Tomoe happened across a job he never knew he would need to take again as a 'guild master' - bandits. It had been many moons since he'd needed to worry about something as mundane as a bandit attack, but there he was. It was unacceptable for such a thing to occur in the streets his guild oversaw. If nothing else, Marigold had to maintain its status as a peaceful rural country haven where travellers could come and go as they pleased. That was the main draw of the place, and Tomoe wouldn't let it be disgraced by some rapscallions who thought they were the top dogs.

As he lurked through the shadows of the city looking for suspicious activity, Tomoe thought on his time as a bandit in the past. He had worked for many would-be 'lords' who thought themselves the center of the universe. Time and time again he found himself serving pure scum that would do all sorts of heartless acts and evil deeds for their own personal gain. They would force all kinds of jobs upon him, ranging from mere thievery and scam tactics to the deep end in which murder of all ages was commonplace. For a young child who hadn't yet learned the ways of the world, those kinds of things were what he was more or less raised on. Looking back, the Joyan warrior had sinned unforgivably from a very young age, and it was not the kind of thing he would ever find forgiveness in. The wide, satisfied smiles of each employer he would carry out the tasks of would flash in his mind as he skulked around back alleys to catch wind of anyone who stood out.

Was there any way he could repent? Tomoe wasn't so sure. Becoming one with the shadows as he observed pedestrians going about their night life, hours passing, the feeling was exactly the same as all the times he would act as another man's blade. His eyes glazed over for a moment, and then after another he composed himself, taking a deep breath to steady himself.

"Alright, me. Let's calm our shit, okay?", Tomoe muttered to himself, withdrawing from his thoughts to focus on the task at hand.

It was at that moment that a noise was heard down the street. Tomoe immediately jumped into action, thinking that this would be his time to shine. Arriving on the street where he heard the noise, the warrior drew his weapon - a magical hammer - and saw many figures obscured by darkness break the window of a jewelry store and start to make their way in.

---

WC: 436/850 [15% reduced]

From the very moment Tomoe stepped forward towards the shadowy group, one of the grunts had noticed him. Once the crimson cutthroat was in battle mode, there was little in the way of stealth for him. The lightning running off of his hammer briefly illuminated his expression, wild and unrelenting. As he took another step forward, the thieves began to scatter and flee from the scene. Tomoe attempted to pursue, but was stopped by a kick to the side of his helmet dividing his attention. In the process of wanting to nab the dastardly group, Tomoe had temporarily succumbed to tunnel vision for that one task. In the process of prioritizing the one simple act of chasing after the group, Tomoe had neglected to single out the individual. They each had a mind of their own at the end of the day, and some were more willing to get their asses kicked and punched into a crater than others.

One among them, a hero with massive caterpillar eyebrows, drew a wide and toothy grin across his face after scratching Tomoe's helmet. Despite the term 'toothy', the bandit was missing many of those and seemingly being too poor to afford replacements. His mouth looked like a series of broken piano keys, and Tomoe was, at that moment, hellbent on smashing that piano to even more incomprehensible and unplayable pieces. The Joyan drew a grin in reciprocation, his more menacing and villainous than any that the eyebrow man could produce. His eyes were burning red and pierced the bandit's soul, whose own smile faded somewhat as Tomoe's grew.

"You're, uh, going to hafta get through me to get to them!", the piano-toothed bandit blurted out, a squeak of worry building in the back of his throat as he wondered who he had punched.

"That's what I was hoping for! Eat steel, asshole!", Tomoe boomed as loud as thunder, rushing the man in an instant and dragging his hammer across his mouth.

In a single motion afterwards, the bandit's teeth had shattered into so many shards as to almost be deleted from existence, very little of the pearly yellows remaining in his mouth at all. With bleeding gums and crying in pain the way only someone being rushed to the ER could be, caterpillar-eyebrow bandit's body slumped near lifelessly against a nearby wall and stayed writhing for a while before the sound of clanking armor could be heard approaching from down the street.

After a few minutes more, the now toothless bandit's broken (both physically and psychologically) body was hauled off in cuffs as they informed Tomoe he would be taken off for interrogation.

"Yeah, just get ready for a story with a lot of 'th's' in it. That motherfucker's gonna have a lisp that just won't quit for the rest of his life. But, y'know, life is just like that sometimes. He'll never throw a punch again like that, or even look anyone in the eye. All in all, a good ending, I say!", Tomoe replied to the guards with booming laughter from the gut, thinking on the new life of mockery and shame that awaited Mr. Lisp.

Perhaps next time he'd shave the guy's eyebrows off, if he tried to rob someone else? He needed someone to teach him a lesson, and Tomoe was proud to be that person. Accepting payment from the concerned guard who listened to his opinion, Tomoe was then on his way. The Joyan would sleep as soundly as a baby tonight, knowing that he had done his part to destroy a man's rebellious soul. Foolish, stupid Mr. Lisp would never break the law or raise a hand against anyone ever again after being smeared across the streets of Marigold the way he was. Such a visual would bring many chuckles to Tomoe for years to come, and that alone was worth more than any pay could get him.

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WC: 850/850 [15% reduced]

- Exit -