The Knights Himura

#34: Shrine Maiden's Funeral Veil

Tsukiko and Sylvie stood on the sidewalk at the edge of the shrine.

The buildings around it were quite well lit, but the light seemed to end at the edge of the shrine. No unnatural light was allowed to touch the sacred place.

Deep within, there was a small temple, donation boxes and all. In front of it, stood what looked like dozens of robed figures, lit only by the moon.

Sylvie strained to try to hear what was going on. No sound escaped through the plants and trees surrounding the deeper parts of the shrine.

"These things suck." Tsukiko tugged on the sleeves of her robes.

"Not my fault you're still wearing a jacket and skirt under there." Sylvie looked off into the sky.

"You're squeezed into a catsuit under there, so..."

"It's tights and a compression top, you--"

"Catsuit." Tsuki shook her head.

"Goddamnit." Sylvie groaned.

Tsuki started walking to the group, pressing her hand against the mask, as if praying for it to stay secure.

"...you sure about this?" Sylvie hesitated.

"Well, it's not like we've got any other bright ideas." Tsuki's response seemed almost forced.

"I really hope this goes well." Sylvie stepped forward.

They both approached the crowd at the center, slinking around to avoid confrontation. Their goal was to be able to sneak into the disorganized crowd without drawing attention.

They had to break into the mob without being unmasked.

"Yo, when are we starting?" A figure in the group shouted.

"Hurry it up!" The crowd was in a bad mood.

A few minutes passed before anything happened. A few people stood outside of the crowd, trying to keep them calm and corralled. The two people Tsukiko had met at the abandoned office appeared before the crowd.

"Alright, alright, settle down!" The silver mask named Morgan raised his hand.

This got a small reaction in the crowd of scattered shouts and whistles. Flowers paced around awkwardly behind Morgan.

Morgan's voice remained serious. "You all know why we're here, right?"

The crowd chattered.

Morgan shook his head and motioned to someone off to the side. A figure brought out a man in a wheelchair. His hands and legs were bound.

Flowers approached Morgan and whispered something in his ear. He simply shook his head. The man in the wheelchair struggled weakly.

"Do you all remember this man?" Morgan stepped forward.

The crowd murmured to themselves.

Morgan tried to help them out, by placing the bashed up mask on his face. The crowd went silent.

"What're you doing?" Flowers asked.

"Bring it on!" Morgan called out to two Shakudos standing to the side.

The two men kneeled down to a ceramic device with a piece of metal sticking out of it. They turned on the flames on a couple of blow torches at the bottom, making the make-shift furnace glow.

"From now on, you'll all be taking orders from me and Flowers!" Morgan shouted. "This bastard has done nothing but hurt us, and our people!"

The crowd was deathly quiet.