Author's note:  This chapter is dark and messy.  If you're not good with that, you may want to skip it.

It's Saturday, and dad's working until midnight.  This is a chance to go out and see some of the nightlife.

I call it 'nightlife,' but what I mean is... I want to see some of the dark that crawls around this city.  I don't have to go far.  I can feel them in the alleys and on the streets just a few blocks away.

I put on my rain boots, raincoat and hat, and grab my umbrella.  I suspect I may need them.

Feeling out with my senses, I manage to make it down the stairs with none the wiser, cross the street, and walk down the alley.  This next main street over has brighter lights, and it looks like college students in the middle of dates, the kids from middle- and high-school are hitting up the arcade and playing around.  There are some dark souls mixed in, but they haven't delved deep enough into the darkness to call me over - not yet.  The third large street from home isn't quite as busy, but then I get to the fourth large street over: there is a lot of darkness here under the bright lights.  Some host clubs - anime knowledge comes in handy again! - and some dark office buildings.  Some of those office buildings have lights on, though, and there is some serious darkness hidden in those lights.  I'm not here for those, yet, though... hors d'oeuvres are important to any meal, and I'll be stretching this meal out for a very long time.  Speaking of, there's a nice appetizer just across the street in the alley.  A couple of thugs are beating the crap out of some poor office worker.  I suppose he couldn't pay for all of his drinks at the host club. 

I do love these clear plastic umbrellas.  People can see my face, but the plastic also distorts what they see just enough that they can't really see my face.  As I get closer to the thugs, though, I can already see a slight reflection from my demon eye.  It's starting to glow with proximity to their darkness.  

I'm almost there.  The thugs toss the poor office worker guy off to the side and stand in front of me - not quite far enough apart for my umbrella to pass between them.  It'll bump into them, at this rate.

Good.

One of them speaks, loudly, and with a condescendingly rude tone of voice.  "Hey, kid.  You wanna get past us, you gotta pay the toll. Uehehe."  Fitting for someone so steeped in the dark.

I look up at their faces as I'm about to pass between them.  They freeze in place as the glow from my demon eye shines in their faces.  I pull a bit of the power I've gotten from their deep darkness and put it into my umbrella, and.... easily walk through them.  Yes, through.  They were too close together, and with the power I put into the umbrella, it simply carved out a large chunk from both of their waists.  Very large chunks.  Intestines are literally falling out of them onto the ground.  Blood is splashing and pouring over my raincoat and umbrella.  They're both in such shock that they can't even cry out in pain... ah, and they fell down.  One of them fell with his face in the hole in his friend's stomach.  Disgusting.  That office worker guy seems to have passed out - I'm not sure if it's from fear, or if it was from the beating he took.  We'll find out tomorrow if there's a report on this.  I think it was from the beating, though.  His darkness is pretty weak, so I don't want him.  These thugs, though... they'd managed to wallow in the darkness until there was more dark than light in their souls.

On a whim, I catch their souls, and put one into a lamp post, and the other into a brick on the wall.  Do your jobs properly, boys.  Light this street, and hold up that wall.  With just a little pull, the blood on my umbrella, rain boots and raincoat is all sucked into my power, and the power returns to my eye.

I turn around, and I go back home.  I guess it did rain.  The city feels just a little bit cleaner, too.

Grandmother is waiting with tea when I get home.  Thank you, Grandmother.