Mushi to Medama

Chapter 13

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Close: Blood-Stained Night

Sixteen-year-old Nagumo Ame was a student in Kannonsakazaki Private High School cla.s.s 1-B. She was well-behaved, quiet, wasn"t particularly afraid of strangers and often listened to others speak while giggling. She was about average in terms of studies and athletics and didn"t have any particularly noteworthy traits. She was like the air that floated in and out of the cla.s.sroom; people frequently overlooked her existence.

What made her special was --

"Hehe."

She will force out a laugh even though things weren"t particularly funny.

"Haha."

Ame-chan laughed awkwardly as she walked with her friends. Five or six uniformed students walking together in a group wasn"t particularly rare. In this inconspicuous group, Ame-chan"s existence seemed even less solid as she listened to her cla.s.smates talk, looking happy.

"I heard Sakaki-sensei disappeared."

"Usagawa-san also disappeared, right? Whoa, doesn"t that sound like they eloped? After all, it"s that teacher. Feels like we"d say "they finally did it"."

"But Gankyū"s gone, too."

"Oh, Gankyū, have any of you ever talked to her? I"m way too scared, I just don"t dare to get close to her."

"Ah. Yeah, that happens. But she"s actually pretty normal, just a bit strange."

"After all, it"s the legendary transfer student."

Ahaha, a fit of laughter.

It had been about three days since Sakaki Guryū, Usagawa Rinne, and Gankyū Eguriko suddenly disappeared. For the ever-diligent Rinne to miss school with no reason, and furthermore for Sakaki and Guriko to also be skipping was truly too strange, so the teachers also felt perplexed. But the school"s teachers were all like Sakaki"s servants, so the chaos probably resulted from the master"s disappearance.

"Hehe."

Ame chuckled a bit, and without letting her nonsense-spewing friends notice anything weird, said:

"The hospital."

Just a noun, and the friends surrounding her probably didn"t even know who said it. Even so, those girls who loved to gossip were influenced by the word, and started chatting.

"Right, right, it also seems that something terrible happened at the hospital --"

"Ah, that thing where all the patients at the hospital disappeared? I don"t know know too much about it."

"My mom also disappeared."

"Ah, sorry, Nagisa-chan."

"It"s fine."

"But they disappeared at the same time as Sakaki-sensei? Maybe Sakaki-sensei went to the hospital too, and then some kidnapper took him away. Aren"t there weird rumors?"

"What do you mean, some kind of ridiculous kidnapper. Would that be you?"

"Miku, you"re really stupid, I like it."

"Thanks, wait... do you want to be smacked?"

"Sorry."

"Please don"t hit me using an idiot"s strength."

"Weird rumors."

Suddenly, a voice redirected the conversation back on topic. While laughing "Hehe", Ame-chan stealthy added to the girls" conversation.

The girl always called "Idiot" by her friends had a satisfied and accomplished look on her face.

"That"s true. After the disappearence incident, there have been all sorts of weird rumors circulating in the hospital. I heard that if you"re walking near the hospital you can hear a woman moaning -- Though no one knows who it is."

"You... where"d you hear something like that?"

"Miku, your info"s always interesting. Well, let"s not worry about that. Is that it? I"d like some more details."

"Eh? Nagisa-chan"s interesting in this kind of weird talk?"

"That"s not it, I just thought I might find some clues about my mom."

"Sorry, Nagisa-chan."

"It"s fine."

"Let"s get back on topic, Kae, you pressed too many b.u.t.tons you shouldn"t have."

"Basically, it"s a weird rumor, but there"s actually only this much. The location should be behind the hospital. Well, the hospital"s sealed off now, so we can"t go."

"You tried to go?"

"Miku"s really an idiot."

"Because she cares about stuff like this. Well, it seems that there"ve been a lot of annoying things lately -- there was Long-Armed Demon, and there was this incident, ah, how annoying... Eh? Where"s Ame-chan?"

A girl looked all around her, but could find no trace of Nagumo Ame.

"Did she go back? I don"t know where Nagumo-san lives."

"She should have told us before she left."

"Then again, Ame-chan"s sort of like... how should I say it, it"s like it"s comforting just to have her there."

"Sort of like those "My lucky doll" things?"

"I"m the lucky one! Me, me I tell ya!"

"Shut up, stupid Miku."

Confirming it was behind the hospital was enough. The next part was simple. There was no need to wait for nightfall. The policeman guarding it were human, and the people working in the hospital were likely the Sakaki Organization"s men, there only to handle the aftermath. There, the back of the building, which was not involved in the incident, should be empty.

After going up the mountain behind the hospital and climbing up the tallest tree there, the hospital that had been the site of the battle two days earlier could be seen. There were about six people working outside -- thankfully, none of them were behind the building, and the rest of the workers were probably inside.

Behind the building, there was an easily traversible road, and the person who heard the female voice was probably walking through there. Nagumo Ame considered where she would a.s.sault the area. Since people pa.s.sed on that road, it would be dangerous.

It was not like being seen would be inconvenient; it was just that she wanted to do things peacefully if possible.

"Let"s fly."

Ame-chan muttered to herself, and jumped from the top of the tree without hesitation. She instantly grew dragon wings, which pierced through her uniform. Gliding high up in the air, she wasn"t seen by anyone as she landed behind the hospital, and then her wings retracted back into her body.

"It"s been so long since I last flew, mmm, that went pretty smoothly."

She talked to herself and looked around her. The Sakaki Organization"s men and the police weren"t exactly idiots; they should have investigated this place, though normal people wouldn"t be able to see any strange beings. They would only be able to hear things. It was an extremely feeble, seemingly imaginary sound.

After the incident, Nagumo Ame checked whether Sakaki Guryū, Usagawa Rinne, and Gankyū Eguriko were alive or dead.

The three of them had brought some random belongings and were living in Usagawa Rinne"s apartment.

Then -- in this hospital that became a graveyard, the thing that remained and cried in anguish was --

Ame-chan checked with her special, monstrous vision that could detect things not part of this world.

Blood, a large amount of blood.

It was spilled all over the hospital"s outer wall and it seeped through the ground, leaving dark traces on the earth.

In the middle of it all was a woman who crawled on the ground and groaned in pain.

"Sterilization Disinfection."

Hearing that voice, the woman abruptly looked across.

Her skin and pristine hair were dirtied with mud and blood. Possibly having trouble breathing, she did not even wear her mask. This woman, who had blood spilling out of her chest and was sweating constantly, was called Sterilization Disinfection.

She looked at Ame-chan as if asking, "You can see me?" Laughingly, Ame-chan said, "So the largest Fragment in your heart was pierced. The sensory organ is damaged and the soul is collapsing -- In fact, you already can"t use power on the level of the seven Great Fragments. Hehe, but... before that you still took away Usagawa Rinne"s soul. However, at that point your heart -- the sensory organ -- was already filled, so you had no choice but to construct a new sensory organ somewhere else. You managed to stay alive because you hid a Fragment -- That"s right, isn"t it? But the emergency vessel had a serious rejection reaction, right?"

Ame-chan talked without pause, and then sneered. Mina gritted her teeth with an incomprehensible expression, staring the other woman"s smile that seemed to say, "This is it for you?"

She probably wanted to hide here for a while, and wait for her body to restore to a level suitable for the sensory organ. However --

Everything ends today. It"s unfortunate that I found you.

"Heeheeheehee," Ame-chan laughed.

"Who are you?"

Sterilization Disinfection struggled to squeeze out these words.

Smiling, Ame placed her hand on her face.

"You don"t know? Sterilization Disinfection, you"ve become weak. I"d heard that you used up all your power in that incident with Noah, but you can"t even recognize me? What, if you"re down to this level then there won"t be a need to be cautious. I won"t need to run off to antagonize Gankyū Eguriko. Whatever, I only just realized that." Her hand moved down and her eyes, nose, mouth, and eyebrows all disappeared. Sterilization Disinfection stiffened. Ame, who did not have a mouth, laughed joyfully, "Heehee. Right, it"s me, not anyone else, it"s me."

"The Weakest -- You traitor..."

She stood up with blood-shot eyes, and glared at Ame-chan while her body shook. This body could fight no longer. That should have be clearer to Sterilization Disinfection than to anyone else.

Even so, she absolutely must kill The Weakest.

"I thought it was annoying, since only your Annihilation Mist and Single Room are dangerous to me. Therefore, I will kill both of you to become truly invincible, an untarnished, strongest shield."

Ame-chan stretched out her arms, and said with happiness from the bottom of her heart: "And then I will rule this world. It"s idiotic to have an existence like this but not putting that goal first. Hey, my sister, won"t you die for me? Since it"s so painful, just let yourself dissolve and die! You"ll never be able to restore to the complete being anyways. It"s useless. Isn"t it meaningless to preserve such a life?"

"What kind of joke is this!?"

Sterilization Disinfection clenched her fists, and even though she had already lost the ability to form her spray cay, she still slowly reached her arms down.

How pitiful -- The Weakest laughed, and her spread out arms --

Took the form of giant sickles.

"You also regret it, right? Because if you die here, you won"t be able to see my wonderful new world."

"Stop pretending to be G.o.d, you blemish!"

That word --

Was one she frequently used to mock herself with in the past.

Ame-chan sneered, and used her sickle arms to cut her down.

Neat and swift.

Saibara Mina"s head flew.

Because Sakaki refused to trust the moving company, and instead chose to inconspicuously move into Rinne"s home, Guriko helped out until it was dark.

Deep in the night when even the plants slept. Guriko carefully avoided making noise as she exited Rinne"s room.

She carried no bags.

She had no destination.

She just felt she couldn"t stay at this place.

That was the choice the man with wolf-like eyes had forcefully pointed out to her before her fight with Sterilization Disinfection. To live as a human, or to live as a monster? She who chose to live as a human, received nothing but painful defeat.

That was enough.

That was enough, Guriko thought.

"Sakaki"s protecting Rinne"s body, so I"m not needed here."

Letting her wolf-like hair that could never blend into the the night flutter in the air, the single-armed girl wearing black looked back at the apartment.

She had lived with Rinne for almost two months here. Along with the laughter and happiness, there were also things from a thousand years ago that she should have forgotten.

Shining brightly, and ever so lovable, I liked her.

So, Rinne.

I must return her kindness.

Even if this body is broken to pieces.

Throwing off her reluctance to leave, Guriko turned her back to the building with her head lowered. The right arm that was completely annihilated by Sterilization Disinfection could not be returned even with an Apple"s power. For all her numerous years -- those maddeningly long years -- she had lived using both her arms, and with only one left she could not balance herself well.

Rinne and Sakaki were the same. Now, without Rinne, if she stayed here she didn"t think she could live properly.

She might as well be alone; she should just live in the darkness without causing problems for others.

"Are you trying to become a monster again?"

Gazing at the uneven road"s surface, Guriko felt something cold in the back of her head. Was it a gun?

Her intuition told her that, and she silently nodded without turning around.

"Then, for the safety of humans like me, I need to kill the monster before it is released."

The voice held killing intent, and that gun was definitely loaded.

Standing behind her was Sakaki Guryū. No problem -- Guriko coldly smiled.

"Shoot if you want, kill if you want. Sakaki, that"s actually what I want."

Guriko lowered her head, looking at her remaining single arm.

"I"ve killed a lot of people, and I"ve taken so much, so much that this single life can"t take enough punishment. Will you free me from that burden? Are you that kind of a man?"

He did not respond to the question.

There was already nothing more to say.

So Guriko closed her eyes and said something insignificant.

"You"ve gotten good at hiding your presence. Compared to when I first met you, you"re completely unrecognizable. Have you been constantly working hard? You must have always been like this. It"s not some prodigious talent, or some inherited gene, just constant hard work that got you to your strength today. You... will definitely become stronger, much stronger than me."

"I--"

Finally, a response.

That voice was filled with sorrow. For that superhuman, such a weak voice was exceedingly rare.

"Am very weak."

"Yup, you"re really weak. Even though you"ll become strong, you"re still weak right now. I"m also very weak, so I couldn"t protect Rinne."

Guriko naturally turned her head, and the gun that had not moved was pointed at her forehead. Stars danced in the night sky. Sakaki, in front of her, was covered in hazy shadow while insect cries could be clearly heard from all directions.

She merely looked Sakaki straight in the eyes.

"So Sakaki, become strong! Help me protect Rinne."

Guriko reached into her pocket, and took out a beautiful spoon for Sakaki to see. It was an expensive, rare spoon that Hino and Kio had bought for her. This piece of decorated cutlery only reflected the aura of night, dark and faint.

"Hino and Kio -- " She looked at the spoon, and continued, "Maybe they were actually Sterilization Disinfection"s Meat Dolls, maybe their real personalities had already completely disintegrated, but they didn"t kill me and they even saved me that time. Plus, Kio and Hino both turned back into humans as they were dying. There must be more secrets to the Meat Dolls. Perhaps Rinne will return to how she was before, becoming the Rinne that we love."

The moon that was previously covered by clouds appeared and lit up Sakaki"s expression. It was one that majestically shined with spirit, without the slightest weakness.

"I want to search for a way."

She gripped her spoon, and said to Sakaki"s face, "Sakaki, you said that to me in the hospital, didn"t you? You gave hope to the me, who had given up on everything, didn"t you? Rinne hasn"t died yet, so, Sakaki, help me protect her. Though I don"t know how long it will take, I will find a way to return Rinne to how she was without doubt and then come back."

To return Rinne to how she was before.

To bring back the everyday life that Long-Armed Demon and Sterilization Disinfection destroyed.

"And then, let"s go to school together, the three of us."

This was Guriko"s resolution. At first she only wanted to escape from this human world with nothing but pain, but now it was different. During the fight with Sterilization Disinfection, Sakaki had embraced her, and then she felt with even greater conviction that she did not wish to separate from them.

So, for the sake of returning to that period of happiness, Guriko would go on a journey. She wouldn"t completely revert into a monster. She only needed to search for a way to recover Rinne by herself.

That was something that definitely could not be achieved while staying here to protect Rinne. She would need to go to the outside world, or rather into an even darker world where Mushi and monsters swarmed in order to find it.

Before she met Rinne, that had been Guriko"s world.

Just a return to her life two months ago. There would be a day when she would definitely meet Rinne and Sakaki again.

"Creak," the door opened.

Rinne stood there. She who had become a Meat Doll, yet her eyes twinkled with firm determination. She sped over to Sakaki, who was pointing a gun at Guriko.

"You can"t."

Naive and innocent, it was a voice like that of a young child.

"Fight."

That appearance of hers, that expression as she spoke seriously for some reason.

Sakaki and Guriko simultaneously loosened up, and their expressions became gentle.

"I apologize. Aah, milady, do not worry, we weren"t fighting."

"Right. This guy pointed a gun at me all on his own. It"s not a fight, it"s a one-sided a.s.sault."

"You can"t, sensei."

Rinne truly believed that. With hands at her waist and her chest stuck out, her face completely was serious as she stared at Sakaki. There was a time when she made that expression whenever Guriko and Sakaki fought. Right, since it was like this, definitely --

"You must get along well!"

After making a slightly angry face, she should scrunch her eyebrows. And, not knowing what to do, she should return to a kind, tender face.

Seeing her like this, Sakaki couldn"t hold back his tears. A tear flew down the cheek of his handsome face.

Guriko forced out an exaggerated laugh, "Haha, Sakaki you idiot, you still cry at that age. How shameful."

"What? Huh, why am I crying? And Guriko."

Sakaki looked over with a face of incredulity, and said in a low voice, "Why are you also crying?"

Guriko brought up her hand to feel her cheek, and noticed that there was a warm liquid. Tears, these were -- tears. As she realized that, she felt that she couldn"t stop --

Guriko silently wept, and then cried out in frustration. Sakaki was quiet, yet it seemed that his tears could not stop either, and he continued to incredulously tilt his head.

In a rather remote place in j.a.pan, there was a town called Kannonsakazaki. In it lived a girl called Usagawa Rinne. That girl didn"t really stand out in anything; normal people like her could be found anywhere, and she just happened to be decent at cooking.

Yet she completely changed the standardized life of Sakaki.

She saved a monster who had been swallowed by darkness for a millennium.

Even though she became a Meat Doll, Rinne would never change. She would still look hurt whenever Sakaki and Guriko argued with each other, with an expression showing that she hated seeing their tears.

Rinne calmly pulled the two next to her, embracing them. She was extremely weak, and she didn"t feel real compared to before, but Sakaki and Guriko couldn"t resist as they were pulled to her thin body.

"Don"t worry."

Rinne quietly spoke. "Don"t worry. Don"t worry."

She was also crying as she said that. And so, the three cried together, feeling each others" warmth under the dark, frigid night.

One was the heir to an enormous corporation, a man who had always walked on a predetermined route.

One could not find a place to call home, a girl who had thrown herself into the sea.

One gouged out eyeb.a.l.l.s, a girl who lived in the darkness as a monster.

The three met by chance, definitely only by chance. In this world, where G.o.d had broken into fragments, perhaps miracles had long ceased to exist.

But Sakaki pledged to always protect Rinne.

Guriko would search for a way to recover Rinne.

And Rinne would embrace the two of them like this.

So there was no need to worry. Rinne"s words were right. Though she didn"t have anything to base it on, Guriko felt she didn"t have to worry.

The night was about to end, and they needed to wake from this nightmare. Because after experiencing the blackest, darkest, desperation, people should be able to hope for a happier future..

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