Prompt Story (The Mugging)

The sun is setting as Leigan strolls among the strange buildings of the moon village. The architecture is much different from what he knows, having lived in a lab and on the edges of society. "This place feels different from the other places I visited, more clean. Maybe that's why the other kids keep saying that the village has money to waste." Wandering with a book in his hand, the young man ends up in a side alley, not an unusual occurrence in his daily walks. As he was about to jump on the roofs to get a better view of the area and start heading back, a strange hooded man stops his path.

"Drop the bag and empty your pockets. Nobody has to get hurt." The man says, brandishing what looks like a kitchen knife.

Leigan stares at the man, then sighs. "Of course this had to happen. I don't want to be late. Sumio will complain if I interrupt his sleep again." Chains sprout from the ground beneath the bandit and wrap around his legs; from Leigan's back, two more shoot out and restrain the robber's arms.

"What the— wait—" The chains snake over the man, quickly creating a more uniform wrap; they begin glowing ominously. "What are these things?!" The bandit struggles, but the chains keep going; he tries to run, but the chains are bolted to the ground and walls. The man screams as he feels his energy being ripped away.

"Annoying." With a dismissive gesture, Leigan points at the man's mouth; some chains cover it to muffle the screams. "Wait, what's the civilized way to deal with this?" The man struggles. "I can't leave it to the carrion feeders; I think Suzaku-sensei said that leaving trash on the street is littering." The young man takes out a small notebook and checks the contents; the robber keeps struggling. "There is nothing in my notes about this." The mugger is starting to struggle less; the muffled screams diminish. "I should ask someone." The chains disconnect from the walls and floor, leaving a half cocoon with a now still bandit to fall. The chains on Leigan's back connect to the cocoon.

On the way back to the dorms, the young man feels more watched than usual; the rattling of chains dragging on the pavement follows him like a warning siren, and the civilians keep their distance and keep looking at the same time. Close to the market, the young man spots a familiar figure. "What was her name again? M something?" The girl in question seems to be occupied in cheerful conversation with some stall owner as her little friend picks up more produce. "Always together those two. How can they do that?" The taller girl seems distracted by something; she turns her head, and their eyes meet. "I should probably do something now that she saw me." Leigan half waves his hand at her in greeting, then continues on his way; she waves back, her smile faltering for barely a moment.

Nana notices the disturbance to the plans. "Sensei? What was that?"

"Probably nothing important." Without missing a beat, Momika goes back to the hustle. "Just training things, surely."

The door to the classroom opens suddenly. Suzaku sits up a bit straighter in his chair as he sees, and hears, a student enter. "Leigan? We don't have class right now. Were you planning to sleep here again?"

"Greetings, Sensei. I have a thing here; I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I came to ask." The cocoon is moved in front of the young man, the top part unraveling slightly to show the head of the robber.

"A thing? Leigan, that's a person, a human being." The teacher is slightly confused but is keeping calm.

The young man looks at the thing in front of him, then at his teacher; his glowing eye crackles slightly. "Yes, as I said. It attempted to extort monetary value. I didn't want to dirty the streets by leaving it there, so I came asking for counsel on the proper procedures."

"I see... is it— is he dead?"

"I can still feel mana left to drain, so it should be alive."

"Just leave it— him here then. I will take care of it. Next time you should warn the authorities; it's not necessary to carry the individual if incapacitated; just tell the guards where you left them."

The chains unwarp and disappear, leaving only the ones connected to Leigan's back. "Understood, I will take note for later. Have a good rest of the evening, Sensei." With a polite bow and a less noticeable jingle of chains, the young man exits the class.

Sumio lies on his bed attempting to fall asleep; one of his roommates is still out dangerously close to nighttime. The door is opened by a chain, followed by the missing roommate scribbling something in a notebook.

"You almost woke me up. Why so late?"

Leigan stops scribbling and looks out the window; the sun is still on the horizon. "I was learning the proper procedures to dispose of trash. It's needlessly complex, I think. I apologize for the disturbance."

The tired kid briefly considers asking what that confusing comment meant. "On second thought it's not the time for that. Aisuke is in the bath; please don't kill each other in my room. Good night."

"Good night... Sumio?" A chain extends from the wall to close the window, as Leigan starts wrapping up to sleep in his corner.