Mushi Uta:Volume 1st Episode 03

Episode 03. The Rest Day Crushing Dream

Ichinokuro Arisu starts her morning grumbling about pain.

The cold morning wind deeply permeated her fiercely beaten shoulders. The birds chirping brightly in the courtyard seemed as though they were laughing at the scowling Arisu.

“Doing this everyday, every morning. Surely, there’s no other middle schooler who thinks of dying other than me.”

The wooden floor was as cold as ice. Creaking sounds could be heard as she walked down the passage barefooted.

The Ichinokuro house had a side building separate from the main building, and even further away was the training hall. Arisu stayed in the main building with her parents and grandfather, while the servants and her instructor occupied the side building.

Dressed in a dougi and hakama used for training, Arisu walked down the passage leading to the main building with a sullen expression. She had just finished her early morning practice, an old custom in the Ichinokuro family.

“In this modern era, what’s the point of learning all these obsolete self-defence techniques—”

“Good morning, young lady.”

Crossing each other by the side building, an old lady wearing an apron greeted Arisu. She had served the Ichinokuro family over three generations, having taken care of all the needs of Arisu, her mother and grandmother.

“Good morning.”

Arisu walked past her with a sour look, but turned back again.

—It’s frustrating… but it’s good to have her around.

She reluctantly admitted, thinking back about all that’s happened to her recently.

“What about Daisuke? Has he woken up?”

“No, I think he is still sleeping.”

A vein popped up on Arisu’s forehead. She ignored the ‘because it is still early in the morning’ coming from behind her, and hastened her footsteps.

Practically rushing down the corridor, Arisu came to the main building. She walked past the antique corridor lined by paper sliding doors.

Currently, apart from Arisu’s family, there was also a special guest staying in the main building.

The circumstances that led to him living under the same roof was complicated, but more importantly—.

“It’s simply unforgivable for a lowly freeloader like him to wake up later than his master!”

Arisu stopped in front of a sliding door.

She opened the sliding door stealthily. In the middle of the dim room, a teenage boy was sleeping in a futon.

He was Kusuriya Daisuke.

Having met Arisu due to a certain incident, he was on a mission to observe her by enrolling in the same school as her.

“Looking at that blissful sleeping face pisses me off till no end.”

Entering the room sneakily, Arisu moved to a corner. Taking a deep breath, she estimated internally for the right timing.

“Taste some of my agony! Arisu dive—”

With a running start, she was just about to throw herself atop the futon when.

“…Fuyu-… hotaru…”

The boy’s mouth moved, his face twisting into one of anguish for an instant.

Arisu came to a stop.

“Fuyuhotaru…?”

Arisu hadn’t heard of that term before, nor seen such an expression of pain on his face before.

“To cause Daisuke to make such an expression… Fuyuhotaru, just what is…?”

With a look of contemplation, Arisu once again distanced herself from the futon.

“—Oh well, that’s that.”

She cleared her throat with a kohon.

“Once again, feel the divine punishment of your master! Arisu dive~!”

Building up her momentum with a short dash, Arisu threw herself at the futon.

That morning, a scream of pain could be heard coming from the main building.

Part 1

The lunch break at Horusu Seijou Academy Middle School was relatively long.

Students had nearly an hour to do whatever they want. Be it moving their bodies playing on the sports ground, using the computer room, reading in the library or chatting with friends in the classroom.

Ichinokuro Arisu, Saionji Ena and Kujou Takako all belonged to the ‘stay in classroom’ faction.

Arisu already had plenty of exercise during her morning practice, while Takako was a computer idiot and was generally bad with electronics. Meanwhile, Ena fared above average at all she tried, but she did not have a particular interest in any of them.

Kusuriya Daisuke had also remained in the classroom. He was engaged in a friendly conversation with several other boys.

“Before we even realised, Kusuriya-kun sure got friendly with the class. Aren’t you lonely now, Arisu?”

Sitting at the desk in front of her, Ena teased Arisu. That attitude of hers had not changed at all since from before.

—Just a few days ago, Ena had ben caught up in a certain incident.

Together with Arisu and Takako, they had visited a Ferris wheel that was a place of interest in the city. The incident had occurred there.

Mushi—.

Infesting young boys and girls, they were an existence that fed on their hopes and dreams in order to grow. In one sentence, that would be how those monsters, which have since permeated into society, could be described. The people who were infested by the Mushi were known as Mushitsuki, having since become synonymous as agents of fear. At the Ferris wheel, Ena had witnessed the Mushi with her own eyes.

That was not the first time that Arisu and Takako had saw a Mushi. In fact, it was during an incident caused by Takako’s childhood friend who was a Mushitsuki, that Arisu met Daisuke. Daisuke was actually an agent of the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau—a secret government organisation that employs Mushitsuki in order to capture other Mushitsuki, so as to maintain the government’s stance of “Mushi do not exist”.

Ena was sent home that night after fainting when she saw the Mushi. Even so, she had attended school as per usual the next day.

When Arisu had touched on that topic gingerly to her, she had replied, ‘I don’t ever want to be involved with that kind of monsters ever again’, putting an end to that matter.

The warning by SEPB not to disclose of the happenings came as expected, but it seems to be unneeded as the person herself did not ever want to have anything to do with the Mushi again. Still, Arisu needed to take care to not divulge her possession of the silver morpho butterfly, or that of Daisuke’s true identity.

“…”

Arisu bit on the straw of her milk packet, staring at Daisuke intently.

No matter how one looked at him, the boy known as Kusuriya Daisuke was just an ordinary student. He had an unremarkable appearance and a sociable personality, able to have a friendly chat with just about anyone.

However, Arisu knew that that was just a facade. Whenever he was dealing with Arisu, his attitude would be a complete flip from when he was at school, behaving as an agent of the SEPB, a Devil without a single shred of mercy.

“Arisu-san?”

Takako looked at Arisu strangely.

“He definitely didn’t open his heart!”

Arisu smashed the milk packet onto the desk with a don!

Ena and Takako looked at Arisu in puzzlement.

“The one who didn’t open his heart… you mean Daisuke-san?”

“Is that so? It seems to me that he’s behaving very naturally though.”

“The two of you just don’t understand! You have no idea what kind of lousy attitude he has at home, tyrannising around like a hooligan! Just this morning when I went to wake him up with a jumping dive, he wouldn’t stop complaining the entire time!”

“…That sounds more like you’re not sparing a thought for Kusuriya-kun’s feelings.”

“I feel bad for Daisuke-san…”

Arisu glared at the sighing Ena and Takako.

“The fact that he changes his attitude based on where and who he’s talking to proves that he has not opened his heart to anyone! I can’t let this go on. I must strip away his mask of deceit!”

“Where does all your enthusiasm even come from?”

“As the master, it is my responsibility to relieve the pain and suffering of my servants!”

Looking at Arisu who was clenching her fist, Takako craned her neck questioning, ‘Is that so?’, while Ena grinned happily, saying, ‘Well, this seems interesting, why not?’

Arisu and Daisuke had been living under the same roof for one month already.

However, rather than finding out more about him, all she had were more questions. What is the SEPB? How was he able to capture other Mushitsuki so cold-heartedly. On the contrary, why is he acting so cheerfully when facing the others.

There was a reason why Arisu was so interested in Daisuke.

That was because of her late friend, Hanashiro Mari.

Mari had been a Mushitsuki, but Arisu had not known.

After Mari passed away, her Mushi began appearing around by Arisu’s side. And thus, she realised that Mari was a Mushitsuki.

Arisu wanted to know what exactly were the Mushi. She thought that if she knew what the Mushi and Mushitsuki are, she would have some clues about what Mari had been thinking about.

And right now, the Mushitsuki closest to her was Kusuriya Daisuke.

“I hereby announce! The ‘Remodel Daisuke Project’!”

Ena and Takako gave an applause along with the sound of ‘ooh’s at Arisu’s declaration.

“So, what’s the plan?”

“Of course, that’s what we’re gonna brainstorm about right now! Now, feel free to spit out any ideas you have!”

“I should’ve guessed that we’d the ones providing the ideas, huh.”

The girls faced each other in deliberation.

During this time, Daisuke’s conversation with his classmates came into Arisu’s ears.

“Hey, Kusuriya-kun. You free tomorrow?”

The one calling out to the chatting Daisuke was a male student with a baby face known as Mihayashi. He asked Daisuke with an affable smile on his face.

“Eh? What’s up?”

“You know our sister school, the Emilia Women’s College, located at Higano City next door? We are having a gathering with some girls from there to deepen our acquaintance, but we lack some heads. If you are free, how about joining us?”

“From what you’re saying, that sounds like a mixer… Firstly, why me?”

“That’s because you seem like a nice guy. You don’t look like the type to ditch us all of a sudden last minute… and, I’d rather not invite those who can’t read social cues.”

Mihayashi said so with a transparent smile.

In other words, he was saying that he wants to be the highlight. Although his way of speaking was frank, the combination of his childish face and bright smile seemed to halve the brusqueness. Daisuke smiled bitterly.

“Although you came out of the way to invite me… I’m sorry to have to reject you as I’m bad at that kind of stuff.”

Arisu and the rest lifted their eyebrows.

The three girls all stood up at once with a ‘gatan!’, casting the spotlight of the class upon them.

“You will go!”

Arisu stuck her index finger out towards Daisuke. Ena and Takako whispered to each other behind, with, ‘Indeed, that would be interesting to see’, ‘But, that has nothing to do with opening his heart, doesn’t it… And I was also caught up in the momentum and stood up so suddenly…’.

“That’s right, you’re plain and boring and have nothing to show! But, put some guts to it and show that you can seize the limelight!”

Daisuke plainly revealed a look of annoyance.

“This has nothing to do with you, Ichinokuro-san. I have already said I do not want to—”

“Fuyuhotaru…”

Arisu said softly.

Daisuke’s reaction was much greater than expected. With his eyes wide open, he stared at Arisu.

“…!”

He walked towards Arisu briskly with a strict expression. Pulling her by her arm, he brought her to a corner of the classroom.

“Why does someone like you know that name?”

With his back facing the other students, he questioned Arisu sharply. In contrast to his previous smiling face, there was a look of intimidation in his eye.

But, Arisu was unperturbed.

“So that was actually the name of a person. Seeing as how you called Neiko-san with a codename as Nene previously, I thought that this might’ve been one as well.”

“Answer the question!”

“You were talking in your sleep this morning. Also, you had a look of sadness.”

Arisu grinned. Daisuke looked like he could not find his words, his face turning red.

“That reaction… Fuyuhotaru must have been referring to a girl, right?”

“!”

“…That is really the case?”

Seeing Daisuke visibly discomposed, Arisu was surprised.

I can make use of this—thought Arisu with a plain smirk.

“You will attend the mixer tomorrow, right?”

“No way. Why do I have to attend something like that? In the first place, my mission is to monitor you. Not to mention, the investigation into Hanashiro Mari hasn’t been progressing at all…”

“Heh, I see. So you’re going to go against my order. …Hey, Ena. Did you know, Daisuke already has a girl he likes. Her name is Fuyuhota—”

Daisuke quickly covered Arisu’s mouth.

“…Who likes who? Since when did I ever say anything like that.”

“Gyu’ill affend gomolows mider, yight?” (You will attend tomorrow’s mixer, right?)

Even with her mouth covered, Arisu repeated. Their classmates looked from a distance at the two who were glaring at each other.

Clicking his tongue, Daisuke released his hand from Arisu. His despondent sigh was a sign of his defeat.

“I just need to go, right. Just go…”

Arisu exchanged a thumbs-up with Mihayashi.

“Mihayashi-kun, include Daisuke too!”

“Oui, Mademoiselle!”

Daisuke sighed so deeply that it seemed as if his soul would come out with it.

“…Why do I have to attend a mixer…”

“Be grateful for your master’s kind consideration. Don’t act so savage all the time, take a break once in a while.”

“I just need to attend it right. In return—”

Daisuke returned to his seat and turned back to look at Arisu. His cold gaze causing Arisu to take a gulp.

“Don’t ever mention that name out again. Got it?”

“…I know already.”

Daisuke sat down on his seat, grumbling in a soft voice, ‘Why do I have to… if I do this… what about the mission…”

“If it’s about that, don’t worry.”

Arisu puffed up her chest and said.

Having a bad premonition, Daisuke slowly turn behind and asked.

“…What do you mean?”

“Of course, I’ll be attending too! This way, it’s convenient for you too, right?”

Arisu declared unreservedly.

This time, Daisuke clearly fell into despair.

Part 2

In Akamaki City, several establishments operated around the underground train station.

Especially at the city centre, various walkways crisscrossed each another to form a complex maze. All leading to the station, the walkways formed an underground street.

Arisu nodded to herself in a high-class boutique at the corner of the underground street.

“Well, this should be fine.”

The mirror in the fitting room reflected the figure of Arisu in a silk one-piece dress. Her usual ponytail was missing, replaced a bun above her ears.

Leaving the fitting room, Arisu could smell the fragrance of a luxury perfume. She walked across the store, passing by a shelf lined with custom-made perfumes.

“Here here, Kusuriya-kun. Try this next! It’ll definitely suit you! Ah, can you give him a swept back hairstyle?”

“Certainly.”

“Jeez, Ena-san! I think this look suits him much better.”

“Then, try that next! If’s it Kusuriya-kun, anything would look good on him!”

In the menswear corner, voices in high spirits could be heard.

Ena and Takako were standing in front of the fitting room with bright smiles and several outfits in hand. On the other side, the curtain opened to reveal Daisuke inside.

“Ahaha…”

To describe him as a carp on a chopping board would have been apt. With an empty smile on his face, he looked to have given up on any resistance. The clerk attending to him used a comb to style his hair as Ena and Takako requested.

“Come on, Daisuke-kun! Hurry up and change your clothes! You may need to wear that next time—oh, Arisu. That looks good on you!”

“You look very cute, Arisu-san!”

“That goes without saying!”

Arisu flashed the victory sign.

Sparing Arisu just one glance, the two girls immediately turned back to Daisuke.

“We’re almost out of time! Just bring all these outfits along! Get changed in three minutes!”

“I’m sure they will fit you, Daisuke-san.”

“…Ichinokuro-san…”

Daisuke implored Arisu with his eyes, causing to feel just a bit of pity for him.

“You can refuse a little, Daisuke…”

“Stop dragging your feet! Come on, hurry up!”

The current Daisuke who was being chased into the fitting room by Ena seems much more haggard compared to yesterday.

By the time his outfit was decided, it was already near evening.

Dressed in a black suit with necktie, he almost appeared to be a different person.

“Kyah! You look so dashing, Kusuriya-kun! The girls on the other side will definitely, definitely fall for you at first sight!”

“You look superb, Daisuke-san!”

“T-thank you.”

He replied with a bitter smile in a low voice, looking as if he was trying very hard to hold back something.

Daisuke made to stop Arisu from making the payment by card, saying, ‘I’ll pay for my own’. But, after seeing the price tag, he instantaneously went silent. They seemed to hear him muttering to himself, ‘Kuh, you could buy a car with that…’.

“Do you understand, Kusuriya-kun? Those young ladies from the Emilia Women’s College don’t have much worldly knowledge or anything. If you just whisper some sweet nothings to them, you can easily trick them. Want to learn some pick-up lines?”

“What do you mean trick them, Saionji-san…”

“Do you have a handkerchief? To not appear impolite, make sure to greet them crisply when you meet them for the first time. See now, your necktie is crooked.”

“I-I can do it myself, Kujou-san.”

Before leaving the store, Ena and Takako each gave their advice to Daisuke. Finally free from their attention, Daisuke and Arisu headed to the venue. Ena waved them off with a final, ‘Good luck!’, while Takako had a look of nervousness on her face.

The place where they were going to ‘deepen their acquaintance’ as put by their classmate seemed to be a restaurant in the underground street. It was within a walkable distance.

Arisu and Daisuke walked side by side down the main walkway of the underground street.

“Cut me some slack… Why do I have to do something as pointless as this anyway.”

Grousing with a sigh, Daisuke messed up his styled hair with his hands. Shaking his head left and right like a dog, his hairstyle returned to its original look.

“Ah, hey. To think it was set so nicely too.”

Arisu said as she elbowed him.

And then, she hit something solid underneath his clothes.

“…You’re bringing along something like that even now?”

Arisu glared Daisuke having deduced what it was.

A butterfly which appeared out of nowhere landed on Arisu’s shoulder.

Spreading its silver coloured wings, it was the morpho butterfly.

“Isn’t that obvious. Who knows when your… no, Hanashiro Mari’s Mushi would do something.”

When he pointed his sharp gaze at the morpho butterfly, it flew away.

Hanashiro Mari’s Mushi—.

The silver morpho butterfly started appearing around Arisu nearly one year ago. Around that time, Arisu’s close friend, Mari, had left the world.

Daisuke walked ahead of Arisu, preventing her from seeing his expression.

Kusuriya Daisuke was also a Mushitsuki, just as Mari was.

Despite living together in the same house, he never interacts with Arisu beyond what was necessary. She could not imagine what he was thinking at all.

—Could I ever hope to understand the feelings of a Mushitsuki… what do you think, Mari?

In her heart, Arisu spoke to her deceased close friend.

As if in response, the morpho butterfly resting on Arisu’s shoulder seemed to be hanging its head down.

Part 3

Arisu and Daisuke came to a stop in front of a restaurant.

“Looks like this is the place. Let’s hurry up and enter.”

Arisu took a step into the restaurant. However, Daisuke was still standing outside the restaurant in a daze.

“What’s the matter? Hurry up and enter.”

“…Since it’s a mixer, I thought that it would be at a karaoke or something but…”

The place Mihayashi had specified was a so-called high-class restaurant. The kind of restaurant that seemed to serve primarily French cuisine. In front of the restaurant, there was a wooden sign which read, ‘Customers in improper attires are not allowed in the restaurant.’

“What a fool. Didn’t I say that we need to be in formal wear. You should’ve expected this much.”

“If you ask me, who would’ve expected that middle schoolers would come to a restaurant as lavish as like this…”

The moment they entered the restaurant, they were approached by attendants dressed in tuxedo. After Arisu told them Mihayashi’s name, they were escorted inside.

The atmosphere of the restaurant exuded splendour.

Beyond the entrance, there was only a passageway that led into the restaurant. The brick laid walls were lighted dimly by lamps placed evenly along the wall. Each table was covered by a beautifully embroidered cloth and had a glass shade with a candle in it. Potted planted were placed throughout the restaurant and classical music played in the background, contributing to the elegant atmosphere. As a matter of fact, most of the other customers were adults.

“O-oi, is it really this restaurant? It sure doesn’t look like a place for kids.”

“Stop acting so flustered. Gosh, you’re so timid in some strange areas.”

The table which they were led to was the biggest and furthest one inside. There were already four teenage boys and girls seated around the table.

“Good evening, Ichinokuro-san, Kusuriya-kun.”

The one who stood up and greeted them was Mihayashi.

“This restaurant is managed by my father, isn’t it endearing? Right above our heads, the boutique in construction is already in a deal with us to advertise our restaurant.”

Mihayashi disclosed that as Arisu and Daisuke found their seats. The female students from Emilia Women’s College showered him with words of praise such as, ‘That’s amazing!’ and ‘Isn’t the great!’.

However, when he glimpsed a look at Daisuke, his cheeks spasmed for a second.

“Is that so. Well, I guess it’s pretty good compared to other restaurants.”

“…What’s the matter, Daisuke? You’re acting assertive all of a sudden.”

“For some reason, I just feel irritated. If I keep acting all nervous, it’ll just make me look like a loser.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Arisu and Daisuke whispered to each other in soft voices.

“Can we just wait for a bit longer. One of the girls have not yet returned.”

As she listened to Mihayashi, Arisu suddenly felt something wrapping around the table.

“…Vines?”

It was something that resembled the vines of a tree. The gnarly vines crept up the table leg and stretched across the dining table. Thinking it was part of the restaurant’s interior design, Arisu touched one of the vines before quickly retracting her hands.

“What’s the matter?”

Daisuke turned to look at Arisu. She just shook her head, saying, ‘O-oh. It’s nothing.’

It feels warm—.

A warmth could be felt from the vine, as if it was something alive. Feeling creeped out, Arisu looked away from the vine.

“Ah, looks like she have returned.”

Hearing what Mihayashi said, Arisu raised her head.

She saw the figure of a girl walking towards them.

“I-I’m sorry. It looks like everyone has arrived.”

She had a small figure and a short haircut which looked good on her. Her blue dress had a sense of translucency to it and it matched the blue ribbon on her bangs above her right eye.

“…”

Sneaking a peek at Daisuke, she saw that he was fixated on the girl.

—Looks like his target for today has been decided.

Arisu grinned to herself. It was no surprise that Daisuke was focused on her. Out of the three girls, she was the most eye-catching of them.

“I hope for us who belonged to sister schools, Horusu Seijou Academy and Emilia Women’s College, to get to know each other better than ever before! Cheers!”

Following Mihayashi’s voice, everyone raised their glass of orange juice and toasted.

The girl with the ribbon introduced herself as Hasegawa Inori.

Inori sat opposite to Arisu and Daisuke who had arrived last.

“E-erm…”

“Um…”

Both Inori and Daisuke spoke out at the same time. After which, an awkward silence unfolded as the two remained unspoken.

“What are you being so stiff for, Daisuke. Even though you seemed to be just fine messing around with Ena and Takako.”

“Wha-! You idiot, who’s messing around with who ! That was just Saionji-san…”

“There, there, no need to air your dirty laundry in public.”

Seeing Arisu and Daisuke squabbling, Inori chuckled.

“The two of you are very interesting. You look like you’re quite close.”

“Aah, please don’t mind me. I’m sort of like his guardian.”

“Who are you saying is my guardian…?”

“Come now, Daisuke. Why don’t you chat more with Hasegawa-san. It’s rude to ignore someone, you know.”

Following her words, Daisuke turned around to face Inori with a look of reluctance.

“Um, Hasegawa-san.”

“Yes?”

With some looks of reservation, Daisuke and Inori faced each other. Instead of starting off with a self-introduction, Daisuke had a look of worry on his face.

“Your complexion looks kind of bad. Even while walking here just now, you seemed to be wobbling. Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

Inori had a look of surprise on her face.

Now that he mentioned it, Arisu realised that Inori’s cheeks were pale. Perhaps she was trying to hide that fact, as one could not tell with just one look.

“If you are sick, you shouldn’t force yourself and should go home to rest.”

In contrast to the concerned Daisuke, Inori smiled.

Arisu whispered secretly to Daisuke.

“I see. So that’s your plan to get close to her by sending her home yourself. …You should know better than to strike so early, Daisuke. There’s an order to everything—”

“Shut up, you’re being annoying.”

As expected, Daisuke shot back softly.

“Thank you for the concern, but I am fine.”

Inori shook her head.

“I… want to visit many place, and meet many different kind of people. Those places I visited and the people I met would become my cherished memories, and if I could remain in the hearts of those people and places, wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

She said so with a refreshing smile.

“Ah… I guess that was quite weird, right. To suddenly spout off like that… even though we’re not even that close. …E-erm, I’m sorry saying something strange.”

Seeing Inori hang her head in embarrassment, Daisuke’s expression softened. It was the first time that Arisu saw him with such a kind smile.

“That’s definitely not the case.”

“Eh?”

“I think it would be great if that dream comes true.”

Faced with his kind smile, Inori’s cheeks reddened.

“T-thank you. You’re a kind person aren’t you, Kusuriya-kun.”

Saying so, Inori beamed a smile back.

Daisuke’s probably blushing now—thinking so, Arisu turned to look at him, but for some reason, he seemed to be biting his lips for an instant. The look of pain he had for a moment was immediately replaced with a friendly smile.

—An hour later.

“No matter how many times I have said it, you seriously lack any self-awareness. Not only do you not seem to understand the situation you are in, you also like to actively stick your neck into trouble…”

“Who are you to talk, you are the one lacking the awareness of being a servant. Just last night, you went to use the bath before I did. It’s unthinkable for a squatter like you to use the bath before your master.”

“That reminds me. The one who put the sign saying, ‘In use. Daisuke prohibited’, was you, wasn’t it. You look too highly on yourself, even a monkey wouldn’t want to peek at you bathing.”

“That’s what all the peekers would say. In the first place, the fact that you saw that sign means that you came in while I was in the bathroom—Wait a minute, idiot Daisuke. What are you doing, speaking only to me.”

Arisu hit Daisuke’s head with a pechin.

Before they realised, they had been talking in a world of their own.

It seems that the other two boys are also interested in Hasegawa Inori as well. Especially Mihayashi who have been proactively engaged in a conversation with her, occupying all her attention. In the end, the only proper exchange Daisuke had with Inori was the short chat in the beginning.

When Daisuke looked towards Inori, she also looked back. Despite looking like she wanted to speak to Daisuke, Mihayashi immediately called out to her.

“Heh, so Hasegawa-san belongs to a lineage of doctors. Then, you too?”

“U-um, no.”

Looking away from Daisuke, she shook her head.

“Because… there is something else I want to do.”

“Something else you want to do?”

“I want to visit many different places and meet many different people… that’s why in the future—”

Her words suddenly cut off. All expression seemed to be disappear from her face as well.

With the surrounding gaze gathered onto her in puzzlement, she came to with a start.

“S-sorry… Erm, I was talking about my future, right. I want to travel overseas. Something like a diplomat…”

Inori has a smile on her face, but it looked transient. Her breathing seemed to quicken, revealing her exhaustion.

“You can’t do that as a doctor?”

“Do you know the foreign museum in the neighbouring town?”

Signs of life returned to Inori’s face. Even Arisu, who was of the same gender, thought that the joyful smile on Inori’s face looked cute.

“When I was young, my parents brought me there and I saw many things for the first time. All the photographs and flowers I saw, including the diversity of people working there… that left a deep impression in me—I began to think that one day, I want to see it for myself. That was the place where I founded my dream… that’s why, someday I want to go back there.”

“Aah, the foreign museum at Higano City. I had also been there before when I was young.”

Mihayashi smiled to express interest.

“It is truly a pity that that place is now gone.”

Inori widened her eyes.

“…Eh…?”

Arisu had been to the foreign museum before as well. However, this was the first time that she had heard that it was gone.

“I see, I guess there are still many who have not known. Due to the operations being unprofitable, the sponsors withdrew. As my father’s company was involved as well, this came into my ear. I think they have already begun the demolition work at part of the site. I heard that a shopping mall will occupy that area a few years down the road instead.

“…”

The eyes of the now silent Inori was wavering.

Arisu nudged Daisuke’s shoulder.

“You go join into the conversation too.”

“…That has nothing to do with me. In the first place, I have already mentioned that I have no interest in this sort of meeting.”

Daisuke averted his face.

“Once again, you’re just gonna withdraw into your shell.”

“What do you mean shell.”

“Can’t you just be honest for a bit. Hasegawa-san’s matter interest you, right?”

“Nope, not at all.”

Daisuke glared at Arisu indifferently.

“She resembled someone I knew… that’s why I was a bit surprised, that’s all.”

“Who is it, the one whom you say she resembled?”

“That has nothing to do with you.”

Being refused so bluntly, Arisu puckered her lips.

“Well, I had already expected that things would end up like that. That’s why I came; you would be lonely all by yourself, right, so you can go ahead and just talk to me.”

To the grinning Arisu, Daisuke turned his face with a ‘hmph’. Seeing his childish gesture brought a smile to Arisu’s face.

Arisu tried to raise her glass to signal to the waiter to refill her orange juice.

“…!”

Startled, she pulled back her hands.

Arisu could not move her glass. The bottom of the glass has been entwined by a wooden vine.

Looking more closely, there were red swellings on the vine. It looked to be flower buds, but the mass of petals could be seen to be wriggling.

“W-what is this…?”

At the same time as Arisu shouted.

“Hasegawa-san?”

At Mihayashi’s shout, Arisu and Daisuke turned to look at Inori.

Inori seemed to have dropped her glass. Her body leaned limply on the chair and her eyes were hollow.

“What is that…!”

“Kyaah!”

Screams resounded in the restaurant.

The scene reflect in her eyes caused Arisu to be at a loss for words.

Countless vines had emerged from the ground, occupying the inside of the restaurant. Besides grabbing the customers, the vines also reached up for the chandelier in the ceiling.

The flower buds on the vines all opened at once, releasing a pink powder.

“Arisu…!”

Daisuke responded quickly. Grabbing Arisu, he leapt off the table, avoiding being ensnared by the vines.

The people who breathed in the powder fainted one by one.

The thing which they thought was a flower, was in fact not a flower. Inside of the flower buds that were open, rows of teeth could be seen. It looked to be the mouthpieces of some kind of creature.

This is—.

Arisu widened her eyes.

“It can’t be… a Mushi?”

Daisuke moved to an area with not much vines and let go of Arisu.

“Tch. Who and where the hell is the person doing something like this…”

Speaking in a low voice that seemed to belong to someone else, Daisuke reached under his suit. He unsheathed two black objects from the hidden holder underneath.

He put on a huge goggle with practiced movement. Lights flickered in the lens, which covered everything above his nose. On his right hand, he held a large automatic handgun.

“I’m going to clear up this mess before it affects the outside. You just stay back.”

The Kusuriya Daisuke in front of her had transformed into the self which belonged as an agent of the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau. Even the features that the goggle could not hide have disappeared, and his voice turned cold and devoid of emotions.

The powder spewing out from the flower-resembling mouthpiece seemed to have a sleep-inducing effect. Starting from Mihayashi, all the other customers apart from Arisu and Daisuke began to lose consciousness.

“To defeat such a big Mushi, we must strike its main body… Or perhaps looking for its host would be—”

He was cut off halfway.

The vines began to expand explosively before Arisu’s eyes.

In no time, the vines had reached the chandelier on the ceiling, several times that of Arisu’s height. The vines penetrated the brick exterior and into the asphalt wall behind, smashing many beautiful paintings lining the wall.

“Wha-…!”

Arisu and Daisuke’s voice overlapped.

Along with the explosive growth of the vine, the flowers on the stem grew to gigantic proportions. The buds bloomed one by one, spraying out more spore-like powder.

In the devastated interior of the restaurant, the classical music riddles with noise approached its climax.

Amidst the cracking music, a silver morpho butterfly landed on Arisu’s shoulder.

“Mari…?”

The morpho butterfly flew towards a tall standing light. Its body morphed, extending silver feelers that fused with the standing light.

The morpho butterfly which had turned into a shining spear dispersed silver scales in all directions. The powder approaching Arisu and Daisuke was blown away by the scales.

“What is happening…! Isn’t it just a Mushi?”

Holding the spear in her hand, Arisu turned towards Daisuke. He only stared at the scene, biting his lips.

“There’s no control over the movement of this Mushi… it’s maturing!”

Maturation—.

Arisu recalled what Daisuke had told her before.

Mushitsuki can make use of their Mushi’s power in exchange for their dream. If their Mushi is killed, their dream disappears as well, turning them into Fallen which has no thoughts or emotions. Even if their Mushi is not killed, they would die one day when their dream is completely consumed by their Mushi.

Mushi which have completely devoured the dream of their host are no longer bounded to them, maturing into a state that can take independent actions.

That was what maturation refers to.

Matured Mushi are incomparably powerful compared to before.

“That is… maturation?”

“The Mushi has already freed itself from its host. Nothing can stop it from growing bigger and rampaging any more.”

Arisu could feel the ground vibrating under her feet. Who knows if the vines had already penetrated the foundation of the underground street.

“Wait a minute… that means the owner of the Mushi is already…!”

Arisu came to a realisation. Daisuke clicked his tongue.

“The host should be quite weak by now. At this rate, not only will the host die… the whole underground street may collapse as well. Before that happens, we need to find the main body of the Mushi and kill it.”

“Kill the Mushi… then wouldn’t the host turn into a Fallen!”

“…”

Daisuke did not reply to Arisu’s words. He just looked around the restaurant mechanically, the light from the goggles glowing in the darkened interior.

“Stay where you are. If you used the power of Hanashiro Mari’s Mushi here, it would blow away the rest of the customers as well.”

Hearing that, Arisu bit her lips. The power of the spear was absolutely unparalleled. As Daisuke mentioned, using it in an enclosed area like this would cause casualties.

“If it completely matures, even I would not be able to handle it. It would be too late by then. …Tch, seems like there’s no other members nearby. Looks like reinforcement will not arrive in time.”

Daisuke said with one hand on the goggle. The goggles probably came with communication functions as well.

“It can’t be too late…”

Turning back, Arisu widened her eyes.

—I would love to visit many different places and meet many different people.

Arisu recalled that reserved yet charming smile.

“It can’t be…”

Arisu’s face twisted. Seeing her expression, Daisuke followed her line of sight.

“…!”

What he saw made him speechless as well.

At the table where Arisu and the rest were dining at earlier, a gigantic flower had blossomed there. The pale pink petals quivered, being in the process of spreading open even now.

As if under the watchful gaze of the gigantic flower, a girl wrapped in vines was being held up in the air.

The girl—Hasegawa Inori, looked down at Arisu and Daisuke with hollow eyes.

Part 4

Above the head of Inori whose limbs were bound by vines, a gigantic flower slowly unravelled itself.

“Hasegawa… -san…?”

A Daisuke muttered in shock.

A deafening roar resounded through the underground street—no, throughout Akamaki City.

The colour of the flower deepened from pink to crimson as it opened.

What the petals protected was neither stamens nor pistils. It was rows of hundreds of sharp fangs.

Carnivorous flower—.

That phrase found itself in Arisu’s mind.

Arisu recalled an insect exhibition she had visited when she was young, there she saw a crab spider that mimicked itself as a flower in order to attract its prey. But right now, what was right in front of her was an irregularly shaped monster which undoubtedly consumed people instead.

“…!”

The sound of destruction drowned out the classical music, inundating Arisu and the rest like a wave.

When the rumbling subsided, the world was silent.

In front of the overwhelmed and immobilised Arisu and Daisuke, Inori’s lips moved slightly.

“…I was…”

Probably near the brink of unconsciousness, Inori’s hands and legs did not even move an inch. Her faintly opened eyes were gradually becoming vacant.

“…Even when the Mushi consumed my dreams… even though it was scary… and painful… even so, I persisted…”

Inori’s pupil moved. In her sights was Daisuke.

“I wanted to go to so many more places… to become an adult… and then visit that foreign museum again… I want to return there… and thank them for giving me a dream…”

The girl smiled. It was a fleeting smile, one filled with sorrow.

“But… it seems… my dream is… disappearing…”

The vines start to swell again. The people who had lost consciousness on the floor were being buried by the vines as they watched on.

“Hasegawa-san…!”

Arisu shouted reflexively.

Inori became expressionless, her eyelids closing.

What would happen when she fully closed her eyes—just thinking about it caused Arisu to feel dread.

The moment when their dream is completely consumed by their Mushi, the Mushitsuki dies—.

“…!”

I won’t allow something like that…!

Arisu exerted strength into her hands holding the spear.

Mari—.

Arisu recalled the face of her close friend who had departed this world one year ago.

She had no idea what the Mushi are. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what were the Mushitsuki thinking as well.

However, she would not allow anything to deprive Hasegawa Inori of her life.

Even if Arisu had to kill Inori’s Mushi and turn her into a Fallen, she would not let her life be extinguished right in front of herself.

I will not let the Mushi kill anyone else…!

She would no longer remain unknowing and turn a blind eye like what had happened to Mari. With these feelings, Arisu jumped towards the flower.

However—.

“Kuh…!”

She thought otherwise of swinging the spear. If she had used its power here, the rest of the customers would be caught up in the destruction as well.

“Daisuke!”

Arisu turned towards the boy.

Daisuke was an agent specialising in capturing Mushitsuki. Till now, he had turned countless Mushitsuki to Fallen.

Arisu had no doubts that Daisuke would have been poised with his handgun cool-headedly even in this situation.

“…Daisuke?”

But, contrary to her expectations, Daisuke was just staring at Inori’s figure in a daze. His hand holding the handgun was trembling slightly.

“What are you doing, Daisuke…! Get a hold of yourself!”

Arisu’s reprimand did not seem to enter Daisuke’s ears. Large beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he stared at Inori.

“How can you… still smile…! In front of my eyes…!”

Daisuke yelled, gnashing his teeth.

“Don’t give up! Don’t you dare lose such an important dream in a place like this!”

Raising his voice, Daisuke screamed.

Seeing the boy baring his emotions for the first time, Arisu was stunned.

“Daisuke…?”

“You’re just like her, like Fuyuhotaru!”

Even with his face hidden by the goggle, one could tell that he was grimacing.

“The one who was turned into a Fallen by my own hands… someone with the same dream as me…!”

Then, Inori’s lids shut completely and the gigantic flower gave a huge roar, shaking the whole underground street.

“…!”

The Inori who has run out of strength.

The wildly blooming Mushi.

Daisuke who looked like he was suffering, hesitating.

The figures of the suffering Mushitsuki were reflected in Arisu’s eye.

—This is, for me?—.

Arisu’s field of vision was dyed completely white.

“!”

Without even the time to shake, Arisu’s consciousness fell into disorder.

—Yes. This is a present from me to Sensei—.

Arisu—no, Mari was in a white hospital room.

A young man was standing next to the bed which Mari was lying down on.

The young man had a silver necklace in his hand. Hanging in the centre of the necklace was a golden ring.

Indeed, Mari had given him a present.

She was inside of her memory.

Inside of a dream that was about to disappear.

—This is another proof that I had lived…

Hearing Mari’s words, the young man had a look of pain.

However, Mari smiled brightly.

—The other proof, I leave with Arisu… If she knew what my dream was, surely she would hate me for it.

“…!”

Arisu awoke from her brief daydream.

—That mysterious scene again…?

The memories which Arisu saw did not belonged to her. The one sleeping on the bed in the hospital room was not Arisu. Arisu also did not recognise the young man.

The Mushi mimicking a flower roared again.

Looking at the girl who had closed her eyes, Arisu came to.

“Since it has come to this, I’ll do it…!”

Arisu recalled Inori’s smile when she was talking about her dream.

Inori must live on.

She must live on and realise her dream.

Arisu would not let Inori’s wish disappear just like that right in front of her. Even if Inori have to turn into a Fallen and lose her emotions, Arisu would not let her life and dream come to an end like what had happened to Mari.

She did not know how much she had to suppress the power of the spear, but she just had to do it.

Right when she turned towards Inori.

“Kyaah!”

“Uwaa!”

Innumerable vines shot out from the blooming flower above Inori’s head. The vines slammed the stationary Arisu and Daisuke against the wall.

The vines creeping along the wall restrained the two of them.

“Ah…!”

Arisu had let go of the spear from the impact of the slam. Several tens, hundreds of vines surrounded Arisu and Daisuke as if to bury them.

Inori closed her eyes—.

“…Kusuriya Daisuke!”

Arisu shouted.

Buried under the vines, Arisu looked into the eyes of the boy who was similar bounded.

“Where did your usual irritatingly composed self went to! Shouldn’t you be the one who knows most what should be done now?”

“…!”

“I don’t know what happened in the past, but stop hesitating over it all the time! If it’s something that you did, take responsibility for it till the very end!”

“Someone like you… who isn’t even a Mushitsuki, what would you know!”

Unable to tolerate any further, Daisuke bellowed.

“For the sake of my dream, I could only deprive other Mushitsuki of their dreams… Someone like me—”

“If that’s the case, then why did you live up till now!”

“!”

Daisuke was struck speechless at that sentence.

“Even so, you wanted to fulfil your dreams, right! You wanted to continue to live on, right! Didn’t you turn that Fuyuhotaru into a Fallen knowing that she felt the same as you! Then don’t hesitate! As the one to live, you have that much of an obligation!”

A vine slithered up Arisu’s neck. With a warm and woody sensation, it began to tighten around her neck.

“Open… your eyes…! Stupid… Daisuke…!”

Her field of vision was being covered by the vines.

Just before her view was completely obscured.

She saw a green checkered beetle land by Daisuke’s side.

“I know that even without you telling me… No matter what happens, I will continue to live on…”

She could hear the sound of something being torn off.

“Indeed, I promised her… with Fuyuhotaru…!”

The vines restraining Arisu was torn off in one motion.

“…!”

Freed from the vines, Arisu fell to the floor.

Lifting her head, she saw Daisuke pointing the handgun straight ahead. The checkered beetle fused with the handgun extended green feelers which stretched up his neck till his face, forming a green pattern. His other hand was grasping a large amount of vines ripped away by force.

The gigantic flower screamed again.

Vines began to assault Daisuke.

A thick branch slammed into the slender boy with a dull sound. His torn suit was flung into the air and the broken goggles was chucked to his back.

Even so, his hand holding the handgun pointed directly at the flower did not budge. Looking straight at Inori, the green pattern on his face shone.

Daisuke pulled the trigger.

A cannon-like blast that did not sound like it belonged to a handgun roared.

Above Inori’s head, huge flower petals scattered everywhere.

The light in Inori’s eyes faded.

The scattering flower emitted a final dying scream, before the vines covering the interior of the restaurant disappeared, dropping Inori’s body down.

Daisuke kicked off the ground, reaching Inori’s side in a flash and catching her.

“Hasegawa-san…”

Daisuke muttered.

A still silence descended upon the ravaged restaurant.

Amidst the collapsed customers, Daisuke embraced the girl motionlessly. Although no longer covered by the goggles, Arisu could not see his expression with his back facing her.

Inori laid limp in his arms, her head dropping to the side lifelessly.

There were no emotions all at in her eyes. Through her slightly open eyelid, only cloudy eyes looked back at Daisuke. Without will nor emotions, this was the outcome of a Mushitsuki who had turned into a Fallen.

The Fallen Inori would be taken away by the SEPB and accommodated in their isolation facility.

—Daisuke…

Arisu bit back her words.

He mentioned that Inori resembled the girl named Fuyuhotaru.

The boy known as Kusuriya Daisuke seemed to have a deep connection to the girl whom he only knew by her codename. Arisu thought that that must have been unimaginably painful.

And she had even teased him with that back in the classroom.

“…”

It happened as she bit her lips.

Arisu felt a slight tremor under her.

A pak pak noise came from the ceiling and a powder-like substance poured down. Looking skywards, Arisu was flabbergasted.

The ceiling was collapsing due to the sudden disappearence of the vine. In the ceiling riddled with holes, large cracks appeared.

“Daisuke!”

Quickly turning to the boy, she found that he was still embracing Inori unresponsively.

Arisu grabbed the spear that was stabbed into the ground.

It wasn’t just Daisuke. All the rest of the customers were unconscious. If the ceiling collapsed, there would be more than just one or two casualties.

“Before it collapses… I’ve got to do this!”

Silver light spilled from the spear.

Three of the four wings combined to form a single blade. The spear started releasing an even greater amount of scales.

—The spear’s power… is increasing?

Just by holding it, Arisu could feel a surge of power coming from the spear. The outpouring of power felt even greater than any in the past, more so than when defeating Harimoto Jun’s Mushi or when facing Daisuke at the Ferris wheel.

An especially big tremor shook the restaurant, causing the crack in the ceiling to widen.

When the chandelier broke off the ceiling with a gakun, Arisu stopped thinking.

Putting her entire strength into swinging the spear, the restaurant was bathed in silver light.

Part 5

As per her usual routine, Arisu started her morning grouching about pain.

However, the contents was slightly different today.

“Muu, as expected, I’m not feeling up to it…”

Arisu groaned while walking down the corridor in her dougi.

She was completely out of it during this morning’s practice. Even when she was scolded by her instructor, she did not register the angry voice at all. She couldn’t even feel the cold air or floor as she walked.

“To apologise or not, that’s the problem…”

There was a plaster on Arisu’s cheek. It was not a result of her morning practice. Last night, when she struck the ceiling with the spear, a piece of rubble had scraped her.

The destructive capability of the spear was immense, utterly breaching through the ceiling up till the ground above. She heard from Mihayashi later that even the boutique under construction above was wholly blown away such that no vestiges remained. Fortunately, casualties were kept to a minimum because it was a rest day when nobody was working.

The series of event was covered up as a gas explosion accident in the restaurant. The customers had lost consciousness due to ‘carbon monoxide poisoning’ from which they recovered promptly, and it was reported that most of the casualties only suffered slight injury despite the scale of the explosion.

“Even though I did not know about it then… but, how could the master lower her head in front of her servant…”

Arisu was heading towards Daisuke’s room.

All of a sudden, she stopped.

In the Ichinokuro main building, there was a well maintained garden in the courtyard. Arisu saw a figure by the side of the small pond.

It was Daisuke. He was staring at the pond absentmindedly in his sleepwear.

This was the first time that he woken up so early by himself. From his fatigued-looking side profile, he may not have slept a single wink last night.

“Even though he’s just Daisuke, I guess he also worries like a grownup sometimes…”

After wavering for a while, Arisu decided to step into the garden.

Daisuke seemed to have heard Arisu’s footstep. He gave a fleeting look towards her before turning back wordlessly.

“What are you doing over here?”

“…”

“Why don’t you say something, stupid Daisuke.”

Even with Arisu’s light banter, he did not respond.

A sombre silence descended between the two.

“…It’s my bad, okay.”

Arisu muttered softly.

Daisuke turned around with a surprised look.

“For teasing you about the girl called Fuyuhotaru.”

Daisuke looked with disbelief at Arisu who was averting her gaze.

“I’m sorry.”

She apologised, this time looking into his eyes and saying it.

“…”

Meeting her gaze for a while, Daisuke then turned his head the other way in embarrassment.

Seeing his awkward gestures, Arisu revealed a smile.

That’s right—.

A slight warmth spread in Arisu’s heart.

It’s alright even if she could only understand them a little by a litte. About the Mushitsuki, about Mari… and about Daisuke.

But—.

“If you were going to apologise, then don’t involve me with this kind of stupid matters in the first place.”

Daisuke said.

Arisu’s smile froze over in a second.

“Don’t involve me with some stupid matters like wearing a suit or attending mixers. You and I are just the observed and the observer, we’re merely strangers. I can’t stand taking part in your child’s play.”

Arisu was dumbfounded as Daisuke continued.

“Wha-…”

She could feel her face burning up.

Daisuke looked away in amazement, as if he was looking at an idiot.

“Stupid Arisu.”

That was the last straw. Blood rushed up Arisu’s head.

“W-w-what is with that attitude! Just what kind of life have you had that caused you to be so twisted? And to think that that was the first time I had apologised so sincerely too!”

“T-the first time you have apologised sincerely? That’s my question, what kind of pampered life had you lived up till now!”

“That’s enough, I understand now, it seems like you do not understand human words. Fine then, I’ll make sure your body understands it! Take this, Arisu dropkick~!”

“Hey, wai-…! This is not a game of charades—”

The boy’s voice shattered the peacefulness of the early morning before disappearing into the sound of water splashing.

Notes

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