Heated Misunderstandings(job)

It was decently cool in the room that Tomura slept in and called his own. Then again, his body temperature was slightly cooler than the average person- it was one of the many perks of his frozen heart magic, which kind of transformed him into an iceman. However, even his naturally colder body wouldn't completely save him from the blazing heat of the summer sun. As a new member of the West Fiorie Trading company, Tomura decided to wake up early and started his day. Tomura first manner of business was to place on his workout clothes and work out in the gym- for about thirty minutes to an honor, which would then be followed by a shower. When he was done with the shower, Tomura would then dry off and place on his uniform or work outfit. Today, Tomura wore a white suit, with an arctic blue button-up shirt, alongside a white tie, and a pair of black combat boots. He completed his outfit by wearing a long white overcoat, with a fur collar, over his shoulders. When he was dressed, Tomura would brush his teeth and make his to the mess hall to find something to eat. Not really liking breakfast foods or meat first thing in the morning, Tomura decided to be a bit unhealthy and have a nice bowl of vanilla-flavored ice-cream, when he was done, he brushed his teeth again.  With his morning retinue done and over with, Tomura was free to do whatever he wanted. Well, that was almost true, as a new member of the West Fiorie Trading company there was sure to be work. He firmly believed that he wouldn’t be much help, at least at this moment in time. Tomura hated to admit that he wasn’t as powerful as some of the other guild members, and well from that small observation, Tomura noticed two things that he needed to do. First, he needed to become strong, which could easily be done with more training. Secondly, he needed to make more connections around the guild, which could be done by being more sociable.

A great way to solve both problems would be by finding a mentor, someone who he could learn from and become stronger, while at the same time forming connections with. It would be even better if this mentor had a lot of connections that Tomura could potentially 'inherit'. The question that Tomura had to ask himself was, who would want to mentor him. The best way to discover a mentor, or so Tomura thought, would simply be by exploring and observing the area. He started by getting more acquainted with the guildhall and chatted with some of the receptionist. Tomura asked them about the area, any interesting locations to checkout, and then ended the conversation with a ‘thank you’.  He found the conversation with the receptionist to be rather basic and boring, but it was a start at making connections with people in the guild. The guilds reputation was one of the main reasons why he joined the Company, their status as a business intrigued Tomura. Other guilds seemed to be too informal, strict or hypocritical for Tomura's taste- that and he couldn't see himself agreeing with their goals and aspirations. The West Fiore Trading Company was a guild that Tomura could get behind, from what Tomura could tell they weren't radical in their beliefs, unlike the legal or dark guilds. As he went outside, Tomura immediately felt the blazing sun beat down on his pale skin. He cursed the summer heat, which caused him to break out in a cold sweat and made his way to the market. Despite the blistering heat, Tomura realized that making connections with the merchants would be very useful. Merchant were people with goods and money- two things that could benefit Tomura. While he was attempting to make connections with the merchants, Tomura couldn’t help but notice a pale man speaking fondly with the merchants and being handed free stuff. This man was essentially what Tomura wanted to become, and after further observation, he noticed that they were in the same guild.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead a smirk formed across Tomura’s handsome face. If he could convince this man to become his mentor, then he could potentially adopt his connections. Tomura decided to take a leap of faith and follow this man to the docks, which could have been an unwise decision, but he was itching to learn who this person was. It was obvious that this man held many connections within Tolgalen and if this stranger could train him, well that should get him far into the guild. Tomura followed the stranger and realized that he was completely human. After watching him for a while, Tomura decided to initiate conversation. As the stranger was cooling himself off by sliding a cold melon on the back of his neck, Tomura approached him. 
“I am glad to see that I am not the only one suffering in this horrible heat” He paused for a moment, “Did you steal that stuff?”

WC: 849

The ice mage stared down onto the stranger with a gentle smile and an emotionless gaze. The stranger was right about thieves, however, Tomura didn’t believe that the other man was a thief. No, Tomura accused him in order to directly address his relationship with the merchants. That and he was testing the stranger’s temper and getting a feel for his personality. The stranger seemed to be a patient and decent man, at least those are the vibes that Tomura got from his smile. “Your right, accusing a thief of being a thief would start conflict and seeing that you are still here, you must not be a thief” Tomura nodded his head in agreement and stuck his hands into his pant’s pocket, and took a long deep breath. The moisture in his breath was condensed into tiny droplets of water, and it appeared as a misty cloud. “I guess I should apologize then, for accusing you of something that you are not. Yes?”  he honestly didn’t like how this stranger was teaching him about the nature of thieves. When he was younger, he had a grown-up in the slums of a bad town, where everyone was poor. He knew how thieves acted; he didn’t need to be educated on the nature of thieves. However, Tomura didn’t allow his annoyances to get the best of him and he remained calm without his frustration. “Sometimes people start conversations with an accusation, to get an understanding of someone’s nature and temper.” It was now time for Tomura to teach the stranger about social manipulation. “If I truly thought of you as a thief, would I have wasted my time with words? I would have simply frozen you and got it done and over with” he pointed out and continue his gentle smile, he yawned and wave the conversation aside. 

Tomura decided that he would move onto the other conversation at hand, he shifted his gaze onto the sea and the horizon. “Summer is without a doubt the worst time of the year, at least for me.” He paused for a moment and cast a curious gaze onto the stranger. It was obvious that this mysterious man was not human, you didn’t have to be a super genius to understand that. Tomura wondered what the stranger meant by ‘being a mix of things that existed in far cold weather’ What exactly was he? That would be a question Tomura would ask later when he has gotten to know the stranger better. Until then it would be utterly rude to ask him what he was exactly, and Tomura would never sink himself to such levels. “Like you, I prefer the cold temperatures, then again, my body is naturally colder than most people, seeing that I can transform my body into ice at will. I guess you can call me an ‘iceman’.” He said thoughtfully and casually shrugged his shoulders. Tomura was quietly surprised that the stranger, known as Haraka, had offered him some food and a chance to get to know one another. “My name is Tomura Momochi, it is nice to meet you Haraka Omaras, very well a cool place sounds nice. Where and what do you have in mind?” Tomura asked softly, he wasn’t really worried about this safety. Mostly, because they were part of the same guild and he doubted any guild members would harm one another. Then again he could be wrong, but whatever the case, Tomura was willing to take the risk. He offered Haraka a hand, to help him get up. “After you, sir” 


WC: 597
Total WC: 1,446

Tomura had no doubt ruined his first impression with Haraka, and for that he was somewhat disappointed in himself, he had assumed that his manipulation tactics would get him answers. While his manipulation tactic did get him some answers, it came at the cost of surrounding incredibly rude. Rudeness was particularly ugly to him, due to the fact, that he was raised in a household where respect was a virtue. His mother would often punish him by backing handing him if he was being to rude to her or another person, but that of course, was behind closed doors, in public she would’ve just yelled at him. Haraka seemed to be a bit wiser and more mature than what he looked. Tomura was a little surprised that the stranger did not yell at him and act irrationally when he was accused of being a thief, the ice mage completely expected Haraka to act irrationally and lash out at him simply because he looked younger. Though, he must admit that Haraka’s maturity was somewhat refreshing and pleasurable. Tomura had always been someone who valued maturity, manners, and common sense more than anything. When he was younger, he did not get along with other kids his age, and that was mainly because he was much more mature than them. Tomura literally had to act like an actor in a play to appear social and normal to his teachers and other adults. “I guess what I was trying to do was check your temperament, and seeing that you did not lash out at me I suppose that I am safe that my misjudgment did not backfire? Or else you would have clocked me out by now. But nonetheless, the introduction was a rude and I suppose or well more accurately I know that I should apologize to you. But I must point out that if my accusation did trigger some sort of dark and unforgiven memory, it would have given me insight to the persons stability. Regardless of if it was traumatic or not, it still plays into the persons stability.”

It was impressive that Haraka spoke to him with a similar calmness to that of his own demeanor. He still quietly disagreed with what Haraka had to say about how people reacted wasn’t entirely due to personality, and that it was sometimes a reflection of how the world treated them. However, what Tomura thought Haraka neglected to see was that your personality was shaped by a combination of both someone’s biological nature and the outside world. It matters not if the event was traumatic or their past was horrible, it still was a part of who they were, it still shaped their personality. For instance, Tomura values respect and manners, two values that was instilled in him at a young age. If his family was not to place such importance on respect and manners, then Tomura would not have valued those traits so much. His home environment shaped his personality. Granted, valuing respect and manners could not sum up Tomura’s entire personality, however, it was a major aspect of who he was and could give insights to his personality. But Tomura did not feel like explaining his reasons any further, and therefore he decided to let the conversation die, mostly due to apathy and curiosity as to what would come. Such as moving to a place that would be much cooler, which would also allow him to get to know the other a little more.

An eyebrow was raised when Haraka reveled a refreshing cool object from behind his neck and held it out enough so that it could be visible. He was confused as to what Haraka meant by ‘an example of that would be something like this drink’, and Tomura held a confusion expression to match what he didn’t understand. “I am afraid that I do not follow what you mean by that Haraka.” He would comment and examine the object that Haraka had in his hand to the best of his ability. Though something told Tomura that the other male wanted to get on the move, and that he would explain everything once they get into a more private and secure area, which was understandable. Speaking about sensitive or potentially sensitive information in public was not the smartest of ideas.  “Of course, speaking about sensitive information would be illogical wouldn’t you agree? Or am I mistaking your intentions?” he questioned. “This should be interesting; I look forward to seeing what surprise you are fixing to conjure, but please lead the way." Tomura would move out of Haraka’s way so that he could lead to wherever he wanted to go. Honestly, it was probably stupid that he was following a random stranger, but he reasoned that being in the same guild would offer them some room for trust. “It does not take mystical nonsense to understand that each season has their purpose within the world, please forgive me if that sounded harsher than intended. But your uncle is right about the seasons having their own purpose, and a disruption in those seasons can cause catastrophic problems.” 

“From one person to another, I guess the view is different.” Tomura would state waving the comment about the seasons aside with apathy and carelessness. For the most part, Tomura could care less about the mystical aspect of things, and only how much things were useful to him. Unfortunately, that caused him to be blind by unseen forces such as a fate and destiny and other things that toyed with mortals. He paused for a moment when Haraka spoke about his ice magic, Tomura shrugged softly. “I don’t know to be honest, I had this ability as far as I can remember.” 

WC: 959
Total WC: 2,405

Tomura was honestly used to people acting out with either physical or emotional violence. In the area that he grew up, violence with the solution to nearly every interaction and problem. Those who could not defend themselves were deemed weak and pathetic, and they were trampled and stomped on like rodents or lions amidst a field of rampaging water buffalo. Power, power was everything. Without power you were no better than a common bug that one my come across while outside. Tomura’s father made sure that he understood the importance of power within their society, and his father made sure that Tomura understood who possessed all the power within his household. Any form of competition was swiftly dealt with, even simple gestures of kindness were put down in favor for aggression. To him, short instances told him everything that he needed to know about a person and their temperament. From that instance with Haraka he learned that the other male was calm and collected, not prone to anger, as it would seem. For now, that was the only thing he needed to know, at least at this moment in time. More information would be gathered later down the line, patients bestows benefits. “In some situations, short instances combine with short interactions, are all that one really needs.” He folded his arms over his chest and cocked an eyebrow at the other’s comment. “Are you sure that its instability?” he smiled softly and shook his head. “You know yourself better than anyone, forgive me, I should not have question that fact when asking that question.” He apologized and dipped his head in respect. “When people catch my attention and interest, I must admit that I have a bad habit of getting too excited and forgoing all pleasantries needed within a decent society of manners and gentlemen.” His parents would no doubt be disappointed out his behavior when speaking to this new person. Oh well, their opinion did not matter to him anymore, they were no longer in the picture.

Tomura was honestly apathetic towards the concepts such as honor and morality, they were beneath him and prevented taking necessary actions to achieve success. In his controversial opinion, there was no such thing as good and right, but there was certainly evil in the world. But even then, thing that were considered evil could be justified in certain situations. But he believed that there were some acts which could be inherently evil and could not be justified no matter how hard one would try. Now, what is good is too subjective to be real, or well that is at least how Tomura saw it. Usually, in his experience at least, every good action was born out of a selfish desire, either consciously or unconsciously. Furthermore, what is good could be evil to others, heh, the irony. Instead of believing in good and evil or right and wrong, Tomura liked to believe in what is justifiable and evil or what is grey and evil. Or as his father would say, there is no good or evil, only power and those too weak to seek it. But he was unlike his father in many different ways. For one, Tomura understood that there was power in connections, whereas, his father was to prideful to seek the aid of others. Tomura recognized that his power was not absolute, and that there were somethings that he simply could not do. Therefore, it was his priority to not only grow and expand in personal power, but also through connections with other people, and Tomura would start with Haraka. Haraka was his first target, to befriend him, that was his main goal at this moment in time.  

Tomura followed his new acquaintance out of the docks and away from the merchants, away from the bustle of the city, and near the quietness of the wilderness. They suddenly stopped, and Haraka opened up that large bag of his and started to pull stuff out of it. Curious Tomura thought to himself. Haraka had set a glass table with what looks like a wild poppy field painted into it. Haraka then took out some metal cylinders, alongside some oils and fats, and fuel- it was then that Tomura realized that Haraka was fixing to cook them a meal. Tomura took a seat down onto the ground and folded his legs over one another in the crisscross apple sauce manner, he was tempted to interrupt Haraka and deny any food. But interrupting someone who is cooking would be rude and denying food from someone else with a reason is even more rude. Therefore, Tomura decided to simply sit down quietly and watched the young male intently. Then the other male started to explain himself and the reason why the merchants gave him those food. Haraka explained that the snacks and drinks handed to him by the merchants, was so that he can taste test them and then give them feed back on the food. That only confirm that this male was well-connected and well-liked within this small little island. It gave Tomura even more reason to admire and desire his friendship and companionship, or at least for the other to owe him a favor or two. “I see, so you have an arrangement with these people. They would need to trust and respect you a lot in order for them to agree to such an arrangement, wouldn’t they?” He paused for a moment, and folded his arms over his chest. "I guess that is the downfall of being a newbie, people don't trust you as much, though Yona-chan believes that I am deserving of their trust." A vicious smirk would form across his face as he remembered that little test, she gave him. Admittedly, he was both angry and frustrated that strangers had saw him in such a vulnerable state, but there was nothing he could do about that, at least at this moment in time. He also didn't know if he should do something about that little situation, for now, he would allow it to pass; since that moment of weakness allowed him to join the guild.  "May I ask what you are cooking?"

WC: 1,033
Total WC: 3,438

about his age, Tomura tilted his head curiously in reply and watched him intently. Haraka laughed as he finished grinding the rice flower before adding it to the white root. A kid.  How could Haraka call him a kid? Tomura was pretty sure that Haraka looked younger than him, or at least he thought so. The other guild mage must have some excellent youth genes, or he was more than meets the eye. If he did not care so much about manners and respect, Tomura would have asked Haraka for his exact age. But he was taught to never ask anyone how old they are unless necessary or in a formal manner, such as paperwork, and other things that required the person to give out their age. “Your age?” He would question, as the doctor held sticky and wet dough in his hands, “People are complicated to a certain extent, but I guess we must simply agree to disagree, eh? Does that sound reasonable?” Tomura offered, it was a little obvious by the tone of his voice that he was tired and bored of this conversation. It seems that the doctor was skilled a cooking rice, as shown by his care as he handled it. Tomura honestly could not handle cooking, he simply didn’t have the patience or time to learn how to cook. One day, maybe, when his legacy was made and his name has been engraved in history; maybe he would settle down somewhere nice and learn how to cook, but not right now, not right now. For the most part, it sounded like this entire conversation basically consisted of Haraka telling him that he was young and arrogant, without exactly saying those words directly to his face. Tomura had not moved from his location on the ground and curiously watched Haraka like a viper.

Honestly, for the most part, people were nothing more than puppets for Tomura to pull at their strings. Those that resisted his puppetry interested Tomura, and he occasionally admired and feared those few individuals; they were the only people that Tomura actually considered people. “Are they truly the workings of something that is different from business? Haraka?” he mused coldly. “Socialization is an evolutionary trait for survival, that is all, nothing more and nothing less. Everything is business. All of our relationships are made to survive, to benefit one another, that is it.” He sighed in a dramatic and even depressive manner, the path of a predator or puppet master was truly a lonely one. Haraka moved onto another step before he focused his attention to other things that needed to be prepared. Tomura couldn’t pull Haraka’s strings as easily as he liked, and for some reason, he liked that. It provided him with a challenge, someone to keep him on his toes, perhaps someone who could understand him. Or maybe, Haraka could help Tomura see things a bit differently, one that would lead him to something great. Perhaps, Haraka is the key to creating his legacy, the key to being remembered. The newly made intern ran a hand through his dark green hair, before resting his cheek in the palm of his hand. Tomura made connections with other people because he knows that currently, he does not possess the power to survive on his own without the power and help of other significant people. Hopefully, that would change. No, Tomura knew that, that would change, it would just take time- something he had plenty of.

“Huh?” Tomura would mutter as Haraka mentioned something about being trustworthy. A low chuckle escaped his lips, and he shook his head in a mixture of disagreement and agreement. “You right, the trustworthy tend not to speak about how trustworthy they are, and nor did I speak of that to Yona-chan. In fact, I told her flat out not to trust me, that if she were to trust me, she should trust my ambition and my sense of self-preservation; other than that, I must confess that I am not trustworthy.” He mused in amusement, and then wondered how much did Haraka trust him? Surely, being in the same guild required or offered some level of trust between the two, but surely Haraka would not fall for that. Tomura only trusted Haraka because he seemed like a trustworthy man, as seen as his relationship with the villagers. That was the only reason why he followed Haraka to this location, and well, alongside the fact that they were guild mates and Tomura simply placed two and two together. “How interesting, not that I am complaining, but I must simply ask why you are fixing me such a meal?” Tomura would ask. While he had and loved manners, Tomura couldn’t piece together why Haraka would fix him such a delicacy. So far, the two guild members had gotten into debates and arguments about various subjects, and no doubt Tomura was annoying this interesting specimen, heck, one could even say that he purposely was trying to tick Haraka off; but that was not entirely the case. Tomura watched as Haraka rubbed some dough ball in a unique oil and then tossed them back into the pot. “May I ask where you are from?” Tomura would question cautiously, and cleared his throat carefully. “And if you don’t mind me asking again, how old are you exactly? I know that it is rude of me to ask, but you speak with a certain maturity that is, as you can tell, absent within younger individuals and people my age, it is intriguing me.” 

WC: 949
Total WC: 4,387