Mixing Note

by Shūsuke Amagi

  Meishen's expression instantly stiffened.

  "There's no way out! The magazine had planned to make an article about all the platoons that performed well in the inter-platoon matches," Meishen murmured quietly like she would an apology. She knocked on the door of the seventeenth platoon and held onto the door handle at the same time.

  "Hello everyone!" In response to Mifi's cheery greeting, the door swung open. Her voice echoed within the room. This room was originally very quiet but shouts from within that could match those yelling in training exploded across it, making it seem a little out of place. Embarrassed by this unexpected situation, even Mifi couldn't stop her face turning red as she turned into a statue.

  "Aiyaya... Mifi? And why did you guys come?" From inside the room came Layfon's voice.

  "...Uhh... What exactly are you guys doing?" Mifi asked, puzzled. Since she was standing in the doorway, Meishen, who couldn't see what was going on, stood on her toes to look inside. Inside the room, hard metallic balls were rolling all over the floor.

  "Oh, we're training."

  "Is that so?"

  Layfon, Nina and Sharnid were standing on the metallic balls which were rolling all over the place, while Felli expressed no interest as she sat aside on a seat reading a book. Although standing on continually rolling balls was by no means an easy feat...

  "Wow, that's amazing. Is that for practicing balance?"

  "You're partially correct. This is a kei exercise, and through controlling the flow of the internal-type kei we aim to control the body's balance, and at the same time we try to use external-type kei to keep the balls stationary." As Layfon answered Mifi's question, he waved his Dite downwards at his feet a couple of times. Naruki eye's widened as she saw the ease with which Layfon moved about on the balls while waving his Dite around.

  "So the interviewers are you guys?" Nina, who was also standing on the metallic balls asked in surprise.

  "Ah, Yes, that's me. I'm the reporter from Weekly Look'n."

  "It must have been a busy day. Then, shall we begin?"

  "Ah, don't we need to go somewhere else?"

  "No, just here is fine."

  "That's right. The interview with me, the most handsome man in Zuellni, is something that happens once in a lifetime, so I should treat you guys to a drink. Layfon, quick, go get some drinks for these ladies." Sharnid leapt off the metallic balls lightly, landing in front of Mifi and her friends.

  "I think they didn't come here just to interview you. Well, where you conduct the interview doesn't really matter, so let's just talk here." As Nina pointed to the chairs, Felli wordlessly got up and left the seat continuing to read as she leaned on the opposite wall.

  Sharnid tossed a coin. Sighing, Layfon caught it in one hand and was about to go to the vending machine when...

  "......Ahh, let me help." Meishen followed Layfon to the vending machine.

  "I'm sorry." The soft drink cans dropped from the vending machine with a bump.

  "Eh?" Layfon picked up the soft drink cans. The finger that selected the fruit juices did not hesitate and it seemed that Layfon had already figured out the tastes of everyone in the platoon. This was proven by how he asked what flavor Meishen wanted (he still didn't know what flavors we like) and she felt a little disappointed.

  "I came without asking for your permission."

  "That's nothing to be worrying about, since we were going to have a break anyway." Layfon carried the cans for everyone and stood up, and after Meishen asked that she carry half, Layfon gave her the cans that she, Mifi and Naruki had asked for. Even though it was a rare opportunity for the two of them to be together without anyone else... yet she couldn't think of anything to say, so she could only follow Layfon in silence. She gazed at the back of Layfon as he walked ahead of her. It was his back, the back that had protected her at the opening ceremony of the school. At the time in that long line of people, a disturbance suddenly caused everyone to start pushing and shoving, and in the mess of it all a surprised Meishen had slipped and fallen over. If she had stayed like that any longer she would have been injured by the stampede of the crowd. It was at that time that Layfon had saved her, brushing aside the swarms of people and pulled her back to her feet, stopping her from being trampled to death. That might have just been a coincidence; even so, she could not forget the back that had protected her. Heaven's Blade Successor... That was Layfon's past and she wanted to know what it meant. If she were asked why she wanted to know so badly, then her only reason would be that she wanted to understand more about Layfon. Meishen couldn't think of any other reasons as to why she wanted to know. After she looked at his letter without his permission she had felt guilty, and as for the fragments of his past mentioned in the letter, did her simple desire to know merit her attempt at digging out all the information she could? Meishen didn't know how to answer. She was also guilty about not asking Layfon directly but instead asking others to gather information about him. Meishen didn't know whether what she was doing was right or wrong. (But...) She really wanted to know. Losing her chance for apologies, she decided to remain silent and stop thinking about the person named Leerin. The person who wrote that letter. Leerin was in Grendan, and Layfon was in Zuellni. If he could successfully graduate from here, then Meishen would have a whole six years with him.

  "...Mei?" Layfon turned his head in surprise, staring at Meishen who was standing rooted to the floor.

  "...Ah, sorry about that."

  "What's wrong?"

  "...Nothing." She replied, shaking her head. Meishen didn't want Layfon to see her expression right now, so she lowered her head. She suddenly understood what she really wanted to do. No, that wasn't it; she already knew what it was. In fact, she should have found out a long time ago. Even though she realized, she tried to not think about it, because that was the only way she could avoid reality. She really was a terrible person. Meishen had six years, and those six years was time that Leerin would never have with Layfon. She turned this into an advantage and accepted it. 'Advantage'... This word was suggestive of a scheme. It was perfunctory, ugly, and terrible beyond comparison. Her self that thought to take advantage of that was too ugly. Why would Meishen think like that? That left her disappointed and anxious. She was attracted by that back, attracted by that back which had once protected her and was now in front of her eyes. There was a person who knew that back a long time ago; there was a girl who understood the Layfon from before Zuellni very well. Every time she thought of that, she couldn't bear it. The 'advantage' that Meishen had thought of was just something that she had come up with after intense thought about this issue. Even though she did have an advantage time-wise, when Meishen thought about what she would be able to achieve in these six years she felt insecure. When she realized that her world was one limited to a world always with Mifi and Naruki she wondered how much she could do. When she realized that she had very little choice over her actions, she felt a deep horror welling up inside of her. In order to dispel those fears, in order to keep herself from feeling the anxiety caused by Leerin, an existence that she couldn't see, and in order to take herself out of a state of ignorance of his past, she decided that she needed to know. (I really am serious.) Meishen sat there thinking to herself resolutely.

  When Layfon opened the door, sounds of laughter came out from within.

  "This really is difficult," Naruki muttered to herself, scattering the metallic balls everywhere as she fell to the floor in embarrassment.

  "That wasn't bad for your first try," Sharnid said as he continued to stand on the metallic balls. He switched to one foot balancing on the balls and moved about with ease. Beside him, Mifi and Naruki "oohed" in amazement.

  "I've clearly started practicing before you did," Nina said quietly with indignation.

  "That's because I normally move about carefully without others noticing," Sharnid smugly replied and jumped off the balls.

  "Well... that means that your technique will continually improve."

  "I see."
Mifi nodded her head with an "Oh" as she wrote in her notebook. The extension to the interview was almost completely about carrying out different types of training.

  "Then, are there any platoons that catch your attention?"

  "All of them. Our platoon's weakness is extremely obvious. All the teams will probably pick up on it. In order to become victorious we can only try to find a way to overcome the weakness. There is no point in saying which platoons are strong because no matter which platoon it is they are all stronger than we are. All of us recognize that point very clearly. "

  "But your battle records are very good."

  "That battle record might not represent our actual strength, but our constant good luck is an irrefutable truth. I hope that our luck will be effective only when we are in an unforeseen pinch, like when we are seen through by the enemy and they begin to hinder our attacks, or when we are ambushed by the opponent's traps. If we rely on luck like that, then defeat won't be far away. That's why we're working hard to prevent that kind of stuff happening."

  "Keke. Then, would you please say some final words for the readers?"

  "I like this place, so that is why I joined the Military arts department. That is all."

  "Thank you very much for accepting our interview."

  Ending the interview, everyone started drinking the juice as they chatted about anything that came to their minds. Sharnid made innocuous jokes as Nina sat aside laughing bitterly, and seeing them, Mifi joined in too. Naruki was still sulking over what happened before, and dragged Layfon to help her continue her challenge against the metallic balls. Felli kept an expression saying "this has nothing to do with me" on the whole time. Meishen enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere that had spread across the room as well. Without knowing why, she felt anxious. Meishen thought that if she could fit in with everyone here, then she felt that the world that she was experiencing got a little bigger.

  But...

  "Oh yeah, have you guys heard of the phrase 'Heaven's Blade successor'?" With this sentence, Mifi tore apart the serene mood.

  Meishen didn't blame Mifi, as her strong sense of curiosity was without malice. Meishen knew a long time ago that Mifi would be unable to resist the enticement of unfamiliar things. Even though she clearly knew this, she still went and discussed her problem with Mifi, so she had no right to blame her. After class, Meishen had arrived at the park near the Alchemy Complex, alone. Not long before, she and Meishen had been eating ice cream together. At that time, she tried to open her mouth and ask, but she could only think about it and never act. As she reminisced, she stepped into the garden where night would soon arrive.

  There was a guest who had arrived already, and even though there was clearly a seat next to her, she was still standing. Seemingly hearing Meishen's footsteps, that person turned her head.

  It was Felli.

  Her silver-white hair swayed with her body, contrasting against the mood of the falling sun.

  "You really came by yourself."

  "...Yes." Meishen stood in front of Felli, so nervous that she thought her heart would leap out of her chest. After arriving at school, she found a note on her desk. On it said 'there is something I would like to discuss with you alone', and it specified the time and place. Meishen came alone, because the person who had asked her to come was the Psychokinesist, Felli and it would be impossible to trick her. If a psychokinesist wished, then they could even count the number of bugs that were in the garden. It was impossible for Naruki and Mifi to hide from her.

  "... I thought you wouldn't come."

  "I thought you wouldn't come either."

  When she picked up the letter from the desk, she was seen by two other people. The letter had been read by all three people, and they decided together that Meishen should go alone. Although Mifi held onto the idea of going together until the end, she met fierce resistance from Naruki.

  "This is a critical moment, and I think that if we do not obey this condition, then Meishen will have no way of intervening in any matter." Even though the Layfon they met in the classroom seemed calm and no different from normal, Meishen felt that something deep within him was forcing him to put up that kind of expression, and it seemed very wearing. Meishen hated that feeling when she was helpless and couldn't do anything. She wanted to see his back.

  "Without beating around the bush, please forget that phrase from yesterday."

  Heaven's Blade Successor.

  When Mifi said that word, Meishen felt that the temperature in the entire room had fallen. Mifi's question was like detonating a bomb, and the cracks created from the explosion separated Meishen and the others from the seventeenth platoon.

  Felli and the others knew what 'Heaven's Blade Successor' really meant, and they knew what that phrase had to do with Layfon and his past. Meishen didn't know. At that moment, she clearly felt the difference.

  "...Why?"

  "It has nothing to do with you, and I don't want an excessive burden on him."

  "...But" She wanted to know. She wanted to get closer to Layfon. Would forgetting this phrase allow her to get close to Layfon? No, it could only divide them further apart.

  Just as Meishen was about to open her mouth, Felli said "Just to satisfy your own curiosity, does revealing another person's past make you happy?"

  "...That's not it."

  "But that's exactly what you guys are doing. You are unnecessarily digging up the past of another person, in order to please yourself. And then, what are you going to do afterwards?" Of course she knew, she knew just how despicable her actions were. Just because she was afraid of that person in Grendan called Leerin, and in order to patch up the difference between them, Meishen wanted to know what that word meant, and at the same time she realized how inferior her actions were.

  "...I didn't think that doing so would please myself."

  But... But...

  "But, I still want to know. Even though I don't know what will happen if I do know ...but when I think about it, I feel afraid. Why must it be kept a secret? When I think about that fact, I feel afraid. "

  "Why?"

  Because if she knew, then perhaps her regard for Layfon might change a little. In Meishen's heart, her feelings for Layfon might change. She was afraid of that, and she was so afraid she was trembling. If her feeling changed like the flipping of a palm, then Meishen felt that she would definitely see herself as low and despicable. Even now, she was extremely jealous; jealous of the people in the seventeenth platoon who understood what she did not. She was jealous of the fact that even though they knew the truth about Layfon they still regarded him as a comrade. Layfon said that he would not return to Grendan. Was it that wasn't that he didn't want to return, but that he couldn't return? In the phrase "Heaven's Blade successor" was there hidden the reason that prevented his return? Was it because of that reason that Layfon had given up the path of the Military Arts? If it was the case, then what Meishen was doing now was undoubtedly poking into Layfon's unhealed wounds.

  "Then why do you want to know?" Felli asked Meishen for a reason.

  "I..." Even if she knew the reason hidden within the phrase, the people in the seventeenth squad still saw Layfon as a comrade.

  She wanted to protect.

  She was very regretful.

  It was as if she had been cast out of Layfon's world that she was regretful.

  "I..."

  The sound quivered.

  "... Because I like Layfon... Because I like him."

  That's why she wanted to know, but she was afraid that if she knew, her current relationship with Layfon might collapse. She didn't wish for her feelings to be trapped within herself. She wanted Layfon to understand. Even if it was only one sided to Layfon. She wanted to know about Layfon's past, even if she didn't really want to dig out everything about Layfon, but instead she wanted to verify, that even if she knew of Layfon's past, that her feelings for him would not change.

  "If you don't verify it, will you have no confidence in your feelings?"

&n
bsp; "...Yes"

  Felli's voice was reproachful, but Meishen nodded without disguise.

  "...Gingerly using the paws to test out the ground as you proceed. You only think about the step ahead, but think nothing of what the consequences are after. That isn't a very smart method."

  "..."

  After she knew, how would Layfon see Meishen... That's what Felli was trying to say. Was it possible for everything to stay the same...?

  "Well..." Facing Meishen, whose expression was beginning to stiffen from fear, Felli continued to speak. "If that is how you do things, then there isn't much left for me to say."

  After she said this, Felli turned away and left.

  "That..."

  "I have nothing to say to you anymore, and the last thing is a piece of advice." Felli said this as she was leaving. "I don't know if you want to know, or if you don't but either way it's very difficult."

  Meishen noticed that after saying this, Felli sighed.

  (Ahh... I see...) Watching Felli's shadow leaving the garden, Meishen felt ignorant. (There are many people who like Layfon.) And she, she was definitely...

  "Hu..." Accompanying her nervousness, loneliness, and weariness, finally recognizing this problem, Meishen laid on the ground, exhausted.

  Deep within herself, she felt that... there were a lot of hardships ahead of her.

  Epilogue

  She seriously couldn't stand him...

  On her way back to her accommodations at Zuellni, Leerin repeated this silently to herself again and again. Because it was going to be a long time before the next roaming bus arrived, there was nearly nobody staying here, and the hotel had a very empty feel to it.

  "What are you talking about, 'very cheap'? No matter how slow you are, there's gotta be a limit. Do you want to participate in the Slowness World Series?

  Leerin angrily grumbled to herself as she placed her luggage beside the bed and just lay like that on the bed.