Mushi Uta:Volume 3rd Episode 09

Episode 09. The Flower Garden Aiming for Dreams

Sitting seiza-style atop the tatami floor, 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 Daisuke-san's absence."

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

They could hear the souzu resounding from the courtyard.

Arisu recited seriously.

"I will behave myself during Daisuke-san's absence."

Still standing erect, Daisuke continued.

"I will keep in mind I am always under observation, and will not take any selfish courses of action."

"I will keep in mind I am always under observation, 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."

"Didn't I already said so last night. Since the person in charge of the investigation of Hanashiro Mari have been replaced, the investigation team is also being reorganized. And so, I have to attend the meeting there. Like before, someone else is going to be monitoring you."

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

Arisu tried standing up. Yet, she was forced down from above by Daisuke.

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

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

"Why do you always act so selfishly for no reason! Every time you go on a rampage, you just wreak havoc everywhere! Reflect on yourself while I'm gone!"

"That isn't my fault! If you're such a professional, then you ought to cover up for me better, Daisuke!"

Arisu continued to try to stand up while Daisuke kept pushing her head down. The two teens in their uniforms continued their fruitless fight.

"How the heck am I supposed to cover up for someone fine with wrecking a whole block of the school! The monitor covering for me is quick to anger and won't hesitate to finish you off if you misbehave! She's the type who ends up getting into fights for trivial reasons, which is why she hasn't been promoted thus far!"

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

"I'm precisely telling you not to pick a fight!"

Just as Arisu was able to rise a bit by kneeling, a 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 to get licked by that Ayuyu girl anyway!"

"Y… you idiot! I had no choice because I was making a request that time…! It's not like I'm going there today to…!"

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

"Stop with that expression! Since it's related to that incident, she'll obviously be attending!"

"Licky lick, licky lick."

Seeing that neither of them had any intention of stopping, the servant 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 P.E. lesson. Arisu's class had a joint lesson with another class, playing softball.

Under the cloudless sky, Arisu was greeted by giggles as she returned to the bench.

"Tch, letting someone from the Softball club play as pitcher is plain cheating. Here, Takako."

The jersey-wearing Arisu took a seat, handing her bat to the next batter in line, Kujou Takako.

"That is because it is dangerous to have an amateur pitching."

Receiving the bat, Takako headed toward the batter's box while grinning. Yet, the ball was caught in the gloves three times shortly. "It really is foul play," lamented 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 exasperation.

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

Isn't Ena always unmotivated anyway—the reason Arisu did not say out her thought was not because she held back; an out-of-season morpho butterfly had landed atop her head.

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

It was a Mushi that would consume 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 on 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 a 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 just 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?"

"…I shall prevent her from ever being able to approach within a radius of two meters of Daisuke-san from now on."

Ena appeared to be flustered while Takako averted her gaze with cold eyes. The incident in relation to Kurisaka Ayuyu during the cultural festival of another school the other day ended up being explained as a gas explosion in the cooking practice room.

—I'll say this just in case, but a man with a tattoo on his 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 only replied as such and left.

"…What do you mean by tattoo."

She mumbled sullenly in a low voice so that Ena and Takako wouldn't hear.

Arisu was disturbed by the happenings that occured around her lately. Even with the incident with Ayuyu the other day, Arisu only remembered bits and pieces, but never received any explanations. Daisuke also remained tight-lipped.

Even though it had something to do with her dear friend Hanashiro Mari, Arisu was being kept in the dark.

With that suspicion, her temper only grew shorter recently.

She also didn't like the fact that Daisuke wouldn't tell her who the replacement monitor was. Being watched by someone out of her sight only made the stress worse.

"Your turn to bat, Ena."

As the game approached its final stages, the pitcher finally seem to tire. 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 if she tried… It is a pity she does not get serious often."

Just like Takako said, Ena didn't even made any real effort. Arisu placed her hand near her mouth and shouted toward Ena standing at the batter's box.

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

"Ena Homerun!!!"

—The white ball disappeared into the blue sky.

Silence befell the surroundings for an instant.

"…You should be taking other things in life more seriously as well…"

Arisu's mutterings overlapped with the chime indicating the end of the lesson, along with the music for the schoolwide announcement.

The latter was calling out for Arisu.

The one who had called her out to the staff room was her homeroom teacher.

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

"Mari's relative?"

As Arisu asked back, the teacher made a sullen face. Apparently, Mari had a cousin who lived overseas for a long time and he wanted to find out more about her.

The sickly Mari hadn't attended school even once since being admitted. As such, the school knew nothing about her. And so Arisu was called out being that she was 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 down the corridor.

Suddenly feeling a gaze on her, she looked ahead.

Her line of sight met with a set of blue eyes.

A group of girls were chatting in one corner of the corridor. The one who crossed gazes with Arisu was a blonde girl whom she had seen before.

She was a female student who had returned to Japan from overseas recently. With the beauty of someone with mixed European heritage, she had attracted the attention of the ever-curious Ena, who pulled Arisu all the way to her class to take a look at her.

However, the blonde girl immediately averted her gaze from Arisu. "Shirakashi-san? No, I have not ever spoken to her before," she chatted with her friends in a subtly strange Japanese.

"…"

Although that girl somehow caught her attention, she was urged on by the teacher and hastened her pace.

They arrived in front of the academic guidance room. The teacher simply left after leaving the words, "call me when you're done".

Arisu stood in front of the door.

Mari's cousin. —This would be Arisu's first time meeting with and speaking to a relative of hers. Even during her funeral and death anniversary, her family didn't seemed to pay her any heed.

She wondered what kind of person were they.

Being the relative of the mild-mannered and quiet Mari, perhap they may also be just like that. —While thinking so, Arisu opened the door.

"Yo."

The person within turned to face her.

Arisu stood there, speechless.

The boy inside the room seemed to be around two or three years older than her. His slender body and sharp features probably made him stand out even among others of his age. A large compress covered what was presumably a wound on his right cheek. He was dressed in a blazer with the embroidery from some high school.

"You're Ichinokuro Arisu? The one all buddy with Mari?"

"…"

"But I must say, the teachers in this school sure are useless! Each and every one of them made such a nasty face the moment I mentioned Mari. Even if they're unsure of how to treat a student with zero attendance despite all her family's donations, there's something known as an educator's responsibilities. Say, don't you agree?"

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

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

"Huh? Oh, this? Don't you see it on TV often? They usually hide wiretaps or hidden cameras and stuff like that in places like this. Not that I found any, though."

The guy—had for some reason climbed up the wall and was peeking into the openings of the air conditioner, and spoke as if it was normal.

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

"Mari's cousin is someone like this…? In fact, why does it seem like I've only been meeting oddballs lately…"

"I'm Sehateno Harukiyo."

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

"Sehateno…?"

Placing his hands in his pockets, the smiling youth suddenly exuded an imposing aura in constrast to his eccentric actions just now. Having said so with such confidence made him sound all the more convincing.

"Close the door."

Harukiyo said, grinning. His gaze turned piercing all of a sudden, shocking Arisu for an instant.

When she turned around, she coincidentally saw the previous blonde girl walking past the guidance room. Her blue eyes glanced at Arisu fleetingly.

Arisu closed the door.

The boy called Harukiyo immediately reverted to his previous cheerful smile. Jumping onto the 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 she was still baffled, Arisu began talking about the Mari she knew.

About how she was so sick that she couldn't even attend school once since being enrolled. And how she had closed off her heart at first, but gradually came to open up. To when she started to study, in hopes of the day when she would be able to attend lessons.

Arisu spoke of everything she knew, barring the fact that Mari was a Mushitsuki. She had only found out about that after Mari died anyway.

When she finished recounting, she could see no signs of Harukiyo being satisfied anyhow. He scratched his head and inquired Arisu as if he suddenly thought of something.

"What about her diary? Is it with you?"

"Diary?"

This was her first time hearing anything about Mari keeping 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 must have brought it back."

Harukiyo mumbled to himself. Arisu frowned.

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

"'Cause I heard it from the guy who was closest to her."

"The guy closest to her…?"

"She might've written about that in her diary too."

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

As he walked past the befuddled Arisu, he said so with a grin.

"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 glared straight at Sehateno Harukiyo who turned around. She thought of coming up with a retort, but no words came to her mind. Her grip on his shoulder tightened.

Indeed, there were far too many things Arisu didn't know about Mari. Mari never told her she was a Mushitsuki even at the very end.

"That's a nice look in ypur eyes. No wonder that bastard wanted to apologize."

Harukiyo shook off Arisu's hand, smiling. Arisu had no idea who was he referring to as that bastard.

"Don't misunderstand. You not knowing anything goes to show how important Mari thought of you. Since 'they' are inclined to be like that, don't mind it."

Saying so with a provocative smile, the boy opened the door and exited the guidance room.

"Mari's… diary."

Left behind, Arisu only bit down on her lips.

Part 2

Looking at the time display on her cellphone, she saw that it was already 9 P.M.

Exhaling white breaths, Arisu pressed the intercom button on the front gate.

"Hello, I am Ichinokuro Arisu, Mari's friend. I'm sorry for disturbing you at this hour, but—"

A morpho butterfly shining in silver fluttered above Arisu's head, giving her the perception that one of the stars in the night sky was moving around.

"My apologies, as the master of the house is not present currently, we ask that you visit another day."

The reply she received was exactly the same as that when came here on her way back from school.

"How can you even call someone who's never home the master of the house."

Arisu grumbled sullenly away from the intercom. This was her umpteenth visit to this house, but the response was always the same.

Hanashiro Mari's residence was a large Japanese-style mansion in the outskirts of Akamaki City, where paddy fields could be seen here and there. Surrounded by high fences, the mansion was even more immense than Arisu's.

The Hanashiro family was renowned as masters of flower arrangements. Mari mentioned before that they had many disciples from the political and business world, and that they'd gather in one of the dojo on the premises during days of practise.

"And such people who aren't even here wouldn't be able to stop me."

Whispering such words 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 fence, coming to a stop where she could see the edges and looked up.

Taking care not to make too much noise, Arisu leapt off the ground. She grabbed the top of the fence and pushed herself up in one go.

"…And there. Trespassing completed."

With a light jump, she got inside the premises. She could see a large building across a pond with hanging lights. It seemed to be a dojo. Beyond its low roof was a building that looked like the main residence and a structure surrounded by transparent walls.

If they wouldn't let her enter the house no matter what, she would just have to do so illicitly. Mari might get angry with her, but she would hate to remain like what that Sehateno Harukiyo guy had said.

—You know nothing.

Just as he said, Arisu would not be able to find out anything more about Mari if she did nothing.

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

"Where is Mari's room…"

After she came out from a thicket, the morpho butterfly following her overhead suddenly emitted a silver light.

"What? Did something happened?"

While the change in the morpho butterfly's behavior surprised her, a high-toned voice reached her ears.

"Confirming that the monitoring target has trespassed a private residence. Monitoring target is judged to be taking dangerous action."

A white figure hovered over the darkness-covered pond. —Thinking that it was a ghost made a chill run down Arisu's spine, but that wasn't it. It was a blonde person cladded in a pure white long coat.

"Kasuou will now proceed to apprehend the target."

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

"You're—"

She was the foreign-looking girl Arisu had locked gazes with this noon. Her face was concealed by goggles, but she could identify her from her characteristic high voice and blonde hair.

"I've always wanted to fight you brat ever since hearing you clashed head-on against Kakkou."

Kasuou spoke in a completely opposite 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 covering for Daisuke then. I was wondering if it might've been you, but… unlike Daisuke who strives to keep a low profile, seeing how you stood out so conspicuously made me thought I was mistaken."

Arisu groaned, drawing back.

"That doesn't matter anymore. Since this will probably my first and last time being part of the surveillance team after all."

Ripples propagated thoughout the water surface. The black mist started moving, slowly ferrying the girl toward Arisu.

"All your actions have already been reported to the rest of the monitoring squad. I don't know who that self-proclaimed cousin of Hanashiro Mari is, but I thought things might get interesting if I were to let you two meet. Sure enough, a nice excuse to fight you has appeared."

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

Arisu quickly considered.

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 black mist surrounding her morphed into countless assailing claws.

Arisu immediately leapt to the side, dodging the attack. Missing their target, the claws made of mist dug away at the fence along with part of the ground as if by an explosion.

"Just saying, but if we're talking only about battle strength then I'm no way inferior to Kakkou."

While Arisu was shocked speechless at the excessive violence, Kasuou smiled joyfully.

The claws swung down at her again from above.

"Kh…!"

Arisu unconsciously grabbed a tree branch lying nearby.

Silver light flooded from her hands.

The morpho butterfly had landed atop the branch and fused with it in a burst. A silver spear now lay in Arisu's hand.

"Wooh!"

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

An explosion followed which blew away the claws along with the ground. However—

"…I see."

Kasuou stood in the middle of a deep gash in the ground covered by the black mist, smiling. This was Arisu's first time seeing someone other than Daisuke stop her frontal assault, causing her to widened her eyes.

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

Smiling in enjoyment, Kasuou approached Arisu. Endless claws attacked her from every side.

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

Even the martial arts that had been pounded into Arisu for as long as she could remember seemed to be a cause for Kasuou's pleasure. The barrage of attacks cornered her all the way to the edge of the pond.

"…Uh!"

One of the claws grazed Arisu's coat. She turned around and ran along the side of the pond.

"Wait, are you gonna run away?"

Kasuou gave pursuit to Arisu who ran past the dojo.

Arisu's only goal was Mari's room.

It wasn't defeating Kasuou.

Having said that, Kasuou was much too strong to just let her go. Unlike any of the other Mushitsuki Arisu had met so far, none had such a purely combat-oriented ability as her.

Arisu was barely able to dodge the claws that dug holes in the ground one after another while running. Eventually, she came before a large building.

The conservatory—the greenhouse was so overly large, it could be called an indoor garden. One of its walls was made of a transparent plastic resin.

Thinking about it, she had heard about this from Mari before. 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 forth, and Arisu was pounded against the wall of the garden room.

"Ugh!"

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

Kasuou walked up to Arisu.

"Since you haven't fused with the Mushi yourself, you're completely overwhelmed by the power of the Mushi, huh? It certainly would've been dangerous had you been able to swing that around with the kind of strength Kakkou have."

Arisu propped up her body using the spear as a crutch. Looking around her, she found the emergency staircase installed along the wall. She dashed for the stairs.

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

Kasuou followed her in pursue.

Climbing up the stairs, Arisu came out to the rooftop. 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.

This was the first time she saw this indoor botanical garden.

And yet, she felt as though she knew of its inner structure as if it were the back of her hand—

"Please wait."

Arisu sharply asserted at Kasuou with both hands on the spear.

"Huh? No way am I gonna wait. It's about time someone's gonna to come to check out the din."

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

"I have no intentions of fighting with you. Aren't you Daisuke's comrade?"

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

"Then, at least choose the right place to do so."

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, she stabbed through it in one blow.

Silver scales scattered all over, splitting the transparent plastic supporting them.

"Kh…!"

"Why you…!"

The pair fell down along with shards of broken plastic.

"Auh!"

The impact of the fall knocked the wind out of Arisu's lungs for a second.

The smell of the earth and the much more chocking smell of plants filled her nose. Flowers of all sorts of colors had cushioned her fall.

As she frowned and stood up, she was greeted by the sight of a flower garden.

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

When Mari was talking about this garden room, she had worn a rare, sincere smile.

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

"Right, Mari…"

The spear throbbed again.

The lighting reflected off the falling plastic shards, producing a rain of glitter.

"I liked this place."

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

"—…!"

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

Arisu swung the spear.

"Wha-…!"

With that, the blooming flowers in their surroundings fluttered into the air.

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

Arisu immediately turned around and ran. A tall tree stood there just as she had known. It was tall enough for a petite girl like her to completely hide behind.

"…Shit! Where the hell are you!"

Leaving behind Kasuou still swearing, Arisu left the greenhouse.

Part 3

The window to Mari's room was not locked.

Arisu opened the window with a clatter and quietly stepped into the room.

"Whew…"

After shaking off Kasuou, Arisu headed straight for the main building. Peeking through the window of each room one by one, she finally found what seemed to be Mari's room.

She could hear the voices of the servants, 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 illumination was that coming from outside. Nonetheless, she was a bit happy to find that in contrast to the sickroom where the two had met countless of times, the 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 Mari had been alive. There was no longer the presence of people, but she could somehow feel the vestiges of someone having lived here.

This was where Mari had lived.

Feeling that for certain, Arisu felt her mood lightening.

Yet, this wasn't the time to be spacing out. She didn't know when someone would come, and so had to accomplish her goal before she was discovered.

With a slight sense of guilt, Arisu searched through the desk Mari had been using.

She soon found out a diary. A bookmark made of a small flower pressed onto Japanese paper, perhaps from the greenhouse, was lodged in it.

She hesitated over looking through a friend's diary like this. But, the silver morpho butterfly perched on her shoulder and gently brushed against her cheek with its shining wings.

It seemed to indicate as if Mari was allowing her to do so, and she 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 wave of heat hit her back.

"…!"

Turning around, she saw a youth sitting on the edge of the opened window. With his hands of top of his folded knees, he gazed intently at Arisu.

It was Sehateno Harukiyo.

Yet, the atmosphere around him was completely different from when she had met him at school this afternoon. He glared at Arisu with a serious expression.

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

Heat.

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

"—Who the hell are you?"

She couldn't understand the meaning of his question.

However, Harukiyo didn't seem to be joking. Arisu replied him clearly.

"Ichinokuro Arisu."

"…I see."

Instantly, the heat dominating the room dispersed.

His expression looked as if a shadow befell it for a second. An emotion akin to loneliness seemed to crossed his prideful visage just as it did in the afternoon.

Yet when he raised his head again, the grin has returned to his face.

"Seems like I failed this time. But unexpectedly, you also seem to be quite interesting, 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 only found out about this lately. When that Kurisaka Ayuyu gal used her ability to dig out the morpho butterfly's memories, you had turned into 'Hanashiro Mari'."

"I… became Mari…?"

Arisu knew nothing of the sort.

Daisuke never mentioned anything about such happening.

Yet there was what happened in the garden earlier.

Although this was supposed to be the first time she came here, she knew the inner structure of the conservatory perfectly—

"I thought that Hanashiro Mari would come out again if you were to fall into some dangerous situation. But, I guess things don't always go well."

"…And who are you exactly? That part about being Mari's cousin is a lie, isn't it."

"I'm a man with one-sided feelings for Hanashiro Mari. —Not that I've 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 unlocked the window. …Is this diary also a fake that you used to draw me in? Was it all made up by you."

"No. This undoubtedly belonged to Hanashiro Mari. I did hear that she had a diary, but it's not like I knew about its contents."

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

"I'm merely a stranger. I just thought that you as her best friend should have a look at it before I do."

"You sure are caught up in weird areas."

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

Harukiyo grinned. Arisu felt once again as if 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 had purposely let her meet up with Harukiyo, and he made use of that fact in an attempt to fulfill his own objective.

And in the center of everything were Arisu and Mari.

But, Arisu still knew nothing. Without her realising, each and everybody's ulterior motives intersected with one another. —And she did not 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 also hadn't seen her actually write anything in it. She probably hated exposing her weakness. Even if it just in her own diary. —Or could it be she'd spent such boring days she didn't even bother writing them down, perhap?"

Mari had always been quiet and docile. But, what if she was in fact the same person as the "Hunter" she's been hearing about recently?

—That'd be the same as Daisuke. He usually acted well-natured, but is exceedingly cold during SEPB missions.

They were both Fusion Type Mushitsuki.

"…You also mentioned it this afternoon. Who's this man from which you heard about Mari?"

She fixed her gaze on the boy and inquired.

"He's—"

It happened just as Harukiyo narrowed his eyes and was about to speak. A black mist grazed by his cheek.

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

It was Kasuou.

"You're that guy who said you were Hanashiro Mari's cousin. I don't know how you managed to evade the other monitors… but you're irrelevant right now! If you don't get lost right away, the next one won't miss and I'll really kill you!"

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

"Guess I've left out that part about Special Types, huh. They're all twisted fellas like that."

A tattoo with a flame pattern was revealed on the cheek of the smiling youth.

A tattoo on his face—that was the feature of the person Daisuke had said 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 field of vision was dyed in crimson.

Fire spewed forth explosively from the arm Harukiyo stretched towards Kasuou. In an instant, it spread outside, swallowing the entire garden.

"UOOH!"

The vortex of flames that seemed to pierce into the night sky changed into a strangely shaped Mushi. Kasuou compacted the mist around her body to defend herself within the flaming pillar.

This guy's also a Mushitsuki…!

Arisu gulped. Harukiyo was a Mushitsuki too. Furthermore, he was dominating Kasuou which Arisu herself had so much trouble against.

She froze in place, her hair fanned by the scorching wind.

Arisu had never seen such a powerful Mushitsuki before—

"Those flames, and that tattoo on your cheek… You're the one from Aoharima Island! That piece of shit who ran around all over the place, before crushing the Headquarters and escaping…!"

While desperately defending herself, Kasuou grimaced.

"I'll take care her. You faster 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 Hanashiro Mari first."

Finding Mari.

Arisu had indeed come all the way here for that. She had fought several Mushitsuki thus far, and reached this place in pursuit of what Mari left behind.

She had no idea who this 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 had Mari been thinking about? Just what was her dream?

There can be none other to reach that answer first apart from Arisu.

"Bring it on."

Seeing her declare as such clearly, Harukiyo smiled in enjoyment.

Part 4

Inside a room lit by the morning sun, Kusuriya Daisuke had his arms crossed while standing imposingly.

Looking up at him was Arisu sitting seiza-style on the tatami floor.

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

Daisuke said in a subdued voice, his expression ready to explode in anger anytime.

The satisfying sound of the souzu rang out from the garden.

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

Arisu repeated after him.

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, isn't that a bit too much no matter how you look at it."

Daisuke silenced her protest with a wordless stare. Arisu pouted and reluctantly repeated.

"…I will never go against blah blah."

"Say it properly."

Daisuke finally snapped. He grasped her head from above in an eagle-grip.

"Right after I warned you, you trespassed into the Hanashiro residence and not only that, you even fought against your monitor… what were you thinking! To add on further, you even came into contact with that tattooed bastard? This time I managed to excuse it as the monitor being incompetent, but there won't be a next time! —Still, despite being unranked and only telling her a few of his feature, who would've known that idiot Kasuou would purposely let you two meet…"

The latter half turned into disparaging Kasuou, but Daisuke's attention soon turned back to Arisu.

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

"Aren't you the one hiding things from me, Daisuke."

Arisu averted her eyes and mumbled.

Daisuke had kept silent about her going on a rampage during the incident Kurisaka Ayuyu 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 really didn't do anything with Ayuyu this time… t-there was nothing…?"

One of Arisu's eyebrows twitched.

His hand holding down her head weakened and Arisu slowly rised up.

"I wasn't asking anything about that, but… I'd love to hear all the details about that. Also, why are you cowering all of a sudden."

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

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

As the two began grappling, a servant opened the sliding door while saying, "It is about time for you to go to sch…"—but seeing the figure of the two, she closed it again without saying anything.

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