The 12th Fatui Harbinger

Unrest

"It's the Shirasagi Himegimi!" 

Villagers ran out of their houses at the sight of wagons bearing the Yashiro commission's symbol. Thoma tightened his grip on the reigns of the horses. Higi village was so different from the last time they had visited. He looked to his right at his lady, who also was in shock at the state of the village. 

With the ongoing supply raids and a recent flood that wiped out agriculture, inflation in Inazuma was at an all time high. Although the Yashiro Commission had received reports that the middle and lower classes who live outside of Inazuma city were being hit harder, it was different seeing the situation with their own eyes. Damp dirt and sediment cluttered the streets. There was barely a clear path for the wagons to tread on. Houses were barely standing with missing components, and the farms the villagers had been tending to were absolutely destroyed. People were scavenging in the waste to see what little of their belongings they could find with no hope in their eyes, absolutely crushed by the turn of recent events. 

Thoma rushed to her side to escort her off the wagon, and Ayaka took his hand as she stepped down gracefully. Ayaka took a look at the villagers that surrounded her. Many of them looked as if they hadn't eaten in days. It hurt that she couldn't do more. 

"Hello everyone. We know you've gone through a difficult time with the recent floods and attacks by vagrants. Your homes were destroyed by the storm, and the price of rice has only gone up threefold. We understand that many families are struggling right now. Thus, the Yashiro Commission has come to bring aid to the citizens of Inazuma. Please line up and we will ration out the supplies we brought with us." 

However, before Ayaka even finished her speech, people started swarming like moths at once. Pushing, shoving and screaming at each other. 

         "Get the hell out of my way! My sick child needs it more than you do." 

         "Who knows when the next time the next shipment of food will come in?"

         "Just grab as much as you can run off with!!!" 

         "Stop taking everything!" 

         "That's mine! You let that go!"

         "Ow! Did you just fucking bite me?!" 

Young children fell down in the middle of the crowd and people were being trampled. Morals and principles were long forgotten. Nothing mattered.

Ayaka paled as she waved her hands frantically. "P-please d-don't shove each other! There's more than enough!" 

Ayaka's pleas fell on deaf ears. More and more people came to loot the supply cart, bringing in rakes and shovels to hurl at each other. It was simply a survival of the fittest. 

"My lady! We have to just leave the carts. There's no use trying to reason with them." Thoma said as he grabbed her hand and he led her out of the growing crowd. 

Ayaka regretted not listening to her brother this morning when he advised her to take more guards with them. She had assured him that it would be fine with just her and Thoma. Oh, how naive she had been. Her knees dropped to the ground as they watched the growing crowd fight each other. 

"Just what has Inazuma become?..." She said tearfully as Thoma helped her back up. 

-----------------------

Ayato slammed his hand down on the table angrily. "We have to do something about this crisis!" 

Hiiragi Shinsuke and Kujou Takayuki looked at him blankly. "We cannot disobey the almighty Shongun's orders just because of a few bandits and vagrants."