Okumura Syndicate

Chapter 144: Circumstances

That same morning, Aster awoke from a horrendous sleep, the sounds of screaming upstairs having disturbed him. "What was that last night?", he thought to himself, his eyes still closed. "I need to get everyone out of the mess...", he thought as he pulled himself from his bed, his hair a mess. "If a simple capos' meeting was that bad, something must be going on.", he added. He changed into his clothes and headed out of his dorm, being met by Demitris as he exited the soldiers quarters.

"Hey, Aster, you okay? You've got bags under your eyes", the one-eyed man asked. "There was a serious ruckus going on upstairs, I'm going to file a complaint. ", he replied, slightly miffed. " I was expecting a good morning, Aster.", he said, sternly. Aster ignored his friend to ask a question, "What was going on up there? I was really concerned...". Demitris decided to answer him despite being rather pissed at being neglected, "Probably just someone having a mental breakdown, happens regularly around these parts, this job isn't all a 'get rich quick scheme', but I think you already know that..."

"I don't know how you're not affected by this, first you find out that your powers come from a succubus getting her revenge, second you find out about a certain fae getting into trouble, and now members of this syndicate seemingly screaming out their life force every day of the week. Why is your skin so damn thick Demitris?!", ranted Aster. "I guess I've just become so accustomed to drastic things happening in a short amount of time, I've just got numb to it.

"When I first found out that Lin was going to attack the syndicate, I was heartbroken, but with each announcement that things are getting worse, the blow becomes less and less until there isn't one at all.", Demitris explained. "Well, I guess I don't get numb then, every blow feels like a sword to the gut, and just makes me more and more frustrated.", Aster exclaimed. "It's not like I don't have empathy, I want to see if they're okay just as much as you do. Who is it?", asked Demitris. "Now there's the Demitris I know, always wanting to help.", enthused Aster

"First, where could you hear it?", enquired the auburn haired man. "Directly above us, screaming and what sounds like the shattering of a large mirror.", described Aster. "That's Rou...", Demitris's voice turned to a faint mutter. It was clear that though most people's mental breakdowns didn't affect him, Rou's were a scorn on his soul. "In training, is it okay if we check on him?", suggested Demitris. "That's what I've been trying to say. You really love that man, don't you?", asked Aster. "Yes...he's all I think about. His heart can't take much more strofe it seems recently...", informed the one-eyed man. "Let's go to the training room then!", Aster expressed, with Demitris agreeing with him, but when they got there, they were met with a surprise.

At first it seemed normal, the soldiers talking to each other as Rou plans every morning. However, this morning, Rou was present, it was clear he was back in his cold, aloof state from before the fight at the tavern. Maybe there was a pattern? But the pint stood that he was there early, was there an important event going on, or something much worse than that? "Aster, Demitris, get in line as soon as possible!", ordered Rou. He was not in the mood for them to slip up, not today. "Stand up straight! Don't look stupid!", he instructed once more. He was really making sure his squad was perfect today.

For a short while, the two friends just stood there, unsure of what to do. "What do we do?", asked Aster, clearly clueless of what was going on. Demitris had already been checking his belt to see if there was any weapons strapped on, to avoid being caught unawares again. "Just do as I say!", shouted Rou, before grabbing both of their shoulders and pushing them. The two men stood straight and stiff as a board. "Are you finished getting ready?", asked the pint in an impatient tone.

"Yes, sir!", they replied simultaneously. "Follow me!", commanded Rou, before marching to the entrance of the mansion with the other soldiers. "The boss isn't here today, but his stand in would like to assess each regime.", informed Rou. "You mean Fleur right, wouldn't she stand in? She is the underboss after all.", assumed Aster. Rou shouted at the black haired boy, "Silence! It's not her, someone else will be checking us over...", he declared.

The soldiers, including Rou, remained in a line, straight and today, no sign of error for an entire minute, when the temporary boss strode over to them. Aster and Demitris wanted to glare at each other when they saw him, but they remained like statues. The man stood before them was Vox. He had the same aura as Rou, at least for today, but he was a lot taller. The two men moved in an almost synchronous way. Their minds were locked. "Calm down!", Vox ordered, moving closer to them. "I just wanted to see Eddie's little groups.'' he remarked.

This has got to be a trap...", Aster thought to himself, he was sure the other soldiers felt the same way, especially Demitris, who to Aster seemed like he was planning something, trembling with fear that Vox would punish him for moving. Either way, they couldn't speak, Aster just hoped that others had a way to sabotage this assessment, because Vox certainly wasn't just looking for a quick check. As everyone remained still, the challenge Vox had put upon the soldiers had begun.