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

===Part 2===

The chime reverberated in the quiet school building.

The time was just past three in the afternoon. Afternoon classes had just started and would end at six pm.

With a ‘''kreen''’, the door to the girl’s toilet opened.

“…”

Sticking her head just beyond the door, Arisu spied at the surroundings.

The compound of Horusu Seijou Academy Middle School was separated into several buildings. The central block had a clocktower with a classic western-style exterior, while the special classrooms were located in the east block. On the other side, the staff room and gymnasium was situated in the west block which had a modernism design. In addition, the dojo, pool and many other facilities were housed in detached blocks.

Arisu was currently in the east block. She had already verified that by five pm, the classrooms in the second and third floors would no longer be used. She had feigned illness and sneaked into the toilet since the break.

After making sure that there was no one, she came out to the corridor.

As she let out a ‘''fuu''’, a butterfly appeared out of nowhere and circled around her.

Shimmering with a brilliant silver lustre from its wings, it was a morpho butterfly. —If one looked closely however, they would realise that it was not a normal butterfly. Arisu did not know of any other butterfly which had four antennas.

The morpho butterfly fluttered towards the stairway.

“I know, Mari. I will definitely find a Mushitsuki…”

Muttering to herself, Arisu renewed her spirit.

As Arisu walked up the stairway, she found the passage obstructed by a tape. On the side of the tape were the words, ‘No Trespassing’, along with the insignia of the Akamaki City Police Department. In addition, a stand bearing the signature of the chairman of the academy with the words, ‘No Entry’, was placed in front of the tape.

“''Hup~''”

Ignoring the stand, Arisu jumped over the rope. The morpho butterfly had already disappeared somewhere along the third floor.

Since the morning, several police patrol cars could be seen outside the main gate. However, by lunch break, not a single patrol car remained. She had thought that that seemed quite hasty, but perhaps on-site investigations had already been completed last night.

Arisu took a look around the silent third floor.

“…!”

What she saw made her took in a deep breath.

There were signs of wanton destruction all along the corridor. All the windows were smashed, and the floor, ceiling, and the door to the Arts room were all wrecked. She would have thought that an explosion had occurred here, but that wasn't it. There were what seemed to be gigantic claw marks gouged into the concrete.

Arisu gulped. She did not know what had happened here, but Ena’s words about the Mushi came into her mind.

“This… shouldn't be the work of the Film Studies club, right? …I don't think they would be so elaborate.”

The artworks by the Arts club hanging on the side of the corridor were left in miserable shapes. A painting of the sunset fallen on the ground attracted her sight, but there were large slashes on it as expected. The picture frame which was a present from a sister school was pretty much smashed, with the sign bearing the name “Tachibana R.” being all that remained.

Weaving her way around the debris, it was right when Arisu was approaching the Arts room.

“…Yeah, I think that I would be able to find him soon. I already know that he is a member of the Arts club.”

A voice could be heard coming from the ruined Arts room. Arisu immediately stopped and held her breath.

“He can’t escape. I would definitely find him—”

The voice sounded young, belonging to that of a teenage boy. He seemed to be speaking to somebody, but there was no reply from the other party.

Arisu recalled Takako’s witness account of a suspicious character. Suppressing the sound of her footsteps, she turned back towards the locker with the cleaning supplies and opened it.

What she retrieved from within was a mop with a long handle. Holding the stem, she began twisting the pole, silently dismantling the mop.

During class time, just who…?

Arisu nervously approached the Arts room with the pole in hand.

The owner of the voice was still talking to somebody when all of a sudden, his voice stopped.

“—Is someone there?”

I was discovered—the moment Arisu thought so, she moved. Kicking the door open, she sprang into the Arts room.

In the room, a teenage boy was shocked eyes wide open. He was wearing the Horusu Seijou Academy uniform and held a mobile phone in his hand.

“''Seyaa~!''”

Faced with a horizontal strike across, the boy narrowly dodged under with a look of surprise.

However, seeing the boy flusteredly move backwards to avoid the blow, Arisu dexterously manipulated the pole to sweep at the boy’s feet.

“''Uwaa!''”

The tip of the pole hit the boy’s knee from the back, causing him to tumble backwards.

—The Ichinokuro house was a pedigree from the Edo period. Using the skills honed since the warring era, Arisu displayed the techniques she was trained in each morning. Ever since she had been aware, she has had various martial arts beaten into her by her strict instructor, varying from Aikido to using a naginata.

“Don’t move!”

Releasing those barbed words, she thrusted the tip of the pole at the boy who had fallen on his rear end.

[[File:Mushi Uta Bug 1st p019.jpg|thumb]]

Dumbfounded, the boy looked up at Arisu.

He looked to be around the same age as Arisu. Stature-wise, he was about the same as the other male students of his age. There was also nothing suspicious about his external appearance. However, there was Takako’s testimonial. As the situation is, she cannot let her guard down in front of any stranger. An uncommon ringtone came from the mobile phone in his hand.

“You, what’s your name?”

“What…”

As if not understanding the situation, the boy tried to stand up.

“I said, don’t move!”

“Ouch!”

Arisu poked his forehead with the pole.

“You understand now? You can only answer my questions. Any movements and you will get it from me.”

Arisu declared her intentions resolutely. Faced with her one-sided demand, the boy lapsed into silence unhappily.

“Name?”

Arisu resumed her interrogation. The boy looked away in disgruntlement, looking like a child at his rebellious age.

“Before asking for the name of others, shouldn’t you give yours first… Ouch!”

“I don’t remember stooping to the level of a suspicious character. Now, talk.”

“I don’t want to.”

“…”

“Ow, ow. Hey, stop that!”

“…Well, fine. It’s not like I'm interested in your name anyway.”

Striking at the boy’s face repeatedly, Arisu changed her question.

“Next question. Who are you? What are you doing at this place when you are supposed to be in class?”

“…Nothing in particular. I was just playing truant, idling around. That’s when you—”

“Are you a student of this school?”

“That’s right. See, I have the student’s handbook.”

The boy took out a student’s handbook from his pocket, opening it for Arisu to see. There was a red access card in the notebook. Due to the strict security of the school, access cards were stringently regulated. Entry to the school requires the scanning of the access card. This applied to both students and teaching staffs, and all movement in and out of the school were recorded.

After examining the handbook, Arisu glared at the boy.

“This is fake!”

“What? That’s not possible!”

“The colour of the authentic card is yellow, while yours is red.”

“Huh?”

Seeing his reaction, Arisu was sure of it. The card was indeed supposed to be red.

“…I knew it, you are not a student of the school.”

Realising that he was tricked, the boy rubbed his head.

‘To think I was fooled by such a childish trick…’, the boy seemed to mutter to himself in dismay.

“Just what are you doing here? Answer me honestly.”

“That has nothing to do with you.”

It appears that he would resist Arisu till the very end. ‘Perhaps I should just beat his head in’, thought Arisu, but she took a deep breath and restrained herself.

“Fine then, one last question for you.”

After taking a short breath, she asked.

“Are you a Mushitsuki?”

“…!”

The boy’s complexion clearly changed.

Seeing his overreaction, Arisu’s heartbeat hastened and her eyes widened.

“R-really…? You really are a Mushitsuki?”

In the next instant, the boy moved.

Taking advantage of the moment while Arisu was stunned, he swatted the pole away. In the moment she muttered, ‘''Ah!''’, the boy had used the momentum of a back roll to jump onto his feet.

He now stood face to face with Arisu. Hiding her rapidly throbbing heartbeat, Arisu readied her stance.

“Yesterday’s incident, were you responsible for that too?”

Arisu was sure now. From the way he moved, it was evident that he wasn't any ordinary person.

“…”

The boy’s expression changed distinctly. Unlike the rebellious look he had earlier, he was now observing Arisu with cold eyes.

“The witness in yesterday's incident said that they saw a Mushi.”

Not getting caught up in his mood, Arisu shouted out loud.

“Also, my friend said she saw someone suspicious in school. A scary-looking male giant… who was middle-aged… but I don't see anyone like that… huh?”

“''Hmph.''”

The boy seemed to sneer at Arisu.

“If I was the Mushitsuki, that would mean that I was the one who gravely injured all those students, you know?”

“…!”

“—If I said that, what would you do?”

Arisu gulped.

“Don't tell me that you thought you could take down the evil-doer with one hit from the pole?”

Under the chilly gaze of the boy, Arisu bit her lips.

“T-that's not what I was going to do.”

“Then, what are you going to do?”

“There’s something… that I must know no matter what.”

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Arisu said.

“There's something that I must confirm by meeting with a Mushitsuki. That’s why, I have been searching for a Mushitsuki, ever since one year ago…”

The boy went silent. But, he immediately opened his mouth again and replied her coldly.

“Do you really believe that Mushitsuki exists?”

“They do!”

“If they really exist, that would mean that they would meet their end when their dream is completely consumed by the Mushi. Even if they survive, they would have been taken away by some scary people.”

“Scary people?”

“The Special Environmental Preservation Bureau…”

The boy muttered. Arisu tilted her head in confusion.

The Special Environmental Preservation Bureau. Apart from being the agency that handled cases relating to the Mushi and Mushitsuki, there were no other information about them. However, the rumour-loving Ena once spoke about it.

The Special Environmental Preservation Bureau… the SEPB in short, in fact, they concealed the existence of Mushitsuki from the public. They also used Mushitsuki to hunt for other Mushitsuki and such—.

“Either way.”

At the boy’s words, Arisu came to from her thoughts.

“If you are planning on getting involved with such flippant attitude, you better stop now.”

“What flippant attitude. I absolutely have to meet a Mushitsuki even if I have to risk my life.”

“A spoiled young lady like yourself would probably never understand.”

The boy sneered at her scornfully.

“In this shitty dog-eat-dog world, there are those who would sacrifice anyone if meant their survival. Those who do not want to sacrifice anything, they just run and run away, barely scraping along their lives. …And also, there are plenty of people who would do anything to live, no matter how hated they become or how dirty their hands would get. Those who say that they are fine with dying, have no value even in death.”

As if filled with anger at the whole world, the boy spoke with intense hatred in his voice. Overpowered by his speech, Arisu was dumbstruck. Still sneering, the boy proceeded to leave the venue.

“…You probably don't know of this either.”

Arisu said.

“Wanting to live but is unable to, thus having no choice but to entrust her dream to others… there are people who live like that too.”

“…”

“Those who have been entrusted with that dream have the responsibility to carry it till the bitter end.”

“…I don’t need you to tell me that—”

As if he recalled something, a look of anger formed on the boy's face.

It was right that moment.

A scream came from somewhere.