Editing City Series:Volume3a Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 3===

The roar of the ground being struck rang out in a great surge.

The destruction occurred in an instant.

“That was close.”

Akira sounded almost carefree as she landed on the red roof of a neighboring shop.

While trying to get up, the ''Qinghu'' slammed a front paw into the roof.

“Wah!”

Akira was launched into the air by the roof’s flexibility and she performed a flip before landing on the road.

By that time, the ''Qinghu'' had gotten back up.

Looking at it a little differently, the two of them could be seen as a bird and a cat.

The predator and prey’s eyes met.

…''This is uncomfortable.

Akira’s fears were justified.

So…

“Try to calm down, okay?”

With that comment, she turned her back on the ''Qinghu'' and began to run.

She began her escape to buy some time. Meanwhile, she sensed the ''Qinghu'' dashing behind her.

…''How am I supposed to defeat this thing?

She continued to run while keeping her wings up so she could take flight at any moment. She rushed through the deserted shopping district.

The light brown streetlights illuminated her.

She heard her racing footsteps, breathing, and pulse as well as the much louder sounds of buildings and storefront stands being destroyed behind her.

The pursuing footsteps were growing closer and closer. She occasionally heard something like stones striking each other right behind her head, and she knew that had to be the tiger’s teeth striking together.

…''Not good, not good, not good! I’m really gonna be eaten!

She faced forward and found the blue wall of police officers a mere thirty meters ahead.

She was shocked to find they were all aiming their guns and cannons her way.

A closer look showed their commander was raising one hand.

But he was not greeting her.

“Eh? Wait! I’m right here!”

“Fire!”

The roar of gunfire reached her.

White smoke rose in front of the blue wall and pure red bullets of light shot out.

“Wah!”

Akira flew backwards as if something had repelled her.

This surprised the ''Qinghu'' pursuing her from behind. This strange action by its prey made it stumble.

She slipped between its hesitant legs.

She quickly moved behind the ''Qinghu''.

An instant later, she heard something explode.

A solid impact slammed into the giant beast and sent it into the air over Akira’s head.

“You idiots! Don’t disturb its Live any more!”

The ''Qinghu'' grew even larger because the bombardment had further disturbed its Live.

Avoiding its giant form as it fell was not an easy task.

She flew backwards just like before.

With a great roar, the ''Qinghu''’s back fell to the ground, but it immediately twisted around and stood up.

It was glaring at Akira, but she ignored it.

She caught her breath and started back down the same path she had run before.

As she did, she struck the destroyed buildings with the tip of her spear. Doing so emitted sound and light from the Device.

She was preparing to Tune.

“Oh, you 640,000 Octave Lives surrounding me! You silent stone, chirping wood, and murmuring glass, can you hear my Live!?”

She cried out and sang her own Live.

It began with “la”.

The Word Color was the white of moonlight and it had a loud, gentle Tempo.

That created a Message.

The Message combined an image of the destroyed building with the flapping wings of birds.

The rubble enveloped by the spear’s light and sound was transformed.

The wooden rubble became brown birds.

The concrete rubble became large white and gray birds.

The glass shards became small blue birds.

More were created as she ran and they flew into the night sky to avoid the pursuing ''Qinghu''.

This was the Live healing that Akira could perform as a Tuner.

Tuning would use some other Message to regulate disturbed Lives.

All of the flying birds would eventually return to their proper locations. Then they would return to their original form as wood or walls. But instead of the rubble, they would have become the original buildings once more.

That was the end result of Live healing through Tuning.

Akira continued singing and brought the blade of her Device to her own body.

Some light raced through her.

The light had an orange Word Color and the Tempo of a slightly quickened pulse.

It was the Live of fear.

She used Tuning to expel the emotion from her body and she manipulated those Lives. The orange balls of light became small orange mice that hid behind the nearby rubble. 

She sighed when she saw it.

“Okay. I can do this.”

With that, she returned to her starting point.

She stopped and faced forward to find the ''Qinghu'' charging toward her, but she did not mind.

She could hear a radio that had been playing for a while.

The broadcast was playing a certain song.

彼街通天地 (That city connects heaven and earth)

墜朝地仰雲 (I fall in the morning and look up to the clouds from the earth)

昇夜空謳月 (I rise at night and sing with the moon in the sky)

惟望再笑君 (All I desire is to smile with you again)

That was the Flight Song which had long been passed down in Hong Kong.

…''My parents liked that song, didn’t they?

Listening to it calmed her pulse and breathing.

Her opponent was approaching up ahead. It raised its claws and slammed them down toward her, but she charged forward.

She matched the arcing movement of the lowering claws and moved right up to the beast. She felt a brief, sharp pain in her back, but she ignored it.

She looked up and saw the ''Qinghu''’s throat.

That was the core.

She gathered strength in her legs and slammed her entire body into it as she drove the tip of her spear into that one point.

With the sound of tearing paper, the ''Qinghu'' stopped moving.

And she had her Device send out her own Live.

Her Live was a single sound beginning with “la”. Its Word Color was gray and its Tempo was on the slower side. The Message it conveyed was the Yau Ma Tei restaurant. And the image she included was…

It did not even take three seconds for it all to end.