Ultimate Antihero

Volume 4, Chapter 3 Part 8

Several dozen minutes before.

Ichinotani Chikori was taking refugee together with other refugees in geofront.

The angry bellows and cannon roars that were audible from above told her that the battle had already began.

Originally this girl with strong sense of justice would be standing in the front line.

But, the current Chikori couldn’t do that.

She couldn’t feel any strength.

Her heart wouldn’t cheer up.

What was inside her body was only……weariness that felt like cold heavy lead.

The reason was one thing. The death of Dorothy Scarlet.

Dorothy bore fatal wound due to her miss.

Nevertheless, she didn’t blame her, the candle of her life, she used its last single burning and showed her the path.

She entrusted her wish to Chikori.

――Yet, despite so,

(I……couldn’t answer it…………)

She was defeated against the <Special Missionary> Gimel.

If Sumika didn’t save her with <Grim Bullet>, she too would surely lose her life.

……No, perhaps she should have lost her life instead.

She was so useless that she dragged down Dorothy and made her died a dog death.

(……Even if someone like me fight, I won’t be useful to anyone…………)

Shame was continuing to torment Chikori.

That figure of the girl who was overflowing with vigor and sense of justice stronger than anyone was nowhere to be found.

With shaky step like a ghost, Chikori was wandering the geofront aimlessly.

……It was at that kind of time.

The ear of the girl heard an out of place sound.

Loud cheers of many people that sounded like noise and vibration like an earthquake that struck her abdomen.

(…………?>

Chikori’s feet reflexively headed there wondering what was going on.

The place she arrived at was a single automatic door.

It was a door connected with the hall that accommodated the refugee.

The sound was resounding from inside.

There was a device for fingerprint authentication at the side of the door.

Normally it couldn’t be opened except by the fingerprint of facility staff, but right now was an emergency situation, it was set so that it could be opened by the fingerprint of all human registered in the census of Tokyo life sphere.

Chikori knew about that, so the girl put her hand on the device and opened the door.

And then――, the girl witnessed a bizarre sight there.

On the stage made by lining up several dozen long tables for meeting, were men singing and dancing with music instrument in hand, in front of them were the figures of refugees raising joyful voices while waving their hand jumping up and down.

(Wha, what is, this……?)

That was a sight that surpassed Chikori’s understanding.

The now when Tokyo life sphere that was their home would perish.

The now where anyone would sit down on the floor and dropped their gaze to the floor from the despair in front of them.

Just what in the world, this commotion was?

While Chikori was confused like that,

{Hey you’re in the way! Move aside!}

Suddenly Chikori was shoved aside by someone.

{Finally find it! It’s here, here!}

{Uwwaaa, there is a lot of people here already yeah! Quickly enter, c’mon!}

There was a group of three that shoved Chikori, they were girls in the same age group with Chikori.

The girls were going to step their feet into the whirlpool of noise with cheerful expression.

Chikori called out to those girls to stop and asked.

{E, excuse me-! This is, what are they doing here?}

The girls went {Haa?} with dubious faces and turned around at Chikori,

{E―. You don’t know?}

{It’s big news in the Twitter see!}

They only told her that before rushing inside the commotion.

The automatic door closed at the same time.

Chikori who was left behind in the corridor of geofront tried to access the Twitter from her mobile phone relying on the girls’ words.

And then Chikori realized the meaning of the girls’ words and got so shocked she lost her words.

Because in this brink of ruin, what filled to the brim the timeline in there wasn’t words cursing their own fate, but voices of joy.

The reason was because in this moment, the celebrities were holding event everywhere in geofront.

Not only the musician just now. From idol and comedian, first class sport athlete, comic story teller and shogi player――various kind of people were performing live, holding events like competition between fellow star players, encouraging the people who were taking refuge in geofront.

Looking at the photo that captured that situation, Chikori gulped down.

Among the people singing song while dripping in sweat――

(There are even injured people there……)

They were probably the people injured at the riot that occurred several hours ago or when they were evacuating here.

But even so, there wasn’t a single bitter expression among these people that took photo.

A famous idol with bandage wrapping his face, yet even so he didn’t look ashamed even with his appearance broadcasted everywhere while making bright smile, a rock musician that lost his leg was sitting on a chair while plucking his guitar.

Wasn’t it tough? Wasn’t it painful?

There was no way it wasn’t tough. There was no way it wasn’t painful.

But, they didn’t stop. They didn’t look like they were going to stop.

……They were fighting.

Even though they couldn’t go out to the battlefield.

The thing that they could do. ――They did it with all that they had.

――I’m waiting in the battlefield.

{-……}

The words of Sumika refrained in the back of her mind while looking at these people’s figure.

Those words made her chest throbbed achingly.

Naturally she had the guilt feeling toward her action that was running away even while possessing the strength to fight in this predicament.

But more than that guilt, was this feeling of Chikori.

That she couldn’t do anything, anything at all.

(If I will only become a burden, then it’s better to not do anything……)

Chikori leaned her back on the cold wall, her waist was dropping draggingly on the corridor.

She had walked until this place dragging her feet as if parting through a bog where she was sinking without end, but now she was already tired.

But, just when her waist would completely fall, at that instant,

{Chikori-!}

{Eh}

A familiar parched voice of a fat man struck her ear.

In disbelief, Chikori lifted her facing down gaze,

{Oo, I was looking for you, Chikoriii~~~~–!}

Suddenly she was hugged by a really big and strong strength.

This voice, this strength, Chikori knew it really well.

Chikori pushed at the chest of the man that was hugging her tight and tore off herself before looking at the face of the man she couldn’t believe to be here,

{Pa, Papa-!?}

She raised a shocked voice.

Thick eyebrow. Unshaven face. Big body like a bear.

There was no way for her to mistake such peculiar father.

And then,

{Chikori-chan. Are you okay? You are not hurt or anything?}

Behind the father, there was a petite female with the same hair color with Chikori.

This woman was Chikori’s mother. Ichinotani Mizuki.

Her unexpected reunion with her parents made Chikori stared in wonder.

{Even Mama……! Why are you in this kind of place?}

Mizuki made a gentle smile and answered that question.

{We received a contact from the vice principal that Chikori-chan decline to be deployed this time, so we came here to pick you up. The time is like this. Doesn’t it make you want to be together with your family?}

{Mama……}

And then the father, Ichinotani Kazuma also gave kind words to his daughter.

{Now let’s evacuate together with papa and mama. What, if there is some guy grumbling why Chikori doesn’t fight, papa will glare at him and make him shut up, so just rest assured!}

{Dear, you are always opposing for Chikori-chan to fight all this time aren’t youu? You’ve go until the residence of the prime minister to yell there.}

{Obviously. How is going to take responsibility if something happen at our only daughter! ……Come on Chikori. Let’s go to join the other. Since Chikori entered the sorcery academy, we have never get a happy family get-together all this time. By any chance today might become our last day so……}

Kazuma who said that held out his large palm at Chikori.

It was the strong large hand of her father that had been protecting their family all this time.

Right now it looked so reliable that she wanted to cry.

{…………}

The exhausted Chikori was just like a baby that was going to unconsciously grasped at the finger of her parents with her small hand, her right hand reached out following her instinct――

(Ah!)

But, just when her clenched five fingers opened in order to grasp at her father’s hand, at that instant,

With a tumble, something was going to fall down from inside her right palm.

Chikori immediately closed her fingers and gripped tightly.

That was a reflexive action. Chikori herself, just what was she clutching in her right hand, what was going to fall down, she didn’t understand any of that while acting.

Just what in the world was she clutching she wondered.

Chikori felt a question and opened her hand, ――she was speechless.

The thing that she had been clutching all this time.

That was, ……a drop of <Fairy Pill> that Sumika handed to her.

{Chikori?}

(This……?)

She wondered just why she was gripping something like this all this time.

Unable to understand her own action, Chikori expressed her bewilderment.

On the other hand her father, Kazuma showed a worried expression at the baffling action of his daughter that immediately pulled back her hand when she was going to take his hand.

{What’s wrong Chikori? Don’t tell me, as I though you are really hurt somewhere!?}

{N, no……}

Chikori shook her head in denial.

But――

(Wh, y……?)

She tried to take the hand of Kazuma once again, but Chikori’s expression changed from bewilderment into chaos.

She decided to not fight anymore.

She betrayed her comrades, she even turned her back to the word of her important friend, she was here right now.

Then something like this should be unnecessary already for her.

Released it, took her father’s hand, ……passed her last time with her parents.

That was what she was wishing for. Should be. Yet even so――

Each time she thought that, Chikori’s right hand went against her will and gripped the <Fairy Pill> so tightly it hurts.

(Why……can’t I let go?)

The confused Chikori.

To this kind of Chikori,

{……Chikori-chan.}

Her mother, Mizuki addressed her with a gentle voice.

{You see, papa and mama, when we heard that Chikori-chan refused to go out, we were really worried. Chikori-chan who worked really hard like that to protect everyone, to refuse going out from yourself in this really critical situation……, just how much you were hurt and got overwhelmed we wondered. ……That’s why, we came to pick you up. Because when you are exhausted, the time when there is nothing that you can do, the place for Chikori-chan to go back, is at the side of papa and mama.}

{Mama…………}

That’s why, you don’t need to keep at it and go home with us…….

Those were the continuing words.

Surely that was the case, Kazuma thought.

Probably , Chikori too.

――But,

{But. It seems that Chikori-chan, still doesn’t need us.}

The continuation of the words that Mizuki said with a little lonely tone was something that the two couldn’t even imagine.

{!}

{Wha, Mizuki! What are you saying! Chikori won’t fight anymore, so obviously she got to be beside us! Right Chikori? You, won’t fight anymore right?}

{I, I…………I wo…………-}

Being asked, Chikori was at a loss how to answer.

She wouldn’t fight.

Despite how she should have decided so, she was unable to open her right hand in order to grasp the hand of her father.

{I don’t know……. Even I don’t know anymore, what should I do, I just don’t know……!}

The extreme confusion made her leaked out sobbing, as if to spit out all the muddled emotions that even Chikori herself couldn’t sort.

The right hand of such Chikori, which was clenching so strongly that her fingertips congested, was wrapped by the small warm hands of Mizuki.

{a}

{Your hand that was warm like the sun is this cold. ……It’s hard isn’t it. It’s painful isn’t it.}

{Mama……}

{But you see, Chikori-chan. You lie that you don’t know what you should be doing. You should have understand already. What you want to do. What you can do. Because even this hand that has become so cold like this, is still gripping on tightly to something that you won’t let go no matter what, something that you still have.}

For Chikori who had used up her magic power, the <Fairy Pill> was the strength so that she could fight one more time.

It was the strength created by the fairies by throwing away their life, so that she could stand up once more.

For her to grip that and wouldn’t let go only have one meaning.

Chikori too felt that vaguely. She understood. However――

{……However, because I’m weak……I can only become a burden to everyone……. Dorothy-san……even though she bet her life for someone like me……even though she entrusted her wish to me……nothing, not a single thing, I…………}

{I see. Then, that’s all the more reason that you must keep at it.}

{Eh.}

{Because Chikori-chan, you still haven’t answered them, your own feeling, and even the wish entrusted to you.}

{-!}

It was the moment when Mizuki told her so.

The <Fairy Pill> grasped inside Chikori’s hand suddenly wore a tinge of heat like the sunlight, emitting rainbow colored light that overflowed from her palm.

The surprised Chikori opened her clenched hand, where the <Fairy Pill> was slowly dissolving into her palm.

And then――

At the same time when all of it dissolved and vanished, the light of sky colored magic power blew out from Chikori’s body as a gale.

That light of magic power was surging out from inside her body, where Chikori could feel inside her the strength of pervading will,

Let’s go.

Let’s go.

The vestiges of the fairies’ determination hurried her on like so.

The voices of the people who died noble death leaving their wish to Chikori.

{That’s why……take care, Chikori-chan.}