Another day, another... well, truth be told, it was actually night in Crocus. Much to Tomoe's dismay, the damnable curse from the tarot crone a number of weeks ago had yet to fade. Instead, the Joyan was suffering from something akin to, “night sickness” he called it. Due to his mere existence turning day into night regardless of the hour, it became rather repetitive enduring its constant presence. At first its silken gloom sought to bring joy to the man's life for reasons he couldn't explain; due to ongoing memory loss, there was little else he could do besides speculate at why. Night felt so natural, so safe; in a world where magic was commonplace and people around any dark alley corner could blow one to pieces, Tomoe felt most at home at night regardless. For a moment, he had to think about what kind of man he'd need to have been in the past for his body to resonate so strongly with the shadows.

"A fuckin' assassin or something? Bleh. Who knows?", he muttered to himself, shaking a hand through his unkempt mane of hair.

Tomoe was on a night walk - another among many - when he began to notice something flickering in the distance. There was something shimmering brightly among some rubble as he strode through a damaged and rundown part of Crocus. The government hadn't treated parts of its main city well, and the repercussions of such could be felt even by the way dust was carried through the air even months after the demonic invasion. There was a lack of care that was obvious from the Rune Knights and from King Reign, and as a foreigner both in nationality and in memory it disgusted Tomoe. The entire situation reeked of foul play and the Joyan couldn't stand it.

The Joyan moved carefully towards the shining object, looking around concerned to make sure he was the only one nearby and that this wasn't some awful trap set by starving commoners. Upon confirming that there was nobody immediately visible or within distance enough to rush him, he moved closer to the glow, stopping in front of it.

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"What in the world?"

Tomoe bent down and picked up the source of the light, his face immediately twisting in confusion at what he was looking at. In his hands, calming the light, was a wand. Its craftsmanship was uncanny, and felt warm to touch. It was made of the smoothest and most perfectly shaven wood the Joyan had ever pilfered, with not a single imperfection in its carving.

The most baffling part - and the part that kept him from realizing what would happen next - was the actual design of the wand. It was a bright pink wand with a circular tip, a star in the center, and pink feathers in the shape of wings at the top. The design baffled Tomoe, with the item clearly being magical and yet unclear as to its purpose or reason for being in such a hideous part of Fiore.

It was at that point that the Joyan realized he was indeed being watched. Captivated somehow by the wand's design despite not being a wizard and definitely not fitting the aesthetic for such a flamboyant item, he didn't notice the presence of someone behind him until it was too late.

Blocking an attack with his arms curled to defend the more vulnerable parts of his frame, Tomoe was sent flying backwards into a wall. Normally the Joyan would take this time to blurt out an obscenity or four, but couldn't waste any time upon noticing the shoddy and damaged building he was knocked into. Stray rubble and bricks began falling from the collapsing wall, and acting on instinct the ronin had finally snapped out of his trance. He rolled to the side, back into the street and narrowly avoiding being crushed by the damaged house on its last legs.

Standing up just in time, Tomoe looked on in confusion as he saw a tiny girl with an angered expression on her face. In one hand she had the pink wand, and in the other... was none other than Tomoe's own sword. Again on instinct, the ronin reached for his blade only for his fingers to grasp air. Nothing. The sword truly was gone, stolen by the abnormally powerful child before him. His expression sharpened as he began walking towards her, the girl remaining unfazed by his new attitude.

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"You're going to give that weapon back, kid. Before you hurt yourself.", Tomoe growled, put into a foul mood at the turn of events.

Upon the girl shaking her head in rejection, defying the thug's demands, the rest of Tomoe's patience had diminished. He lunged for her, his vision seeing red as the only thing he could think of was getting his weapon back. It was his money-maker and his pride and joy. He wouldn't go so far as to say that it was something sentimental to him, but it definitely wasn't something he would allow anybody else to touch unless it was the pointy end. The blade's edge was stronger than any other, and he wouldn't allow anybody else to wield it other than him.

However, Tomoe's physicality enhanced by adrenaline was for nothing. As he lunged, he found himself moving further ahead than he intended, only after another half second realizing that he had not made contact with the girl at all. Realizing his folly, he turned once more to see the girl levitating a few meters in the air. Or at least, Tomoe thought it was levitation at first - it wasn't until another second that he realized the girl had wings of light extending from her back. A fairy? An angel? He didn't know - but he did know that he wouldn't stop there.

"If I have to get any more serious than I am right now, kid, you're going to die. Or you can give the weapon back. Your goddamn choice.", Tomoe spat with venom, knowing full well that without his weapon he had little else to fall back on.

The girl began descending slowly, much to the ronin's surprise, and as her feet touched the ground Tomoe had to hold back every urge in his body to shatter her bones with another lunge. The girl looked distraught as she met Tomoe's gaze, clearly holding back tears.

"...I want money... 'cuz I don't have any... if you could get me some money, I could give it back, 'kay mister?", the girl squeaked out feebly, her wings retracting.

After a second of consideration, Tomoe reacted with precision to his own sword, still sheathed, being thrown at him. He caught it and saw a genuine gaze in the girl's eyes. She was a child, alone, entrusting her life to some person she had never met before and who clearly wouldn't hesitate to attack her?

Tomoe thought for a moment before letting out a sigh. Disregarding the question of what she was for a moment, the girl's clothing was clearly dirty and of poor quality. From the way she moved it was obvious she hadn't eaten in a long time. Piecing things together, the ronin decided to grow a soul for a moment.

"Fine. But you owe me an explanation after we're done about what all that stuff was, alright?"

The girl nodded without hesitation, and the duo made off in search of victims to rob.

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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.

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- Exit -