Editing City Series:Volume4a Chapter 10 (section)

===Part 2===

'''2:34 PM

Taeko walked through the streets of Osaka.

Walking from the hotel in front of Osaka Station to Prefectural #2 on the southern edge of the Chuo Ward took about half an hour, but it took closer to two hours when leisurely window shopping along the way.

She was taking some detours and looking around the southern streets near Nanba Station.

“Ixolde’s activation isn’t until seven anyway.”

The watch on her right arm said it was only 2:35. Not even ten minutes had passed since she had parted ways with Saki at Osaka Station.

She had spent the time looking around a few boutiques and a sporting goods store that doubled as a weapons store.

Osaka was home to more corporations than Nagoya and it had plenty of nice weapons.

The cold war that had triggered the split between east and west had created plenty of suspicion which in turn had led to the development of weapons and a system to provide them cheaply to students. As the number of purchasers had grown, the level of weaponry and prosthetics had also grown and the mass production abilities of multinational corporations supported the dissemination of those advancements.

But while some weapons and prosthetics had continued to advance and were now treated just like sporting goods, there were some cruder old-fashioned designs that still focused on destructive power.

The Eighth Dragon Emperor that took the place of Taeko’s left arm was one of those.

It was a special false arm created at the Mountain that had a global registration license plate attached.

“…”

She touched the Dragon Emperor and faced forward.

She saw the show window of a boutique much like the others in this southern area.

Beyond the large pane of glass, four mannequins were wearing the same suit in different colors.

“…”

She silently touched the Dragon Emperor with her right hand.

—''Taeko – Sight Tech – Auto-Take – Visually Detect – Hit.

She looked into the store beyond the mannequins.

She saw some girls in white and green sailor uniforms.

They seemed to be third years who had already finished their closing ceremony. A group of five held a somewhat mature aura around them as they calmly and patiently perused the lipstick section.

When Taeko noticed herself watching them, she looked away.

When she turned her eyes from the boutique, she turned to the left.

She then started walking.

Following the road from this shopping district would take her to Prefectural #2 in about ten minutes.

She walked a few steps.

—''Taeko – Sight Tech – Auto-Take – Spot – Hit.

“Huh? …Shoui! What are ya doin’!?”

Her voice immediately reached the boy as he walked down the road, so he stopped and turned back.

There was a girl next to him.

—''Taeko – Person Tech – Take – Identify Person – Hit.

Taeko did not recognize the girl.

“…?”

She tilted her head and stopped in front of Shoui.

“What are ya doin’ in a place like this?”

“Hm? Well, just a little bit of socialization.”

Taeko noticed something odd about his answer.

His mouth was not moving, yet she heard his voice.

She frowned and peered at his face.

“…? Shoui?”

“Wh-why are you staring at me like that?”

“When did you learn ventrilo-…?”

Before she could say “quism”, a mouse-like creature poked its head out from his collar.

The animal opened its mouth and spoke in his voice.

“Oh, sorry. …I guess I didn’t mention it, but I’m stuck like this for a while.”

“…Eh?”

“You can tell this guy’s talking for me, right?”

“Wait a second.”

Taeko reached her right hand out toward the creature.

When it saw her approaching hand, it gave a cry of warning that sounded like tearing silk.

It bared surprisingly sharp fangs as it did so.

“…”

She pulled her hand back and the girl next to Shoui spoke without moving her lips either.

“You can’t do that. He doesn’t like people who aren’t indecisive.”

“Indecisive? What’s this creature and who’s this girl, Shoui?”

Taeko looked to the girl who wore a stole.

The innocent-looking girl had an identical creature on her shoulder.

Shoui scratched his head and the creature at his collar spoke.

“I can’t believe this. How am I supposed to explain it?”

“I don’t understand any of this, Shoui.”

“I’m still not used to it myself, to be honest. Anyway, my throat was crushed.”

“Yer throat?”

“Yes. See these bandages? I took a kick to the neck.”

“Oh, I thought ya’d slit yer throat or somethin’, but I guess not.”

“You say some scary things sometimes.”

Shoui smiled bitterly and used his thumb to point at the creature poking its head out from his collar.

“She’s letting me borrow this guy. He’s a Dog God and he reads and speaks people’s thoughts.”

“…That’s pretty weird.”

“Agreed. …But anyway, I’m showing her around the city as a way of repaying her.”

“I see,” said Taeko with a slight nod.

She had avoided the main question at hand, so she ignored the creatures sitting on the two of them and looked to the girl.

“Miss, don’t ya have school?” she asked.

“No. I came to this city on a trip.”

Taeko scratched her head at the answer.

She looked to Shoui and gave an exasperated sigh.

“Ya do know Shoui’s busy right now, don’t ya?”

“Yes, I read his kotodama.”

“His kotodama?”

“I read it mouth-to-mouth.”

When she heard that, Taeko punched Shoui with the Dragon Emperor’s fist.

He was knocked flat onto the brick sidewalk, but he quickly hopped back up.

“~! Wh-what was that for!?”

“Ah?”

—''Taeko – Mind Tech – Take – Emit Killer Intent – Hit.

“Ya spent so much time worryin’ over the Killin’ Holder and now ya’ve forgotten all about her and are kissin’ some other girl?”

“It wasn’t really a ki-…ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! P-please, not the gut!”

“Shut up, ya moron.”

“Wait! Um, Takada-san! Please say something!”

“Oh, right. Um… It was kind of embarrassing.”

“That isn’t helping!”

“I see. Then it’s time ya died, Shoui.”

Takada placed a hand on Taeko’s arm that was grabbing Shoui’s collar.

“Please wait.”

During a pause, Taeko looked down at Takada in silence.

Her gaze was sharp, but Takada received it without fear.

“What is it?” quietly asked Taeko.

“I know perfectly well that there is a girl who needs to be by Shoui-san’s side.”

“…”

“You know that too, right?”

Her confident tone settled everything.

Taeko finally let go of Shoui’s collar while also shoving him away.

“Ahh,” he sighed. “That was scary.”

“Ya really are a moron.”

“Wh-why?”

“If ya don’t restrain her properly, I’ll kill her!”

Taeko looked to Shoui and saw his expression change at the word “kill”.

It shifted from peaceful to tense.

His body did not move in the slightest, but an aura filled with power left it.

The Dog God put that aura to words.

“Don’t do that.”

“Then ya’d better hurry up and restrain her! The only reason I didn’t kill her was because ya were there for her. Ya haven’t forgotten that, have ya?”

“…”

He said nothing, but the creature at his collar did.

“I haven’t forgotten, but… Wait, don’t say that, you idiot!”

“I don’t mind. Ya haven’t forgotten, but what?”

“Please wait!”

The girl stood in front of Shoui and looked up at Taeko.

“Don’t use Taromaru to force people to speak their thoughts! It isn’t natural!”

“Isn’t havin’ everythin’ out in the open for the best?”

“No. No matter what you might say, Shoui-san’s indecision belongs to him. No matter what might happen, no one but him can make up his mind for him.”

The girl spoke in a strong, clear tone, so Taeko looked down at her.

But the girl once more accepted her gaze and did not fall back.

She wrinkled her brow and a look of seriousness rather than anger filled her innocent face.

—''Taeko – Mind Tech – Take – Decode Expression – Hit.

Taeko closed her eyes and sighed toward the ground.

“It’s no use.”

“What is?”

“No matter how much ya worry over it, this guy will never leave that girl’s side.”

“That’s why I want to see what he does,” said the girl.

The seriousness on her face was replaced by a slight smile.

Her expressions seemed to change a lot and Taeko also smiled.

“All the girls by his side are too clever for their own good.”

“So are you, aren’t you?” 

Taeko turned to Shoui.

“Am I by yer side?”

“You’re definitely close enough to grab my collar.”

“That’s fine then.”

—''Taeko – Box Tech – Take – Backhand Blow – Hit!

Unable to react to the sudden attack by the Dragon Emperor, Shoui flipped once and collapsed to the ground.

“Owww! Wh-what was that for!?”

“It’s yer punishment for messing with people’s emotions. Complain and ya’ll get another one.”

“You two seem to get along well.”

“How!?” / “How!?”

Their slight difference in intonation allowed their voices to harmonize perfectly.

Takada smiled a little and she giggled without using the Dog God.

Shoui and Taeko exchanged a glance when they saw it.

A moment later…

—''Shoui – Mind Tech – Auto-Take – Detect Killer Intent – Hit.

“Boss.”

—''Taeko – Mind Tech – Take – Detect Killer Intent – Hit.

“Yeah.”

“Hm? What is it, you two?”

—''Shoui – Hear Tech – Take – Measure Distance – Hit.

“I wish I could say it’s nothing, but it isn’t. Boss, know anyone who might have a grudge against you?”

—''Taeko – Hear Tech – Take – Measure Distance – Hit.

“Well, when ya’ve lived for eighteen years, ya tend to make five hundred or so enemies.”

“That’s too many enemies.”

—''Taeko – Hear Tech – Take – Determine Number of Enemies – Hit.

“Don’t be stupid. We need to get goin’ as soon as I turn around. Prepare yerself.”

—''Taeko – Steel Tech – Take – Dragon Emperor 1st Activation – Hit.

—''Shoui – Hear Tech – Take – Determine Number of Enemies – Hit.

“Oh, c’mon. You mean we aren’t running away?”

“Fleein’ in the face of the enemy is punishable by a fatal beatin’.”

“Why is everyone around me so hot-blooded?”

“Um, you mean me too?”

“No, no. You’re the nonconformist on this one, Takada-san.”

—''Taeko – Mind Tech – Auto-Take – Detect Presence – Hit.

“Here they come!” shouted Taeko as she turned around.

Shoui kept Takada behind him and turned a bit to the side.

They both saw the same thing.

“A burning bullet!?”

Two balls of fire the size of a human head flew straight toward them like meteors.

—''Shoui – Break High/Boxing/Dodge Tech – Multi-Take – Knock Down – Hit!

—''Taeko – Lightning High/Boxing/Dodge Tech – Multi-Take – Knock Down – Hit!

Two bursting sounds rang out in quick succession.

A moment later, screams finally erupted from the road, but it was so sudden that the people could only express their surprise. They did not have time to take cover or anything like that.

Taeko clicked her tongue, pulled a flare from her pocket, and fired it into the sky.

A blue ball of light rose into the sky in order to inform the local guard station of the danger.

At the same time…

“Boss!? Look at the ground!”

When she heard the confusion in Shoui’s voice, Taeko kept her attention on their surroundings while looking to the ground.

The identity of the burning bullet lay on the brick path after she had knocked it down.

It was a ten yen coin so hot it was smoking.

“…?”

Shoui’s voice answered her puzzlement.

“I don’t know how, but those weren’t bullets that were emitting flames and flying through the air. They were coins.”

“What does that mean?”

“Who knows. How about we ask the people who did this?”

—''Taeko – Sight Tech – Take – Detect Enemy – Hit!

She readily found who she was looking for.

As the people hid inside the nearby stores and side roads, two people walked out onto the sidewalk in front of Taeko’s group.

They were about a five second run away. One was a tall, slender boy in a suit and the other was a girl in a blouson and with a hexagonal rod in hand.

They looked to Taeko and Shoui without smiling but without any hostility either.

“I guess I can figure out who ya are by fightin’ ya,” said Taeko.

As soon as she stepped forward, someone cried out from behind her.

“Takahiro!?”

It was Takada.

The enemy gave an obvious reaction to her voice.

“Seigi!?” asked the girl.

The boy next to her frowned a bit as he looked beyond Taeko and Shoui.

The battle was beginning with a truly strange composition.