Editing City Series:Volume4a Chapter 9 (section)

===Part 3===

'''1:48 PM

As the morning sun slowly began to drop from its midday height, a single guest arrived at the Nandaimon Shrine.

It was the monk who had been referred to as Iba back at Nara Station.

He stood at the center of the shrine’s grounds. Without speaking a word, he stared straight forward.

Senga stood before him with a bamboo broom in hand.

She spoke with Iba’s gaze on her.

“Instead of standing there, how about you say something?”

“…I see you haven’t changed in the last thirteen years.”

“That’s because I’m so young.”

“I believe you turned sixty-seven this year.”

“The man with the greatest grudge against me was indeed the type to say such hopeless things with a straight face.”

—''Senga – Mind Tech – Take – Sense Killer Intent – Hit.

“Iba, you’re the same as back then. You can be silently and expressionlessly staring at someone but still overflowing with killer intent.”

“That is my way of doing things.”

Senga smiled bitterly.

“More importantly, Iba, what do you want? I would like to finish cleaning before the sun sets.”

“Then I shall get straight to the point.” Iba furrowed his brow as he was wont to do. “I would like to declare war.”

“Oh?”

“This is a declaration from Tokyo to Osaka, and from those who died in the Kinki Riot to you.”

“Oh? And why would you be doing this?”

“To clear away all of the mistakes that led to the Kinki Riot.”

“For how expressionless you are, you must really see me as an enemy.”

“I no longer have any comrades.”

“Did you learn nothing from the Kinki Riot, Iba?”

“I have a question concerning that.”

“?”

Senga gave an exaggerated tilt of the head and Iba gave a straightforward question.

“What was the Kinki Riot from the perspective of the teachers?”

“Based on that killer intent, I’m guessing you already know more or less. …That explains why you hid in the Mountain and never appeared before me in the thirteen years since that battle came to an end.”

“I would like to hear the truth in your words.”

“For example?”

“Most of those at the center of that war were taught by you.”

“Yes, that’s true. Once Yuuki could walk, I made a trip around Japan and visited the local Mountains.”

“Was it a coincidence?”

“Was what?”

Iba maintained his straightforward gaze and clarified his question in an emotionless voice.

“That you taught students to use Heavy Rhythms everywhere you went.”

“What do you think, Iba?”

“…”

“Tell me.”

“Very well.” Iba nodded before opening his mouth. “That battle was meant to reveal all of the Heavy Rhythms the Mountain had sanctified and to create a public fear of those Rhythms.”

“And?”

“This is only my personal view, but did you set it all up in order to eliminate those Heavy Rhythms that you viewed as such a danger to the world?”

“I see.”

“It is a fact that the students you taught to use the Heavy Rhythms fought each other, even when they were friends or family.”

“If I had not taught them to use the Heavy Rhythms, that conflict would not have dragged on so long…”

“And the Heavy Rhythms would not have been eliminated.”

“…So you’re focusing on the result, are you?”

“The Kinki Riot added most of Japan’s Rhythms to the list of Death Techno.”

“Although most of them were only sealed by the Mountain or by me.” Senga smiled bitterly. “You plan to bring back the Heavy Rhythms, don’t you? A moron showed up here before…and named you as his teacher.”

“…His teacher?”

“Yes. He sounded proud of it. It was a kid with spiky hair.”

“He sounded…proud?”

“Yes.”

“…Ha.”

“?”

“Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha!”

Iba laughed. He opened his mouth, shook his shoulders, and erased his usual self in laughter.

A moment later…

“Interesting!”

[[Image:City_v04a_307.jpg|thumb]]

By the time he shouted that word, his usual lack of expression had returned. He stared straight toward Senga.

“I am honestly surprised he would call me his teacher.”

“Does it delight you that much for Nakamura Midori’s brother to call you his teacher?”

“Oh? I see you did your homework.”

“He was interested in the Flame High and in his sister, his family name was Nakamura, and he called you his teacher. Who else could it be? …So you want to clear away your regrets from thirteen years ago?”

“Is that so strange?”

“I respect you for it.”

“And I you. …I came to realize that over the past thirteen years.”

“Did you?”

“Out of concern for this country, you gave everyone power and then killed them in an attempt to eliminate the king.”

“You sound confident in that theory.”

“I did not spend thirteen years at the Mountain for nothing.”

“Is that so? Then are you building on my plan to kill everyone but one in an attempt to create a king?”

Iba did not nod.

Senga rotated her broom with her wrist and aimed the bottom at him like a spear.

“Iba, is this conversation a declaration of war from former student to former teacher? History will repeat itself. This could lead to many deaths once more.”

“Do not worry. We have a prophet with us, so we can avoid all danger.”

“You’re hopeless.”

“Then shall we spar as we used to? I never could get a single strike past your spear at that Mountain training ground…but things have changed.”

“Have you dabbled in White Noise and the Shinkage Style?”

That brought a change to Iba’s expression: he frowned.

But Senga continued regardless.

“I prefer my method over all else. If you are intent on destroying the situation I have created here, then I will take the appropriate countermeasures.”

“Can I take that as an acceptance of my declaration of war? Yet the only card in your deck is your granddaughter.”

“Your trump card is Ixolde’s activation tonight, isn’t it? The only way you can conquer this country is to borrow Osaka’s power. Befitting of the former Osaka 1st Special Duty Officer who let Kuki and Midori die…”

—''Senga – Intimidation Tech – Take – Intimidation – Hit!

“…to become the sole survivor of the Kinki Riot!”

“!!”

Iba released a voiceless shout and took a defensive stance.

At the same moment, the cellphone in Senga’s pocket rang far too quietly for the scene.

“…?”

Their eyes met.

Iba released killer intent and Senga spoke with the broom in hand.

“When you hear why this emergency phone is ringing, you’ll have better things to do than fight me.”

“Nonsense.”

“Can you still say that after I tell you only the Emergency Teachers or the Mountain leaders can call this phone?”

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

“See? You’re curious. …And there goes your bad habit of growing even more expressionless when I say that. Listen. There’s only one reason the Emergency Teachers or the Mountain would be in a hurry to contact me now.”

She went on to tell him what that reason was.

The persistently ringing phone seemed to show just how badly whichever group it was wanted to contact her.

The words Senga spoke over that background noise elicited movement from Iba.

He began to run.

That signaled the end of this confrontation between teacher and student and signaled the beginning of a new battle.

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