Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 7 Chapter 5 (section)

== 5.01 Akatsuki The Last ==
Akatsuki collapsed in front of the defeated Genius.

Using too much of his power, he breathed heavily with both hands on the ground.

''It's over—''

They have destroyed the Zones in town here and there, and defeated Genius. Thanks to Ako they were able to win.

"Good job. The wounded will go back to the branch and receive treatment."

"Still, that's quite somethin'. Its body is actually still here. Just how strong is it?"

He heard the voices of the members from the shared communication channel. They spoke so businesslike it didn't seem like they had just been in mortal combat.

Akatsuki had no power left after that battle. He turned off the channel and pulled the visor down to his forehead.

The setting sun returned to illuminate the desolate land. The cloudless sky was dyed orange.

''It's time to crash for a bit—''

It happened just as he thought so.

"…!"

A blue light flashed from behind.

Turning around in surprise, he saw the radio tower glowing in blue like rippling water. The glow was spreading from the antennas. The members around also looked suspiciously at the radio tower.

"Ako…?"

He rose to his legs, wavering.

Ako and Youko should still be there. Did something happen to them?

"Kh…"

Forcing his body that seemed ready to collapse if he let down his guard, he ran toward the radio tower. He didn't know what happened, but it was obviously something abnormal.

"Hah…! Hah…!"

Suddenly the blue glow vanished.

He had a bad premonition. His heart sped up, regardless of his fatigue.

Finally he reached the area of the radio tower.

Youko, who was supposed to be in front of the fence, was nowhere to be found. She vanished along with her suitcase.

And not only Youko vanished.

Ako was also nowhere.

"Ako…!"

He raised his voice but there was no reply.

As he became more and more panicked, Akatsuki heard the sound of something dripping on the fence.

He reflexively turned around.

On top of the fence close to the radio tower was an unknown figure. The slender silhouette clad in a black trench coat turned to him.

She was a woman. For an instant, the dark-skinned woman looked at Akatsuki. He saw her wearing a displeased face, and then her coat swelled like a balloon.

"Who are you…!"

As Akatsuki tried pursuing her, the blown coat vanished along with the figure.

She was a Mushitsuki. She probably used some sort of ability to vanish.

Having a bad feeling, Akatsuki looked around the area the woman vanished. He went over the fence from the same direction Ako came before.

"Ako! Ako!"

He looked around him, be he couldn't see any girl holding a camera.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Akatsuki froze.

Drip.

From way overhead, a drop of liquid fell to the ground.

Spreading on the asphalt wetting it—it was bright red.

"…!"

He unconsciously raised his face.

Once again a red drop fell down. —It was blood.

He kicked the ground faster than he could think. Forgetting about both fatigue and injuries, he climbed up the staircase.

Climbing up the stairs lit by the setting sun, Akatsuki's footsteps echoed loudly.

Reaching the first floor as if flying into it, he could see no one. The drops of blood came from further above.

He got to the second floor, but there was still nothing.

Rushing up to the third floor, Akatsuki found the girl.

"Ako—"

Ako was collapsed on the floor.

Her eyes looked at Akatsuki for a split second.

The smiling girl's pupils—lost all color.

"AKOOO!!!"

He jumped at the girl, the same time as her Mushi, the two-spotted cricket, vanished into thin air.

"Ako! Ako!"

Hugging her up, he checked her breathing.

Although shallowly breathing, he knew that her badly wounded body was losing life.

"Why… Why did you…!"

A digital camera lay on the floor.

Looking at the LCD screen, Akatsuki shouted.

It was the video of Akatsuki smiling shyly in the classroom while eating pudding.

"No way, Ako—"

Just by seeing that, Akatsuki realized the situation.

Had she tried to send the information about Mushitsuki to the world?

And if so, then the trench coat woman he'd just saw was probably the SEPB's—

"…!"

Grimacing, he lowered his visor.

"I need someone with a healing ability…! There's someone gravely injured here!"

The reply came instantly.

"You'll have to come back to the branch, there aren't any. Didn't you listen?"

"I won't make it in time! Bring them here immediately!"

"Please do not ask for the impossible. How much time do you think it would take just moving there?"

"It can be anyone! Isn't there someone with even a little of a healing ability?!"

Silence befell the shared channel. He knew that this wasn't part of their duties, but it made his blood boil. Akatsuki removed his visor and threw it against the floor.

"Ako! Why…!"

In Akatsuki's arms, the cloudy eyed Ako's breathing grew weaker. Along with her flowing blood her body heat also vanished. The shoulders he touched were growing colder.

Telling people the truth—

He knew what Ako was trying to do.

Before the image of Mushitsuki being scary solidified, she would let the world know the truth about them.

So that people who feared Mushitsuki too much, like Satou Youko, would not be born.

None other than Ako was able to accomplish this.

More than anyone, Akatsuki knew that from hearing from Ako herself.

"Why did you have to do this…!"

Why did it have to be Ako?

Wouldn't anyone else suffice?

Why, of all people, it was Akatsuki's friend that had to become a victim—

"Ako! AKOOO!"

He called to her desperately, but the emotionless Ako didn't even raise screams of anguish.

Akatsuki was losing yet another friend in his arms.

Ako thought that becoming alone was punishment for her.

If so, then was Akatsuki losing friends also a punishment?

Was his turning his eyes away from battle and keep running away, his just desserts?

—No, that was wrong.

This time only, Akatsuki didn't run away.

So he couldn't agree with losing Ako.

"If you die… then beating the Demon Lord would've been for nothing…!"

Akatsuki could do nothing but hug Ako. Letting leak incomprehensible sobs, he held the girl's body as tightly as he could.

"—"

Something white flew by his sight distorted by tears.

Since he was a moment before losing his mind, Akatsuki couldn't understand what that was. Still hugging Ako, he looked at it with a glazed face.

White particles.

Cutting through the floor, passing through Ako's body, and rising to the sky.

Akatsuki could never mistake this.

He'd seen it countless times in front of his eyes.

It was one of the different spaces created by the Demon Lord, by Satou Youko, the ability of Genius.

It indicated that this area, called a Spirit Zone, had a supernatural phenomenon happening in it.

"…!"

Still hugging Ako, he climbed toward the rails.

When he saw that sight, he was reminded.

He thought it was weird the previous time he'd gone there with Ako.

On the flower bed created by cutting open one part of the ground covered by asphalt—the grass there grew much more than the other flower beds.

"'The Angel of the Radio Tower'—"

He mumbled with a hoarse voice without noticing.

Seeing the plastic sheet dangling in the wind when he'd found it, he thought this was just it. Never mind Akatsuki, but Ako also thought this and was disappointed. Due to that, he hadn't written about the radio tower in the list that he'd brought to the North Central Branch.

Akatsuki saw the white particles converging on the flower bed.

A Spirit Zone.

Turning his face, he looked at Genius collapsed on the other side. Its silhouette was vanishing and growing transparent, but its ability was not yet gone—

Looking at the Spirit Zone again, he noticed a beam of light converged there.

The antenna on the fence was slanted, so that it gathered the sun's light from its side. It absorbed and reflected the light into the flowerbed.

Only during this time and when it was in this angle would the setting sun's light be sucked into the Spirit Zone through the antenna. Perhaps accepting that mighty light was the activation condition.

And he heard about its effects from Ako.

The reason why the woman who'd taken her life didn't die—

"Ako…"

Akatsuki bit his lips, hugging Ako again.

Inside his arm, the girl was breathing shallower and shallower even now.

The Spirit Zone's light was quickly growing fainter. By the time the sun's angle changed even a little the light wouldn't reach the Zone anymore.

He had no time to go down the stairs while holding Ako.

"You said that us journalism club members were invincible, right?"

Akatsuki's dirtied face looked at Ako.

If he missed their fall even by a little bit it'd probably be instant death. It was very windy today, and even if he did fall to the correct spot, it would be same depending on the place he hit.

Yet Akatsuki had no hesitation.

Wearing a full smile, he—

"I… think so as well."

Took Ako in his arms, and leapt toward the ground.