Okumura Syndicate Ending 1

Chapter 175: If He Were There

Upon the end of the eventful sunrise, the aubade of the birds graced the landscape, a sense of euphonious calm surrounding the chaos within the mansion. However, the signs of adomania spreading outside the walls only seemed to grow with the ever extending trail of cracks and dusk left by a grieving man only seeing the last glimpses before his lover finally became lost in the ice forever. There was one person that could harness the stability back into place, and within an instant, he reappeared.

Aster looked around, still shaking from his experience within a mirage of his old world. Though his movement was child-like, his eyes seemed to sparkle with a strange confidence in his way forward. His eyes surveyed the remains of his grounds, he was elevated, able to see the entire garden, it seemed like he missed a lot. He took the first step towards getting down, but felt the sudden sensation of slipperiness, he was standing atop an enormous ice wall.

"Woah, since when was Rou a garden decorator?", he thought to himself, but the humour quickly faded away as he looked down to see a crushed Rou within the gazebo-sized iceberg. He couldn't believe it, all those memories dissipated in seconds and he was powerless to stop it, he couldn't even see his capos descent, at that's what truly broke his heart. He knelt down, dragging his hand across the miniature glacier, feeling as the ice turned to water on his aching hands.

"My power, my god damn attitude that made Rou trust me in the first place made Vox see me as that looming threat, that one mole he could snuff out with his own ability! Now look at what happened, I couldn't be there and now that trust is dead...", he violently sobbed, with his chest moving up and down, a train of tears streaming down his face. He was empty before that first glimmer of trust from the man he now sees dismembered below him. "I never left the squad behind, I always saw that in my life, a feeling and a person that could lead us to equality, but I guess that future was merely fantasy...".

His whole body shuddered, climbing down from Rou's icy grave. He was almost dwaling with despondency when by sheer accident he noticed the cracks and debris around him. "This could only mean one thing...", he thought. Upon analysing the broken ground, he could guarantee that Demitris already knew about Rou and was grieving him at this moment. "My heart aches, but his will be bursting, I have to find him!", he said to himself, painstakingly putting his own sadness aside.

Aster walked along in search of Demitris, following the trail of destruction in his wake. His sore soul leaked out into his thought, "Did I break his heart by not being there? Am I the reason for his grief?". The guilt shone through, clear on his face for everyone to see, but no one could be seen. Eventually, he comes across a familiar face, Leon from Rou's squad. "Aster, where have you been? Intruders took over seemingly overnight, but the higher ups, including Rou are nowhere to be seen.", he informed.

Aster's eyes became bloodshot, "I'm so sorry Leon...", he belated. "Oh, what's the matter, Aster? These times too difficult?", he asked. The boy trembled, "Leon, Rou is dead...", he uttered. Leon immediately fell into deep sorrow, "The other soldiers...they were put under a sleep spell, they're going to be devastated...", he sobbed. "I'm actually looking for one of them right now, is there any sign of Demitris?", questioned Aster tenderly. "I'm...not sure where he is...", he blubbered in response.

"Thanks anyway Leon, I'd stay, but I have to find Demitris, before he destroys this place!", he said to the green haired man, turning on his heel and running away. In his haste, he didn't notice anyone in front of him and bumped into Edward. Normally, the boss would shout at such blatant unawareness of surroundings, but instead the vampire shoved him away. "What is it, intruder?", he asked, downtrodden. Aster could see on his face he was aware of what happened to his subordinate.

His eyes, though usually tired, were far darker than he remembered, and his stance far from the proper splendor he made fun of. "Sorry boss, I...didn't see you there...", he continued, to which Edward scoffed in response. He came closer to the young boy, forcing him to take a side step. "I'm extremely busy right now...", he stated, disregarding that Aster was speaking to him. Not needing the boss's stuck up remarks, he interrupted, "I'm looking for Demitris, surely a grieving man would sympathise with another, but I guess you're too out of touch for that!".

"Of course I sympathise!", responded Edward in an offended rage, wiping away a single tear from his eye. "I thought you were better than to cave into sulking, guess you're no better than me!", Aster exclaimed, in disbelief of his superior. "You're pretty much just a lowly nobody anyway, at least I had the guts to move up the ranks, this is just a consequence of my status! ", Edward shouted back. Aster's sorrow was now turned to anger, "Then why were so oblivious to the fact that there are real intruders in the mansion?!".

Edward turned away, "Excuse me, I have some things to think about...", he said as he sauntered away. "Look at you, avoiding your problems again?!", Aster chased him a few metres, longing for some fragment of an answer from the man. He was so caught up, that he didn't notice someone slipping out of a door behind him. "Sir Edward, I heard you-". Aster revolved to see Fleur in front of him. "Aster, how did you make it back?", she asked in amazement. The overwhelmed boy was speechless, so much had happened and he didn't know where to start.