“Fuck.”

Were the words that came from the unmasked Shura as he sat up in the bed. For once he actually managed to get some form of sleep. A deep sleep with a pleasant dream that was not clouded by the nightmares of days passed. It was rather early in the day, six in the morning to be exact. The light of the day could not be turned off but the obnoxious ringing of the alarm could be. With a quick tap of the lacrima it turned off. He stood up from his bed and made his way into the bathroom. He reached into the shower and turned the nozzle, the sounds of water rushing through the pipes could be heard as he removed his hand. He turned it clockwise so the arrow on the knob could face the heated sided. From there he removed his hand and proceeded to complete his morning routine. Minty flavored toothpaste laid itself across his toothbrush that was held up to his face. The noises of teeth brushing were drowned out by the sounds of the shower hitting the porcelain tub. The water did not take long to heat up, creating a soothing steam that fogged the mirror that reflected Shura’s face.

A face that had seen many horrid things and the darkness of this world. He spit out the foam created by brushing the plaque off into the sink. He did not care to rinse his mouth out with normal water. Instead he removed a bottle of mouthwash from under the sink and quickly removed the top. He swished the water around for a moment. Whilst doing this he removed his lower garments because only weirdos slept in full clothing. Not to mention it was on the back end of summer so it was still rather hot. His airconditioning had been out for a day. Thankfully he had a fan that kept him somewhat cool while sleeping on top of his bedding.

He wiped his hand across it to finish up looking in the mirror at himself. Reflecting on his past, present and future deeds too come. Today one of those deeds would solidify itself into his life. Today was the day he was a Rune knight. It was only for a day. He was actually quite curious about the day and life of a law enforcer. Then again he believed one did not need a title to enforce the law just a sense of justice and some strength to back it up. Also maybe a little bit of tenacity sprinkled on top. Shura did not have to wear a uniform, just the usual attire, but he had to make sure to hold up the law for the moment. Seems the knights were short handed around Hargeon.

Shura climbed into the shower and cleaned himself quickly. He was already behind the clock and needed to report to his commanding officer for the day. He wasn’t going to complain because it was a nice fat paycheck.

502/2000

Exiting the shower, he quickly dried himself off looking at the clock. The sands of time shifted faster than he wanted it too. This is what happens when one drifts off in thought too often. Time was not going to stop for anyone who did not have the power to command it too stop. Water dripped off his body as he rummaged through the clean laundry he neglected to fold. See the thing is everyone thought that mages lived these high octane lives and avoided the mundane things of day to day living. That was far from the truth, mages were still mortal. They were just extraordinary humans with the ability to evolve past human limitations. It only took a few minutes for Shura to get ready after he completed his morning routine. Thankfully he was not a female so he did not take hours to get ready. A man's task for the morning was extremely simple in comparison.

After clothing himself he grabbed the thing that made him stand out in the crowd. The mask, something that kept his identity hidden from the world but created a certain allure to him. A shroud that left those wondering who the man was behind the mask. This was something that he was going to reveal in due time. So the world can put a face to the one who will change everything. For the moment, he was doing remedial work. Then again everyone has to start somewhere, no one was born into greatness. Even those born of an elevated status had to build themselves up. They just had a head start. Before opening the door he took a deep breath as he always does. Getting into character and creating the mindset that the mask comes with while placing it on. Stepping out of his apartment the sun greeted him with its powerful rays. Things seemed to be going along as they usually do. Nothing amiss and no one really doing anything out of the ordinary. The folks that lived around the area had become accustomed to Shura and started to accept who he was.

He kept to himself and he wasn’t a public enemy. Left during the day to work and came back at night to retire to the confines of his apartment. A solitary life that most adults function in. As long as he was not causing trouble right?

Shura was to head over to the docks to patrol. It took roughly twenty minutes, a bit longer than it usually did to make it to the docks. It was because he took his time getting there. Sure enough things seemed to pick up quickly. Before making it to the docks he ran into a small knight. The kid’s name was Collin Simmers.

The kid was frantically running to Rune Knight headquarters not paying attention. He bumped into a hard surface, and fell to the ground. This hard surface was not an inanimate object. It was Shura. He fell to the ground making a grunt in pain. “Ouch.”

“Are you okay?” Shura asked while reaching out a hand.

1019/2000

The lad rubbed the front of his head while closing his eyes. “Ya I think so.” He grabbed Shura’s hand and hoisted himself up with the large male’s help. Standing back to his feet he dusted himself off. “I am in a hurry the person that was supposed to cover me is late.” Collin explained.
Shura chuckled for a moment. “What’s so funny, work needs to be done and some bum is taking his sweet time.”

Shura looked deep into the lad’s eyes after speaking. “That bum is me. I apologize for my tardiness. My alarm clock decided to be delayed today.” Shura explained. The boy’s face reflected that of relief and anger at the same time. Shura shrugged before speaking again. “My bad I am here now, what seems to be the problem here?”

Collin catches his breath and dusts himself off before speaking again. “Well at least you are here. Look I need to report back to base and you are  supposed to cover me for the day. Patrol the docks for me and deal with any minor things you can. Any major things, call for backup. Whatever you do please do not get into something that you can’t get out of.”

Shura raised an eyebrow behind his mask, as he knew that there was no real trouble going on. Well the thing was he was the one who caused a lot of the trouble at the docks recently. Of course Collin’s was not aware of it due to a lot of the deeds taking place at night.

Then again activity has been picking up as of late due to the recent events. Mages were beginning to move on both sides of the spectrum. Those who abided by the laws of morality found themselves getting ready to face off once more. It was going to be quite the spectacle for those looking in. Shura decided it would be best to stay out of cross guild conflicts for the moment. He was not ready to expose himself to the world. So for the moment he was going to keep to himself and sit on the sidelines. All while gaining the strength he needed to stand against the superpowers of fiore. It would have been a foolish notion to contend with the big dogs without the proper tools.

For the moment Shura was gonna just play Rune Knight for a day. “Understood, no acts of heroism. This should be a piece of cake right?”

Of course Shura was lying through his teeth. He was not one to just sit idly by if something was happening. Good or bad he was going to take action if there was a paycheck attached to it. Collin nodded in response, hopping Shura was going to follow orders. Then again with no guild attachment he was not aware of what code Shura lived by. “Alright then, I will take my leave and will return at the end of your shift.”

“Understood.” Shura replied. After saying their goodbyes the two went their separate ways too take care of their respective tasks.

1534/2000

Shura’s mission took place on the streets near the docks. A area that he is rather familiar with due to jobs he took apart of before hand. It was later in the afternoon and things seemed on the quiet side. Shura walked around with both arms tucked behind his back. Just carrying on like he would any other day. This day was not to be any different. Even if he did run into any trouble he was rather confident that he was going to be able to take care of it. Shura walked past a few buildings, the alleyways were shrouded in darkness. The perfect place for shady dealings. Shura stopped for a moment seeing two individuals in the alleyway. He squinted his eyes, he knew one of them. One was a man he worked for on a regular basis. It was Reagan Hullston, a known broker for the underbelly of Hargeon. Shura already set his eyes on the individual who was not Reagan.

There was a exchange of goods between the two. A small sack of white powder tightly wrapped in saran wrap. No doubt it was illegal substance. In most cases he would have not cared. People indulged in such things too escape reality. Getting drunk, high and such to get through the day. A sign of weakness for those not willing to face the life that was dealt to them.

“Hey!” Shura’s voice echoed through the alley way, the sounds bouncing back and forth between the walls. The two shocked, not really seeing who was standing in the alleyway. They both booked of course, splitting up too make sure only one of them got caught. This was the smart thing to do. Shura took off like a bullet down the hallway, covering as much ground as possible. He hit the crossroads of the alley, the stranger went left and Reagan went right.

Shura went after left after the stranger who had the goods in hand. “Stop!” he yelled chasing the man down the alley. He had a bit of a head start that did not do him any good. Shura grabbed the top off a silver trash can for reasons. Reasons that were going to serve him for catching this man. The man was roughly seven meters in front of Shura. “You are only gonna make this worse on yourself!” he yelled while running. The man did not stop of course. Shura came to a sliding halt, clenching edge of the lid. He slung it with his arm to launch it horizontally like a shield. The lid screamed through the air and headed for the back of the man's head.

It connected making a loud ‘thunk’ sound. The man fell out of the alleyway and onto the ground on the sidewalk. Shura put all of his weight on the man laying on his stomach. “Now you will give me the drugs and tell me who the man was you were dealing with.”

“Alright alright! I will talk, just please don’t kill me. It’s in my back pocket. The man is Reagan Hullston.”

“Good Boy.”

Shura removed the drugs and stood up. “Don’t worry I won’t turn you in. It’s nothing personal, I just need to get paid.” The man said nothing and ran off in the other direction. Shura went to meet up with Collin and told him what conspired. He kept the drugs, lying to Collin about them. He was going to resell them on the street. Collin would be none the wiser.

2121/2000