Chapter 25: Lunatic
A small boy opened the door to his room with squinted eyes after just waking up. The rising sun coated the surroundings in an orange hue as he waddled his way to the bathroom, scratching his head and yawning. After a few minutes, he came out again, looking much more refreshed than before.
Isaac quickly put on his clothes and walked to the kitchen for breakfast. However, on his way, he noticed the absence of the mouth-watering smell and the sizzle of the pan he would usually look forward to in the morning. After entering the kitchen, he looked around to find it empty.
He turned around and visited the living room, where he once again found it empty. After a few seconds, he yelled for the person he was looking for.
"Grandpa?" He said, only to be met with silence. As he scratched his head, confused, he noticed a peculiar paper lying on the couch. After picking it up and opening it, he found it was a letter that had been left for him.
"I've gone on an important business trip. I've left heaps of food for you and some cash. I'll be back very soon, Isaac." Read Isaac, staring at the signature below.
"Construction workers go on business trips?" Thought Isaac while raising an eyebrow. He didn't think much of it as he looked around the house, smiling at his newfound temporary freedom. He walked to the kitchen and prepared himself a fancy and satisfying breakfast. After watching his Grandpa for years, he had learnt a thing or two.
"I wonder where Grandpa went. Either way, I got this whole place to myself for a few days. How better can life get?" Laughed Isaac, imagining how much easier life would be without his Grandpa sullying his sleep with his loud laughter while watching the TV and his heavy feet while walking.
***
Isaac walked through the streets as the news of the Monkey King had yet to die down. It was the only thing news stations in the area were talking about. It's not like this was the first superhero they had ever seen, but because all this was happening in Ravenwood, the home of criminal activity, it made the story all the more interesting.
Countless questions were asked such as, what powers the Monkey King had and how he had acquired them. As well as the name 'Monkey King' and its significance, why he was helping Ravenwood, but most prominently, who he was. His social status, his background and even his ethnicity. All this was something they craved to know, knowing the chances they would get an answer were slim. Because of these countless questions and curiosity, it was rare to see other significant comments on the news station, making some people grow negative feelings toward the news and their repetitiveness. However, Isaac didn't mind it one bit, as evidenced by his wide grin and positive glow.
"How nice it is to be appreciated." He said, his appearance making others question whether or not he was in the right state of mind.
"What are you grinning about, weirdo?" A tall female wearing high heels and revealing clothes as well as a familiar pigtail hairstyle approached Isaac who was snapped out of his fantasy.
"Oh, hello Cass. How have you been?" Asked Isaac after noticing the female.
"Pretty good. The streets are as quiet as ever because of this Monkey King. I gotta say, I didn't think he really existed. Every criminal anywhere near Ravenwood is scared shitless at the vigilante who beat the Grizzly Ursus. Let's just hope he's on our side." She said with a chuckle.
"I'm sure he is. But isn't business rough for you? I'd imagine it's been hard for you since your usual clients have gotten their asses kicked." Said Isaac, which prompted Cass to stare at him with a confused look.
"I'm not a prostitute, you know." Said Cass, with squinted eyes.
"I'm sorry…what?" Isaac couldn't help but hold his breath as he tried to contemplate the words he was hearing.
"I'm not a prostitute. I just manage a brothel down the road, owned by a family friend of mine. I don't put my body on sale." Isaac's heart skipped a beat at the thought of unknowingly insulting his only friend.
"But your clothes…" Said Isaac with a defeated voice as he shivered.
"They're my uniform. I don't casually dress like a hooker."
"The day I met you, you're talking about money you owed the man…"
"He did owe me money, he was a client for one of my girls once. Well, it wouldn't be right to say he owed me money, more like the business. But it was my responsibility to get it from him."
"But…the scarf…"
"My scarf? What about it? If you wanna borrow it you're gonna have to wait for one of my employees to bring it back. She wears it to look more appealing or something. Who cares as long as she brings in the money? But I sometimes don't trust her, after all, she had it last when it went missing before you found it… hey, are you crying?"
Isaac condemned his terrible luck at meeting a confusing individual and potentially making an enemy. He called her a prostitute. In his eyes that was the most insulting thing you could say to someone.
"I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to insult you." Isaac bowed deeply as he held back the urge to climb into a hole for the rest of his life.
"Don't worry about it. I don't blame you, to be honest. I would think the same thing." She said with a smile, tapping Isaac on the shoulder.
"I'd take it personally if you were taller and looked manlier. But I think of you as a naive younger brother so it's all good." She said with a laugh while walking away. After saying this, Isaac's mood seemed to completely change as he turned around and waved his fist like an elderly civilian.
"Hey, you're only taller than me because of those high heels. And I'll have you know I'm very manly." He yelled back to her as she walked and waved her hand at him, her cheeky and playful reaction to that comment showing in her posture.
***
A deafening bell rang as Isaac opened his eyes after visiting his dantian, and yawned while stretching. The sound of chairs scraping across the ground as students went to leave the class while chattering filled the room as Isaac sat at his desk, looking out of the window. He stood up, excited for lunch as the rest of the students left the class.
"They need to change that bell before I go deaf." Complained Isaac as he walked to the door, only to be stopped by an individual he didn't recognize. Simultaneously, the only two other students who were left in the class stood up, standing behind Isaac. Isaac, noticing this, raised an eyebrow as he looked at all of them, failing to identify them. However, one thing he did notice about them was their blue and white uniform, indicating they were part of the student council.
"Can I help you or…?" Before he could finish his sentence, the student before him interrupted.
"Follow us. Don't speak a word. Someone wants to meet with you." Commanded the student before him. Isaac stared at him with a face of unenthusiasm as he thought.
"I can either leave with them now for some reason, or I can go and get lunch. It's an obvious choice, but I am curious about this." Thought Isaac.
"Will it be long? Will I be able to make it to lunch?" Asked Isaac, to which the students looked at each other in confusion, until the leading student put on a wide and menacing grin.
"Yeah, sure."
Isaac, driven by curiosity and a sense of amusement, decides to follow the three students. They led him through the school, climbing stairs until they reached the rooftop. Isaac was instructed to enter first.
He stepped onto the roof and quickly noticed the person sitting on a chair while playing with an object in his hands. The low walls of the roof as well as the gentle breeze truly signified how high up they were.
"There's no one here to save you now. You're all alone." Said Juniper, with a sinister smile, taunting Isaac as he brandished a box cutter in his hands, ready to strike. However, Isaac remains unfazed, his expression calm and composed.
"I don't need anyone to help me, Juniper." Taunted Isaac, causing Juniper to bite his lips in anger upon hearing his name.
One of the students swiftly locked the door leading to the rooftop, trapping Isaac inside. Isaac's senses heightened as he felt a pair of arms grip his shoulders, tightening their hold.
His body tensed, ready to defend himself. In a swift and fluid motion, he took control of the situation. With precise timing, he grabbed the attacker's wrists, using their momentum against them. Isaac effortlessly flipped the person over his shoulder, sending them hurtling through the air. The assailant's head connected with the ground with a sickening thud, rendering them unconscious.
The air crackled with tension as the remaining two students, their eyes wide with disbelief, watched their comrade fall. Isaac seized this brief moment of surprise to his advantage. His movements became a blur of calculated strikes and evasive manoeuvres.
Darting towards the first charging student, Isaac's fist connected with precision, striking the delicate point of their chin. The impact reverberates through their jaw, causing their head to snap back, neurons firing erratically. Their body crumpled to the ground, defeated and unconscious.
Without skipping a beat, Isaac pivoted to face the second student, who lunged at him with a mixture of desperation and fear. Isaac sidestepped the incoming attack with a dancer's grace, his body flowing with a serpentine fluidity. In a split second, his clenched hand struck out, delivering a swift blow to the second student's chin.
The force of the impact caused his teeth to clash together, jostling the brain within his skull. The student's eyes rolled back, his body collapsing in a heap, joining his fallen cronies.
"I feel almost ashamed to be using Qi on my heart for you losers." Thought Isaac internally and he looked away.
Isaac's gaze shifted, his focus narrowing on Juniper, who seized the opportunity to strike, the glint of the box cutter giving him a sense of invincibility and power. However, Isaac saw the opposite as he calmly moved to the side, performing a familiar trick and placing his foot down, causing Juniper to stumble.
However, due to his carelessness, Isaac failed to account for the space they were in and their surroundings. Carried by his unstoppable momentum, Juniper flew over the low walls of the roof, causing him to be thrust to certain death.
With the combination of survival instinct and sheer luck, Juniper was barely able to hang onto the ledge of the roof, giving him a chance to save himself as he watched his box cutter fall through the air, smashing against the ground and being destroyed, filling him with uncontrollable fear.
"Crap!" Yelled Isaac as he bolted to the barely hanging Juniper. He quickly grabbed his other hand, attempting to pull him up. He simultaneously looked down to the far ground, noticing a few people who were walking around, yet to notice the commotion.
"I can't use too much Qi, just in case someone sees me. I'll use just enough and pretend to struggle while pulling him up." Thought Isaac as he noticed Junpier looking down. Before Isaac could execute his plan, he heard the muffled whispers of what he thought to be a madman.
"It's the perfect plan! Yes, YES!" Soon, the maniacal laughter of the man he was trying to save filled the air as he spoke. In the next second, Juniper flailed his body around, letting go of the ledge and trying his best to get Isaac off of him.
"What are you doing?! Stop moving so much, you idiot!" Yelled Isaac, his grip slipping from the sweaty-palmed lunatic.
"No, no! You're screwed! How many people do you think will notice me fall to my death?! Five?! Ten?! Twenty?! They see me die and the only person at the scene of the crime is the street trash of Ravenwood, known to have had previous quarrels with the victim! Killing the first son of the most popular news station in the world?! Your life will be ruined!" He yelled in between his crazy laughter. Isaac stared at him, speechless as he couldn't comprehend Juniper's words.
"Are you crazy?! You'll die!" Yelled Isaac, yelling for not only his sake but for Juniper's too.
"I probably will! But if I'm lucky, I'll get to survive and watch your life crumble! My father will spread the word of your crime to every city in the world! But don't worry, just take it like a man!" Yelled Juniper, repeating familiar words to him and finally slipping out of Isaac's grip. With a crazy smile, he was carried by the wind, seconds away from death.
Time slowed to a crawl while Isaac watched in horror as Juniper plummeted towards the ground, his crazed laughter fading into the distance.
A surge of adrenaline coursed through Isaac's veins, drowning out the world around him, ignoring the consequences of someone seeing his abilities. Without a second thought, he summons his Qi, channelling it to his legs.
With an explosive burst of speed, Isaac launched himself off the ledge, hurtling downward with undeniable force. The rooftop fractured beneath the impact, a testament to the immense power he possessed. His hand reached out, fingers straining to grasp Juniper's arm.
The world blurred into a whirlwind of motion as Isaac reached out his arms, grabbing a nearby window, and abruptly breaking their fall. The glass shattered, shards scattering in all directions. The sound of a resounding crack filled the air, sending shivers down Isaac's spine. He turned his attention to Juniper, his heart pounding in his chest.
Blood trickles from Juniper's nose, staining his pale face. Unconsciousness claimed him, his body limp and motionless. Isaac winced at the glass that had impaled his hand, quickly climbing up the window as he spoke.
"Nice try, asshole."
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I was skipping some rocks on water and I found that the best type to skip is POWERSTONESSSSSSSSSS
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