Editing City Series:Volume3b Chapter 6 (section)

===Part 4===

The hour hand and minute hand were both approaching the top of the clock, meaning it was almost midnight.

The General was facing a guest in his house.

The guest was Rin.

Hey sat in a Chinese-style wood-floored room containing only a television and a round table.

Like a true Hong Kong resident, the General was dressed in a polo shirt and chino pants.

Even though it was summer, Rin wore a black combat suit and a black leather jacket over that.

She had swapped out her glasses for mirrorshades with a similar design.

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She was dressed to head off to battle somewhere.

The General kept his eyes on her.

“Want some tea, Rin?”

He held out a teacup filled with tea he had made.

She smiled bitterly and gently raised a hand.

“No, letting me in your home is enough.”

“You sure are cold.”

“Am I?” She nodded. “But I am surprised.”

“About what?”

“That you let me in when you’re usually so secretive.”

“Don’t be surprised by that. I knew your old man… I even knew when you were born.”

“But you always held training at my house.”

“I like houses with big yards.”

“…You really are kind.”

“Hm? You say something?”

“You’re trying to change the subject.”

“Am I?”

“Is it because tomorrow is the end?”

He answered her with silence.

And that lack of a response was a sort of response.

So Rin nodded again.

“June 29 is ending.”

“Yeah.”

And tomorrow at midnight, Hong Kong will be returned from England to China, but the metal Earth Serpent still hasn’t been created. The Sixth Divine Punishment accelerated the four elements, but they have yet to be activated.”

“Yeah.”

“Why are you here, General?”

“I’m not plannin’ to die, if that’s what you’re askin’.”

“Are you planning to fight?”

“Ridiculously enough.”

“?”

“There are some weirdos in the Yard who’ve stuck around to see me in action.”

“You have some excellent subordinates, don’t you?”

“So do you.”

“You mean Kouga?”

“Yeah. He found the Device that Akira seems to have dropped. And he brought it to J-Gun’s workshop to help out Gunmal.”

After confirming what that meant, Rin spoke up.

“Do you think Gunmal can make Devices for himself and Akira?”

“I don’t know what he thinks he can make in just five days.”

“What did he say?”

“That if he couldn’t make anythin’ in five days, he’d be so embarrassed he’d head back home. The bastard’s probably makin’ a run for it right now.”

The General turned back toward Rin.

“Rin.” He sighed. “I’m gonna change the subject and lecture you, okay?”

“Okay?”

“A woman shouldn’t be makin’ her chest flatter. Got that?”

“You can tell?”

“You’re standin’ on two legs, aren’t you? …Plus, I’m your master.”

“That’s true,” she said with a slight smile.

She reached for her mirrorshades and shifted them out of the way.

Beyond the two mirrors, her right eye was green and her left was red.

“How do you like it? I took my time choosing just the right colors.”

“They look like candy.”

“Sorry.” Rin smiled bitterly. “But modern body customization technology has advanced farther than you know.”

“Where’d you get it done?”

“A virtual workshop in Detroit. There, I could have myself digitized rather than going through a surgery. I left my body here and had the customization done in the computer.”

“Hmm. Well, that’s about what I discussed with Gunmal. …That had to have cost a fortune and you didn’t tell your old man.”

“I’ve been working as a detective for five years without marrying, so I can afford this much.”

“Hm. …Well, is it all workin’ out all right?”

“That’s why I had the original data stored away. That took some time since I swapped out everything but my head and torso, but if something happens, it won’t be hard to return to my original body.”

“I’d recommend not returnin’ that one leg to normal.”

“True. But I got a look at the hardened Lives from the lost leg, and it looked like another Tuner might be able to heal it.”

“You don’t find Tuners on your level every day.”

“You’re one, aren’t you? Not to mention Akira.”

“I’m too old and Akira has bigger things to worry about.”

The General pointed toward the wall behind him.

Rin frowned at the gesture.

“Is Akira here?”

“Yeah.”

She tilted her head.

“Why do you always watch over her?”

“Jealous?”

“Curious.”

“You can be a lot like Gunmal sometimes.”

“But…could you maybe answer me? You’re famous for hating Nein Engels, so why do you look after Akira and why do you always hide anything about your family or home? I’ve always wondered about that.”

“Would a made-up story suffice?”

“If the truth is hidden in it.”

The General looked out to the yard.

“…?”

He heard rain and Rin looked in the same direction.

“It’s raining.”

“It’s not a bad rain.”

“Are you going to quit talking?”

“No, we can keep goin’.”

They faced each other again.

After a breath, the General opened his mouth with the growing pitter-patter of rain in the background.

“Then listen up.”

“Sure.”

“Is it possible for someone to be born the same person but end up as two different people?”

“…Eh?”

“So. What if I was born as Lee Hu?”

“Stop joking.”

“Why would you say that?”

“I saw Lee Hu die. Akira was with me…and so were you. We buried his remains in his grave,” explained Rin. “So you couldn’t possibly be Lee Hu.”

The General nodded.

“Then this is my final question.”

“Go ahead.”

“If you wanted to travel through time and change the past, would you need to entirely rewrite the time period or would you simply need to add a single new element brought from the future?”

“…”

“Here’s a hint. …I made sure the mistake I made would never be made again. When I was born, there was no Flight Song in Hong Kong.”

“No Flight Song? But that song has existed since Hong Kong Cave was made.”

“And that’s my hint. A hint only me and my wife know now.”

Rin frowned a little.

“Can I answer that along with your previous question?”

“Sure.”

“Are you saying Lee Hu travelled to the past without returning to the present, did something to become known as ‘the General’ during the Fourth Divine Punishment War, and corrected the next Lee Hu’s actions so he would not end up the same?”

“C’mon, now. You’re not makin’ any sense.”

“No, that makes perfect sense. When your next self was going to travel back in time, did you tell him to create the Flight Song that would support Hong Kong? And after returning to the present, Lee Hu left the rest to Akira and the others and died, so you felt you owed him something.”

“Like I said, it’s a made-up story.”

As soon as he said that, the clock on the wall began to ring.

It rang quietly but deeply twelve times to tell them a new day had arrived.

“It’s the thirtieth now.”

“That was pretty loud. I hope it didn’t wake Akira.”

“Are you sure she isn’t already listening in? She’s pretty sensitive to Lives.”

“No. She can’t use Tunin’ at the moment.”

“Can’t use Tuning? …You mean like how I used to be?”

The General nodded.

“She’s afraid.”

“Afraid, hm?”

“Yeah. She’s so freaked out that she doesn’t like havin’ her hand touched. …And ridiculously enough, she thinks she’s hidin’ it, but it couldn’t be more obvious.”

“That’s because…Tuning is a weapon. A handgun is less of a burden.”

“Hey, Rin.”

“Yes?”

“I hate to dig this back up now, but what happened with you was an accident.”

Rin fell silent and he took a sip of tea.

“And it was the proper punishment for those fools who go out huntin’ Nein Engels.”

“Then why was I punished too? All I did was try to save Fei…”

She sighed, and…

“Akira is probably feeling the same thing.”

“What do you think we should do?”

“The best plan would be to abandon Hong Kong and flee. …Akira’s brother, Lee Leed, is going to activate the metal Earth Serpent. And the only way to fight back…”

“Yes?”

“No, it’s too reckless.”

“Out with it.”

“Aren’t you already thinking the same thing?”

“That’s why I want to hear you say it.”

“You would have to activate an equally powerful Earth Serpent. In other words, a Yin one equal to Lee Leed’s Yang one. If the two counteracted each other, it would all come to an end.”

“Is that…really the only way?”

Rin gently lowered her head.

“But that would be impossible,” she said. “Earth Burns of the four elements are needed to activate the Earth Serpent, but even if we could activate new Yin-oriented water, earth, and wind ones, we lack the catalyst needed to activate the fire one. Also…”

“Who would we draw the Yin power from?”

“Yes. The Lives of Yin and Yang are one of the three secret techniques of Tuning and Busting. There’s no one in Hong Kong we can draw that power from anymore. Besides, the Live of Yin is based in the moonlight that opposes the sunlight, but…”

“?”

“Unfortunately, General, this rain is supposed to continue for several days.”

The General frowned at that.

“Um, Rin, I’m not sure I like the idea of decidin’ Hong Kong’s fate based on the weather forecast.”

“Try to face reality. A powerful typhoon is approaching from the east-northeast. The winds apparently reached High Powered City – Taiwan about an hour ago.”

“It’s true the winds are pretty still right now. …That would explain why the cicadas have been so loud all day.”

“Rain will further remove the chances of finding a catalyst for the fire element. …There’s no saving Hong Kong now.”

Rin stood up.

“You said Kouga is at J-Gun’s workshop, right?”

“No, I told him to head to the Yard. I have some business with him. …You want to say hello?”

“Yes. Him at least…I don’t want to die.”

“He’d cry if he heard you say that. And he’d say he’d follow you until the day he dies.”

“Yes, and that’s why I won’t say it to him.”

As soon as she said that, a gust of wind hit the window.

The sound of the wind filled the room.

And a moment later, rain sprayed against the glass.

The rain seemed to fall sideways.

The Genseral looked to the window as it rattled from the wind and rain.

“Weather forecasts these days have a real attitude.”

“Could I borrow an umbrella?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks. …When my custom body gets wet, I feel like it’s soaking directly into my Live.”

Rin left the wood-floored room and the General called after her.

“You’d better return that umbrella.”

She did not respond.