Tomoe's thief trio tailed him as he walked the crime-infested area of Crocus. Many wouldn't know Crocus even had one, the propaganda of the government keeping tourists and guests away from the gaze of such unsightly things. Even locals didn't speak of the criminal underbelly of the capital city often due to the damage it does to publicity and the morality of Fiore as a whole. For a crew of Tomoe's mentality and aspirations, though, there was not a care in the world of anything relating to morality. The group took what they want, and didn't pause for a single second to think of the consequences of their thievery. For better or worse, that could serve to either raise their success to new heights or become their downfall.

"Hey. Bozos. You guys ready to show me what you got?", the Joyan finally spoke up after a long walk in silence, pointing ahead down the road at a man who looked to be working class.

With a limp and a prayer, the man seemed down on his luck and in pain. To any upstanding citizen this would be an opportunity to assist the man and tend to his injuries or help him get home. As shameless crooks, however, this was not the case for the group present to surround the newly declared victim.

Like sharks, the three criminals encircled and bound the man within seconds while Tomoe watched with approval. The knife wielder among them fetched the injured man's wallet, holding it high with pride as the trio cheered.

"We did it, boss!", the knife thug proclaimed in victory, grasping the wallet tight.

"Yeah, yeah, you guys did good. Alright, let's open it up and split the profits.", Tomoe responded with praise in an approving tone, clapping his hands and gesturing the group back to him with a smile.

However, it was not as the Joyan expected. Instead, the wallet holder shook his head with a rebellious and mischievous smile and began dashing in the opposite direction. Tomoe's expression changed to surprise followed by anger, realizing that perhaps he had given his underlings too much guidance in the life of a criminal.

Immediately Tomoe dashed after the defiant mook, but was stopped at knife-point by the other two. His eyes darted to each of them with their satisfied and grimy smiles, and his features narrowed.

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"What do you shits think you're doin'?", Tomoe spoke with a commanding tone, allowing his frustration to show plainly on his face.

The underlings shared a glance and chuckled to each other, keeping their knives firmly focused on Tomoe. They then turned to look at their former mentor and the one on the left brought forth a cocky expression as he began to talk.

"What do ye think? Ol' Shank got fed up with yer attitude 'n yer bullshit.", the leftmost thug spoke, revealing the full extent of his slums accent and crude vernacular.

"Big money. We make big money without boss. Shank smart.", the bumbling crook on the right blurted out, displaying a jagged smirk with many blackened and missing teeth and allowing the stitched scar over his left cheek to stretch.

Tomoe sighed audibly, letting his built-up stress out to make way for a calm and collected beating to be unleashed on his traitorous underlings in the next few moments. He stared into the eyes of his mooks, peering into their souls with the gaze of a murderer. Knowing the effect that this would have on inexperienced combatants, the Joyan warrior noticed the brief moment of fear and hesitation in the thugs threatening his life, their blades faltering and shaking ever so slightly. Going off of muscle memory and pure instinct, Tomoe dashed away in the brief moment of shakiness and quickly rushed back in with his sword drawn.

The slashes of their rusted knives hit empty air, witnessing merely a wind phantom of seconds ago. In a whirlwind of red and silver, the pair of careless thugs were on their knees within seconds and bleeding from their midsections. The Joyan phantom ensured their wounds weren't fatal, but the pain of the strike was only matched by the shock from hearing loss. The hapless duo collapsed to the floor, as passive as newborns.

"Amateurs. I'll deal with the both of you later.", Tomoe muttered under his breath.

The Joyan sheathed his weapon and began dashing after the last of the dogs who would dare betray him.

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A blur of red and black rushed further through the Crocus districts, zooming with intent city block after city block. Anybody perceptive enough to catch the blur's features would see a man with a look of blood lust across his face. He would push past and shove any civilians in the way, occasionally stopping to collect the valuables of any more well-off looking bystanders. There was a hunt ongoing, and the prey he chased after was shining indeed. It wasn't even about the money anymore, but just the pure satisfaction of hunting harmless prey that thought themselves better than their predator. Rather than seeking out the treasure that was originally sought, the blur merely desired the comeuppance of a rotten thief. Hypocrisy didn't cross his mind for even a moment, for there should be honor among thieves.

The blur stopped upon catching sight of his target mere meters ahead of him. Stopping, the red wind once more became Tomoe Tanaka.

"Hey! Asshole!", Tomoe called out, the tips of his fingers already gracing the handle of the sheathed sword at his side.

The thief who pilfered from a thief, known as Shank, turned around in surprise to reveal that he was sweating profusely. The Joyan assassin gave no time for the poor fool to even respond, deciding that the most fitting death for a mongrel such as he would be to grant him a death he wouldn't be able to comprehend.

"For the trouble you caused me, your king sentences you to death."

A flicker of lightning. A trail of lethality. Killing intent personified. After delivering a single slash at air in front of him, the Joyan's eyes danced with glee. A horizontal arc of electricity shot forth towards the scoundrel, giving him no time to react at such close range. When the arc hit, at first there was no pain. Seconds later, the man's arms and legs became littered with cuts. Bleeding from many wounds, he had fallen unconscious before Tomoe had even finished walking over to him. As simply as swatting a mosquito, the vengeful mentor stuck his sword through Shank's neck and retracted in a single, swift motion.

"It's just business. You understand, yeah?", Tomoe spoke to the man's corpse, spitting on him after taking the stolen wallet.

Pocketing the valuables he collected, the satisfied swordsman smiled. His anger had been tamed, claiming what was rightfully his while simultaneously having two remaining underlings to force work upon. His hand was forced, and he would not allow it to be again. Thoughts circulated in his mind as he strolled back towards his remaining companions, thinking about the ways that he would need to discipline them into obeying his commands from now on. There would be no pleasure in the pain he would be forced to inflict, but it was necessary to increase his funds.

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Spells used:

[Exit]

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