Chương 72: Book 1, Chapter 72: Evening Patrol

By the time that the coin changing line had tapered down to nothing, it was well and truly dark out; the thick, dark layers of clouds had smothered the last hours of light. However, the thick cover had finally broken with night's fall, letting a glorious gibbous moon shine down its reflected light, bathing the world in pale silver.

What few lights lined the main streets were little more than sparks compared to its majesty, but still offered up their light, too, as if in tribute to what may as well have been the eye of a deity overhead. It was rather beautiful, in John's eye, how the small town transformed from a lively, beating heart of their tiny pocket of civilization into something akin to a beast curling up in its den for slumber.

Back home, he was no stranger to driving at two in the morning to grab some coffee, but perhaps what was once old to him was new once more. Ugh, it even had him getting all poetic. John hoped that wasn't a trend and lest he start spouting haikus at the slightest provocation. He was pretty sure the last works he made would kill an actual poet on the spot through cringe alone.

Sadly, by the time the duo was free from their vaguely hot spring hotel-shaped prison, the noodle shop Rin crashed through like a wrecking ball with protagonist syndrome when he first met her was already closed. He kinda wanted to tell the Unbound that he was taking everyone out for dinner, only to have her slowly realize where they were heading. He was pretty sure Yuki would have found it hilarious. Alas, an idea for another day, then.

No, for now, they were on patrol for any last-minute trouble while Yuki used her superhuman brain to count the money and check over the militiamen in charge of the other offices. John, admittedly, shivered a bit when he relayed Rin's concerns about corruption and the kitsune only smiled and said that she'd "Take care of it."

"Sensei, why can't we leave this to the mortals? Guard work is… below us," the Unbound just slightly behind him questioned, perhaps slightly grumpy that they were trudging around the dark aimlessly. Ouch, Rin. Well, at least this mortal was smart enough to make and bring flameless headlamps for both of them. Which is to say, he was smart enough to throw a small magical lightbulb into a housing and glue it to a cloth strap. It sounded a lot less impressive when he put it like that.

Still, Rin absentmindedly trying to glance up to look at the light only to tip her head back like a turkey in the rain was a sight worth seeing.

"Simple, my dear student," he chimed, holding up a finger. Honestly, he was starting to feel like less of a fraud when he said it, too. Maybe it was the fact that he had been through the dread trenches of customer service with her today.

"It's something that has to be done, so why not us?" He paused for just a beat, absolutely bathing in her disbelief; the owlish blink the Unbound gave him was comedy gold.

"Neither of us has anything pressing to do. Besides, the mere thought of us walking about is probably enough to stop all but the most stupid or desperate of crooks." The disparity between Unbound senses and 'mortal' senses alone was enough of a cause to concern thieves, in his personal opinion. After all, Yuki could probably hear someone getting mugged several streets over, and while he, and to a lesser extent Rin, couldn't replicate that, nobody else knew that.

Hell, everyone knew he could fly and shoot lightning, so most of them were probably scared of getting smited by some near-invisible speck flying around the sky. It was a shame he couldn't use the disc for patrolling; the flight time was just far too short, and he wouldn't see shit that far up in the dark. The Unbound frowned before nodding slowly, one of her hands rising to cradle her chin as if she were deep in thought.

"I suppose that makes enough sense," she finally admitted, glancing down the empty street.

"But wouldn't they be too scared to do anything already, sensei? Wasn't that the point of what you did in front of the crowd?" Wait a minute… John just needed height to make sure nothing interfered with the signal to his bombs!

"What do you mean by that, Rin?" he nervously asked, drumming his fingers against his leg.

"Everyone saw you point into the distance, and then the Nameless nests exploded, sensei! I know you said you used explosives that you and Yuki placed, but nobody else knows that. Nobody will dare cross you!" she exclaimed, voice rising towards the end as John tried his damnedest to withdraw into himself and go on an out of body experience. He didn't go high enough. Everyone saw him shooting finger guns while pressing the detonator like a teenager's conception of cool.

And they were absolutely going to tell all their friends and family about it, too, including those outside the area once the Nameless were dealt with and people were free to move about once more. He was going to be locally famous for it. Children were going to start mimicking him to summon explosions while playing pretend. There probably was one right now. On one hand, this was almost certainly a plus.

John was under no delusions that he'd never make another enemy again, and having people think he had super vision and could summon explosions at any point within his line of sight was a hell of a deterrent. On the other hand, he wished he could disassociate on command. The only thing that even slightly mollified him and stopped him from dying of shame on the spot was the fact that nobody here had phone cameras to forever capture his pointless aura farming.

He did, however, reserve the right to collapse into himself like a star turning into a black hole if he saw a painting of himself dramatically pointing into the distance.

"Sensei, are you alright, sensei?" Rin nervously inquired, and only once broken from his trance did he realize that he was stopped in the middle of the street, staring off into space.

"I'm fine," he lied, "mortal eyesight is just sharper than I remembered." Was he wrong? Did he need glasses? How the hell would he get glasses if he did? Maybe he could somehow figure out basic lenses and slap a blinking red light on the frame so people thought it was some magical implement that let him see through the veil or some nonsense. She pursed her lips a bit but nodded, and the two resumed their patrol.

There were very few people out tonight, and the smattering that remained didn't say much other than some form of mumbled thanks as they passed, bowing. John returned a small bow of his own every time, although he cut back on the depth of them after Rin looked downright scandalized by the first one. Apparently, he was supposed to do a little nod at most to the average person on the street, judging by her reaction. Still, their circuit went on smoothly, and it seemed her guess rang true.

A few people who looked like possible troublemakers did the closest thing a human can do to having their eyes bulge out like cartoon characters, but it was pretty calm overall. Everyone on the street looked absolutely gobsmacked by his headlamps, though. John scanned left and right, checking down the alleyways as he tried to keep the boredom from creeping in. There was probably a safe subject or two he could broach with Rin, teach her something.

The abilities of the Unbound were more thematic than anything, which gave them considerable wiggle room when you leaned back and thought a bit. She had some power over electricity. Could she sense it? If he told her about bioelectricity, would she be able to construct a radar for anything conventionally alive near her? At the same time, Yuki's warning echoed in the back of his mind about neither of them knowing Rin's true loyalties.

As he walked, John went over potential lesson plans, tossing out half of them as unsuitable to teach while mobile, and discarding another two-thirds of the remainder as something that would probably scare the hell out of anyone they happened across. Maybe he could teach her something harmless, like more about atmospheric pressure? He had already touched a bit on how winds formed, so it wasn't as if it would be entirely new info, nor would it be disastrous if anyone overheard. Everyone thought he could fly.

If all else failed and people started questioning it, he could just say he went up and checked. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Before he could launch into his hastily planned spiel to stave off boredom, though, a hunched form appeared from the darkness. On the edge of the road was a roughly man-shaped lump, curled up like a snail in its shell. John's heart seized. Was he alright? Shouldn't Rin have seen the man before he did?

Why didn't she say anything? Something was wrong. He gave him a quick scan with his Kiku and magic detectors out of caution before hurting over, coming up clean, before hurrying over to the man's side.

"Hey, you there! Are you alright?" John called as he rolled the lanky man into the recovery position. The old man's wide and unfocused eyes flicked open, and he was flushed like he was cooking alive.

"Ughhh…" the man groaned, and the sheer pungent alcohol that wafted off his breath was enough to kill a lesser man. Oh. The man stared into their headlamps like a deer stared at an approaching car, narrowing his eyes.

"Dooo the sun works late?" he muttered, slowly trying to rise but completely failing to get a grip on the ground, looking more like a flailing mop. He blinked again. Slowly. One eye at a time.

"Are… you alright there, buddy?" John hesitantly asked. The man straightened, suddenly seeming to realize who was in front of them.

"Lord Hall," he called, wincing at the volume of his own voice and tried to bow, but he accomplished little other than bumping his head into the street a few inches away.

"The ban on mo-mon-mo—"He narrowed his eyes and tried to stare down-ish at his traitorous mouth, but he only managed to cross eyes—"money doesn't start until tomorrow?"

"Yes?" John carefully confirmed.

"I mean, we didn't ban money, just imperial coinage." The man slumped.

"Thank the heave-ns," the man slurred, "I'm not an, uhhh, criminal then." He was staring at the light again, not questioning it but clearly not in the right mind to recognize that it hurt, judging by how he kept on blinking and squinting but staring at it anyhow. John looked over his shoulder at Rin. The woman was levelling a glare that could melt steel at the drunken man, but he didn't notice.

"No, no, you're not in trouble for paying for your drinks with imperial coinage," John sighed. The man gasped.

"How d-did you know what I did, Lord Hall? Can you, uhh, read minds too?"

"... Lucky guess," John muttered.

"Anyhow! Where do you live, buddy?"

"Just down the street," he responded, half raising a hand and waving down the darkened street before slumping back down.

"Where?" John asked, staring down the silent, probably drunk-unfriendly darkness.

"Over there!" the man enthusiastically exclaimed, waving in an entirely different direction. John blinked. As tempting as it was just to give up and leave the man to his own issues, it was starting to get to the time of year when it could get pretty cold at night, and he'd feel dreadful if the drunkard froze to death overnight. The militia headquarters—or was it a barracks? —was only a few blocks away. He could probably just drop him over there to sleep it off in relative safety.

"Alright, buddy, come here," John said, pointing at the man and levitating him into the air, pointedly keeping him a few feet away.

"I can fly? I can fly!" the old drunk borderline screamed before wincing at the volume, limbs still flailing as if he were trying to doggy paddle through the air. A few moments later, he started retching violently, and John quickly levitated him much farther away before the man dumped the contents of his insides outside, a startlingly large puddle of sick issuing from his mouth in one rapid burst.

"Charming," John stated flatly, averting his eyes from the small pond of alcohol and bile, turning down a side street to take the most expedient route to the barracks. A glance backward confirmed that Rin was still glaring at the man, but followed and now cast an occasional confused glance at John himself. He couldn't even begin to plumb what was going through her mind, but he was content to not make this whole situation any more awkward. Perhaps she had a distaste for public drunkenness or drinking in general.

While John was no stranger to the idea of drinking the pain away for a while, giving it up was no real loss. It wasn't as if he had access to alcohol often enough to grow dependent. Plus, he was pretty sure he read something about yokai needing booze so strong that it would kill ten men to get drunk, and he bet that extended to Unbound to at least a degree, too. It would give him away in moments if he got even a bit buzzed off regular alcohol.

Unless Rin thought he was faking it to test her, which was entirely within character but also not something he'd want to bet on. The walk was calm, other than the drunken babbling, which quickly broke down into nonsense. The old man quickly tired himself out, though, and drifted into silence as he somehow passed out. The only reason John wasn't worried that the man died was because of his chainsaw-esque snoring. Soon enough, they were back at the squat barracks.

Most of its windows were darkened, but a few lights still glowed inside here and there, like fireflies on a summer night.

"Mind announcing us, Rin?" John politely requested. Yuki had done that trick with her Presence last time, but John, obviously, had no real method of replicating it, and it'd probably raise questions if he just shouted or knocked. Something about that request made Rin beam, and the Unbound eagerly nodded.

"Of course, sensei!" she responded loudly enough that the people inside probably already guessed they were there. The cool of a sudden rainshower on a hot summer day washed over his consciousness, the sun eclipsed by a friendly cloud casting the land into shade. It was simple and effective, and John could somehow tell it was less refined and directed than Yuki's. Perhaps he had been exposed to too much brain-interfacing nonsense lately, and having an opinion on this was a sign of something going terribly wrong.

Yet, he could still feel less pointed undertones and imbued emotion, relying mostly on the feelings the imagery would directly invoke in someone.

"Thank you, Rin," he said after she cut it off, the Unbound bowing slightly in response.

"Of course, sensei!" she quickly responded. The door slid open, and Izumi's head poked out. The man's eyes were barely open, and sleep clung to the edges, although he was still in full gear. Had he passed out at his desk?

"Evening!" John warmly greeted, gesturing with his head towards the floating man.

"Do you have somewhere warm you can leave this guy until he sobers up? I don't know where he lives, and I'm pretty sure he'd freeze to death if I left him." They probably had a jail, right? They were seemingly the local law, so they probably had something they could use as a drunk tank. In response, the man snored even louder, graduating from chainsaw to jet engine that inhaled a heron. Suddenly, Izumi's eyes widened.

"Uncle?!" he shouted, somehow stirring the man from the depths of alcohol fuelled unconsciousness. Huh. Well, wasn't that a coincidence? Still, at least he didn't have to worry about the drunken man getting tossed back out on the streets.

"Junior!" he greeted, his eyes slowly flicking open.

"I fly now!" he slurred out, waving his arms like he was trying to doggy paddle. John snorted a little bit before levitating the drunken man closer to his apparent relative, to his glee given the swimming 'working.' John was beginning to suspect that he might have had something more potent than just alcohol, and quietly wondered if there was a local brew that actually had the effects that everyone thought absinthe had.

Izumi threw his arms wide to catch the flying man, staggering as John released the telekinetic grip.

"Uncle, what did I tell you about going out tonight?" he hissed.

"Not to not," the older man in his arms quietly laughed as Izumi laid him down just inside the doorframe. Izumi turned back to John and hurriedly bowed.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with him, Lord Hall," he apologized. John waved off his concerns.

"Eh, I wasn't going to let anyone freeze if I could help it. He did throw up on the road about two streets over. Please make sure he cleans it up tomorrow." John couldn't say how, but he swore he could see something change in Izumi's eyes. Something quiet, like he had found a missing piece of a puzzle under the couch.

"You are very kind, Lord Hall," the man said, bowing again.

"Most Unbound would have walked right by him."

"Most Unbound can't lift drunks from a distance to avoid getting thrown up on," John quipped back, smiling.

"Even then, most would see such aid as beneath them. If you need anything, please allow me to aid you, my lord," the man responded.

"If not me, then who?" John asked, shrugging before turning back to the street.

"We do have to get back to patrolling, though. See you later, Izumi."

"I wish you a good night, Lord Hall," the man called as they left, and John watched from the corner of his eye as the man dragged his uncle inside. John pretended not to notice Rin mouthing "If not me, then who?" to herself over and over again out of the corner of his eye as he led them back into the night. Yuki would probably be done soon, and then they could all head back to the fort. Once they screened the area for Kiku, just in case, they could sleep and figure out the best way to aid the town further tomorrow.

He had much to do if he wanted to kickstart the economy. Some safer roads would be a good start. Maybe John could recruit some of the local yokai to help flush out the last of the Nameless? They would probably be pretty pleased once he explained what happened. Hmm. Actually, he should have probably told the yokai what he was doing in advance, eh? Oh well, it was a problem for tomorrow.