Editing City Series:Volume4a Prologue (section)

===Part 1===

'''9:51 PM

A torrent of water surged through the night.

It was a waterfall.

That rumbling with actual mass shook one’s body and had a seemingly tangible power to it.

The night was dampened by the mist produced by the waterfall.

Someone walked through that damp night.

A single presence climbed the mountain path dampened by the night and the mist.

It was a girl.

The strong-willed girl was in her mid-teens.

She wore a dry suit for diving, but it was a little big for her and she had a belt wrapped around the waist to keep it from falling down.

A diving mask hung from her neck like a necklace and each step produced a light plastic sound as it hit the collar of the dry suit.

That dry sound was contrasted by the wet footsteps of her mountain-climbing shoes.

“…”

She silently climbed that mountain path that was filled with the night and the mist.

The waterproof maglite in her right hand was off.

Her pace remained steady even when she stepped on branches or leaves.

She was used to walking here.

With each footstep, the rumble of the waterfall grew louder and the ratio of night to mist changed.

The mist grew thicker and the night began to lose its darkness.

The waterfall was nearby, so the girl walked to make its roar even louder.

She stopped treading on branches and leaves and her footsteps gained the distinctive note of rock.

The heavy atmosphere of the surrounding trees thinned.

The waterfall’s roar grew even louder as it echoed off the rock.

The girl briefly stopped and took a breath.

“I wonder if he’ll get mad at me afterwards. I didn’t tell him I repaired this at home…”

The girl touched the chest of her dry suit.

The words “Tochigi Yakushi Firefighters” were written in white, acrylic letters.

The family name Fujiwara was written below.

The shoulder contained a station name and member number.

The dry suit belonged to the rescue team in charge of Tochigi Prefecture’s Mt. Yakushi.

“…”

She started walking again and the waterfall grew even louder.

Her pace had picked up.

She was in the mountains in December, but she had sweat on her brow. That was just how well-insulated the dry suit was.

But despite the sweat, she rushed through the darkness.

She was close to her destination.

She walked across the stones.

Suddenly, her vision was surrounded by a hazy but bright white mist.

She had entered an open space.

The mist was white even at night because of a bright light far overhead.

She stopped and looked back to see the shape of the forest in the dark mist.

She took a breath and turned her back on that forest.

There was only mist up ahead as well.

She used a technien she had only just learned in middle school.

—''Fujiwara – Sight Tech – Take – Secure Vision – Hit.

As she muttered those words in her heart, strength filled her gaze.

She had used a Tech.

Techs were specialized physical or mental techniques one learned at school or elsewhere. Modern cybernetic and organic technology allowed people to use them with a single command.

Her conditioned reflex training used a certain Tempo as the keyword that activated this bodily skill. With the word “take”, light reached her vision.

She could somewhat see through the mist now.

She looked back and found she could see the damp shapes of the trees in what had only looked like dark mist before.

She looked forward and saw the pure emptiness of the night instead of mist.

The power of her Tech did not allow her to see through some of the darkness and she could hear the great rumbling of water coming from beyond that darkness.

It was the roar of a great waterfall in Nikko’s Mt. Yakushi.

That was the surging voice of Kegon Falls.

As one of the most well-known waterfalls in Japan, it made its presence known with a great torrent of water even at night and even when out of view.

“…”

She shuddered.

—''Fujiwara – Mind Tech – Take – Restrain Urge – Miss.

Her legs trembled and she pursed her lips while looking up.

Even with her Sight Tech, a thick layer of mist hid the sky, but she could still see the artificial light that illuminated the mist from above.

A rectangular terrace-like platform jutted out twenty meters up the giant stone wall to her right.

It was the viewing platform for the waterfall.

There was no one on that platform, so only the sunlamp on its edge looked down at her.

Looking at that artificial light stopped her trembling.

She faced forward again and saw the end of the mountain path.

She left that path that only the few locals knew of and found herself halfway up the rock walls surrounding Kegon Falls.

She descended the rocks which had no path to follow.

Soon, the downward slope vanished and she stood on a simple rocky area. A collection of pointed rocks and stones formed the ground.

She could now hear a flowing river mixed in with the roar of the falls.

The wind had also started to blow.

She brushed back her bangs which were wet from the mist.

When she touched her cheek, she found her face wet as if from tears.

…''I didn’t want to start playing it yet, but I guess I’ll do this like always.

With that silent comment, she pulled a single cord from the dry suit’s waist pocket.

The cord had headphones attached.

The speakers were larger than normal because it was waterproofed.

She stuck them in her ears and switched them on.

A gentle and refreshing Irish sound started playing.

It was instrumental music with a Live contained inside.

The music’s Message was that of water and she let the water music flow through her.

The Live in the music washed over the flowing Lives making up her body.

She raised the volume to increase the Octave.

She used an Octave of 80,000. Among normal people, that took some talent.

Finally, she sang her Words to fully place herself in the music.

''Time flows like water

''She who flows through time

:''People do not stop

:''Time does not stop

::''Simply flow like water

::''And inherit all of the questions

As she sang, she squeezed the maglite in her right hand.

“Aqua Middle Rhythm.”

With that clear voice, the mist around her right hand began to move.

—''Fujiwara – Aqua Middle/Mind Tech – Multiple Take – Water Control – Hit.

As the music known as a Rhythm sent the water Live into her body, that Live became her power.

By listening to the water Live just like activating a Tech, she could control the water.

The boys in her class were always arguing over what combination of power and commercial Device they could use to fight. Needless to say, she was not interested in such uncivilized things.

The girl only used her Rhythm when she wanted to control water.

This was one such time.

“Open the way.”

The mist parted before her eyes and her vision cleared.

The environmental change allowed the wind that lacked mist to strike her cheeks.

Her Rhythm’s power parted the mist and her Tech’s power let her see through the darkness.

She looked straight forward and saw water.

The fifty meter waterfall basin was filled with dark water before her eyes.

To her left across that water was Kegon Falls.

The large cascade’s water raised an excited roar.

The solid downpour struck the water’s surface beyond the mist split by the Aqua Middle Rhythm.

The rumble echoed off the rocky walls surrounding the waterfall.

The reverberation shook the Aqua Middle Rhythm and somewhat numbed her senses.

She absentmindedly glanced over, but then a look of shocked realization covered her face and she shook her head.

She sighed.

She checked the neck and waist of the dry suit and pressed the headphones further into her ears.

She hummed the rhythm of the song so as not to be distracted by the waterfall’s roar.

The song would not end for another five minutes and she could control water until then, so she removed her mountain climbing shoes.

Her bare feet were cold on the winter rocks. In another month, Kegon Falls would freeze.

The cold rock seemed to stab into her feet as she walked forward.

On the third step, her feet touched the water.

The power of the Rhythm caused the water at her feet to waver and lose its current.

That December water should have been even colder than the rocks, but…

…''It’s warm.

It only felt that way because her own Live and the Lives of the water were so similar.

It felt like she was being embraced by someone, but then a voice split through the roar of the cascade.

“Who is that!? What are you doing there!?”

She looked up on reflex and saw someone looking down at her from the viewing platform.

She could see the silhouette of his boxy hat in the sunlamp’s light.

…''I was spotted!?

Her body reacted to that thought on reflex.

She ran along the wet rocks.

The splashing of her steps soon rose to her shins and knees.

She ran forward and even deeper.

On the third step, she put on the diving mask.

Someone’s voice was still shouting overhead.

On the seventh step, she leaped forward.

She flew in a parabolic arc and into the water.

She plunged into the darkness embraced by the waterfall basin.