Editing City Series:Volume4a Chapter 7 (section)

===Part 3===

'''7:59 PM

Shoui caught Saki’s airborne body.

“Are you okay!?”

“He was probably knocked out. I heard something cracking inside him,” lightly commented Hisahide as he pulled his leg back with a compact motion. “I just hope it wasn’t a bone.”

“How irresponsible can you be?”

Shoui supported the taller boy with his shoulder.

In that moment, he heard a quiet voice.

“Hisaka.”

It was Saki’s voice. He was using a Tech to speak remotely.

…''!?

“Don’t move. He’ll notice. He’s probably feeling pretty full of himself even though he only broke a spare spear.”

Saki’s hand tapped Shoui on the back.

“I know this is selfish, but buy me some time so I can escape.”

“…?”

“That was enough for me to know I can’t win this. I’ll run to the nearest guard station and get the security system back up and running.”

He took a breath.

“The cameras will at least capture him and the automatic defenses might even blow him away.”

As he listened to Saki, Shoui glanced over at Hisahide.

—''Shoui – Mind/Sight Tech – Multi-Take – Analyze Mind – Hit!

…''Doesn’t look like he’s noticed. So what should I do!?

The enemy gave him the answer he needed.

Hisahide took a step forward.

Shoui fled on reflex. As Hisahide charged in from straight ahead, he escaped to the side.

He ran into the dorm room to his right.

“You’re running!?”

Hisahide’s shout was cut off by the sound of the slamming door.

Shoui locked the door behind him and shoved Saki toward the window.

Saki looked back for just a moment.

“Hizaka!?”

“Get going!”

Saki did not reply or ask anything more.

His nod was all the answer he needed.

His tall form left the window and vanished into the darkness.

Shoui remained in the silent space.

He started breathing a sigh of relief at the fact that his split-second decision had worked and at the sudden change of scenery.

But then he slapped his cheeks.

The distinct sound woke him up, so he placed one foot out front and stood in front of the door.

…''How is he going to come in?

The enemy had no weapon, but he had the kicking technique that had sent Saki flying, a strange evasive method, and absolute confidence.

That thought brought unease to Shoui’s heart, but…

“I’m going to protect Yuuki, aren’t I?”

So he had to ask this boy who had come to attack Kansai whether he was prepared to defeat Koto Chancellor Yuuki Yuuki.

“…”
He lowered his hips and held his right arm at waist height. His target was the wooden door.

Nakamura Hisahide had to be on the other side.

In the instant the boy started to open the door, Shoui would blow the door away to catch him off guard.

He would need to time this perfectly. He could not surprise his opponent without attacking just before the door opened.

Shoui thought about that opponent.

…''Because I don’t have Words of my own, I can sense my opponent’s will, huh?

“Old Lady Senga used to say that all the time.”

He closed his eyes, read his opponent’s presence, and then predicted that opponent’s actions.

…''Twenty-two seconds have passed since I shut this door.

That was a long time and his opponent had been waiting silently the entire time.

Shoui thought about how long he needed to hide here.

And…

“!”

He opened his eyes and he began to move.

—''Shoui – Boxing/Gym/Savate Tech – Multi-Take – Destroy Object – Hit!

A Rhythm would give away his presence, so he did not use one.

He simply stepped straight forward.

It was a quick movement.

He simultaneously stomped his foot and thrust out the heel of his right palm.

The sound of the stomp reverberated around him.

A blow struck the center of the wooden door.

The door bent as the sound of impact rang out.

In that instant, he mentally pictured what he needed to do next.

Whether Hisahide had dodged or was caught in the destruction of the door, Shoui would grab the collar of his mountain hoodie.

Once he grabbed it, the boy could no longer dodge.

His thoughts arrived there in an instant.

In a span of time so small it went out several digits past the decimal point, a strange recoil reached Shoui’s hand.

The bending of the wood vanished.

…''He pushed it back!?

His thought was cut off by a sound much like a crack of thunder.

The door had been split apart.

Instead of flying outward or breaking inward, the wooden door split in two and flew to either side.

“…!?”

[[Image:City_v04a_229.jpg|thumb]]

As Shoui wondered what had happened, something touched the heel his outstretched right hand’s palm.

It was a slightly heated flat surface that felt both hard and springy.

It was the sole of a shoe.

“Wha-…!?”

Nakamura Hisahide stood before him after throwing a forward kick.

The sole of his raised right foot was in the exact same position as the heel of Shoui’s palm.

They had apparently both been thinking the exact same thing.

“Interesting,” said Hisahide as he lowered his leg. “Your fist can negate my kick through a door, can it?”

Their gazes clashed with a slight height difference.

Shoui’s plans for the fight fragilely crumbled in his mind.