Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 13 Chapter 3 (section)

== 3.03 OPS3 Part 14 ==

“An artificial satellite…?”

Peeking into the notebook computer Nihei carried, Namie spoke.

The transport van was still running on the road. Since there were no windows, they had no idea where they were heading, but ever since it left the airport, its engines hadn’t stopped even once.

“No, this is—”

While operating the notebook computer, Nihei’s expression clouded over. A cable extending from the laptop connected to the nearby wall. It was connected to protected emergency circuits, so it should be difficult for C to ascertain their location from the outside, according to him.

“It happened just as the mist covering Akamaki City cleared up. A rocket carrying a satellite to space was launched from the country—but this is… aren’t these reports of it failing?”

“Seems that way. The moment after it was launched, it was hit by lightning… was this your handiwork, C—no, Erii?”

While reading the news report posted online, Namie turned to Erii.

Erii was silent, hugging her knees.

Nihei finished reading the article.

“When the rocket passed through the atmosphere its fuel tank was destroyed and it was confirmed that the vehicle exploded. And they lost all sound transmission just before the satellite was ejected into orbit…”

“—There was no other way—no matter where I ran to—I’d end absorbed by my powers at some point—”

Still expressionless, Erii mumbled this, her voice mixed with noise.

“Erii…”

Shiika touched Erii’s hands unconsciously. She was holding back her tears.

Erii had resisted and was unable to escape something so powerful—but she didn’t give up on living.

No matter what her form was.

Shiika understood those feelings well.

“…”

Erii looked at Shiika, her face lacking any emotion. She awkwardly grabbed her hand back.

These fingers that originally were Ebina Yuu’s were slightly shaking. Feeling that, Shiika felt her chest constrained again.

“But is the satellite itself in one piece? If we go by this article, never mind the failure in launch, hadn’t the rocket itself exploded?”

Erii answered Namie’s question in a voice full of noise.

“It’s space debris—”

It was an unfamiliar term.

Shiika frowned.

“Space debris…?”

“Not even falling under the definition of a rocket or satellite—it’s just trash caught up in Earth’s orbit—”

“H-how are we supposed to get it back? You’re not actually telling us to head into space and get it, right?”

As Nihei was confused, Erii glared at him.

“Other than the experimental Hologram Memory that I’ve uploaded my personality into, one booster remained safe—as well as some little fuel—as long as it’s before it freezes over in the lower atmosphere, we just need to ignite that booster—”

“W-wait a moment. Don’t tell me that—”

Nihei’s cheeks twitched.

“You’re going to drop it? Drop the debris—somewhere on the surface?”

Letting the debris holding Erii’s personality crash down.

She realized how difficult this was based on how everyone there gasped. Apparently Shiika was the only one who was unable to take this in all at once.

“I’ve already started preparations for atmospheric entry—if we let this chance slip away, I’ll never—”

“Eh? Eh? You’re already going to enter the atmosphere again? This is bad, real bad!”

“E-err… what is so bad about this?”

“Isn’t it obvious?! Alright, Snow-san, I’ll explain it simply for you… err, it’s really bad! Now especially when the country’s so chaotic… if something so large falls from the sky, they might think it’s a missile and cause a lot of trouble! Normally you’d announce all over the world about that satellite—wait, where is it even falling?!”

Nihei was flustered to a pathetic degree.

“It’s heading to me—”

Erii explained.

A landmark—

Now the meaning of her words from before was finally clear.

Erii had left a fragment of herself for the part of her even now drifting through space.

“Can’t you do anything?”

Chiharu asked this. She was looking at the girl sitting against the wall.

She was Lucifera. She used another communication cable to connect to her cellphone and was apparently in contact with someone. Probably her mistress.

“Our first priority right now is to defeat Oogui. Not saving Erii.”

Her answer was about half expected. Shiika made no move.

“We’ve fulfilled our goal of retrieving Sanbikime. Now all we need is a mental pollution-type Mushitsuki to force Erii’s fragment out of Ebina Yuu’s body. Afterwards, we’ll need to think a strategy for defeating—”

Seeing that both Shiika and Chiharu’s expressions were completely unmoving, Lucifera cut off her words.

“…You’re not listening to a single word I’m saying, are you?”

“I mean…!”

Shiika snapped at Lucifera, who then sighed.

“I am not Nihei-san, but this is quite the difficult situation. In the first place, can we even survive the impact caused by space debris falling to earth?”

“—”

Erii said nothing, just biting her lips.

“What’s the estimated time of the fall?”

“—In about ten more hours—”

Namie grimaced.

“Just before our time limit…!”

“Stopping Erii’s fall, then having her bring Ebina Yuu back us, and furthermore using her as bait to draw Oogui. As well as giving Sanbikime back to Chiharu-san. —We need to do all this and still defeat Oogui within the time limit.”

Lucifera counted on her fingers.

“This is way past being ridiculous. But you’re still saying to do it?”

Shiika looked back at Lucifera’s face.

She then looked at Namie, along with Chiharu looked at Aria, and looked at Erii.

Those who became Mushitsuki. Those who weren’t Mushitsuki. As well as—those who birthed Mushitsuki.

In all likelihood, never again were all these people going to gather under one banner like this.

“I think that’s why we’re here.”

Shika spoke calmly.

“To save Erii—no, every Mushitsuki.”

Saving Mushitsuki—

Those words looked like they made Erii startle for a moment. Because she immediately lowered her face, however, it might have been Shiika’s imagination.

“…Haa.”

Lucifera sighed again, probably because she’d already anticipated Shiika’s response. She already knew that Shiika was going to reject the right answer of abandoning Erii.

“If we’re doing this—this is actually our best chance now.”

Shiika and Chiharu’s faces sparkled at Lucifera’s words.

Her invisible “mistress”.

Right about now, that person was probably raging against Shiika who went against orders and yet thinking up a new plan. —She’d never met her, but for some reason Shiika was convinced of this.

“In this state of emergency, it’s actually the SEPB who holds the real power over this country. Although it’s obvious that all sides are going to bear responsibility afterwards, it’s also only the SEPB that can get the situation under control. Let Miguruma lay the groundwork to have the government handle other countries. Furthermore, in order for us to act as soon as possible, we need to wait at the capital, where it’s easiest to gather the necessary resources and manpower.”

After reaching that point this much, Lucifera looked at her cellphone screen and went speechless. She spoke after a delay.

“—Let’s have the space debris drop on Akamaki City.”

“…!”

Shiika was speechless too. Everyone there was shocked.

Dropping debris on the capital, where the country’s core was located.

It was a very bold strategy.

“We can allow no failure. We don’t have the time to gather everything in the kind of countryside area that’s empty of people. Right now, Akamaki City had issued evacuation orders anyway, and the influence of both Central Headquarters and Akasegawa Group is strong. Use whatever you need, whether money or authority. I don’t care about what the fuck happens after—she says.”

No one but Lucifera could utter a word after this unexpected development.

“I’ll start thinking of a proper plan now. Fuyuhotaru-san, you and the rest should rest while you can. Because when you’ll wake up next—you’ll need to stop a comet falling from the sky.”

Saying this, Lucifera turned her back to them. She was talking in whispers with someone again.

Left like this all of a sudden, Shiika was confused. It was ridiculous to tell her to go sleep in this situation.

As she glanced around, unsure what to do, Chiharu approached her.

“…Shiika-chan, can I have a moment?”

“Ah… o-of course.”

She apparently wanted them to talk alone.

Her arm grabbed by Chiharu, Shiika was brought to another corner of the van. It was hard to claim they were alone since it was such a narrow space, but they sat against the wall, shoulder to shoulder.

“…”

Although she was the one who invited Shiika, Chiharu remained silent. She was glancing at Aria’s sleeping face as he leaned against Namie.

Shiika also said nothing.

What could she even tell Chiharu, as the one who turned her brother into a Fallen?

Shiika had yet to find the answer to this.

“—Why?”

Shiika’s shoulders twitched.

“Why did you make my brother into a Fallen…?”

“—”

A penetrating cold assaulted Shiika’s abdomen, not unlike a sensation of falling.

So this moment finally came.

This inescapable blame stabbed Shiika.

“You were so frantic just now—you were seriously trying to protect someone you met for the first time from becoming a Mushitsuki, and yet…”

Chiharu didn’t look Shiika in the eyes. She just kept glaring ahead, grimacing, and hugged her knees hard. Shiika knew from that hoarse voice that the other girl was barely holding back her sobs.

“Wasn’t my brother your friend…? You’re so kind, and yet… why is he the only one you didn’t protect…?!”

She probably held back, but couldn’t any longer. Tears were already streaming down Chiharu’s eyes.

Shiika had certainly claimed Kakkou was her friend. She had no idea how Chiharu knew this, but she apparently believed these words.

“…”

She had to say something. She tried opening her mouth—but no words came out.

“I know—”

Chiharu’s throat finally trembled with sobs.

“I was the one who made my brother into a Mushitsuki… if you hadn’t done that, my brother would’ve died from Maturation… he might have even hurt a lot of people… I’m aware of that…”

Neither the cheerful smile she showed before nor her picture-perfect beauty were there.

This was a girl who lost her own flesh and blood and was crying over it.

“But I hate it… I hate my brother being gone like this…”

Seeing how Chiharu stifled her voice and cried, Shiika finally understood.

Chiharu wasn’t trying to blame Shiika, actually.

''—But I hate it…!

The fact she wasn’t allowing her emotions to be influenced by the correct answer was the same as Shiika at the airport.

She was at a complete loss, having no idea what to do with all this sadness that found no outlet.

“Why did my brother… I know… sorry… I’m sorry, Shiika-chan…”

She had to apologize—no, Shiika knew she’d never be forgiven even if she apologized, and yet it was Chiharu who apologized to her.

No. She was actually apologizing to—

“Sorry… I’m so sorry…”

To Kakkou, whom she turned into a Mushitsuki.

Just how much had this girl called Ayukawa Chiharu been apologizing all this time?

Seeing her face drenched in tears, Shiika felt like she could understand her a little.

“I met Kakkou-kun several years ago for the first time…”

Shiika finally started talking.

Chiharu didn’t want any excuse or atonement from Shiika.

Because she thought this, Shiika sat shoulder to shoulder with Chiharu and decided to speak about her past.

“I was about to die and Kakkou-kun pointed his gun at me…”

Chiharu was crying, but what about her? Was she crying or smiling?

She didn’t know what expression she was wearing.

“But we discussed our dreams.”

It was the moment that everything started, as well as when the curtains were lowered.

This was her first time to discuss this clear moment with someone.

“Me and Kakkou had the same dream—”

Shiika’s lacking vocabulary wasn’t enough to explain that day.

But she did her best to convey her feelings to Chiharu.

As she spoke little by little, at some point Chiharu stopped crying.

Shiika became Fallen and for some reason returned to being a Mushitsuki.

She spoke about how she and the grown up Kakkou happened to meet again this last Christmas.

“—This is my turn now.”

Shiika said.

“I’ll wait for Kakkou-kun to come back…”

This was her promise to Kakkou.

A promise just between the two of them that started all these years ago.

“—Shiika-chan.”

Having opened her mouth for the first time in a while, Chiharu’s voice was low.

“Do you like my brother?”

“Eh…”

Glancing besides her without thinking, she saw Chiharu was glaring at her.

“As his sister I do think it’s too early for him for stuff like this, though.”

“Eh, no, I mean… Kakkou-kun’s my friend…”

She thought it wouldn’t be early at all at that age, but said nothing.

Kakkou was an important friend who had the same dream.

The same as her friend, Tachibana Rina.

If they were talking about a boy she liked—

“…”

Recalling what happened at the airport, Shiika bit her lips. She averted her eyes from Chiharu.

“—I’m sorry.”

“I believe that are things that can be forgiven if you apologize and things that can’t be forgiven.”

“N-not that… I’m thinking about when you protected that girl from Sanbikime at the airport…”

Chiharu had called Shiika kind.

That was a misunderstanding.

What rose to Shiika’s mind at the time—

“I’m not kind at all… I did believe he shouldn’t turn her into a Mushitsuki… but there was someone else who came to mind…”

“Someone else?”

“A boy… a person who promised to meet me again despite knowing I’m a Mushitsuki.”

Shiika grabbed her knees hard. She cried and bit her lips.

“Until I meet him again, I want to remain human. If I just let someone become a Mushitsuki right in front of me… I’ll become a monster just like the Original Three… that’s what I thought.”

“…”

“I can’t do anything, and I’m not kind at all… I only thought about myself.”

Although she was Mushibane’s leader, she was unable to do anything leaderlike.

Although she was a Rank 1 Mushitsuki, she wasn’t strong at all.

On top of that she wasn’t kind, she was selfish and she only caused problems to everyone around her.

“So you like that boy, then, huh.”

A gentle sensation stroked Shiika’s head as she looked down.

That gesture, which forgave her childish self-hatred—reminded her of her own estranged sister.

What was her kind sister doing about now?

“Well, I can’t really forgive you for having a boy other than my brother, though.”

What did she want Shiika to do, then?

“These kinds of feelings are the most important of all. Yup, no doubt about it.”

As Chiharu said this, Shiika simply ended up liking her.

''—You like who you like. There’s nothing you can do about those feelings.

She was saying the same thing as Shiika’s late friend, Rina.

“What kind of a guy is he? Is he cooler than my brother? Well?”

“H-how do I… I think he’s normal. He’s called Kusuriya Daisuke…”

The hand stroking Shiika suddenly stopped in place.

“…?”

Thinking it strange and raising her head, Shiika saw Chiharu freeze.

“W-what’s wrong…?”

“Kusu…riya—eh? But that’s… what are you saying?”

Chiharu looked extremely bothered. Her twitching cheeks looked like she was smiling.

“Do you know Daisuke-kun?”

“Do I—know him? But… I mean—”

It took more than a minute for Chiharu to regain her cool.

“W-what kind of a guy is he? That boy…”

The stunned Chiharu asked her the same question again.

Shiika tilted her head and answered honestly.

“When I just became a Mushitsuki again, I ended up meeting him… and he was very kind to me.”

Chiharu showed no response.

“We’ve made a promise to meet again next Christmas.”

Shiika’s cheeks loosened.

“I can still do my best because of that promise…”

“—”

Chiharu put a hand on her mouth. As if she was holding back a scream—Shiika had no idea why she was making that face.

“Is everything alright…?”

“—S-sorry.”

Chiharu averted her face, and when she looked back at Shiika—she was smiling.

“You’ll definitely meet again.”

“Y-yes, thank you.”

The meaning behind Chiharu’s expression—

The reason why the smile of Kakkou’s sister looked like it was about to break into tears at any moment—

Became known to Shiika only later.


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==Notes==

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