Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 11 Chapter 2 (section)

== 2.01 The Others ==

The middle of the night.

In the hotel room given to her by Rui, a small, sharp noise echoed.

Light peeked into the room wrapped in darkness. The entrance door was slightly ajar.

“Good evening. …Cough.”

As Mikko, who sat on the floor while grasping her knees, spoke, the intruder’s movements completely stopped.

“So you came first. I cannot say I hadn’t excepted it, though… cough.”

“…You knew I’d come?”

Wearing his hood and hiding his face with goggles, the boy—Kasshi—looked down on Mikko.

“You looked like you were interested in my father’s research. Have you gotten this key by defeating Rui’s personal forces in the corridor and stealing it? —Please calm down. Although you are the kind of pervert to wear goggles and actually intrude into a girl’s room at night, I will not do anything like hate you.”

“I’m not a pervert.”

“If you want to kidnap me and make me speak about my father’s research, it’s impossible. It looks like Rui has many guards posted in places even other than the corridor.”

“I can also get it out of you in this room.”

“That is also impossible. Because he would probably come soon…”

“He?”

Kasshi removed his goggles.

Mikko looked up at the boy and narrowed her eyes.

“The person behind you.”

“—What are you doing here?”

Hearing this whisper at his ears, Kasshi felt as if his very heart was being grasped.

A ghost-like figure was standing right behind Kashi. No, with the corridor’s light from behind him and the sharp glints of his eyes, rather than a ghost—it was more like a demon coming to inform a person of their death.

It was Daisuke.

“So Rui’s guards being collapsed there is your doing? I knew you were no normal brat.”

“…Same goes for you.”

His face stiffening a bit, Kasshi retreated from Mikko.

“Are you fine, Mikko? Did he do something to you?”

Daisuke looked down at Mikko worriedly. His demon-like killing intent was gone as if it never existed.

“To me it seems like this turned even more dangerous thanks to your appearance. After all, you are the kind of man to try and sink your fangs into any woman that you—ow. No, he did nothing.”

“Just like you predicted. I appeared, and then Daisuke would.”

“…A prediction, you say?”

Kasshi and Daisuke looked down Mikko who was sitting on the floor.

“Cough. …You two are similar. You each have your own duty, and so you seek to know about my father’s research. I knew you would definitely come to me and get the jump on it before the others.”

The pair’s silence affirmed Mikko’s reasoning.

“Therefore, I thought of rejecting you. I am very tired today…”

“Can’t let you do that. There’re too many things I need you to talk about. Like the subject of the research, for example.”

As Daisuke approached, his face became slightly hazy.

Mikko coughed. She had a cold since she escaped the research facility, but it worsened due to her expending her stamina. The heat and fatigue stopped even her thoughts.

“My father’s research—”

She narrowed her eyes, her face red.

As she tried to recall, scenes of the past rose to her mind.

Her father locking himself up in the research room, devoting himself to it as if possessed by something. Mikko grew up while watching his back. She used the research documents scattered on the floor instead of coloring books.

The rich, suspicious people called the Round Table appeared, taking Mikko and her father to a research facility. Her father rejoiced and asked for test subjects from the Round Table, thus advancing his inhuman research.

What they gave to Mikko was to become a caretaker for these test subjects that they brought from who knows where.

Mikko was imprisoned in the research facility just like them. She would watch over the subjects’ health, hear their stories and keep them alive.

They spoke about many things.

All the way from their personal circumstances and curses spat at her father. Anger, sadness, pain, and at times happiness—

Hearing the stories that held all possible emotions, Mikko consoled them.

And one day, a miracle occurred.

“Have you ever… wished for something from the bottom of your heart?”

She looked up at Kasshi and Daisuke with drowsy eyes.

“Feelings you wanted to make true, no matter the sacrifice…”

Daisuke gulped.

“Never.”

The one who answered was Kasshi.

“For me, my own desires are meaningless.”

“…That is very sad. All people have things they want, and they can only live toward that hope. For the sake of that hope—they can even overcome death. If you say you wish for nothing, you are already in despair. You are empty, like a living corpse… cough.”

Kasshi was shaken by emotions for the first time.

It was rage. Frowning, he glared at Mikko like he wanted to strangle her.

“However, I—like you like that.”

He was apparently surprised.

Kasshi who widened his eyes was engulfed by Mikko’s kind smile.

“Whether or not you start wishing for something is for you to decide. It can’t be given to you by anyone and can’t be enforced by anyone—you yourself can hope for something and live to reach it. That is something very fortunate.”

“…”

“Right now, you are freer than anyone.”

Her fever seemed to be rising more and more. The back of her head hit the wall with a thud.

Her vision blacked out for a moment.

Unfamiliar sights entered Mikko’s mind.

In front of a building that had a pointy silhouette, she came face to face with a familiar dark man. Next to her were Kii-kun, Rui and Kasshi.

The scene changed, and Mikko was on a deserted ship.

''—Kii-kun, Kasshi, Rui… as well as me… we shouldn’t have come here…

The one saying this was none other than her.

It felt so familiar—and yet, this was a scene that she felt like she shouldn’t ever know.

Why did she see that now?

Before she could recall the reason, the mumbling girl was pulled back to reality.

“I’m—”

Apparently Mikko’s words caused quite the shakedown to Kasshi, which was unexpected. She thought this boy was cold and rational, but now he bit his lips and his clenched fists shook.

“All of us can definitely get along. Yes, just like a family…”

From the other side of the hall there was a loud thud.

“Wah… Uwah…”

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Kii-kun appeared. He clung into the one who asked him this, Daisuke, almost tackling him.

“M-my arm… my arm’s attached, right? R-right, Daisuke?!”

He looked to be quite disturbed. He had his two arms all right.

“It’s obviously there. Had a nightmare or something?”

“A nightmare… yeah, it was a dream. —Wait, you guys, why are you with Mikko! Don’t ostracize me!”

“Fwah… why are you all gathered here and why are my subordinates all asleep?”

Rui appeared.

“I won’t ask for details, so go to sleep already, kids. Do you even realize how far I’m going with you, instead of being with my precious daughter who’s more important than the world itself? If you don’t, I’ll force you.”

The terribly moody youth was apparently serious. He cracked his fist.

While looking over them, Mikko narrowed her eyes toward Daisuke.

“We can all get along.”

“…”

Daisuke sighed unpleasantly, and Kii-kun, Kasshi and Rui exchanged glances.

“Right, I feel the same way toward all of you—”

Before reaching her limits and losing her consciousness—

Mikko recalled just who she was.