"You sure you wanna do this?" Haruka asked.

"She has to." Sylvie interrupted.

"I promised I would." Tsukiko proudly responded.

"Still, this isn't a game. You might feel invincible now, but you'd better watch out. This is some deep shit." Haru looked into Tsuki's eyes.

They once again sat in a huddle around a table in Aurelia's shop. Different fabrics lined the walls, as if everyday she discovered some new stock to sell. Still, it seemed different.

The feeling of confusion and unfamiliarity had died down. They could all finally feel comfortable within this strange place. Aurelia and Claudia weren't around, yet their presence was definitely felt.

"I'm already in deep shit, aren't I?" Tsuki laughed to herself.

"They'll attack you on the streets." Haruka urged.

"They already do."

"Yeah, the Shakudos kinda declared war on her a while ago. They even tried to attack Shizuka, remember?" Sylvie frowned.

"Almost forgot. I guess we're all in this now, huh?" Haruka sighed.

"Mhmm."

"We need to settle this now anyways. The more people we have, the quicker we can end this. How long before we run into another knife wielding lunatic?" Tsuki had a tough look on her face.

"…I've got nothing to worry about." Haruka smiled.

"What're you talking about?" Tsuki responded defensively.

"You sound like a Knight. It's been a while since I've heard anyone talk like that."

Tsuki shook her head. "I sound like myself."

"You were born to be one, after all. I got scared of you joining Shizuka and I, but now I know you'll be fine." Haruka hesitantly admitted.

"Lame." Sylvie groaned.

"You don't get it, Sylvie. It's been a while since I've talked to my only sister, so I need to savor it. I'm just stopping to smell the roses." Haruka's tone meandered up and down.

"You've smelled enough flowers already." Sylvie complained.

"Oh, how's your rose garden?" Haruka turned to Tsukiko.

"They're such a bright red this time of year." Tsukiko grinned mischievously.

Sylvie grit her teeth. "Quit it!"

"Oh sorry." Tsuki apologized with a toothy grin.

Sylvie began to explain. "Anyways, I don't think any of us had any say in this matter to begin with. Seems like the Shakudos have always had it out for us from the start."

"…did they mug me and Fumi cuz I'm related to the Knights?" Tsuki's hands fidgeted.

"Murder's bad for business, Tsuki." Haruka shook her head.

"But they had a Damascene mask." Tsuki's hand made a fist.

"And?" Haruka asked.

"Did they do it to make Sylvie's gang look bad?"

Sylvie shook her head. "No. Even if they did it to target you, you're only the sister of a Knight Himura. Hurting innocent people puts the cops on alert. It's bad for business. You ever watch a crime drama?"

"Does playing crime drama video games count?" Tsuki raised her hand.

"Only if you paid attention to the cutscenes." Haruka spoke in monotone.

"Hey, I'm a sucker for a good story." Tsuki chuckled.

"…are you two always like this?" Sylvie groaned.

"Not really, just killing time. Not sure why we're here." Haruka shrugged.

"Uhh, were you expecting to just walk into a building and beat people up?" Sylvie narrowed her eyes.

"Is that not what we're doing?" Tsuki asked with genuine, real confusion.

"That's… not the point, okay?" Sylvie took a deep breath. "You really should stop trying to punch your way out of every situation."

"Well, it's not like we're stupid." Tsuki chimed in. "Can you really blame us though? We usually punch back in self defense!"

"Yeah, see? Nothing of value is being said right now." Haruka pointed to her sister.

"I'm glad that at least one of you gets the point." The blonde relaxed a little.

"Fine. How's the gang organized? Cutting off the snake's head might work." Tsukiko turned to Sylvie.

"From what's come down the tubes, apparently there's two head people. Used to be three, but Tsuki's already gotten one down." Sylvie put her hand on her chin.

"Wait, really?" Haruka asked.

"Yeah, we've already been over this. He was the guy who burnt down the warehouse."

"That true?" Haruka turned to Tsukiko.

"Yeah. The other two let me have him after they found out that he tried to kill a child." Tsuki closed her eyes.

Haruka paused. "Honor among thieves?"

"No, trimming the fat." Sylvie stared down at the table.

"Huh?" Tsukiko opened her eyes.

"They're getting serious if they're willing to cut off their own members like that. Something weird's going on here." Sylvie stared off into space.

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"It caught me off guard, but I won't question it." Tsuki leaned forward. "We should finish this as quickly as possible."

"You're probably right about that." Sylvie muttered to herself.

"All we need is good intel." Haruka yawned.

"It's tough getting info nowadays. Best thing I've got is something going down at a shrine nearby." Sylvie groaned.

"What're they doing at a shrine?"

"Maybe they're superstitious. My grandfather used to make big donations to a shrine after every big job. He used to tell me about some weird fox thing. I have no idea what the hell he was rambling about half the time." Sylvie laughed.

"Should we really mess with ‘em then?" Tsuki looked away.

"Huh?"

"…it just seems a bit cruel to attack someone at a shrine, okay?" The Third Knight had a look of guilt on her face.

"What do you suggest we do, then." Haruka counterd.

"Maybe scope it out before we barge in uninvited." Tsuki spoke hesitantly.

"That's kinda thoughtful, Tsuki." Haru smiled.

"I'm not a monster." Tsuki hid her face.

"Oh, now you wanna plan." Sylvie folded her arms.

"Lighten up." Haruka whined. "You said you wanted a plan, you got a plan. Besides, you wouldn't wanna piss off a spirit or a god or something, right?"

"But… you… fine, whatever. A plan's a plan, fuck it." Sylvie ran her fingers through one of the shop's exotic fabrics.

"I have an idea!" Tsuki blurted out.

"Huh?"

"Yo, Claudia!" Tsukiko shouted. "Get Fumi over here!"

Suddenly, Claudia appeared with her usual gentle smile. At this point, her near instant appearance was almost mundane.

They had no idea what the extent of her abilities were, but no one bothered to ask. What did matter was that she had Fumiko with her.

"W-what?" Fumi looked around with a confused look across her face.

"Didn't expect that to work, to be honest." Tsuki stared.

"What do you want?" Fumiko nudged Tsukiko.

"Do you remember that mask I gave you?"

"Oh, yeah, I have it in my room." Fumi scratched her head.

"Go get it." Tsuki commanded.

"What, do I--" Fumi was cut off by her vanishing for a moment and then reappearing. "Okay, here it is."

Fumi moved forward and placed the white mask on the table. The rest of the group stared at it carefully.

"Can we fix it?" Tsuki asked.

"What do you need it for?" Fumi asked.

"I wanna paint it black and gold."

Sylvie grabbed the mask. "I know where this is going… It might be dangerous."

"Have a little faith in Tsuki." Fumi smiled.

"It's kinda smashed to pieces though." Sylvie ran her finger along the edge of the mask.

"Can Aurelia fix it? Maybe she can copy it?". Fumi stood over Sylvie's shoulder.

"Where is Aurelia anyway?" Haru looked around the room.

"Busy." Claudia held a little note with a big red heart in front of Tsukiko's face.

"Damn, there goes that plan." Sylvie laid her head on the table.

"No… I think Lily can do it." Tsuki nodded.

"Lily?"

"Can you bring Lily here?" Tsuki asked Claudia.

The instant she finished the sentence, Lily appeared.

"Hello!" Lily smiled.

"Can you fix this?" Tsuki handed her the smashed white mask.

Lily looked at it. "I can try."

"Go for it, kid." Tsuki put her hand on Lily's head.

Lily nodded and motioned for Sylvie to put the mask down on the table. She placed her hands over the mashed white mask and took a deep breath.

The others watched Lily closely as she concentrated. Rainbowy light began to escape from between her fingers and the rest of the group gasped.

"Whoa, what the--." Haruka's eyes widened.

"…grandpa's stories were true." Sylvie said to herself.

Lily took her hands off the mask and it sat in its perfect white and gold color.

"It worked!" Lily grinned.

"Great job!" Tsuki hugged Lily and let her go.

Lily once again vanished in an instant.

"Are we not gonna question that?" Haru looked around the group.

"What's there to question?" Fumi laughed.

"Now all we have to do is paint it black." Tsuki put on the mask for fit. "You should paint yours too, Sylvie."

"Huh, me? No way, what if someone sees me?" Sylvie seemed more uncomfortable than angry.

"It's a mask, Sylvie." Fumi mocked her.

"What if I get captured?" Sylvie turned to Haruka.

"I've always wondered if I could run the Damascenes." Haruka smiled with her teeth showing. "Tsuki can come rescue you. It'll be fun to have someone else do it for a change."

"Fine, I'll do it." Sylvie had an uneasy look on her face. "You're a bitch sometimes, Haruka."

Haruka's smile disappeared. "Sylvie, you know I'd give you a better idea if I had one. I don't like it either, but it's the only shot we've got."

Sylvie avoided eye contact. "Sorry… I know, I just--"

"Trust me, Sylvie." Tsukiko looked her in the eye.

Sylvie looked her in the eyes for a moment before relaxing a bit. "…I trust you, Tsuki."

"Now we get to painting!" Fumiko completely ruined the moment.

"But what about the gold? It'll take forever to paint around this." Sylvie pointed out the lines of gold laid into the material.

"Yeah, you'll look like a dumbass if your mask is covered in shitty black gloss." Haruka laughed.

"…gold paint?" Tsuki suggested.

"Yeah, that's the hard part… Maybe we can bake it? Burn the material and make it a sort of charcoal color?" Fumiko stared intently at the mask.

Claudia returned with a tool box, which she put on the table. She put her hand on Fumi's shoulder and leaned in to look at the mask she was holding. The redhead pulled the mask out of her hand and motioned for Sylvie to hand over hers.

"W-what? I don't have it." Sylvie held her hands up.

Claudia walked over and shoved her hand into one of Sylvie's jacket pockets. The blonde squirmed as the mute pulled out her well adorned white mask.

"You're a bad liar." Fumi chuckled.

The toolbox opened and out came some sandpaper and other rough materials. Claudia handed Tsukiko and Sylvie some sandpaper and their masks.

"Grind until the gold fades and the surface is rough." A note under each mask said.

They both followed her instructions perfectly. The glossy, slick exterior of the masks were now porous, scuffed, eggshell white faces.

"Now what?" Sylvie slid her mask over to Claudia. "Thank god I've got another one at home…"

Claudia reached into the rather small tool box. She reached in so far that the edge of the box went up to her shoulder. Carefully, Claudia produced a jug of water and a black powder and placed them on the table.

She reached in again and pulled out a pot. She poured water into the pot and mixed in some of the black powder, turning it into a black, inky soup.

"She works like a machine…" Haruka watched closely.

Claudia grabbed the masks and dipped the white sanded down parts into the black mixture.

They seemed to soak in the dye and turn as black as coal. It happened incredibly quickly, and the ink itself stuck to things very easily. Claudia put on rather long latex gloves over her usual white elbow gloves to pull out the dyed masks.

"Shouldn't you let it dry?" Tsuki asked.

Claudia brought out yet another tool to flatten the gold foil down. She formed several rudimentary geometric patterns and shapes as the dye began to dry.

The design was rough, yet beautiful. Claudia worked with amazing skill and precision. When she was satisfied, Claudia pulled out a small can of clear lacquer, adding back the gloss.

"Couldn't we have just used spray paint? That was needlessly complicated." Haruka yawned.

"I don't wanna get light headed from the fumes." Sylvie inspected the masks.

"Lacquer still has fumes." Haruka rolled her eyes.

"Huh?" Sylvie turned to Claudia. "Does this lacquer have fumes?"

Claudia shrugged.

"Damnit." Sylvie put on her new black mask. "Wait, it's already dry."

Tsukiko put on her mask too. "How do I look?"

"You're gonna get caught." Haruka spoke in a monotone voice.

"They'll be fine!" Fumiko replied loudly.

"What about the robes?" Haruka stared with a look of boredom.

Tsuki turned to her. "The what?"