Editing City Series:Volume4a Prologue (section)

===Part 4===

'''11:48 PM

“…”

When the girl woke from the dark pain, her vision was filled with bright light.

…''Is this heaven!?

She quickly sat up and realized this was a familiar place.

It was the bench on top of the waterfall viewing platform.

The sunlamp was shining in the darkness overhead.

When she identified the artificial light, she let out a white breath.

“It’s cold.”

That was when she realized she was naked.

The blanket that had covered her had fallen from the bench.

There was another blanket over the bench and she could feel the warmth that her own body had given it.

…''It really is cold.

She moved to pick up the fallen blanket.

—''Fujiwara – Mind Tech – Auto-Take – Detect Gazes – Hit!

She looked forward in surprise and several people in the café at the back of the viewing platform quickly turned their backs.

They were all wearing firefighter uniforms, so they were her father’s colleagues.

The café’s lights were on even though it was after hours and the men drank cans of coffee and glanced back at her.

“Don’t look, you idiots!”

She shook her long, lowered hair and hid her body behind the blanket.

“You’re the idiot here.”

A low male voice spoke from surprisingly close by.

“…!?”

She turned around and found her father sitting on the bench behind her with his back turned.

He wore a borrowed dry suit which was pulled down from his shoulders and a bath towel was draped over the shoulders of his T-shirt.

White steam rose from his shoulders and through the towel.

It was the steam of sweat.

When the girl saw that, she realized what had happened.

So she wrapped herself in the blanket below her butt instead of the one she had picked up.

She then used her feet to push the other blanket toward her father.

“Sorry,” she quietly apologized.

“Who are you apologizing to?”

“You.”

“Only me?”

“And to everyone else. …The chief must have been surprised.”

“That old man just got a prosthetic heart, so try not to surprise him too much.”

The girl nodded silently and stared at the blanket sitting between her and her father.

“Aren’t you going to say anything else?”

“I didn’t think you could use the Aqua Middle.”

“You’re the one that bought me the MD for my birthday last month.”

“I kind of thought I was getting you a coming-of-age present five years early.”

“Didn’t you say something similar to mom when you gave her the engagement ring?”

“And it turned out the same way too. She decided we were getting married right away.”

Her father reached back to grab the blanket, draped it over his shoulders, and continued speaking without looking back.

“What did you see?”

“More questions.”

“Just like your Words.”

“Unlike yours, my Words are full of mysteries.”

“But did you see it?”

“…What was that?”

“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”

“Because I’m a child?”

“Then do you understand why those two were smiling?”

“…”

“Once you understand that, you won’t need to know anything about their past.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are two sides to everything. There were smiles even in that tragedy.”

Her father hesitated for a moment.

“Most of us have never told anyone about them for that reason. If we did, it would cause a commotion and disturb their slumber.”

“You mountain men sure are sentimental.”

“That’s because we’re the only ones who know what happened there.”

“Then what about that boy? He was throwing flowers in there.”

Her father turned around, showing her his square face covered in facial hair.

“You’ll understand a little once you enter high school next year. You’ll year about the Mountain and the Kinki Riot.”

“I’m not going to join the Chancellor’s Officers. That’s just my homeroom teacher Takoyama getting all worked up.”

“That isn’t what I meant.” Her father stood up. “You’ll be able to understand your questions even as they remain questions.”

“So you’re telling me to gain the knowledge and experience to do that?”

“I’m telling you to grow up.”

“…You’re always treating me like a child.”

“You’ll be an adult before long. That’s what I meant when I praised you earlier.”

“About what?”

“About surprising me as much as your mother did before we got married.”

He rubbed the girl’s head.

“C’mon, everyone’s worried, so leave those questions for the future and go say hi.”

“The questions never end, huh?” She looked up at her father. “If people can’t fight their Words, this could be a problem.”

“Yeah, you’ll be stuck wondering about your questions forever.”

“Yes, but…”

“But?”

The girl tilted her head.

“Didn’t mom say people’s Words are what will make them happiest?”

She took a breath.

“If so, then what are these questions to me?”

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