Editing City Series:Volume4b Chapter 7 (section)

===Part 4===

'''5:43 AM

The morning sun gently shined on the city of Osaka.

It first fell on the tall corporate buildings and the vast historical locations.

Due to the size of its grounds and its own height, Osaka Castle was the very first place touched by the morning sun.

Its white walls reflected the sunlight and the waves of its green roof tiles glowed brightly.

The contrast of its structure was visible from a great distance.

The Otemon Gate was the largest entrance to the grounds and it provided a direct view of the castle’s impressive form.

But few were there to see it on this early winter morning.

The only person there had been there since the night before.

He was there all alone.

That person was Nakamura Hisahide.

He sat leaning against the traffic light in front of the Otemon Gate.

He had apparently been there for a long time, at least since the night before.

The headphones in his ears were playing the Flame High’s music.

He was silent and motionless with his face buried in his mountain hoodie’s collar.

His eyes were weakly narrowed as he stared at Osaka Castle in the morning sun.

“…”

He did not move.

But…

“Hey, you idiot. What do you think you’re doing?”

A sudden kick from the side hit him on the side of the head.

“!?”

With a dull sound, he toppled over and then sprang back up.

He stood and turned toward the person who had kicked him.

And he saw…

“Why are you wallowing in melancholy?”

It was Aoi Hijiri.

As a change from the norm, she did not have a shirt tied around her waist and she breathed a white breath.

“You didn’t go to Nagoya?”

“…Takada is dead.”

That was Nakamura’s sudden response to her question.

When she heard it, Hijiri looked up toward heaven a little.

After some thought, she put her hands on her hips and sighed.

A large white breath left her mouth.

And two simple words accompanied it.

“I see.”

A grim look entered Nakamura’s eyebrows when he heard that, but Hijiri continued before he could say anything.

“Make no mistake. It isn’t that I don’t have any thoughts about that. We knew her longer than you did.”

“…”

“And? What did she say to you before she died?”

“Nothing.”

Nakamura said very little.

Even so, Hijiri nodded.

“Understood. Then she was must have thought the possibility she mentioned would lead to you becoming king.”

“And if you’re wrong about that?”

“There’s no way to check what the dead were thinking.”

Hijiri sat on a nearby guardrail.

She released a white breath into the sky.

“Look, look. It’s like a flamethrower.”

Nakamura ignored her and leaned against a utility pole while still standing.

He crossed his arms.

“Where is Takahiro?”

“I don’t know.”

“…?”

“We got separated.” She took a breath. “We had our reasons.”

“Did you break up?”

“It isn’t that.” She smiled bitterly and glanced toward Nakamura. “I said we had our reasons, didn’t I?”

“Then get lost.”

“Why?”

“You two have no more obligation to follow me.”

“That’s too bad. I promised Iba.”

“…?”

“I promised I would stay by your side no matter what happened.”

He immediately responded to that.

“I defeated Old Man Iba.”

He was clearly cutting her off, but Hijiri did not stop smiling bitterly and was not shaken.

“That old man said ‘no matter what’.”

“…”

“…”

“…You’re a dumb girl.”

“I’m not a girl for anyone but Takahiro.”

She stood up and did some light stretches.

She stretched her legs which had a noticeably nice shape even in jeans.

“At any rate, you shouldn’t stay here. Osaka’s Chancellor’s Officers are going to start moving again this morning.”

“And you?”

“I’m going to take a morning run around the castle.”

“No, not that. Are they not going to find you?”

“I’m making sure they don’t.”

Nakamura sighed at that simple answer.

And then Hijiri asked him a question.

“I’ve found a place to stay, so do you want me to take you there?”

“No, thanks.”

He waved his hand in casual rejection.

“Hm.” Hijiri nodded. “I’m staying here until I find the cherry blossoms and I’ll be running every morning, so if you’re planning to do something, come tell me. You look oddly dangerous right now.”

With that, she took a step.

Nakamura said nothing, so she lightly raised a hand.

“Bye.”

And she started to run.

At that exact moment, she heard someone singing.

“…?”

She stopped and exchanged a glance with Nakamura.

A choir was singing in the distance.

“…That’s Beethoven’s 9th.” Hijiri nodded in understanding. “Well, it is the end of the year. Come to think of it, they have an outdoor concert around here on Christmas Eve. …Did you know that?”

“Why would I know that?”

Hijiri pointed at the utility pole he had been leaning against.

The concrete pole had a few advertisements attached.

The very top one was for the outdoor concert to be held in the plaza in front of Osaka Castle’s Otemon Gate.

They could hear the tenor part from the fourth movement of Beethoven’s 9th.

Hijiri looked curiously toward the parking lot beyond the Otemon Gate where the voices were coming from.

“Beethoven’s 9th, huh? …Are they singing it in German? I only know the Japanese version.”

“You sure know a lot.”

“Takahiro taught me last year.”

Nakamura sighed at that.

But as he quietly stood there, Hijiri tilted her head and placed a hand on his chest.

“Listen. Don’t keep it to yourself. If something happens, call me.”

With that last comment, she lightly struck his chest.

Then she turned around.

This time, she did run off.

Nakamura did not stop her.

He simply looked up into the sky.

The sky grew to a bluish-white as the morning sun filled it.

It was a still morning filled with singing voices.

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