The silent stride of a ruffled rapscallion came into view as the sun soared high above Astera. His slouched frame was seen to have his head hung low, lost in thought about something - or perhaps nothing. It was, at the very least, plain to say that there was something about Tomoe's life that could have been better.

He walked further into the center of town, eyeing some of the downtrodden hurt during the demons' raid on Astera. Occasionally tugged at for spare change or garnering the attention of curious children, each interaction filled the man with a pang of guilt - this was the area of Astera he was to protect; yet he couldn't. He had failed, and was forced to retreat before the horde alongside the rest. The sort of coward that would do that would be unfit to look those suffering in the eye, knowing that if he were better at his job, they wouldn't be in their situation in the first place.

What a load of hot garbage., he thought.

Making his way into the main plaza, he sat himself down at a nearby bench and watched the clouds pass. It wasn't his usual lifestyle, but it was all he had felt like for a while now. Days merged together after a while, losing the motivation to do anything other than live. Time stood still, it felt, while he idled in Astera. It wasn't enjoyable, nor was it something he was known for.

I wonder how the guild's doing..., Tomoe pondered.

It was also true that it had been an undetermined amount of time since his last contact with the guild, or even with any of its members. Also true was that there was no particular overwhelming desire to, either. What would he tell them? Of his failings to protect people? Hearing their dying screams? Who would want someone like that around?

At that moment his train of thought was lost when he felt force bump against his foot. Looking down, a red ball was leaning against him now, with a child running towards him eyeing it.

---

WC: 349/2000

"Seems like you lost something.", Tomoe spoke, nudging the ball in the child's direction and allowing it to roll the rest of the distance.

As the child got closer and retrieved his ball, Tomoe could notice more defining characteristics. Namely, his arm had bruises along it and his clothes were absolutely filthy. The Joyan's eyes sharpened at the sight, knowing the kid was another victim of circumstance. With the youth having gotten his ball back, he ran off into the distance and eventually out of sight.

"Figures.", Tomoe muttered, returning to his sky-gazing.

How many lives had he hurt by doing nothing? More than a few. And he'd likely hurt more to come in the future.

It was then that he felt extra weight press against the bench. Looking to his side, Tomoe saw an older man sitting next to him. He didn't hear nor feel the man's presence, so something was off. His silver-grey hair gave off the feeling of, "old but not wanting to admit it", and his black horn rimmed glasses stood starkly against his white and grey business attire.

"It's a shame, isn't it? What happened here.", the man spoke, his gaze now locked on Tomoe.

Not expecting conversation, Tomoe wordlessly nodded his head in a gesture of agreement. He was curious to see where this was going.

"Doesn't seeing the commoners in such a state make you want to do something about it? Quite frankly, there's not enough support from the government to rebuild with any haste.", the man continued, pulling out a pen and notepad and beginning to tap one against the other.

Tomoe looked down to see the man sketching without another word. The Joyan shrugged to himself and leaned back into his side of the bench, not bothering to respond. The pair was seated as such in silence for a while as the sun began to set, until at last after what felt like nearly an hour the man exhaled a sigh and put his pen down. Tomoe's vision, focused on the sky, narrowed in to a notepad being held in front of his face. On the paper was a rough sketch of a glorious metropolis with light emanating from it, and a gigantic pair of angelic wings eclipsing it. Tomoe shoved it back towards its owner.

"Ever hear of personal space, pal?", Tomoe exclaimed, looking at the old man with full attention once more.

The reaction stifled a chuckle from the man, who withdrew the notepad back into his overcoat's breast pocket.

"Don't you think it's about time you did something noteworthy, Tomoe of Fairy Tail?"

With the mention of his name, Tomoe leapt to his feet and unsheathed his katana, pointing it towards the unfazed gentleman.

"Alright, that's enough. Who the fuck are you and what the fuck do you want?", the samurai said with his eyes now daggers.

The man stood from the bench slowly with his hands in his pockets, a more stern expression across his features.

"You may address me as Bifrons. I'm an associate working with the Rune Knights, and I was told to follow up with one of the guild mages who has all but stopped working. Seems motivation is necessary, so they ordered me to pay you - yes, you - for the simple task of trying to fix your own inaction."

Taking a break from speaking, Bifrons pulled out a cigar and lit it.

"Imagine that for a moment, if you would. A world that pays you to simply redeem yourself. That's the modern Era for you."

Tomoe found no deceptions among Bifrons' speech, or little enough for it to matter. The rapscallion's eyes softened as he sheathed his blade.

"...What work?"

Bifrons, after taking an exhale with his cigar, nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Simple. Help the commoners in any way you can. That's easy for someone like you, right? I'll meet you back at this bench in a day."

Tomoe was left to his thoughts, pondering the validity of the man but ultimately deciding that if there was pay it didn't matter. A pinch of money wouldn't kill him.

Gathering himself, the Joyan once more ventured towards one of the districts hurt heavily by the invasion - the one he was charged with defending.

---

WC: 1059/2000

Tomoe could still hear the screams of horror from that day as he walked through this part of Astera. Overrun, he had to flee. Now, once again, he was here to see to those he had failed. He had stuffed his backpack with canned food and rations and blazed a trail through the place, block to block, delivering the food to anybody who needed it. Seeing structures torn down and people huddling for warmth, he knew there was more at stake to this whole career than fame and money. There were real human lives on the line, and he had previously treated that concept like a joke - and may continue to in the future, depending on if he allows himself to forget this moment in time.

"Hey, take this.", Tomoe blurted out as he approached a woman and child wrapped around a blanket on the street.

He noted that the child was the same boy who kicked the ball at him earlier, and tried his best to shrug it off knowing his apology wouldn't make anything better - especially knowing that he wasn't memorable enough to leave an impression either way.

Instead, he handed over two cans of food to the pair and continued on his way.

It was at that point when he heard the sounds of struggling nearby, accentuated by the echoes of yelling. Tomoe dashed to the scene to witness two thuggish looking men locked in a grapple, one with a knife at the other's throat.

"A mugging, huh?", Tomoe muttered.

Noting that it was a timely situation, the Joyan wasted no time in attempting to break up the fight. He'd wager a hefty sum that the one with the knife is the guilty party, and as such at the fastest that a moment's notice would allow him, Lunged with the blunt of his sword at the man's midsection. The impact sent him flying away from the other man, who collapsed to the ground in shock.

As the mugger got to his feet, dizzy, Tomoe turned to face him with his blade. Despite this, the samurai could feel shakiness in his grip. It was a simple thug, but something about Tomoe's reflexes and physicality felt... off.

In the moment, Tomoe didn't even realize the thug had already recovered and was rushing him with a knife. He dodged at the last moment on instinct, the knife grazing and cutting his cheek with a glanced blow. The sting woke Tomoe up, and his duelist mentality kicked in. He went for a feint to the left, and then quickly retracted his attack and struck at the man with a blow to the right of his head, knocking him unconscious.

---

WC: 1507/2000

Tomoe slung the unconscious thug's body over his shoulder, sheathed his blade, and strode over to the other man.

"Hey. You alright there, bud?"

The samurai knelt down on a shaky knee to be at eye level with the slumped over man, who nodded and looked Tomoe in the eye. It was something simple, but the Joyan wasn't expecting it for whatever reason - to look eye to eye with somebody he would have formerly considered beneath him and not worth his attention. Yet he felt no sense of anything negative from the interaction.

"I guess you'll be wantin' some food too, huh?", Tomoe spoke lowly, handing the man a can of food.

Returning to his feet, the Joyan waved a hand in goodbye to the mugging victim, and went on his way. Lugging the thug's body with him through Astera's streets, he continued handing out supplies to the poor and downtrodden.  There was tangible regret hanging in the air, but Tomoe shoved such thoughts to the side whenever they crept up; or tried to, at least.

Turning the thug in was rather simple. All Tomoe needed to do was say to the local law enforcement that the man was a threat to others and himself and tried to stab somebody, and knights ended up taking him at his word for it. He had to admit that talking to law enforcement and working alongside them to solve a problem was an oddity. Those kinds of people made him uncomfortable and it couldn't be overstated how much he disliked them. However, they do a good job when they need to so Tomoe couldn't complain much. So long as they don't figure out about his past deeds, it was all the same to him ultimately.

With that out of the way, the Joyan began moving back towards the bench. The sun was now fully down, bringing way to night.

---

WC: 1823/2000

The wait through nightfall was a bore, to say the least. Tomoe usually slept during the day, so there was little for him to do other than twiddle his thumbs and wait for Bifrons to show up once more. He saw all kinds of people throughout the night. Beggars, couples, hooded men and women, drunks, and more. Night life for those unaffected by Astera's damage seemed to be much the same as it was before. It wasn't like Tomoe to care for others much if at all, but something about the fact that people can continue on with their lives through the struggles of others reassured him somewhat. The fact that humanity could still be so selfish as long as they aren't the ones affected was a thought that gave him some measure of comfort.

Basking in the fresh sun now, however, he felt profound joy inside upon finally seeing Bifrons sit down on the bench. It made Tomoe happy to know that he would soon be able to get away from this bench of boredom and go do something - anything - else besides sit here.

"Heard you stopped a murder. That's good, I suppose. One less murder can go a long way sometimes.", Bifrons spoke after a moment, slipping an envelope towards Tomoe.

"Yeah. Well, it's the least I can do I guess. People need to take responsibility for their weakness eventually.", the Joyan responded, shoving the envelope crinkled and sideways into his coat pocket.

"...Thanks."

Bifrons chuckled once more, and turned his body to face Tomoe.

"From all accounts I've heard you're supposed to be a rude, evil son of a bitch. What could've possibly happened there?", he exclaimed.

Tomoe didn't make eye contact. Instead, he rose from the bench and shoved his hands in his pants' pockets. Looking towards the sky, and then back towards Bifrons before finally speaking.

"A guy can say 'thank you' for money, can't he?Fuck this. I'm gonna go get plastered. Go sketch a pony or some shit.", he spoke dismissively with a wave of his hand.

With that, Tomoe walked off with a furrowed brow. Even though he hadn't looked at Bifrons once since moving away, he could feel the old man's gaze staring at him silently.

Maybe he's worth looking into. I don't get a good vibe., Tomoe thought as he turned a corner and finally felt Bifrons' gaze leave.

That was a worry for another day, however. He had a gut feeling he hadn't seen the last of that mysterious old man, who sprung him into action and had him go through the motions of a job if even for just a single day. For that much, Tomoe was grateful whether he admitted it or not.

---

WC: 2000/2000

[Exit]