Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 4th Episode 14 (section)

===Part 2===

In front of the shocked Arisu and the rest, the hostess proceeded to explain about the twins.

"These are no special effects or CGI here; with our pride upon our various items until now, we can assure you it is the real deal. When the auction begins you will be able to see it in action and ascertain it directly with your own eyes."

Only now did the party start mumbling. Seeing the twin girls able to control the fantastical monster, it was obvious everyone was scared.

But for them, this fear would only urge their collection mania. They fixed their eyes on the footage, engrossed.

"Mushi's existence is officially not recognized by the country and they are twin Mushitsuki, too, so this is an extremely precious item. Since plenty of you ladies and gentlemen like to collect endangered species that are illegal to hunt, this could be another masterpiece for your collection." 

Arisu silently clenched her fist.

She knew at a glance the footage wasn't made up. She had seen quite a few real Mushi. She knew the difference between real and fake.

"At a glance the twins seem dangerous, but they can't bring out their Mushi unless they're in the same place. Even now we took advantage of this and kept them in separate places on the ship. This will be done the same when they are purchased, so there is no danger. The only warning for their usage is to not mix the dangerous chemicals together."

Once again everyone laughed at her joke. On the other side of the laughing audience Jit could be seen smiling coldly.

—Arisu was at her limits.

Turning around, she started walking toward the hall entrance. As she succumbed to her violent emotions she didn't even notice that Harukiyo had vanished at some point.

"Wait, Arisu. Where're you—"

Daisuke tried grabbing her shoulder to stop her, but she slapped his hand away.

"We thought of trying to hold back your excitement, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. We also have other valuable items. Please purchase them first and patiently wait for the turn of our centerpiece. —Item no. 1 is a rare animal with practically none circulating in the market due to hunting restrictions, this white jaguar is…"

Around Arisu, the participants raised the plates with their member numbers and started shouting prices.

A dark auction of illegal items.

Arisu finally realized the intent behind this bizarre mask party.

She heard Daisuke clicking his tongue. Two sets of footsteps followed her from behind.

"Arisu! No way, are you…"

Violently opening the door, she exited to the corridor.

Two large men standing at the doorway turned around, surprised.

"Obviously."

She grabbed the handle of a lamp standing nearby. ''Whoosh'', she swung it with accustomed movements, slamming the edge to the floor to smash it.

"I'm going to save those twins. They said they're on this ship."

The black-wearing men were startled. "Now what do you mean by that, dear guest?" they tried cornering Arisu.

Her body moved reflexively. Swinging the long stick and using centrifugal force, she struck the man's knee.

"Stop, idiot!"

Daisuke's restraint went in one ear and out of the other. After striking the man's knees by surprise, she thrust the lamp's stand at his chin. It detached from the pole by the blow's impact.

Arisu unleashed all of the staff techniques pounded into her by the Ichinokuro family training. She'd been taught more than enough on how to fight even against opponents with a large weight gap.

The edge of the stick was thrust to the neck of the collapsed man holding his chin. With Arisu staring at the other man while taking his partner hostage, he stopped moving.

"Where are the twins located on this ship? Please answer truthfully."

A morpho butterfly appeared from the other side of the corridor, landing on her shoulder.

"Ooh, how scary. You're going berserk."

Ignoring Kasuou who laughed as if this situation had nothing to do with her, Daisuke stood in front of Arisu.

"Stupid Arisu! Stop this!"

The boy's hand grabbed the pole.

"Do something about your bad habit to act so rashly! Going on a rampage here will accomplish nothing! We simply need to contact the SEPB once we return to shore and let the members take care of it."

"Then are you telling me to just stand by and watch while these girls are being sold?"

Daisuke glared right back at Arisu's serious gaze. He then spoke with a cold voice.

"No matter who buys them, they'll be apprehended once we go back to shore. It's not a big deal."

"It's not a big deal… you say?"

Arisu clenched her teeth. Removing her right hand from the pole, she grabbed Daisuke's tuxedo.

She couldn't understand why Daisuke wasn't angry. From her point of view he should have naturally been as angry as her.

And yet he wasn't.

That boy was always like that. When it was about Mushitsuki he killed his emotions and tried acting like a machine.

"It's a Mushitsuki like you, Daisuke! A Mushitsuki just like you!"

She grabbed his suit forcefully and brought his face closer.

Yet his expression didn't change. Arisu bit her lips and kept speaking.

"Aren't they the same as Neiko-san, Ayuyu-san, and Kasuou who's standing right there? They're your comrades! How can you be this cold? You're a Mushitsuki, so why aren't you thinking of saving Mushitsuki?!"

"Comrades? They're nothing but a hindrance."

Daisuke snorted in laughter. He grabbed Arisu's arm back.

"You sympathize with people too much regardless of who they are. Those twins aren't Hanashiro Mari. Don't you understand this?"

"But they're Mushitsuki like her."

Arisu and Daisuke's gazes intersected.

"You said something like that before. If that Mushitsuki with the same dream as yours… if that Fuyuhotaru girl was sold right in front of your eyes, would you still be that cold?"

The girl's words appeared to have more of an effect than she thought. Daisuke's expression changed.

"Never mention that name again. —I already told you so."

He scowled at her with the sort of tone that made him known as the demon Kakkou among fellow Mushitsuki. It was rare for him to let out this voice while not wearing his goggles.

"So you really are angry."

Arisu didn't falter.

"Why are you hiding your anger?"

Daisuke merely grimaced at her words. Instead of replying, he grasped Arisu's hand harder.

[[File:Mushi_Uta_Bug_4th_p091.jpg|thumb]]

''Creak''—it happened with the sound of something grating.

Turning around, black mist filled Arisu's vision.

Using her abilities, Kasuou crucified the standing men to the wall. She assaulted the men with countless claws and asked them something in a whisper.

"Kasuou!"

Daisuke looked at her with reproach. Kasuou slowly turned toward him.

"Why are you trying to stop her, Kakkou?"

"Monitoring her is my job. You're also forgetting that you're here for support—"

"Yeah, monitoring. This isn't protecting her, or pretending to be her friend."

"…!"

"When I'd heard you were working so that your monitoring target won't suffer any harm I thought it was strange. Our job's not protecting her. It's to watch her and judge whether her actions are dangerous or not, right? Also—"

Kasuou's blue eyes sparkled with a dangerous light.

"What did you just say, you bastard? You called me a hindrance? You're the hindrance, since I'm only here to capture Ichinokuro Arisu if she proves dangerous."

Daisuke became speechless. Receiving the two girls' gazes, he gritted his teeth.

The claws made of mist pounded the black-suited men's heads. They threw the two unconscious men into the corridor's shadow.

"The twins are apparently confined in a cabin at the stern of the ship and a warehouse in the deepest area. What do we do?"

"Kasuou… have you also started sympathizing with the twins' situation?"

"Don't ask an unranked member like me difficult questions. I just need to fight."

"Let's go."

Shaking off Daisuke's hand, Arisu walked through the corridor. The morpho butterfly followed.

"…Shit."

Although he couldn't agree to it, Daisuke tried continuing after Arisu. Yet she turned around, thrusting the metallic rod at his nose.

"I'll save the girl inside the cabin. —Daisuke, please save the one in the warehouse."

Daisuke widened his eyes.

"Wha…! Don't screw with me, why do I—"

"If they discover we saved one of them, they might hide the other one someplace else. So we have to split up. Once we save them we need to meet up in some easy location—I know, in front of the main deck."

"So you can just let Kasuou do that! Monitoring you is my job."

"Daisuke, you will save her."

She asserted flatly.

"Aren't you the strongest Mushitsuki? Saving people should be easy for you."

She turned on her heels, walking toward the elevator.

"If you come with me I won't stand for it." After she said this, Daisuke's footsteps stopped.

"Oh boy, that's the worst possible thing to ask of him."

While going with Arisu, Kasuou stifled her laughter.

"There's no way that guy ever saved anyone."

As if to affirm the blonde girl's words—

The boy standing at the corridor couldn't say anything to Arisu.