-Tomo-
The woman, Luna, with the squishy and weak body reminiscent of rice dough closed her eyes and lay upon her bed.
“It’s not going to hurt or anything, right?” She asked.
Before the others could offer her any assurances that would further delay his outing he quickly seized control. He saw no point in answering her question. She needed to learn to adapt to new situations as she would soon be encountering a lot of them. He would not hold her hand.
He snapped open his eyes and almost smiled at all the wonderful sensations he’d been missing. The feeling of a breeze blowing across skin, soft blankets… breathing. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Truly wonderful.
Tomo sat up and was disappointed with exactly how unfit this woman’s body seemed to be. He felt as if he’d bound his limbs with bags of sand and carried a pack of rocks atop his head. Her arms were thin with barely any muscle, her core was weak, and she had the legs of a haron. He sighed in his heart. A lot of work lay ahead of him, starting with her diet. He stood from the bed. It took him a second to get used to walking with the new body but he mastered it quickly and by the time he was heading to the kitchen he moved with more grace than Luna herself had ever been capable of displaying.
“Hey!” yelled Wit’s spirit that floated around her body. The spirit was connected to the body by a thin silver string that extended from their chests, “How could you do that so suddenly! I wasn’t ready!”
“I received permission.” Wit was shocked at the voice that escaped from her bodies lips. It was the same but slightly lower and had an asian accent which didn’t really suit her obviously caucasian face.
“That’s not the point, Tomo!” She said, “I asked a question. You could have at least answered before you took over, it’s jarring and how the hell do I steer this thing!” Luna found herself upside down and spinning in circles.
Tomo didn’t bother to answer her.
“Miss Wit, your spirit body is controlled through your will. You have to consciously picture each movement you wish to make. You no longer have muscles or even a brain to help you. Gravity has no hold on you, walls and doors cannot bar you, and the laws of physics no longer pertain to you.” Brightly’s calm voice gently instructed her.
While she worked on that, Tomo looked through the kitchen. He opened the cupboards and the fridge and became more and more dissatisfied as he searched. She had a lot of unhealthy food. He saw barely any vegetables or fruits. He found a box of doughnuts and some cereal, a jug of milk and several cans of soda. He threw out everything that wasn’t a vegetable, fruit, or grain. He also found some chicken in the freezer which he allowed to stay. Marble the overweight cat gazed from his perch on the windowsill but ultimately decided to ignore the odd behavior of his slave. He waddled elegantly to wherever it is cats go when they're refusing to deal with the stupidity of humans.
“Stop! What are you doing! My doughnuts…” When Wit noticed what he was doing she tried to stop him by floating in front of him and spreading her arms, ready to defend her snacks with her life, but he just continued doing what he was doing as if he couldn’t see her. He even reached through her a few times.
“Unhealthy foods are now prohibited.” He tossed the strawberry jelly she loved into the trash.
“No! Leave my doughnuts alone! And why did you get rid of my strawberry jelly? That’s fruit!”
He paused and looked at her. One of his eyebrows lifted incredulously before he turned back to the fridge. He threw away her ice cream.
“Nooooo!”
When he was done he went back to her room and started looking through her closet.
“What are you doing now?” She asked, her spirit body looking oddly defeated.
“Need black clothes. Something easy to move in.” He pawed around in her clothes and managed to find black leggings and a tight black long sleeved sweater. He also unearthed a pair of black leather gloves Wit thought she’d lost. She didn’t have a black mask but he settled with a dark blue scarf that he wrapped around his lower face. He tied her brown hair in a ponytail and tucked it into the scarf. He also didn’t manage to find any shoes that were to his liking, he would have to go shopping or at least make V do it. The kid had been talking about wanting to try ‘online shopping’ for a while anyway. For now he had to settle for the only type of shoe Wit owned… high heels.
He found the lowest heel he could and strapped the unstable death traps to his feet. Even with his superior balance he only managed a few wobbly laps around Wit’s bedroom before he decided this was a bad idea. There seemed to be something extremely incompatible with the way he walked and the way the shoes needed him to walk and he could not decipher the correct method. Also not only did they clop noisily, they also had zero traction. All around they seemed unsuitable for his line of work. Perhaps he could use them for training though... He removed the shoes and placed them neatly at the foot of Luna’s bed. Instead he decided to just wrap some cloth around his feet.
“Now you’re ripping my sheets. You’re like a silent hurricane Tomo.” Wit watched him but didn’t argue anymore. He obviously wouldn’t listen to her. “Those are egyptian cotton.”
“Where is your plastic card that distributes currency?” Tomo enquired.
“You mean my debit card? It’s in my wallet which should be in my purse. Why?” Wit slowly orbited around Tomo while reclining sideways in the air. She picked up the technique for incorporeal movement remarkably quick.
Tomo dug around in her purse, wondering at the strange and unnecessary items that populated its depths. “There is a fee for using the services of Mystro. It's an organization that acts as a sort of middleman. It is a place where those of my profession gather to request and take jobs without actually joining a particular organization or working for a private party.” He finally located her wallet among a jumble of gum wrappers, pens, and a spilled box of jelly beans. He placed the card next to Wit's computer. He could apply for Mystro online when he got back. He also took her house key which was a hunt in and of itself considering how many keys she had on her keychain. He removed it from the chain and when he left the house he locked the door and slipped the key into his pocket.
“If we’re gonna do illegal stuff we need a burner phone!” piped in V, “and weapons!” he sounded really excited.
“Why would we burn a phone?” Asked Tomo. He didn’t understand. Did people of this era not treasure their communication devices? Dr. Dorothy from V’s time as the host had mentioned as much.
V giggled, “A burner phone is a phone you don’t need to buy a plan for. It’s untraceable. We can use it as a work phone! We should probably get two or three just in case we need to dispose of one. We also need multiple dummy emails and maybe a shell company. Oh! We need-” Tomo tuned him out at this point ignoring Wit who mentioned already owning several shell companies and burner phones. He preferred to leave that complicated stuff to others. He wasn’t planning on accepting jobs yet anyway. Wit’s body needed a lot of work before he would even consider it.
He wandered down the stairs of the apartment complex ignoring mysterious stains and the poorly maintained… everything of the building.
Wit had mentioned she had a lot of money. Tomo wondered why she would tolerate living in such a place. Brightly voiced the question in Tomo’s place.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
“Miss Wit, I believe you mentioned being rich. May I ask why you live in such a place. It can’t be sanitary.”
Wit’s ghostly body looked around at the dilapidated interior. “I guess because I’m more comfortable in places like this. It’s similar to where I grew up you know?” she shrugged, “besides why would I want to live like the people I hate and steal from? I’m not a masochist.”
Tomo understood her feelings somewhat. Long ago, before the appearance of the black ships that brought the foreigners to his land, he’d been an orphan on the streets of Edo. Ever since then he always felt more comfortable in the shadows. It was almost a blessing when he was snatched in his sleep to become a shinobi. He would have been happier with less beatings and punishments though, preferably none at all. Perhaps he wouldn’t have later annihilated the clan that kidnapped him. Maybe.
He leapt past the last couple of stairs and quickly exited the building. He couldn’t help but stare at the night sky. The moon peeked over a building, shining bright enough that it cast faint shadows in the surroundings. A few wispy clouds framed the glowing orb and the stars twinkled like scattered drops of water frozen in time. A cool breeze tousled his hair. He closed his eyes briefly just to enjoy being alive.
He decided to begin his first training session with a few stretches and then a gentle jog around the neighborhood. He could exercise and scout at the same time. It only took him 5 minutes of jogging around a few blocks before he was wheezing and sweat was dripping down his face but he persevered for at least another hour until just before he felt Wit’s body really couldn’t handle it anymore.
“Tomo! Be more careful with my body! You know it’s out of shape. Full on sprinting like that out of the blue can’t be good for me.” spoke an irritated spirit in his left ear as he jogged.
“...That...wheeze...was...wheeze...a gentle...wheeze...jog.” Tomo refused to give up. He would beat this body into shape!
“Bullshit!” She yelled, “For the past 5 minutes you’ve been doing your best impression of an olympic gold medal sprinter and I have to tell you my body is not that qualified! Try impersonating a partially deflated football flopping down a slight incline and that’s more my speed.”
Tomo soldiered on until about 10 minutes later when he found something that peaked his interest. An obstacle course. His master used to make all the apprentices run through courses like this for days on end. They even had pull up bars!
“What are we doing at a playground?” Asked Wit.
“Playground? Is this not a training ground?” Tomo wandered over to the pull up bars and peered warily at the highest one. In his original body this would be an easy activity but now… He glanced at Wit’s noodle like arms that looked like they couldn’t even lift a sword.
“Nope,” said Wit with a chuckle, “this is a children's playground.”
“You mean you do not force your children to run this course until their feet bleed? You do not shoot arrows at them if they fall behind? You do not punish those who come in last?” Tomo removed his black gloves. He tossed them to the ground and jumped to the bar above his head He hung there for a few seconds, waiting to hear Wit’s answer.
“Um...no? It’s not really a course...” The glance she shot him was one of concern, “Is… is that what happened to you?”
“I see.” Tomo didn’t answer her question. He attempted to do a pull up but he couldn’t even do a half of one which was frustrating. He attempted to pull his legs up to the bar so he could hook his toes over and do some upside down hanging curls. His attempt was wildly unsuccessful and he promptly fell on his back. Sit ups, push ups, and weightlifting were silently added to his training regiment.
The normal exercises could be accomplished at Wit’s home but the weightlifting and a few other things he had in mind, required equipment. He added everything he thought he’d need to his mental shopping list. He spent another hour or so attempting to train around the playground, but the only really useful thing appeared to be the pull up bars that he’d already deemed overly ambitious for the moment.
He jogged back towards the apartment building with Wit whispering in his ear telling him to slow down but before he could make it back to the apartment, he was distracted by noises coming from an alley. Tomo recognized the sounds. A woman's voice and several men. The woman sounded highly distressed and the men sounded quite happy. Such situations were not rare in the slums of Edo. Was it strange that he found the similarity comforting?
He stepped into the alley still appreciating the feeling of nostalgia. As he expected he came upon a woman with ripped and disheveled clothes being pinned on the ground by several men with a few more standing around and watching the show. Or perhaps waiting their turn? One kneeled between her legs as he attempted to remove her pants.
“Bastards!” Yelled the posh voice of Brightly, “Scum! Miscreants! Tomo, it is fine to kill them! They are trash! Despicable!”
“If you let me take over, there will be no bodies for the authorities to find.” Whispered Kadee and her voice usually so calming and kind echoed strangely, carrying a mysterious feeling of power that seemed to weigh down on Tomo’s shoulders. Wit seemed to feel it as well. Her spirit body looked somehow paler.
“Kadee.” Said an unusually serious sounding Troy, “reign it back a little.”
The oppressive feeling vanished. “Apologies.” Said Kadee in her normal polite and friendly way. Wit still looked shaken.
“It’s fine. We all feel the same way. Well most of us probably. I’m talking to you Hjordis.” Troy’s usual playful tone had returned.
“Shut your flappin’ lips! I was a Jarl when I lived. I didna’ have ta resort to methods such as tha’!” A gravelly male voice that Wit hadn’t heard yet bellowed out, “Women came from all o’er just to throw their selves at meh.”
While the others were chatting Tomo had continued walking towards the would be rapists. His steps were silent and the shadows seemed to stretch of their own will to cover his approach. He picked up a piece of broken glass from a garbage bin he passed. Normally he wouldn’t need a weapon to deal with this kind of scum and he again lamented the state of Wit’s body.
He snuck behind one of the fellows watching. He was about to grab the man and slit his throat when Wit interrupted him.
“You can’t kill him! I still have to live in this neighborhood you know! What if I get caught? Just call the police!” Her ghostly eyes were wide with fear and she attempted to smack the glass out of his hand. Alas her incorporeal hand passed right through.
Tomo was slightly annoyed that she thought him so amateurish as to leave evidence. He may be ancient but that didn’t mean he didn’t keep up with the capabilities of modern forensic science. He always researched everything that could impact his work. He even learned how to use a gun a few hosts ago. Though he wasn’t as good as Troy when it came to such things. He still preferred bladed weapons and bows.
Tomo decided to acquiesce to Wit’s wish. If only to preserve her mental stability. He knew the first kill was difficult to stomach for most people. He knelt and placed the glass gently on the ground. Then he leapt up and placed his hand over the mouth of the man in front of him. He attempted to pull the man backwards so his struggles wouldn’t alert his friends. Unfortunately Tomo was weak, he was unable to completely suppress the man. The man managed to make enough noise that the others noticed. Tomo clicked his teeth in irritation. This wouldn’t have happened if he’d killed the man. It was too late now though. He’s already stepped aboard the ship so he might as well sail it.
“You’re still going to fight?! Did you forget what kind of body you’re using? And the fact that it doesn’t actually belong to you? Ack!” Wit clutched at her hair.
Tomo ignored her. He pulled the man backwards keeping him off balance, then stomped the heel of his foot into the back of his knee and chopped him at the base of the skull. The man went slack and passed out. The others watched their friend crumple then gazed stupidly at Tomo.
“Hey, that lady just knocked out Manny.” Spoke the man holding onto the woman’s arms. The woman was still crying and struggling but the men weren’t really paying much attention to her at the moment.
“She’s pretty. Lets do her instead.” Said one of the stupider ones. They smiled and leered disgustingly. “Hey girl. We’ll forgive you for what you did to Manny if you get over here and entertain us.”
Tomo felt revulsion ripple through every bit of his soul. This was one of the things he disliked about using a female body. Especially a pretty female body. He barfed in his mouth a little but didn't let his utter disgust show on his face as he began to walk towards the group. The men smiled thinking Tomo was accepting their disgusting proposition. So the man kneeling over the woman didn’t expect it when Tomo lashed out with his foot. Tomo landed a solid kick straight to the man’s family jewels. He collapsed and curled up like a shrimp with the face of someone who just drank lemon juice. It was pretty much an invitation to get his head stomped on. An invitation Tomo kindly accepted.
“Next.” Said Tomo quietly with his foot still resting atop the cranium of the fallen idiot.
He rammed his foot against the man’s skull and surged forward as if being pushed by some invisible force straight towards his next victim. He took the next one down with a simple punch to the nose. The other men went down just as easily. They were standing around too shocked at seeing a barely 5’4”, doughy little woman walloping their friends, to even attempt to fight back. The fact that they were all pretty smashed didn’t help them. It was actually rather anticlimactic.
Tomo glanced at the woman. She was sitting up now, clutching her ripped shirt to her chest and staring wide eyed at him. He checked his scarf and was relieved to find it still in place, obscuring half his face.
Tomo didn’t go to help her. Instead he rifled through the pockets of the drunk men. He found that one had a wicked looking curved pocket knife and another had a strange detachable hood that had a built in face mask. If he was capable of making facial expressions he would have smirked. How perfectly convenient as he just so happened to need an actual mask. He confiscated both.
“Call the police.” Tomo told the woman before he turned around and left the alley.
“Th-thank y-you.” Stuttered the woman as she scanned the ground around her. Probably looking for her cell phone.
Tomo arrived quickly to Wit’s apartment. It was very late and the body still needed to rest.
“That wasn’t so bad.” spoke Wit from somewhere over his head. “You managed to train for the olympic 100 meter dash and also save a girl from a pile of scumbags all in one night.”
“Just wait until I get out!” Said Troy, “Then we’ll really have some fun.” He cackled, “and how does it feel Hjordis to see Tomo kicking the snot out of your brethren?”
“$#8&# *^@!#* #%22 @*@*( 6*(@*&9#*62 @^820$&$(#*)(@!!” Hjordis responded angrily in his own language. He called it Danish. Tomo had never bothered to learn as it had nothing to do with his work but Kadee, Brightly, Ivan and Troy had.
“Enough teasing Troy. You know as well as I that Hjordis was quite a gentleman when he was alive.” spoke Kadee, “Well as much a gentleman as a viking could be. He was at the very least not a rapist.”
Tomo arrived at the apartment door and removed the key from his pocket. He entered and relocked the door behind him. The apartment was just as they’d left it. Tomo stripped as he walked toward the bedroom. He vaguely heard Wit complaining but he ignored her. He was very tired after the night's activities and he found it difficult to sleep with clothes on. When he reached her bed in nothing but underwear he dived under the inviting covers and wrapped himself in the blanket until he resembled a caterpillar. His eyes drifted shut and he experienced sleep for the first time in years.
Unfortunately as soon as he fell asleep his soul popped right out of Wit's body. He found himself awake and once again stuck in the never ending blackness of the diamond.
Ah! I forgot to apply to mystro...