Mana looked it up on the internet once. What it was the construction company was doing up here in the Northern District. She'd passed by one day, noting the dilapidated an unused structure that was being swarmed with hardhats over the weeks. It was deemed too old to renovate, and thus was going to be put to the sword. A large crowd of people were privy to the same information, and gathered as close as the smiling security would allow. It wasn't often buildings were demolished with explosives, and the event would surely be one to video.
Mana herself... She wasn't there in the crowd. She was fine with watching afar from the safety of a rooftop food court. It was tall enough that she'd be able to see the building fall. Mana didn't have the time to walk all the way over to the demolition sight, with her work being over in the Northwestern District, so this distance had to do. On her lunch break, she went to a nearby food court, situated atop a several-story office building, and right in between two taller offices. It was mostly outdoors, and despite the rain, bothered Mana little. She'd already scarfed down her meal underneath an umbrella, and was now just waiting for the fireworks.
Leaning over the cement railing separating her from fifty feet of screaming and death, a peculiar object caught her eye. Across the way, a body was moving. The office building the person was standing on was far taller than hers, and without any significant barrier to keep people from falling over it. Her heart beat. Was this what a gut feeling was? Mana shifted, standing up taller though her folded arms still rested on the rail. She narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the figure.
Something wasn't right about this.
It was a girl, who couldn't have been older than herself. She wore a uniform, surely a schoolgirl.
...And she wasn't herself interested in the demolition.
Mana's hands drew aside and gripped the rough cement guard rail. If she was wrong about this... would she miss the demolition? Would she make a fool of herself? Did it matter...?
Mana's body turned in place, almost too quick to even catch her footing. She rushed for what she hoped and simultaneously didn't hope was about to happen. Her breath burst to life as her hurried pace, and she felt like an Olympic sprinter, with everyone else so slow around her. She paid no mind to the strange glances, and gave little warning to those who didn't see her coming. Some jumped as her apron-wearing frame shot past them from out of nowhere. She made it the street level, and rushed across the street. Adrenaline kept the burning in her throat at bay.
She briefly feared, approaching the other office building, that she would not be able to make it to the top... but surely if the schoolgirl could, so could she, right? Mana wasted no time testing every door to every stariwell, throwing them open and rushing upwards on an enrgy reserve that should have been voided a minute before. She thanked God that the smoking hadn't caught up to her yet. She got closer to the top... closer...
Mana threw wide the door to the rooftops, uncaring of if it would startle the girl. There she was... barefoot. A whimper of fear escaped Mana's lips against her will, and she burst forward with the greatest speed she'd probably ever express in her life. Her hand extended, reaching out to catch... her collar!
Mana herself... She wasn't there in the crowd. She was fine with watching afar from the safety of a rooftop food court. It was tall enough that she'd be able to see the building fall. Mana didn't have the time to walk all the way over to the demolition sight, with her work being over in the Northwestern District, so this distance had to do. On her lunch break, she went to a nearby food court, situated atop a several-story office building, and right in between two taller offices. It was mostly outdoors, and despite the rain, bothered Mana little. She'd already scarfed down her meal underneath an umbrella, and was now just waiting for the fireworks.
Leaning over the cement railing separating her from fifty feet of screaming and death, a peculiar object caught her eye. Across the way, a body was moving. The office building the person was standing on was far taller than hers, and without any significant barrier to keep people from falling over it. Her heart beat. Was this what a gut feeling was? Mana shifted, standing up taller though her folded arms still rested on the rail. She narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the figure.
Something wasn't right about this.
It was a girl, who couldn't have been older than herself. She wore a uniform, surely a schoolgirl.
...And she wasn't herself interested in the demolition.
Mana's hands drew aside and gripped the rough cement guard rail. If she was wrong about this... would she miss the demolition? Would she make a fool of herself? Did it matter...?
Mana's body turned in place, almost too quick to even catch her footing. She rushed for what she hoped and simultaneously didn't hope was about to happen. Her breath burst to life as her hurried pace, and she felt like an Olympic sprinter, with everyone else so slow around her. She paid no mind to the strange glances, and gave little warning to those who didn't see her coming. Some jumped as her apron-wearing frame shot past them from out of nowhere. She made it the street level, and rushed across the street. Adrenaline kept the burning in her throat at bay.
She briefly feared, approaching the other office building, that she would not be able to make it to the top... but surely if the schoolgirl could, so could she, right? Mana wasted no time testing every door to every stariwell, throwing them open and rushing upwards on an enrgy reserve that should have been voided a minute before. She thanked God that the smoking hadn't caught up to her yet. She got closer to the top... closer...
Mana threw wide the door to the rooftops, uncaring of if it would startle the girl. There she was... barefoot. A whimper of fear escaped Mana's lips against her will, and she burst forward with the greatest speed she'd probably ever express in her life. Her hand extended, reaching out to catch... her collar!