The actual act of robbery was much easier than either of them had thought when acting in union. The girl's wand had some kind of minor mind control ability where people would focus on the item's glow and nothing but. Meanwhile the muscle of their operation, Tomoe himself, would charge from behind and strike the clueless and brainwashed victims down. It was akin to a siren's song, the way people were lulled into a state of vulnerability by the wand's magic. During the entire process, even Tomoe had to admit that he found himself occasionally slowed down by its light to the point where he sometimes accidentally had his blade meet air while swiping at the easiest possible targets. He knew for a fact it wasn't his skill slipping, but rather the wand's mind-altering abilities. This fact scared him, and his heart rate admittedly picked up more than it should whenever she would activate it in fear that he would become enthralled by it.
Night turned to... well, darker night, as Tomoe's pockets filled with more and more jewels and items that could be turned in for jewels at any particular contact he might happen to know. It was the best haul he had ever had from a night on the town in Crocus, and this gave him an idea. He stopped their muggings for a bit to take a break and talk things over with the girl. Sitting next to each other on the welcoming steps of a nearly non-existent building, charred and burned to cinders, Tomoe turned a serious gaze towards his partner in crime.
"Hey, so we've made enough to get you some nights at the inn, some good food, 'n all that...", he started, being cut off by the girl.
"Really, mister?! Oh, thank you! I appreciate it so dearly, I do!", she responded with stars in her eyes - quite literally.
Tomoe scratched the back of his head and sighed. His pride was too high to accept the help of a little girl, but power was power, right? He had to tell himself that for the sake of his next question.
"Why not stick around for a bit longer, huh? I could teach you a few more things about keeping yourself fed and all that, like we did today.", Tomoe grumbled, breaking eye contact.
It was ridiculous, asking a little girl to commit crimes with him. He knew how absurd the premise was, and yet he had to be sure of something. He had an aching feeling, yet he didn't know how to place it exactly. Not about the girl's abilities; that was already something to be concerned about for another day. Rather, he had to know something else.
"Of course! I want to make more jewels and eat lots of food, and get out of this place!", she proclaimed with joy and, again, literal stars in her eyes that almost saw fit to pop out of their sockets.
Tomoe made the mental note to himself that his suspicions were correct. Not only was this girl not right by the normal standards of a human, but her attitude towards the most gruesome of crimes and robbery on a massive scale was frighteningly accepting for a person of her age.
Seeing her yawn and close her eyes, however, the ronin put those thoughts aside for the moment and smiled. They had made enough money to live like royalty. Or at least like high-class working citizens, anyway. Why not enjoy that for a while before complicating things? Tomoe saw many reasons to prolong any serious conversations and simply enjoy the golden goose he had met.
"Hey, I'm tired too. C'mon, let's go find an inn for the night."
And with that, the pair was off to reap the rewards they had so honestly and fairly worked for that night.
[1500/1500]
- Exit -