mission report for amhrancas

[capn_planet]

Mission report for amhrancas
Delivered by: meissa

Title: Sing the Shadows Down
Groups/Pairings: Gen fic. NEWS (6-nin), but mostly Ryo and Massu. Random mentions and cameos of other Johnny's and a few J-actresses.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Some violence and shaky physics.
Summary: In a world where the night can last a whole day, the Night Patrol is the only line of defense against the shadowsingers who can manipulate darkness and cause chaos as they wish. Now, for the first time in history, a lightbringer is joining the ranks of Tokyo's Seventh. But when the line between light and dark is not just blurry but has been singed, scratched, and smudged all around, nothing is ever easy.
Notes: This was originally supposed to be a steampunk/magitech, noir mystery. But somewhere along the way, the plot and the dialogue ran away from me, so... So much for noir (I couldn't even make it to sepia). I hope you still enjoy it, though. I would also like to thank my beta, who isn't even in the fandom but who was forced to read this. Several times. If there are any errors left, it's only because I think I made her run crying so I hope you forgive me.



prologue ---

Masuda Takahisa entered Tokyo’s Seventh District’s Night Patrol station with barely a squeak of his brand-new shoes. He felt strange, as though all eyes were upon him, even though a quick glance around showed him that no one was paying him the least bit of attention. There was so much shouting and running going on, all set to the monotonous background of fingers banging away on typewriters through a haze of cigarette smoke. He wound his way through the desks crammed in the tight space as overhead harsh alchemical lamps flickered, throwing heavy shadows on the walls.

Finally, he reached the end of the room. There were only two desks left - one, the larger of the two and visible through an open door, was the captain’s desk. Wide, heavy, and solidly made, sitting snugly inside his office. The other one was much smaller, part of a cubicle created by a barricade of towering paperwork and an old, dusty bookshelf. The man occupying it was one Sgt. Yamashita, who was at the moment sitting behind his desk, the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his elbows. His red tie was askew and his eyes were fixed upon a report.

Masuda paused, took a deep breath, and came over to stand before the desk.

Yamashita did not look up, and Masuda was just trying to decide if he should clear his throat or say “Good morning” when he suddenly spoke.

“Are you lost?”

Masuda blinked, startled. “N-no. At least, I don’t think so...”

Yamashita sighed. He was probably about the same age as Masuda, though he had an air of weariness that belonged to someone much older. “If you’re here with information about a shadowsinger sighting, the front desk should see to you and direct you to an officer. That is, if you’re not an idiot here for a prank.”

“I’m neither of those.”

Yamashita set down the report and looked up at him. A quick glance at the paper showed that it was covered with symbols and equations that were beyond Masuda’s comprehension. Yamashita gestured with one hand. “Then please. Tell me what you are and why the hell you’re at my desk instead of out there.”

“I’m looking for a job,” Masuda replied.

Yamashita snorted and shuffled the papers on his desk around. “Recruitment is at the headquarters downtown. There are tests and papers and other requirements followed by lots of training. This isn’t a hardware store that takes just anyone in off the streets.”

“I know. It’s just- I heard the Seventh’s squad was a man down and-”

Yamashita suddenly scowled and stood up. “Where did you hear that?”

“It’s all over the streets after the shadowsinger raid yesterday.”

Yamashita walked over and put his arm around Masuda’s shoulder. Masuda frowned. The arm was heavy, and though the gesture was outwardly friendly and overly familiar, it was meant to be the opposite. “All applications must go through HQ. And I should warn you that it’s not a job to be taken lightly. You can’t just walk in and demand to be allowed in. Do you under--”

Yamashita stopped in mid-sentence. It was hard to continue talking when he was slack-jawed. The reason for this state being the big ball of white light the size of a cantaloupe hovering in Masuda’s palm.

“You’re a lightbringer,” he choked.

“Yes.”

Yamashita stared at him. “Look. I appreciate you coming here, but the Night Patrol can’t afford to employ members of your guild.”

“I’m not a part of any guild,” Masuda said simply. “I just want a job. I’m willing to start at the bottom and get paid the same as everyone else.”

Yamashita pulled his necktie to the side and scratched his neck under the collar. “You are aware that the Night Patrol earns peanuts compared to the standard fee for the lowest class of lightbringers.”

“I just want to help.”

Yamashita looked him up and down. “Do you have a name?”

“Masuda Takahisa.”

Yamashita chewed on his bottom lip for a while. Finally, he shrugged. He glanced around for a moment before his eyes settled on a fussy-looking man sharpening pencils and lining them up. “Nakamaru!”

The man gave a start, sending his pencils rolling off his desk. “Y-yes?”

“I need you to take Masuda here to HQ. The next steam train out of the district leaves in fifteen minutes so you have to hurry. I’ll follow you on the train after that. I have a few things I need to sort out first.”

Nakamaru eyed Masuda, his expression not entirely unfriendly. “Where should I take him? Human resources? I thought you were avoiding Lt. Nagasawa after the rum cake incident.”

Yamashita ignored the last sentence completely, leaving Masuda intensely curious about the rum cake incident. “Take him to Commander Nakai.”

“The Commander Nakai?” Nakamaru studied Masuda with renewed interest. “Are you sure? How am I supposed to get in to see him?”

“You probably can’t. But you can reach his secretary and try to set up an appointment. Tell them... Tell them Captain Takizawa sent you.”

“Is Captain Takizawa sending me?”

“He would if he were here. Now get moving. We don’t have all night.”

Masuda spoke then, in a soft voice that was like a lullaby wrapped in velvet. He tipped his head meaningfully in the direction of the window where the world was cloaked in shadow. “Night, sir, is all we have.”

1. dusk ---
Shots rang in the night. Sharp cracks like thunder echoed across the warehouse district, rolling ominously through the empty streets.

Nishikido Ryo raced around a corner, his useless pistol held negligently in one hand. If only he had more bullets, if only he could find his partner, if only--

More shots, shouting--

“Koyama!” Ryo called, throwing caution to the wind. “Where the hell are you?”

There was no response except for more gunfire. The close quarters of the maze of alleys and warehouses made it impossible to discern the direction the shots were coming from.

He pushed away from the shadows of the wall he’d been hiding behind. He had no real plan besides trying not to die, but he had no choice, either. The shadowsingers had to be stopped before they caused any more damage.

He was crossing a narrow street, heading back in the direction where he’d last seen Koyama, when he heard it. A high, drawn-out sound. A scream of terror and pain.

Ryo froze in mid-stride. That voice-- “Koyama!” he yelled.

There was no answer. Ryo turned, ran back the way he came, whipping around a corner before skidding to a halt.

Before him, a shadow loomed high like a cresting wave. It hung there for several seconds, as if tasting the air. Then it started to fall, folding in on itself, into shapes that shifted faster than Ryo’s eyes could follow. And all the while, in Ryo’s head, rang the deep sonorous sound of the shadowsinger’s song.

---

Ryo awoke with a start. Just a dream. It was just a dream, he reminded himself as his heart tried to batter its way out of his chest. None of it’s real. Not at the moment. Not right now.

He groped on his nightstand for his watch. He found it and squinted at its face in the dark. Ten in the morning and the sun was already less than a smudge in the western horizon.

He threw off his blanket and planted his feet on the bedroom floor. Another brand new day - if they could still call it that. He went over to the window and gazed outside as the city’s dynamos kicked in, the lamp posts coming alive one after another. He always found it surprising that they ever bothered putting them out in the first place, though the obvious answer would be it would be a waste of resources to keep them running all the time. But their reprieve never lasted long. Dawn turned all too quickly into dusk. They blurred together ever closer, daylight fading before it ever gained a proper foothold. The days just kept growing shorter. Soon, it would be winter, and the sun would once again be nothing but a bitter memory.

---

“This is the least intelligent decision you have ever made and possibly will ever make.”

Yamashita Tomohisa, current acting assistant chief of the Seventh District’s Night Patrol made a noncommittal humming noise from behind his desk, eyes focused on some point beyond Ryo’s shoulder.

“Are you listening to me?” Ryo demanded. “Why are we even bringing lightbringers into our squad? You know how unreliable they are. Their guild won’t lift a finger to help a man dying in front of them unless they get their money first.”

“The guild has nothing to do with this. Anyway, they’re better equipped to deal with the shadowsingers. Unless you can prove you’re better. Which, given recent events, you probably can’t.”

Ryo stared at him. “Wow. Is this your promotion speaking or have you always been an asshole and I just never noticed?”

Yamashita cast him a glance that was equal parts reproachful and apologetic. “I haven’t been promoted.”

“You’re still an asshole. I’m not working with a lightbringer and that’s that. Assign him to someone else.”

“Last I checked, everyone has a partner. Except for you.”

Ryo glared at him.

“Look, I’m sorry if you think I’m just being insensitive, but it doesn’t change the facts. It’s been a month. I can’t keep rearranging the roster for your sake. There’s a new guy. You need a partner. That’s it.”

“Why are you doing this?”

Yamashita put his feet back down on the floor, leaned on his desk, and sighed. “Contrary to whatever you’re thinking, I’m not doing this to make your life difficult.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“How do I explain this?” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Look, I’m the officer in charge. I’m only here because I haven’t screwed too much shit up so far. I don’t have any power. I’m just do what the higher-ups tell me. And right now that means letting a lightbringer in and assigning him to be somebody’s partner. It’s political, not personal. Now get out of my face and give the new guy the grand tour.”

Ryo turned around.

“And Ryo?”

“What?!”

“You should go visit him one of these days.”

Ryo said nothing and left.

---

Masuda Takahisa. 25. Lightbringer (Fourth Class).

Couldn’t even foist off a top notch lightbringer on me, Yamashita? Fourth Class was middle tier, at best. Ryo pinched the bridge of his nose, set the memo down on his desk beside his battered typewriter, and looked at the person who had just handed it to him.

Oddly enough, Masuda seemed to defy all of Ryo’s expectations in a lightbringer. Most of the ones Ryo had met had exuded a self-assurance that extended well past confidence and into arrogance. It was a common trait in so many of them -- from First Class to the Seventh -- that it was strange to see Masuda sitting awkwardly on the edge of a chair drawn hastily before Ryo’s desk.

Masuda nervously shifted his weight under Ryo’s piercing stare and attempted a small smile, revealing dimples in each smooth, round cheek.

Too young, Ryo thought. True, Ryo wasn’t much older chronologically, but Masuda’s apparent youthfulness was not a matter of age.

Ryo replied to Masuda’s awkward smile with one of his own. Only while Masuda had kept his mouth shut and his lips sealed together, Ryo showed him as many of his teeth as possible. “Excuse me just a second,” he said in a tight voice, standing up.

Maybe if he yelled at Yamashita--

“I wouldn’t, if I were you,” a voice called out to him as he stalked toward Yamashita’s desk.

Ryo paused. Tanaka Koki, one of his squad mates, was bouncing a tennis ball off the ceiling. His eyes were pinned to the ball, but his words were clearly directed at Ryo. “Why not?”

“He just bit an intern’s head off after some lieutenant from the Second came over. She said the explosion at the ARD yesterday was Yamashita’s fault. Said he should find a way to recover all the research she had on the second level.”

“Is it? His fault, I mean.”

Koki stopped and put is tennis ball on top of his desk. “All I know is Yamashita dragged Kato out of the fire yesterday. Kato came out with the back of his coat on fire and no eyebrows.”

Ryo sighed.

Koki raised his eyebrows at him. “Nothing wrong with having a lightbringer on our side, you know. About time, if you ask me.”

“I’m not asking,” Ryo answered curtly. But he turned around and walked back to his desk.

Maybe he’ll go along with this. For now.

---

Masuda Takahisa, age 25, lightbringer (Fourth Class), felt like he had been set adrift in a vast ocean with a pillow for a raft and a spoon for an oar.

Basically, he was lost.

“Did anyone ever tell you that bow ties are the equivalent of hanging a bullseye around your neck?”

Masuda felt that was just mean, but he said nothing. His new partner seemed to be the type who just shot off at the mouth a lot and took a long time to warm up to people. Maybe he just needed time and space. Lots of space.

Ryo led him down another corridor. Masuda had given up trying to memorize the countless turns and flights up and down stairs, much less all the people Ryo had introduced him to. "This is the Alchemical Research Department. This is our station’s sole distinction. ARD existed here way before the Seventh set up its offices. It’s a very interesting department -- if you like explosions and that sort of thing. But if you get queasy, I'd advise you stay away from the third level."

"What's on the third level?"

"You wouldn't want to know."

They rounded a corner and were forced to come to a sudden halt. The hall ahead was a mess. One room had no door and traces of it having been blown off its hinges still remained, a halo of black soot surrounding the gaping entryway.

"Ah," was all Ryo said, remembering what Koki had told him about yesterday's incident.

Masuda looked over his shoulder. "What happened here?"

"That’s what I’d like to know, too," said a voice from behind them.

Masuda turned just as a guy gently nudged him aside. The guy had no eyebrows.

"Excuse me," the guy said, moving past them to stand in the doorway. He looked inside and sighed.

"I heard you lost your eyebrows yesterday," Ryo commented. "Should you even be here?"

"I'm fine. Sgt. Yamashita dragged me out."

The alchemist was looking curiously at Masuda.

"Oh yeah. Shige, this is Masuda. Masuda, Kato Shigeaki."

Shige's eyes suddenly lit up. "Are you the new guy? The lightbringer? You know, the guys on the third level are doing a lot of research on lightbringers. Purely theoretical, of course, since we never really had willing subjects. Way beyond my clearance, though. But I have a few questions for an independent study I'm doing that you could help me with. I mean, if you want to."

Masuda blinked. "Uh...sure."

"An independent study?" Ryo asked. "Please don't tell me that's what you were doing before the explosion."

"Oh no, no.” Shige paused. “What I was doing had nothing to do with it, I’m positive. I’m confident in all my calculations and calibrations. I checked it five times, you see.”

“Five times.”

“It was very important. A special project I’m working on with Sgt. Yamashita. That's why he was here, see... You know, I think it's okay to show you guys."

"Are you sure?"

"It's not like it's top secret or anything." Shige jerked his head. “Come on in.”

---

Shige’s laboratory was a mess. Most of his work bench was gone, leaving only fragments and splinters. Broken glass crunched beneath Ryo’s shoes and an acrid smell hung in the air.

“Is there even anything left to see?” Ryo asked incredulously.

“Safe is still intact,” Shige said, pointing at it sitting its corner. Its door was covered in soot but otherwise perfectly fine. “I keep all the important things and my notes in here... Hold on.”

Shige knelt down by the door and twirled his combination into the lock and Ryo studied half a granite slab that Shige had been using as another workbench before the explosion had blown it across the room.

A few seconds later, Shige drew out a small globe of frosted glass slightly smaller than the size of his fist. A small milky white spot pulsed in the center.

A sudden movement from the corner of his eye caught Ryo’s attention. It was Masuda moving suddenly closer, his eyes fixed on the sphere.

“What’s that?” Masuda asked, stopping just a few feet away.

Shige grinned at him. “This? Sorry to say this but...this could put your guild out of business.”

Ryo raised his eyebrows. “How could a tiny glass sphere put the lightbringers out of business?”

Shige’s grin broadened. “Like this,” he said, and shook the sphere.

All of a sudden there was light. Not like the light from lamps or the orbs conjured up by the lightbringers. Not even like the harsh yellow glare of the rare bulbs running off dynamos. This light was white, soft, and oddly diffuse.

“But it’s not very bright,” Masuda said doubtfully.

“That’s not the point,” Shige said.

“Then what--” The rest of Ryo’s sentence was abruptly drowned out by the sound of the bell out in the hall ringing twice.

Shige blinked at them. “Shift change. Who’s on duty now?”

“Ours,” Ryo said grimly. He looked at Masuda. “Come on, new guy. Time to see just how helpful Fourth Class lightbringers can be to the Night Patrol.”

2. evening ---
Ryo saw the wave. He saw the shape of it. Saw the face of the man that strode behind it, calling it to life. And behind them he saw the still form of his partner lying face-down on the damp ground. Something pooled beneath him. Something dark and slowly spreading, like a shadow in liquid form.

“Koyama!” Ryo shouted, his voice hoarse and breaking.

Koyama moved, to Ryo’s relief, though it was obviously difficult and painful. He turned his face toward Ryo, his expression a mask of pain. His lips moved and he seemed to speak, but Ryo was too far away to hear him.

People spoke about seeing your life flash before your eyes when you’re about to die. Ryo only saw his last day. As the blackness approached him, he could only see how he and Koyama had stepped into the bank during a break from their patrol.

Instead they had walked into a robbery, a shadowsinger, and a chase that had taken them to the other side of town.

The wave advanced, the shadowsinger smirked, and his song rose to a near-deafening crescendo.

Ryo reached inside his vest for the knife he always kept there. The time for last resorts had come.

---

It was almost refreshing to have apprehended a normal criminal. No superpowered persons capable of controlling shadows and shaping them as if they were solid. Just a regular human who had thought walking into a deli and waving a pistol around was a good idea. It was just unfortunate that Ryo had been inside ordering a roast beef sandwich.

Masuda peered into the black police carriage. The criminal was actually dozing in the back seat between two uniformed officers.

“We don’t normally do stuff like this,” Ryo said, shutting the carriage door and giving the driver a small salute. “That’s for the regular police. So don’t get it into your head that we have to go around stopping crime, understand?”

“But-”

“No buts. We’re not the police. Our main job is to patrol this district and make sure no one decides to take advantage of the dark and wreak havoc and mass destruction.”

Masuda glanced to his right. The edge of the district was just a few blocks away, marked by a veritable forest of poles arrayed with lamps powered by every possible means - gas, alchemy, dynamos - the accumulation of centuries of technology. All of which were maintained by a special division of each district’s Night Patrol.

Such was the state of most of the world. In the winter, people crowded into small towns or districts because they were easier to manage and cost less to power and keep lit during the long nights. Despite these efforts, resources grew more and more precious each year, and communication between cities was extremely difficult.

Of course, it was a slightly different story if a place could afford lightbringers.

Ryo seemed to know part of what Masuda was thinking because he said, “You know, we don’t get a lot of lightbringers here. Only the two lazy asses the guild assigned here. Most of your kind just stay in the rich districts. The ones that can afford your very expensive services.”

“You don’t like lightbringers very much.”

“No,” came the frank reply.

Masuda looked around. “We should check the next block.”

Ryo looked surprised. “That’s it? You’re not going to say anything like how you’re different, you’re not doing this out of greed, and you just want to help people.”

“No one working for the Night Patrol is doing it for the money,” Masuda snorted. “And you’ve already made up your mind about me and my kind. Words won’t change how you feel.”

“You’re right. They won’t,” Ryo said, and turned around to walk down an alley.

Masuda stared at his back and, after a moment’s thought, followed.

---

“It’s going to take a while to finish the repairs in your old lab. In the meantime, you can set things up in here.”

Shige turned away from Yamashita and looked around.

“I had what’s left of your stuff sent up. As well as some new equipment,” Yamashita continued, pointing at some boxes on the floor.

The place was adequate, Shige supposed. But- “Does it have to be this room?”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Shige!” someone cried happily from the doorway.

Shige sighed. “It belongs to that guy.”

“Hi, sergeant!” the newcomer chirped at Yamashita.

“Tegoshi,” Yamashita said, politely inclining his head. “I’d better leave you two to work things out. And I have a ton of paperwork to finish before the captain comes back from his conference next week.”

Shige glared at him but Yamashita ignored it and hurried out of the room.

Tegoshi looked briefly disappointed, but then he met Shige’s eyes and smiled brightly again. “It’s going to be fun hanging out with you here, Shige. It gets pretty boring just sitting here by myself.”

“You’re supposed to be working on your research, not just sitting around,” Shige said, picking up a box and setting it on an empty workbench.

“I am working on my research. It’s just different from yours. I’m not big on making things explode,” Tegoshi said, wrinkling his nose.

“You’re working in the wrong department then.”

“Hey, this is the Alchemical Research Department. You focused on the alchemy part, I focused on the research.”

Shige pulled out a flask and a condenser. Good. Yamashita had provided all the materials for a distillation set up.

Tegoshi was going on. “My work is kind of fun. It’s interesting to read through history. Though it’s also sad to read about times when we the lightbringers and shadowsingers lived and worked with the rest of us.”

“You sure you’re not reading fairy tales?”

“The world wasn’t always like this.”

Shige sighed, tightening a clamp around a joint. “I know. I just don’t think there’s any point in dwelling on the past.”

“But aren’t you interested in figuring out why this happened?”

“Of course I am. It’s just that while you’re asking those questions, someone has to figure out how to keep the rest of us in light.”

“I guess you’re right.” Tegoshi said, and knelt by another box. “Hey, what’s this?”

Shige looked over and saw that Tegoshi was holding one of his glass spheres. It was slightly different from the one he’d shown Masuda and Ryo. This one pulsed with a faint crimson core. “Be careful with that!”

Tegoshi peered into the box. There were several spheres inside in a variety of sizes, from the smallest which was not much bigger than a marble to a globe about a foot in diameter. “What are these things?”

“Special project,” Shige said. “Speaking of which, where can I put my safe?”

“You can use mine. I don’t put anything in there.”

Shige hesitated.

Tegoshi rolled his eyes. “I won’t touch your balls if you don’t want me to, Shige. But we can always change the combination so you alone can open it.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you-”

Tegoshi shook his head. “Don’t explain. I mean, we’re all used to information being classified and crap. You can use my safe. Just...”

“Just what?”

Tegoshi grinned. “Don’t blow my lab up.”

---

“We should check the last area again,” Ryo said, stopping Masuda as he was about to turn into a broad avenue they had not yet passed through.

Masuda frowned. “Why? It’s clear.”

“Did they teach you nothing during your training? Places shadowsingers like to raid: supply stations, power plants... and greenhouses,” Ryo said, waving at the glass structure before them. “Never mind the high fence and the barbed wire, which is probably electrified. They’re not going to stop a shadowsinger. We should check again.”

Masuda nodded and followed Ryo on another circuit of the lot. There were three greenhouses in the compound and all were brightly lit at the moment since it was still, technically, daytime. Even so, there were places in darkness, the leaves of the plants within forming perfect blades of shadow.

They were just about to check the last side of the rectangular compound when a sound suddenly filled the still air.

It was a deep, rich song that was almost, but not quite, gentle. There was a strange darkness in the tone, a melody that was hauntingly beautiful yet terrible at the same time.

It made the hairs on Masuda’s arms rise.

Ryo’s pistol was suddenly in his hand. “Right,” he whispered urgently. “Masuda, get behind me and -- What are you doing?”

Masuda had stepped forward, ignoring Ryo’s commands. He raised his hand and whistled.

The note was high and clear, rising above the shadowsong. A sweet but shockingly discordant sound. At the same time, a single point of light appeared in Masuda’s palm, increasing steadily in size.

Masuda held the note for what seemed like an impossibly long time, until the ball of light was about the same size as his head. Then, in a swift, firm motion, he flung the ball up into the air.

The sky exploded into light, illuminating everything within the next three blocks and pushing the darkness away.

The shadowsong cut off abruptly and, straining against the suddenly blinding brightness, Ryo saw four dark shapes flee down an alley.

Masuda, his breath finally expended, stopped whistling.

Ryo was blinded again, his eyes filled with nothing but blackness for what seemed an eternity. He waited for his vision to return, shapes slowly forming and becoming more and more distinct. He launched himself at the only other human shape nearby and seized Masuda by his collar. “What the hell was that?”

Masuda looked startled. “I chased them away...”

“Yeah, into the city. Now they could be anywhere!”

“I didn’t think about that.”

“Exactly!” Ryo shouted, shoving Masuda backward before releasing him. “Next time, you do as I say!”

“Um...so what do we do?” Masuda asked in a voice that was suddenly small.

“We have to get back to the station and warn the others. And this time, no more stupid flashy moves until we have a plan. Got it, lightbringer?”

Masuda’s face looked a bit hurt upon hearing Ryo call him a lightbringer as though it were a curse. But then his expression turned quickly resolute. He nodded and followed Ryo back to the heart of the district in complete silence.

3. midnight ---

Ryo drew his knife. He could charge the shadowsinger. Dart past the shadows that even then were forming themselves into sharp spikes ready to strike.

Who am I kidding? I’m never making it past those things.

He drew a deep breath and tensed himself, preparing to launch into attack.

That was when he saw it. A second man. Another shadowsinger slinking around the corner, preceded by a wave of darkness. His song was even deeper than that of the first. And he was fast approaching Koyama.

Ryo froze. Two shadowsingers, and Koyama moaning on the ground.

Suddenly there was a moment without song as the shadowsingers paused, filling their lungs for one final song. For just a few seconds, the alley was silent. The sound Ryo’s knife made as it fell seemed as loud as a gunshot.

Ryo took a deep breath.

---

Ryo found it almost gratifying to arrive back at the station just in time to see Yamashita being yelled at. By lightbringers, no less. A pair of them draped in the official scarlet robes that indicated their status. They were in a completely different league from Ryo’s new partner. Scarlet robes were reserved for First Class lightbringers. That these robes were even trimmed in gold thread meant they held high positions within their guild.

It was only almost gratifying because Yamashita’s face was annoyingly unperturbed. In fact, it gave no indication that their words or obvious irritation were even reaching him. He had long since perfected an expression of cool courtesy and pointed preoccupation designed to infuriate.

Ryo stopped a discreet distance away with Masuda and cleared his throat.

Yamashita’s eyes flitted over to him briefly, ignored him for the moment, and returned to staring rather vacantly at the increasingly agitated lightbringers.

Who were, it seemed, complaining about Masuda.

“This is highly irregular!” the first, an old man with a considerable belly was saying. “As you know, all arrangements must pass through the guild. For you to directly hire a lightbringer is against all the rules.”

“But he’s not a part of your guild,” Yamashita said, eyes wide.

“Even worse, then,” the other lightbringer, a snooty-faced young woman, sniffed. “This...lightbringer is unlicensed and should not be conducting business!” The way she said lightbringer also seemed to indicate that she didn’t think him deserving of the title.

“He’s not conducting a business,” Yamashita said placidly, with the kind of mildness usually possessed by the extremely enlighted or the exceedingly dense. “He is in the Night Patrol as a regular employee. He gets the same pay as everyone else of the same rank and enjoys the same benefits -- which is to say, next to no benefits at all. He just happens to be really good at carrying a tune and occasionally emits rays of light from his being. But then we all have our little quirks.”

The two lightbringers stared at Yamashita incredulously, obviously unsure if he was being deliberately literal to be annoying or because he was just stupid. The young woman in particular looked highly affronted. She started to say something, but her elder cut her off.

“If that is your point of view, then we have no choice,” said the man icily. “We shall write a letter to your headquarters regarding this matter. I’m certain they will be more...reasonable.”

“As you wish. Only please address your letter to Human Resources, and if you would be so kind to furnish my Captain a copy,” Yamashita said, picking up the random papers on his desk and making a show out of shuffling them around.

The dismissal was unmistakeable and just a touch rude. Nevertheless, the two lightbringers left, with the girl casting murderous glares backward.

“That went well,” Ryo said dryly. “I think you convinced them completely of your idiocy.”

“I’m sorry,” Masuda said.

“What are you apologizing for?”

“I didn’t think it would upset the guild that much if I joined you.”

“They’ve always had it in for the Night Patrol,” Yamashita shrugged. “Now what are the two of you doing back here? Shift’s not over yet.”

“Shadowsingers came through by the greenhouses. They ran away when they saw us, heading north over Swallow’s Bridge.”

“Further into the city?” Yamashita asked, alarmed.

Ryo glanced at Masuda. “Yes.”

Yamashita groaned. “You should have interrupted us right away.”

“I didn’t want to cramp your style. Girl seemed kind of taken with you.”

Yamashita made a face. “Why do these things always happen when Captain Takizawa’s away? Know anything more specific? Which direction did they go once they were over the bridge?”

Ryo shook his head. “Don’t know if it would have helped if we knew. There were four of them. They could very easily have split up by now.”

“That’s just great. Koki! Go find Tabe, Ueda, and whoever the hell else is on duty now. I can’t keep your stupid shifts straight. Nakamaru, take a radio so I can reach you. You’re all going out. Ryo -- you’re in charge,” he said, adding the last with the magnanimous air of one bestowing a great honor.

“Thanks a lot.”

“Take them to where you lost the shadowsingers and figure out a strategy from there. Though the nearest possible targets are the district’s power plant and the train station, so get in position to protect those first.” He raised his voice. “Somebody get me an intern! I need someone to crank the radio. I have to alert the Sixth and the Eighth. Maybe they can even send reinforcements.”

“Maybe the sun will be up all winter,” Ryo said.

“Shut up and go away, Nishikido. You’re making it hard for me to think positive thoughts.”

“I’m this close to throwing a mutiny,” Ryo grumbled, leading Koki, Nakamaru, and Masuda across the office.

“Yamashita would probably join you and revolt against himself,” Nakamaru said. “Officer in charge gets first shift and he hates waking up early.”

Masuda glanced at Ryo. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“Not telling him that I screwed up.”

“I may not like it but we’re partners. Squealing on each other is just not done.”

“Well... Thanks anyway.”

Ryo didn’t answer. He just looked kind of embarrassed.

Nakamaru chuckled and gave Masuda a friendly slap on the shoulder. “Save your breath, Masuda. The Night Patrol doesn’t waste time with empty words. We like to be paid in kind.”

Masuda smiled faintly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Are you all right? You look kind of green.”

Koki smiled wryly. “A shadowsinger raid on your first day. They must have heard about you. Consider this your welcome party.”

“I’m not very fond of parties.”

“Yeah, well. Suck it up. You’re having one whether you like it or not.”

---

It wasn’t too hard to find out where the shadowsingers had gone. They had left a very obvious trail, wrecking two greenhouses and several streetlamps, leaving two city blocks utterly without power. The streets were also almost completely devoid of people, who had prudently vacated for better-lit areas. One of the biggest banks in the area was the opposite of its neighbours. It was brightly illuminated, bathed in a dome of light kindly provided by whichever lightbringer was on its payroll. Shadowy tendrils lingered nearby, just outside of the ring of light, and then moved on after their masters.

Koki cocked his rifle on a nearby rooftop. “I have a clear shot of one of them. He’s forgotten to shield his head.”

Nakamaru shook his head once. “Even if you manage to drop him, it would alert the others. Then we’d have to chase them in the dark, where they have the advantage.”

Koki swore.

The one-way portable radio Nakamaru had brought suddenly crackled and Yamashita’s voice floated out, tinny and distant.

“The Sixth can’t spare anyone. Assholes. But the Eighth are sending Yokoyama and Murakami. They’ll be covering the area east, closest to their own territory.”

“Well, that’s a few blocks less that we have to watch,” Koki said. He frowned. “Shadowsingers are moving further north. I’m going to signal Ryo. You go on ahead.”

Nakamaru sighed and picked up the radio. “Did I ever tell you that I hate rooftop reconnaissance?”

---

Ryo lowered his binoculars. Someone five rooftops away was flashing a signal with a pair of Night Patrol lanterns. “I don’t understand.”

Masuda looked away from the ground. They were on top of a row of loft apartments not far from the station. “What is it?”

“Koki just signalled that the shadowsingers are heading further north.”

“They’re coming this way.”

“Yes, but they’re completely ignoring the power plant just a few blocks east and haven’t stopped to steal anything. They’re wrecking a few buildings and lamp posts here and there, but that’s it.”

“They’re causing a panic, aren’t they? Isn’t that enough?”

“You cause a panic so you can take advantage of it and do something else. But in this case...what? And why the hell are they heading that way? There’s nothing to steal. It’s all old buildings and...”

“Our station,” Masuda said.

“Why would they do that? Hey-- Hold on,” Ryo said, swinging his binoculars back up to his eyes. “Who--”

Masuda stepped away from the edge of the rooftop and stood beside his partner. “What is it?”

“There’s someone signalling from the east. The lights on their lanterns are green...That means they’re from the Eighth and--”

If there had been enough light, Masuda would have seen all colour drain from Ryo’s face. Still, it was bright enough to see the change in Ryo’s expression.

“What’s wrong?”

Ryo lowered his binoculars again. “Eight shadowsingers coming in from the east. Heading for the power plant.”

“Eight? Are you sure?”

Ryo swung his binoculars from one group of shadowsingers to the other. The larger group was closing in on the power plant, while the other group’s destination was finally unmistakeable. “They’re still heading for the station,” he murmured.

“What?”

“Those shadowsingers... There’s hardly anyone left there.”

“Ryo, the power plant!”

Gunshots rang in the distance, coming from the east. The Eighth had most likely engaged the shadowsingers attacking the power plant. A quick sweep of the rooftops revealed that most of Ryo’s squadmates were moving toward the noise, not bothering to wait for orders.

And still the first four shadowsingers headed north, toward the nearly deserted Night Patrol station. The only senior officer left was Yamashita, and all he had were a few clerks, rookies, interns, and the ARD.

“Ryo!” Masuda shouted. “If the power plant falls, the entire district could fall!”

Ryo snapped out of it. Masuda was right. Protecting the power plant took priority over everything else. It was a principle drilled into every Night Patrol recruit. Everything could go to hell, but they had to save the plants or die trying.

Their comrades at the station were on their own.

---

Tegoshi wandered back into his laboratory, a puzzled expression on his face. “Where did everybody go?”

Shige didn’t look up from his flasks and beakers. He had to be careful to add the exact amount. He didn’t want another explosion. The first explosion hadn’t been his fault, but one can never be too careful. “There’s a raid. They went out ages ago while you were drooling on your books and ancient parchment.”

“I do not drool,” Tegoshi said indignantly.

“Your research is really interesting, huh?”

Tegoshi sniffed, heading back to his desk and readings. “I was just resting my eyes. Besides, I just found some really good stuff. Something about harmonies and how light and shadow can enhance each other.”

Shige thought about his own research and was just about to ask Tegoshi what he meant when someone dashed into the lab.

“Shige,” Yamashita said urgently. “I need a light sphere. The biggest one you have.”

“But it’s not perfect yet--”

“I don’t care. I just want one. Now.”

Shige grumbled and muttered but he went to Tegoshi’s safe and retrieved the largest sphere.

Tegoshi watched, fascinated, as Shige carefully passed the orb to Yamashita.

Yamashita stared down at it. “How long will this last?”

“It’s probably good for the next six hours. Enough to last until daybreak. But really, if you wait, I can make one that can last until tomorrow.”

“We don’t have that luxury. On account of the shadowsingers practically knocking on our door,” Yamashita said grimly, and shook the orb. It lit up at once, its pale, diffuse light glowing feebly between Yamashita’s hands.

Tegoshi looked at Shige, at Yamashita, and then at the orb again. “The brightest light casts the deepest shadows,” he murmured.

Yamashita and Shige stared at him.

“What?” Shige asked.

“It’s...just something I read somewhere,” Tegoshi explained. “An old book. Part of a collection of legends.” He looked at Shige admiringly. “Making that orb was a stroke of genius.”

Shige coughed modestly. “I only mixed the elements. The light was Yamashita’s idea.”

Tegoshi’s eyebrows rose. “Really.”

“He’s not as dumb as he looks.”

“Thanks, Shige,” Yamashita said dryly. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going up to the rooftop. I’ve left orders that no one is to come in or out of the station except for other members of the squad. ARD technically isn’t part of the squad so I want both of you to stay here, understand?”

Shige shuddered. “Why would we want to go out there?”

---

Yamashita didn’t get very far before someone stopped him. “What is it--” he glanced at the other guy’s nameplate “--Nakayama?”

“There’s someone who’s demanding we let her in.”

“I already gave orders about that.”

“You might want to make an exception, sir.”

“Why should I?”

“Because I’m a lightbringer, you incompetent fool,” an icy female voice said from down the hall.

Yamashita recognized her immediately. She was still wearing her scarlet robes and she looked just as pissed as when she left an hour past. “Oh. It’s you. Please escort her out, Nakayama.”

“You really are an idiot. Have you looked outside? Your station is about to be overrun by shadowsingers!”

Yamashita gave the sphere cradled in his arms a fond pat. “It’s okay. We’ve got it covered. Besides, if I blew our budget hiring you even in this situation, HQ would flay me.”

“I’ll help you for free!”

Yamashita stopped and turned back around. “Did you say ‘free’?”

---

The district’s only power station was divided into several smaller lots, each one filled with humming dynamos. The partners from the Eighth had gotten there first, and one shadowsinger was already dead on the ground, a bullet in his chest. Masuda thought he looked strangely normal. The shadowsinger was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He could easily have been anyone in the city. Somehow, he had expected them to be...more monstrous, perhaps. More terrifying. Anything except something that looked too much like himself.

The death of one of their party had not seemed to deter those remaining. The fence to two of the lots had been ripped open, slashed by what might have been very sharp blades. But the more seasoned members of the Patrol knew better. They had seen shadows slice through cement as if it were butter all too many times.

There was the sharp crack of a rifle two lots from the one Ryo and Masuda were inspecting, followed by a cry and the sound of something (a body, perhaps) falling to the ground. One more shadowsinger down.

Then, as if in response, all the lights went out as the dynamos abruptly fell silent.

Ryo’s voice came from the dark like a gunshot. “Masuda!”

Masuda understood at once. A single a hum, a deep note, and the power station was bathed instantly in light.

The shadowsingers stopped whatever they’d been doing as the shadows they employed shifted in the sudden light. In their moment of confusion, the Night Patrol reacted. Masuda saw Koki approach one from behind and knock him out with the butt of his rifle. A quick look around revealed several other shadowsingers being wrestled to the ground and knocked senseless by the Patrol.

“Did we get all of them?” Nakamaru shouted from one lot over.

Masuda scanned the grounds and caught sight of a tall figure leaping through a gap in the fence. “There!” he shouted, breaking into a run.

“No! Wait!” Ryo shouted after him.

But Masuda couldn’t stop. He wasn’t going to be the guy that let a shadowsinger get away on his first day.

---

Shige’s sphere had been muffled in Yamashita’s coat. It lay on the roof next by Yamashita’s feet, who was leaning against the barrier of bricks that served to keep people from accidentally falling off the station’s rooftop.

“What’s your name?” he asked the lightbringer, who had followed him up to the roof.

“Maki,” she replied. “What’s that orb?”

“Oh, just a science experiment.” Yamashita leaned a rifle against the wall.

“Do you want me to light up the area now?” Maki asked, nervously eyeing the streets surrounding the station. The fours shadowsingers had split up to approach the station from all four directions, hiding behind a wall of darkness from the officers Yamashita had stationed on the ground.

“No, not yet.”

“They’re almost upon us.”

“They’re not close enough.”

“Trust me, they’re close enough for me.”

“No!” Yamashita barked. “Just wait. I’ll tell you if we need your light.”

They waited, Yamashita nervously biting his bottom lip. This had better work, Shige, he thought.

“If they come any closer, they’re going to start tearing the walls down.”

“Fine. Go stand over there and make a light. Not too bright, all right? Keep it down.”

“Why?”

“Just do as I say, please.”

Maki blinked at him and hummed a low note, barely audible. A tiny ball of light rose up into the sky. Yamashita moved then, picked up the light sphere, pulled his coat off it, and raised it high over his head.

The two sources shone weakly, their paths crossing and producing strange, feeble shadows that were somehow fuzzy around the edges. Below, the waves of darkness seemed to soften and grow indistinct before falling away completely.

The startled shadowsingers stood exposed for a moment, and then the Night Patrol was on them, quickly and efficiently knocking all four of them out.

“What was that?” Maki demanded, extinguishing her light.

Yamashita was looking happily at the sphere in his hands, gazing at it fondly as though it were a puppy. “If you shine one bright beam of light on an object, it casts a dark shadow, doesn’t it? But cast several, make the lights weak, and there are many faint shadows, overlapping each other until they blur together and, really, until they don’t seem to be there at all.

“But there are multiple street lamps out there and they’ve never had that effect.”

“The light has to be just the right intensity, spaced apart at just the right intervals. The math is very complicated.”

“And you worked it out?”

“Of course not. Shige did. He’s in one of the labs downstairs. I could introduce you to him, if you want,” he said, picking up his coat and wrapping the orb in it again.

“That’s okay. I’ll talk to him myself.”

“I have to return the orb anyw-- Ow.” Yamashita broke off and glanced down. His chest suddenly hurt, somewhere near his left shoulder. He reached up with his free hand and felt something warm and wet on his shirt.

In front of him, through his rapidly blurring vision, he could see Maki lowering a gun.

“You shot me,” he said incredulously, sinking to his knees.

“Yeah, well. You’re annoying,” she said, and slammed the butt of her gun down on his head.

Everything went black.

---

Everything went wrong all at once. Masuda was chasing the shadowsinger, and Ryo was running after them, mentally cursing all the cigarettes he had ever smoked because that damned lightbringer could run exceptionally fast. Masuda was gaining on the shadowsinger, who couldn’t stop to summon shadows because Masuda was lit up like a beacon.

Which, Ryo realized, was going to get him in trouble.

And it did.

Something darted out from between two buildings. A dark shape speeding down the street in Masuda’s direction. And before Ryo could shout a warning, it crashed into Masuda, sending him flying and rolling on the pavement.

It wasn’t a shadow - which would never have gotten anywhere near Masuda in the first place. It was another shadowsinger who had slipped away from the power plant just like the one they had been chasing. Only this one was a bit smarter, perhaps.

Masuda groaned, disoriented, and rolled onto his hands and knees, his light having gone out, the shadowsinger just behind him.

Ryo fired his gun. But the bullet missed its target by several inches, and it was enough of a warning.

The shadows rose, some shielding their master, even as others arrayed themselves into long, thin spikes.

They shot forward all at the same time.

4. dawn ---

Ryo took a deep breath. In that narrow width of time, his mind registered several things at once. Things he would remember for the rest of his life.

The shadows rising, Koyama struggling feebly to rise, Ryo’s own hand shaking, and the song. The shadowsong. So dark and terrible and beautiful all at once.

Ryo took a deep breath. Then he opened his mouth.

---

And he sang the shadows down.

---

“It worked,” Shige breathed from his vantage point at the window next to Tegoshi. Outside, the remainder of the Night Patrol were gagging four unconscious shadowsingers and dragging them back inside.

“Too bad for you,” said a voice from the doorway.

They turned around and saw a girl standing there, watching them.

“Who are you?” Tegoshi frowned. “Sgt. Yamashita said no outsiders were allowed to come in--”

“He let me in himself. For back-up.” She whistled and a tiny pinprick of light appeared on the tip of her index finger. “See?”

“He must be filthy rich because there’s no way budget’s going to approve payment for your services,” Tegoshi said.

“I volunteered. Is one of you Shige?”

Shige glanced at Tegoshi, who shrugged. “Er...I’m Shige.”

“Good,” she smiled. Suddenly the tiny pinprick of light was not so tiny, but a seething blue ball of crackling energy. “Now give me all of your funny little light spheres. Or else I’m burning off your eyebrows.”

“What?!”

Tegoshi shook his head. “Seriously, as a threat, that doesn’t really carry much weight. He doesn’t have any left.”

“Is this a joke?” Shige asked.

The girl sighed and put out the light, aiming a very real, very large gun at Shige instead. “Will this make you take me more seriously?”

They backed away.

“I think you should do as she says, Shige.”

“I don’t understand. Why?”

“Your little balls will ruin everything,” she said. “Now give them to me.”

“I’ll give them to you,” Tegoshi said suddenly, running for the safe.

“And all his notes, too.”

“No!”

Tegoshi gave Shige a look but kept twirling the combination just the same. “Sorry, Shige. I kind of peeked when you were resetting it.”

Shige glanced hopefully in the direction of the doorway.

She caught the glance and smirked. “If you’re looking for Yamashita, he’s on the roof. Dead.”

Perhaps it was because she was too busy smirking at Shige, or perhaps it was just some karma being a bitch, but the lightbringer failed to notice that Tegoshi had stopped opening the safe and had picked up the flask on Shige’s workbench. By the time she turned her attention and her gaze back on Tegoshi, it was too late.

The flask smashed into her face, the glass breaking and biting into her skin.

She screamed once, but it was abruptly cut off when Shige brought one of Tegoshi’s encyclopedias round and caught her in the temple.

“I was aiming for the back of her head,” Tegoshi winced, catching her as she fell to keep her from falling face first onto more broken glass.

“The roof,” Shige said, remembering.

Tegoshi blinked and dropped the girl unceremoniously on the floor -- but away from the bits of glass.

Shige ran out of the laboratory Tegoshi right behind him. Please don’t be dead.

---

All things considered, it was a great accomplishment for the Seventh, Ryo thought as he and the rest of his squad staggered back toward the station. The worst injuries on their end were Masuda’s scraped hands, Nakamaru’s bruised eye, and a rip on Oshima’s skirt that she wouldn’t shut up about.

The power plant seemed fine though the lights were still out, but no one could tell for sure until morning came and the engineers could take a look.

They were crossing the lawn (trampling the grass and ignoring all the signs telling them to do otherwise), when the crack of a gunshot ripped through the silence.

Everyone stared in horror at the smoking bullet hole right at Ryo’s feet.

“Oh, my God,” someone said from the station’s rooftop. “Sorry! We’re so sorry! We thought you were more shadowsingers!”

Ryo gaped stupidly up in the direction of the sound.

“Shige?” Koki shouted. “The hell are you doing with our weapons?”

“That wasn’t me!” Shige replied over the sound of someone else on the rooftop cursing very colourfully.

“Did Yamashita just shoot at me?” Ryo demanded.

“He’s having a very bad day,” Tegoshi answered, his face appearing next to Shige’s.

“He could have killed me!”

Shige smiled tightly. “You have no idea. He only missed because Tegoshi bumped his shoulder by accident at the last second.”

“Can you tell him to get down here so I can punch his face?”

Tegoshi and Shige glanced briefly behind them.

“Sorry, he can’t,” Tegoshi called back.

“He’s fainted.”

“Just what the hell happened here?!”

---

“That’s one shadowsinger critically injured and two dead,” Yamashita said, reaching a hand under his collar and scratching his left shoulder under the sling. “One killed by the Eighth and the other by you, Ryo. Is there anything you two want to tell me about this before the higher ups start asking their questions and checking everyone’s reports?”

Ryo felt Masuda’s eyes slide briefly in his direction. He kept his own eyes on Yamashita, however. “No, nothing.”

“He was violent,” Masuda said. “He tried to kill us.”

“Uh-huh. And he didn’t even have a shield up, I suppose.”

“Stop scratching,” Ryo said suddenly. “You’ll make it worse.”

“I can’t help it!” Yamashita shouted, ripping his sling off his shoulder in a rare fit of anger. “And don’t change the subject.”

“I got in a lucky shot. That’s all.”

“Just like with the last shadowsinger you fought while protecting Koyama.”

Ryo set his jaw.

Yamashita sighed. “Look, it’s fine. Just make sure you both stick to that story when anyone else asks. Now go away. The lightbringers are giving me so much shit for what happened yesterday. As if they didn’t conspire with the shadowsingers and try to kill me, those bastards.”

Ryo and Masuda backed away.

“You didn’t tell him,” Ryo said once they were safely out of earshot.

“The Night Patrol pays favours back in kind,” Masuda said with a small smile.

Ryo tried to smile back but realized it probably looked painful.

“Although I think he suspects something’s up,” Masuda said lightly.

“Yamashita’s kind of slow sometimes, but he eventually gets there.”

Masuda stopped. “You know, I think the way the world looks at lightbringers is about to change. Maybe someday they’ll look differently at shadowsingers, too.”

“Maybe. Anyway, I have some stuff I need to do. I’ll see you later,” he said, and abruptly left without waiting for a reply.

Someday. He wasn’t too sure. Ryo himself still needed to change the way he looked at shadowsingers -- and he was one of them. Maybe someday the world would accept them. Or maybe someday Ryo would turn into some kind of violent, city-wrecking, rampaging monster.

He thought of Koyama. He hadn’t seen his former partner since the latter quit the Patrol following his injury. He just wasn’t made for it, he had said. Ryo wondered how true that was, and if Koyama had only quit because Ryo’s identity made things very complicated.

Someday he might have all the answers to that. But until then, he had a mountain of paperwork to climb.

epilogue ---

“What are the three of you up to?” Ryo frowned when he returned to his desk with a cup of coffee.

Masuda, Tegoshi, and Shige, were huddled around Masuda’s desk, hunched over several pieces of paper.

“We’re helping Massu falsify reports,” Tegoshi said cheerfully.

Ryo raised an eyebrow at “Massu”, who only gave him a dimpled grin. “I’m sure you guys have a good reason.”

“Yamashita told us to,” Shige said.

“What?!”

“They were after my spheres. Someone with access to our reports set the lightbringers and shadowsingers on us and until we figure out who they are and why they did it, it’s best if they think they were all destroyed.”

“But wasn’t there a witness? That psycho lightbringer?”

“Yeah, but we’re going to blow up Tegoshi’s lab and use that as an excuse.”

Ryo choked on his coffee. “Can you not talk about your little conspiracy so casually?” He lowered his voice. “Are you really going to set off another explosion?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m a certified alchemist -- First Class. I can control it.”

Ryo was just about to put his doubt into words when a hush fell across the room. Someone had just come in and was at the moment striding purposefully towards Yamashita’s desk.

Masuda blinked. “Who’s that?”

“Sgt. Kamenashi,” Ryo replied.

“Sergeant,” Kamenashi greeted Yamashita with icy politeness.

Yamashita looked startled. “Oh. It’s you.”

“I’m here to relieve you, Yamashita. You can go home now.”

“What? No. I have reports to write--”

“You’ve been here for three days straight. You’re injured. You’re excused,” Kamenashi frowned.

“Like hell I’m leaving you in charge. Captain Takizawa bailed on his conference just to hear my report. He’s already on his way.”

“You’re bleeding all over your shirt.”

Yamashita glanced down. “No, I’m not-- Ow! What the hell was that for?” he yelled, pulling away. Kamenashi had squeezed his shoulder. Hard.

“Now you are.”

Yamashita looked at bloodstain slowly spreading across the front of his shirt. “It took ages to stop the bleeding! There were stitches!” He started to rise.

Kamenashi turned his back on him. “Somebody call for an ambulance or something. The sergeant is about to faint.”

He had barely finished his sentence when Yamashita did, indeed, crash to the floor behind him.

“Is he all right?” Masuda asked, brows knitted in concern as Koki and Nakamaru half-carried, half-dragged Yamashita into the conference room.

“He’ll be fine,” Ryo laughed. “It was the best way to get him to leave his desk and stop working. Speaking of which -- if Yamashita’s out, I don’t need to finish my report today. I’m off.”

Masuda looked thoughtfully at him. “Maybe I’ll leave, too. I’m hungry. Would you like to have lunch?”

Ryo blinked. “Lunch?”

“I know a great ramen place. And there’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Someone? That sounds mysterious. Who is this person?”

“The reason why I decided to join the Night Patrol. He taught me a lot. What do you say?”

“I’m intrigued. And starving. Is the ramen really that good?”

“It’s the best.”

Ryo hesitated then felt himself start to smile. “Okay. I’m in.”

“This invitation better be extended to us,” Shige said loudly. “I could eat a horse.”

“I don’t think that’s on the menu...”

Ryo relaxed and followed Masuda out of the station, remembering their earlier conversation. Things changed all the time. Sometimes even for the better.

“Hey look,” Tegoshi said, nudging Shige.

The sun was in the sky, painting the clouds a dozen shades of pink and red and yellow.

“I can’t tell anymore,” Shige was saying. “Is that sunrise or sunset?”

Tegoshi rolled his eyes. “It’s daybreak, silly.”

Laughing, the four of them stepped over the bullet hole still visible on the lawn and walked together, toward the rising sun.