Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 10 Chapter 4 (section)

== 4.02 Kanon Part 7 ==

Buildings he’d never seen before and unfamiliar people.

In an unknown town, Kanon was walking alone.

It was a major city much more developed than the Abandoned Land’s town, and the road with two train lines to each side was filled with exhaust gas. Since he’d gone without food for a while his stomach growled, but he kept passing by fast food places. Right now, Kanon only had some loose change in his pockets.

''Aah, I forgot—

While passing by people taller than him, Kanon recalled a certain sensation.

''Being by myself is so lonely—

Recently, he always had someone at his side. So Kanon forgot how this felt.

“Ah… sorry.”

While trying to pass by some high schoolers, he accidently bumped his shoulders with one. Glared by the guy who didn’t look nice even as a compliment, he froze.

“S-sorry, sorry…”

Seeing Kanon apologize many times, the boys burst laughing. They snorted and went away.

If these bulky boys surrounded Kanon, he would end up covered in blood in mere moments. Feeling relieved that nothing ended up happening, he resumed walking.

Although he was walking, he had nowhere to walk to.

A few days passed since he’d run away from the Abandoned Land. After that he parted from Nii, and since he had no place to stay in, he kept walking. Even at night he just wandered around. Even if he wanted to lie somewhere, the darkness was too scary so that he couldn’t even sleep.

His stamina was exhausted, his empty stomach gouged into his body, and he feared violence, but he kept walking.

It was the same when Kanon ran away from home.

“So… hungry…”

Dragging along fear and anxiety, he just wandered around town.

And at the root of that was—

“Don’t… really care though…”

Complete apathy, as no one wanted him.

He hated pain. He hated suffering. And he hated being scared the most.

And so—he wanted to just vanish, be gone. Since he was stupid and weak, could do neither good nor bad, life in this world was too hard of a hurdle.

Passing by many people, he could reach out to anyone.

Even so, among them Kanon was the weakest.

“Ah…”

Kanon saw a convenience store stuck in the road. One high school girl chattering in front of the store was about to throw away a half-eaten sandwich.

Seeing her get away from the store, Kanon passed through the traffic light.

“…”

He looked around him at the trashcan many times. Whenever someone entered, he twitched.

As Kanon stared at the trashcan, he gulped.

His meagre pride managed to hold down his instincts for mere moments. When he came to, Kanon opened the trashcan covering and searched for what remained of the sandwich.

“Mm? Hey, what’re you doing.”

An employee came out of the store with cleaning utensils, finding Kanon there. He hurriedly grabbed the sandwich and ran away.

“S-sorry, sorry…”

Kanon ran away unsteadily and listlessly, but the employee didn’t come after him. He kept turning corner after corner, rushing between buildings.

“Hah, hah…”

As he fixed his breath and gazed at his hand, he saw he’d crushed the sandwich. Almost all of the bread fell away and only a bit of garnish and sauce remained.

“…”

Sitting down on the cold asphalt, he reached with his tongue to the sauce-covered hand.

As Kanon lowered his gaze and licked his hand, tears welled up in his eyes.

He was powerless, pathetic, couldn’t even fish in the trash properly… he was a loser.

This overly pathetic figure—was the original form of Kanon. It was obvious it’d turn out this way once he ran away from home.

But it hadn’t.

He was a loser, and yet people who protected him appeared.

“…Tama-chan…”

As Kanon licked his hands while sobbing, the face of his childhood friend rose to mind.

Tamaki was kind, beautiful, and could do anything. He was proud of his friend.

“Everyone…”

The faces of the Mushitsuki that adored Kanon and that he relied on appeared in his mind.

Even now he could perfectly recall their faces. He listened to all of them and came to know their circumstances—he knew all of their dreams.

“I wonder how they’re doing…”

The lifestyle he had ever since reuniting with Tamaki was heaven on earth.

He had food, clothes, and a bed.

Above all else, Kanon had people to look at him and talk at him.

He knew these were too much for him—but he still wanted to return.

However—

“…I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

Tears fell on his hand.

He could no longer go back.

He’d run away from the Abandoned Land because he was angry with Tamaki

One of the friends who sought salvation and admired him had been turned into a Fallen—

He would never forgive her for that, and more importantly, he wouldn’t forgive Tamaki for lying to him.

“I’m sorry… Tama-chan… this is…”

However, he noticed that this was an unreasonable grudge.

The one who did this to Tamaki was Kanon.

Kanon’s lie made Tamaki do irreversible things. She had offered up Ichi as a tribute in order to protect Kanon’s lie.

Everything was for Kanon’s sake—

Everything in that paradise was for him.

That was why Kanon’s lie was a good thing for them, and he misunderstood that his lie saved them.

“All because of Kanon’s lie… Kanon’s so sorry…”

Kanon’s lie led his important person astray.

He finally noticed this.

So he couldn’t go back.

He possessed neither the courage to expose those lies nor the resolve to accept their revenge, so the cowardly Kanon just kept running away.

Kanon was truly hopeless—the worst of the worst.

“Hey? You over there, are you fine?”

Unexpectedly being called, Kanon raised his face. A suited man peeked into the road within the buildings.

“Are you hurt…?”

He was probably just an office worker on the way home. Seeing Kanon’s dirty clothes as he absently raised his face, the man was taken aback.

The man stared at Kanon’s face as he wordlessly shook his head.

“…”

Just as he was puzzled about it, the kind-looking man wore a bizarre smile.

“Did you run away from home? Got any place to stay?”

Kanon shook his head again.

“If you’d like, you… would you come to my place? You’re hungry, right? I have some delicious—”

As the man sidled up to him, Kanon gasped. Knowing the meaning of the man’s smile, he jumped away as if running.

“Kanon’s sorry, sorry!”

He ran away from the big road as far as his stamina allowed.

He reached an unfamiliar residential district. As loitered about, he found a small park.

Still out of breath, Kanon ran to the water tap and wet his parched throat.

“—Cough!”

Feeling too fatigued and drowsy, he nearly lost consciousness while drinking water. He coughed and bumped his head against the tap.

“U-ugh…”

Slowly leaning on the water tap, he looked at the small park. He felt some pain and the hand he put on his forehead had some red on it.

The small park right in the middle of the residential district brought some nostalgia.

Most people wouldn’t even look at such a small park that only had a sandbox and a single slide in it. Students heading home after school or parents going back home just passed by the park.

“—”

He recalled.

When he was young, he used to play with Tamaki in exactly such a park.

What conversations did these two children who didn’t want to get back home have? What have they played? He dug out the memories from his fuzzy brain.

“…”

Kanon rose up, reaching for the twisted faucet.

Scooping up a bit of water, he spread it on the dry sand. He came back to the water and took a handful again, wetting the sandbox again.

Next, he sat down in the sandbox and started piling up the sand.

''—What’re you making?

''—A castle. Will you help me?

Seeing as he didn’t go to any kindergarten at the time and had no interaction with kids his age, Kanon hadn’t differentiated well between the sexes. And so—he thought he was a girl.

Kanon’s father wanted a girl. Because of that he only gave Kanon girl clothes and treated him like a girl.

''—If I’m the knight then what about you?

''—The princess.

Tamaki did not deny Kanon’s words, despite definitely being aware that he wasn’t a girl.

Kanon, who wasn’t a girl, couldn’t become a princess.

So it was just a lie.

The lie he uttered that time was mysteriously reborn in his mind.

Despite being unable to become a princess.

Despite not having a castle.

Just like during his childhood, Kanon had no power but telling lies.

Tamaki knew it was a lie, and yet protected it.

The two of them, unchanged from how they were as children, simply met again by coincidence—

Why did it become like this?

Why had it ended up involving so many people and hurting them?

“…”

Strength left Kanon’s hand scooping sand. His blurry vision seemed to approach the sand castle.

And then.

He heard the sound of his face getting buried in the sand castle.

The fatigue and drowsiness reached their limits and his consciousness was rapidly fading away.

There were no pain or fear, just a sensation of vanishing—

Finally obtaining what he wished for, calmness filled Kanon’s heart.

“—!”

However, that calmness was soon obstructed.

Someone grabbed his collar and roused him forcefully.

“Eek…!”

Someone dragged Kanon and pushed his face into the streaming water tap.

“Wabh! Bha! —Stoooop!”

Recklessly swinging his arms, Kanon resisted.

Who on earth stood in his way just as he was about to vanish?

He was finally going to do it.

It was finally the time!

“Stoooop it! —Ubh! Cough!”

The powerless Kanon never stood any chance. He was thrust into the water again.

Although it was finally about to be over without him telling another lie—

After having water flow down his head, he was thrown on the bench nearby. His shoulders colliding against the backrest, Kanon grimaced.

Everything was supposed to end without any pain, suffering or fear—

“Uuugh…!”

As Kanon shut his eyes and rounded his body, someone grabbed his collar again.

“It’s me.”

A familiar voice.

Kanon reflexively opened his eyes, looking at the face of the one who grabbed him.

“—O…nii-chan…?”

The boy he supposedly parted with a few days ago brought Kanon’s face closer and glared at him.

“Auh!”

He was pounded against the bench again. Nii brought out a towel of a plastic bag and began to rub Kanon’s face violently.

“You suddenly told me to split up so I couldn’t really accept it.”

Nii spat these words at the flabbergasted Kanon.

“Did you forget? You were the one who told me this after we left the Abandoned Land. ‘Let’s split up’. I obviously then asked you, ‘What about my comrade’s Mushi?’ And then, what did you say?”

While wiping the dirt off of Kanon’s face, Nii brought out bandages this time. He pasted them on Kanon’s forehead wounds.

Letting him do as he pleased, Kanon mumbled.

“…’Kanon’s sorry’…”

Thus Kanon answered. He’d left the laurel wreath back in the Castle. Since everything was a lie for Kanon, that would not help him at all.

That was the last he’d seen of Nii. He’d been rightfully angry, and left.

Kanon betrayed Nii.

If he remained there, Nii might become the next sacrifice. Although Kanon thought so and made them escape together, he thought they’d never meet again.

“…Kanon’s sorry…”

As Kanon repeated this a sweet bread bag was thrust into his chest.

“Eh?”

“Eat up.”

Kanon looked inside the bag, stunned, and then pounced on it. He ripped the bag and started stuffing his mouth like an animal.

“I got pissed off and left, but I thought about killing you. I soon started following you.” 

The second bread was thrown to him. Kanon pounced on it and tore the bag.

“As I tried tailing you… you just went around town. You didn’t eat or sleep, so what did you want to do? Were you trying to repent?”

As Kanon stuffed bread down his throat, a mineral water bottle hit his head. He hurriedly opened it.

“Every time you bumped against someone and fell, I laughed. Served you right. —After I did this for a few days, I calmed down.”

Kanon started choking vigorously. He spat water and bread crumbs onto Nii’s face.

“And so I became an idiot.”

Wiping his face off with a towel, Nii clapped Kanon’s head. He sat next to him.

“How could I have sought salvation from someone so pathetic… is what I thought.”

“Onii-chan…”

“It didn’t matter even if you really have the power to erase Mushi.”

He spoke with a face of someone who got over it.

“…”

Kanon couldn’t smile back.

He currently didn’t possess the courage to assert this. He knew that Nii’s eyes had slight dark circles under then because he protected Kanon who couldn’t sleep.

“Kanon can’t save everyone…”

Saying that and deceiving them took everything he had.

“Right. I knew it.”

“Eh?”

Nii stayed smiling. Not asking the reason, he looked directly in Kanon’s eyes.

Seeing that calm expression, Kanon was confused.

“U-um…”

“Never mind why. If you can’t save us, you’re not a god and I can’t trust you.”

Nii’s hand grabbed Kanon’s head. He ruffled his hair.

“You’re just my friend.”

A friend.

He never thought he’d hear that word again, so he couldn’t immediately understand it.

But, as comprehension dawned slowly, Kanon’s sight began warping. 

“…Waaaah!”

The emotions he couldn’t hold back burst at once and he began wailing.

He couldn’t run away at such times.

“Waaaaah…”

He was so—lonely.

Only those emotions he couldn’t deceive with lies.

“Will you still keep repenting?”

Hearing Nii’s joke for the first time, Kanon shook his head so much it almost tore off.



He’d run away from home and became alone.

With a miraculous probability he’d reunited with his childhood friend, and they became two.

The pair’s lie had brought more allies.

Allies had begotten allies, and Kanon was surrounded by many people.

The many people around Kanon had erected a castle and created their own paradise. While they were doing that, the people creating paradise grew more and more.

On the way Kanon had become suddenly scared and ran away from this paradise.

Kanon had returned being alone, however—

“—My cash situation is also pretty bad, you know?”

They were two again.

“Foh yeaf?”

Kanon’s life, supposed to collapse like that loser he was, was apparently going to continue for a while more.

“Don’t talk while eating. What was that?”

“I said, oh yeah?”

“Don’t you ‘oh yeah?’ me. What’re we gonna do? Maybe I’ll look for a live-in part-time job.”

Kanon and Nii faced each other while stuffing themselves with hamburgers. The pair sat shoulder to shoulder on the guardrails with passersby going in front of them.

The two had nowhere to go to in this unfamiliar town.

No one there knew them, and no one would help them.

“In the first place, even back at the family restaurant, I was the only one paying for everything. That was absurd. The SEPB salary I worked so hard to gain turned into a bad menu into my friends’ stomachs. There’s a limit to generosity. Does sponging off weak people really not hurt your conscience?”

Nii, ex-SEPB member Akaoni, mumbled complaints to himself. In the past he looked sickly, but now he wore a hairband to pull back his bangs, so his eyes exposed along with his face were amiable. The body revealed from his punk-style clothing was firm and he was obviously fit. He finally looked like he was seventeen years old.

“Those were really tasty times.”

The grinning Kanon too had tossed away his dirty hoodie and changed to a blouse and short pants. At night they stayed at some net café, and since they also showered, he thought they looked quite neat for now. He used a hairpin to hold his hair.

Kanon and Nii.

A week passed since the two started just wandering around.

“Geez. No choice then, let’s look for a live-in job. I don’t feel like going back to the SEPB at this stage. They think I’m already long dead, so that’s convenient.”

“A job… what can you do, Onii-chan?”

“I went to a technical high school, so I do have some qualifications. But if it’s going to be a live-in job in my age, it’d probably only be manual labor. I’m fine with it, but…”

“What about Kanon? It’s probably impossible for Kanon.”

“Right. Haa, we went to karaoke, bowling, darts and billiards… we’ve played quite a lot without thinking about the consequences. You’ve left no regrets behind even if you’re gonna die, eh?”

“Ehehe.”

During the last week, Kanon and Nii played to their hearts’ contents.

It wasn’t like one of them had suggested this. It just so happened naturally when they were on their own.

The mere fact a lone person became two was a huge difference.

Thanks to that he felt like creating enough memories for a lifetime.

“Kanon can’t do anything but cheer on you! Oh, right. Kanon can make meals, laundry and cleaning.”

“Ah? So you’re like a housewife…”

Saying that, Nii wore an indescribable expression. He stared at Kanon’s face.

“What is it? Kanon’s going to blush if you stare so much.”

“You really look exactly like a girl, though… are you, y’know, well—”

“…Even if we live together, you can’t lay a hand on me, right?”

“As if I’d do that! I only want my hands on some older hottie.”

“Oh, really. Come to think of it, you looked to be having fun talking to that office lady when we played billiards. So the reason you suddenly vanished and left Kanon crying behind was…”

“I-I already apologized for that!”

Kanon opened his mouth to keep on bullying the apologizing Nii, but then gasped. A girl with a short cut passed by and he followed her with his eyes without thinking.

“…Didja think it was Tamaki?”

Nii wore a bitter smile. Kanon lowered his gaze.

“Are you dating? Is it fine not to get in contact with her?”

“It’s nothing like that. Tama-chan’s just a childhood friend.”

“No need to hide it anymore. You were doing some naughty things in secret anyway, right?”

Grinning, Nii was poking Kanon vulgarly with both hands. His true nature after recovering was quite a waste, Kanon had to say.

“Since both of you are feminine it’s even more erotic than I thought. So how was it?”

“Kanon’s going to hit you. Tama-chan’s just… no.”

He spoke while swinging his legs on the guardrail.

“She’s my important childhood friend.”

“Hmm?”

Thinking he should take revenge on his friend smiling so provocatively, Kanon pouted.

“What about you, Onii-chan? Kanon left that crown behind.”

“Right, that was also important to me.”

“…Kanon’s sorry.”

“S’fine. We both left our treasures back at the Abandoned Land.”

Saying this, Nii looked at Kanon.

“But… I feel like going back a bit later to get ‘em back.”

“Kanon does, too.”

They smiled at each other.

These days where they had fun without thinking of anything were so wonderful.

He didn’t need to think about saving or being saved.

And more importantly—Kanon could live his daily life without having to tell lies.

If possible, he wanted this to continue forever.

“I wonder what Tama-chan and the others are doing right now…”

“They’re all doing what they want wherever they want. Since you’re gone it’s meaningless for them to stay together, after all.”

“…”

Many days passed since Kanon escaped the Abandoned Land.

These were people who gathered because they wanted to be saved by Kanon. Just like Nii said, once Kanon was gone, they’d disperse and act alone.

Did everyone begrudge Kanon?

Nii said they probably regretted nothing. He didn’t want to reject Kanon who had nothing in the first place, but speaking of regrets—they were his only one.

Were the people who called Kanon a friend still doing fine?

Also.

The one who tried to protect Kanon so much by doing what she could never take back, Tamaki—

“Let’s go look for a job.”

Nii reached his hand and wrapped it around the thinking Kanon’s shoulder.

He smiled.

“Yeah!”

The pair was just about to leap off of the guardrail.

“Hyaa!”

A boy and a girl suddenly cut by, grazing Kanon. Not even minding him as he leapt back, they ran away like something happened.

“R-rushing headlong like that is dangerous… eep! Kanon’s sorry!”

As he put both hands on his mouth and advised them of temperance, the pair turned back. He held his head and stumbled.

But the two didn’t glare at Kanon. Rather, they looked not just back but to all sides, looking around for something.

Their behavior was as if—they were being chased by someone.

“W-what’s happened?”

Turning back, Kanon noticed his friend glare into the distance, silent.

“Onii-chan?”

“…So it’s Mushibane.”

Nii mumbled.

“Eh?”

“Those two were being chased by another two. Their movements were the SEPB. —Meaning, those who escaped just now, are very likely from Mushibane.”

“SEPB…? K-Kanon hasn’t noticed at all.”

“Well, nothing to do with us.”

Smiling, Nii started walking. The complete opposite direction from where the pair ran away.

“…That’s true.”

Kanon also smiled and followed Nii.

“We can browse some newspaper and look for job ads.”

“Right, let’s do it.”

“And I need to take out some money on the way. Not that there’s a lot left, though.”

“You have to use it responsibly.”

“Right. Shall we skip dinner tonight?”

“K-Kanon will never forgive that!”

Kanon who was laughing around suddenly stopped.

After walking for a few seconds, Nii turned back.

“What is it?”

“…Those people just now weren’t Kanon’s believers, right?”

Kanon smiled weakly. Nii shook his head with a serious expression.

“Nope. I don’t know ‘em either, and you don’t either, right?”

“But! Some days passed since then, so we might’ve just forgotten them!”

He’d seen the face of those running away for just a second. Kanon intended to never forget even a single face of his comrades, but could he really say this was true?

If they were his believers and they ended up being chased by the SEPB because Kanon was gone—

“Kanon.”

Nii looked at Kanon with a calm expression.

“We’ve run away. We no longer have anything to do with them.”

“…!”

It was true. However—

“Onii-chan…”

Biting his lips, Kanon looked back at the boy.

He wanted to make sure.

But Kanon alone was useless. He needed help for that.

Nii resisted wordlessly, but that didn’t keep up for long.

“—We’re just making sure.”

The moment the boy folded, Kanon already spun his body. He began running toward where the two escaped.

Kanon ran desperately and a calm Nii followed after him. After running for a while, the ex-SEPB combatant boy clicked his tongue.

“Tch, unranked underlings? Their way of chasing is trash. Here.”

In front of a certain alley, he grabbed Kanon’s arm. It was a narrow road between buildings. Kanon didn’t know this at all, but apparently the SEPB pursuers had cornered the escapers there.

They rushed through that alleyway and stood when they reached a gloomy place sandwiched between two buildings. They stealthily peeked ahead from within the shadows.

“Let’s check it from here.”

“R-right.”

It was a parking lot of an old complex building. He could see that four Mushitsuki split into two groups were facing each other. They already summoned their Mushi.

“Well? Do you know ‘em?”

“K-Kanon can’t really see yet…”

“Wait, looks like there’s another one. The Mushibane lot looked over there—”

The leaning Nii’s profile froze.

“…? Onii-chan?”

No matter how much he called him, the boy still wouldn’t move as though frozen. Having no choice, Kanon also leaned forward, following Nii’s gaze.

“Eh—”

Seeing the person there, he thought his heart would stop.

“Just like promised, we drew the SEPB to you! So you’re going to save us now, right?!”

One of the runaways said.

“No, not yet—”

Answering this was unexpectedly someone Kanon knew.

“Those who aspire to become believers must attain enough strength to protect Kanon-sama.”

On top of the parking lot sign.

Sitting there and calmly looking down on the four Mushitsuki was someone wearing a familiar robe.

“Fight! Those who remain shall gain the right to be saved by Kanon-sama.”

The girl wearing the robes announced solemnly.

Kanon knew that girl. She had once been introduced to him at the Castle, the believer who received the nickname of Hyakunijuuichi, 121.

What was going on—

Unable to understand, Kanon could do nothing but stand there in shock.

“W-wait! Kanon-sama, meaning… the person who erases Mushi? D-does she really exist?”

One of the SEPB members looked up at the believer. Apparently the rumor spread even within the SEPB.

“Right. If you beat the Mushitsuki in front of you, we will introduce you to Kanon-sama as believers, how about that?”

The believer girl grinned.

These words made the SEPB members widen their eyes—and something unbelievable happened.

“Eh…?”

A hoarse voice leaked from inside Kanon’s throat.

Of all things—the four people of SEPB and Mushibane started fighting on the spot. And they leapt at their opponents with devilish visages, raising war cries.

“S-sto—”

As Kanon was about to leap from the shadows, Nii held him back.

“Fight! If you wish to be saved by Kanon-sama, that is!”

As if responding to the believer’s reprimand, the Mushitsuki all howled. They bared their eyes like wild beasts and just started thrusting their Mushi’s fangs or claws to fell the enemies ahead of them.

The conclusion soon came.

The two SEPB members combined their Mushi’s attacks and first tore off one of the enemy’s Mushi. Once he was outnumbered, the remaining person was helpless. He tried running away along with his Mushi, but his Mushi’s hard shell was penetrated by sharp fangs from behind.

Seeing that, the believer girl spoke.

“Alright! Now you’re number 205, Nihyakugo! And you over there are number 206, Nihyakuroku!”

The Mushitsuki first defeated already became a Fallen. The other boy also had his Mushi killed and was kneeled on the ground.

“…!”

Seeing the boy collapse, Kanon shook off Nii’s arm.

“Wait, Kanon!”

Ignoring Nii, he tried running to the collapsed boy.

The two SEPB members turned.

“Who’re you!”

“Eh…? K-Kanon-sama?”

On top of the billboard, the believer girl widened her eyes. Hearing those words, the two SEPB members’ movements stopped.

“Kanon-sama? This one is?”

“G-get a hold of yourself!”

Flying to the collapsed boy, Kanon roused his body.

He saw the boy’s glass bead-like eyes as he was on the verge of becoming a Fallen.

“Kanon…sama…? Y-you are…?”

“W-why’s Kanon-sama here? She’s supposed to be at the Castle…! —Nii, you bastard, where were you!”

The believer girl leapt down from the board. Seeing Nii emerge from the shadows, she was shocked again.

“Why… that is… our…”

Kanon’s voice shook. The robe-wearing girl turning around.

“That’s Kanon’s line! Why are you doing something so cruel! Why…!”

“Eh? B-but, I was just following your orders, Kanon-sama…”

Seeing the girl so confused, Kanon’s heart thumped.

Orders?

He knew nothing about it.

“Orders…?”

“Right, you were the one who came to this resolution, Kanon-sama…”

“Kanon did? Resolution? What sorta resolution?”

He had a bad feeling.

An incredible chill and fear crawled up from his stomach.

The girl spoke.

“A Holy War.”

''Thump.

Kanon’s entire body shook as if hit by something.

“You told us to gather more powerful Mushitsuki for the upcoming battle…”

“Don’t be stupid! Kanon was with me this whole time. No way that happened!”

Nii shouted.

Right. Kanon knew nothing about that.

Holy War? An upcoming battle? These were not words that came out of Kanon’s mouth.

But even if so.

If Kanon ever mouthed these scary words—it wouldn’t be Kanon.

A Kanon who wasn’t Kanon.

The one who could do something so contradictory—

“Kanon-sama…”

Kanon’s body jolted and shook to an embarrassing degree. He almost thought his heart would stop.

The boy with a face devoid of life looked up at Kanon in his arms. He looked like he had a fever and was about to cry.

Kanon knew that face.

He’d seen that sort of face countless times.

“Please… save me too…”

“…!”

Kanon gulped.

The face worn by the boy about to become a Fallen was, certainly—

A face seeking salvation.

He was seeing a human who’d been cornered, who’d lost his place and was now clinging to the one and only hope he found.

“I hate… Mushi and… Mushitsuki…”

The boy’s hand grasped Kanon’s shoulder. He had a deathly complexion, and yet somewhere within him still remained enough strength for his nails to dig into Kanon’s skin.

“I beg you… Kanon-sama…”

“…! Kanon’s… Kanon’s…”

He didn’t have the power to save this suffering boy.

Everything had been a lie.

He didn’t want to tell anymore lies.

By the time he left the Abandoned Land, the liar Kanon was gone.

“Kanon’s—”

So he thought of telling the truth.

Once the boy became Fallen, he’d lose his emotions and memories. So these were his final moments.

Kanon was not evil enough to lie to the boy in his final moments.

He thought he should protect the boy’s dignity as a human by telling the truth.

“Kanon’s… right. Kanon’s got a power to erase Mushi.”

That was also a lie.

Kanon currently didn’t have the courage to tell the truth.

“Look, I just erased your Mushi. Now you’re just another human.”

He smiled at him.

“I’m so glad…”

A mouth on the verge of a smile and a shaky voice.

Seeing that third-rate acting, the boy—

“…Ah… now I can finally…”

Wore a full smile.

Even that smile—vanished within moments.

The boy grew heavier in Kanon’s arms. His fully open, expressionless eyes now lost their luster.

“…Fhu… guuuu…!”

Kanon did something terrible.

He lied to a person in his final moments.

In the end, no matter where he was, Kanon could be nothing but a liar—

“Uwaaaaaah! Aaaah!”

Laying the boy down on the floor and rising, he shouted.

“Kanon never… wished for this sorta thing!”

Turning his back to the Mushitsuki there, he kept shouting while clenching both fists.

“Kanon doesn’t care about strong or weak or whatever! If you want to kill the weak, then just kill Kanon first…! Kanon wanted to save everyone, but Kanon never wanted to…! Kanon…! Kanon would never…!”

He hid his eyes while tears streamed down.

In the end, this too was Kanon’s fault.

Kanon didn’t deserve to shed tears—

“It has nothing to do… with who’s a Mushitsuki and who’s not…”

“—!”

The Mushitsuki all held their breaths.

Kanon turned back, passing by the believer girl.

“The Kanon at the Castle is an imposter…”

“Eh?”

“There’s no need for you to listen to them…”

Leaving this behind, Kanon started walking.

“Wait, Kanon! Where are you—”

He held out his hand to stop Nii who was about to follow him.

The Mushitsuki there all looked at Kanon.

“…Kanon’s sorry…”

Shaking his head from left to right and denying it, Kanon went walking.

He didn’t want to involve any of them any longer.

Apparently, his lie had somehow grown even larger somewhere.

After Kanon left, his lie was being used by a certain person.

[[File:Mushi Uta 10 p285.jpg|thumb]]

“Why… Tama-chan…”

This person pretended to be Kanon and inherited his lie.

It could only be Tamaki.

No person other than his childhood friend would be proficient enough to act like Kanon—

He had to stop her.

He had to somehow stop his lie.

Should he go back to the Castle?

No, it wasn’t that easy to solve.

What if… it was an unlikely scenario, but…

What if everyone believed Tamaki more than Kanon?

“Tama-chan can definitely… become more Kanon-like than Kanon…”

Tamaki could become the Kanon the believers all wished for.

In the first place, the one who protected his lie was not Kanon, but Tamaki.

“What can Kanon do…”

As he walked in the back alley, mumbling to himself, someone came nearby.

“So we don’t have any time to look for a job, then.”

It was Nii. The boy with a headband walked next to Kanon as if it was natural.

“…”

Kanon wordlessly shook his head to the side. However—

“Your actions and expression don’t match.”

Nii smiled.

“Don’t try so hard with such a lonely expression.”

“Fgh…!”

Sobs welled up from the depths of his throat.

Kanon alone was useless.

He knew that he couldn’t do anything alone.

“You need to rely on your friends.”

He didn’t want Nii with his cheerful smile to follow. He didn’t want to involve the boy any further, and yet—Kanon’s arm acted on its own, grabbed his friend’s clothes and he shook his head to the side.

Alone, he was powerless.

But the two of them could at least keep walking ahead.

Also—

“Kanon-sama!”

The robed girl rushed toward Kanon.

“Please take me too!”

“Us too…!”

The two SEPB members followed after the girl as well.

“It might sound too convenient, at this point, but… please!”

“…But Kanon cannot save any of you…”

He spoke weakly.

However, the three Mushitsuki’s eyes staring at Kanon did not change.

“…Thank you.”

As Kanon mumbled this weakly, the three Mushitsuki’s expression sparkled.

He almost went alone again, but then they became two.

At soon after that, they became five.

He couldn’t do anything.

He was weaker than anyone.

About the only thing he could do was tell lies.

And, around Kanon, one person and yet another person came to seek salvation, gathering around him.

And this—

“Kanon must do something…”

Was the beginning of the saint’s march.