Editing City Series:Volume3b Chapter 6 (section)

===Part 6===

Akira listened to the rain outside the dark window behind her.

She had changed into her Yard uniform and she sat below the vase containing the jinyinhua and feather. She placed her left arm on the wall and felt the characteristic damp chilliness of an earthen wall.

About an hour had passed since she had woken and been able to move her arm.

She had spent the time eating the food the General had left in the hallway.

It was dark outside the window, but the clock had rung nine times earlier.

It was now 9:00 AM of June 30.

…''The Earth Serpent will fly tonight.

…''There’s nothing I can do. I wouldn’t be any help…and my room was ransacked.

She sighed.

The light meal seemed to have given her some energy.

The room was dark from the typhoon, but she looked around while holding the broken Nein König.

Her senses had grown more sensitive to her body and her surroundings.

She could hear the wind.

She could hear the rain.

But those were mere noises.

Neither the wind nor the rain showed its Message.

The same was true of the darkness in the room. The daytime darkness brought by the storm clouds felt no different than having her eyes go bad.

…''What am I supposed to do now?

As soon as she wondered that, she heard a sound through the walls.

She heard footsteps.

They belonged to the General.

They were approaching her down the hallway.

Akira faced the door with her eyes still closed.

…''Is he bringing breakfast?

She frowned in her heart because that made her feel like a freeloader.

But as if to ignore her thoughts, she heard something being placed in front of the door.

Then she heard the General’s voice.

“You awake?”

“Oh, yes,” she answered.

She heard a quiet laugh from beyond the door.

“Good. You youngsters have so much energy.”

…''Not really.

She tilted her head and heard more from beyond the door.

“You’re hidin’ your Live pretty well there, Akira.”

She looked up at those unexpected words.

…''I’m hiding my Live? Now?

She was not doing so consciously, but he was telling her he could not see it.

The words beyond the door continued.

“Yet I could still see plenty when you woke up yesterday.”

She gasped, but he was not done.

“Gunmal wasn’t showin’ his either. …Is that the latest fad with you youngsters?”

“No…it isn’t.”

“Then is it not some short-lived thing?”

She did not answer.

She simply looked at Nein König in her arms.

The mass of metal told her nothing, but she still stared at it.

The beautiful steel Device looked like a musical instrument. She noticed slight scratches and chips on its surface and corners.

Those were evidence that Gunmal had used this Device for years.

As it received her gaze in the dim light, the Wild Emblem of the Maldrick family glowed dully. She could see two dragons dancing within the round relief.

And as she looked at it, her lips began to move.

“Why am I… No, why does Gunmal hide his Live?”

Her own words confused her.

…''Why am I saying this?

But before she could find out, a voice reached her.

“He’s makin’ Devices right now. At that workshop.”

“Eh?”

Just as she looked up in surprise, her shoulders touched something.

It felt raw and soft, almost like lips.

The surprise caused her pulse to race.

“…?”

She looked over at her shoulder and found some yellow flower petals.

It was a jinyinhua flower.

It had fallen from the vine growing in the wall-mounted vase.

She stared at it.

After a few breaths of silence, she moved.

“…”

She suddenly but slowly moved.

She took her time to hesitantly stand up.

And as she took the first step forward, Nein König slipped from her arms.

“…!”

When she let out a voiceless scream and crouched down, she heard a voice from beyond the door.

“I’ll be goin’.”

She did not answer, but she did nod.

She heard the front door slide open and the sounds of the storm grew louder.

“Don’t bother lockin’ up when you leave.”

Finally, she heard the door slide shut.

She was cut off from the outside world once more.

She was alone in the house.

“…”

She held her breath and stared at Nein König and the yellow jinyinhua flower on the floor.

She picked up the flower and placed it on top of the Device.

She sighed and stood back up without smiling.

The vase was at eye level.

It contained the jinyinhua which had dropped a single flower and the single feather.

She started turning away to face forward, but…

“Huh?”

She noticed something.

Her eyes stopped on the feather that shined a golden white in the dimly lit room.

“This feather…”

She spoke the truth before her eyes as if reflecting on the fact.

“It isn’t mine.”

…''What does that mean?

She had no way of answering that.

She kept her eyes on it while slowly walking away.

She arrived in front of the door and steadied her breathing.

She slowly opened it to find the entranceway.

The door to leave this house appeared before her eyes.

As she started toward it, she found something left in the entranceway.

It was what the General had left for her.

She had expected a tray carrying breakfast, but it was an umbrella.

“It’s storming outside, isn’t it?”

She picked it up and nodded with a tense expression.

“Everything might be blown away.”