At the end of the day, I finished my patrol, dropped Nora off at her home without notifying her of what I did, submitted a report to the Heroes' Guild, and ran through the slums towards Alayna's house.

At this point it's around midnight. I don't have lessons with Alayna for another few days, but I think she can make an exception. A child is in danger, as a matter of…deduction, probably.

I pound on the door, yelling, "Alayna! It's me! I need your help!" I wait a few moments, pausing my assault on the door as the prostitutes around me give me side glances. Geez, I really do feel like a federal agent.

The door slowly creaks open, before suddenly falling off of its hinges. Alayna stands there, glaring at the tarnished brass hinges, ignoring me completely. She mutters, "I told him to fix that." Then turns to me, "Alice! How nice to see you! I wasn't expecting you for a little while."

I nod with a distressed smile plain on my face. "Yep." I nod rapidly again. "Yeah, I kind of have an emergency. A pretty big one, in fact."

"What is it?"

"Uh, so there's a person— I think they can stop time, and I'd really rather they not be able to recognize me, or just process my presence. Is there a way to do that?"

"Ugh," Alayna sighs, rubbing her forehead. "Yeah- Yes. There is a way. Two ways, actually. Perception Filtering and Illusion Magic. I can't teach you the second one since that requires a Light Affinity."

"Y-Yeah." I awkwardly cough. "I- uh, I don't have that either. I don't think I can have that, to be honest." I'm looking at you two, Void-touched and Weak Solar Constitution.

She sighs. "Just come in already." She steps to the side, arm beckoning me inside. Soft red lighting alluding to the true purpose of her parlor, though the lemony-fresh scent reveals that not much has happened over the last…

*sniff*

…week or so. Huh.

"Anybody that regularly visits the library or thrift stores can get a skill called Background Blending which allows them to go unnoticed as long as they don't make too much noise or any sudden movements. However, Perception Filtering, despite ripping off its name from a TV show, is much more powerful. It is essentially a passive skill where you actively edit yourself out of people's conscious plane and thus—their short term memories."

"I'm hearing a 'but,'" I drawl. "Skills like this usually have a drawback of some sort."

She waves me off. "Ehh, it's really just skill to use the Skill. Some people will have a sneaking suspicion that something's wrong, but it gets waved off…most of the time. Just don't touch anyone and you'll be fine… Oh! And remember to turn off the passive when you, uh, actually want to be noticed."

We sit down on her…freshly cleaned couch. Smells like lavender. Alayna opens her mouth to begin talking again, but the door slams open, interrupting her. Something about this feels slightly familiar.

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The Incubus stands in the doorway, still sickly like last time, though his face is adorned with seething rage. In the minuscule time that he's been standing in the door, he immediately shifts to a suave, but strained, smile.

He ignores me and turns to Alayna. "Is the shotgun still in the same place?"

Alayna's mood noticeably worsens as she sniffs and crosses her arms. "Depends. Are you about to commit a felony in front of a federal officer?" She narrows her eyes, and I subsequently shrink back from the siblings' auras.

This is surprisingly a nice couch.

"…No?" His smile becomes stiffer over time. "It's the girls again. Nothing worth fretting over."

"Oh." Alayna softens. "Yeah, it's in the same spot." He goes upstairs to grab a shotgun…to deal with some…girls. I should definitely be worried about this.

"Am I going to arrest someone tonight?"

"No, no! Nothing like that," Alayna hurriedly says, attempting to placate me. "Some high schoolers found the taste of sex…too alluring. They essentially sell their bodies around here because, 'Hey! Pocket change and sex?! Sign me up!'" She mimics a childish voice to mock these kids.

"Aren't you a lust demon? This is kind of your area."

"Yeah, but I also don't want to be in trouble with the law. The prostitutes and demons are fine because it's a livelihood and all they have left. The kids still have their lives ahead of them."

"The shotgun?"

"Scare tactics. Chases them off if a crazed demon with huge horns chases them with a shotgun. They can't report it because, uh, duh! They're in…this place."

"Okay then. I'll- I'll deal with them after this if they're still poking around."

"Right. Yes. Of course. So, you have the Clairvoyance skill, correct?" I nod. "Then this will be quick and easy. All you have to do is gently coax any traces of…yourself out of peoples' perceptions."

"Wha- What?"

She slowly inhale, then exhales. "When people see you, even if not focused on you, you still leave an imprint on them. The mind isn't great at faces, and it needs something for your dreams about that hot guy you saw."

"I—" I begin to correct her, but then deem it unimportant. My love life, or lack thereof, is none of her concern. She, however, takes this breath as something else.

"Girl, then. Whatever. It's not important. I want you to just gently probe my mind, find anything that seems like seems like an attribute of you, and just…pull it. Coax it out. Make it seem as if nothing was ever there!" She's getting heated, but okay.

I focus on her mind. It still feels as…aggressive as before, but that's deeper within. All I need is just the surface stuff.

Words figuratively appear in front of me. Stuff like: Albino, dark sclera, wolf girl, demon, horns, big breasts… Does this woman think in porn tags?!

I grip the words with my mind's hand, but they don't budge. She said to coax them. Coax them how?

'Come on, little buddy,' I aim at the thoughts. Alayna smirks in return… She heard that. Great.

Motherly adds itself to the list. I don't think I'm motherly. My own mother sure wasn't…but, that's what Alayna thinks of me. Well, it doesn't say 'motherly.' It's just the, uh, one that describes what some would want to do to motherly characters.

I rub my wrist on the letters, just feeling like it's the right thing to do, and they come off like they're on a whiteboard. "This is ridiculous," I mumble to myself in the real world.

Opening my eyes, I find Alayna blinking her's open. "Mmph. Almost fell asleep there. Should probably go to bed soon." Ignoring me completely, she stands up and begins walking towards the staircase.

[ Through repeated actions you have unlocked the skill: Perception Filter(Passive) ]

[ Perception Filter — Allows the user to passively scrub all traces of themselves from all nearby subconsciouses, leaving the user a part of the surrounding background. Attention will not be drawn even if standing out in ways such as: minute to moderate noise, minute to moderate movements, and ostentatious clothing. Touching will break the filter. ]

Oh. Oh, this is good. However, I don't believe Alayna for a second. Hearing my thoughts, she scowls into a smirk. "Dang," she says.

————————————————————————————————————

Three girls stand in an alleyway, all leaning against a wall.

Four technically, since I'm there too, but I'm a woman. It's a difference—one in age and maturity. Lately, I've been lacking that second one.

One of them sighs—blond hair that reeks of dye. "That last guy was kinda hot. Why did he walk away?"

Another blond haired girl—natural. "Did you see that bitch on his arm? She's already slobbering on that dick."

Number three—black hair. "He was kind of old though…" She's the meekest of the group. Surface memories read of the other two pressuring her into this. Poor girl still has her whole life ahead of her.

I pick myself up off the wall, stalking towards the children—silently walking towards the young…people. Ugh. Sounds wrong no matter how I put it.

"I have to agree." Concurring with Number three, I drop the filter, letting my presence be known. The girls freeze up in slight fear of the unknown person behind them, only to relax at my obviously female voice. "I'd also say that you are out a little late. Do your parents know you're here?"

Number three quickly shakes her head, and the other two glare at her. Looks like I'm taking three girls in and making some phone calls.

I also need a car, or maybe just work on my teleportation.