Mushi Uta:Volume 3rd Episode 09

Episode 09. The Flower Garden Aiming for Dreams

Sitting seiza-style on top of the tatami mat, Ichinokuro Arisu wore a meek expression.

It was early morning before school.

She was inside a Japanese-style guest room in the Ichinokuro family residence. The current resident of this dreary room, equipped only with the bare minimum of furniture, was a freeloader boy.

"…"

The one looking down on Arisu was the one who had called her there, Kusuriya Daisuke. This was his room.

"I will behave myself during your absence, Daisuke-san."

Folding his arms, Daisuke looked down on Arisu and spoke in a low voice.

They could hear the souzu from the courtyard.

Arisu recited seriously.

"I will behave myself during your absence, Daisuke-san."

Still standing erect, Daisuke continued.

"I will keep in mind I am always being monitored, so I will not take any selfish courses of action."

"I will keep in mind I am always being monitored, and so on."

"Don't skimp on it."

Arisu finally lost her patience against the cold gaze directed at her. Her cheeks started twitching, exposing her anger.

"…What kind of a joke is this, Daisuke? Why do I, your mistress, have to sit down like this while you, the slave, looks down on me? There seems to be some fundamental mistake here."

"I explained this last night. Since the person in charge of investigating Hanashiro Mari has been replaced, the investigation team is being reorganized. And so I also have to attend the meeting there. Just like before, someone else is going to monitor you."

"That's not what I'm asking. I don't like you acting so self-important."

Arisu tried standing up. Yet Daisuke's hands stopped her from above.

"Self-important? That's what I should be saying to you."

An expression of anger rose to the boy's face as well.

"Why are you acting so self-important for no reason! Every time something happens you go on a rampage and destroy everything in your sight! Reflect on yourself while I'm gone!"

"This isn't my fault! If you're a pro then cover up for me better, Daisuke!"

Arisu was trying to stand up while Daisuke was pushing her head down. The teens in school uniform continued their fruitless fight.

"How the heck am I supposed to cover up for someone fine with wrecking the entire campus! Since the monitor coming instead of me is quick to anger, if you act poorly you'll be killed! She's the kind of person who ends up fighting for trivial reasons too many times and that's why she hasn't been promoted from unranked!"

"That's fine! I'll turn the tables on her!"

"I'm telling you not to fight!"

Just as Arisu was able to rise a bit by kneeling, a female servant opened the sliding door. "Young lady, Daisuke-sama, it is about time for you to go to school," she interrupted them.

"You're just going to Central Headquarters and get licked by that Ayuyu girl!"

 "I…Idiot! That time it was for my job so I had no choice…! Today I'm not going to…!"

"So you really are meeting with that girl. How great for you, you're going to get licked and kissed until you feel better, pervy Daisuke!"

"Stop with that expression! Since it's related to us, she's obviously going to attend!"

"Licky lick, licky lick."

Seeing that both of them had no intention to stop their exchange, the woman said, "…Please do not be late," and silently closed the door.

Part 1

"Arisu Homerun!"

Arisu's spirited yell made the white ball soar in the air—or not.

The sound of the ball being caught by the mitt reverberated through the sports ground of Horusu Seijou Academy Middle School. 

The fourth period was a P.E. lesson. Arisu's class had a joint lesson with another class, playing softball.

Under the cloudless sky, Arisu's classmates greeted her with giggling.

"Tch, letting someone from the softball club play as pitcher is foul play. Yes, Takako."

The jersey-wearing Arisu returned to the bench, handing her bat to the next batter in line, Kujou Takako.

"It's because having an amateur throw balls is dangerous."

Receiving the bat, Takako headed toward the batter's box while grinning. Yet soon the ball was caught in the gloves three times. "It really is foul play," said Takako as she returned.

"You need to swing it at least once…"

Sitting next to Arisu with her legs crossed, Saionji Ena sighed with a look of amazement.

"Even so, I can understand why you're not motivated when Kusuriya-kun's not here."

Isn't Ena always unmotivated anyway—the reason she couldn't say her thought was not because she held back; an out-of-season Morpho butterfly alighted on top of Arisu's head.

A silver Morpho butterfly. It wasn't an ordinary insect.

It was a Mushi that would eat its host's dreams and lend them supernatural powers. This Morpho butterfly had once possessed the girl known as Hanashiro Mari, but after her death it passed to Arisu.

The boy known as Kusuriya Daisuke was a member of the organization created in order to capture and conceal Mushi, the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau, and was an agent sent in order to monitor Arisu.

"The teacher said he's caught the cold or something, but is that true? Is Kusuriya-kun fine?"

"Let's visit him after school."

As Ena and Takako looked at her, Arisu shook her hand.

"It's feigned illness. He's probably having fun with that licky licky girl right about now?"

"W-what's that? Are you talking about that fortune-teller girl we saw at the cultural festival?"

"…From now on I shall not approach Daisuke-san within a radius of two meters."

Ena was flustered and Takako averted her gaze with cold eyes. The incident related to Kurisaka Ayuyu, in the cultural festival of another school the other day, ended up explained as a gas explosion in the cooking practice room.

—I'll say this just in case, but a man with a tattooed face might approach you. If you see him, run away immediately.

Just before they parted in front of her house, Daisuke had said this. And when she asked him the reason for it…

—He's an enemy.

He said only this and left.

"…What do you mean by tattooed face."

She mumbled sullenly so that Ena and Takako wouldn't hear.

Arisu didn't like the things occurring around her lately. Even with Ayuyu's incident the other day, Arisu had vague memories of it but hadn't received any explanations. Daisuke also kept silent.

Even though this incident related to her friend Hanashiro Mari, Arisu was being kept in the dark.

It was causing her to grow angrier.

She also didn't like the fact that Daisuke hadn't told her who the replacement monitor was. Being watched by someone she couldn't see stressed her.

"Your turn to bat, Ena."

As the game approached its final stages, the pitcher seemed tired. After three consecutive bases on balls, all the bases were loaded. Arisu put her hand on Ena's shoulder and pushed her.

"…Hah, that's not all. I'll just get three strikes again and then start the counterplan…"

While muttering this, Ena headed for the batter's box. Takako sighed.

"And to think that fundamentally Ena-san could do anything she wants… It is a pity she doesn't often become serious."

Just like Takako said, Ena didn't even make any real effort. Arisu placed her hand near her mouth, raising her voice toward Ena in the batter's box.

"Heeey, Ena. If you hit a homerun, I'll let you lick Daisuke!"

"Ena Homerun!!!"

—The white ball was sucked into the blue sky.

Silence befell the surroundings for an instant.

"…You should live more seriously with other things as well…"

Arisu's mutter, the chime indicating the end of the lesson and the music for the interschool announcement all overlapped.

The latter called out Arisu.

Arisu's homeroom teacher called her into the staff room.

Her teacher told her "just a bit," inarticulately and led Arisu to the corridor. According to him, a family member of Hanashiro Mari, the girl who had passed away due to sickness a year ago, came to visit.

"Mari's relative?"

As Arisu asked back, the teacher made a sullen face. Apparently she had a cousin that lived overseas for a long time, and he had a lot of questions about Mari.

The sickly Mari hadn't attended school even once since being admitted to it. Due to this the people of the school knew nothing about her. And so came Arisu's turn as one who had been in contact with her frequently when she alive.

Mari herself had told Arisu that she was an only child. However, this was her first time hearing about a cousin. Arisu followed the teacher, walking in the corridor.

Suddenly feeling a gaze on her, she looked ahead.

Her line of sight met with blue eyes.

In one corner of the corridor, a group of girls stood in place and chatted. The one Arisu crossed gazes with was a blonde girl. She was familiar to her.

She was a female student that had apparently come back to Japan from overseas recently. She was a beauty with mixed heritage from somewhere in Europe, so Arisu had once been invited by Ena, who liked new fads, to come all the way to her class to take a look at her.

Yet the blonde girl soon averted her gaze from Arisu. "Shirakashi-san? No, I haven't ever spoken to her," she chatted with her friends in subtly strange Japanese.

"…"

Although Arisu got somewhat interested in that girl, she was urged by the teacher and hastened her pace.

They arrived in front of the academic guidance room. The teacher told her to "call me when it's over" and left.

Arisu stood in front of the door.

Mari's cousin. —This would be her first time meeting up and speaking with Mari's blood relative. Even during her funeral and death anniversary, Mari's family hadn't seemed to notice her at all.

She wondered what kind of person that cousin was.

Since he was the relative of the mild-mannered and quiet Mari, he might be like her. —While imagining this, Arisu opened the door.

"Yo."

The person inside the guidance room turned to her.

Arisu stood there, speechless.

Inside the room was a boy that seemed to be around 2 or 3 years older than her. His slender body and sharp features would probably be enough to catch one's eyes even among people of his age. Perhaps wounded, he had a large compress attached to his right cheek. He wore what was presumably some high school's uniform, a blazer with an embroidery.

"You're the one called Ichinokuro Arisu? They said you're Mari's buddy."

"…"

"Ah, but the teachers in this school are all useless! All of them make a nasty face when it's about Mari. They're apparently unsure how to treat a student with zero attendance despite her donations, who's supposed to be responsible for her and all that. Don't you agree?"

Asked for her approval, Arisu put a hand on her forehead. She shared his complaints, but there was something she was much more concerned about right now.

"…First of all, I'd like to know why you're all the way up there."

"Huh? Oh, that. Don't you see it a lot on TV? Thy usually hide a lot of wiretaps and hidden cameras and all that in places like this. There weren't any, though."

He—that guy who for some reason had climbed on the wall and was peeking into the holes of the air conditioner, was speaking as if it was normal.

Seeing someone so far removed from her expectations, Arisu felt drained.

"So this is Mari's cousin… I seem to be meeting only oddballs lately…"

"I'm Sehateno Harukiyo."

Jumping down from the wall, the boy named himself. Arisu furrowed her brows.

"Sehateno…?"

The boy, laughing with his hands in pockets, suddenly seemed majestic as if he hadn't acted like an eccentric just now. She figured he was just that full of confidence.

"Close the door."

Harukiyo said, grinning. His eyes turned suddenly sharp and surprised Arisu for an instant.

As she turned around, the blonde girl she had seen before crossed in front of the guidance room, perhaps on coincidence. Her blue eyes glanced at Arisu.

She closed the door.

The boy known as Harukiyo made a complete reversal back to his cheerful smile. Jumping on top of the long desk, he sat cross-legged with his eyes shining like those of a little kid.

"Now, it's time for you to speak. Tell me about her—about Mari."

Although Arisu was still confused, they began talking about the Mari she knew.

Even since she had enrolled into the school, she was sick and so didn't attend even once. At first she closed her heart, but she gradually came to open up. She started studying in anticipation of the day she would be able to come to school.

Arisu concealed nothing except for the fact that Mari was a Mushitsuki. She only found out about that after Mari had died anyway.

As she finished talking about Mari, there were no signs of satisfaction on Harukiyo's face. He scratched his head and inquired Arisu as if he suddenly thought of something.

"What about her diary? Do you have it?"

"Diary?"

This was her first time hearing anything about Mari writing a diary.

"She kept a diary. There's no mistake 'bout that. By your reaction it seems like you don't have it. It wasn't in her sickroom. …Her house then? Her parents probably took it back."

Harukiyo mumbled to himself. Arisu frowned.

"There's no mistake, you say… how do you know that?"

"I heard it from the guy that was the closest to her."

"The guy closest to her…?"

"That might also be written in her diary."

Asserting this, Harukiyo leapt down from the desk. He started walking toward the door as if saying their business was over.

As he crossed near the befuddled Arisu, he grinned.

"Now I get it. —You know nothing about her."

"…!"

"See ya, Ichinokuro Arisu."

Turning toward the boy trying to leave, Arisu grabbed his shoulder.

"I'm—"

She stared at Sehateno Harukiyo who turned around. She wanted to say something back to him, but no words would come out. She gathered power in the hand grabbing him.

Yes, there were too many things Arisu didn't know about Mari. Mari hadn't told her about being a Mushitsuki even at the very end.

"Your eyes are not bad at all. No wonder that bastard wanted to apologize."

Harukiyo shook off Arisu's hand, smiling. Arisu had no idea who that bastard he was talking about was.

"Don't misunderstand. You not knowing anything means that you were that important to Mari. Since 'they' are inclined to be like that, don't mind it."

Leaving behind a meaningful smile, the boy opened the door and left the guidance room.

"Mari's… diary."

Left behind, Arisu bit her lips.

Part 2

Looking at the time display in her cellphone, it was already 9 P.M.

Wrapped in a coat and exhaling white breath, Arisu pressed the button of the front gate's intercom.

"I am Mari's friend, Ichinokuro Arisu. I have also come here this evening—"

A Morpho butterfly shining in silver fluttered above Arisu's head. This caused her to feel as if one of the stars in the night sky was moving.

"We are very sorry. Since the masters of the house are not currently present, we cannot let you enter. We ask you to leave this place for today."

The reply she heard from the intercom was the exact same one she had received when coming there on her way back from school.

"Don't call someone who's never home the master of the house."

Arisu said sullenly after moving her mouth away from the intercom. She had come there countless times until now, but the response was always the same.

Hanashiro Mari's house was a large Japanese-style mansion. It was on the outskirts of Akamaki City, where vegetable and rice fields were visible here and there.

Surrounded by high fences, the mansion was even wider than Arisu's home.

The Hanashiro family was renowned as the masters of flower arrangements. Mari told her that there were many disciples from the political and business world, and that on practice days they would drive through the premises.

"And people who aren't there wouldn't be able to stop me."

Mumbling things that would probably make Daisuke hit her could he hear them, Arisu looked around the area.

Confirming there were no people around, she walked along the fences. She stood where she could see the edge of the fences and looked up.

Arisu leapt with a kick. She grabbed the top of the fence and climbed at once.

"…Here. Trespassing completed."

She got down inside the premises. On the other side of a pond with hanging lights she could see a large mansion. It looked like a dojo. Beyond the low roof were a building that looked like the main residence and a structure surrounded by transparent walls.

If they said she couldn't enter the house, she would have to do it by force. Mari might be angry with her, but she couldn't let everything stay like that Sehateno Harukiyo guy had said.

—You know nothing.

Right, for if Arisu didn't do this, she would know nothing more about Mari.

If Mari really had a diary, Arisu wanted to see it no matter what.

"Mari's room is…"

Exiting from a thicket, the Morpho butterfly following Arisu emitted silver light overhead.

"What? What is it?"

While Arisu was surprised at the Morpho butterfly's strange behavior, she could hear a voice of a high tone.

"Confirmed that the monitoring target has trespassed a private residence. I judge this to be dangerous activity."

A white figure stood on top of the darkness-covered pond. —Thinking that it was a ghost made a chill run down Arisu's spine, but that was wrong. It was a blonde person clad in a pure white long coat.

"Kasuou will now commence capture."

The girl standing on the pond said with a twisted smile.

"You're—"

It was the foreign girl Arisu had locked gazes with that noon. Her face was concealed by goggles, but she knew her from her characteristic high voice and blonde hair.

"I wanted to fight you brat ever since I heard you've fought head-on against Kakkou."

Kasuou spoke in a completely different tone from how she was a school. She was enveloped by what seemed to be black mist, and apparently it was what held her up above the water surface.

"So you're the monitor instead of Daisuke then. I thought it might be you, but… As Daisuke works hard to not stand out and you're so conspicuous I thought I was wrong."

Arisu groaned, drawing back.

"It's fine, this is my first and last time to be part of the monitor squad after all."

Ripples were created on the water surface. The black mist started moving, slowly carrying the girl toward Arisu.

"It's since the info about you has been running through the monitor squad. I don't know who that cousin of Mari's was, but I thought things might be interesting if I let you two meet. Sure enough, I was able to create a nice excuse to fight you."

The grinning girl was already preparing for battle. Indeed, just like Daisuke said she seemed to be just itching to have a fight.

Arisu suddenly thought.

Should I run outside…? —No, as if I'd retreat after coming all the way here!

"ORAAAH!"

Raising a manly battlecry, Kasuou sprung at Arisu. The shape of the black mist surrounding her morphed, becoming countless claws and assaulting Arisu.

Arisu immediately leapt to the side, dodging the attack. The claws made of mist blew away the fence along with part of the ground as if by an explosion.

"Just saying, but if we're talking only about battle strength I'm not inferior to Kakkou."

While Arisu became speechless at her excessive power, Kasuou smiled joyfully.

The claws swung down at Arisu from above.

"Kh…!"

Arisu unconsciously grabbed the branch of a tree standing nearby.

Silver light burst.

The Morpho butterfly floating down from the sky alighted on the branch, fusing with it in a burst. A silver spear was born in Arisu's hand.

"Wooh!"

When Arisu flashed her spear, enough silver scales to cloud one's vision covered Kasuou in an instant.

Explosions resounded and the claws blew away the ground. However—

"…I see."

On top of the deeply carved ground, Kasuou stood covered by the black mist, smiling. This was Arisu's first time seeing someone other than Daisuke stop her frontal assault. She widened her eyes.

"You make physical attacks with that spear, and those scales can attack even Special Type Mushi, huh. …Seems like it's gonna be more fun than I thought."

Smiling in enjoyment, Kasuou assaulted Arisu. Arisu blew away the endless claws on one side.

"Your spear technique isn't too bad either!"

Even the martial art techniques that had been pounded into Arisu for as long as she could remember seemed like they caused Kasuou nothing but pleasure. The number of attacks cornered Arisu all the way to the edge of the pond.

"…Uh!"

A claw grazed Arisu's coat. She turned on her heels, running around the pond.

"Wait, are you gonna run away?"

Arisu ran next to the dojo and Kasuou gave pursuit.

Arisu's goal was Mari's room.

It wasn't defeating Kasuou.

Having said that, Kasuou was much too strong to let her go by. In contrast to the other Mushitsuki Arisu had met so far, she clearly had an ability excelling in combat.

While Kasuou kept pursuing her and using her claws to blow off the ground again and again, Arisu was barely able to keep her in check while running. Finally a large building appeared in front of her.

The conservatory—the family's greenhouse was an overly large indoor garden. This greenhouse could also be said to be a botanical garden. Its walls were all covered by transparent plastic.

Thinking about it, she had heard about this from Mari. She said that the Hanashiro family cultivated the plants used in their flower arrangement themselves.

"Aren't you being too careless, looking around you like that?"

The voice coming from behind Arisu caused her to come to her senses.

She reflexively received the assaulting claws using her silver spear. Silver scales burst, and Arisu was pounded against the garden room's wall.

"Ugh!"

"That Mushi is certainly strong. …But in the end you're just a human."

Kasuou walked up to Arisu.

"Since you haven't fused with your Mushi, you're completely overmatched, huh? It would've been bad were you able to swing that around with a stamina like Kakkou's."

Arisu used her spear as a crutch to stand up. Looking around her, she found the emergency staircase installed along the wall. Kicking the ground, she headed for the stairs.

"I'm telling ya it's useless no matter where you run to!"

Kasuou pursued her while shrouded by the mist.

Climbing the stairs, Arisu reached the top of the roof. The greenhouse's roof was also made of plastic, so she could see the vivid plants beneath her legs.

She felt as if the spear in her hands throbbed. Looking down at the greenhouse, the structure of the building flashed in her mind for a second.

She saw this indoor botanical garden for the first time.

Even so, she knew its inner structure as if it were the back of her hand—

"Please wait."

Arisu sharply asserted at Kasuou, grasping her spear with both hands.

"Huh? I'm not gonna wait. If we make too much noise someone's going to come."

The two girls faced each other close under the night sky. The plastic at their feet sparkled as it reflected the indoor illumination.

"I don't want to fight you. Are you not Daisuke's comrade?"

"I do want to fight. I won't let you buy time just because you're losing."

"Then at least let me choose the place."

It seemed that Kasuou couldn't understand the meaning of Arisu's words.

"You bastard, what're you—"

"I'm saying this isn't a place for a battle!"

Arisu spun the spear in her hands. Aiming at her feet, it stabbed through in one blow.

Silver scales blew all over. The transparent plastic supporting their feet cracked.

"Kh…!"

"Why you…!"

The pair fell down along with the shards of plastic.

"Auh!"

The impact of the fall caused Arisu to stop breathing for a second. The smell of earth and the much more chocking smell of plants assaulted her nose. Cushioning Arisu's fall were flowers of many colors.

As she frowned and stood up, the flower garden welcomed her.

—I didn't really like home… but that place alone was pretty so I liked it.

When they talked about the garden room, Mari wore a rare, sincere smile.

The vivid scene illuminated by the lights in the greenhouse muddled Arisu's consciousness for an instant.

"Right, Mari liked…"

The spear throbbed again.

The plastic raining from above reflected the illumination and became sparkling rain.

"I liked this place."

"What's all this bullshit you're saying!"

"—…!"

Kasuou's angry shout caused Arisu to come to her senses with a start. She had the feeling she had said something, but couldn't remember it.

Arisu swung the spear.

"Wha…!"

As her spear flashed to the side, the flowers blooming on the ground all fluttered.

The hurricane of petals blocked Kasuou's line of sight.

Arisu immediately ran backwards. A tall plant grew there just as Arisu knew it would. It was tall enough for a petite girl to hide herself behind.

"…Shit! Where have you gone to!"

Hearing Kasuou's swearing from behind, Arisu left the greenhouse.

Part 3

The lock on Mari's room's window was open.

The shoeless Arisu quietly stepped inside from the window opened with a clatter.

"Whew…"

After leaving Kasuou behind, Arisu kept going toward the main building. An exhaustive search led her to peek inside from the windows, finally finding a place that seemed like Mari's room.

She could hear the sounds of the servants, apparently having noticed the commotion, going toward the greenhouse.

"Sorry for barging in like this, Mari."

Wearing a smile, Arisu looked around the room.

Since she couldn't turn on the lights, her only source of light was the illumination reaching from outside. But she was a bit happy to find out that in contrast to the sickroom where the two had met countless times, this dim room looked suitable for a girl of Mari's age. There were plush toys all over the spacious room.

They probably left it as it was when she had been alive. The smell of people was gone, but for some reason it felt as if someone was living there.

Mari had spent her life here.

Arisu could feel that for certain, so she became gradually happier.

Yet this wasn't the time to space out. She couldn't tell when someone would come. She had to accomplish her goal before being found out.

Although feeling some guilt, Arisu searched the desk that she thought Mari had been using.

She soon found out a diary. She found a small flower, perhaps coming from the greenhouse, pressed inside Japanese paper as a bookmark.

She hesitated on checking her friend's diary like this. But the silver Morpho butterfly perched on her shoulder. Its shining wings gently brushed against her cheek.

She could feel as if Mari was allowing her to do this, and smiled. She slowly leafed through the pages.

"Huh…?"

Looking at the page she opened, she involuntarily leaked out a voice of surprise. She flipped through another page and then another. However—

"It's probably empty, huh."

A hot wind blew at her back.

"…!"

Turning around, she could see a boy sitting on the open window. With his hands of top of his folded knees, he gazed intently at Arisu.

It was Sehateno Harukiyo.

Yet his atmosphere from when she had met him at school that noon was completely changed. He glared at Arisu with a serious expression.

"After fighting Kasuou, seeing the flower garden, and coming here, let me ask you."

Heat.

It might have been an illusion. However, she could feel abnormal heat emanating from the boy sitting at the window. Starting to feel as if even the act of breathing scorched her throat, Arisu's whole body stiffened.

"—Who the hell are you?"

She couldn't understand the meaning of his question.

Yet Harukiyo didn't seem to be joking. Arisu replied clearly.

"Ichinokuro Arisu."

"…I see."

Instantly, the heat dominating the room dispersed.

The boy's expression looked for a second as if a shadow befell it. Although both during that noon and here he boldly puffed out with pride, a feeling similar to loneliness crossed his face.

Yet when Harukiyo raised his face again, he grinned just like he had done that noon.

"Seems like I failed this time. Yet you're also surprisingly amusing, Ichinokuro Arisu."

"Failed?"

"I knew that Kasuou gal was combative. That's why I purposely induced her to fight against you. —All in order to meet the Hanashiro Mari inside you."

Arisu widened her eyes.

"I've also been looking for her lately. When that Kurisaka Ayuyu gal used her ability to dig out the Morpho butterfly's memories, you became Hanashiro Mari."

"I… became Mari…?"

Arisu knew nothing of the sort.

She heard nothing about her becoming Mari from Daisuke.

Yet there was what happened in the garden earlier.

Although she had come there for the first time, she perfectly knew the inner structure of the conservatory—

"I thought that Hanashiro Mari would come out if you get cornered by some danger. But it wasn't that easy."

"…And who are you? Being Mari's cousin is obviously a lie."

"I'm a man with one-sided feelings for Hanashiro Mari. —I haven't ever met her, though."

Harukiyo said while smiling calmly. Arisu looked at him sitting at the window and then her gaze dropped toward the diary in her hands.

"So you're also the one who'd opened the window's lock. …Was this diary a fake that you used to draw me in? You've made it all up."

"No. This undoubtedly belonged to Hanashiro Mari. I heard that she had a diary, but I didn't know about its contents."

"Didn't you look inside? Even though you've supposedly come here before me?"

"I'm just someone unrelated. I just thought that her friend should look at it before me."

"You're honest in weird places."

"I didn't lie and it all went as it should. But—"

Harukiyo grinned. Arisu felt as if once again heat was surging from his entire body.

"I'll use any means necessary."

Arisu clenched her fist.

Daisuke hadn't told Arisu the truth. Kasuou purposely let her meet up with Harukiyo, and Harukiyo turned the tables on that in an attempt to fulfill his own objective.

And in the center of everything were Arisu and Mari.

Yet Arisu knew nothing at the time. In a place she didn't know about, their ulterior motives intersected. —Arisu didn't like that even one bit.

"If you had ever become a Mushitsuki, you definitely would've been a Minion Type. Those tend to be emotional and stupidly good-natured."

Seeing Arisu glare at him in anger, Harukiyo said this, amused. He looked around the room, wearing a cynical smile.

"Yet Fusion Types, although they normally seem harmless, are actually cruel and merciless. They never show other people their feelings. …And that's why associating with them requires a certain kind of resolve."

Hearing his words, Arisu recalled something.

"Even the man I'd heard this from knew that Mari bought a diary, but he also hadn't seen whether she'd written in it or not. She probably hated exposing her weakness. Even if it was for her own diary. —Or maybe she'd spent such boring days she didn't even bother writing them down?"

Mari had always been quiet and docile. But what if she had been the same person as "Hunter" Arisu had heard about?

—She was like Daisuke. He was usually quiet, but became cool-headed during his SEPB missions.

They were both Fusion Type Mushitsuki.

"…You also said it this noon. Who's that man you've talked to?"

She fixed her gaze on the boy and inquired.

"He's—"

It happened just as Harukiyo squinted and opened his mouth to speak. His cheek was grazed by black mist.

"So you were here! And with a bonus, it seems!"

It was Kasuou.

"You're that guy from this noon who said he was Hanashiro Mari's cousin. Seems like you had some way to evade the other monitors… but you're irrelevant right now! If you're not gone right now, this isn't a threat, I'll kill you!"

The bandage on his cheeks fell down, sliced by the black claws.

"Seems like I'd forgotten to speak about Special Types. All of them are twisted people like that."

On his smiling cheek was a tattoo with a flame pattern.

A tattooed face—this was the special feature of the man Daisuke had told her was the enemy. And there was also Kasuou's response. Meaning, he was an enemy of the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau.

"Just like us. Right, Kasuou?"

Arisu's line of sight was dyed in crimson.

As Harukiyo stretched his arm toward Kasuou, explosive flames spread. In an instant they moved outside, swallowing the entire garden.

"UOOH!"

The vortex of flames that seemed to pierce the night sky changed into a strangely shaped Mushi. Kasuou used her condensed mist to defend herself against the flaming pillar.

This guy's also a Mushitsuki…!

Arisu gulped. Harukiyo was a Mushitsuki too. Furthermore, even though Arisu herself had this much trouble with Kasuou he was toying with her.

Her hair fanned by the scorching wind, she froze in place.

Arisu had never seen such a powerful Mushitsuki before—

"Those flames and that tattoo on your cheek… You're the guy who was at Aoharima Island! That piece of shit who ran all around the place, crushed the Headquarters and then ran away again…!"

While desperately protecting herself, Kasuou grimaced.

"I'll fight this guy. You get outta here."

Turning back, Harukiyo wore a bold smile.

"This is now a contest. You or me—which of us is going to find out Hanashiro Mari first."

Finding Mari.

Arisu had indeed come all the way here for that. Fighting Mushitsuki and pursuing what Mari left behind, she reached this place.

She had no idea who the guy called Sehateno Harukiyo in front of her was. She also had no idea what the organization known as the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau was scheming.

But what did Mari think? What was her dream?

The one to have reached that answer first was none other than Arisu.

"Bring it on."

Seeing her assert this clearly, Harukiyo smiled in enjoyment.

Part 4

Inside a room lit by the morning sun, Daisuke crossed his arms in an imposing stance.

Sitting seiza-style on the tatami mat, Arisu gazed up at him.

"I am sorry for being a hopeless idiot, please forgive me, Daisuke-san."

Daisuke said in a subdued voice. His expression was full of unexpressed anger.

The satisfying voice of the souzu in the garden could be heard.

"…I am sorry for being a hopeless idiot, please forgive me, Daisuke-san."

Arisu repeated.

Daisuke continued sullenly.

"I will never go against your orders again, Daisuke-san. I will listen to you for as long as I live."

"…Hey, I think that's a bit too much, no matter how you look at it."

Daisuke ignored Arisu's protest. He gazed down at her in silence. Arisu pouted and reluctantly repeated.

"…I will never go against blah blah."

"Say it properly."

Daisuke finally snapped. He tightly grasped her head from above.

"Just after I warned you, you trespassed into Hanashiro Mari's house and even fought that girl monitoring you… what were you thinking! And you also came in contact with that tattooed bastard? This time I can excuse it because your monitor also had a problem, but there won't be a next time! —Still, even if I only told you about her being unranked, making you meet up on purpose, that stupid Kasuou…"

The latter half turned to disparaging Kasuou, but Daisuke soon turned back to Arisu.

"What have you talked about with that tattooed bastard? Spit it all out right here, now!"

"But you're also hiding things from me, Daisuke."

Arisu averted her eyes and mumbled.

Daisuke kept silent about her going on a rampage during the Kurisaka Ayuyu incident the other day. If what Harukiyo said was true, she couldn't accept it.

Yet Daisuke seemed more shaken than she thought. His cheeks flushed for some reason.

"Wha… I-idiot! I didn't really do anything with Ayuyu this time… t-there was nothing…?"

One of Arisu's eyebrows twitched.

Strength left Daisuke's hand holding her head. Arisu slowly stood up.

"I wasn't asking anything about that, but… I'd like to hear more about that. Also, why have you suddenly turned weaker?"

"S-shut up! Idiot! Idiot Arisu!"

"What on earth has happened! Spit it out, pervy Daisuke! …Were you licked? Was it licky licky again?"

As the two began grappling, the servant opening the sliding door said, "It is about time for you to go to sch…"—but seeing how they both acted, she closed it again without saying anything.

Notes

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