Aster lands in a another world where he finds himself on the private property of a crime syndicate. Initially he isn't accepted, but it is his goal to rise up the ranks and get recognition within the syndicate as it's the only thing he has!
Side Not...
The sun was setting as Aster wandered the halls of the mansion once more. Hearing the story changed him in a way, he's now gone from seeing Rou as a means of promotion to a friend he needed to protect. The second floor was desolate and quiet, not a single soldier with a post up there.
Suddenly, there was sound, faint at the very least, but it was there. Soft echoes of music met Aster's ears, quiet and beautiful. He followed the sound while continuing to look into every room. Eventually, he came to a windowless door where the music was clearest, he knocked on the door. "Enter.", said a familiar voice.
Opening the door, Aster was relieved to finally see Rou after he stormed off so abruptly. "Rou, are you alright?", he said sympathetically. Rou gripped the lute in his hand, Aster was new to him, would he let such a person see past his front? "I'm fine now, I was just a little overwhelmed is all. Playing music makes me calm down, reminds me of when I played the lute to attract customers back in the day, my family ran a lute stall in the market you see.".
Aster was unsure whether Rou was faking his emotions, but was glad to see he was calm. "I know, Fleur told me.". Rou was shocked but not surprised to find out that Aster learned about his past, "So you know then? I always get afraid people would use my past against me, Fleur never did, but I'm worried if the wrong person found out, they'd try to break my heart.".
Aster's curiosity peaked, so tried to ask Rou more, "Who else knows? There can't be that many if you're so afraid.". Rou sighed, "Only Fleur, Edward and Vox know the truth, even Demitris is unaware. Others are convinced I'm a cheerful tough guy all the time, that can't be further from the truth. In reality I'm just a block of ice pretending to be a roaring flame.".
Aster consoled Rou, "Rou, that can't be the case, you were the only one that accepted me from the start, if you weren't genuinely welcoming, why did you let me join your squad?". Rou's shoulder tensed in worry, "Greed mostly. I thought having such a powerful ally within my regime would make Edward see that I'm a good underboss to fill the vacant spot that was left when the previous guy was killed...".
"So you're just like the others...", Aster tried to leave the room, but Rou dragged him back inside. "That's not the case anymore. Seeing you accept me, even when I was such a wuss back then allowed me to reassess my opinion of you. You're no longer a means to an end, Aster; you're a true friend...".
Could this actually be true? Aster believed he could never be worthy of this world, but seeing Rou, in his lowest moment accepting him, only made him feel welcome here. "Aster, you're an asset to my group, not only are you powerful, but you protect your friends with your life, I respect you for that.". The males shook hands before leaving the room together.
Aster and Rou returned to the training room, the regime were still there and greeted their return, even Demitris was smiling; Rou gave his orders. "I apologise for the session being cut short today. We will be out in the field tomorrow commiting a robbery, I need 4 volunteers to go with me.".
Aster, Demitris, Leon and Tamara raised their hands. It was going to be Aster's first day on the field and he was anticipating that it was going to be eventful. "You're all dismissed for now, feel free to head to your quarters, it's going to be a busy day tomorrow. As the night sets in on his first day, Aster felt reassurance and excitement, not only had he made his first friend, but he was about to go into the field for the first time as a soldier of the Okumura syndicate.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
