Hospitality

The moon was high above him. 
     He passed by another hotel and a few restaurants that were closed. Once he was far enough away from the Skytree that Tokyo's nightlife had resumed, he kept the compass hidden. He crossed another bridge as he approached Taito City. 
     There were other people walking the streets in the hours after midnight.
     He couldn't keep his eyes off the young women, even as he continued to follow the compass. Some had long flowing hair. Others were dressed rebelliously. Most were walking with what he presumed were friends or family.
     He hated that he had to pay attention to them; he kept glancing at his compass, wondering when it was going to react to the Twister being nearby.
     Yet it kept pointing west, without reacting to any of the women who walked by him.
     He rubbed his eyes with his left forearm and picked up his pace slightly.
     "Sign our petition! Save the Twisters!" Proclaimed a young man.
     Ramon stood on a street corner, looking at the other side of the intersection. There were a few people standing there, holding signs and wearing matching uniforms. They all had matching scarves emblazoned with the word 'FREE.'
     He glared at them as he crossed the street and walked past them. Once he was directly across from them, he stopped. 
     There was a sizable crowd around the uniformed group; some of them were listening to what they had to say, and a few more were recording it on their cellphones. Everyone's attention was focused on the young man. He had short cut black hair, piercing blue eyes, and his vocal projection was well-done, considering Ramon could hear him from across the street.
     "Twisters are misunderstood, as is the power they possess! It has been five years since the mandatory Twist Removal Surgery laws have been repealed, and there has not been an increase in violent Twister attacks; this recent incident involving the Skytree has been the first large-scale Twister attack Tokyo has seen in five years!" The young man's voice was passionate and determined. 
     Ramon remembered hearing someone like the young man speak out when he had been a boy.
     The dusty streets of Rio Bravo had been bright that summer day. 
     There had been another young man, speaking out against the cruelties of the Mexican government and its treatment of Twisters. Ramon's parents had staunchly believed that Twist and the powers it granted to Twisters could be used for the benefit of society, and that the stigma of Twisters being evil was propaganda spread by the state to keep them controlled. 
     His grandfather had not shared that belief.
     He returned to the present and looked at the young man exclaiming extraordinary ideals in public. 
     "Make your opinion known! The wealthy have long strived to suppress the superior! To weaken those who would raise society to new heights! To maintain the status quo while reaping the rewards of our own hard work for themselves! The domination and subjugation of Twisters is merely one of the many ways they intend to keep us down!"
     Ramon looked at his compass. 
     He desperately wanted to speak up and shove some cold, hard facts into that young idealist's face. To tell him that of course the rate of Twister attacks hadn't risen; they likely wouldn't rise until eighteen to twenty years had passed, when those cursed with Twist would realize the power they possessed. He wanted to tell him that funding anti-Twist laws was actually one of the few things the rich did that was worth supporting. He wanted to tell him that among those afflicted with Twist, over ninety percent of those who made it to adulthood never made it past the age of thirty because of the temptation to use their powers despite the mental deterioration that came with it. If he said all those things, maybe he could stop someone from becoming his parents. 
     He rubbed his bald spot as he looked at the young idealist.
     The streets of Tokyo quieted slightly as he followed the compass, leaving the young man and the crowd he'd gathered behind.
     Words wouldn't be enough to convince someone of the danger Twist posed.
     His right hand drifted to his hip, and brushed against his revolver as it stayed completely hidden under his poncho.
     Only consequences would.
     His mind went over several circumstances that might arise.
     Perhaps the young woman was being forced to use her powers by criminals; if that was the case, then he would deal with them, call Percy, and do his best to convince the woman to take the surgery.
     He waited at another crosswalk and toyed with the compass.
     There was also the chance that the girl was being pressured into using it by her family; that would be a harder situation to remedy, and if she wanted to receive the surgery but her family wouldn't let her, he'd have to get Percy involved.
     The compass led the way. He stepped through Nishimachi Park and admired his surroundings slightly.
     There was also the chance that the young woman had already been consumed by her powers. 
     His head throbbed.
     He adjusted his satchel and kept walking. 
     There were several restaurants he passed, as well as more scattered late-night walkers, and a few more parks, but his dedication to the mercury compass never faltered.
     He passed by a hospital and the mercury shifted to keep pointing at it.
     "Oh no." 
     He looked at the hospital and felt the breath leave his body. 
     "Well... at least reaching the surgeon won't be an issue." He said, trying to force himself to smile. He looked at the compass, praying that it wouldn't still be pointing at the hospital. 
     When it was, he adjusted the collar on his poncho slightly, then started walking into the building. He walked around the hospital for a few minutes before finding a proper entrance. 
     It was a university hospital, and he made a mental note that perhaps the Twister was one of the students and not a patient. That lessened his worries, but only slightly.
     His head hurt.