The Knights Himura

#38: One Hell of a Party

The Three Knights stood awkwardly on the stage inside of the Damascene warehouse. Sylvie had called each of them for some sort of urgent request.

They all came as quickly as their feet carried them, expecting some sort of disaster. The situation was nowhere near as important as they thought it would be.

Down below, in front of the stage, stood the Damascenes. There was a certain aura to them. Tsukiko felt a bit guilty standing before them. She didn't know whether they saw her as friend or foe, and that made her uncomfortable.

Tsuki turned to her friends, and they seemed much more confident than she was. She sighed and tried to forget, telling herself to accept her new allies.

The Damascenes themselves did not show any outward emotion. They sort of stared up at the Knights, as if expecting something from them. Others in the group milled about, and muttered amongst themselves.

Any sound coming from the gang was covered up by the ceiling fans. Sylvie kept fiddling with a microphone she'd set up herself. It kept popping and ringing with feedback.

"I haven't been here in a while." Shizuka spoke to no one in particular.

"It's a shame it's kinda run down now." Haruka sighed.

"Ehh, I don't think this place was ever that nice." Shizuka put her hands on her hips.

A cassette tape flew past Tsukiko's head.

"Hey, watch where you're throwin' that!" The Third Knight complained.

Sylvie dug through a box, tossing out all sorts of strange things she had collected. Random bits and pieces flew around the stage until one of them landed at Shizuka's feet.

"Hey, why's this one blue?" Shizuka bent over to pick up the mask.

"Ohhh, that one's from when the Shakudos still spray painted their masks." Haruka walked over to get a good look.

"Spray painted?" Shizuka picked at the rather glossy color with her finger nail.

"Yep, that's what they used before the black masks." Haruka pointed.

"Why'd they stop using colored masks anyway." Tsukiko finally remembered to ask.

"Cuz of you. They got wind you managed to find someone based on the color of his mask. Color coding doesn't really work when it makes you a target." Haruka smiled. "I'm surprised you remembered that."

"I just thought it was weird. Sometimes, when I hit a Shakudo's mask, the paint chips off. I can see some colors underneath." Tsuki subconsciously made a fist.

"Jesus, how hard are you hitting 'em?" Fumiko appeared behind Tsukiko.

Tsuki jumped. "What the hell? Don't use Aurelia's doors just to scare people!"

"She walked in through the front door, Tsuki." Haruka laughed.

Tsukiko closed her eyes and frowned. "...almost gave me a heart attack."

Fumiko put an arm on Tsuki's shoulder. "Cheer up, I'm here now, aren't I?"

Tsukiko's lips curved into a smile. "Yeah."

"You guys are so lucky." Shizuka frowned.

Tsuki started to speak again. "Yeah, well--"

She was interrupted by another 80s pop cassette hitting her in the side of the head, nearly breaking.

Shizuka's face curled as she broke down laughing. "Ouch! Haha!"

"Watch here you're throwing those!" Tsuki retaliated by throwing the cassette back.