Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 11 Chapter 1 (section)

== 1.00 Precog ==

Although these crossroads were the very picture of peace, this unrealistic scene drew near.

Passersby raised screams at the approaching roars and tremors.

“Cough! Cough!”

While coughing, a lone girl ran at full speed. Her mouth was hidden by a surgical mask, her bangs were swaying and her expression was desperation itself.

What made her run like that was the cars that flew in air after something crashed into them.

Since it was closer to Daisuke, he realized the cause.

“A Mushi…!”

It was a large, black mass that charged on the national road while blowing away vehicles.

It looked like two craggy slabs of stone slapped together, and on them there were several vibrating pairs of thin wings.

That by itself resembled the structure of a Mushi that Daisuke had encountered countless times.

“Is it… really a Mushi?”

However—that was all.

It was only wings.

The head and body were nowhere to be found.

The huge Wings that flew in an extremely low altitude knocked around obstacles, charging through the national road while heading his way.

“Never seen that kind before. It looks like a Minion Type, but…”

Mumbling this, Daisuke himself noticed that the surrounding gazes were focusing on him.

Walking with his coat and goggles in town would draw attention. Daisuke removed his equipment and hid his goggles and gun inside the rolled-up coat. In Daisuke’s case, that was all he needed to transform into an ordinary high schooler.

Right now he couldn’t grasp the situation, but since there was a Mushi, he could only do one thing.

“Hey, you! Look here!”

He waved his hand at the girl.

This place was way too prominent. It seemed much better for him to take the mysterious girl somewhere emptier and eliminate the Mushi.

Originally, if something like that happened, the Central Headquarters would have rushed there first thing. So it was abnormal not seeing even a single combatant there.

Central Headquarters wasn’t operating—

This situation was the very worst and the one that scared Daisuke the most.

“Quickly!”

The girl noticed Daisuke waving at her.

Flapping around pathetically, the girl rushed toward him—

And suddenly flew at him.

“Wah! You idiot, don’t hug me!”

“Cough! Cough! Haa… wheeze… ugh!”

The girl clung to him, coughing horribly. Perhaps lacking oxygen, or just sick with the flu, her face was as pale as a sick person.

“Sa…! Save me…! Plea… ugh.”

“I get it, so don’t cling to me! —Ah, shit!”

The wings came close. Daisuke put the girl on his back and started running down the road.

“Ah… you can’t…! T-this position… at least princess carry me… urp.”

The wings were faster than Daisuke. The distance between them was shrinking.

“Ah…! You just touched my bu—”

“Shut up!”

At this rate he was going down with this unknown girl.

He was almost resolved to just fight despite knowing he would draw people’s eyes when it happened.

“I-it’s alrea…dy fine…! It should, vanish soon…!”

The girl on his shoulder began flapping around.

Vanish?

As Daisuke turned around—the phenomenon the girl spoke of happened.

The silhouette of the wings that pursued them while destroying obstacles was growing thinner.

That form quickly grew transparent and was then gone as though melted into thin air.

All that remained was the destroyed cars and buildings and the stunned passersby.

“What is going on…?”

As he stopped in shock, the girl fell from Daisuke’s shoulder, groaning an ''Ouch''.

“Cough, cough…! —This is the worst…”

Moving slowly, the girl raised her body. She fixed the position of her mask, still looking down.

“Why are you being so rough with a woman… and you touched my butt… you probably just wanted to look cool saving a girl. You know that normally doing just this wouldn’t make you popular with the ladies. In the first place, if you decided to save me you should use your head more… and you touched my butt…”

Grumbling this, the girl lowered her mask. She wore a strained smile.

“—However, even if you’re the worst, I don’t hate you.”

Even though Daisuke was the one who saved her, she told him that he should be grateful.

Her age was probably the same as Daisuke. She was probably taller than average for girls her age. Possibly due to her cold, her almond eyes were a bit bloodshot. Her pink surgical mask was embroidered with the word “Love”, with the letter “o” in the shape of a heart.

“…”

There was no mistake.

Her face, that could even be called beautiful—

''—Because of us, this country will get filled with Mushi and reach its end.

She was the same girl who spoke her ominous prophecy he saw inside the mist.

“…Cough.”

The girl’s coughs became severe. Perhaps losing her focus due to relief, her body shuddered and fell.

Daisuke immediately supported her body.

“Hey!”

“I have… to go quickly…”

She mumbled this as though delirious. She didn’t look like she could walk by her own power.

The national road fell into panic. Passersby focused on Daisuke and the girl.

“Tch…”

Having no choice, he shouldered the girl again and left the place.

“Who are you? What was that Mushi?”

“I’m… Mikko.”

The coughing girl introduced herself.

Mikko.

There was no doubt. It was the same name he heard inside the mist.

It was probably better to ask the person herself what that strange scene was all about.

In order to move as quickly as possible to a place without people, Daisuke tried fusing with his Mushi.

The green checkered beetle landed on his shoulder.

—Or at least it should have.

“—”

However, his Mushi did not appear.

Looking around him, it wasn’t anywhere.

This never happened even once since he became Mushitsuki.

“—I can’t use… the Mushi’s power…?”

On the stunned Daisuke’s back, the girl coughed.

“I have to quickly save them… my family…”

She mumbled this as if moaning in her sleep.

“They’re going to give birth to a lot of monsters… my family…”

“…!”

The capital enclosed by milk-white mist.

An abandoned vessel where both the dead and the living shouted.

And his meeting with the mysterious girl, Mikko.

These happenings—

Were just his first step in the road to the prophecy of destruction.