to stop in place.

“Look at me talking about changing the world despite not being any sort of God. I’m not planning on cutting any corners.”

Keigo stroked Senri’s head again and glanced at Goroumaru Touko.

“No matter what world it becomes, staying alive is also a form of victory. If you don’t like that world, then you should survive as well—and stand up against me.”

“…”

His sister and Touko made no attempt to say anything following this.

Perhaps it was only a matter of time before those two would end up viewing Keigo as an enemy.

For these two—no, for the things they loved, Keigo was way too merciless.

His hands were dirtied with blood, and he was the receptable for plenty of hatred.

Even if another person who tried living the same way tried defeating him in the future—

The person called Haji Keigo had to continue advancing in order to see this new world.

“Alright, the time for a pleasant chat is over. Although we’re about to start an unpleasant job, we might as well enjoy ourselves, if we have to do it. C’mon, give me a smile here.”

Keigo spoke, turning toward the people appearing on the deck in droves.

The approaching people looked between his little sister and useless subordinate and him—and forced themselves to wear awkward smiles.

“—Our forces are now at half of what we had back in the dome.”

It was the Rank 2 Mushitsuki called Terasu who started this report. Even this girl, who was a middle schooler in her civilian life, looked burdened by the fatigue of the battlefield.

“As for the safety of the forces that split off from us until we boarded… we cannot confirm it.”

The people gathered under Haji were the SEPB’s branch heads and their high-ranked Mushitsuki subordinates. Furthermore, there were the Mushibane admins, as well as the supplier of this tanker, Akasegawa Nanana.

“I see. I hope they’re all safe.”

Keigo nodded casually, and the surrounding air was that of anger.

In particular, Mushibane admins Namie and Aijisupa turned glances full of murderous intent to Keigo.

“What do you mean, split off…! We cut them off and turned them to decoys!”

The long-haired woman, probably the oldest among present Mushitsuki, lashed out at Keigo.

“Uh oh, let us not rehash this, Namie. We have already talked about this yesterday, haven’t we? If we hadn’t done this, none of us would have been here.”

“It’s not like I agreed to it!”

“No, you should. You were once my subordinate and the commander of the East Central Branch. While you might have betrayed us and turned over to Mushibane, stop pretending like you got your compassion back.”

As Keigo spat coldly, Namie’s face turned even harsher. She leaned forward as if wanting to keep this argument, but Keigo ignored her.

“I want us to forget all past discontent and unite SEPB and Mushibane again, but we have no time. There’s no need to change the current configuration of Terasu as the supreme commander and having Mushibane act as an independent unit under her. —Now, Terasu, continue.”

“…We are using both our sensor Mushitsuki as well as the radar equipment hastily constructed by the West Central Branch to be on guard, but we have found no pursuers just yet. However, since those with camouflage or healing abilities like Tamamo and Nene and the rest were working throughout the entire night, they will need to take a real break once we reach the island. The same goes for our nucleus of offense and defense until now, Kasuou and Yotsuba.”

“Right, I will allow it.”

“Although we’ve been using shifts to allow other Mushitsuki to rest as well, it only had our fighting forces to go up from 30% to about 40%. Furthermore, since the West Central Branch guys started remodeling important equipment without being asked to, this also lowers our fighting forces… this tanker doesn’t need any stealth or cannons.”

“Yeah, we don’t need them, and we don’t want the West Central Branch to waste their powers uselessly. After all, we’ll need them to lend us their powers once we reach the island to restore the water-purifying facilities and power generators and repair houses.”

Keigo turned his gaze to a girl standing a distance away who was looking bored. Noticing his line of sight, the Mushitsuki called Sakura swung her long-handled hand hammer and grinned.

“I’ll turn that island into a first-class resort in three hours.”

In this entire ship filled with fatigue, the only ones who were still lively were those who belonged to the West Central Branch. They were a gathering of weirdoes who had no interests other than building stuff, but they were extremely reliable in the present situation.

“Regarding the composition of guard and rest once we reach the island, I leave this to Terasu.”

“Yes sir.”

“By the way, Rinrin. Have you found out where our important enemy C is hiding?”

As Keigo looked to behind Terasu, a petite boy averted his eyes, uttering an awkward Ugh.

“C-controlling this ship’s steering system is hard enough, so there’s limit to using this slapdash equipment to search for our enemy… it’s also hard to keep taking over satellites to stop C from discovering us.”

“I’ve heard from your teacher Asagi that you are an excellent information officer who could serve as C’s successor, though. Once you run out of excuses, let me hear the conclusion.”

“P-please don’t compare me to that monster. —The only conclusion is that I haven’t found her yet… she can only be at some power generation facility that can handle vast outputs, so I tried looking into all the important power plants—but none of the country’s power plants seem to have anything like that.”

“Hmm.”

C’s power was vast. The amount of electricity she used should be accordingly large.

If so, then C was hiding somewhere where she could produce it—he estimated it would be a large-output power plant, but apparently it wasn’t that easy.

“Let me ask something for real.”

Someone behind Keigo suddenly raised their voice.

Turning around, he saw a boy carrying a hockey stick on his back put his chin on his palm. Although he was sitting atop the long and narrow railings, he was completely stable there as if he weighed nothing at all.

“Would we able to beat C, just all of us here?”

He was the Mushitsuki called Shiohara Shachito. He was powerful, but belonged to neither the SEPB nor Mushibane.

“I did tell Lady that we’re heading to Aoharima Island.”

Following Keigo, who spoke while wearing a thin smile, Akasegawa Nanana also added while spinning her cane.

“Earlier, I’ve had this Rinrin person help me and got in contact with my secretary. Harukiyo’s also heading to Aoharima Island.”

“Okay, so we’ll count Lady-chan and Harukiyo too. —So let me ask again. Do we have any chances at all?”

Shachito erased the amiable smile from his handsome face. Unlike his casual tone, the atmosphere of a battlefield grew heavier.

“Or are we survivors just going to escape into exile abroad?”

“The answer is no. To both questions.”

Keigo gave a straight answer.

Although the atmosphere on the deck grew colder, none of them tried blaming their weak commander.

Everyone present there knew that they were inferior in their battle against the powerful enemy called C.

No, even the expression inferior was too conservative.

“Try thinking about this. C can control an almost inexhaustible supply of electricity. Because she can freely use the most accessible form of energy in modern times, it’s like she holds the world in her hands.”

The depressed atmosphere sank even further due to Keigo’s casual speech.

“Furthermore, she can even manipulate the electric signals going through a person’s mind to control people’s memories. Putting it simply, she could send one of her body doubles to appear in front of some country’s prime minister and take control. And thanks to her also absorbing Shinpu’s power, she can even revive the dead or the Fallen under her control. Even if we were to escape overseas, it will already be filled with C’s puppets. —I seriously can’t believe that me so desperately trying to extend the non-aggression agreements with foreign countries all amounted to nothing.”

As the one who asked this, Shachito quietly listened to Keigo’s words.

“The more time passes, the more cornered we’ll become. Our numbers don’t matter; they’re secondary. The first condition we require for victory is—”

He raised his index finger.

“Finding out the location of C’s main body and send our forces there. —And it has to be as soon as possible. If we can’t do that, it wouldn’t matter even if we had multiples of Lady and Harukiyo. We’d eventually just run out of where to escape to and… game over.”

They needed to find C’s main base as soon as possible and send their combined forces there—

Was it possible or impossible?

Everyone there knew the answer.

Shachito made a complete reversal and spoke in a serious expression.

“It’s impossible for us to find C and beat her up like that. It’d be a miracle.”

“Right, C will definitely not wag her tail in front of us, and our forces are still lacking. —Sleeping Beauty hasn’t woken up, either.”

Shrugging, Keigo looked at the tanker’s route.

By now they approached Aoharima Island enough for it to become fully visible.

Takemi, the man who had served as the North Central Branch Head, stepped forward.

“…What are we to do, in that case? Are you telling us to simply hide and live on the island?”

For an ambitious man like him, retiring on a solitary island was probably unthinkable.

“There’s nothing else to do, right?”

As Keigo affirmed this, everyone on deck clamored as expected. Takemi was flustered.

“Hey, Keigo-kun. Are you being serious?”

“I am serious. Managing to live even a single day on that island—right now, that is the only thing we can do.”

He knew that the gazes directed at him were filled with doubts.

“We’re not the ones going to create our chances for victory.”

He mumbled as if talking to himself.

“Miguruma Yaeko.”

There was even more clamoring.

“She said it herself—that the ‘Dove’ would be unleashed.”

Right now, they had no way to win.

However—this didn’t mean there was no way for such an opportunity to be created.

“If we keep on surviving, then surely—the Dove will come.”

At that time, Keigo and the others were at the edge of despair.

But at the same time, perhaps their one and only hope would be born.

It was the sole remaining possibility for the remnants of the fighting forces—

“If we can’t find C, then we just need to call her to us.”

Probably not even a single person there understood Keigo’s monologue.

The tanker filled with an anxiety-filled silence—

Arrived at Aoharima Island.

There were no facilities to let such a large tanker anchor at the island. Keigo and the others lowered smaller boats and landed at the fishing harbor one after another. Mushitsuki who could fly started carrying personnel and foodstuff in a hurry.

The island that had been erased from the maps for several years now was in ruins.

It wasn’t because it was abandoned for all this time.

What made Aoharima Island uninhabited—were the scars of the cruel battle that took place there before. The fishing boats and houses used by the island inhabitants were all wiped away as though by explosives.

Scorch marks especially stood out. The island was covered in charcoals as if it had been completely engulfed by flames.

“Kasuou.”

While the branch heads and Mushitsuki were running about, Keigo called toward the girl standing at the fishing harbor.

The Mushitsuki called Kasuou was staring at the island absentmindedly. Unlike her elegant looks consisting of blond hair and blue eyes, she was the ace of the Central Headquarters, a berserker who was constantly shirked by enemies and allies alike.

“…Don’t act overly familiar, you shitty four-eyes.”

“Don’t be so cold with me. We were originally boss and subordinate in the same branch.”

Kasuou glared at Keigo who wore a thin smile. However, perhaps judging that even just listening to him was a waste of time, she averted her gaze and ignored him.

The relationship between Keigo and Kasuou began just as she became a Mushitsuki. Ever since then, they shared many events and bonds.

“Rest up while you can, Kasuou. I’m going to keep counting on you.”

Kasuou made not even the slightest response to Keigo’s light talk.

A single building was being distorted right in front of their eyes. It became a perfect rectangle almost instantly and transformed into a newly built house. It was probably the work of Sakura and others.

“Are you feeling emotional? You were also part of the Sanbikime cleanup operation a few years ago on this island, right? Are you feeling guilty at this stage, Anneliese?”

“…Don’t call me by that name. Also, since I was late to the party, I did nothing here. I haven’t seen you in a while, but nothing’s changed about me wanting to kill you after three seconds.”

“Even if you claim you did nothing, you’ve witnessed what happened here, right? And now you’re on the side protecting the island. Are you thinking this is a bad omen? How unlike you.”

He knew what Kasuou had witnessed here in the past.

But Keigo could tell from her profile that she couldn’t fully hide her complex feelings about this.

“…What should I do?”

Kasuou suddenly asked. Keigo snorted.

“You sure have become a lot meeker during the time we haven’t met. For you to ask me, of all people. If I asked you to save the world, would you do it?”

“…”

“Thinking about that is my job. All you need to do is defeat as many enemies as you can. And if you feel like it—you can even protect as many allies as you can. Just like you’ve done until now.”

Spitting this with a casual tone, Keigo used his index finger to fix the position of his glasses.

“And once everything’s over, just go and die along with your fellow Mushitsuki.”

“You die, bitch.”

Her beautiful smile distorted, Kasuou cursed him with a foul mouth.

If she had enough energy to cuss, she was still fine. He smiled and was about to leave when Kasuou stopped him.

“Hey, four-eyes jerk.”

Turning around, he saw that she was staring at him.

She looked like she wanted to say something—but stopped and closed her mouth. She was apparently hesitating.

“…No.”

Kasuou simply left this low voice behind.

What did she want to say to him?

No—Keigo knew very well ''who'' she wanted to talk about.

But he purposely didn’t point this out.

“Shitty four-eyes—come to think of it, it happened more than once or twice that you’ve set up a trap for me in every capture mission.”

Kasuou wore a violent smile. This was clearly different from what she wanted to say.

“Oh? Feeling grudge at this point? You managed to survive so there’s no harm done, right?”

“What I hate the most about you is how you can keep on waffling like that—but I’ll forgive you just this once. I’ll even do a kamikaze attack or whatever if we can win in this situation. I’m not gonna die so easily, though.”

“Haha, even that is much too late to say.”

Laughing it off, Keigo turned his back to Kasuou.

“I was already intending on having you do that.”

It wasn’t merely a probable loss, but a battle without any prospects of victory.

In order to grasp even a single thread of hope, it would probably require many victims.

It was also possible—that the price to pay would be much larger than Keigo estimated.

However, Keigo and Kasuou weren’t the only ones resolved for this.

None of the people who escaped to Aoharima Island had bright expressions. Even so they helped rearrange the island’s environment and spent their brief moments their calm doing both resting and guarding—

And the time to test their resolve came quickly.

“Something’s showing up on the radar! —A large ship’s approaching the island!”

Rinrin, who was in charge of all electronic devices and measurement systems, announced this.

Following Keigo, the combatants gathered on the coast and assumed ready positions—

“Ah, I really want to believe it’s Lady or Harukiyo arriving.”

Akasegawa Nanana appeared with a delay to voice this hope, but—

“I can sense multiple ‘flames’! …Enemies are coming!”

Even that was duly crushed by the declaration of Keigo’s sister Senri.

Rinrin’s warning did not stop.

“The number of ships keeps increasing… five, six—there’s even more! There are also flying objects! It’s probably fighter jets—”

The assassins sent by C.

Faced with the large enemy forces coming there to crush the old generation of Mushitsuki—

“All hands—assume battle positions.”

Keigo’s voice issuing orders was lower than normal.

“We’re going to survive this.”