Editing City Series:Volume3a Chapter 8 (section)

===Interlude 4===

The color purpled filled the sky.

Night was fast approaching. Scattered lights covered the city and the bustling movement of the streets was different from that of the daytime.

But even in Hong Kong, one area attempted to gain the stillness of night: the public graveyard of Kowloon’s administrative district.

The British-style graveyard was mostly covered by grass and had no lanterns. The only lights were those in the sky.

There was some slight sound there.

It was music played in the high notes of a sanxian.

The music rang long and short from near the center of the park filled with rows of gravestones and crosses.

A girl with white wings was playing the instrument and she sang the lyrics of the Flight Song.

“彼街通天地

“墜朝地仰雲

“昇夜空謳月

“惟望再笑君”

Akira’s high-pitched voice flowed and resounded with the notes of the sanxian…but then it stopped.

“…”

Once she finished singing, she placed the sanxian in the grass.

With a sigh, she turned around to face the polished slab-shaped gravestone there.

The brown stone was engraved with two names: those of her parents.

“I can’t believe this,” she said quietly while touching the gravestone.

…''For once, I really am not sure what to do.

Her slender fingers stroked the smooth stone surface, but she suddenly stopped.

“…”

Her fingertips wrapped around her father’s name and she asked a question.

“Gunmal? …You’re here, aren’t you?”

Her question led a figure to move along the grass.

The figure sighed and spoke in an exasperated tone.

“How did you know? I was suppressing my Live even more than usual.”

“It wasn’t your Live. I just thought you were probably there.”

Akira turned around and found Gunmal there.

She then asked him a question with her thoughts.

…''Why are you here?

“Why do you ask?”

“Because it would seem a little too contrived if you were just here by chance.”

“Too contrived? Isn’t there a better way of putting that?”

He smiled bitterly and sat on the grass to put him at eye level with her. His blue eyes looked down to the sanxian next to her. She could not read anything from his still gaze.

“My dad taught me how to play that.”

Hearing that, he looked up with a hint of surprise on his face.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Well… It’s just that you answered the question I was thinking. …Could you see it?”

She shook her head.

“Of course not. I’m not as talented as you.”

“Talented?”

“…Yeah.”

…''Lately, I’ve had a lot of opportunities to learn what level I’m on.

“Yeah, you probably would think that right now.”

“It isn’t just right now. That Tune Emblem uses Yin and Yang Lives, which are two of the secret Tune Bust techniques which include the space-time Lives, and it can even summon a dragon. That was kind of a shock.”

“So you feel kind of beaten?”

Gunmal sighed, let his shoulders droop a little, and looked down at the sanxian again.

“That thing sounded nice. …What was that song?”

“The Flight Song. My mom taught it to me.”

“Hm, she must have taught you well. And she must have been a good mom.”

…''What was your mom like?

He did not answer and she sighed.

“You didn’t get along.”

“Because she pissed me off. I haven’t forgotten a thing about those parents of mine.”

…''What were they like?

He crossed his arms to put on a show of thinking.

“Let’s see… I think one was a man and the other a woman. Oh, and I have a feeling they were older than me.”

“You idiot. You’ve forgotten plenty.”

“Then what were your parents like?”

“Do I have to answer?”

“You can give a joke answer if you want.”

“I can’t believe you.” She scratched her head. “It’s a little complicated. Because of a weird illness, my dad died of old age when he was still young.”

…''When I was a child, I was separated from them.

“And not long after I left for the surface, my mom died of Balance Fall…I think.”

“You think? So she might still be alive?”

“No. She noticed when I snuck out at night. And I found her braided hair on the table as all that remained.”

“And that’s in here too?”

He turned to the gravestone behind her and the Nein Engel girl nodded.

She then looked at him and eventually started laughing.

“What’s with that look, Gunmal?”

“Sorry.”

“The General knows about all this too, so it’s fine. And my parents left me with more than the sanxian. They taught me about Tuning and plenty of other things, so I’m pretty satisfied.”

“About Tuning too?”

“Yes, but didn’t I tell you they only taught me that?”

She looked away from him.

…''When I was a child, I tried to Tune in a weird way and I was never able to do much.

“A weird way?”

“When releasing your Live, you usually use a single note, but I was singing the Flight Song. My mom told me to learn the basics before using that method, so she taught me how to use the Wind Up method and I just got better and better from there.”

“…”

“And that’s how I got to where I am now. …But now my progress has stalled.”

She stopped speaking there.

…''Am I talking too much?

“It’s a lot better than sitting in silence.”

“Then what about you, Gunmal? You aren’t saying anything. Your brother is on the enemy’s side, so don’t you want to stop him?”

She turned toward him as she asked and their gazes seemed to audibly collide.

The silence lasted three full breaths, but Gunmal finally spoke while still looking her in the eye.

“I’m a pacifist, so instead of fighting…”

He shrugged.

“I prefer love and peace. Watching them from afar is best.”

…''Are you serious?

Her expression was harsh.

Puzzlement filled his face and he waited for her to speak, so she lowered her head and did so.

“With your talent, couldn’t you stop J-Gun?”

“Y’know, if my brother and I went on a rampage, it wouldn’t just hurt the city. It would hurt the people living there, us, and everyone else too.”

…''Aren’t you just running away?

“Running away?”

“Yes. And you’re using everything around you as a shield.”

“I see.” He nodded and replied in a rather frivolous tone. “And what’s wrong with that?”

Akira briefly bit her lip and suppressed the Live containing the words she impulsively wanted to say. Instead, she chose her words carefully and spoke slowly.

“I think that would be the least of our worries if Hong Kong is blown away. Something much, much worse would happen. And if the Nein Engels go to heaven, they’ll never again live alongside-…”

She suddenly stopped saying the words that she seemed to want someone to hear.

Her hand touched the gravestone behind her.

“…?”

She quickly looked up and at Gunmal.

…''Sorry.

“Hm?”

“I should have been saying all of that to myself.”

…''Did you read my Live and play along?

“Maybe.”

He smiled bitterly, reached out, and rubbed her head.

She closed her eyes and let him.

And at that moment, sound raced across the sky.

“!?”

The two of them looked up and saw a Live.

The sound raced by again.

The sound-producing Live was a brilliant red and its Tempo was high-pitched and almost earsplitting.

This was an alarm.

“The fifth alarm!? That’s the Divine Punishment Alarm!”

As if to answer Akira’s cry, her cellphone rang in her pocket.

She answered it quickly.

“Hello!? This is Akira! …Rin!? Why is the Divine Punishment Alarm going off!?”

“It’s an emergency! The Nein Engels have vanished from Hong Kong Cave!”

Despite the blaring alarm, Rin’s voice was perfectly clear over the phone’s speaker. She seemed to be placing her Live and a powerful Message in her voice.

“They aren’t going to wait until the Tank Force gets back! We need to head to the predicted spot! Will you be coming!?”

Akira turned to Gunmal.

…''What should I do?

He gave a deep nod.

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you no matter what happens.”

“Y-you idiot. Where did that nonsense come from?”

“Can’t you appreciate it a little?”

“Sure, sure.”

She smiled bitterly and spoke into the phone.

“I’m coming! Besides…it’s a sister’s job to stop her brother! Tell me where!”

“The Hung Hom thermal power station in eastern Kowloon!”

Rin then shouted something that truly went without saying.

“Hurry!”

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