Tomoe had seen everything he needed to of North Fiore for the moment. It was brief, but his time there was well-spent, he felt. What at first started as a trip to get away from the responsibilities of his guild - annoying as they were - ended as a worthwhile experience on its own. He experienced many things that he couldn't have if he had stayed home, lazing in his boring master bedroom in the guild hall, tailored to suit his every need. Things like that were boring; what really mattered was the adventures he could get into in the modern age, filled with magic and mystery. As he disembarked on his blinding white Pegasus from one of the peaks of the Sieghart Mountains, he relaxed and loosened his tense shoulders once he felt the cool air crash against him as he took flight.

The flapping of the steed's wings as the pair soared through the skies of Northern Fiore eased Tomoe's mind. Up in the endless blue, the Joyan could look at the world and realize that not much of humanity's struggled mattered, ultimately. There was so much pure land mass to be seen from on high that trying to contain it all the way humans tried so desperately to was futile. Yet that wouldn't stop the world's progress or the arrogant humans that insisted on that progress. The Joyan would still count himself among those humans of course, but simply thought that there could be so much more out there than petty politics and expansion of territories. Inside Tomoe's heart lurked a rebellious side that couldn't break out due to his duties as a 'guild master', but oh how he wished he could let loose sometimes.

That need to let loose is exactly what caused a furrowed brow to cross Tomoe's features as he soared over the capital city of Crocus, having been deep in thought for half the trip already. He brushed a hand through his hair to compose himself mentally, and then unsheathed the sword on his back to gaze into its steel reflection, being used as a makeshift mirror.

What else would he see in his blade's reflection but himself? Granted, it was a face he had only known for a little over a year, but it was still him. His blazing, fiery gaze was staring at itself until he couldn't stand it anymore, and he sheathed his Kusanagi once more. He was relieved that it was 'him', but something in his instincts, his very core, also told him that it was a concern that he wasn't someone else. In his time in North Fiore, in its mountainous mysteries, 'he' had taken multiple contracts to assist some rich dweeb with expediting a mine and finding its more valuable deposits.

Only, it wasn't 'him'. It was Ruby Red, who came to be known as the Bloody Barber among the local laborers of Dawncliff Mine. They were unhappy with her intrusions to inspect the mine's wealth, and thus she cut them down without mercy. Normally one might question the risks behind such things, but for Tomoe, there were no worries and minimal risks. Due to Ormus' Hundred Hoods, a particular and very odd item he had happened across during his time in North Fiore, he could assume virtually anyone's identity merely by activating its magic. People he knew were restricted for whatever reason, but he wouldn't question it. The world worked in mysterious ways, after all.

During his time as Ms. Red, Tomoe had found himself losing his identity. By the time of his third contract in the mines, he had all but lost himself for a length of time he couldn't quite place, a slave to the murderous tendencies of a woman who was supposed to be 'him'. There was a pit in his stomach as he thought about the idea of activating his disguise once more, concerned about the consequences of doing so. He would need to eventually, and he knew this. It was a medium for his inner addictions and fears, feeding them effortlessly and perfectly. He knew he would lose himself again, and the scary thing?

There was a part of him that was looking forward to it. And as he landed in Marigold, that part of him smiled.

---

WC: 700/700 [30% reduction]

- Exit to Marigold -