Editing City Series:Volume4b Chapter 13 (section)

===Part 1===

'''4:49 AM

It was already spring, but the weather was terrible that morning.

It was much too early for the sun to be out.

Only the stars and moon filled the dark sky.

Below that heavy sky, a loud and low rumbling never ceased in one place.

It was the Kegon Falls in Nikko, Tochigi.

The air was heavy on that spring morning, so there was no fog and the falls were fully visible.

It was a large waterfall.

It had a long history.

Its majestic form and noise could be seen from close up on the observation platform built out from the cliff wall.

It was much too early for sightseers, so only locals would be on that observation platform now.

There was one such person below the observation platform’s sunlamp.

The girl had her long black hair tied back behind her neck and she wore a black tracksuit.

She held the railing and stared at the waterfall.

There was some silent exhaustion on her face.

“So it’s finally my turn to leave this place.”

She held her hands to her chest where the family name Fujiwara was written.

“I can’t believe this. …I’ll be standing in Osaka in only 6 hours.”

…''So what am I doing here?

She looked to the school tracksuit she wore in place of pajamas.

In about 2 hours, she would have to change into her new uniform.

It was the uniform of Osaka Prefectural #1.

A girl from Kantou was attending an Osaka school.

She would never have imagined this back when she had nearly drowned the year before.

The east and west had been reunited.

From what she had heard, there had been a largescale terrorist attack in Osaka just a few days after she dove into the waterfall basin.

That may have acted as a trigger because by January the politicians got to work and the east and west were reunited in the blink of an eye.

Once they had gotten started, it had been apparently been simple.

The Emergency Teachers and the Mountain had acted quickly, talk shows had discussed it almost every night, and foreign politicians had either celebrated or worked to stop it, but there had been no changing it once it had started.

As a result, the east and west were accepting exchange students as a test case.

She had been hesitant, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She had taken the entrance exam for an Osaka school and passed.

She had always had good grades.

But…

“I didn’t think I would have to give a greeting at the entrance ceremony today.”

The greeting itself was simple.

They would tell her what to do once she arrived, so she only had to get up on stage when they said to and read the text they gave her.

To help students coming from afar like her, the ceremony was being held in the afternoon.

There was nothing to worry about.

But even so…

…''Something’s still eating at me.

She still had too many questions.

Now that she was actually taking the plunge, she was nervous about this new world.

…''How will this turn out?

She found herself quietly speaking her Words.

''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

She realized those Words described her situation perfectly.

None of her questions had been answered.

She did not know what any of it meant, but she was climbing to the next stage.

She sighed.

She simply thought about that boy.

He had not appeared for half a year now, but what did he think about the unification of the east and west?

…''It isn’t like me to think about all this complicated stuff.

“I should really be thinking about the entrance ceremony today.”

She looked into the sky.

Dark clouds spread out there.

According to the TV news, they were experiencing out-of-season snowfall in Kansai.

April snow was not unusual where she lived, but it was apparently newsworthy in the cities.

“…Snow, huh? I need to wear some proper shoes.”

And as she said that…

–''Fujiwara – Mind Tech – Auto-Take – Detect Presence – Hit!

She sensed someone standing to her left and quickly straightened up.

She turned around and found him there.