[Mushi Uta] Chapter 1.01: Shiika Part 1

Hey guys! This is Wing.

This is my first time translating so i might make a lot of mistakes or confusing parts.
I really love this series and hope it can grow even bigger, that's why i joined the translation project. I got Sveroz to move his lazy ass too xD. We will try our best to post at least one chapter a week. But since now its getting close to our finals, might be a little rough~

Anyway, Enjoy~!
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Translated : Wing
Edited : Sveroz, Keito, Skat, Akios

Version: 2.03

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1.01

Shiika Part 1


At that moment, the teenage girl’s empty and lifeless eyes suddenly restored their luster.

The instant the teenage girl saw the teenage boy through the train window, she slowly began to restore her consciousness as if she was awakening from a long dream.

The teenage girl then got off the train subconsciously with haste.

Without any reason or knowing why, her heart was filled with a strange sense of eagerness. Even though she was expecting something, she wasn’t exactly sure of what that was. Even so, her body moved on its own.

With her mind in chaos, she didn’t even understand why she had to get off the train.

No, she didn’t even know why she was taking the train in the first place. She was not supposed to leave “there”, let alone wake up.

Because four years ago, she had already lost everything…

But the moment she saw that teenage boy, she began to feel many things within her awakening. Perhaps it was her memories, emotions, or something else that she wasn’t able to describe. But those were things that Shiika had once forgotten, and she didn’t understand why it happened now, as it did.

Yet before she could think any further, she was already running with that unknown teenage boy into an open space of a residential area.

There was a wide open lot before them. Perhaps the construction was only done halfway through; as there were many construction vehicles parked around the area.

Bright sunlight spilled down into the pure and transparent air space.

“Hu…. Ha….”

The teenage girl tried desperately to control her breath, while gazing at her surroundings.

The morning sun, the smell of the wind, the swaying trees, everything that was reflected in her eyes; they all made her feel like she was actually “there”. It felt like hundreds of years had passed, which made her feel nostalgic, as she was unable to believe the fact that she was here now.

There were still memories of her past within her mind. They were of neither pain nor joy, just day after day full of monotony – looking back at it now, that life was like a never-ending hell.

She shuddered the moment she thought about it. Even though she didn’t know why, she somehow “came back to life”.

Then… What about “that”??...

It was not because of her breaking into a full run earlier, but another reason that caused her to break into a cold sweat.

If you’re here, then please appear before me…

Shiika called within her while reaching her hands forward timidly. She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for what was about to happen.

- But, nothing did.

“It’s… not here?”

She opened her eyes in order to look around again. A line of cold sweat ran down the teenage girl’s neck. She didn’t see the shadow of the “thing” that she was in fear of. Therefore she felt a sense of good expectation arise within, and yet she felt … a burst of anxiety.

- Am I really? ... 

While she was suspecting whether this was a dream or not, she noticed the teenage boy, who was wearing a black coat, panting while leaning against the front of a construction vehicle. That teenage boy was the one that dragged Shiika to this place.

He seemed to be an ordinary high school student. But why would a well-behaved boy like him…

Shiika started thinking while staring at the teenage boy’s profile.

What is this feeling?… …

She didn’t know why, but for some reason she just couldn’t pull her sight away from him. Just by looking at him, just by staying at his side, her emotions would rise fiercely within her. Yet it was not the result of her bolting here, but a rather warm and wonderful nostalgic feeling.

“Umm… that…”

Shiika spoke timidly towards the teenage boy.

Just then, the teenage boy shot his head up as if he’d just awakened from a shock, and said with a blushed, panicked expression.

“Sorry! We just met, and yet we’re in this kind of situation…”

“No… it’s… I don’t…”

After seeing Shiika shake her head, the teenage boy immediately expressed an attitude of relief. He then looked up at the azure sky, and let out a breath of white mist.

“Great, if you thought that I was annoying, then there would be no way to talk to you again.”

“Eh…?”

“Ah, no… It’s nothing, ah ha ha!…”

The teenage boy covered it over with a smile.

Influenced by the teenage boy’s strange behavior, Shiika’s mood became calmer to the point where she was able to smile very naturally.

How many years had it been for me to smile like this?

It really took a long time to experience this kind of feeling again, so long that it would make people feel touched.

Shiika gazed at the teenage boy’s profile; he was indeed a normal high school student that could be seen almost everywhere. To tell the truth, he seemed a bit too ordinary.

“Ah… I… umm…”

“Ah, yes?”

“I’m Kusuriya Daisuke, uh… Can I ask what your name is?”

After being asked by Daisuke, the teenage girl fell into silence.

Somehow, he seemed too common to a point.

All the memories that should have been lost were awakened for some unknown reason. It was practically like a miracle. No, in fact, since she now remembered what kind of circumstances she’d been in, she knew very well that she shouldn’t involve any more strangers, but her mouth just moved naturally by itself in the same way as before, like at the platform.

“… My name is... Anmoto Shiika.”

Even though the reply was very quietly voiced, it was stated confidently.

“Amnoto-san … right?”

The teenage girl, Shiika, nodded her head lightly.

“Then, that…”

The teenage boy named Kusuriya Daisuke, seemed like he wanted to say something.

“Amnoto-san! Ca… Can you be friends with me?!”

“Ehh…?”

Shiika raised her head in surprise at the teenage boy. He finally spoke after struggling for a long time.

“Ah… Let me make it clear, I’m not trying to hit on you or anything! Umm… how should I say it…”

Shiika stared blankly at the teenage boy in front of her.

Want to be friends?

The teenage boy in front of her had indeed said so.

Friends…

Waves of confusion rippled over and over within Shiika.

“When I saw you, I felt… I wanted to talk to you...”

Daisuke’s facial expression was filled with both expectation and uneasiness, waiting for Shiika to respond.

Shiika felt like something warm had flown into her heart. There was also something else she felt deep down, in the deepest part of her heart, a feeling that had begun to change. Shiika’s slightly blushed cheeks, started blooming out into a smile…

“…Okay.”

She gently nodded in response.

The teenage boy, Kusuriya Daisuke, seemed to be very happy with Shiika’s answer.

However, when Daisuke tried to ask Shiika for her cell phone number, she shook her head. She knew she would not have such a thing called a cell phone. When Daisuke heard of it, he seemed to be quite surprised.

Shiika asked herself: Is carrying a cell phone supposed to be a norm nowadays?

Shiika tried reminiscing about her memories of the past before she returned to this town. Maybe it was true, since she hadn't seen TV for almost four years already. From what she could recall four years prior at the most, that was when cell phones started to get more and more popular.

In the end Shiika asked Daisuke for his cell phone number instead, and the two of them parted ways. Daisuke seemed to be very upset about having to go to school. Shiika said she had to go school as well.

Just when they were about to say goodbye to each other, Daisuke asked Shiika if she was going to do anything after school. Shiika felt troubled at first, but still answered his question honestly with, “Nothing much”.

Daisuke then said he had just finished his final exams, so today was a half day for him, and the two of them ended up agreeing to meet each other again at noon.

“…What should I do?”

Shiika muttered to herself, while walking along a busy street. So many unbelievable things had happened one after another, and her thoughts were just unable to keep up.

Why, did I –

Before her eyes, laid an inescapable place for Shiika. She didn’t know the reason why she appeared here now and the reason why it all happened at Ouka City.

People on the streets didn’t seem to care about the motionless Shiika; they continued to stream forwards.

Ouka City was a new city that began its fast development a decade ago. It seemed like the government was intending on making this city into a satellite city close to the capital, clearly showing their intention on developing the city. Since the city was also very close to the beach, it fulfilled the function of a tourist attraction, which made the entire development even more successful. Knowing that Christmas Eve was coming in three days, everywhere in the new city was filled with red, white, and green colored decorations.
An uneven surface street, that was still undergoing development, began to expand outwards in front of Shiika.

Although she was used to seeing these scenes every day in the past, she couldn’t help but want to cry right now from the overwhelming nostalgic feelings.

The city where Shiika was born.

Four years ago, there was no doubt that Shiika was a part of this city. Similar to the other teenage girls who were walking on the street, she was indeed an ordinary human.

In the endless horizon that she was gazing into, lay a place of terror that she absolutely didn’t want to return to.

Even now, she should not stay in this place.  She had no recollection of how she escaped from that place of terror and how she arrived here.  She was also confused about what to do next and where to go.  However, since her memories had been restored, she knew that she should leave Ouka City as soon as possible; to Shiika, this city was just way too dangerous.

Shiika turned around, planning to leave the city at once.

But—

“What should… I do?”

Her feet stopped sharply against her will. She turned back to look at the city, muttering to herself once again. She crossed her hands in front of her chest unintentionally, and gripped tightly.

She made a promise to the teenage boy she just met, to meet again at noon.

Even though Shiika was reluctant at the time, after looking at Daisuke’s desperate expression, she could not help but agree to his request. If Shiika ditched him now, would Daisuke feel sad? It was Daisuke who wanted to be friends with Shiika in the first place.

Shiika was happy; she had never thought that someone would want to be friends with someone like her. This was perhaps the first time ever. When she was younger, probably because of her being timid and not being good at expressing herself, she’d never made any friends. And now she was planning to break the appointment with such a person –

“Ah…”

A slight pain flashed across her chest. And that pain didn’t subside, but intensified as it reached her heart, eventually dispersing.

“I have to hurry and get out of here…”

Shiika bit her lips.

“If I only stay until noon, then it shouldn’t matter, right? Then I will end it once and for all…”

While Shiika muttered to herself, she accidentally heard the chitchat between two young adults that seemed like office workers near her.

“Hey, aren’t those self-defense squads? Did Mushitsuki appear again?”

“Wow, are you for real? That place is near my Senpai’s house!”

Shiika was shocked.

She looked in the direction those teen adults were staring at, a Self-Defense Force’s car could be seen driving from the other side of the road.

“Maybe, your Senpai is a Mushitsuki!”

“It would be awesome if that was true! If they take Senpai to the isolation facilities called Special something, then I wouldn’t have to listen to his lecture!”

“Idiot, it wouldn’t be awesome if it was true! Just think about it, if Mushitsuki appeared within the company, everyone would feel disgusted and quit!”

Shiika strolled through the crowds of people, and entered a shadow on the side of a building, then slowly stopped walking.

“…..”

She breathed in deeply in order to calm herself down. The chest pain that she felt earlier had already vanished like an illusion. Instead, indescribable loneliness and sadness had tightly bound her heart.

“I…”

A sense of uneasiness embraced Shiika as she raised her hand up to shoulder height.

If you’re here, then please appear…

She closed her eyes, calling forward again with force just like before. However her fingertips still didn’t feel any change. She opened her eyes timidly; there was nothing on her whitish palm. The sound of relief came out naturally from the corner of Shiika’s mouth because of the sudden loss of tension. She instantly knew that she was released from her state of anxiety.

“This …. is not a dream right?”

Shiika held her hands tightly together, as if she was trying to seize the cold air.

“Maybe before noon, I should go goof off somewhere…”

She whispered softly, raising her head and exposing a natural shallow smile.


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Thank you for reading~
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