Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 4 Chapter 4 (section)

==4.09 Chami The Last==

Feeling her body jolt rhythmically, Chami’s consciousness returned.

Her cheeks were in contact with something warm and comfy.

“Heave-ho, heave-ho…”

She could hear the sound of someone breathing heavily right by her face.

Awakening from her slumber, Chami felt a sharp pain as she became fully awake.

“Ouch…!”

“Woah.”

Chami threw her head back in pain, nearly caused Chiharu to fall over backwards.

“Wha-…! Eh…? What’s…?”

With tears forming in her eyes due to the pain, Chami grasped ahold of the situation she was in.

Chiharu was currently climbing up the escalator with Chami on her back. It seems like they had gone quite a distance up, as the smoke was no longer that thick. She also did not feel the heat she felt back at the restaurants.

As renovation had not even started, there were few flammable materials around. It should have been possible for Chiharu to escape the advancing fire even as she carried Chami.

“H-hey, don’t struggle too much, Chami-chan. This is actually pretty tiring despite how it looks.”

Seeing Chiharu’s admonishing look as she turned around, Chami was taken aback.

“W-what’s with that face! It’s completely black!”

“I can’t help it. That’s because I was engulfed by the explosion a wee bit. More importantly, don’t struggle anymore, okay.”

As Chami looked more closely, she realised that Chiharu’s clothes had been shredded to rags. There were also areas which were smudged with blood, and there was a slight limp on her feet. Even then, she had slowly step-by-step climbed up the stationary escalator.

“I just went upwards somehow or another, but was that alright? I tried shaking you multiple times, but you wouldn’t budge at all, Chami-chan.”

“Well, this is fine, but… why did you bring me along… Ouch!”

“''Wawawaa!''”

Chami’s face twisted in pain and she clutched her stomach. Chiharu had wrapped her jacket around her stomach probably to stop the bleeding. It was fairly effective seeing as how blood had stopped flowing from her wound. However, as long as there was a hole in her stomach, she was not supposed to be moving. Even though she was being carried by Chiharu, that did not stop the pain.

“Didn’t I say not to struggle, jeez!”

Chiharu said angrily, with sweating pouring down her face. She must have carried Chami all the way up here, using up most of her stamina.

“''Kuu''…”

As even speaking hurt terribly, she kept quiet.

Moving only her head and looking down at the floors below, she only saw the wispy flames and smoke and did not spot any human figure at all.

It would seem like she was successful in defeating Kanata. In her original plan, the headbanded youth would have had a more prolonged fight against Kanata, and she would have detonated the restaurant floor the same way as she did the underground parking lot. That would have left Fuyuhotaru who had escaped earlier in the upper floor alone, and cut off the two’s escape route.

“Good grief…”

On Chiharu’s back, Chami sighed.

Before long, the two of them reached a viewing platform surrounded by glass on all four sides. Outside the cube-shaped wall of the escalator landing, the floor was choked full of smoke that rose from below, painting the whole floor a pitch black.

In the middle of the escalator landing, a short escalator continued upwards. After ascending that, Chami and Chiharu reached the rooftop.

Same as when she had visited a few days earlier, traces of battle between Kanata and Owlet remained.

The cold night air mixed with the hot air rising from below, causing an updraft which blew Chami and Chiharu’s hair upwards. Looking up, the stars could still be seen faintly in the sky blotted with smoke. The surroundings were punctuated with shrill sirens.

“Aah, that’s my limit! I’m bushed! I can’t move a single inch anymore!”

Putting down Chami leaning against the fence, Chiharu got down and sat next to her.

Chami spontaneously spouted out.

“Well, that was pretty well done, for you.”

“…Chami-chan really is awfully self-important.”

“If you’re not happy with that, you could just drop me down from here. If it’s now, there’s no one looking.”

Laughing through her nose, Chami suddenly widened her eyes.

“Hm? What is it?”

Noticing that her complexion changed all of a sudden, Chiharu followed her gaze.

“!”

A lone figure rose up from the escalator which they came from.

It was Kanata.

His whole body was dyed red with blood and covered in burns, yet he was still alive and kicking. Bloodshot eyes looked towards their direction through the now useless goggles and he gradually drew towards them.

“T-that monster…! He still wants to fight!”

Chami who tried to get up was held back by Chiharu.

Chiharu gave a smile.

“And up.”

Getting up with an utter, she approached Kanata carelessly, causing Chami to panic.

“Y-you idiot…! Don’t get close to him!”

“This person can no longer fight.”

Chiharu stood in front of the man with a grin.

Chami looked at Kanata with a start.

The figure of the two-headed centipede was no longer by his side. —In all probability, it had probably shielded its owner, Kanata, from the explosion. And now, it was gone.

“Then, he is—”

“Yep, a Fallen…”

Chiharu smiled sorrowfully. —Why did Chiharu know of the term Fallen. Before Chami could ask that, Chiharu spoke to Kanata kindly.

“You no longer have to fight any longer.”

“…”

The vacant pupils of the man stared at Chiharu.

Chiharu gently touched the man’s cheeks.

“It would be great if the battles have ended the next time you open your eye…”

The smiling Chiharu wiped off the tears that had flowed from his eyes. The man who should have lost his emotions after his Mushi died was crying.

A red smoke emerged from his back. It was Chami’s Mushi which only she could see—the red queen bee melted into the darkness of the night.

Like a puppet with its strings cut, Kanata fell over. He fell on the floor with a thud, not a single muscle moving. But, seeing his chest move up and down, it seems like he would miraculously live on.

“You…?”

Chami looked up, and saw Chiharu wiping at her own cheeks with her finger. She seemed to have cried herself, but once she turned around, there was only a carefree smile on her face.

“Really, that was troubling.”

“…”

“Now then, Chami-chan. Didn’t you say there was an escape route? How are we going to get help from here?”

Chami languidly pointed her finger at the sky.

“…? The sky? Ah, I can see the moon, it’s a full moon tonight.”

“This morning’s news predicted that there was a 60 percent chance of rain.”

“Is that so. I guess that was off the mark then. I can’t see clearly because of the smoke, but there doesn’t seem to be a single cloud in the sky.”

“…”

“…Eh? Don’t tell me, Chami-chan, you…”

Chami gazed up at the sky vacantly.

“If it rains, the fire will be put out… don’t tell me that was the situation that you thought of? Isn’t Chami-chan very ingenious?”

Chiharu moved closer to Chami and put her hands on the floor and looked into her face. Ignoring Chiharu’s spasming face, Chami continued to gaze up at the skies filled with smoke.

—In the first place, Chami didn’t held any expectations for the rain. It’s just that, if she tried to face the other strong Mushitsuki like Kanata on a half-baked battlefield with an escape route, she thought that she would never win.

No matter what shapes they were in, even if it was based on pure luck, those who remained were the winners. Chami felt that this was fit and easy to understand.

Chami had remained standing.

However, did what Chami accomplished made her the winner? If she had burnt to death just like that, could she die with a smile on her face just as Owlet did?

“Don’t come here—didn’t I order that of you? Because your combat potential is practically non-existent, Konoha.”

Stopping Chiharu from getting closer with one hand, Chami spoke softly.

“…?”

Chiharu, whose face was being pushed away by Chami’s hand, knitted her eyebrows.

“…Once the firefighters below extinguish the fire, my Mushi that is clinging onto the wall would lower you down one-by-one …”

A whispery voice sounded out from next to Chami.

A space that had been empty till now slowly turned into a shade of green. —The figure of an outlandish-looking Mushi that was able to camouflage by changing the refractive index of its scales showed itself. Sandwiched between the two wings which resembled leaves, Konoha appeared from within wearing a white coat and goggles.

“W-who is it?”

Disregarding the bowled over Chiharu, Chami looked up at Konoha with a cynical smile.

“If you just dropped me down from here, wouldn’t you be able to kill me? Don’t you hate me?”

“…”

“…So? You properly ‘saw’ it, right?”

“Yes… that Fuyuhotaru came into contact with Horisaki Azusa… and also their dialogue…”

“Hmm. Well, I’ll praise you for this much.”

“…You will bring me along, wouldn’t you? Bring us to the ‘heart’ of the Mushitsuki…”

Her voice was so soft one could barely make out her words, but her tone was unmistakable.

Chami looked up at Konoha in disbelief, but immediately unveiled a smile.

“Be it Owlet, or be it you… All my pawns are such brazen brats. All going off on their own and making unreasonable request of me…”

Chami lowered her head and sighed.

—How about we trudge onwards together along this shitty life!

Looks like the ambition that started from that time had yet to come to an end.

If this was a story, it would probably be one that was filthy, cowardly, not even third-rate and does not even have a single bit of glory in it.

However, the main character of this story was unquestionably Konomura Chami. Someday, she would definitely triumph over everyone and sneer at them all from above.

“So be it, I’ll do it… Your life, your destiny, I’ll use them all! I’ll drag down all those in the lead role from the stage and place myself there! I’ll lead you all down my this shitty life!”

Next to Chami who reveal her ambition, Chiharu smiled once more. In contrast to Chami, even though her face was dirtied with soot, that sunny smile seemed to beam out from within.

“Hey, let me join in too.”

“…Haa? Don’t say such stupid things. This isn’t some kid’s adventure. In the first place, this has nothing to do with you, Ayukawa Chiharu—”

“It’s not Ayukawa Chiharu.”

“…?”

“I’ve just remembered a bit. Ah, even though I say that I remembered it, I’m only referring to my own memories, I still haven’t recalled Aria Varei’s memory. But, it seems that I would recall those before long. Like, it doesn’t have to be Aria Varei itself, but if I touch something that has its scent, I feel like I would remember it all…”

Chami and Konoha faced each other in puzzlement.

However, Chiharu looked like their reaction doesn’t faze her and grinned.

“My name is actually, Kusuriya Chiharu. Once again, nice to meet you, Konomura Chami-chan and… Konoha-chan, was it?”

“Kusuriya…?”

“By the way, Chami-chan. This is kinda sudden, but would you hear me out? Do you know of any child called Kusuriya Daisuke? He’s my cute younger brother.”

“If you’re speaking about Kusuriya Daisuke, of course… Eh? Kusuriya? …Younger brother?”

The confused Chami and the grinning Chiharu in good mood. Along with them was Konoha who was mystified as she failed to comprehend the situation.

Above them, the smoke in the skies cleared up, revealing the round and shiny moon.

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