Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 7th Episode 27 (section)

=== Part 2 ===

Arisu and Daisuke walked through the mountain road, weaving between verdant trees.

“Eek.”

Missing her step on the stairs made from logs buried in the ground, Arisu lost her balance. Daisuke instantly grabbed her arm and caught her.

“Keep yourself together. Your athleticism and reflexes are supposed to be your forte.”

“S-shut up. I just barely avoided remedials with my scores last term…”

Puffing her cheeks, Arisu separated from Daisuke. However, the boy stared at his own hand that caught Arisu with a satisfied face.

“…Were you really this light?”

“Hmm? Did you just say something?”

Arisu turned around and Daisuke sighed.

“No—never mind.”

“Less talking, more walking. If we don’t hurry, the others’ll get there first.”

“The others? Is anyone else coming other than us? To such a place?”

“Hehe, I’m so excited. Don’t be so surprised you suddenly end up stripping naked.”

“How would something like that happen just from me being surprised…”

Continuing to climb the narrow mountain road with exposed ground, the red sunset started casting long shadows of trees.

The pair arrived then.

“—Oh, such delicious air! And the scenery’s amazing too!”

With sweat covering Arisu’s brow, a sight of a vast scenery dyed in the colors of sunset was revealed to her.

Passing through the mountain road, the pair arrived at a plain about as wide as a gym. Gouged out of the belly of the mountain, this open space was enclosed by half-dome made of wooden fence.

Along the fences were several benches and a rusted board that gave an explanation about the mountain and the scenery beneath.

“Hey, Daisuke! Come closer!”

“Hah… why did we need to come all the way here?”

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As Arisu came rushing in front of the fences, Daisuke wore a displeased face.

The place they came to was a climbing course at Kurobishi Town’s national park. Since it was close enough to the capital for a day trip, she heard that it was bustling with visitors during free days.

However, since it was the middle of the week and quite late, the observation platform Arisu and Daisuke came to was empty of any hikers. If anyone was there, they’d probably be suspicious of Arisu and Daisuke coming there still in their uniforms.

“Err, Neiko-san’s… oh, over there! Look, the lights are already on.”

Leaning on the fences, Arisu pointed at the distance.

A large panorama scenery could be seen from the observation platform. They could see the camelia garden that was part of the park at the foot of the mountain, the promenade lined up with statues, as well as the fan-shaped outdoors stage cut into the forest that was used for events.

On the other side of the park, one could see the entirety of the Kurobishi Town townscape. Ahead of the lines crisscrossing the dusk time town should be Arisu’s residence of Akamaki City.

Arisu was pointing in front of the city.

There was the outdoor stage, where the lights were on and people crowded close together as black lumps.

“We can only see the stage’s lights from here. What a waste of the ticket Nene gave us.”

Daisuke let down the sports bag he carried on his back and mumbled. Putting his elbows on the fence and looking down, his gaze was cold.

“Don’t worry. I have a portable radio here, so we can hear the music from it. Apparently, the local radio station’s doing a live broadcast.”

“No, I still don’t get it. I’m saying that we could’ve gone to the stage if we wanted to hear them sing. At the very least Nene didn’t give us a ticket to the observation platform.”

“I don’t want a person who completely forgot we were invited to Nene’s farewell concert tell me that.”

Saying this, Arisu hung the flat radio from the fence. The host of some minor local radio station was speaking clumsily about the situation at the stage.

Arisu’s Mushitsuki acquaintance, Yomori Nene, was about to start her outdoors concert.

All members of her band, called Crawl Live, were Mushitsuki. All of them including Yomori Neiko had been captured by the SEPB and had had their activities stopped, so they decided to hold one last concert.

“I can’t really see it, but there’re a lot of spectators. She said they were selling tickets in secret from the SEPB though… are they really that amazing?”

“Who knows.”

“Oh, they’re saying it on the radio. The legendary indie band is disbanding so close to their major debut… Neiko-san’s nothing to sneeze at! She should give up disbanding and debut.”

“As if it’s that easy, idiot. Central Headquarters will never allow it. Even for the other branches it’s impossible, depending on the mission.”

“Then she should move to another branch. —You’re totally getting ready to say ‘As if it’s that easy, you idiot’ again, aren’t you?”

As Arisu joked around, Daisuke’s face stiffened. He looked down the illuminated stage and mumbled.

“No—if she wants to, it’s possible.”

“Eh?”

“I’m currently being borrowed by the Central Headquarters. Then when I finish my mission and go back to the East Central Branch… I might be able to pull along a few members along with me. Rather, it’s my branch head who wants to do that. He told me to have my eyes on prospective members while I can.”

“…”

“We can use her. Kasuou as well. Even C will keep on growing. Rather than leaving someone unused just because they’re difficult, we can make those three into a team and get to many places and be able to do almost all kinds of missions.”

“…How unusual of you. You actually praised Kasuou and the others.”

As Arisu stared at Daisuke’s face and said this, he averted his gaze.

Right now, what expression was he wearing?

“Right. When you finish with Mari’s case, you’ll end up going back to Ouka City.”

“…”

“And if those three also go along with you… I’ll feel lonely.”

''So stupid,'' she added with a smile. —Or so she thought, but Daisuke was silent. With an unchanging expression, he was looking down at the townscape with the setting sun.

“It doesn’t mean you’ll never meet them again.”

Arisu startled and looked at Daisuke. His mouth moved mechanically.

“As long as we’re alive, we’ll definitely meet again somewhere.”

Were these words directed at Arisu? As she doubted this, his gaze turned to the distance.

Arisu smiled.

Perhaps caused by the red sunset, Kusuriya Daisuke—commonly called the Rank 1 demon—showed her a different facet from his normal. Although he was always alone and never showed anyone his true feelings, Arisu felt that he accepted her, even if only a little. It made her extremely happy.

“You know, Daisuke.”

''I’m glad you’re here—

She really thought so.

She wanted to talk to him about something, so she brought him to this empty, quiet spot.

She still hesitated, but it was Daisuke himself who showed her his true feelings.

“What?”

Perhaps thinking he was being ignored, Daisuke turned around with a slightly displeased expression.

The setting sun at the boy’s back was blinding, making Arisu narrow her eyes.

“I’m—”

''As long as we’re alive, we’ll meet again.

That was true.

Even so, she felt as if she was scared of even saying even one goodbye, and so delayed the answer.

“I might have realized the reason why Mari left me the Morpho butterfly.”

Daisuke’s expression froze.

That face was—just like the first time she met him at Horusu Seijou Academy’s art classroom.

After meeting him, she kept investigating her dead friend together with him. The times when they could see nothing but mist ahead were hard—but also very fun.

“You know ''The Magic Potion'', right? That picture book from Mari’s sickbed.”

Meeting many people, she was involved in many incidents. She wanted to know more about Mushitsuki and encountered them, and it almost always turned into a battle.

However, while doing that, Arisu—started loving Mushitsuki.

Embracing a dream and becoming Mushitsuki, fighting to make one’s dream come true, living desperately with doubts…

Arisu’s best friend, Hanashiro Mari, also lived like that.

“Mari wanted to live. That was Mari’s dream…”

While looking for Mari’s feelings, she met Kusuriya Daisuke.

She met many Mushitsuki.

She also met the unusual Mushitsuki called Harukiyo.

And—she met the Undying Mushitsuki.

A single keyword popped up many times during all of that. That was the picture book called ''The Magic Potion''.

“She couldn’t do anything against her illness… and had to give up on her dream… but she was still unable to give up…”

Hanashiro Mari was a lonely girl.

Right—she was so lonely that no one other than Arisu even knew her.

Even within the girl’s own family, her existence was being treated as some rare being.

“So she hesitated. The angel’s potion and devil’s potion… which should she choose?”

Daisuke was listening to her words attentively.

“Whether to keep living as the ‘Hanashiro Mari’ in my memories—”

Or else—

She wanted to keep going but found herself speechless. Hanging her head, Arisu’s lips quivered.

If her past friend wished for it, the other choice was the cruelest for Arisu.

“Or else—taking over your body and consciousness and come back to life as ‘Ichinokuro Arisu’, right?”

Arisu raised her face.

Daisuke’s eyes looking calmly at her reflected her own face that was on the verge of tears.

“The angel’s position or the devil’s potion. —Are you saying you know what she chose?”

Arisu clenched both fists on top of her chest. However, she couldn’t gather strength in her arms.

When she’d became able to use the Morpho butterfly’s power and even became able to fuse with it, her body would always be horribly sluggish the following days. However, recently her fusion with the Mushi was smooth and there were barely any aftereffects.

Gradually, however—she felt her body’s senses weakening. It wasn’t just her being unable to use her strength, but at times even her mental state felt hazy.

Arisu used the power of Mushitsuki despite not being one.

That abnormal situation couldn’t continue for long.

“…”

Arisu shook her head.

“What do you mean?”

“I just wonder if—Mari hadn’t kept hesitating until the very last moment.”

Looking at Daisuke raising a brow, Arisu opened her mouth.

“And ''she’s still hesitating even now''.”

Daisuke widened his eyes.

A Mushi of a Mushitsuki who died from an illness still kept existing.

It took Arisu as its host, at times taking control of her with Mari’s consciousness.

She took this was meant in order to protect her in times of danger, but this was actually in order to take over her body.

A Mushi with nothing but contradictions.

As if they were being invited there by that Morpho butterfly despite not fitting, Daisuke appeared, Harukiyo appeared, and she met the girl called Rina. Those who were supposed to be the strongest Mushitsuki, were all summoned by a single Morpho butterfly.

“Perhaps Mari… still hasn’t found the answer…”

Hanashiro Mari’s doubts.

They twisted the common sense of the beings called Mushi and even confused other Mushitsuki.

How far will this chaos born from a miniscule doubt continue to infect and spread?

Would it even stop with a single city or the country?

“Even like this… Mari’s got no answer…!”

Tears overflowed from Arisu’s eyes.

Mushitsuki kept hesitating and living—

The moment she realized this, Arisu wanted to save them.

At the same time, she was scared and sad.

Even when the Mushitsuki called Hanashiro Mari lost her life—even while she was hesitating—she kept wishing to live—

“…”

Daisuke didn’t attempt to console the endlessly crying Arisu. He looked like he was slightly biting his lips, but he soon opened the sports bag at his feet.

“Dai…suke…?”

Loud music erupted from the radio as if gushing out of it.

Neiko’s band performance started.

“So Hanashiro Mari didn’t reach an answer?”

Arisu’s sight was dyed in black.

Daisuke wore his SEPB long coat vigorously. He equipped the mechanical goggles on his face and drew his large automatic pistol.

“—Is that her answer?”

The sun sank.

The high-volume concert echoed in the observation platform. The lights illuminating the outside stage made the gun pointed to Arisu’s head glimmer.

Daisuke’s readied handgun.

It was being aimed at the Morpho butterfly.

“A deceased person can’t reach any answer. The continuation of Hanashiro Mari’s dream—will end right here.”

“No!”

A loud voice even Arisu herself wasn’t expecting leapt out of her throat.

“Mari’s there! She’s still hesitating inside the Morpho butterfly!”

“Then are you going to wait for her answer? —Can you wait with that weak body of yours?”

So apparently he’d noticed the changes to Arisu’s body. Despite this surprise, she also inappropriately happy at this. —Because he was looking at her much more than she expected.

“Even if she reaches an answer, choosing the angel’s potion means you’ll stop being you. And if she chooses the devil’s potion, you’ll be separated from Hanashiro Mari. —If you’re going to end up parting from her anyway, better to do it right now.”

“It’s not better! It’s not the same at all!”

“Or are you—going to commit suicide along with Hanashiro Mari’s dream?”

Arisu’s heart leapt.

Even if the Morpho butterfly reached an answer, she would end up separating from Mari.

However, if she never had an answer, if the current situation continued—Arisu would wither away and both the Morpho butterfly and Mari’s dream would vanish without trace.

But even so—she felt that it was wrong to part right now.

Arisu had not come there to talk with Daisuke about that.

“Wait just a bit more! At least until Mari reaches an answer on her own—”

“Hanashiro Mari’s already dead. But you’re still alive.”

Arisu widened her eyes.

In her eyes, rather than one being thrust into a cruel decision, Daisuke looked like he was panicking. She finally understood why.

He was trying to protect Arisu—

And not just that.

He was probably trying to save yet another girl still living now.

“It’d solve Ena’s case as well. When I finish my monitoring mission, I’ll vanish from Horusu Seijou Academy. —Once I’m gone, Ena’s going to wake up from her silly dream.”

Arisu wore a weak smile.

“…Daisuke, you idiot…”

The boy who until now never revealed his true heart, lightly bit his lips.

Arisu opened her mouth wide, shouting so loud that it competed with the radio.

“Are you going to carry all this burden yourself and just disappear?! Give me a break, you idiot! You’re always thinking of stupid things like that, so you never notice the simpler things!”

“What are you—”

“If you disappear, Ena will forget her dream, you say? There’s no way! A dream that’s so easily forgettable is what turned you guys into Mushitsuki?!”

Daisuke’s finger on the trigger completely froze. Although he wore goggles, she could still tell his face twisted.

“—Even I!”

As Arisu tried to keep yelling, she ended up unconsciously closing her mouth.

The pistol directed at the Morpho butterfly was shaking.

He was also hesitating—

Hearing the boy’s voice shaky as never before, Arisu noticed this.

The boy’s figure with his gun directed at the silver glow held aloft was just like a child who got lost and was about to start crying.

The strongest Mushitsuki, Kusuriya Daisuke.

He, too, was just a boy—

“Even I don’t want to break my promise to Hanashiro Mari…! But that’s the only thing I…!”

A promise with Mari.

Hearing this for the first time, Arisu raised a brow. However, something happened.

“…!”

The silver Morpho butterfly emitted a violent glow. Perhaps responding to its own danger, it transformed its body midair, extending tentacles toward Arisu on the ground.

“Mari…?”

The Morpho butterfly pulled out the silver rod from the shaken Arisu’s skirt. It fused with the rod that unfolded with metallic sounds, producing a silver lance.

The Morpho butterfly’s revolt did not stop just with this. It fused with Arisu’s right arm and right leg, ignoring her will to make her grasp the silver lance.

“W-wait, Mari—”

Arisu’s voice of restraint was soon blocked by another voice.

“—You liar…”

The one disturbing Arisu’s words was none other than her own mouth—

With its right half glowing in a silver pattern, Arisu’s mouth spat out another person’s voice.

“You said you’ll grab my finger…”

“…!”

Daisuke stiffened his face. By the Morpho butterfly fusing with Arisu, he couldn’t aim at her with the gun.

“Ma-Mari!”

“You said you’ll look for my dream’s continuation…”

A voice coming from the same mouth drowned Arisu’s voice.

That voice belonged to—none other than Hanashiro Mari.

Violent anger swirling in her chest, Arisu’s consciousness was forcibly taken away.

“Ma… ri…!”

“—Welp, looks like my timing’s real bad.”

While Arisu had her five senses diminishing, a figure appeared in her vision.

“Wha—”

As Daisuke turned around, speechless, that individual spoke in an overly familiar tone.

“It’d be a problem for you if the one you dumped appeared like that, eh? Do I just have bad luck ‘cuz of the number of strokes in my name? Should I change it? I rather like writing Sehateno Harukiyo as 世果埜春祈代, but whaddya think?”

A blazer that looked like a remodeled one from some high school, messy bangs that looked like blazing flames, and a fire-pattern tattoo on one cheek. With these, the boy who was nothing but conspicuous—Harukiyo—appeared on the observation platform as if he was just out on a walk.

“—It’s just awful. If you’ll allow me to be blunt, you’ve got no taste, alright?”

Another person appeared from the mountain road.

Daisuke turned again—and was again speechless.

The one appearing was the girl controlling a large ladybug, Rina. The lights reaching from the outdoors stage reflected on her powerful gaze.

“Why are you here—”

Daisuke readied himself at these unexpected appearances. Ahead of him was Hanashiro Mari, to the right was Harukiyo, to the left Rina. Enclosed by powerful enemies on all sides, he couldn’t hide his shaking.

“Hey, that’s so nasty to hear from a woman I’ve never heard before. What am I gonna do? No, wait, who the hell are you, even?”

“I came here thinking I was tricked, but now it actually looks quite convenient. I can now finish off both Hunter and Kakkou at the same time. Well, there’s also an uninvited guest here.”

Daisuke gasped and turned to Arisu.

''So you called them—

As the boy was about to ask this, Arisu couldn’t even nod.

“You told me you’d watch me until the end…!”

The words flowing from Arisu’s mouth were Mari’s anger.

''No—

Inside her distancing consciousness, she desperately shook her head.

“I don’t have time to play with you. Go away!”

“Ah? Why’d I need your permission to be here? If you keep being stupid like that, I’ll burn you down.”

“It was the right call to come here alone. Now I can clean up this trash without restraining myself.”

''I didn’t call all of them here for that—

Arisu’s desperate plea sank into the depths of Mari’s anger.