"Another one? I swear these people have nothing better to do..." I sighed. "Alright, I'm on my way." Hanging up the call, I ran to a certain alley.
Uiharu true to her goal, has become in charge of the surveillance and backup for the 177th branch. It was no secret that she's very skilled when it comes to computers so she has been give free reign over the workplace right by the server.
She still does patrols whenever she can, of course. But the most of her time was spent monitoring the area of jurisdiction for our branch.
A little while ago, she just received a call asking for help and reported to me that there was some trouble nearby that required my assistance.
It was just another group of delinquents that upturned another container in another unsupervised location.
Honestly, a part of me wants to scold them hard for the trouble they cause at the expense of other people's time, but a part of can hypothesize if they're a part of the group that went wayward.
It's a common story of children with big dreams working hard to achieve them only to be disappointed when hit with the reality of the situation.
In a society full of quirks, no matter how anyone proclaims or swears to it, People are simply not born equal. The evidence has always been clear and in plain sight yet most people ignore it to preserve the peace they have.
For every child born with the power to awe and inspire, there are hundreds more born with powers that only left them either bitter or distraught.
Or worse, they are born to be normal.
Arriving at my destination, I caught the three individuals red-handed. Like the other stores where containers had been upturned this as of late, this one was fairly small, and most likely had no security cameras in its backyard. Even though they cost so little, some store owners opted for saving the money, or neglected the importance of maintaining their functionality. Underestimating the importance of security made vandals able to roam freely about.
Even without the district patches bearing the logo of their school, the style and quality of the uniforms they wear give away that their origins lay within the lower hierarchy amongst schools in the district.
"Stop right there! In the name of Judgement, You're all under arrest on the grounds of vandalism!"
Although I wasn't paying attention to the words coming out their mouths, from the expression of their faces, the sneers and vulgar signs, they don't seem like the friendly sort. Not to mention that they seem confident that they can overpower me since it's three against one.
'Ah, they're attacking...'
It would simply be a waste to wield either my powers or spells here. I simply made use of them to further hone my body's martial prowess.
The result? It didn't even take a single minute of time. Though the battle did damage a small area as they made use of their quirks.
Squatting over and looking down at the defeated delinquents with a disinterest gaze, I said: "In addition to vandalism and resisting arrest, I have to add wanton destruction, illegal use of quirk and assault to your current list of crimes. Please cease further resistance so your arrest will be quick and painless." Only the sound of groans were said in reply.
It only took a few moments before Anti-skill arrived to take them away. Uiharu already knew that I wouldn't be bested by random groupies so she notified them beforehand so I didn't have to wait for too long.
'I already cleaned some litter, did my patrol, apprehended some troublemakers... All that's left is to go back and file my report, same as usual.'
~~~~~~~
As soon as I opened the door what greeted me was chaos- not.
It was peaceful. The rhythmic tapping of pens and keys were like gentle music. The scene in the office was quite picturesque that I thought to myself that making a painting out of it was well worth it.
Moving over to my desk to do my thing, I pass by Konori-senpai was was trying to work. Emphasis on 'try' as the little ball of fluff known as Nebi was distracting her.
She's been a lot more cheerful these past few days, which is connected to the unexpected addition to the office, I'm sure.
Uiharu is on the server as usual. Compared to seeing something in an anime and seeing it in real life, I certain that her skill with computers is something that even professionals would envy.
And lastly, Kuroko... For some reason, she has been avoiding me lately. I don't think I've done anything to wrong her but it's been a tad bit awkward.
Other than that... Today has been the same as usual.
~~~~~~~
Walking down dark alleyways like these would make any passerby think of me as a suspicious individual, especially if it happened really late at night.
The dormitory had surveillance cameras constantly monitoring the corridors and the occasional security bot passing by, so I had to make my exit --and eventual return-- from the balcony.
I would've had an easy time if I flew on my heads, of course. But there's just something about travelling on your own two feet that enthralls me.
Not to mention that the streets are sparsely populated since it's still a weekday.
The sights of empty streets, quiet roads and flickering street lights never fails to get me in such a giddy mood. I understand that it isn't like the real thing, but sights like these reminds me of Gensokyo.
How I miss the times my sister would take me out with her at night. We would train our Danmaku, acquire information from the drunks or just simply sightsee. It was incredibly easy since Rokurokubi have an affinity for blending in with the crowd, and as youkai, an affinity to blend in the dark.
It isn't to the level on invisibility, but it does make us harder to notice by thinning our presence and making the observer subconsciously overlook us. Too bad machines don't have a subconsciousness, and I don't have any AI to test it on.
But tonight, I am not prowling the dark areas to bask in melancholy.
I am not human, I am a Youkai.
During my walk when I first settled in my dorms a few months back, I noticed something peculiar. One of the things that people do when they settle down in a new location is to familiarize themselves to their new surroundings.
During that time, I came across multiple areas where the spiritual density is exhibiting an exited behaviour. In addition, said areas are also pulsating with negative emotions --A miasma catalyst--. If nothing was done then there's a chance it would eventually form a creature whose sole purpose is to act on those emotions, or the target thereof.
I encountered the same situation elsewhere in the past two years, but they only counted less than the fingers on one hand! Whereas in Academy City, the chances of stumbling into one --Regardless of whether the spiritual energy is thin or dense-- was 1 in every dozen alleyways! Thankfully, just because they're miasma catalyst doesn't mean that it's a guarantee that all of them would hatch.
I suppose that other locations outside of Academy city had some sort of overseer to take care of this problem. It isn't all that weird to have practitioners of the supernatural blending in with the public, living their lives, even the original [Toaru] had something like that!
There are a few methods available depending on various factors to take care of this phenomenon. The most common one is by purification --Doesn't matter if it's by prayer, chant, ritual, item, etc.-- But such method would do more harm for me, even with my Holy affinity. Just because I have resistance does not mean I have immunity.
Instead, I voluntarily would absorb the spiritual energy and release it in pulses, essentially like a walking magic filter. It sounds simple, but the negative emotions would instinctively lash out in self-defence as I take it in. Each instance is a battle of it's own.
Spiritual energy can also cause me harm if I overload myself. At that time, the overloaded head would have self-destructed if it didn't release a devastating eye laser at AFO.
As I was dealt with the problem, I sense a spiritual signature coming closer to me from inside the dark alleyway. A slight smile tugged on the corner of my lips as I set my sights on them.
As the figure revealed herself from the darkness, what I saw was skin white as porcelain, cracks lining it's surface here and there. Straight black hair reaching her waist, paired nicely with the dark purple antique kimono adorned with flower motifs.
And yet, the most discerning feature is her height. She was barely tall enough to reach my waist with features befitting a fifteen year old, bringing an odd sight.
Her name is Hina, and like me, she is a Youkai.
During one of my 'purification' back then, I came across a few others like her. And through them, I also learned much about the history of them world pertaining to the non-huaman magical side of things.
With the dawn of the quirk era and the advancement of science, superstition and beliefs have lost their standing, heralded as simply 'The Downfall' by the supernaturnals. The supernatural creatures who thrive on such metaphysics weakened severely.
There were plenty who faded into nonexistence as they were forgotten, and there are plenty who saved themselves by fusing with others who share similarities or stories with them. There are plenty of other exceptions, like those who exist independently from belief and didn't need it.
Hina was a doll from made shortly after WWII. When her first owners lost their entire fortune in a string of bad luck, they sold her off along with other luxuries. She was an antique doll with plenty of value so she changed hands multiple times over the years as the wear and tear affected her. Before finally, her last owners died unexpectedly and she was designated as a cursed doll.
She was the only antique the last owner had in his possession, with how many previous owners she used to have, the rumors flew off and she eventually came to life.
She desires no blood, nor did she desire the life of innocents. She was merely alive with no particular purpose.
Before she found a purpose for herself, The Downfall inevitably arrived, she was one of the lucky few who fused with an instance of the urban legend, [Hide-and-seek-alone], and survived. Severely weakened, yes, but still alive.
"I thought I felt something familiar, So it was just Aniki." She said, her voice childlike and yet her tone was mature. "A beautiful night isn't?"
"A good evening to you too, Hii-chan. Your turn to do the rounds tonight?"
Like me, they also help 'purify' Academy city. The amalgamation of their current selves means that they benefit more from these negative emotions than me.
"Indeed. The others had to be dispatched on a mission, the usual blade-for-hire business... May I?" She asked, gesturing at a certain spot, Her slit eyes, no doubt twinkled underneath their lids.
"Not at all." I step back and let her take the spotlight.
She briefly glows a dim black light as she takes it in without any trouble. The spiritual energy that would lash out at me, was like a meek kitten when she confronted it.
"...that should be enough for a few days." She said with a sigh of fulfillment.
"Right... Take these with you too..." I said, reaching into the inner pockets of my capelet and taking out multiple small square packets of paper and handing them to her. "Distribute them to the others on my stead."
"Of course." She nods. "You don't really have to do these all the time, you know? We can live without them at least." She said with a faint smile. From my emphatic ability, I felt a small sense of guilt in her.
What I handed to her was a simple catalyst filled to the brim with my own energy. Learning how to create these was in one of the books Marisa lent me a while back. It was used by apprentices to create a crude battery for magic power using one's own organic resource, --namely hair, blood, fingernails, etc.-- usually kept in a vial but paper works just fine. Regardless of the container, the material inside would disintegrate into ashes once the energy was depleted. I give these to her and her friends at any chance we come across each other, so I usually have a few in my pockets at any given moment. They can also be used as emergency refill on my reserves during a battle.
"Just living? You guys need more energy to function properly, then?" I sigh, seeing through her obvious omission of crucial detail. "It's fine. These aren't hard to make, and you know that I can't run out."
For some reason, those from Gensokyo can generate a monstrous amount of spiritual energy by their lonesome. This is why they can wantonly use something absurd like Danmaku on a daily basis, when compared to the other youkai from elsewhere that had to be frugal about their expenditure to not suddenly stop existing by accident.
"..." She opened her eyes, or lack thereof. What I see were two dark holes with nothing inside them. "You didn't have to get yourself involved... We aren't the only ones dealing with this problem... and it's not as if there's a perfect solution out there, no matter how special anyone is..."
"We just have to take things one step at a time." I start. "Times change. When the humans first drove the dark of night away with bright white light, was the moment their belief began to wane." I said with a tinge of sadness in my voice. "I wouldn't be able to live well knowing that I could have helped my own kind when they're threatened with extinction."
A brief silence took over the alley where we stood.
"...Anyway, I still have school tomorrow so I'll head back." With a pun to lighten the mood, I turned around to leave as I waved back at her. "Have a good night, Hii-chan."
The sounds of my light footsteps were like thunder amidst the silent night. As I turn at the corner, a barely audible voice whispered far behind me, causing me to stop in my tracks.
"... you're too kind, aniki..." She said before disappearing into a shadow, not moving a single step from where she last stood.
I took a glance behind me before resuming my walk, "...Today's the same as usual." I muttered under my breath.