Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 7 Chapter 4 (section)

== 4.03 Ako Part 3 ==
She respected her peace-loving grandfather.

Even now her feelings haven't changed.

What was the "truth" he was aiming for? —To find an answer, she kept advancing on the path of a journalist.

Now, Ako finally felt as if she could grasp its true meaning.

"A-all of these—are Mushi…?"

After confirming Akatsuki's resolve on the roof, they returned to the news club room.

The scenery photos and citizen records affixed to the walls, none of the past pictures of the journalism club have remained. At the time the room was evacuated by the student council, they were peeled off. Even the cabinet full of files was completely empty.

The curtains of the film development room in the back were removed, so it was useless. Only the lighting equipment and reflective panels remained in the corner.

Instead there was a mountain of cardboard boxes filling the room. Ako brought everything back from the warehouse here.

Ako spread their contents on the table, with all of them seemingly her own personal material. Many of the pictures hidden inside the file case were unclear due to them being taken by amateurs. Ako herself digitally converted everything she filmed, packing her memory cards inside there as well.

—Among these was ''the voice recording Ako had set'' during the abnormal happening at the museum. It had recorded Akatsuki fighting against something, but other than that there was only Ako's voice. Since it would be incomprehensible to anyone uninvolved, it had been sealed away.

What made Akatsuki speechless was seeing the photos. Unlike memory cards, tape, and disk digital data, it was obvious at a glance what pictures were taken.

"This is all the material pertaining to Mushi I've collected until now. Since it became hard to hide them at my house, I used this place once I became alone."

Still holding the camera in front of the closed door, Ako spoke indifferently.

The picture Akatsuki took in hand depicted the blurred form of a Mushi. Ako was able to obtain what a civilian had taken by chance.

She had hundreds of the same kinds of pictures. She obviously also had disks and tapes with videos, but even testimonies from people who've seen Mushi were included in the memory.

"Mushi, the journalist's taboo, was my lifework."

Ever since her grandfather vanished on the battlefield, Ako kept filming anything and everything.

She wanted to figure out the identity of the "truth" her grandpa staked his life on.

What Ako found was the rumored existence of an abnormal being that wasn't disclosed to the public. Although there were many eyewitnesses, it wasn't revealed only barely. There were obviously people concealing this.

Mushi—

Ako fervently pursued these monsters.

She knew it was dangerous. Yet this thrill only stoked her flames, allowing her talent to bloom.

"I was able to obtain this much information not just because I'm a genius journalist. A pro journalist would be more careful, knowing that their social position could be hurt. But since I was an amateur, I was able to elude the organization hiding all of this."

"This is bad… This is really bad, Ako."

"Still, there probably aren't any other people who've managed to gather this much proof. I fully believed that the only person able to reveal the truth—the concealed existence of Mushi to the world would be me, the True Journalist. It wasn't supposed to take long for the name of the genius called Haemori Ako to spread throughout the land."

At times using her own feet, at times using the information network from her grandfather's connections, Ako's kept her assault. Professional journalists were too aware of the dangers so they couldn't expose the truth. Their pent up anger lead to them bringing information to Ako, a mere student.

The ones who concealed Mushi were apparently the organization known as the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau.

An honest-to-goodness government agency.

Her enemy was powerful.

However—Ako was still conceited in her own talent.

"I won't let you do it. Give all of this to me."

Akatsuki glared at Ako. He said this not as an SEPB member, but probably out of concern as her friend. She knew he liked to meddle.

"Do what you want. All of this is gathered in this memory card. It is my masterpiece."

Ako handed the memory card in her bag. Akatsuki changed his expression and approached.

"Listen, member Akatsuki."

"Give it, Ako. It's fine, I'm not going to let the SEPB have it."

"I have gotten carried away."

Akatsuki made a clear response. The moment before he took the memory, his hand stopped.

She already knew from experience how dangerous it was.

Because there was one time in past where she was warned.

She still remembered well the coat-wearing woman who named herself "Shera". The next time she appeared she'd definitely not leave with just a warning.

"The topic of Mushi is a taboo none could touch so far. Yet I kept gathering information. There is no truth I haven't investigated. Thinking that my truth would someday move the world, I thought it was like having the world under my control. I was ecstatic to be the Hero standing against an evil organization hiding the truth. —And so I made a mistake."

Her tone naturally lowered. Just by recalling what happened back then, regret and shame hammer pounded her heart.

"Unsatisfied with just Mushi, I revealed any and all truths. This is such a small rural town. Injustice, corruption, individual crimes… all of them were consumed in an instant. And this school's the same. I dragged out everything that the students hid, revealed it, and flung it in front of everyone. The student council president hates me because I revealed the truth about her boyfriend and cornered him."

Akatsuki seemed surprised.

He'd probably thought of her as merely delusional.

"And so I became alone."

The closed room was filmed through the lenses.

"At some point everyone around called me the Demon Lord. The truth I had dragged out brought chaos to town. It had disturbed the peace of the school. When I finally became alone, I noticed that I had taken the wrong path. —The truth I'd found was just a weapon that shook the peace."

This was her punishment.

Her just desserts for taking the wrong path were becoming isolated.

"And so I didn't feel like doing anything. I also stopped investigating Mushi. I thought that any truth I'd find would only bring chaos, anyhow."

"…I actually have no idea why the SEPB are so desperate to cover for Mushi. But obviously, I don't think we should be revealed. If the existence of Mushi becomes known there'll be chaos."

Akatsuki's voice was kind. He was probably sympathizing with the stricken Ako.

The boy's hand closed in on Ako's memory card again.

Yet Ako drew back her hand and evaded. Akatsuki looked sad.

"Ako…"

"At that time, I noticed the real Demon Lord in this town."

He didn't want to see his friend's lonely face.

Yet Ako had to speak.

She couldn't complete this mission all by herself.

"Noticing that there were more ill people in town, I thought at first there was some kind of health hazard. I didn't mean to erase my crimes or anything, but I took the camera into my hands again. As a result, I found several places where mysterious events have occurred. Places like the museum or the cherry tree."

"…!"

"The places I investigated alone, I investigated as much as I could. The places I went with you were those I just couldn't expose alone. There were also many duds like the radio tower."

Thinking backwards, the museum was probably a place where nothing would happen if one went alone. The cherry tree also had nothing that would be seen through the camera.

"It was obvious someone had created these special areas for some reason. I also noticed an upperclassman that was there to keep watch on me, but even she grew tenser and that interested me. If she moved as a member of the SEPB, then it was obviously something related to Mushi."

"So Orion was monitoring you…"

Akatsuki was surprised. Orion was the codename of the girl who'd probably monitored Ako.

"The time I noticed a Demon Lord other than myself, I knew what actions I really needed to take as journalist. —To let the world know about Mushi."

"Wha…"

Akatsuki naturally became speechless. He couldn't understand how she reached that conclusion.

"You already know, right? There were many great battles involving Mushi in the past."

The fact he changed his expression showed that he knew this.

"During the times when large amounts of Mushi-related info would leak, there were incomprehensible events at places. Four years ago in Ouka City and Akamaki City; the small island known as Aoharima Island; then last Christmas again in Ouka City and in Hashiba City… it was during those times that people would talk markedly more about Mushi." 

"…"

"They kept hiding Mushi, but starting this year there was an explosion in eyewitness testimonies. The Shinkansen from Housawa Town to Ouka City, or Higano City that connected Akamaki City and Ouka City, and even in Nishito City and Horando City there were Mushi eyewitnesses. And so I had a journalist intuition."

She had a hunch.

The hidden truth about Mushi was reaching its breaking point.

"Isn't the next great battle between Mushitsuki approaching?"

Akatsuki widened his eyes.

"Looking back, even I, who mistook my way, was able to gather this much proof about Mushi. Even without me doing anything, soon the world will know of Mushi. The truth known as Mushi is starting to rampage such that it becomes impossible to hide."

"Then you don't have to expose yourself to danger…!"

"I can't. A mistaken truth will bring the world into chaos. What I'm trying to reveal now isn't the real truth."

"What do you mean, a mistaken truth! And the real truth, I don't understand what—"

"'Mushitsuki are fearsome monsters'. —That is the mistaken truth."

Ako used her camera to film all the material about Mushi on the table.

The records came in different shapes and forms, but they had one thing in common.

All of them were mixed with fear for Mushitsuki. Some shook with fear, some recorded themselves hating Mushi. They only spoke of them as monsters defying human understanding.

"Even the Demon Lord appearing in town was trying to propagate this truth. By using Mushi the world will know of them. —Undoubtedly, they are attempting to bring 'fear' in order to let people know that Mushitsuki are scary."

Just like Ako during the time she had been called by that name, the Demon Lord spread fear among the people.

"I was able to help with that. My goal of wanting to let the world know of Mushi is unchanged from the past. —Yet I didn't do it.  Because I am a True Journalist. I must first ascertain the real state of everything."

''I will never mistake my path again.''

With that resolve in her heart, the days of confronting the Demon Lord continued.

"'Mushitsuki are fearsome monsters'. Is that really the truth? I only believe things I see with my own eyes."

She was called the Demon Lord in school and became secluded.

Since Ako started loudly speaking of conspiracy theories, people around her thought she was broken. She'd been called the Demon Lord many times and became even lonelier.

"Member Akatsuki. Since you have come to town at that timing, I was able to surmise you were a Mushitsuki belonging to the SEPB. Your reason for transferring and your profile were all unnatural. —And so I came to you and thought of ascertaining the truth. Orion, who seemed to be resigned, was no good."

If he was a Mushitsuki, she thought of getting material from him.

After thinking how to approach him, she ended up inviting him to the journalism club. She thought he'd reject anyway, but if he thought she was a mere oddball from the first meeting, then he'd lower his guard and that would be fine as well. But even so—

"You became my friend."

Ako smiled.

She was happy.

The Demon Lord was cunning, strong, and never showed themselves. She'd nearly given up on pursuing them.

Yet the reality she wasn't alone gave Ako courage again.

"And so I was able to find the real truth."

She showed him the memory card. Akatsuki gulped.

"And the Mushitsuki who became my friend comforted me at times. He spoke of love while embarrassed, hesitated, and held anger and hatred toward someone, yet even so he smiled. This one Mushitsuki, walking side by side with a normal person, exemplified the real truth."

And that Mushitsuki's figure was caught in the camera even now.

"—'Mushitsuki are no different than normal people'."

Ako had been able to obtain the truth, but she had a duty.

To stop the Demon Lord's scheme.

"Ever since the Demon Lord turned the Mushi into her minions and played with them, she'd planted the mistaken truth that 'Mushitsuki are fearsome monsters' in people. Once this happened it couldn't be taken back. The fear would only grow, and erasing it is impossible."

"Ako…"

"I can't allow to Demon Lord to act as they please any longer. We must stop them."

Akatsuki sank into silence.

Thinking for a while, he probably reached a conclusion. The boy held out his hand to her.

"Give me the memory card."

"Member Akatsuki…"

"I promise you. By the time that Mushi are impossible to hide… I'll help you. Then please entrust this to me until then."

Akatsuki spoke, looking directly into Ako's eyes.

"I want you to promise something else."

Ako returned his gaze.

"The method I'd chosen to draw in the Demon Lord—I want you to watch over me without doing anything."

Akatsuki for a moment bit his lips hesitatingly. Yet he soon nodded wordlessly.

The memory card was passed from Ako to Akatsuki.

The method Ako had thought of calling the Demon Lord.

In order to accomplish that, Ako and Akatsuki went in front of the radio tower.

As they stood in front of the fence, their background was the sinking sun and the towering spire.

Just like when they'd come there before, the wind was strong today too. Turning around, they could also see the "angel"—the white plastic sheet that came and went from sky to ground.

"I surmised that the Demon Lord has the ability to sense the location of Mushi. If not, it would be hard for them to run away from the SEPB."

While filming the grand form of the radio tower, Ako muttered. Her bangs, blown by the wind for an instant, appeared on the screen.

Meanwhile, Akatsuki wore his SEPB equipment. Grey jacket and pants, thick gloves and hard-looking boots were his full getup. With his visor riding on his forehead, he didn't yet cover his face.

"Yeah, I thought the same. But I couldn't understand how there were so many Mushitsuki in this town. Even the SEPB can't ascertain that."

"Investigating those who were sick, I went to gather materials. The common point to all of them was having a few hours of vacant memories. There were some who didn't notice that, but they were probably turned to Mushitsuki during that time."

"But why are so many Mushitsuki being born just here?"

"I also have a guess regarding that."

She asserted cleanly.

"The Demon Lord creates Mushi—and enlists them to their army. The white space we've seen in the museum or the cherry tree is proof of that."

Akatsuki was speechless. Perhaps unable to speak probably, he barely squeezed out his voice.

"T-The Demon Lord creates…? That's impossible! I mean, doesn't it mean… they're just like the Original Three?!"

"I don't know the method itself. But it is a fact that a large amount of Mushitsuki are being born here. We can assume that even the host is unaware of them having a Mushi that becomes part of the army of darkness."

This was the conclusion of Ako's involved investigation ever since she noticed the existence of the Demon Lord.

"Playing with people, toying with Mushi, mocking the SEPB, the Demon Lord thus remade this town."

Ako turned her camera away from the radio tower, filming the countryside.

"To grab the cunning Demon Lord's tail, we have to smash this so-called miniature garden. Someone needs to appear to disturb their game board."

"But how can we…"

"Another person will give birth to a Mushi right here."

Akatsuki was speechless.

"This is a gamble. A method that can only be used once and is irreversible."

Turning only her face to the boy, she smiled.

Wind blew around.

Had Ako's resolve been noticed so quickly?

The being that appeared in front of Ako before as well looked like a starved ghost. Since she'd asked for her name, she already knew it.

"You may come, Oogui. I shall give you what you wish for."

"…!"

Akatsuki's expression morphed to surprise. He readied his body anxiously.

There was tension so sharp it felt like it would tear his skin.

Ako's digital camera perfectly captured that.

The trees standing in town.

The seedlings on the field.

The grass growing on the road.

All of them turned to Ako with frightening vigor.

It wasn't wind.

The purple glow pressing forward at incredible speeds finally pushed its way to Ako.

"Fufu—"

The downpour of purple-colored scales took the shape of a human above Ako's head.

The camera first caught the rainbow-colored pupils. Next the round sunglasses were formed, then her face's outline, long hair and wing-like crimson long coat.

"Why is Oogui…?!"

Akatsuki reflexively stiffened, ready to call out his Mushi.

"Because Ako-chan called me. Right?"

Oogui looked down at Akatsuki, smiling enjoyably.

"Indeed."

"A-Ako…?"

Ako smiled at the confused boy.

"Oogui has appeared to me several times till now."

The first time she appeared was just after Ako's grandfather disappeared at war. Ever since then, the crimson coat-clad beauty came to the girl resolve chasing after the truth.

Oogui appeared again when Ako found out about the Demon Lord's existence and decided to confront it.

Both times, Ako had denied Oogui due to her strong conviction.

So she would not lose her proper form as a journalist.

"You have always refused me by telling me that you stand as the 'journalist' on the line between normal people and Mushitsuki… right, Ako-chan?"

Oogui snickered.

Ako had to be a nameless journalist.

Standing between Mushitsuki and the people who feared them, she had to chronicle both sides.

So she thought—

"Will you tell me your dream this time?"

Her cold hands embraced Ako from behind. The purple scales surrounded Ako, trying to white out her head.

"Ako!"

"No, member Akatsuki. The Demon Lord isn't here yet…"

Akatsuki's voice brought Ako's consciousness to reality for an instant. Her held camera filmed an empty road. There was still no human figure there.

As if realizing Ako's aim, Akatsuki stood there in shock.

"You made a promise. That no matter what happened, you'd watch over me…!"

"B-but this… I can't do it! No way I can!"

On top of the boy's shoulders, the mayfly was slowly growing larger.

"Do you even understand what you're doing? Do you understand how tough being a Mushitsuki is? I won't let you become a Mushitsuki!"

"This isn't anything special."

Oogui, who was embracing Ako, leaked sweet breath unto her neck. The sweet fragrance and purple glow, as well as her rainbow-colored pupils, quickly eroded Ako's ego.

Along with the pleasant drowsiness, she was assaulted by helpless fear.

"I'll become just like you… this is nothing different from a normal person; simply a Mushitsuki."

[[File:Mushi Uta 7 p311.jpg|thumb]]

"…!"

Even while saying this with her mouth, she was scared of becoming a Mushitsuki.

She couldn't go back to how she was yesterday.

But she had no regrets.

"If you're going to watch over me, then I have nothing to be scared of—"

An expression of despair rose to the boy's face.

If it'd been before she'd met Akatsuki, then there'd be no choice.

But now she knew that Mushitsuki were no different from regular humans.

Even if she became a Mushitsuki, Ako would stay as she was—

She would yield in to the truth she herself grasped.

"You will not stand in my way, right, Akatsuki-chan? You wouldn't want to get this girl wrapped up in fighting—and you know you cannot beat me, right?"

"…!"

Akatsuki's face distorted.

"Even so—"

The Mushi clinging to Akatsuki's back shook its twin tails.

"I can't just stand there watching you turn my friend into a Mushitsuki!"

On the back of the shouting boy, the mayfly's tail glowed.

However—

"…"

She felt hazy and couldn't move her mouth. Even so Ako advanced toward Akatsuki, and stood in front of him.

There was no other way.

By making Ako a Mushitsuki, she would become able to call out the Demon Lord.

Ako knew that as a journalist she had to settle the score with the Demon Lord.

From now on normal people and Mushitsuki would clash against each other and understand one another.

Yet the Demon Lord would cause needless strife between them, caused by the distorted truth.

And so none other than Ako would remove the fears clouding the eyes of both sides. 

It could be called the fight between the Demon Lord and the previous Demon Lord.

"Move, Ako!" Akatsuki shouted. "MOVE!"

The boy's voice, not much more than a scream, was the final sound she heard before losing her sense of self.

She lost all sensation in her body.

Although she was standing, she felt strange comfort as if she was inside water.

"Now, Ako-chan."

She heard an enjoyable voice. There was great hunger in it, like one facing a high quality meal.

"Will you tell me your dream?"

That voice even caused her pleasant vibrations, shaking her head.

It stabbed through her head to her chest.

Stripping her of the armor known as body and emotions, Oogui's sickly-sweet voice reverberated inside the depths of her heart.

A ripple was born on the water Ako was floating in.

She recalled the figure of her smiling grandfather holding a camera—and her young self pictured with that grandfather.

Her grandfather was gone and Ako began running.

She investigated anything and everything, gathered materials, at times met danger but never stopped running.

Yet she became alone and stood in place.

When she turned around there was no one there. Neither her friends, comrades, nor the back of her grandfather she was chasing; she couldn't see them anywhere.

When she became lost and wandered the road, the Demon Lord stood in her way. At first Ako tried to face them, but finally her lonely self ran away.

Pulling her hand was a single Mushitsuki.

Ogata Akatsuki.

He stood alongside Ako, walking together with her.

And they both reached the road they needed to.

Ako was able to recall her dream—

"I wanted to know what the real 'truth' was…"

The surface of water swelled.

She felt as if the thing slumbering inside the depths of the water took a breath and leapt out.

The thing that Ako saw in the strange space—was a strangely-shaped insect with feelers.