Editing City Series:Volume4a Chapter 8 (section)

===Part 5===

'''12:41 PM

By the time Shoui left the hospital, the sun was already approaching its afternoon angle.

…''Today was the last day of the second term, but the closing ceremony is probably already over.

He was on a bus to the Chuo Ward where Osaka Prefectural #2 was, but he decided to get off in Naniwa Ward.

He walked toward Tennoji.

The Ousaka district of the Tennoji Ward was a relatively calm section of Osaka. As he walked along the hill there, he could already see the white walls of the Shitennoji that gave the Ward its name.

“That takes me back,” he muttered as a scratchy sigh.

He held his throat.

…''When will my voice come back?

He had no answer to that question.

At some point, he realized he had passed Shitennoji and was walking south toward Tennoji Station.

He left a residential area and entered an open commercial district.

He slowly walked down the wide stone steps giving shape to the hill and touched the white walls on either side of the hill.

…''After walking to Tennoji Park, I guess I’ll circle around back to the bus stop.

Just as he was silently making his plans, he heard screams.

He heard several male voices.

—''Shoui – Hear Tech – Take – Determine Position – Hit.

It came from up ahead.

The slowly curving stone steps had a wall on either side, so he could not see very far ahead.

He gently continued down.

“A monster!”

With that shout, some people ran up the stairs.

It was three male students.

None of them was wearing their uniform’s coat and they wore their own coats and jackets instead.

They had been skipping school.

They would normally use a harsh look to pick a fight with people, but those expressions were completely distorted at the moment.

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

…''They’re afraid of something?

They did not answer him as they practically crawled up the stairs on all fours.

They did not so much as glance at Shoui because they were so focused on the area further down the stairs.

They seemed to be rushing, but they were not moving all that fast.

“…?”

Shoui tilted his head and one of their shoulders ran into him.

This type of student would normally use that as a pretext for a fight, but the boy said nothing.

Also, the force of the impact splattered a few drops of a liquid on Shoui’s cheek.

“?”

He touched it with his hand and looked down to find his fingertips dyed slightly red.

…''!?

He quickly turned around and saw quite a few bloodstains on the stone stairs.

He then noticed something odd about their clothing as they hurried up the stairs.

There were holes at the shoulders and thighs. They were giant bite marks.

…''An animal!?

Confused, Shoui looked forward.

He shifted his position to peer down the curving walls.

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

He saw a figure standing next to the wall.

It was a human form.

A girl was pressing her back against that white wall.

The short girl had semi-long black hair and wore a stole.

She was breathing heavily with a look of fear on her face.

She was afraid.

Shoui could sense that emotion without even using a Tech, so he ran forward on reflex.

The enemy stood in front of her, hidden from view by the wall.

It was the animal which had left bite marks on those three boys.

“!”

He covered the distance in just five racing steps.

He ran in front of the wide-eyed girl, prepared to fight, and faced his opponent.

He looked in the same direction as the girl. But…

“…?”

There was nothing there.

There was only a wall in front of him.

There was no animal and none of the monsters created by a disturbance in the Lives.

There was only empty space and a wall.

…''Hm? That’s odd.

He glanced around, relaxed his stance, and looked back.

A girl stood by the wall.

Her eyes were unfocused and she was breathing heavily.

—''Shoui – Mind Tech – Take – Shared Thoughts – Miss.

He could not tell what she was afraid of.

He could not speak and his Tech had failed, so he could only express himself through clumsy actions.

He looked her in the eye, grabbed her shoulders, and shook her a little.

“…Hh.”

She gasped and a set rhythm finally returned to her breathing.

He could tell she was holding her own body in her arms below the stole.

She wanted to eliminate her trembling.

Shoui breathed a sigh of relief and recalled the past. He recalled when Yuuki had visited him that night.

…''Did Yuuki want to eliminate her trembling back then?

But he smiled bitterly when he realized this was not the time to be thinking that.

The girl’s breathing was still heavy, but it was not as erratic.

He looked around once more to make sure no one else was around and then nodded.

…''I guess everything’s okay now.

And as soon as he thought that…

“I guess everything’s okay now.”

His own voice rang in his ears.

…''Eh!?'' / “Eh!?”

He turned around in surprise and his confused voice reached his ears.

However, there was no one behind him.

…''That’s strange.'' / “That’s strange.”

The voice came from his left, so he looked left.

There was no one there.

…''What is going on?'' / “What is going on?”

This time, the voice came from his right.

In that instant, he used his reflexes to swipe at his right shoulder.

—''Shoui – Boxing Tech – Take – Grab – Hit!

He grabbed something like a soft puffball in his left hand.

…''An animal!?'' / “An animal!?”

The puffball in his left hand gave a shout.

At the same time…

“D-don’t treat him roughly! He’s taken a liking to you!”

He heard a girl’s voice and felt something press against his hands.

“…”

The girl who had looked so afraid was now reaching out her hands and gently pressing down on his hands.

The chill of the golden ring on her right hand stopped him.

She looked up at him with a somewhat pale but desperately pleading look.

However, he did notice one odd fact.

“Sorry if he scared you.”

The girl’s lips were still held somewhat tightly shut.

She was speaking with her mouth closed.

…''Eh?'' / “Eh?”

His voice once more came from the puffball in his left hand and she spoke to him again without moving her mouth.

“Please let go of him. …If you don’t, I can’t guarantee what will happen.”

…''O-okay. Understood.'' / “O-okay. Understood.”

He opened his left hand.

Immediately, a brown mass ran from his opened fingertips to his hand, arm, and shoulder.

“!?”

Surprised and anticipating an impact, he swung his head to the side, but the brown color hopped up from his shoulder.

As the silhouette leaped over his head, he could tell it was a small fox or rat.

“What?”

It was now directly speaking his thoughts for him.

It finally landed on his right shoulder.

He felt no impact and he turned just his head to see a creature of about fifteen centimeters.

Its body and face resembled a rat, but its coloration and tail were more like a fox.

“What…is this thing?”

The creature opened its mouth and spoke his thoughts.

“He is a Dog God.”

The answer to his question came in the girls’ voice.

She was still restraining his hands and she looked up at him with some slight fear in her eyes.

“Please do not be afraid. He has taken a liking to you.”

Her lips were not moving, but an identical creature was poking its head out from the neck of the stole placed over her shoulders.

He nimbly slipped out onto her shoulder and looked up at him.

The Dog God looked him in the eye from her shoulder.

“I’m sorry for surprising you…but it’s the first time he’s taken such a liking to someone else.”

As she was speaking, another Dog God fell from the bottom of her stole.

It scrambled to its feet on the stone steps and looked up.

A moment later, about five more fell from her stole.

“Hey, stop that. Quit playing around!”

[[Image:City_v04a_277.jpg|thumb]]

The Dog God on her shoulder shouted for her as she reached for the ones that had fallen.

The six on the ground began running around her legs as if to tease her.

…''?

Once they appeared in front of her again, five of the six had vanished and just the one remained.

She grabbed the back of its neck and placed it inside her stole.

She sighed and Shoui was left all alone in his confusion.

“What is all this?” he asked via the Dog God on his shoulder.

She turned around in surprise when she heard his voice.

“It’s a type of the Dog God said to possess and control people. …Have you heard of them? They’re a type of monster created by a disturbance in the Lives.”

“This thing is?”

When Shoui looked to the Dog God on his shoulder, it looked him in the eye and tilted its head.

The girl looked to him and the animal.

“Sorry. I seem to have worried you.”

“Well, I saw you looking scared, so I thought something had happened.”

“…Did I look scared?”

“Yeah. So did those three who ran away.”

“Those three.” She hung her head. “Then they all survived?”

“Survived? So something did happen?”

“Taromaru… That’s this Dog God’s name, but he did that to them.”

“…Eh?”

The girl looked away from Shoui and the Dog God on his shoulder as she answered.

“I was lost and I tried to ask them for directions, but…well…”

The Dog God on her shoulder scratched at its head with its short front paw.

“They hit on her,” it quickly said.

She blushed and glared at the Dog God which spoke on her behalf.

“You didn’t have to say that!”

Shoui was shocked by this exchange that sounded like a one-man comedy routine, but then she seemed to recall the situation. The Dog God spoke in her voice.

“Ah.” Both of them bowed down. “Sorry. I forgot I was speaking to you.”

“No, no. Go right ahead.”

“Um, anyway, I didn’t like it and a lot happened…” She took a breath. “Taromaru can sense my will and turn into a beast. He’s usually so small, but he turns into a large beast.”

“Then…the bite marks on those guys were-…”

“S-sorry for surprising you…but, u-um, please forgive me! I was scared too!”

Shoui decided to trust the girl who was honestly letting the creature speak her feelings.

He understood that the Dog God on her shoulder would directly read her thoughts without hiding anything.

“Of course, being deceived by a girl this cute might not be so bad. …Ah, wait! I take it back!”

“Eh? What do you mean you take it back?”

Shoui chose his words carefully and had the Dog God speak them.

“Um, how should I put it? You don’t have to worry about whether I forgive you or not. If they were skipping school at this time of day, you know they’re up to no good.”

He crossed his arms and gave a serious nod.

“Ah.”

But then he looked back to her.

She was once again pressing up against the wall to move away from him.

“Yeah, I guess you would do that. But I have a reason to be skipping school! I’m not like those guys! …I can’t believe this!”

“You don’t need to make any excuses. I trust you. I have to when Taromaru seems to like you so much.”

“Thanks. But, um, you really don’t have to worry about it. Those guys will be ashamed of running away, so they won’t accuse you of anything.”

“Really?”

“You being afraid is another issue entirely, though.”

“That’s true,” she agreed.

Shoui sighed and looked to the creature on his shoulder.

“Well, I got to see something neat, so I’m personally fine with all this. …More importantly, Miss Pet Owner.”

“Don’t call me that. That isn’t my Urban Nam. I’m Takada Seigi, the Fast Reader.”

“Then Takada-san, um, I’d like to give back this guy on my shoulder.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. A Dog God has seventy-two copies. Plus, Taromaru went to you because he’s taken a liking to you.”

“Th-that really isn’t the issue. I’d like head home…”

“Then take Taromaru with you. He went to you of his own free will, so there’s nothing I can do.”

“I can’t believe this… Are you sure this isn’t any trouble for you?”

“Then how about we make a deal?”

“What might that be?”

“I want you to give me directions.”

“What?”

Seigi smiled at his confusion.

She hid her mouth with the right hand she wore a ring on and nonchalantly continued.

“I’m not used to Osaka, you see.”

Shoui did not have a single reason to refuse.

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