Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 3rd Episode 10 (section)

===Part 2===

First off.

Saionji Ena.

Ena was a classmate whom she got closer to since starting second year.

In addition to her cheerful and refined impression, she excelled in both academics and athletics. Yet, she never put any effort into studying nor joined any clubs, but simply had fun.

Her circle of friends was so vast such that even when moving between classrooms, many from other classes would call out to her. There were equally as many adults who knew her name outside of school, a testament to her sociable personality.

Just based on that, one could say she was the top batter with great expectations placed upon her.

"Being friends means hanging out together and having fun!"

A rollercoaster passed in front of Arisu's eyes at full speed.

"And so! We'll surely get along if we shared some fun times together!"

After school, Arisu went to an amusement park not far off from Akamaki City. Obviously, that included Daisuke and Rinka. Moreover, the other two girls were also tagging along.

"This is Kusakabe Rinka-san. She's my friend. Now, Ena, become friends with her!"

Arisu introduced Rinka.

"Become friends with her… you…"

Daisuke had a glum look on his face, but Ena was different. Despite the sudden introduction, she spoke to Rinka with a smile.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Arisu's classmate, Saionji Ena. You seem to be above in age, so you must be a high school student, right, Kusakabe-san? Also, umm…"

Ena's amicable tone suddenly lowered.

"…Why are you hiding?"

Rinka seemed to be apprehensive in the face of Ena's amiability. She jumped out from behind the trash can she was using to hide herself, approached Ena and grabbed her hand.

"H-hello! Umm, I'm, Kusakabe Rinkaff! Rinka!"

"Eek!"

Suddenly having their faces up close, Ena flinched.

"Kusakabe is written as 'the part under the sun'! You know that 'Be' kanji? Just like in the word 'portion'! You know it? Rinka is made of… uh… what 'Rin' should I use? S-sorry! Wait a bit, I'll think of a good example!<ref>As explained, "Kusakabe" is written using the kanjis meaning sun, under, and part/portion/component etc. The "Rin" of Rinka, on the other hand, doesn't really have a meaning by itself but can mean something like "ethics/moral", with another possible meaning of "companion", which is probably why she finds it hard to explain. To those interested, the "Ka" is written as the word "flower".</ref>"

"I-it hurts! You're using too much—"

"How do you write your name, Ena-chan? Ah, is it alright if I call you Ena-chan? Is it overly familiar for our first meeting? If you don't like it tell me, okay? Okay?"

"…So annoying!"

Finally unable to endure it, Ena shook herself off from Rinka.

"So we've struck a problem even before riding the rollercoaster…"

Beside Arisu who hung her head down, Daisuke declared the first failure indifferently.

<br>

Next up.

Kujou Takako.

Normally well-mannered and polite, she was like a representative of Horusu Seijou Academy which boasted of mostly students from well-to-do families.

Befitting her adult-like demeanor, she treated everyone kindly no matter who they were. As she had been heavily sheltered by her parents, she almost never distrusted or hated people.

Arisu had great expectations of Takako.

In fact, one of Takako's acquaintances had been a Mushitsuki boy. Even after knowing the truth, Takako tried to protect him. She had the kindness to not discriminate someone even if they were a Mushitsuki.

"You can't give up, Rinka-san! You make friends without even realizing it! By the time we've gone through one round of the rollercoaster, we'll already have become friends!"

Daisuke, Arisu, and Ena, who was shaking and hiding behind Daisuke, watched over the two from the entrance to rollercoaster.

Takako and Rinka were seated on the front row.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Kujou Takako."

Takako flashed a gentle smile at Rinka. She shook her hand with teary eyes.

"I-I can call you Takako-chan, right? Are you fine riding this, Takako-chan? It's impossible for me! If you ask me how much, I feel like I'm going to faint on the spot!"

"…Huh?"

"Kyaaah! I-it's moving! It's started moving! W-what'll I do! What should I do? What can I do in this extreme situation?"

"U-umm… if you cling to me that much, it would be anno—a bit uncomfortable."

Arisu saw off the slowly accelerating rollercoaster with a smile.

"If she's hugging her that much, they'll get along in no time! I can't wait for them to get back!"

"If you ask me, I'd lean more towards feeling unease…"

Daisuke mumbled as he followed the rollercoaster with his eyes with shouts echoing from it. 

A few minutes later…

The rollercoaster car returned to the entrance.

"…"

Daisuke, Arisu and Ena were completely speechless.

At the very front seats were two limp girls—Rinka, who had swooned due to excessive fear, and Takako, who had fainted due to Rinka strangling her neck.

"What a tragic sight…"

Ena mumbled.

<br>

Third time's the charm.

Yomori Neiko.

She was a Mushitsuki girl who got involved in trouble not long after Arisu had just met Daisuke.

Even while she and her friends were being pursued by the SEPB, she kept believing in her comrades who had betrayed her. And even though they appeared to betrayed her on the surface, they were actually trying to protect her.

She was taciturn, but her belief in people was strong. Since she joined the SEPB to preserve her dream of singing her beloved songs, she should be able to understand the feelings of a fellow Mushitsuki.

"The most important thing for friends is communication! If you take your time to speak to each other, you're sure to become friends in no time!"

Stressed Arisu, who was wearing a dress with revealed shoulders, and clenched her fist. Behind her was the scenery of the sunset over Akamaki City.

After parting with the two girls at the amusement park, Arisu and the rest proceeded to a restaurant on the topmost floor of a high-class hotel.

"Is that it…?"

Daisuke, wearing a suit, made an especially doubtful face. He seemed to be displeased with having to wear rented formal wear.

"…But I just finished my training period and can finally go outside freely…"

Having been called out by Daisuke, Yomori Neiko seemed apprehensive. She was also wearing a dress that had been prepared by Arisu.

"What, Kakkou-kun…? Are you going to make me do something undesirable by force again…?

"…Daisuke?"

"I just needed to borrow her identification number recently, that's all! Why do all of you keep using such vague phrasing that are going to cause people to misunderstand!"

Despite the troubles on the way, Arisu introduced Rinka to Neiko. Rinka was also wearing a dress, but she wouldn't come out from under the table.

"I know this girl… she was at the training facility—"

"I also know you! Hey! I was too shy to talk to you until now, but I was always watching you from afar! I was so embarrassed! I feel like I could really get along with you!"

"She's the annoying girl in the training facility… I made sure not to approach her…"

Although she was just about to come out from under the table, Rinka's movements completely froze.

A heavy silence fell between the two.

"…And she's already been rejected…"

Daisuke's uttering made Arisu collapse on the spot.

<br>

The fourth try.

Kurisaka Ayuyu.

She was a member of the SEPB who possessed the ability to dig up the memories of other Mushi.

"If we're talking about friends hanging out, it has to be karaoke, right! Now then, sing to your heart's content!"

They were at a karaoke place in town.

Arisu held the tambourine and turned toward Rinka and Ayuyu.

"H-hello! Nice to meet you, I'm Kusakabe Rinka—"

"I'm so happy you've invited me, Kakkun. ''*Lick* *Lick*'' Do you have any business with me? ''*Shake* *Shake*'' It's fine even if you don't, though. ''*Kiss*''"

Since she had been invited by Daisuke, Ayuyu wore causal clothes. She was wearing the sort of monochrome style of clothes that could be called gothic Lolita.

Ayuyu ignored Rinka sitting next to her, moving closer toward Daisuke who was sitting in the corner of the room. There was a gloomy and suspicious atmosphere only in the spot Ayuyu and Daisuke sat at.

"Umm, I'm Kusakabe Rinka—"

"I'm so excited being in a closed room alone with you, Kakkun. ''*Lick* *Lick* *Kiss*''"

[[File:Mushi_Uta_Bug_3rd_p063.jpg|thumb]]

"…We obviously aren't alone here… and stop touching me in weird places."

"I'm Kusakabe Rinka! A-are you listening? Are you listening to me?"

"''*Anger* *Anger*'' What d'you want? You're annoying so get out of my sight. ''*Shoo* *Shoo*''"

Asserting this with a look of bother, Ayuyu again wrapped her hands around Daisuke's neck.

"Uuu…"

Rinka hanged her head, still holding the microphone.

Her sobs blended along with the ballad music playing from the speaker.

<br>

And finally…

Kasuou.

She was also a member of the SEPB, serving as Daisuke's replacement as Arisu's monitor when he wasn't present.

"If we're talking about two girls mingling, it has to be shopping… right…?"

Arisu tried to declare in a high voice before a clothes shop in the main street at night.

Yet she froze after seeing the scene in front of her eyes.

"What's up with this annoying woman? Are ya trying to pick a fight with me? Ah?"

The blonde girl wearing the same Horusu Seijou Academy uniform, Kasuou, grabbed Rinka's face with her right hand. She opened her eyes in anger, gathering strength in her hand.

"Ouch ouch ouch, ouch! I'm going to die, die, I'm dying!"

Rinka raised a shriek, flapping her limbs around. She struggled as to not let her legs off the ground.

"Hey, Daisuke. No matter what you say, I think there's a problem in the choice of the person this time…"

"I don't have any decent people I can call out… even if it's a bit late to say that…"

"Since you don't seem to have any business with me, I'll be going now. I have another mission."

Flinging Rinka aside as if she was an empty can, Kasuou turned around to look at Daisuke. 

Rinka groaned and broke down crying at her feet.

"A mission?"

"One of the members who haven't finish their training yet has escaped from the facility. They seem to be a problem child who can't control their own Mushi no matter how much they trained. Since I'm unranked and on a support role, they haven't even told me anything about the target to make sure I won't go on a rampage, though. What a shitty mission, really."

Rinka's shoulders twitched at Kasuou's feet. 

Arisu wasn't the only one to notice; Daisuke also saw Rinka's reaction. Only Kasuou herself hadn't realized. 

"Ah, if only a certain somebody here got in danger again so I can get an excuse to fight."

Seeing her grin, Arisu grimaced. Kasuou was apparently lowly ranked due to her always going into rampages against orders, but her fighting prowess was undeniable. She was someone Arisu never wanted to fight against ever again.

"Yes, just like recently with… Harukiyo, was it? That flame bastard eventually escaped from the Hanashiro Mari's estate."

"What's up with him?"

"Central Headquarters has apparently alerted all branches to search for him as an enemy of the organization. He's supposedly been gathering comrades to meddle in SEPB affairs. They have someone with the ability to mimic others and someone who can nullify attacks, so HQ's at a loss. Not to mention, he might come attacking you again."

Arisu gulped.

She recalled the boy called Sehateno Harukiyo.

He became her enemy.

She never thought she'd ever meet someone who was an "enemy" to her.

And another surprise was—

"He has comrades? That guy?"

He was an extremely powerful Mushitsuki even alone.

She was surprised that someone as bold as him would have allies. If he had others who shared his intent, she couldn't imagine what he was trying to do.

Like her, Daisuke also found it unexpected. His eyes slightly widened.

"What's important about fighting him isn't your mission success rate. It's pure fighting strength. —My turn is going to come regardless of my rank, so I hope he'll come attack as much as possible. I won't let him escape next time, I'll finish him up for good."

In a complete reversal from her dangerous smile, Kasuou left a lady-like greeting of "now then, farewell" and was gone. 

Daisuke stepped next to Arisu who was frozen in place.

Rinka was trying to distance herself by stealthily crawling away, but the boy stepped on her back.

"Fugya," was her murmured shriek.

"Oi. I don't want to think that that's the case, but don't tell me that the idiot who escaped from the training facility is…"

"I don't know, I don't know! It's not me! I'm telling the truth okay? Okay? …Ouch ouch ouch, you're breaking me! It's me! I'm the one who escaped! I'm sorryyy!"

"Now I finally know why you came to me. Because such small matters will not flow down to me. And no one would think that an escapee get close a Rank 1 like me, just as Kasuou did not realize. In a certain sense, there's no better refuge."

Daisuke said in a low voice, looking down at Rinka squirming under his foot.

"You used me, didn't you?"

"Ow ow ow!  It's really… painful… ow! It… hurts…!"

"Stop, Daisuke!"

Daisuke seemed to be truly angry, his eyes staring daggers. Seeing that Rinka was actually suffering, Arisu thrust Daisuke aside.

Now released, Rinka shook on the ground without saying anything.

"What are you thinking! Are you really try to kill her?"

"Yeah, I was."

Arisu widened her eyes.

"At the very least, if I don't let them experience what it's like to die once, these kind of people won't realize what their position is. We Mushitsuki either become Fallen or we have to live while making sure to control our own Mushi. Those who act half-heartedly will simply lose to their Mushi and die."

Daisuke clearly asserted in a voice full of suppressed anger. It was something that only a Mushitsuki like him, someone who had seen the ends of countless Mushitsuki, could say.

"No—"

"Don't get any closer."

Daisuke stopped Arisu from approaching Rinka.

The hooktip moth fluttering in the air shone in blue. At the same time, the decorative plant in front of the shop wilted at once.

"Her Mushi's about to go wild. If you get any closer you'll also get your liquids sucked out by its ability."

Arisu's eyes widened.

It wasn't just the decorative plant. The concrete around Rinka cracked, and the paint of the store's wall started audibly peeling off.

As it absorbed the moisture around it, the glow of the hooktip moth strengthened. Rinka's sobbing as she cried on the ground also grew louder and louder.

"I'm willing to bet on it. She will someday lose to her Mushi and die. So right here and now, I will—"

Daisuke looked up at Rinka's hooktip moth. 

"Kill this Mushi and make her a Fallen. It's better than her dying."

"Sto—"

It happened just as Arisu tried to stop him from reaching his hand out and crushing the moth.

"Uuh… So I really am useless…"

They could hear a voice mixed with sobbing coming from their feet.

"Why won't anyone be my friend… Does everyone wish to never see me…?"

Kusakabe Rinka was crying. Still stretched on the ground with her shoulders shaking, she spoke in a faint voice.

"He surely also… doesn't think of me as a friend… Even if I wait for him, I'll definitely only bother him…"

Arisu knit her eyebrows. Daisuke also stopped his arm and looked down at Rinka.

While she cried in a stifled voice, the azure hooktip moth shimmered above her head.