Persona - Fracture

The Blue Rose

April, 8 BP - Before Peace

"Ah, so much for dinner!" Yasaka patted his full belly. It was sunset and he was on his way back to his office. A few hours ago, he had been eating in a nearby restaurant while keeping his ears on the ground for any stray information.

So far, the populace was very afraid of the Emperor. But when he asked about the mysterious murderer that had roamed the town, the populace would answer, "Ask the people in Viritalia. You know, that faraway town."

Problem is, Yasaka couldn't travel very far from his base, lest he risk it being attacked by local raiders. He could send the strike force, but they were probably very exhausted from the trip to the border, so that was a no-no. So that left him going by himself (which is suicidal) or sending his generals to gather information.

...Come to think of it, the second option is likely the better one. Yasaka let out an accidental burp. Yes, he was full and couldn't go out on an exploration, except if he wanted to throw up.

"I'll leave it to them, then~" Yasaka continued to walk towards the direction of his base, smiling and nodding at the waving villagers. He was happy, his populace was happy, his generals were happy. Were it not for the Emperor, he could stay in his office all day along.

As Yasaka entered the door of his base, he missed a person coming out of an alley behind him. The person wore a brown cloak and a porcelain mask that covered everything incriminating. The person weaved and blended with the villagers, silently leaving.

~

About an hour later, we found Yasaka sleeping in his office when the door to his room was slammed open.

"Hey, junior! Whaddya need me for?" A youthful-sounding voice resounded across the room. Hearing what seemed to be his senior enter the room, Yasaka jolted awake, only to fall off his chair and hit the ground.

"Owow... why did you wake me up now?" The red-haired man rubbed the back of his head as he stood up, using the chair's arm as a crutch. His annoyed expression quickly disappeared however as he locked eyes with the visitor.

"Senior Dominic!" The newcomer grinned. Dominic, full name Dominic Ekusu, is Yasaka's senior by three years. He had participated in many battles and was a skilled fighter in his own right. His laidback attitude matched Yasaka's, and he was Yasaka's somewhat-mentor during his early days of leadership.

Dominic was a well-built man standing at 6'1" with flowing, unkempt brown hair and bright orange eyes. In Yasaka's life, he had never seen another person with eyes as bright as Dominic's. It led to people believing Dominic as a supernatural entity (which is a lie).

He wore the same black long-sleeved shirt, but with yellow trimmimgs, over the same grey shirt, grey pants, and blue shoulderguards. He also had a cyan scarf encircled around his neck and orange shoes.

"At ease, lad. So, what needs doing?" Dominic's spear, the fabled Velvelmuruga, materialized out of thin air. Velvelmuruga was a long spear with runic decorations with a black and green tip. Rumors around the land said he got it from besting Kartikeya, a god, in battle. Even past his prime, Yasaka still had doubts that he would be able to defeat Dominic in a straight battle.

"Well, senior," Yasaka coughed a bit before continuing, "As you know, there's been a rumor about a strange black-haired murderer lately. You did know, right?"

"Aye, lad. It wasn't Shun, was it?" Dominic's face was questioning and worried, but deep down Yasaka knew, in the name of Justice, he would kill in a heartbeat to maintain balance.

In Yasaka's mind, that was Dominic's fatal flaw. He worshiped the principle of Justice, very much so. That's fine and all, but Dominic tends to take it... a bit too far. His only saving grace is that Dominic is on their side, not the Emperor's.