Editing City Series:Volume4b Chapter 7 (section)

===Part 1===

'''4:58 AM

It was still too early for sunrise.

Shoui stood alone in a dark blue world that was beginning the change from night to morning.

He stood in the Nanba family’s open-air training ground.

He had spent the past few days doing nothing more than sleep in the house and visit this training ground.

He felt restless when he was not moving his body.

He only visited this place to punch the training post until that feeling left him.

He had chosen this early morning hour because the destruction of the nearby dojo and the Fourth Alarm the day before had distracted him and kept him from moving much.

Tuners had reconstructed the foundation of the destroyed dojo the day before and the wood construction would likely begin this morning.

Once that started, he would be too distracted to train.

So he was here now.

The winter morning was cold.

He wore a jacket to keep himself warm and he began his warmup exercises in full combat equipment.

After a total of 1500 knuckle pushups and 800 squats, he could finally release a long white breath into the darkness.

“…”

He tried to blow that white breath as far as he could and then smiled bitterly.

…''How about I get started?

He pulled a golden ring from his pocket and held it in his left fist.

He raised his fists and made a few slow straight punches into the air.

After confirming his ideal form like that, he began for real.

–''Shoui – Boxing Tech – Take – Straight Fist – Hit!

The solid sound of fist against wood rang clearly through the darkness.

Immediately afterwards, the woods around the house shook and the branches rustled like a wave.

–''Shoui – Hear Tech – Take – Listen – Hit.

There were birds.

The sound spooked the birds living in the trees and they took flight.

The birds could not see well in the darkness, but they chirped to confirm each other’s positions.

“…”

Shoui started up again.

–''Shoui – Boxing Tech – Take – Straight Fist – Hit!

A solid sound rang out.

It was a nice sound and his body moved just as he wanted it to.

–''Shoui – Boxing Tech – Take – Straight Fist – Hit!

This was working.

His fists were picking up momentum.

–''Shoui – Gym/Boxing Tech – Multi-Take – Straight Fist – Hit!

The straight punch was the same, but he twisted his hips and spun his body to increase the speed, destructive power, and reach.

–''Shoui – Gym/Savate/Boxing Tech – Multi-Take – Straight Fist – Hit!

He also took a step to strengthen those things further.

But stepping too far increased the odds of receiving a counterattack from his opponent. When stepping in for an attack, he moved in a straight line instead of the curve he used for dodging.

So…

–''Shoui – Gym/Savate/Boxing Tech – Multi-Take – Combination – Hit!

He normally used a combination attack that linked all of the actions together.

–''Shoui – Gym Tech – Take – Control Stance – Hit.

He would occasionally move too close, so he adjusted his body’s position with quick movements of his feet.

–''Shoui – Gym/Savate/Boxing Tech – Multi-Take – Combination – Hit!

He made his combination attack.

–''Shoui – Gym/Savate/Boxing Tech – Multi-Take – Straight Fist – Hit!

The critical blow was used as a finisher after the combination.

If his opponent did not leave him with an opening, he would control his stance and judge what distance and timing to use.

The key to that decision between offense and defense was how to shift from the combination to the single attack.

It did not matter how many moves he had if he could not defeat his opponent.

Unlike a competition match, there was no such thing as winning by decision in actual battle.

–''Shoui – Gym/Savate/Boxing Tech – Multi-Take – Combination – Hit!

Shoui specialized in a combination of straight blows similar to close-range short uppercuts.

And on occasion…

–''Shoui – Gym/Savate/Boxing Tech – Multi-Take – Elbow Strike – Hit!

He would move right up to his opponent and use his elbow.

He was fast and there was no hesitation in his actions.

All of the moving he had done over the past few days had built up, so he could draw out his body’s full power.

And his movements grew even more varied.

–''Shoui – Gym/Savate/Boxing Tech – Multi-Take – Tackle – Hit!

He used a technique that resembled a shoulder tackle.

He generally made blows with his upper body.

And he made use of every kind of technique that used his upper body.

There were sounds of blows and impacts. There were sounds of punches and strikes. They created a quick rhythm and would not stop.

Even the rest notes when he adjusted his stance were only pauses that assisted his acceleration.

He moved.

He moved quickly.

But he realized his movements were lacking something.

“!”

–''Shoui – Gym/Savate/Boxing Tech – Multi-Take – Straight Fist – Hit!

An especially loud noise was accompanied by what sounded like tearing cloth.

The training post had broken.

“…”

The top 3 cm of the post had succumbed to the impact and broken off.

Small wood fibers were visible along the break.

The fallen portion continued to roll along the training ground.

This was not a normal break.

If it was just the accumulation of blows, it would have broken at the center or where it met the ground.

The post had been cut by a sharp strike much like a blade.

Shoui was surprised at this unexpected power, but he also sighed.

…''Come to think of it, something similar happened at the Nandaimon training ground.

That training ground was located in front of the detached room he had once called home and he had once punched off the top of a training post there.

He smiled a little.

And bitterness slowly filled it.

…''So I’m finally feeling like I did back then.

At the time, Yuuki had watched from the side as he learned the techniques of the Nandaimon Unarmed Style.

“…”

He clenched his fist.

He held Takada’s ring inside it.

He did not say or think anything about that ring.

He simply placed his fist on the break in the post.

He seemed to be showing his fist what it had done.

A few seconds passed.

–''Shoui – Hear Tech – Take – Listen – Hit.

He looked behind him.

–''Shoui – Sight Tech – Take – Locate Enemy – Hit.

As the darkness gradually thinned, he saw a man standing in the center of the training ground.

The man was dressed like a monk.

He was Iba Masaaki.

He briefly looked Shoui in the eye and then spoke.

“I have come for you on Yuuki Senga’s instructions.”

“…?”

“You will now spar with Nanba Souichirou on a Minato Ward beach.”

Shoui had a single reaction to that.

…''Huh?

Speechless, he tilted his head.

And Iba nodded.

“I do not like it either, but I came to summon you as repayment for healing my wounds.

–''Shoui – Mind Tech – Take – Decode Expression – Hit.

For some reason, he could now read Iba’s previously inscrutable expression.

As he crossed his arms, his expression lacked its previous harshness and also lacked the displeasure he claimed to feel.

And upon seeing that…

…''Why me?

Shoui asked his question through his own expression.

He did not immediately receive an answer.

Iba nodded, scratched his head, and nodded again.

“Most likely, Nanba Souichirou lost his Words after Kusanagi was consumed by the Flame High. If he is to retrieve them through combat, he must view himself in the mirror and objectively observe what his Words are.”

“…”

“But playing the opponent in this battle will be dangerous.”

“?”

“Nanba Souichirou uses a real sword while you fight unarmed. And if he retrieves Kusanagi, you will be faced with death as you lack the Shinkage Style or anything else.”

Shoui listened to those words.

…''It sounds like things have really made progress.

He almost felt like he was entirely uninvolved in it all.

Everyone else had been in motion while he simply punched the training post.

So…

…''This might be my last chance to get involved.

It was true he was powerless against Kusanagi. When he had tried to block Kusanagi when Aoi Hijiri had launched it, tension and fear had filled his body. He had not forgotten that.

And that Kusanagi had been a copy created by the Shinkage Style of Dance Combat, so it had not come from Aoi Hijiri’s own Words. The original would likely be even more powerful.

“What will you do? It goes against my principles to bring an unwilling person with me. It seems Yuuki Senga has already left with someone from Houzenji.”

Shoui was no longer listening.

He simply clenched his fist and faced the training post.

He moved.

He pictured a cutting motion and thrust out his fist.

–''Shoui – Kusanagi/Boxing Tech – Take – Kusanagi Strike – Miss.

Sure enough, he could not produce Kusanagi.

There was some trick to using it that was different from an Over Rhythm.

Only Nanba Souichirou could use that Rhythm with such short Words and no MD.

It was a special Rhythm.

…''If I fight that, will I gain what it is I’m missing?

Instead of just watching it, he could experience the process with which someone who had lost their Words regained Kusanagi.

“…”

Shoui looked down at his fist.

He held Takada’s ring there.

So he gave a deep nod.

He turned back toward Iba and began walking.

“Are you going?”

Instead of answering Iba’s question, he walked past the man.

He was currently a Dis-Worder who could speak no words.

His pace was slow, but he walked toward the exit from the house.