The idea of working alongside Gunter Von Wolf again was a harrowing thought. To Tomoe, there were very few people that had ever made a worse first impression. The visual of a piss-soaked garbage bin and the detective's work tossed all over was something that thoroughly ticked off the crimson cutthroat. This was schoolboy kind of shit, not the actions of a grown-ass man with life experience and a moral code. His vile actions needed to be brought to the forefront and spoken about!

I feel like somebody's stepfather. Goddammit., Tomoe thought, seriously considering picking up smoking with the recent shitstorm his life had become.

Regardless, he now found himself within Hosenka's famous Sakura Alley. It was a location magically plucked from Joya itself, and to a native Joyan it was apparent right away. It certainly looked and smelled like home, and what a flowery fragrance it was. If a few pools of blood were mixed in with that scent, it would be exactly like home. Ahhh, but what was that? Ever so lightly on the air?

"Holy shit, it really is exactly like home.", he muttered, taking off for the location he was to meet his client - Weirdlock Jones.

After another minute through the scenery, Tomoe came upon the good detective and found him observing a crime scene. Yellow tape, all sorts of doodads strewn about, chalk for the artsy folk or something to pass the time, so on and so forth. He'd stop at the tape, allowing Weirdlock to have some time to go through his methods on his own time. It was a good time to wait, anyway, as his partner on this job had yet to show himself.

Maybe it'd be better if he just didn't., Tomoe thought, looking around for any sign of the pale and vile man.

---

WC: 303/850 (15% reduced)

Gunter makes his way into the park, cigarette lit. He looks at the various scenery. Apparently it's supposed to be a piece of land ripped from Joya, and based off of the architecture, cherry blossoms and so forth, Gunter finds himself thinking that it's pretty. Beautiful, almost. But trees are not why he's here. As he gets further into the park, he notices Tomoe. Seeing Tomoe, he calls out to the man as he walks over. "Hey Tomoe. How's it going, buddy?" Gunter stands right by him, and takes one last puff of his cigarette and ashes it out on the bottom of his shoe. He looks to his guild master and asks about the situation, and why he's even here.

Gunter looks around, seeing various guards going about their business. He sees Weirdlock, and a dead corpse in the middle of it all. As he's looking at the body from afar, he faintly whispers "Holy shit, he got fucked up." just loud enough for Tomoe to hear and only him. "Look like he's not gonna be able to sleep that off in the morning."

With that, Gunter raises up the caution tape and heads on into the crime scene. He then heads over to Weirdlock and looks at him and asks, "So who's the stiff?" Weirdlock looks at the man he had seen previously and informs Gunter that they're still looking into it, and that they'll get an identification soon enough. They'll know soon enough. "Damn shame. The guy looks young." Weirdlock says solemnly, looking towards the dead man's disfigured body.

---

Word Count: 262/1,000

"It's just sunshine 'n roses. I can still smell the piss in the air, I think. Or maybe that's the dude with his jaw slit open over there. Call it a veteran's nose, I guess.", Tomoe responded to Gunter's greeting with no small amount of distaste for their previous encounter with one another - of all the people he had to meet up with in his guild, it was this prick that had to take interest in these jobs?

Making no effort to hide his annoyance, knowing Aegis liked his clients to think of Penumbral Guard as a professional 'heroes for hire' type of deal or something, Tomoe dug a piece of ear wax out of his ear and flicked it towards Gunter once they got onto the crime scene. He then turned to Weirdlock Jones, looking him in the eye with a questioning gaze. Someone had to be an adult here, after all, and Gunter had already put on his diaper for the day with the questions he asked so it was time for Daddy Tomoe to take charge.

Tomoe was tossed a magnifying glass by Weirdlock. "The hell is this gonna do?"

"Search for blood. Fingerprints. Clues. So on and so forth. That's what we hired you for."

With that brief exchange, knowing full well that the sharp attitude was a combination of the dead guy in front of them and the fact that one of the two of them had previously pissed all over his notes and documents. With a side-glare of death towards Gunter for a half-second, Tomoe then used the magnifying glass he was given to get to work. Searching for bodies wasn't really his specialty; it was creating, carrying and burying them that he had years of experience with. Gunter was given a similar magnifying glass, should he accept it, and the amateur detectives would be put to work looking for clues.

---

WC: 620/850 (15% reduced)

Gunter looks at Weirdlock and says to him "Nah it's okay man I don't need one of those. I got this." Gunter cracks his knuckles and his neck. Suddenly, a third eye opens up on his forehead. Without even moving, Gunter starts observing everything around him in a fifteen meter radius.

The first thing Gunter notices is the body, mouth slit open from ear to ear. This was clearly not what killed the man, but postmortem based on how little blood there was coming from the mouth. As soon as he observes it, he says as much out loud so that everybody can know. He starts going through the dead man's clothes, seeing bruising on the wrists and ankles. He says aloud "This man was tied up, probably beforehand." Just as Weirdlock said, there is no identification. Gunter does, however find a few Jewels in the man's coat pocket. He claims it as coffee money for later, and slips it into his pocket, followed by immediately grabbing the buttoned up coat jacket on the corpse and showing the massive, slightly charred gut wound. Probably caused by some sort of fire spell.

"I'd say that would be the cause of death. But hey, I'm no detective. Moving on." Gunter stands up. Without moving again, he says, "Due to the fact that he was originally tied up, I don't see why they'd give him a gut wound and leave him in the park. So that tells me he probably broke out of his restraints and got torched. Personally, I think the smile ear to ear is a bit overboard. However, I don't see a lot of charred ground, so maybe the attacker wasn't in the park?"

Gunter looks around a little bit, and takes a stroll around the park. Eventually he notices the smell of burnt rubber. Or perhaps plastic. He takes a quick walk across the street, out of the park, over by an alley. From where he's standing, he looks over and has a relatively clear line of sight on the corpse. "I'd say the fireball probably came from here." Gunter yells to the detectives. He moves about the alley, finding a man buried under a pile of trash with no shoes, no socks and a knife stuck in his side. He points this out to Weirdlock and Tomoe. "Don't know what happened to his footwear but that's probably just the homeless. I'd say that our buddy in the park got away from his kidnappers, stuck a knife in Joe, and Joe blasted him before he bled out."

Gunter, thorough to search, goes through this dead stiff's pockets too, pulling out a piece of paper. "I was hoping for more coffee money, but fuck it." He opens it up and it has text on it and a weird symbol. He looks at Tomoe and Weirdlock. "I don't know what the fuck this symbol is, but you'd probably know more, Jones. This is your shtick." He then hands the note over to Weirdlock and stands back to see what he thinks.

---

Word Count: 772/1,000

Viking King's Sight: The Eye of the Viking King invokes the ability God of War's Insight of the Weapon Mastery but a lesser version. This ability is like God of War's Insight unlocking a passive ability in the user which allows them to generate a 3D mapping of their surroundings in their head. It covers a 15-meter radius around them meaning they can see everything around them within 15 meters.

Throughout the entire process of Gunter's investigation, Tomoe was kicking back and watching it happen. The less work he had to put into looking at dirt and invisible semen stains, the better. What the Joyan was truly interested in was the eye that opened on Gunter's head. To be more specific, it was an eye that he had seen before. Only once, but once was enough. "Vali...", Tomoe muttered as the eye revealed itself, his brow furrowing as to what this meant.

How was Vali doing? Did the fact that Gunter had his eye mean something more? It had been a long time since he or anyone had really heard from the man, and that coupled with Gunter now being in possession of it was something that was much more interesting than whatever murder was happening now. While Gunter was deducing the mystery in front of them, thoughts spiraled about a different mystery in Tomoe's mind. The eye had power, that was certain - the extent of which, admittedly, remained unknown to the crimson cutthroat. It had some kind of sensory ability, perhaps to see and scan an area without needing to actually observe said area. What was the range of it? What kind of limitations were there?

From one old drinking buddy and guild mate to another, Tomoe at least owed it to Vali to get to the bottom of things. If the worst had happened and this pale and selfish man had killed his former comrade, Tomoe would need to step up and cut this pale prick down. He hadn't gotten to a particular stage of friendship with Vali, but a vagrant's honor dictated that he act to defend the name of any who he had shared a mug and a story with in the past.

As the case came to a close, following Gunter around as he guided them on his way, Tomoe acknowledged the hints, but before Gunter could walk away, the crimson cutthroat moved to block his path. One hand on the handle of the sword on his back, he looked at Gunter with intent. "Hand back all the shit you took from the dead guys. Have a bit of respect for the dead, yeah? You ain't gettin' any coffee money or else I'm gonna smack the shit outta you and drag your limp noodle body in front of Aegis. He'll pimp slap you silly until the fuckin' cows come home."

Weirdlock just stood by, watching the two in concern while also eyeing the note. His attention divided, he didn't know if he should take his eyes off the two guild members for fear of a fight breaking out between them.

---

WC: 825/825 (15% reduced)

The eye on Gunter's forehead closes as he looks down at his guild master. A somewhat cheeky, coy smile remains on Gunter's face as he keeps his eyes locked with the slightly pissed off guild master. Only slightly. Never breaking eye contact once. He says somewhat cheekily "You make the rules, boss." He takes the small coin pouch out of his pocket and tosses it at Tomoe. Not hard, just a light toss. He crouches down a bit to Tomoe's exact height while still smiling and making eye contact, and says "So are we done with this dick swinging contest? Can we get paid now? I understand you don't like my methods or me, but this is how I work. If you don't like it, you're more than welcome to kick me the fuck out of the guild."

At this point, Gunter takes a step back and lets Tomoe do what he wants. If he wants to hit Gunter, then he can do that. If he wants to get the job done, he can do that too. He doesn't raise his guard or break eye contact. Simply lets his guild master do what he wants next. Without looking away from Tomoe, he asks Weirdlock what's up with the note. Weirdlock explains that the emblem on the note is used by a yakuza gang. The victims were also yakuza gang members. The dead gang members were known as the White Star, and the ones committing the crime, through the modus operandi revealed within the note that Weirdlock unveiled, were members of the Black Dragons.

After Weirdlock explains that to the two guild members, he runs off abruptly, 10 meters away to a nearby guard. As he leaves, Gunter activates the eye again, keeping its gaze on Weirdlock to see what he's doing. He says something to the guards that's inaudible, but based off of his lips being read through the Eye of Kaom, not once does he mention the note. He kept it in his pocket tightly the entire time.

"Looks like Weirdlock lied to the guards." Gunter stated, relaying the information to Tomoe.

---

Word Count: 1,125/1,000

If this were the old Tomoe, he'd have taken the money and then given the jackass a slugging anyway. However, despite the first embers of a fire starting up in his eyes, he knew that he couldn't strike those weaker than him so seriously. Gunter talked big - and was big - but the crimson cutthroat had already vanquished a titan in the past. The size of the person meant nothing, and it certainly wasn't any kind of thing he'd feel angered towards. Yes, he was shorter. Shorter even than the original body he had. But could he still woo the ladies? Hell yes he could. More than that, to him it just meant there were more areas to slash and carve away at. After receiving the money from the corpses, he released the grip on his sword. In the first place, just by drawing his hand near the handle he already knew that Musashi's blade would not be drawn to strike Gunter - that was all the proof he needed that the man wasn't worth the controversy of a guild master hacking away at a helpless guild mate.

"You're definitely on grounds for gettin' kicked the fuck out, I'll tell ya that much. Penumbral Guard wasn't founded as a haven for psychos and miscreants. I don't care about those things myself, but I won't let you trample on the things Aegis worked to build. That's a vagrant's honor.", Tomoe spoke, not letting Gunter get any more words in until after he was fully done, the ember within his gaze increasing but never flaring to the forefront.

Once Gunter activated the eye, Tomoe stood, staring into it. It was the same as Vali's, that was certain. It was a reminder of how Tomoe had left Fairy Tail to its own devices after his second death. He felt regrets of leaving his comrades behind, the final message that he never knew if it truly reached those he cared for, and the raw anger in Vali's eyes from the last time they met at the Grand Magic Games. In an instant, all of those things flooded into him and his stare pierced through Gunter and beyond for a thousand yards ahead.

He was only brought back to reality afterwards, when Gunter spoke. Weirdlock had withheld info from the guards? That didn't sound right. He was a detective, right? There was no way he'd be able to get away with that and keep his job, unless there was foul play at work.

"That's... certainly suspicious."

Tomoe's brow furrowed, going into thought as he saw Weirdlock in his peripheral vision returning to the two guild mates to hand them their share of the money for the job.

---

WC: 825/825 (15% reduced)

Weirdlock comes over to the two. "I just talked to the guards and told them about the note. They said they'll look into it. From this point, we've done all we can. If they need anything else, they'll contact me and I can tell you guys. The guards recommended I keep my mouth shut about the note. I suggest you guys do the same. They want the element of surprise."

Gunter looks at Tomoe and says "Looks like we're supposed to just shut up and take it. Alright, where's my cut?" Weirdlock hands over the money to both Gunter and Tomoe, assuring them that the money is there in full. Gunter thanks the detective for his time and the money. Then he turns to Tomoe and says "Guess I'll be seeing you around. Reach out to me if you want to. Reach in high places. Maybe we could grab a beer some time." Gunter gives Tomoe a little wave goodbye, and gives the same to Weirdlock. He then makes his way out of the park, and to the nearest bar.

As Gunter is walking away, he realizes due to the eye that Weirdlock's eye is still covering the note, watchful as a hawk. Gunter makes a slight wink to Tomoe, with the third eye pointing directly at Weirdlock's right hand in his pocket. Suspicious, to be sure. With one last coy smile, he fucks off. Gunter's Dardian has been lurking and keeping close, watching the scene play out the whole time. The Dardian stands there, takes a glance at both of the guild mates, and then digs a hole underground. He then pops up next to Gunter, and the pair walk off to the nearest bar.

---

Word Count: 1,412/1,000

Exit

Tomoe receives his share of the money for their time in the investigation. Admittedly, the crimson cutthroat didn't feel as if he'd done much during it. The subtle detective work wasn't his thing, really. More often than not he was better being out in the field, cracking skulls and making widows. Gunter's comments meant nothing to Tomoe, who was more focused on the dual mysteries of the pale giant's eye and the suspicious gang-related murders, both of which were playing out simultaneously. At least one of those mysteries was probably one fight from revealing the truth, but Mr. Jones was an odd man indeed. As he parted ways with his uncouth 'comrade', Tomoe felt uneasy. What was that eye? And why was Weirdlock withholding information? Could it be that the only good detective in the Crimson Quarter was, himself, as crooked as the rest of the brigands within it? This went a lot deeper than a simple murder, that much had become apparent.

For now, though, those things weren't of immediate concern. After Gunter had long departed and Tomoe had gone his separate way from the vile man, a shadow descended from the rooftops above - too far away for anybody to have seen it. A Winged Lemur landed on Tomoe's shoulder, to which he immediately fed it some dried fruits from his bag. "Keep an eye on those guys for a bit, would ya?", Tomoe requested of the small gliding critter, who seemed to acknowledge the man's words just enough after having its fill of snacks.

The lemur was on its way, scaling rooftops and keeping a safe distance as it followed the pair. Tomoe had trained the little guy enough to where he knew that if anything serious came up, it could get away pretty easily. It wasn't menacing or good in a fight, but it was an extra set of eyes that could return to Tomoe whenever he needed to know about something important, and point him in the right direction.

Feeling somewhat bad for Gunter's fuck-ups and how they'd reflect on Penumbral Guard, he went back to the crime scene for a while with Weirdlock's permission and used the magnifying glass as was specified. Finding the fingerprints of Black Dragon members, confirmed by Weirdlock, on the bodies of the White Star members... well, it seemed enough that Gunter's theory as to how the two men died was entirely incorrect.

For now, that was enough. Tomoe would seek out an inn room on the opposite side of town from Gunter, wishing to be free of him for the night.

---

WC: 825/825 (15% reduced)

- EXIT -