Blitz was humming his favourite tune while putting the finishing touches of the lunch. The Four Seasons pizza is already baking in the oven together with some bread, and now he’s putting the salad together –Huge lettuce garnished with slices of tomatoes, onions, olives, sprinkled with pepper, olive oil and slices of cheese -, large fries sliced in huge potato sticks and a large jar cold iced tea.
“You seem in a very good mood.” Scorpio said, staring at Blitz who is putting the bowls on the wooden table.
“Of course.” Blitz said, opening the oven door and pulling out the pizza and bread. “I managed to make a friend in this place…”
“Oh, that’s great.” Scorpio said, nicking one of the fries. “Who is it?”
At that moment, there was a soft hello coming form the doorway. Scorpio turned and gave a shout of surprise.
The shrine maiden is there, looking hesitant. As always, she wears her standard shrine maiden uniform and she’s holding a basket stuffed full of jars.
“Oh hey, you made it.” Blitz said, ignoring Scorpio who’s gawping at her. “Come on in, I just served up the stuff.”
“I can’t stay long…” She muttered, averting his gaze. “I have to go somewhere.”
“Well, eat something first before you go at least.” Blitz said, ushering her into the place. “Scor, this is…um, ah, I didn’t get your name.”
“… … … … … … …Luna…”
“Scorpio, Luna.”
Scorpio held out a hand and she shook it. “Very pleased to meet you.” He said in a slightly choked voice. “You take care of the shrine?”
“Yes, I don’t come into town often.” Luna said. She then held out the basket to Scorpio. “Herbal medicine. I made them myself.”
“Come in, help yourself to some pizza, salad and fries. I even got bread…” Blitz gestured at the table.
As she made her way to the table, Scorpio said, “Ahm, Blitz, can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Sure…”
Blitz followed him out to the corridor. He waited till they were safely outside and out of earshot before he went, “So?”
“So?”
“Blitz, my man. You just hit the jackpot.” Scorpio said, shaking his head.
“I don’t get you, Scorpio.”
“She’s a… a….babe!” Scorpio blurted. “Look at her-” They both peeped from the doorway, where Luna was buttering the bread and nibbling it delicately. “-She’s cute, petite, and soft as a marshmallow.”
“Uh, yeah… I guess…” Blitz said, blushing slightly.
Scorpio gave a sigh. “I never seen her before, to be honest, dang, I wished I known her sooner.”
“You see, I told you she’s innocent!” Blitz said with triumphant air. “Come on, let’s eat.”
***************
Demise was in the usual place in the wood, tending Sigan to his wounds. He had strip himself topless so that his well-developed six pack is shown in the light of the flames, except his body is covered with thin whip slashes that criss-crossed all over the place.
“I already tend the wounds with my herbs, they’ll heal in no time at all.” He said, setting down his herbs.
“That witch…” Sigan spat. The shrine maiden’s hair is lain carefully on a piece of cloth. He had shown up and bash him aside. Then he left, but not before asking Demise to keep the hair safe in cloth.
“If she wasn’t his favourite, she would’ve been nothing….”
“Calm down, Sigan.” Demise sighed. “This is relatively lucky compared to the last time you gotten for setting your ravens on her.”
“Calm down? She ought to be on her knees instead of being given the privilege to boss us around.”
“That’s because you can’t accept the fact a teenage girl has been given a higher privilege to boss us around.”
Sigan pulled back his tunic, looking disgruntled. Shaking back his hocking white hair, he turned and said, “Thank God we’re not staying here any longer…”
“Don’t be too sure of that.” Demise said, “She’s an escape artist. Look at the times she ran away from us…”
“Like when?”
“Like the time she used bed linens to make a long rope and slide down out of Bro’s room. ” Demise started ticking points off his fingers.
“That was a very dumb attempt.”
“What about the time she went to the dragon stables and used one of them to escape?”
“My ravens spotted her when she escaped halfway.” Sigan shifted in his seat.
“And then there’s the time she stole kitchen knives from Monsieur Galleoux’s cabinet and hacked away at the vines that I planted at her windows.” Demise winced slightly at the memory.
“Enough, we don’t need to look back at the time she ran off. Hopefully, he’ll get her then we leave.”
Easier said than though, Sigan thought, looking silently at the flames.
Luna, as she called herself, managed to take half of her lunch –She had taken a liking to the fries- before announcing that she had to leave.
“Leave?” Blitz stared at the clock. ”But it’s not even dusk yet.”
“I got something to do…” She said apologetically. “Thank you for the meal.”
“You can come for lunch if you like.” Scorpio offered, taking the dirty dishes to the sink. “You don’t seem to have anything to eat much in the temple.”
“Thank you for your kind offer, I’ll think about it.” She got up, thanked them again and left. The front door tinkled and then it stopped, signaling that she had left.
“Scorpio, what does she do?” Blitz asked as they wash up the dishes.
“A shrine maiden does lots of stuff, you know, like taking care of our town’s shrine, doing sacred cleansing, dancing a sacred dance, offer omikuji fortune telling, sell souvenirs and healing, like a shaman or a physician.”
“Really? She can heal?”
Scorpio nodded. “Before she came here, the nearest clinic is like an hour and a thirty minutes drive. I’m not complaining about the distance or anything, but what if the clients are terminally ill? They’ll be dead by then. She uses herbs for healing.”
“You have a point.” Blitz nodded. “I’ll go check up on her later, just worried, you know.”
“Oh, I know what you mean.” Scorpio winked. “Why don’t you just go now and I’ll tackle these…”
Luna stared outside of the clock tower. It was just about dusk time, so the street lights just lighted itself like round glowing orbs. The tower itself look very spooky, the brick wall colour has long since faded, and the clock face is like a white moon against the brick structure. The door is originally heavily chained, but the chain has been broke apart.
The phantom, she wondered.
Get a grip, there’s no such thing as a phantom. A voice in her head told. It could be some of those kids who are trying to play a prank on you. Just get this over with.
She reached for the doorknob, which felt as cool as china in her hand. A shiver seemed to run into her spine as she held it in her hand. Shaking the thoughts away, she pushed it open with a loud creak.
The interior of the tower is no different than its outside. There are abandoned piles of crates all over the place, and there’s flights of wooden stairs that led all the way up high to the top.
Inhaling deeply, she climbed. Every time her bare feet stepped on a step, it gave a loud creak. No one has bothered cleaning the tower ever since the clock has stopped running. There’s seemed to be no one up here. She had armed herself with a bow and quiver of arrows for emergencies but it looks she she’s not going to need it. It seemed to take forever to reach the top but when she did, she felt her breath taken away.
There’s a window on one side of the wall, which shows the view of the town form up high. Not as open as the Sierra Peaks, though, but it’s still pretty all the same. She could even see the shrine from up here.
I’ll be waiting for you at the clock tower.
What does that mean?
She was about to lean against the wall behind her when she bumped into something hard. Something….warm.
Slowly, she turned and felt her eyes widened.
**************
Blitz was running down the stone steps of the shrine, looking rather worried. No one’s there. There’s nobody there at all. She didn’t even went back to the temple at all. He had asked a passerby whether he had seen her, and he just went, “If yer looking for the lassie, she went to the tower. The tower’s the home of the Phantom. ”
Why the tower ? Blitz thought, running into the Mayor’s street, where the place is. I just have a very bad feeling about this.
“Hey you!” A voice called out. “You can’t trespass here, this is private property!”
Blitz skidded to a halt and turned to find a young man, looking at him with suspicious eyes.
“Sorry, but I’m looking for the shrine maiden.”
“There’s no shrine maiden coming by here.” The young man said, looking stern. “Who are you?”
“WHAT??? Dude, can’t you just let me pass?”
“No, and you’re coming with me to the Mayor’s.” The young man approached him.
Blitz groaned and grabbed the young man by the collar and throw him onto the floor, knocking the lights out of him. Without another moment, he sprinted for the clock tower.
What’s with that guy though? He should’ve seen her gone by, so why did he say she didn’t come by here?
When he’s out of sight, he didn’t see that Demise has appeared, dressed like the Grim Reaper, wielding a huge scythe with a dangling flower shaped keychain, glancing down at the knocked out man.
“I never expected that to happen.” He said, looking completely unruffled. “Who’s that guy anyway?”
He then knelt down beside the knocked out man and turned him over. On the back of his neck, there’s a rose-shaped emblem. His emblem.
Shaking his head, he swung his scythe once. Something went flying into the air and went splat onto the ground.
“Aw, there goes a good head.” Demise said, staring down at the lifeless body. “Oh well…”
***************
“What’s wrong with these stairs?!!!!!” Blitz yelled as he ran up the stairs.
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