Unending Chaos

“Splendid~” Izayuki said in a perky manner that was very much like one that her friends would recognize, but likely foreign to the man. Ever since the destruction of her guildhall, along with the death of her husband, she had been out of sorts. Her behavior had been increasingly more unpredictable due to the recent trauma that she continued to stifle. She could not show weakness before her guild or to the public eye, after all.

Smiling, the Bakedanuki reached out her clawed hand, offering to shake the man’s hand in agreement. In taking her hand, the emblem of Black Rose would appear somewhere on his body, at random. “So, ‘Verus’, do you have any more questions to ask of me? And is there anything else I should know about you?” she asked, hoping he would at least give some more information on himself for the sake of paperwork, liability, and all the legal stuff that went into running a guild.

Izayuki sat back in her seat after the guildmark had been placed. He had held up one end of the bargain, and as he was now a guildmate, there was likely no harm in telling him the full story. “The one who attacked Silver Moon Inn was none other than the Guild Master of Golden Phoenix-- a wizard saint and popular one among the public-- Astrid Foss. She attacked us with her brother, Lucius Foss, at her side,” Izayuki explained, her expression slightly more grin, but still maintaining a gentle and professional smile. “Reports say that Peace Village was attacked, and they think that a few of my guildmates and I caused the bloodbath. We did no such thing. But Astrid is from Peace Village. It was her home. So she attacked us out of anger.”

Astrid always did have a temper, the Bakedanuki had noted. However, her personal relationship with her daughter really was of no importance to the situation. Few knew those details, and Izayuki planned for it to stay that way. “What I’m wondering is not why Astrid attacked our guildhall. I know why she did that. I’m wondering who framed me and a few others attacking Peace Village, and why,” she continued. She was amused that the man wanted to know what she was. He must have never encountered yokai like her before. Otherwise, the answer to his question was not too hard to figure out.

So, he had already been investigating? How curious. Izayuki listened to what he had to say, intrigued that he had gone out of his way to look into such things. Just what was he really after? Why did he want to ‘help’ Black Rose so much? It added to her suspicions about the man, on top of the fact that the name he gave her was not likely to be his real one. A man who refused to show his face would never give away his name so easily, right?

“A dark guild seems likely,” Izayuki mused, thinking to herself. It would make sense that a dark guild wanted to start something between guilds, and especially bring Black Rose into the picture. They were one of the more famous guilds, after all, large and prosperous. At his actual question, Izayuki replied grimly. “Of those that weren’t killed, yes, a few people watched the destruction take place.”

“The current known dark guilds are Savage Skull and Basilisk Fang,” Izayuki explained. “I once was acquaintances with the guildmaster of Savage Skull, but both of those guilds have been quiet for some time. It is possible that Savage Skull is under new leadership. The guildmaster of Basilisk Fang is ‘Famine’. She does not seem like one to try to start something with a large legal guild, however. If so, surely she would have done so years ago.”

The known dark guilds were small. Others tried to hide themselves, but had yet to really be known. There were plenty of guildless dark mages, of course, but Izayuki could see no reason why a group would try to frame Black Rose unless they wanted to start a war between the legal guilds, while they sat back and watched. Surely the known dark guilds would not do something as bold as that. “I don’t have many thoughts. While I’d like answers, my priority is rebuilding Silver Moon Inn and ensuring it is a safe place for our mages. As far as Astrid Foss, she has always had anger issues, so her behavior is not surprising,” the Bakedanuki continued to explain.

Izayuki grinned at his questioning of her being ‘affiliated’ with a dark guild master. Naturally, that would snap anyone awake and grab their attention. However, the Bakedanuki only shrugged. “Marceline Anicetus just so happened to go on the same job I was on. We met there. She was a strange one… she did not seem super evil, but I never met her outside of that job to confirm,” Izayuki said, recalling the job at the Decrepit Mansion in Pergrande. It was less of a job, and more of a haunted house-torture room. The mansion and the spirits played all sorts of tricks on her and her two job partners, Marceline and Anastasia, the latter having turned into a shark by the uncanny structure. But that was a story to tell at another time.

“I can give you the resources you need within reason. You have my full support, since I’m curious on what idiots thought they could try framing and get away with it,” Izayuki said, beginning to stand up from the table. “And one last question… do you really intend to spend your days in Black Rose hiding behind a disguise? Why do you do it now?”

Izayuki sighed at the response Oras had to give her. “Sounds edgy. Honestly, you’re a bit too suspicious for your own good. Be careful. Mask wearing sometimes only brings more harm than good. It’s only an illusion of protection,” the Bakedanuki replied in a casual manner, but picked her words carefully. Disguises did nothing good unless one was up to no good. “Besides, nothing can really hide that magical presence or soul of yours. That's something that confirms an identity far more than a face does.”

In her hand was the mask that she had taken from the man earlier on. The temptation was to not give it back, but she had no reason to keep it from him. Reaching out her hand, she would extend the mask back out to him, but would keep a solid grasp of it at first, so it could not be taken. “And before we depart ways-- what is your name? Your real, full name?” Izayuki asked boldly, using logic to know that the name that he had given her earlier, ‘Verus’, was likely only an alias. She felt she had a right to his full name, and would use the last question as a sort of test. Would he lie to her, refuse her, or answer the simple question?

It was not like expressions could not be masked by training oneself or simply via use of perception magic, Izayuki noted. He would do fine without a mask. As far as she was concerned, any mage who wore one for the reasons of wanting to be protected just seemed fearful and cowardly in her mind, too focused on “what ifs” when it came to being recognized. That, or it was just a phase.

Izayuki nodded at his answer, and released the mask to him. It could have been another alias for all she knew, but for now, she would take his word for it. “Very well,” the Bakedanuki answered with a smile, beginning to walk past him and head for the door of the Rose Garden second-rate restaurant. “Anyways, welcome to Black Rose~”
With a quick wave and last glance at him, the guild master exited the building, heading back towards Silver Moon Boulevard to continue overseeing the reconstruction of her guildhall.