[Mushi Uta v2 ] Chapter 2.04: Touko Part 2

Here's the next one for Mushi uta

Enjoy~

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Translated : Wing
Edited : Skat,

Version: 1.01
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2.04

Touko Part 2



In a dark room somewhere at the 3rd sub floor of the new Internal Affairs of Ministry building, Touko was muttering repeatedly to herself as if she was cursing:

“Why do I have to work during a holiday… Why do I have to work during a holiday… Why do I have to work…”

Although it did not seem like it, the room was actually one of the SEPB’s data rooms, hence it was severely guarded. Those that wanted to enter were required to show their employee ID, and they must have obtained permission from the Central Headquarters beforehand.

Touko was struggling desperately in front of mountain of files, while the men, that wore security uniforms, stared at her from a distance.

Since the jurisdiction of the new Internal Affairs of Ministry was under the Central Headquarters’ control, just the process of applying to enter this place took more than days than it should have.

“… Ugh --- There’re nothing but useless stuff here!”

Touko laid on top of the table, complaining to herself.

“Goromaru-kun.”

A middle-aged man with some white hairs on his head said that as he stood at the entrance. He was wearing a very neat suit and looked very organized from top to toe. Judging from his looks, most people would have probably thought that he worked as a manager for some small business or something.

Upon seeing him, Touko shot her desperate gazes at him as if she was eagerly looking for help.

“Branch-director assistant Ishimaki!”

“I have been looking for you for a while. No wonder I couldn’t contact you through phone, so you were here after all.”

As he was walking towards her, Ishimaki paid his respects when he suddenly remembered something.

“Oh right, you’re the deputy branch-director right now. I’m so used to the time back when Haji-san was the head; when orders were given out in such a good and relaxed way. It’s indeed regretful to have the situation turn out like this. Nevertheless, I apologize for my rudeness.”

“Please stop that. I know I don’t have the appearance of a person serving as the deputy branch-director. Please just treat me like usual.”

“Oh, that would be great. To be honest, it felt really awkward if I were to bow down to you.”

“… You’re still the same eh? So straightforward…”

Ishimaki is the East Central Division’s branch-director assistant; which meant he was the man who served as Haji’s right hand no so long ago. But right now, in principle, he is Touko’s assistant.

He took out a portable ashtray and cigarettes from his inner pocket, and sat on the table that was in front of Touko. The figure of him lighting the cigar and smoking seemed like an office worker that was stressed out from work.

"Why are you staying here instead of going back to Ouka City. I thought you'd already fled back to you blanket in order to escape from this reality."

“I was scolded by Daisuke through the phone. Seriously, that boy would look quite lovely if he wasn't angry… Ah, Ishimaki-san, this is a no-smoking area…”

“It’s fine as long as I’m not caught! Ah, would you like one? It must be tiring for you to stand this long right?”

Ishimaki passed a cigarette to the security guard on the side. However, after taking the cigarette, the security guard placed it on the table emotionlessly before walking away with a nonchalant attitude.

Just then, the sound of Touko and Ishimaki’s sigh overlapped.

“Because of the member shortage in the East Central Division, I can only come here and see if I can find anyone good. I heard Haji-senpai used this method before and found some pretty talented Mushitsuki.”

“You mean (C), (NeNe), and (Kasuou)? Well, since Ishi type Mushitsuki's ability and strength level were hard to test, there were quite a few of them that were enrolled directly as no-rank without even taking the ranking test... But in the end, they were taken back by the Central Headquarters... Since Haji-kun had already done this once, I doubt there would be any more left."

"I guess you're right..."

"But if we could find at least one person... That's right, just one would be enough. As long as we could get a Mushitsuki that's level three ranked or higher, we would be able to reduce (Kakkou)'s burden and also keep the Central Headquarters in check. It's all thanks to (Fuyuhotaru) right now that the East Central Division was able to keep its place, but this situation probably won't last long... But it would be too unstable to use her to fight as a member of the East Central Division."

"So I guess the options are either we lose (Fuyuhotaru) or lose (Kakkou), or that maybe the East Central Division will succumb to other organizations?... Those are the worst outcomes I can think of."

"Why don’t we just hand over the East Central Division and be done with it?"

Touko said with a joking manner, and Ishimaki replied happily:

"That works too! That way, both you and I would have it easy— it should be nice. But if we were to do that, there will be no one left to obstruct the Central Headquarters; and they will definitely go all out and try to solve the mystery of Mushitsuki by any means. They will put the captured Mushitsuki into experiments, research them thoroughly, and depose of them afterwards. And of course, they wouldn't have any desire to search for (The Original Three), who gave birth to such precious research materials. Whenever I think of this, I always recall how incredible Haji-kun was. Even though he might the one who is hated the most by all Mushitsuki, he is actually the one who is protecting them all..."

Touko laid on the table; being silent.

In order to defeat (Mushi), one must defeat the Mushitsuki in front of it. Haji Keigo's strongest point was that he was able to perform such task. In order to save thousands of Mushitsuki in the future, he would defeat the current hundreds of Mushitsuki without any hesitation.

"I... probably could never become someone like Haji-senpai..."

"Oh spare me please, it would be too much for me if another one of him were to appear. The gastric perforation that I have will become two if that happens, okay?"

Touko heaved as she gazed at the mountain piles of folders, before suddenly recalling something, and felt puzzled.

Daisuke and Ishimaki said that Haji was looking for (The Original Three).

So after Touko arrived at this data room, she tried to look for some Intel regarding (Shinpu), one of (The Original Three) along the way, but she only found some very general information. In other words, their intentions and purposes were still unknown; only their appearances and behavioral patterns were recorded in the files.

Even (Shinpu), who was related to the current mission, didn't have anything on record aside from his appearance and past behavioral patterns.

(Shinpu) ---

One of prototype (Mushi) that could give birth to Special type Mushitsuki. No one knew what intention he had for appearing in Housawa Town right now. But since he had a fixed behavior patterns, which were different from the other Originals; theoretically speaking, if they were able to obtain sufficient clues, then it wouldn't be a problem to either capture or eliminate him.

Why did (Shinpu) turn Senri into a Mushitsuki? And why did he appear in Housawa Town right now? While looking deeper into the truth, Touko noticed someone.

And that person was Harukiyo.

He was ranked as a dangerous Ishu level one Mushitsuki by the SEPB; the leader of the third organization beside (Mushibane). He is a Special type Mushitsuki, which means that it was (Shinpu) who turned him into a Mushitsuki. Touko thought that, if she were to know more about him, she might be able to find out more clues about (Shinpu). However ---

"Harukiyo..."

Touko subconsciously muttered, causing Ishimaki who was dangling his cigarette in his mouth to turn and look at her:

"What did you say?"

"Ah, no it's nothing... I just remembered that guy called Harukiyo was also a Special type Mushitsuki just like Senri."

"Ya, well he's just the same as (Kakkou), a level one ranked monster, that’s all."

"There was nothing..."

"Hmm?"

"There was nothing about him in the database... Yes, just as little as (The Original Three)."

Touko had intended on looking deeper into Harukiyo, using him as a reference of some sort. That way, she could better understand about Senri who was also a Special type Mushitsuki, but there was nothing about him. The only thing she found about him was just his appearance, just like (The Original Three). But why would someone like him whose ability and power wasn't recorded or even known got ranked as a level one Mushitsuki?

"Is that guy related to the mission? Why are you looking into him?"

"No, it's just that... something felt weird. He is an Ishu level one Mushitsuki, the leader of the third organization that had few but elite and capable members... We know nothing about him aside from what I just said, yet how come he was ranked with such title?"

"Goromaru-kun, I think that..."

"Yes?"

"It'd be best for you if you could stop spacing out and daydreaming like that... Do you even have time to space out?"

"Ugh...!'

What Ishimaki said was correct, for the sake of getting Daisuke back to Ouka City as quickly as possible, she needed to take care of a lot of things. Right now, there wasn't any Intel which indicated that Harukiyo was even related to this mission. It seemed like she was starting to lose focus because of the overwhelming tasks and problems.

"Branch-director assistant Ishimaki, could you do me a favor?"

Touko raised her head up.

"Could you take over the deputy branch-director's position for me? This should be the promotional opportunity that you were longing for!"

Ishimaki lowered his head and look at Touko who was laughing like a silly idiot, before frowning as if he had just seen a ghost.

"Stop joking around, an ordinary citizen like me could never take a position like that! I'm more happy with my current paper-pushing position."

"I'm also just an ordinary citizen!"

"Wrong, you're worse off than an ordinary citizen."

"… Don’t say that so bluntly!"

"Well nevertheless, I don't intend on staying like this forever … If anything happens, I still have the chance of transferring to the Central Headquarters."

"Ah! How sly! Branch-director assistant, that's just too sly of you! My baby beetle car still has loan to pay off ~~~"

Upon hearing the sound of footsteps, the two of them that almost fell into an argument, immediately came to a stop.

At the entrance of the room, a man was standing there as if he was deliberately blocking the narrow entrance. It was a man who's shorter than Touko by a head, even though he was wearing a loose-fitting suit, one would still able to tell that his weight should be at least twice of Touko's. Even though it was still January, in a building that had air conditioning, he was still sweating huge droplets of sweat on his forehead.

"Since when did this place become an inaugural discussion room?"

Ishimaki immediately let go of Touko's hand, and paid his respects.

"Long time no see, Commissioner Inose."

The man who appeared was Inose Gorou. He is a member of the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, and also a member of the SEPB's Central Headquarters. In the Central Headquarters, since most of the higher ups like director rarely show their appearance, it was mostly Commissioner Inose who came and carried out their orders. When Touko was assigned as the deputy branch-director of the East Central Division, it was he who came and gave her the official documents.

Inose moved his huge body and waved them off.

"Ah, it's okay; don't have to be so formal."

"That won't do, rules are rules after all.'

Ishimaki then revealed a very professional smile at Inose who was ten years younger than him. When Touko saw that his attitude was totally different than the time when he greeted her, she could not help but be dumbfounded.

"Goromaru-kun."

"Y-Yes!"

"A new order was just issued for (Kakkou)'s mission. I heard that you were here, so I came directly here to tell you."

"Ah?"

"The target which he is monitoring right now will be temporarily transferred to Ouka City. The mission will be put into action a week from now, using the school trip of the school she attends as a cover."

Inose said that line with ease, yet Touko and Ishimaki were dumbfounded as they exchanged glances at each other.

"Uh... M-may I ask, why so suddenly?..."

"The Headquarters' inspector squad has confirmed that the target, approximately two hours ago, had endangered the general public with her actions. From now on, the target will be classified as a Special type no-rank Mushitsuki, (Himiko). She will temporarily reside in the East Central Division until we dispatch guards to transfer her to the Headquarters. In short, we are planning to carry out the transfer plan as soon as possible."

In place of Touko who was speechless, Ishimaki asked with a confused tone:

"We haven't heard of the Headquarters' mobilization of the monitor squad…? Aside from (Kakkou), is there someone else from the West Southwest Division that is monitoring Haji Senri as well?"

"Mhm, it was a precautionary measure."

"But if they were someone that even (Kakkou) wasn't aware of, then they should be high leveled Mushitsuki right? … How could someone like that be used as 'a precautionary measure'."

"I said it was just a precautionary measure already."

When Touko saw Inose's smile, she felt a chill up her spine. Although Inose was smiling, his eyes weren't friendly at all. He was probably signaling that they should stop delving deeper into the topic.

"In addition, we had received Intel indicating that the remnant of (Mushibane) might be coveting for (Himiko). Was it because she is Haji-san's sister that they thought it might be a good idea to capture her as hostage? He sure is hated by all Mushitsuki eh. Well henceforth, after taking the potential risk into consideration, we have decided to place the transfer plan that was under debate into action. In order to make a cover for the (Himiko)'s transfer, we also deliberately changed the school's field trip day to make it less conspicuous."

"Ah... … Does that mean (Kakkou)'s permit to engage is approved?---"

"Permit? That sort of thing wasn't issued."

Inose answered Touko's question with a light-hearted attitude, which caused Touko and Ishimaki to become even more dumbfounded.

"B-But, you just said that (Mushibane) has set their eyes on the target...… Theoretically speaking, we should let the West Southwest Division confirm her safety. Transferring her at this time is inherently dangerous ---"

"It was just an assumption. There's no way we would permit a Kashu level one ranked Mushitsuki to engage in battle because of this little matter."

"How could you say this is a little matter..."

Touko was at loss for words.

Just then, Ishimaki stood up; there wasn't any smile on his face anymore.

"Inspector Inose, is the Headquarters' monitor squad monitoring over (Himiko)? Or..."

"Of course we're monitoring the capture target! Why are you asking this obvious question?"

Ishimaki's expression was completely frozen.

The capture target --- He never clarified that it meant Haji Senri... Perhaps, he meant someone else --- for example, (Kakkou).

"Also, Goromaru-kun."

"Y-Yes."

"I heard that you're quite troubled because of the member shortage, right? The head-director was well aware of it, so we decided to dispatch some members from the Headquarters over to you. And of course, they will be performing the most dangerous task of all --- Guarding the research facility of (Fuyuhotaru)."

Ishimaki's expression became pale immediately.

"B-But...!"

"This has already been approved, and has also received permission from the head director. Now the East Central Division's member can go perform their normal tasks without any worries."

While laughing, Inose moved his huge body and left the data room.

The two of them that were left behind in the dark room, were gazing dazedly at Inose's outline as it began to vanish.

"…… The Headquarters has finally acted. They planned on sealing (Kakkou)'s actions, and using this chance to dispatch their troops into the Division."

"Does that mean...… they are going to take over the East Central Division?..."

"If only we had a high leveled Mushitsuki with us, we wouldn't have to …"

Ishimaki was clenching his fists with vexed expression.

"Ishimaki-san, what should we do...…"

Although Touko was asking for help, Ishimaki could only show his daunted expression, unable to answer her plea.

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Thank you for reading~
Feel free to leave comments for any questions or feedback~
Well bad/good new! Since the lightnovel.cn translation group just finished translating the whole 12th volume of Mushi uta into chinese (They took less than two weeks to finish @.@), i'll be camping sometime in front of my computer for it.

It's just pure epicness =D, so far i have read up to like 1.02 chapters, it felt nice that the story finally bought up events from the Mushi Uta Bug. Oh and the next chap is done translating, waiting for skat to finish~