Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 1st Episode 01 (section)

=== Part 1 ===

Walking down the road under the relentless morning rays, Ichinokuro Arisu let out a big yawn.

She came to a halt in front of a big puddle. Looking at the mirror-like surface, she saw her figure in the reflection.

A pair of sleepy half-opened eyes stared back at her. Her shoulder-length hair was maintained meticulously by a barber employed by the Ichinokuro house once every three days. Even amongst her peers, she was considered to be quite petite.

Arisu took a big stride, jumping over the puddle which other people would have avoided.

In the direction which Arisu was walking, there were lots of boys and girls wearing the same uniform as her. However, none of them had a sleepy look on their face apart from her. Everybody was walking upright and chatting with each other with a bright smile on their face.

Arisu was presently heading towards Horusu Seijou Academy Middle School. The school was average academically, but its tuition fee was outrageously expensive. In other words, it was a prestigious school for the upper-class. Arisu was fourteen years-old, currently enrolled as a second-year student there.

Seeing two familiar figures ahead, Arisu rushed towards them.

“’Sup, Ena, Takako!”

Arisu leapt between the two girls, coiling her arms around their shoulder and causing them to stumble.

“Hey. Or rather, aren’t you being too energetic in the morning.”

“G-good morning, Arisu-san.”

One of the girl pouted, while the other had a troubled smile.

They are Saionji Ena and Kujou Takako, Arisu’s classmate. Both of them are from influential families, especially Takako who was raised with an abundance of love and care since young. On the other hand, being the third daughter, Ena had an even more coarse personality than Arisu.

Arisu let go of their shoulders, letting out a groan with a, ‘''uu…''’.

“My energy is at just the right level. After all, I had just been beaten up by the demonic hag since early this morning.”

“Ah, you mean your self-defence practice? I guess it can’t be helped, seeing as how you are the precious only daughter of the Ichinokuro family, much bigger and wealthier than our families. They’re just worried that you might get kidnapped.”

“If that’s the case, they could have just drop me off at school every day. Instead of being strict on discipline in such a way, geez.”

“Maybe hiring a bodyguard would be a good idea.”

At Takako’s words, Arisu revealed an interested look.

“A bodyguard eh… That might be fine too.”

“Eh? Seriously?”

“Since my family has nothing but money, they could at least do this much. This way, I wouldn’t have to undergo all these strict practice.”

“Eeh, but you’d be with stuck with some ominous-looking fellow all the time!”

“''That’s not right!'' Obviously, I’d only pick a pretty boy! Even in school, he will always be by my side, obeying my every command. ‘Ah, my throat is feeling a bit dry.’ ‘Please drink this, my lady.’ ‘''Fufu'', good boy.’ Ah, why didn’t I think of this earlier!”

“Just who do you think you are… Well, I guess that might not be such a bad idea.”

“But, then…”

Seeing Takako blush, a grin formed on Arisu's face. Looking at Ena, she found the same look on her face as well.

“Eh, did you hear that, Arisu-san?”

“Yup, I heard it loud and clear, Ena-san. ‘''But, then…''’, wasn't it. It seems like just imagining it was too much for our chaste lady Takako.”

“That’s not it. It’s just that Takako-san already has someone in mind. What was his name again, you know, that childhood friend with a baby face from the Arts club…”

“H-hey, stop picking on me…”

Watching the panicky Takako glance at them back and forth, Arisu and Ena laughed out loud.

But then, Ena’s laughter stopped all of a sudden.

“What’s wrong, Ena?”

“Ah, sorry. Speaking of pick on, I recalled something unpleasant.”

“Something… unpleasant?”

In contrast to the look of question on Arisu and Takako's face, Ena had a frown.

“I heard this from my friend last night over the phone… Yesterday, after class ended, ''it'' appeared in our school.”

“''It'' appeared? What is it?”

“''Mushi.''”

''Thump thump''—

Arisu’s heartbeat accelerated.

—Hey Arisu, listen to me. I am…

That scene from the past smouldering in the back of her memories came to her in flash. Even now, it seems as if it would disappear any moment, but she recalled the smile of happiness of her former close friend.

“She had also heard it second-handed, so I have no idea if it's true or not.”

Ena continued.

“Somewhere in the school, a bunch of boys were ganging up on someone. Then, suddenly, the Mushi appeared… As a result, a few of them were severely injured… The one who witnessed it was so scared that they did not dare tell anybody what they saw, only to the friend of my friend.”

''Mushi''—.

Something only mentioned in passing rumours, first heard about ten years ago.

Outlandish organisms with the appearance of insects, the Mushi infests humans and feed on their dream to grow. Despite multiple eyewitness reports from various sources, the government officially deny their existence. But, as eyewitness reports continued, people afflicted by the Mushi, known as ''Mushitsuki'', came to strike fear in the hearts of the populace. Rumours say that the Mushi consumes the dreams of their host up till the day they die.

Along with the issue of the Mushi which has since passed the level of gossips, there were hearsay of a government agency known as the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau. Officially, the bureau is said to handle any issues or complains about the living environments, but…

“Please keep this off the record, ’kay. …Leaving aside Takako, I didn't expect Arisu to be making this kind of face too.”

“Eh…”

At that, Arisu snapped out of her daze. She had been listening with her eyes goggly, similar to Takako, causing Ena to come to the conclusion that she had been frightened.

“There, there, sorry for scaring you. So even Arisu-chan have a girlish side to her, eh… Ow-ow-ow.”

“Ohohoho, that’s right. Somewhere within me, there's a weak and delicate girl.”

[[File:Mushi Uta Bug 1st p011.jpg|thumb]]

While drilling Ena’s temple with both of her fists, Arisu noticed that Takako looked strange.

“E-erm, I…”

“Takako?”

“I saw a suspicious character… That is, inside the school compound…”

““Really?!””

Arisu and Ena both exclaimed. Takako nodded docilely.

“Suspicious you say, in what way?”

“Erm, that is… it was a scary-looking giant… also, he seems middle-aged…”

“Hey, isn’t this bad? What if that person was… a Mushitsuki?”

Takako looked aghast, while Ena's expression turned serious.

Mushitsuki—.

Arisu silently clenched her fist.

“A suspicious character… Mushitsuki…”

During the short homeroom later that morning, they heard directly from the form teacher that a few boys from the same grade had been sent to the hospital due to serious injuries.