The Knights Himura

"Yo, you ready, Tsuki?" Haruka's voice pierced through Tsukiko's idle daydream.

Tsuki was sitting on the front steps of her family home, staring down at the ground, her gaze gently floating over each scuff, crack, and gap in the concrete. The sun was at its highest and brightest point, cutting through the deep blue sky, and fighting to light the world even through the gaps in the big pillowy white clouds above.

Haruka bent over, pulling up Tsukiko's head and looking at her, face to face. It was the same face Tsuki'd known her entire life, but seeing her again felt strange, a strange feeling settling in her heart. All the anger they'd had toward one another seemingly vanished. Maybe they'd get along for once. Neither of them could hold a grudge.

Tsukiko looked away, muttering a vague response. "Yeah, yeah, never better."

"You okay?" Haruka leaned in closer.

"Y-yeah." Tsuki stuttered.

"Here." Haruka held her head down and shoved something forward.

Tsuki looked down and saw the navy blue jacket and hat again. "...this again?"

Haruka shook her head. "It's not permanent. We'll get you fitted for your own jacket."

Tsukiko looked at the jacket. "It's not that, it's just--"

"Yeah, I know it'll be tight around the chest but, again, we'll get it custom fit!" Haruka groaned.

Tsuki frowned. "If it mattered so much to you before, why're you handing it over now?"

Haruka put a hand on Tsukiko's shoulder. "...I thought a long time about what Sylvie said. I think having you matters more than this stupid thing."

"Haru…"

"I know it's not your style, but try it. If anything, it'll give you a little protection out there." Haruka weakly smiled. "I know it's saved my ass before."

Tsuki sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't really intend for this to happen."

"Neither did I, but someday I knew my little sis would have to fend for herself." Haruka wrapped an arm around Tsukiko.

Tsuki avoided eye contact. "You think we'll find 'em?"

"Maybe, but right now, that doesn't matter." Haruka grabbed her sister's head and turned it back to face her. "Hey, look at me."

"Wha--"

"Promise me you won't abandon it." Haruka moved her hands down to Tsuki's shoulders. "Take care of my jacket."

"It's not mine." Tsuki made a weird face.

"You know what I mean, don't you?" Haruka said.

"C'mon, out with it."

Haruka took a deep breath. "I want you to be a good person. If you're gonna get a jacket of your own, I want you to fight to protect people. Fight for a good cause."

Tsuki shook her head. "That ain't my battle."

Haruka sighed. "You're not just fighting for yourself out there, right?"

"That's rich coming from you." Tsuki chuckled.

"Tsuki." Haruka looked Tsukiko right in the eye. "...what's it gonna take?"

Tsuki didn't blink. "Only if you do it too."

"You know it." Haruka smiled. "We're sisters for life. Never forget that."

Tsukiko managed to escape Haruka's grip. "I thought I wasn't worthy."

Haruka spoke quietly. "C'mon, don't make me take that back, alright?"

They stood in silence before Haruka unfolded the jacket and put it on her sister's shoulders.

"I feel like a soldier." Tsuki laughed.

Haruka shook her head. "Not a soldier. A knight. This is your armor."

"Oh, it's armor now?" Tsuki laughed a little.

Haru raised an open hand. "Don't talk shit, this jacket might save your ass someday. I owe my life to this thing."

"Quit being so dramatic. You sound like you're in a bad action movie." Tsuki backed away.

Tsuki put on the jacket, and while the fit was tight, it didn't restrict her movement at all. It was surprisingly comfortable too, not stifling or heavy in the slightest.

"We'll get you fitted for one soon, so don't worry too much about the size. Yours won't be blue or black. I'm thinking…" Haruka moved back and looked through a little rectangle she made with her hands.

Tsuki shrugged. "Why not red? I got my ribbons, and I won't be able to wear 'em with the hat."

Haruka closed one eye and looked through the square. "Mmm… Green?"

"Too soldier-y." Tsukiko protested.

"Brown!"

Tsuki played with the buttons on the jacket. "Maybe…"

"Nope!" Haruka parted her hands and stood normally. "Brown's kind of a boring color."

"Does it really matter?" Tsuki scratched her head.

Haruka kept staring as she tried to decide which color fit best. "Color's got meaning. You'd be surprised what a simple change like that can do."

"You've got a point…"

Haruka opened her other eye and put her hands down. "I'm trying to figure out how we'd add some red to your outfit."

Tsuki looked down at her clothes. "Can I be honest with you?"

"What is it?" Haruka got a little closer.

"...I don't know if this is for me, y'know?" Tsuki scratched her head.

"What do you mean?" Haruka asked.

"I just wanna find the guy who hurt Fumi and end it there." Tsuki admitted.

"I'm still getting you fitted." Haruka shook her head.

"...can you really cover this?"

"Of course I can. I… know somebody." Haruka stuttered.

Tsuki groaned. "Uh huh."

"I was like you at first, but… it felt right, y'know?" Haruka squinted as she designed an outfit in her head.

"What? Picking fights on the street doesn't really sound like my idea of a good time." Tsuki protested.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Haruka grabbed Tsuki and turned her around. "Seriously, just give it a chance, alright?"

"You almost done here?" Tsuki protested.

"Almost…" Haruka leaned forward on one leg till she was about to fall over. "I got it!"

The older girl tried to regain her balance, but fell over onto the ground.

Just then, a familiar accent broke through. "Heyyyy, you guys ready yet?" Sylvie shouted from out on the street.

"Ouch." Haru slowly stood up. "You ready?"

Tsukiko took the signal and replied. "Yeah, let's do this."

Haruka presented the outfit's flat-top billed hat to her sister, placing it on her head. It too was adorned with little bits of gold at the sides. Haruka untied her sister's red ribbon and knotted it around one of the jacket's buttons.

"There, now you look tough." Haruka smiled with narrowed eyes.

"Hello?" Sylvie whined.

"Coming!" Tsukiko dragged her sister out into the street.

--

"This is it." Sylvie sat down in the grass.

Tsuki was hiding with the others within a patch of tall, unkempt grass across from another abandoned warehouse, this one much taller and much larger than the one that served as the Damascene gang's headquarters. Judging by the burning look on Sylvie's face, she was painfully jealous of whoever owned the place.

Even from that far outside, they could hear loud music escaping from within, and they could see colorful flashing lights through the windows. Outside were dozens of empty cardboard boxes and wooden crates, all but confirming Kazuo's information and that they really had bought tons and tons of liquor.

"Bastards." Sylvie growled.

Haruka sat next to her and laid a hand on her leg. "You seriously getting mad over that? Focus."

"I don't think Fumi's gonna be too happy about this." Tsukiko kneeled beside them. "Maybe she should've come with us."

"It's too risky. Besides, she doesn't know how to fight yet." Haruka assured her.

"Yet?" Tsuki turned to Haruka.

"Everyone's got to learn self-defense someday. Gotta learn to use those hands outside of the bedroom." Haru's face contorted into a mocking grin.

Tsukiko hid her red face.

Sylvie chimed in. "Just for emergencies, y'know. Maybe she could help out someday, but for now, let's focus on this."

"I wish we wouldn't have to worry about that." Tsuki stared down at the grass.

"We won't have to for much longer." Kazuo spun the cylinder on his revolver.

"Put that away, you idiot!" Tsukiko grabbed his wrist.

"Calm down, they're just rubber!" Kaz struggled.

Tsuki bared her teeth. "I don't care."

Kaz pulled his hand away. "It'll save your ass in an emergency!"

Haruka cut in with a surprisingly calm voice. "He has a point, Tsuki. Just make sure it's not your first instinct."

Sylvie stood up. "Look at you, finally acting like the big sister type. It makes me kinda happy."

"One of us has to clean up Tsukiko's mess." Haru's teeth looked sharper than usual.

Sylvie moved first, looking around before inching closer and closer to the warehouse, moving to its side and making sure the place was clear before motioning for the others to follow. Sylvie and Kazuo were meant to enter from the sides to support the two "Knights", who would enter through the front doors. As simple as the plan seemed, it was far more clever than anything either of them had done in the past.

As Haruka and Tsukiko arrived at the door, they had to wait for a go signal from Sylvie and Kazuo. Tsuki carried a worried look on her face, but Haru reassured her with a smile, the same toothy grind she'd always given her sister.

"It'll be fine, Tsuki." Haruka tried to soothe her.

Tsuki lowered her head and let out a sigh of relief. Then, their phones started vibrating, indicating that it was time for them to push the doors open and start their assault. Inside, a room full of men in black robes and black masks turned to greet them, the music going quiet and the lights going dark.

For a party, the place seemed dull and barren, lifeless, with no tables or drinks, a wave of heat hitting Haru and Tsuki in the face as the inside air escaped past them. With the lights off, only the light of the sun flooding in through the doors and windows illuminated the place.

Sylvie was already kicking the Shakudos down by the dozen, spinning around like a dancer, and always keeping her body in motion to have her own momentum power her blows. She moved with grace, keeping her cool and staying aware of her surroundings even in the chaos of a fight.

Even Kazuo pulled his weight, fighting a hell of a lot better than Tsuki'd expected. He moved slower than the others, scanning his opponents for openings before attacking, and putting all of his force into each strike. With a calm and calculated strategy, he made quick work of his targets.

Tsukiko would take them on one at a time, weakening her opponents with a few quick blows, before slamming them into the ground with a great kick. She tried her best to learn from the fighters around her. She was faster on her feet than she'd been just a few weeks earlier, helping her avoid hits and break through her opponent's guard.

Haruka, being the most experienced and qualified, was cold, calculated, and brutal, like something within her had awakened. Nearly every attack targeted her opponent's head or legs, knocking them off balance, and sending them straight to the ground. She felt no shame in kicking her opponents while they were down.

While their opponents fell easily, something didn't seem right. During a break in the action, Tsukiko took a look around, feeling as if there was something missing, or at least there was a certain detail she wasn't quite noticing. She did her best to ignore it, instead continuing to fight and making quick work of the Shakudos. By the end of it, Tsuki hadn't even worked up much of a sweat. All together, it only took them a few minutes to clear out most of the room.

The Shakudos fell apart easily, with no leader or guiding force to keep them together, and some of them even started to run out of the building as they watched their comrades fall. The few that stayed behind hardly knew how to throw a punch, let along fight back, acting more like school kids than hardened criminals.

As they continued to clear out, the sounds of the skirmish started to die down, and in this new silence, Tsukiko heard something. She looked around, trying to track down the sound, and taking a moment to stop and catch her breath. For some reason, she felt something in her gut, some voice in her mind telling her to stop, then something dripped onto her forehead. She looked up, and another drop fell into her mouth, leaving a strange, familiar taste on her tongue.

Above her was a strange thing hanging from the ceiling, dangling from a rope. It was a grotesque mess of loosely connected wooden planks, boards, and rope. More drops fell down from it, one of which landed on Tsuki's hand, staining it a light brown. Then she heard a scream, and it started to wobble and swing.

Tsuki noticed that the hanging thing was connected to a catwalk, so she left her allies behind and ran to a nearby ladder, quickly climbing to the top. She grabbed the rail and ran as quickly as she could over to it.

As Tsuki came closer, someone inside of the wooden thing spoke. "Help me!"

"Lily? Are you OK?" The horrible realization made Tsuki's skin crawl.

"Help me!" Lily wiggled and struggled in the dripping wooden frame.

"I'll get you down from there!" Tsuki backed away.

Tsuki looked all over the catwalk to find any sort of way to save her. The rope that was holding the wooden contraption up was looped around some scaffolding and tied to a rail at the far end of the warehouse. Standing next to it was a Shakudo with a strange looking mask, watching Tsukiko. She started to run toward him.

A silver lighter flicked open in the Shakudo's hand, and then he held it against the rope. In less than a second, the flames ran down the rope and toward the wooden frame. It exploded into flames, the whole thing engulfed faster than Tsuki could react. Lily screamed louder, and the people below could finally hear her. Tsukiko tried to chase after him, but he was already too far away.

Instead, she ran for the rope tied to the rail, hoping to lower it to the ground so the others could extinguish the flames. Before she could get to the other end, the rope broke and soon, the wooden cage fell from the ceiling and smashed on the concrete below. The sound made Tsuki feel sick. She looked over and got a good look at the black and bronze masked man who'd done it, still watching her, but all she could do was go down the ladder and run to Lily's side.

By the time Tsuki made it all the way down, she was already out of breath. Still, she forced herself to keep running, making it to Lily, who was still trapped under the flaming rubble. As she approached, the pile exploded, extinguishing the flames around Lily.

Tsuki cursed herself as she kneeled down and found Lily's face stained with tears and dirt. Her clothes had clearly been singed, but her flesh was unharmed, like the flames had never touched her. Tsukiko reached out to touch Lily, running her fingers through her hair, before placing her hand on the girl's cheek. Haruka shouted at her, bringing her back to reality. Tsukiko grabbed Lily and started carrying her out of the building.

A temporary truce formed between them and the Shakudos, both sides helping one another escape the fire. Haruka even took the time to help them, carrying a few unconscious Shakudos out of the building, and Kazuo helped open the doors and search the place for anyone left inside.

Sylvie, rather selfishly, searched the place for anything interesting. Despite the raging fire and suffocating smoke, she refused to leave, checking every nook and cranny she could, and avoiding the fire to look for important documents and papers.

"Sylvie, let's get outta here!" Haru shouted.

"No way." Sylvie ran around the warehouse. "We haven't found anything good!"

Haruka ran after Sylvie. "They lit the whole thing on fire, you idiot!"

"It's fine!" Sylvie whined.

Haruka grabbed Sylvie by the collar. "I'm not letting you die here! Let's go!"

As she left the warehouse, Tsukiko tightened her grip on Lily, glad that the young girl was safe, but she wouldn't dare lower her guard again. The weight of poor Lily stirring in her arms only made her angrier.

One by one, the others exited the building after a short delay. Kaz ran out of the building, panting and looking back in horror. Parts of it had begun to fall down and collapse. The fire hadn't spread to any other nearby buildings, thankfully, but it was still a terrifying sight.

Haruka came soon after, dragging out an unconscious Sylvie. There was a big red boot mark across the blonde's face, but in Haruka's other arm, she carried a large cardboard box.

"Haruka, we gotta get Lily to the hospital!" Tsukiko panicked.

"She'll be fine, Tsuki. Don't worry." Kaz put a hand on Tsukiko's shoulder. "I'll call an ambulance."

"No." Haruka turned to Sylvie. "We need to take her to the shop."