Editing City Series:Volume4a Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 4===

'''7:37 PM

The voice came from overhead.

Shoui recognized the voice, so he took immediate action.

—''Shoui – Gym/Dodge Tech – Multiple Counter-Take – Leaping Dodge – Hit!

But Saki…

“What?”

Taking time to look up proved unwise.

A giant false arm and a girl were falling toward him.

“!”

And they landed on him.

The impact sounded a lot like metal striking flesh.

—''Taeko – Gym Tech – Take – Balance – Hit!

Immediately after punching Saki to the ground like a cushion, Taeko performed a cartwheel and ended up on her feet next to where Saki lay on the ground.

“That was a close one! Hey, boy! Ya alive?”

Saki did not respond, so Shoui did so in his stead.

“Hm, I think he might be a goner.”

“Oh, ya think so too? …I tried to copy ya, but it didn’t turn out too good.”

“You lost your balance due to that heavy Dragon Emperor, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, pretty much. Wah ha ha ha ha!”

“Ah ha ha ha ha!”

“Wah ha ha ha ha!”

“What do you think you’re laughing about, you morons!?”

Saki jumped to his feet and pointed at Taeko.

“You bitch! Don’t think I’ll hold back just cause you’re the Nagoya Chancellor!”

As he shouted at her, a trail of blood flowed from his hair and down his forehead.

The number of flowing red lines quickly grew and covered his entire face.

“Ohhhhh! I’m bleeding!”

“This guy sure is noisy. Is he really one of Osaka’s Special Duty Officers?”

“He has been pretty bloody and noisy, but he really is. Right, Saki-san?”

“Don’t give me that ‘Right, Saki-san?’ nonsense! Anyway, why are you here, Nagoya Chancellor!?”

Still shouting with blood flowing down his face, Saki glared at Taeko and Shoui before looking around the area.

Shoui followed his gaze and found a lot of people looking their way: the Tuners who were repairing the schoolyard, the police officers investigating the scene, and the many students.

“Oh, look. I’m the center of attention. I’m so cool.”

“Shut up! …Hey! Quit letting us distract you and get back to work! You want me to punch you!?”

Saki’s angry voice set everyone in motion again and Shoui nodded.

“That looks just like the townsfolk obeying their ruler’s reign of terror.”

“Do you ''want'' me to kill you?”

“Ya like saying scary things, don’t ya? Don’t tell me ya actually think ya can beat Shoui.”

Saki Seiji wiped the blood from his forehead and answered Taeko.

“A member of the Chancellor’s Officers would never lose to an amateur. But more importantly…”

“More importantly? …What is it?”

“Why are you even here, Nagoya Chancellor?”

“Explainin’ that would take a while.”

“Keep it short.”

“I felt like it.”

“What do you mean you ‘felt like it’, you utter moron!?”

“Oh, shut up. I just followed Shoui.”

“And that made you crash into me? …Are you really Nagoya’s Chancellor? You take everything you do too lightly!”

“Lookin’ for opportunities and changin’ yerself when they come along is the heart of Nagoya. ….The Nagoya Chancellor needs to be able to do what she wants and keep tabs on what’s goin’ on.”

As soon as she narrowed her eyes and smiled, Taeko suddenly grabbed Saki’s chin with her Dragon Emperor hand.

“Now, it’s my turn to ask. …Where is the Koto Chancellor?”

—''Taeko – Mind Tech – Take – Coerce – Hit!

Saki frowned and answered.

“You can’t see her? She’s sitting perfectly still right over there!”

He used his chin to gesture toward a cherry tree to the left.

The tree had split down the center due to the localized low temperature that had hit the school.

There was a glimpse of red in the shadow of the split trunk.

Shoui observed that fluttering red cloth hidden by the color of the tree.

—''Shoui – School Tech – Take – Uniform Recognition – Hit…

There was no mistaking it.

It was the uniform of Nandaimon Academy’s main school.

That was the girl’s school attended by Koto Chancellor and Koto Guardian Yuuki Yuuki.

The color moved.

The girl taking a break in the shadow of the broken and split tree trunk stood up.

The moving colors were the black and red of her uniform, the white of her blouse, and the pitch black of the hair that fell all the way to the back of her knees.

He saw her face look back his way.

“…”

In that instant, he saw the two years he had missed.

Yuuki had always had a mature look to her face, but in the past two years, she had grown to adulthood on the inside and transformed from being a girl to being a woman.

Her expression and movements contained a sharp, quick, cold, sleek, and powerful strength.

As if to confirm and smile at his surprise, her right eye glowed somewhat vermilion.

That false eye was known as the Phoenix, an alternative name for the Suzaku.

That eye of the vermilion bird faced motionlessly forward as if to more easily communicate with its main form floating in the heavens.

In contrast, her left eye slowly moved toward Shoui’s group.

—''Shoui – Sight Tech – Take – Sense Gaze – Miss.

Shoui could not tell if Yuuki’s eye was looking only at him or not.

Meanwhile, she began walking around the fallen tree.

She moved toward Shoui’s group.

“Here she comes, Shoui. This is what ya wanted.”

Shoui responded to Taeko with several forced nods.

“Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-what are you supposed to say when seeing someone again like this?”

“When it’s been a while since ya’ve seen them, ya should probably say ‘fancy seein’ you here’ or something.”

“You moron,” said Saki. “Don’t pretend this is some kind of coincidence. And when you meet someone again after a long time, you need to greet them with a smile to calm their heart! That’s the Osaka way! …Ow! Don’t grab me with that metal arm, you bitch!”

“Quit movin’ around and stay quiet. …Here she comes, Shoui.”

“Eh? Oh, right, um… Well, it’s true I should probably smile.”

Shoui turned around and found Yuuki there.

She was within arm’s reach now.

The past two years seemed concentrated into the spot at which she stood.

He wanted to say something but was not quite sure what.

“…”

After a few moments of silence, he raised his head and looked her in the eye.

It was too late now to say “fancy seeing you here”, so he causally raised a hand and did his best to sound cheerful.

“Hi, chancy seeing you here!”

Yuuki gave a short greeting in response.

It was only two words long.

“Get lost.”

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