The city has many names.
But the night remembers faces.
This season follows only a small fraction of the forces moving in the dark.
These are the names readers must remember first.
---
Yasha
Affiliation: Night Protocol
Rank: Executor
An enforcer feared even among his own ranks.
Yasha believes contracts exist to prevent chaos—and that mercy invites collapse.
He does not hesitate. He does not question orders.
Until he is assigned to a problem that refuses to disappear.
---
Momo
Affiliation: Crimson Bloom
Rank: Heartbearer
A healer who shelters the broken and the hunted.
Momo believes no law justifies abandoning a life.
Her existence alone is a violation of Night Protocol doctrine.
---
Yoto Hime
Affiliation: Night Protocol
Rank: Executor
Precision given form.
Yoto Hime measures worth in efficiency and loyalty.
Crimson Bloom's continued survival is, to her, a failure yet to be corrected.
---
Ibaraki Doji
Affiliation: Crimson Bloom
Rank: Thorn
Strength is truth.
Ibaraki stands at the front of every confrontation, daring the city to stop him.
He respects power—especially when it challenges him.
---
Shuten Doji
Affiliation: Crimson Bloom
Rank: Thorn
Laughter, alcohol, and chaos—none of them accidental.
Shuten understands the city better than he lets on, and hides strategy behind charm.
---
Kaguya
Affiliation: Night Protocol
Rank: Register
She monitors contracts, power levels, and anomalies.
To Kaguya, Crimson Bloom is not a criminal group—but a flaw in the system.
---
Seimei
Affiliation: Night Protocol
Rank: Architect
The city runs because he designed it so.
Every contract, every restriction, every punishment traces back to him.
---
Susabi
Affiliation: Night Protocol
Rank: Director
Patterns never lie.
Susabi watches conflicts unfold like constellations—predictable, until they aren't.
---
Higanbana
Affiliation: Crimson Bloom
Rank: Thorn
Pain is her language.
She tests loyalty not through trust, but through endurance.
---
Yuki Onna
Affiliation: Crimson Bloom
Rank: Petal
Quiet, protective, unwavering.
She guards those who cannot fight back—and pays the price for it.
---
Shiro Mujou
Affiliation: Night Protocol
Rank: Sentinel
He believes justice should be kind.
The system disagrees.
---
Ootengu
Affiliation: Night Protocol
Rank: Executor
Pride fuels his blade.
Recognition matters more to him than restraint.
---
Tamamonomae
Affiliation: Neutral
Role: Contract Broker
Every rule has a loophole.
He knows them all—and sells them carefully.
---
These are the figures who will shape the opening conflict.
Others exist—but their time comes later.
