Mushi Uta:Volume 5th Episode 19

Episode 19. The Deliveryman Carrying Dreams

Hello.

I am called Kuuga.

Is that a strange name? It is obviously not my real name, but the thing called a codename. Since I can suspend myself in the sky I am "Kuuga"—how I suspend in the sky is still a secret, though.

I am just a normal middle school senior living in modern Japan, but I am involved in a somewhat unique environment.

For example, the situation I have found myself in now.

"I actually want to deliver it by my own hands. But since I have a stupid amount of work, I don't even have time to go to high school despite having just started enrolling. Otherwise, I wouldn't have asked it from a half-wit like you."

I am being lectured.

I was in an excessively spacious room about as large as the gymnasium of the school I go to. However, since it was packed full with machinery, the space one could move freely in was only about a classroom's worth. Umm, that is a frequency counter, that's a transformer… oh, and that's a laser generator and a gas burner.

"As they say, you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs. And it's your specialty."

Wielding a hammer that produced a clang sound was Sakura, one year my senior. Her real name is Yoshihara Munechika. What a weird name for a girl. But the jumper suited her.

The hammer she held stopped on some shining object. It resembled a jewel beetle, but actually wasn't a real insect.

Mushi—

These are mysterious creatures that appeared at some point in this country to eat the dreams and hopes of boys and girls. The country apparently frantically hides these Mushi, but they couldn't put a stop to people talking. The existence of Mushi, and those who were possessed by them—Mushitsuki—currently receive a lot of fear from the populace.

"Do you understand? Just this once, drop your bad habits. Deliver this directly to the addressee without taking any detours. Go straight ahead without looking right or left."

Perhaps I should explain a bit more.

How was the country hiding Mushi? They had created an organization to capture and conceal them. This government agency, called the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau, trained the captured Mushitsuki and used them to capture other Mushitsuki… a pretty horrible way of doing things.

"Sorry."

The voice of another woman came from the darkness further in.

"Sorry. It's because my metal engraving took so long. Sorry."

The comrades who all did their work from the shadows spoke one after another.

"…Shuddup. Hey, if you can laze around here then bring me those materials already… you don't want to because today is hot? So selfish. That makes you really cute, sister of mine."

"You are not going to say it is the fault of my perfect energy optimization, right? You really are obsessed with patterns, you bastard."

"Stop fighting. It's not eco-friendly. If you're asking why, then try taking the calories exhausted by two minutes of arguing and convert them to heat energy—"

Even if I couldn't see their forms, I could hear their unique ways of talking. They couldn't cooperate at all, but they were all good people. …Probably.

Sakura glared at the people in the shadows.

"Silence. All you bastards weren't even asked for help, you just joined up because it seemed amusing. And this despite none of you doing any shared work until then."

Turning around, this time she glared at me.

"Hey, are you listening? —Ugh. If you don't wipe that airheaded grin off your face right this instant, I'll stab your forehead with my driver."

I was currently in one the SEPB's branches, the West Central branch base. I will omit where it was and what building it was, but it was a workshop in one of those.

Right—I cannot hide the fact that I am also a member of the SEPB.

Meaning, I'm a Mushitsuki.

Oh, please do not be frightened. I'm such a weak Mushitsuki that I couldn't even win fights against my classmates.

"What do you say, Kuuga?"

I stayed in a prostrating position on the cold floor. My legs were already numb, and I voiced what was bothering me for a while now.

"I'm your senpai, Chika-chan, so why—"

Are you so bossy?

—I didn't even have time to finish my sentence. A Phillips head screwdriver came flying at me, passing a few centimeters before my eyes.

"Gyaaah!"

Taking the kick scooter and wooden board left nearby, I ran away. Since this person always resorts to violence, I'm weak against her!

"Don't give weird pet names to someone older! —You're forgetting your precious package, you idiot!"

My favorite crossbody bag hit the back of my head as I was trying to run away. Oh right, this time the important thing was inside.

"And you still dare to call yourself a deliveryman!?"

While being hit by Chika-chan's abuse, I escaped nimbly like a rabbit—when compared to that misanthropic tool maker, I really was like a rabbit—and exited the workshop.

I am the member of the West Central Branch Special Unit, Kuuga.

The West Central Branch mostly works on equipment development, and delivering that it my job. I specialize in small to medium-size objects, and in close to middle-range delivery.

Honestly speaking, just delivering is a simple job. So much that I feel sorry for all the monitors, combatants and researchers that go through many difficulties.

This time the recipient is Ichinokuro Arisu-san.

I started yet another easy job today.

…Now then, I will write the rest of the report once I finish the job. 

Part 1

Kuuga's main job was delivering the special items used by SEPB members.

He'd heard that he was the only member who specialized in deliveries. Most of the time when they needed to transport objects, they would prepare a specially-made vehicle, and it was normal to have a few combatants accompany it.

It was stranger for there to be members whose specialty was something as easy as delivering objects. Because all other missions, whatever they were, always had the members put their lives on the line.

Even so having a special profession such as his was probably because he was part of the West Central Branch that specialized in technological development. There were times when one needed emergency goods and temporary provisions.

Simply delivering luggage was an easy mission.

Even this time the mission was simply delivering a package to a girl in Akamaki City.

Using his powers as a Mushitsuki, Kuuga would fly to his destination in no time—

"I'm so done with Chika-chan. Why is she so violent? They say the West Central Branch is full of weirdoes because all of them are like that."

—Well, not really.

"It's unexpected that someone with a common sense like me is also part of it."

The new railroad line going directly through Akamaki City and into the western part of the capital, Akamaki Express. Abbreviated AX, it was headed to Akamaki City smoothly.

Kuuga's body was spread over the door of the interior of AX. His cheeks rubbed against the glass window.

"Haa… whatever, as long as I get to ride my beloved AX it's fine. Normally for my missions I can only ride normal trains because of being frugal. But now I get to ride this train which is fast and safe, noiseless, can go through curves and take sharp turns… also, it looks really cute. Ehe, ehehehehe."

His own figure reflected on the glass window.

Although he wore short pants and a short-sleeved shirt and looked like he was cold, he didn't feel like it was too early to wear that. A digital watch and an analog watch were each attached by a pin to two ties with mismatching colors. The woolen hat and crossbody bag were his trademarks.

The wooden board he carried on his back crossed with the bag was perhaps also characteristic of him. In one arm he held the folded electrical kick scooter used exclusively by the West Central Branch.

The other passengers regarded Kuuga, who was rubbing his face on the door with a bewitched expression, with suspicious eyes.

"AX is so wonderful. Both form and function are just the best, and it's so pretty, ehehe."

Outside the window there was an insect flying alongside the train.

About as large as a thumb, this insect frantically flapped its transparent, thin wings. With its head comparatively larger than its body, it resembled the species called giant resin bees that specialized in carrying pollen.

If it was a mere bee, it wouldn't have been able to catch up with the train. It also wouldn't have a glowing abdomen that left afterimages of light as it zigzagged in air.

It was Kuuga's Mushi.

"We're finally together, AX."

He was a delivery expert, but that only counted to situations when he used his ability.

But it wasn't inconvenient.

Modern society was a treasure trove of vehicles.

Train, bus, taxi… there were plenty of options to choose from. Everyone used the safe and efficient convenient tools of civilization called vehicles.

But since Munechika paid out of her own pocket, he could use AX this time. Since "reducing costs" was the slogan of the West Central Branch, he barely had the chance to come in contact with cutting-edge vehicles.

He just skipped school, rode on his beloved AX, and was going to deliver a package to Akamaki City.

Was it fine to have such an easy mission?

Was it fine for him to be so happy?

“I… umm… fell in love with in first sight.”

Still spread on the door, Kuuga blushed.

Vehicles were humanity's greatest invention.

Fast, safe, and yet beautiful.

Air, land and sea vehicles all had different shapes, but each had their own charm, making Kuuga shower them with love.

Among these the AX was fast and safe, could turn and was soundless, not to mention its streamlined shape; it truly was the best of—

"Sooo gross!"

After ascending to dreamland, Kuuga was brought back to reality by a voice from behind.

Turning around, he saw a girl about his age looking at him. Perhaps hating being tanned by the sun, she wore a wide-brimmed hat and a black long skirt. Her first impression was like a rich lady on a summer retreat.

"What… me?"

When Kuuga pointed at himself, the girl nodded many times. She had a black teardrop-shaped sticker under one eye.

"I just can't believe this guy. You're unbelievably gross."

"Me? Gross?"

West Central Branch was headed by a misanthropic tool maker, a perverted brother and sister duo resource handlers, a sharp-tongued integrated circuit craftsman, a metal engraver with guilt complex, a shut-in programmer, a miser that destroys everything they touch and so on; a den of weirdoes.

But he alone was different.

His comrades were definitely gross, but he was just a normal boy.

"Ahaha, what do you mean by that? Is it some kinda popular joke?"

Seeing Kuuga laugh innocently, for some reason the girl wore a sorrowful face.

"So you have no self-awareness, huh…"

It happened as Kuuga tilted his head in front of the mumbling girl.

AX suddenly decelerated and an announcement played through the car. "Due to unforeseen issues with the control cables near Akamaki City, we cannot proceed. We deeply apologize, but we have to make a stop at the next station until the repairs are made." Following this they also announced that it was unknown how long these repairs would take.

"Nooo!"

Kuuga shouted without thinking.

"I've only been on it for five minutes!"

His desperate appeal in vain, the AX stopped in the station.

The inter-car announcement played again and the doors opened. The passengers stirred.

After a few dozen minutes passed without any new notification, most of the passengers had left. They probably switched to the temporary bus services provided.

However, Kuuga stubbornly refused to move from his seat. He ignored the announcement recommending him to move to a bus.

"I will definitely ride AX. I've waited so long for this, so I can't bear this."

He groaned, puffing his cheeks.

"So you're not only gross but immature as well."

He heard a girl's voice from the long seat opposite of him.

It was the rich lady with a black teardrop under her eye. Just like the few remaining passengers, she sat down inside the car.

The disgruntled Kuuga averted his eyes.

"Ah, now you're sulking."

"…"

"It's no use no matter how long you wait. Aren't you going to move soon?"

"Huh?"

—How do you know it's no use?

Just as Kuuga was about to ask this, he heard a small "ah!"

The mom and child who were the last passengers except for him and the girl were just about to give up and get off the train. The baseball cap worn by the boy was blown away by a gale.

The baseball cap had fallen to the platform, but was then lifted by the wind toward the surface.

Since the platform had a flood-control channel nearby, it was flowing with drainage in the depth of several meters.

Kuuga took swift action.

Opening his folded kick scooter, he turned the throttle the moment he rode it.

Leaving scorch marks on the train car's floor, Kuuga's scooter flew onto the platform. Dodging the surprised passengers, he accelerated straight ahead.

"…!"

Wind blew again from behind him.

The baseball cap flew even higher.

Kuuga leapt on the fences along with the kick scooter and then jumped off.

"Got it!"

His extended hand grabbed the baseball cap.

"—Uh."

But there was no ground beneath his feet.

At this trajectory, he would fly over the platform and fall headlong into the deep flood-control channel.

"Fngh!"

Holding the hat in his mouth, he grabbed the electric light pole installed on the edge of the platform. He used centrifugal force to rotate once and wedged the wheels on the pole.

There was a screech as the wheels started shaving the metallic surface of the pole. He used the pole he was grabbing with one hand to kill his momentum.

Doing this, he finally managed to land on the station platform. The skin on his hand peeled off because of the friction with the pole, but the baseball cap was safe.

Before he would be found by the staff, he hurriedly returned to the mother and child. Seeing him kick up the scooter and fold it in no time, they were both stunned.

"Here you go. It might have some teeth marks, though."

As Kuuga squatted down and handed him the baseball cap, the boy's face sparkled. "Awesome!" he went excited with a look of admiration.

The mother wore a troubled smile.

"T-thank you very much."

"Are you getting off of AX?"

"Huh? Oh, we wanted to reach Akamaki City as soon as possible, but now that it's gotten like this we have to get to our destination."

I see, replied Kuuga.

"Because people are waiting for us."

The woman saying this sounded somewhat happy. There was probably someone important waiting for them.

Leaving a slight bow, the mother and child went to the ticket gates. The boy also bowed with a mumbled "thanks!"

Carrying the kick scooter, Kuuga saw them off. When they were no longer visible, he looked at the great AX standing near him.

"Nngh…"

Closing his eyes, he let a low groan. His desire to ride his beloved AX tortured him.

The boy's smile from just now was reborn in his mind.

—Thanks!

The desire smoldering inside Kuuga was washed away.

"Refuelling over!"

Opening both eyes, he poked the train with a finger.

"Sorry, AX! There's something I have to do! Until the next time we meet, farewell!"

Asserting this, he ran toward the ticket gates.

"…Gross."

As he resolved not to look back, he felt like he could hear a girl's cold voice. 

Part 2

Inside the bus with a gentle melody playing in the background, Kuuga wore a bewitched smile.

"Ehe."

Kuuga boarded a vehicle with a different design than the normal road bus.

Its tinplate toy-like appearance went without saying, but even its interior was intricate. There were lines of golden pillars and the seats were fitted with red cushions.

"Ehehe. You're so cute."

He rubbed his cheeks on the walls painted in vivid primary colors.

It was an ornamental bus that only ran in limited regions. Since it looked north-European, it was mostly used for tourists.

However, perhaps both its production and use in tourism was on the decline. Only Kuuga was on that bus.

"I wanted to ride you for a long time now. No other buses currently use the same type of engine. Ehehe."

As Kuuga spent his time in utter bliss, his surroundings suddenly turned dark.

They apparently entered the shadow of a large building.

"You're still doing it… so gross."

The moment after the bus overtook the shadow, he heard a girl's voice form nearby.

Kuuga opened his eyes wide and turned around.

"…Huh? W-what?"

A girl was sitting directly behind him.

She was a girl clad in a wide-brimmed black hat and a black long skirt. The eyes of this rich lady in a summer retreat, one of them adorned by a teardrop mark, stared at Kuuga.

"What? Huh?"

There shouldn't have been any passenger other than Kuuga. Turning toward the driver's seat, he saw through the back mirror that the driver was surprised as well. But perhaps thinking he’d simply missed her, he simply tilted his head and resumed driving.

"Hah… you really aren't cautious at all. That's so annoying, I want to chop off already."

Sighing, the girl raised a hand. Raising her index finger and middle finger, she made a gesture of cutting something just like when playing rock paper scissors.

"Huh? Chop off? What, exactly?"

"You still don't understand the situation. I'm your enemy. Your enemy."

"Enemy… what? You're an enemy?"

He unconsciously held down the bag on his back. The word "enemy" brought to mind a certain rumor spreading within the SEPB.

"N-no way, are you the comrade of that guy called Harukiyo…?!"

Previously, there was the Mushitsuki called Robber who'd stolen SEPB equipment. He was apparently a comrade of a Mushitsuki called Harukiyo that was against the SEPB, but they thought there were would be no further victims since Sakura had defeated him.

However, even after this the West Central Branch was being monitored by someone.

Apparently, deliverymen other than Kuuga were also attacked during missions.

Because of that, there were rumors that perhaps another one of Harukiyo's comrades appeared…

"Boo."

The rich lady raised another hand, moving both hands like scissors.

"It's something like that—there was someone like Harukiyo's comrade, but I chopped off their Mushi and made them a Fallen. They were annoying and stood in my way."

Kuuga rose from his seat. But even if he tried escaping, there was no way to escape out of a running bus.

Seeing Kuuga was frozen, the girl spoke plainly.

"I won't chop you off just yet."

"…Huh?"

"Honestly, I can chop you off whenever I'd like. —Or rather…"

The movements of her scissor hands stopped at once. The girl averted her melancholic face.

"I just don't feel motivated. It's that thing called a slump? I'm just not in the mood."

"I-is that so?"

Anyhow, she apparently wasn't going to attack him straight away.

But conversely, he hesitated on what to do. —Although he'd received training on how to run away from enemies, he'd received no instructions on what to do when meeting with an enemy in a slump. He obviously couldn't encourage her.

"…So, were you on the AX because you targeted me?"

There was still time until the bus would reach its stop. Since he couldn't escape, Kuuga attempted investigating his enemy.

Cutting the air with her fingers, the girl raised a brow.

"Obviously. Otherwise I wouldn't want to be anywhere near someone as gross as you."

I'm not gross, he was about to reply but shut his mouth. Rather than going along with her joke, he needed to prioritize investigating her identity.

"Are you a Mushitsuki?"

He should probably think of her appearing inside a bus that was running suddenly as some sort of ability.

"Yuuko."

Pointing at herself, the rich lady added, "that's my name" coldly.

Perhaps it wasn't her real name, because she said it like it was some foreign word.

"So, Yuuko… were you the one who attacked our branch members' deliveries recently?"

"Yup."

She readily confessed it.

"Why would you do that?"

"I was just ordered to do so by Aki. We have to protect against the second coming of Hunter or something, I don't really get it. We were monitoring a delivery sent to Akamaki City. Your package doesn't seem like it though."

"Aki?"

He knew that name. He was an elite from Central Headquarters who once released a Mushitsuki captured by the SEPB and betrayed them. Aki would definitely know the location of the West Central Branch and information about its members.

"You're also heading to Akamaki City. You're carrying something, right?"

Kuuga's expression stiffened.

The SEPB had many members and many strong Mushitsuki. Their influence spread to all directions, but they shouldn't have been fighting against any other organization.

However, recently the Mushitsuki called Harukiyo was meddling in their business.

If what Yuuko said was true, then perhaps another opposing organization had been born.

Mushitsuki were gathering forces and fighting each other—he had this nasty premonition.

Without answering about his package, he asked a question of his own.

"U-umm, err… what is Aki trying to do by betraying the SEPB?"

"Apparently he's gathering a lot of Mushitsuki. He said he was going to oppose the SEPB and stuff. Only Aki is really fired up, though, so I feel like there's a huge difference in enthusiasm with those around him."

"Gathering Mushitsuki…"

"Although apparently that woman could do even by herself even without his help. I feel like if Aki picked up a fight with the SEPB he'd be into it too deep to be able to retreat. And that woman doesn't seem to realize what Aki's been doing yet. …Oh well, it doesn't really matter."

Saying this with a flippant tone, Yuuko lowered her scissor hands. She watched the scenery flowing outside the window with bored eyes.

"That woman?"

"A girl called Rina. …Ah, the more I recall about this, the less motivation I have."

"…?"

"I'm pretty strong and stuff, so I acted freely until now. But her power's just unfair. I fought her with the intent to kill, but even so she easily defeated me, then asked me 'will you not come with me?' with a full smile and invited me along… no one could reject that. What's up with me not even hating the one that defeated me? Seeing her face, I lost all reason, pride and all that."

For just an instant, Yuuko wore an expression that was half-crying, half-smiling.

"I have the feeling I understand the true fear of those who have unfair strength. If someone like that was at your side, you'd always depend on them. Because we'd feel saved by them. Even so if they pushed you away, you'd feel rebellious, but… Rina accepts everyone. When she saved me, it also felt like—something inside my heart was chopped off."

Yuuko again raised her hands and brought her index and middle fingers together.

"I lost both the need to get stronger and my motivation to do anything. I mean, Rina now protects me and all that. No matter what I do, I was already saved so nothing'll change. …Therefore, I will probably always just halfheartedly do what I'm told and keep living like that from now on."

Kuuga couldn't really understand her, but she apparently had her own worries.

"I think I can't keep going like this, but I can't get away. I mean, it's comfortable and easy. But, like I thought… I feel like everything's pointless."

Apparently even the enemies of the SEPB had their own complex circumstances.

And so he voiced the suggestion that came to mind.

"Then why don't you come to the SEPB?"

Yuuko's expression froze.

"…Hah?"

"If you feel like everything's pointless for you right now, what if you come to the SEPB? It's a relatively harsh place, but since everyone's desperate it's a fun place. Also…"

If Yuuko became his ally there would be no need for her to attack him anymore. It would be a bargain for someone like him who couldn't fight. —It was that simple of a thought.

"At the very least there's no salvation there."

He said while grinning.

He only knew the West Central Branch, but other branches were probably the same.

The government agency called the SEPB were not allies of justice or anything like that. There was no guarantee of safety, so everyone was desperately protecting themselves. The sense of camaraderie was also thin, so plenty of them used other people to protect themselves.

Therefore, everyone was starving.

Everyone dreamed of a future wherein they would be saved.

Being unable to trust one another despite being fellow Mushitsuki felt a bit lonely—even so, everyone was able to feel they were the same in the truest sense.

"I don't really get it."

Yuuko raised an eyebrow and glared at Kuuga.

"Why would I purposely go to where I can't be saved?"

"Yeah, you're right. Ehehe."

"Also, I understand by looking at you."

"Huh?"

"You're weak, incompetent and they send you for all these useless missions, right? Then nothing would change about the fact that I would just do what I'm told."

"A gofer, huh. Perhaps I am one."

Kuuga nodded.

The appearance of the enemy called Yuuko cranked up the difficulty level, but the fact this was an easy mission to deliver a package was unchanged. If the enemy appeared, he just needed to run away to his destination.

"This kind of job is the same whether you do it or not. All the really strong ones are social outcasts anyway. Weaklings like us make no difference."

Kuuga finally understood what caused Yuuko's apathy.

Whether they were there or not, nothing would change—

Something that everyone worried about at some point.

While they had this doubt they could still work hard. And it could even give birth to antagonism or competitiveness.

But Yuuko had met the overwhelming presence of Rina, and that doubt changed to "conviction".

Meeting up with Rina saved the girl—while at the same time taking something important from her.

"…"

Kuuga himself was someone removed from the center stage. In most likelihood no one would focus on him from here on.

So he finally understood Yuuko's worries.

However—

"Now, let's switch!"

The bus stopped.

"If I don't deliver this within the day, Chika-chan'll kill me. Since I couldn't use the AX, I gotta hurry!"

Kuuga rose from his seat energetically.

Yuuko raised the brim of her hat.

"…You're not listening to me."

"I did listen. Both of us suffer because we're outcasts."

Grinning, he walked to the bus door with a light gait. Midway there, he turned once more toward the seat, and he saw Yuuko still staring at him and didn't seem about to get up.

Had she given up on chasing after him? It would really help him if she did.

"Bye-bye."

Waving his hand, he got off the bus.

The bus had stopped in front of a certain shopping mall on the suburbs. He could see a flower garden inside the premises.

Riding on his electrical kick scooter, Kuuga took the road along the premises.

If he couldn't use the path AX took, then after taking a bus, it would take him less time if he took another route to the neighboring town.

"Is this package really that important?"

He softly touched the bag on his back.

If what Yuuko said was true, an object that a new opposing Mushitsuki organization viewed as dangerous was being sent to Akamaki City.

He didn't know if that was what he was carrying right now.

However, Sakura had never asked him to deliver something she'd created. Whether or not she'd foreseen this situation, he knew this wasn't a normal delivery.

"Hmm, oh well. Anyway, if I complete this mission, I'll get that."

Dropping his smile, Kuuga faced forward.

No matter what package he carried, it wasn't any different of what he always did.

Delivering a package to a place.

That was all.

"If it all goes well, I'll reach Akamaki City by evening or night."

He stopped his kick scooter at a red light.

A red car passed in front of him. It was a mail truck.

Looking at where the truck came from, he saw a red mail box in the residential area.

As he did, an older woman came in front of the mail box in a light jog, gripping a normal envelope in her hand.

"…"

Kuuga raised his tie, looking at the digital clock on it. After thinking for a while, he averted his eyes from the green light.

He used his kick scooter to approach the woman standing in front of the mail box.

"Should I deliver that to the postman?"

While grinning, he called out to her.

Being suddenly spoken to, the older woman seemed terribly surprised. She looked at Kuuga suspiciously.

"I know the post's normal route, is all. If I take a shortcut, I'd be able to catch up to them."

Even after the mail truck left, the woman didn't drop the envelope into the mail box. She would probably not make it in time if it wasn't the postman just now.

"Who are you?"

The woman raised a brow quizzically.

"I'm a deliveryman."

He wore an innocent grin.

"Oh, but when I say I'll deliver it, you have to believe in me."

He couldn't deliver any package unless he was entrusted with it. Without the trust of the requester, the job known as a delivery would never come to fruition.

The older woman was confused. Since a complete stranger was trying to get her to give one of her belongings, this was the obvious response.

"I'll definitely deliver it."

Kuuga kept his smile.

A smile was something mysterious.

Even with someone you met for the first time, it would infect them with the same expression just like magic—

"…Then, please do so."

What the older woman wore was a slightly troubled kind of smile. She took the envelope she grasped so importantly and handed it to Kuuga.

"I will take care of it."

Carefully receiving the envelope, he put it in the mini cross-body bag he carried on his back. When he opened his bag, a pole-shaped package became visible for a second.

Putting the bag on his back again, Kuuga started the scooter. He headed directly further inside the residential area on the opposite direction the mail truck had left.

"I need to hurry a little or I won't make it."

Mumbling this, he picked up speed.

Passing by a gathering of elementary schoolers that looked like they were on their way back home, he overtook a bicycle, then swerved so low he almost fell in order to take a sharp turn.

"Whoa."

He was barely able to jump over a cat leaping out of a bush.

"A shortcut!"

Avoiding the road, he leapt onto an empty lot. While parting the grass left to grow wildly, he used an abandoned car as a ramp to leap over the barbed fence.

This was the West Central Branch's beloved kick scooter model, but none were able to use it as expertly as Kuuga. It was his one and only advantage, even acknowledged by others.

"Ouch…"

Since he cut through the grass, his face and arm were covered in scratches. Yet the face grimacing in pain soon changed to a smile.

He found his target mail box.

"Here!"

Parking in front of the bright red mail box, a rectangular vehicle showed from the other side of the road. It was the mail truck.

Kuuga brought the envelope from his bag, opened the lid and put it inside.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Standing next to the mail box, he welcomed the postman. The deliveryman getting off the truck returned the grinning boy's smile. He retrieved the envelope that Kuuga had just put inside.

As Kuuga saw off the leaving postman, his surroundings turned darker for an instant.

A large truck passing near the mail truck blocked the sun.

"Gross."

A cold voice echoed from directly next to him.

"Uwaaah!"

A girl was crouching on the other side of the mail box Kuuga was standing next to. She had both arms on her knees and held her chin, looking bored.

"W-when have you…!"

"I don't really get what you're all smiles about."

It was Yuuko. Although he'd supposedly left the girl back on the tourist bus, she once again showed up.

He stepped back without thinking and looked at the watch on his tie with a surprise. Carrying the folded kick scooter in hand, he quickly walked away from the mail box.

"I probably used too much of the battery. I have to get on the bus."

Stealthily checking his back, Yuuko was actually following him.

"D-don't come after me."

"I'll do whatever I want to. —Say, what were you so happy about? Weren't you just running an errand now? She could have sent it tomorrow. Nothing would have changed."

"Something would have changed. That person wanted to see her grandson as soon as possible."

"…Hah?"

"That letter was meant for her son and his wife and their kid living in the capital. She wanted to say she was living here happily and ask them if they would come back in the summer. —You two are probably busy, but won't you come for a visit? Since this summer will be hot you can come to cool off for a bit…"

Yuuko went silent.

"The same goes for the mother and son I helped at the station. The father has moved to work in Akamaki City. This weekend, all three were going to an amusement park. Have you seen that his cap was signed? It's a memento the parents and child bought on their baseball trip."

"No way, you… do you have an ability that allows you to read object's memories?"

"Nope. It's just my own delusions."

He returned a smile. Yuuko stopped in place, astonished.

"Even if I had that ability, looking inside an object is violation of privacy. This is a deliveryman's common sense, you know?"

"So that's why you're only imagining it? …Way too gross."

Mumbling this, Yuuko again began walking after Kuuga.

"It's only half my imagination. The other half is true."

"The heck?"

"Every delivery is packed with feelings for the addressee. My job is delivering these emotions without letting a single drop spill."

It was just that simple kind of job.

Taking a package full of feelings and delivering it to the destination was natural. Kuuga was nothing more than a deliveryman doing that natural thing.

They approached the nearest bus stop.

The shadows of the pair walking through between the houses were lengthened to the end of the road.

"Chika-chan—my comrade apparently underwent lessons by a combatant teacher."

While feeling the heat of the setting sun on his back, Kuuga touched the surface of his bag softly.

"She was told that everyone's dreams are connected somewhere."

"…!"

For some reason.

He felt that she gulped from behind him.

"…Rina also said similar things."

He heard her mumbling. Kuuga wore a smile.

"Delivering something is the same. A job that connects people's feeling… that's what I'm doing."

It all started—when he'd picked up a fallen object.

At the time he was just a normal boy without any codename like Kuuga. He had no talent and he looked at the ground with cold eyes.

He believed he was just like Yuuko was now. Although he had a faint sense of uneasiness about his situation, he didn't know any way to change himself.

"I believe that—the world is connected by invisible lines. There are lines connected to the past, as well as lined connected to the possibilities of the future. And there's someone at the end of every line."

One day, he had picked up a love letter.

He knew it was a love letter because the seal was heart-shaped.

He didn't know what to do with it. He was curious about its contents, but didn't have the courage to open it up. At the time he was cowardly and half-hearted.

"And what makes up those lines… is people's varied feelings. I believe that some of them are the things called dreams."

"The heck. I can't see any of that."

"Yup, you probably can't see that. But a certain type of person can."

After hesitating on what to do with the love letter, Kuuga—had sought out the sender.

And he’d found them.

The person he’d found was actually a female classmate he had interest in, so it hurt him a bit.

More importantly, though, he’d been surprised at the girl suddenly crying upon receiving her unopened love letter back. Shedding many tears, she’d thanked Kuuga.

And when a few days later he’d seen that girl walking side by side with another boy—Kuuga had become a Mushitsuki.

"People like me—deliverymen."

Turning around, Kuuga grinned.

At that time, Kuuga touched the connections between people with his hands. He managed to connect that faint line that was about to snap at any moment by his own hands.

That trivial event became his dream.

 That was, preserving the invisible "connections".

"Since I'm dealing with invisible things in the first place, I don't care whether I'm being called plain or an outcast. Because I actually only get easy jobs. But I am sure that—"

He wore a carefree smile toward the silent Yuuko.

"If there weren't any people like me, people would lose their connections… the world would have been destroyed."

Since Kuuga had delivered the love letter and connected that couple, in the future they might wed and bring up children that could save the world.

A single invisible line could save the world.

"…"

Turning his back to the pouting Yuuko, he started walking.

"The things I'll deliver from now are the same. Perhaps it's a final weapon meant to save the world? If so then I, as its deliveryman, might be the messiah. Not only its user, Ichinokuro Arisu."

"…! Ichinokuro… Arisu?"

"Oh no, I'm starting to blush. What will I do if they decide to interview me as a hero?"

From behind the smiling Kuuga, he heard the girl's low voice.

"—Hey, I'll gladly join the SEPB."

A balloon passed way overhead.

For just a moment, a shadow fell on the surroundings.

"Huh?"

He turned around merrily.

However—

"…What?"

The girl supposedly behind him completely vanished.

"Show me those lines or whatever you can see…"

It wasn't said in the same cold tone as until now.

"If you're able to stop me from chopping them off, that is."

The girl's strained-sounding voice came from the roof of a nearby house.

With the wind flapping her long skirt, Yuuko looked down on Kuuga. Seeing the large, black monster standing at her side, he gulped.

Its body was several times Yuuko's size. Its pointed head had nothing that looked like eyes. It resembled the insect known as a conehead cricket.

—Excluding a certain part of it.

"Thanks."

A conehead cricket would normally have a mouthpart there. Instead, piercing through its head was a large, rectangular platform. Equipped with thick and sharp blades—was a grotesque guillotine stand.

Yuuko held her wide-brimmed hat against the wind as she spoke.

"I recalled my dream thanks to you. I wanted to chop off all of my restraints and fly away. It might be a dream opposite to yours. I was wrong about being saved."

Her mouth twisted into a clearly sadistic smile.

"I don't need other people to save me. I wanted to move forward using my own two legs."

Kuuga had a very bad feeling about this.

"For some reason I suddenly feel very motivated."

He had the feeling he'd done something completely unnecessary.

"I decided. After completing my final job… after I chop off that package of yours, I'll even say farewell to the place Rina and Aki want to create."

Raising her hand, the assassin with a teardrop sticker under her eyes made a victory sign—no, a scissors sign. 

Part 3 

Accelerating his kick scooter to its limits, Kuuga rushed through the streets.

"Ugh, I shouldn't have said that. I forgot she's my enemy…"

As Kuuga passed near students going back from school, a line of blood ran down his brow. The legs of his shorts were ripped and a small part of the scooter's handlebar had also been cut off.

Seeing the sharp cross-section left on the handle, he felt a chill.

"To think that the West Central Branch's product could be cut so easily…"

Then it would probably also cut through Kuuga's living body like a katana through vegetables. When he imagined his head and torso coming to a tearful farewell, he grew pale.

He took a sharp curve at incredible speed.

"Ugh."

There was a spacious road ahead. There no cars or any pedestrians.

Empty places were dangerous.

But if it was a place one could overlook from—he might be able to obtain a hint to expose the identity of his enemy’s ability.

When he entered the shadow of a three-story building he stopped, looking back and forth the road.

"I should be able to tell if she's approaching right away—"

It happened just as he got ready for the enemy.

"Chop—"

A cheerful girl's voice echoed from above him.

"…!"

By the time he noticed, Kuuga was already on the conehead cricket's jaw—on the guillotine stage.

It wasn't an issue of speed.

He hadn't even noticed when the cricket was approaching.

"Off."

Standing on top of the guillotine, Yuuko laughed while holding her round hat.

Presently the thick blade fell toward Kuuga.

"Waaah!"

Activating the kick scooter, he managed to escape the guillotine by a hair's breadth. His tie was cut off and the analog clock fell to the ground.

"I've been wanting to check something for a while now. Is it true that if I chop off your neck from below, your body liquid would flow backwards and the decapitated head would cry?"

The conehead cricket made no move to chase after Kuuga who was running away in a straight line. Letting its host sit on top of it, it simply watched Kuuga go.

It happened the exact same way so far.

Although it had such long legs, the conehead cricket never moved even a single step toward him. Even so, it would appear without any warning and the guillotine would capture Kuuga.

There was no way to escape like this. On the other hand, if he stayed still, he would become prey for the guillotine anyway.

He looked at his remaining digital watch.

"At this hour there should be—"

Changing his course, he aimed for a street corner a bit removed.

"Like I said, I won't chop you off if you just leave that bag behind."

The moment he entered the shadow of a building that was lengthened by the sun, Kuuga was on the guillotine again.

"If you think you can run away without even summoning your Mushi—"

When Yuuko on top of the guillotine said this, he suddenly raised his face.

There was a high-pitched honking sound.

A road bus was about to crash with the cricket.

"All of the bus schedules of the area are inside my head…!"

"Tch…!"

Apparently she couldn't let a bus crash into her. Yuuko clicked her tongue as her figure vanished along with the cricket's.

The suddenly decelerating bus passed near the released Kuuga.

"I'm sorry!"

Apologizing to the bus, he looked around him.

"It's there—"

The cricket was in the road ahead. It stood inside the shade of a persimmon tree in a garden.

Kuuga looked where he was now and the place the cricket newly appeared.

And searched for their common point.

"…It's the shade!"

Kuuga finally noticed it.

The conehead cricket possessed the ability to move from shadow to shadow—

"Hmph."

While holding down her hat, Yuuko pouted.

As long as he understood the enemy's ability, it wouldn't be impossible to run away. Kuuga changed the route of his kick scooter, accelerating.

From here he should just head directly toward Akamaki City. As long as he passed through places with many people, his pursuer would probably give up. Once he entered the jurisdiction of the Central Headquarters, he could ask for help.

The dusk time street was a treasury of shadows. Any and all covers extended their tongues of shade toward the road.

The edge of the kick scooter touched a building's shadow.

"Chop off."

When his vision became dark, the cricket put Kuuga in its jaw.

"Now!"

But Kuuga had already leapt off of the kick scooter toward the sunny spot.

He heard the sound of the guillotine's blade cutting through air.

"If you just stay still I'll forgive you and take only about one arm."

"I don't want that!"

If he entered any shadow, he would be assaulted by the conehead cricket.

As long as he knew that, he could dodge. Kuuga avoided the shade as much as he could, and whenever he entered a shadow he would step out into the sun.

"Ah… yes!"

He entered a road with the setting sun at his back.

Because of the angle, there weren't any shadows on the road.

"…"

Inside the last shadow, Yuuko stood motionless along with the cricket. Without seeming pained in the least, she looked at Kuuga from beneath her hat.

Not much after his worry about a sudden attack was lifted, he accelerated his scooter.

"Wow, that was close. It sometimes hurts that despite all these good functions the battery life is so short."

The relief at having escaped the assassin brought back his smile.

There was still some distance to Akamaki City, but once he finished this road he would finally attain some peace of mind.

Of course, there was a reason for that, but only Kuuga knew it.

“If I properly deliver this, will Ichinokuro Arisu-san be glad?”

As Kuuga mumbled and smiled to himself, he felt something cold on his cheek.

Wind blew.

It was simply a gust of wind created from passing between two tall buildings—

"Who cares about that?"

Kuuga's smile froze.

He hadn't entered any shade.

He was running in the sunlight all along.

Even so, he heard the familiar girl's voice from overhead.

The large conehead cricket—caught Kuuga's head in the guillotine.

"No—way—"

Yuuko's eyes glared down the frozen Kuuga while holding down her round hat.

The girl's mouth wore a cruel smile.

"—Chop off."

The fact he was able to move his body was nothing short of a miracle.

Abandoning the kick scooter that lost its acceleration, he leapt out of the guillotine reflexively.

"Ngah!"

But he wasn't able to fully avoid that thick blade.

A deep laceration was engraved on his body from shoulder to elbow. It had avoided his vitals because he'd unconsciously shielded his luggage.

A stain of blood burst around Kuuga who was thrown to the ground. Abnormally sharp pain reached even the nerves of the wound. Perhaps a tendon was also severed.

"Uh… Gah…!"

The girl riding the guillotine looked down at Kuuga writhing on the asphalt.

"Everyone always thinks it's an ability used to move from shadow to shadow."

Raising both hands, Yuuko cut the air with her fingers.

"A normal grasshopper can leap several times its height… so my Mushi can also leap to high places. However, the position it can leap beyond isn't determined by physical height—but by the difference between high and low temperature."

Leaping to places with high air temperature—meaning, leaping through the wall of temperature.

That was Yuuko's Mushi's real ability—

"The wind now made the temperature around just slightly lower. If places lit by the sun create a high wall, then in the shadow, where temperature is lower—"

Yuuko stopped in the middle of speaking.

"…What're you doing?"

"Nnngh…!"

Kuuga wasn't listening to the girl. He wrapped the remainder of his tie around his wounded left shoulder and grasped the end using his right hand and mouth.

"Nnnnngh!"

While enduring sharp pain that seemed to stab directly through his head, he used his mouth and right arm to fasten the tie.

"Bhah! Hah!"

Having stopped his bleeding, Kuuga tried crawling out of this wind passage.

He hadn't the time to smile at all. He was tottering due to the blood loss, but still managed to somehow get up. —The kick scooter already received the blow instead of Kuuga and so was cut in half.

"You're a sore loser."

Yuuko grimaced, leaping down from the guillotine. She was walking after Kuuga who left a trail of blood as he advanced in the road.

His vision blurred by a sudden jerk.

The girl grabbed the bag on his back.

Kuuga turned around, trying to shake off Yuuko using his right arm.

"…It hurts."

Holding her struck arm, the girl pouted.

"Haa… Haa…"

While putting a hand on the wall to support himself, Kuuga advanced slowly in the alley.

Just a little bit more.

"That place" that only he was able to see was just a step ahead.

"You’ll never be able to run away already. Once the sun sets you'll have nowhere to run to."

Then she had the confidence she could defeat the wounded Kuuga at any time? Yuuko walked from behind, matching herself to his staggering pace.

"After being heated by the sun during the entire day, asphalt will quickly cool down and emit heat once the sun sets. That situation creates a wall of temperature difference all over the place. The moment the suns sinks, there's no place my Mushi can't jump to."

On the other side of the residential street, the red setting sun was still sinking.

Even so Kuuga didn't stop.

"Hey, can I ask you a simple question?"

Yuuko inquired.

"Which is more important, your package or your life? You probably don't even know what it is, right?"

"…I do."

"Really?"

"It's a final weapon meant to save the world—"

"That's just your delusion."

Yuuko directly denied Kuuga's words.

"Or actually… maybe I shouldn't deliver it? Aki said some troubling things. He said that it might make a lot of people unhappy or something like that."

"…Perhaps."

His face streaked with greasy sweat, he smiled wryly.

"But that's an undeniable 'connection'. I just need to connect it…"

"I still don't really get you."

"It's a simple mission. Just delivering a package I've been given to a certain address…"

Just like yesterday, he was going to fulfill this easy mission today as well. It was simply the delivery of a package.

An obvious job that anyone could fulfill.

Because of that—

"Delivering it is obvious. That's why I have to…"

"Delivering it won't get you anything, though."

"No, I will gain something…"

"Something like a sense of accomplishment, right? So boring."

"I wanted it for so long… if I complete this mission, I'll be able to have it…"

Seeing Kuuga muttering with hollow eyes, Yuuko scowled.

"It's useless. You're not going to deliver this package, so you'll not get whatever it is you want."

Kuuga moved further and further ahead with unreliable steps.

"The sun sets soon. If you won't surrender during this countdown, I'll chop off both you and that package. Ten, nine…"

The girl's voice counting down echoed in the road lit by the sinking sun.

Kuuga raised his head with a twitch.

Looking at the rapidly darkening sky, he mumbled absently.

"…It's connected."

Yuuko raised an eyebrow.

"You finally accepted it? But it's a bit too late. Three, two, one…"

Kuuga widened both eyes. He pulled out the board from his back with nimble movements.

And the sun—sank.

"Zero!"

As the girl shouted this, the giant conehead cricket appeared there.

At almost the same time—

"Now then…"

A resin bee appeared from overhead.

Its small body glowed.

Kuuga opened the folded wooden board and threw it ahead with all of his strength.

Immediately following this, a wave of light surged around.

With the bee that landed on his shoulder at the center, an explosive locus of light was produced.

"Wha—"

Yuuko gazed up the sky in shock.

High above a line of light came out of nowhere, stretching out to the surface.

Kuuga jumped, riding on the wooden board being pushed by the whirlpool of light.

Created out of a light alloy, the board was like a miniature surfing board. It was created just for him, and Kuuga called it an "airboard".

"…Let's go!"

Raising his voice to his Mushi, Kuuga kicked the wave of light.

"I won't let you escape!"

The conehead cricket leaping past the wall of temperature difference captured Kuuga on the airboard.

However, by kicking up the waves of light, Kuuga performed a backflip and escaped higher.

Now jumping onto a different midair line, he bent his body and leapt to yet another line.

"Chop off!"

Now that the sun had set, she could use her ability to its fullest—the girl's words appeared to be no lie. The grasshopper was stubbornly chasing Kuuga even as he flew through the air.

However, Kuuga held the board down with his right arm and performed a sideways rotation, at times spinning around and kicking lines, dodging the fierce attacks.

"Chop! Chop!"

—It wasn't that Kuuga had hidden his Mushi.

Ever since being chased by Yuuko he let it drift in the upper air. The resin bee zigzagging around had continuously left lines of light in the sky.

Those lines haven't disappeared. Once it passed there, the lines would remain indefinitely.

Kuuga's ability was to glide along these lines.

Why hadn't he used that ability thus far?

Because the road he'd taken thus far was one that Kuuga went through for the first time.

At the end of that single road was a large line that Kuuga had left in the past, connecting from a different town to Akamaki City. These could be called Kuuga's special highway that allowed him to travel from any city to any city.

Normally there wasn't any need to use these lines.

Because his ability was always conspicuous and he had a memory equivalent to a car navigation system—he knew the schedules of all public transport around the country by heart—using normal vehicles was enough.

"Chop! Chop!"

Kuuga riding up the night sky and Yuuko chasing after him. The pair's attack and defense continued so high up that the buildings around looked like rice grains.

"Ugh—"

It happened when he decided to perform a high jump. Perhaps as a result of losing too much blood, he felt dizzy and his pose was thrown off-balance.

"Chop!"

Yuuko didn't miss the opening created by this. The cricket's guillotine captured him.

The blade trying to slice off Kuuga and the airboard kicking up the lines of light crossed each other.

"Augh…!"

The one to raise a scream was Yuuko.

Evading the blade by a hair's breadth, the airboard made a cut on the cricket's triangular head.

"Why you…! Snip!"

Yuuko glared with rage at Kuuga as he rose again.

But the cricket didn't move.

"Cho—"

She was out of time.

The time for her Mushi to bring its ability to the fullest probably passed. Yuuko biting her lips in regret was left behind.

"I'll never… let you get away…!"

Leaving behind the girl spitting these words, Kuuga leapt further into the sky.

Soon he reached a thick line of light.

That line connected to Akamaki City.

"Hah… hah… I can finally reach Akamaki…"

As he smiled with a pale face, Kuuga's knees buckled. Since he moved too much while having lost vast amounts of blood, he knew that he was about to go into shock.

"This package… Ichinokuro Arisu-san…"

The mumbling Kuuga's pupils were losing their light.

He was still conscious.

However—his body was stopping moving.

"I have… to deliver… this—"

The boy gliding through the upper air tilted.

Kuuga was slowly collapsing.

The airboard riding on the lines of light—

The airboard carrying a single deliveryman—

Sliding through the silent air, it was being led toward the lights of the capital visible from afar.

Part 4

Finding Kuuga standing in the darkness, the girl seemed surprised.

"Who are you?"

Had she gone to play with friends and so arrived late? The ponytailed girl appearing in front of the mansion with the nameplate "Ichinokuro" was carrying a large stuffed doll that looked like it came from some game arcade.

There was also a boy next to her. Other than the plaster on his cheek he looked completely normal, but his eyes gazing at Kuuga were sharp.

"Good evening! Are you Ichinokuro Arisu-san?"

First he had to confirm he had the right person. It was the basic of a delivery.

"U-umm, yes…"

Although confused, Ichinokuro Arisu nodded.

Kuuga wore a full smile, bringing out the package covered in cloth.

"A delivery for you!"

"…A delivery?"

As Arisu attempted to accept the package, the boy near her stopped her.

"Who're you? Who sent this package?"

He was staring at him with clear alertness, but Kuuga kept his smile.

"The sender is the West Central Branch Development Unit. I'm part of the Special Unit, called Kuuga."

"From West? Didn't hear about it."

"Oh, how strange. Chika-chan… I mean, Sakura said you knew about this delivery."

"Sakura?"

The boy raised his face as if recalling something.

"Her… then, this is—"

"What is it, can I just take it?"

Although still suspicious, Arisu received the package.

Kuuga closed his eyes.

Along with the weight in his arms being lifted, he felt his heart turned lighter as well.

He savored the feeling of accomplishment as he protected yet another connection by his own hands.

"…A rod?"

Pulling off the cloth, Arisu's hand now held a rod. It was metallic and glowed in silver, and its length was only half of Arisu's arm.

“Yes, it does look like a rod.”

While glaring at the silver rod from many different angles, Arisu furrowed her brows.

"But it's somewhat… warm."

She asked Kuuga.

"What is this? How do I use it?"

But Kuuga couldn't answer. A hoarse sigh leaked from his barely open mouth.

"…?"

Arisu tilted her head quizzically when it happened.

The surroundings were enveloped in a silver glow.

"Eh…?"

Near the surprised Arisu a single butterfly alighted down.

Kuuga gulped as he watched this scene.

Kuuga had never seen a Mushi as beautiful as this. The Morpho butterfly with four antennas landed on Arisu's hand.

"Eek!"

The silver rod Arisu was holding instantly unfolded to be several times as long.

Immediately after, the Morpho butterfly transformed explosively. It became countless tentacles, stabbing into the long rod.

For some reason—Kuuga thought the Morpho butterfly looked happy. The silver glow was overflowing with vitality, and its motions transforming its body rapidly were extremely lively.

The Morpho butterfly's wings changed to a blade that emitted silver scales.

And the changes didn't stop with that.

The surface of the rod transformed to a silver glowing lance had traces of light running around it. The silver loci circulated all around the rod and its surface was faintly glowing.

When he narrowed his eyes and looked better, he saw the glow's identity was a vivid pattern etched on the surface. The energy emitted by the Morpho butterfly ran through the entire rod as if amplifying it.

It was built of light yet solid material, equipped with a length-adjusting mechanism, possessed a route computation to reduce its energy consumption to its limits, the engraving based on those routes, and above all it had the molecular structure giving it the "warmth" desired by Mushi.

This weapon could be said the crystallization of the West Central Branch techniques, but even the user herself, Arisu, appeared to not understand the situation.

"W-what is going on with that…?"

"Idiot, don't just stand there! Since the Morpho butterfly's responding, there's an enemy—"

Before the boy finished talking, a large shadow captured Arisu who stood in a daze.

It was a black conehead grasshopper.

"I told you I won't let you get away!"

On top of the guillotine stage above Arisu's head, Yuuko was wearing a cruel smile.

"Chop!"

"Tch!"

The boy immediately reached toward Arisu. However—

"…!"

The Morpho butterfly's spear created a storm of scales.

Scales numerous enough to cover their entire vision moved like a living being. They swallowed the large cricket along with Arisu.

"W-what's happening…"

Shaking off the scales, Yuuko raised a shriek.

The guillotine stopped moving.

"I can't… use my ability…? This is—"

Looking down her Mushi, Yuuko groaned.

The cricket's long legs folded. On top the guillotine stage losing its balance, Yuuko paled.

"My Mushi is sleeping—"

Arisu came back to her senses. With awkward movements, she swung the silver lance.

The cricket raised a cry.

The spear's flash shattered the guillotine and the scales it emitted scraped off half of its large body.

"Guh!"

The damage to the Mushi recoiled back as mental damage to the host. Holding her chest, Yuuko jumped to the ground with an anguished expression.

Glancing at Arisu with regret, she turned her body away. Unsummoning her Mushi, she vanished into the darkness with an unsteady gait.

Looking at her leaving form was all Kuuga could do.

Inside his blurring vision, the silver spear kept glowing brightly.

"I won't let you get away!"

"Wait, Daisuke! Something's wrong with this guy!"

He heard himself crumbling to the ground.

Noticing Kuuga's wounds that they hadn't seen due to the darkness, Arisu hurriedly called.

While feeling his body growing colder—

"…Maybe it was a bit of a tough mission, this time…"

Kuuga slowly closed his eyes. 

Part 5

—The following is the report about my last mission.

Like always, it was supposed to be a simple job that no one would even think about. However, this time I was attacked by a strange girl, so it was a bit different.

Oh? My wounds?

Ehehe, it's fine already. After what happened, a person called Nene with healing powers came and patched me up. But since I didn't have enough blood, I had to lie down for a while.

Even Ichinokuro-san told me "Thank you" with a smile.

Smiles are like fuel to me.

Since I was given fuel, I want to start my next job already.

Umm, I want it to be safe, but more importantly—

"I can't believe you… You were attacked by an assassin because you took a detour. If you dare put even a single scratch on my creation I'll crack your head open—uh. Stop with that creepy smile immediately."

I was being scolded.

At a certain workshop at West Central Branch, I received complaints about my job one-on-one by Chika-chan, alias Sakura.

But I felt no pain.

Because I would finally be able to obtain what I desired.

It would be no exaggeration to say that I risked my life on this mission for this very moment.

I presented both arms toward Chika.

"More importantly, Chika-chan. Give me what you promised!"

"Oh, you mean that. I won't admire you for doing your job just for the reward, but a promise's a promise. I created it, of course. I did create it, but… well… how do I put it…"

The manly Chika unusually found herself hesitating on words.

When I tilted my head, I felt the presence of a certain person from within the factory.

I heard the voices of my other comrades, some sounding proud, some displeased.

"Oh, you mean that toy? Those circuits were like child's play, so I managed to recreate some of it. Hehe, rub your head against the floor and thank me."

"…I can't believe you've gone and used me and my sister's rare metals for something like that. I'll never give it to you again."

"That's not ecological at all. Electricity is behind the times. So I switched in another power source, like I thought the energy of the future is definitely light, and the drill at the front is a bonus."

It went without saying that my smile was frozen.

In front of my shaking body a spectacular object was presented.

When I saw it, something broke inside me.

The "thing I desired"—or rather its remains were revealed in their sorry state to me.

"Uwaaah! This is horrible, it's too cruel, I can't believe it!"

"A complete replica of AX… is what it was."

It was supposed to be the one and only model in the world that fully recreated shape, functions and mobility, but it no longer had any vestiges of AX.

Also… what did it mean that it wasn't able to move?

Chika bitterly averted her face.

"Also, because that guy touched it… it broke."

"Waaaaan!"

"Like I thought, we're not suited for joint work. That rod is nothing short of a miracle."

On the other side of the sighing Chika, the door to the workshop opened.

The girl hidden on the other side of the door called out timidly.

"Welcome back, Kuuga. You know, earlier the branch head looked at your report, and since there's no date written you need to rewrite it… oh, no, it's fine. Sorry. I'll just write it again and it'll be fine, sorry."

"This is a disaster! I risked my life and worked hard just for this!"

"Also, there was this Mushitsuki who claims knowing you that 'turned herself in'. She's called Yuuko and she said something about having promised this, but I don't really understand the circumstances… oh, this isn't the time for that right now. Sorry."

Even when bad things happen, I will not give up.

It was a job no one cared about, but I believe that tomorrow I will deliver something to someplace as well.

"My AX…"

"Annoying. Someone make him shut up."

"If you hit the back of his head he'll shut up."

"Tears aren't ecological. Energy's leaking."

"That Yuuko girl shouted at me. She said to bring Kuuga out. Sorry for being so useless."

"So, I'll go back to work…"

I'm part of the West Central Branch Special Division, Kuuga.

As part of the West Central Branch that mainly works on equipment development, my job is delivering their equipment and other materials. My categories are small to medium-size luggage, and I specialize in close to middle-range delivery.

Tomorrow, just like yesterday, my easy job will continue.

Where will I go next time? 

Notes

Back to Episode 18

Return to Main Page

Forward to Episode 20