The Knights Himura

Haruka led the group back through the city, away from the outskirts warehouses and down through the darkest alleys. It'd already become nighttime, the moon rising high up above, but the air conditioners hanging out of windows and the intertwined telephone cables above started to block out its light. Only the warm lights of the shops illuminated the path ahead.

Grime and trash lined the walls at both sides, and shady shops blared music and adverts at anyone who walked by. A bar at their side let out a suffocating wall of cigarette smoke, choking them as they walked past.

As they moved through, customers would lower their voices, and start speaking in hushed tones. From the corner of her eye, Tsuki saw a few of them close their blinds as they passed, and many businesses were outright closed, their doors and shutters locked.

"Uhh, Haruka? You sure you know where you're goin?" Kazuo's eyes kept scanning from side to side.

"You'll be fine, idiot." Haruka sighed. "You gettin' tired yet, Tsukiko?"

Tsukiko carried Lily in her arms. "I'll be okay. I'm more worried about Lily."

"She'll be okay, trust me." Haruka upped her pace.

Turning a corner, the storefronts became the back door entrances for the more successful, forward facing businesses. Here, there was no music, only the buzz of fluorescent lights that hung over each door. Even the air conditioners fell silent, since the air that night was cool. They kept moving, squeezing past a motorcycle that made the path even narrower.

One of the doors stood out. Instead of being a plain metal or layered particle board, this one was made of a very ornate, carved oak. Golden metal lined the frame, and the knob sparkled in the moonlight. A small plaque sat on the door, but the text on it was illegible.

Haruka approached this strange door and knocked. Three knocks, then two kicks that shook the entire door. She then held up her hand to signal to the others to wait. There was an awkward pause before the door swung open.

With no hesitation, Haruka stepped through the door and signaled for the others to do the same. The first thing Tsuki noticed was the scent of roses, subtle but unmistakable. Looking around, though, the inside of the place seemed far too big for what they'd seen from the outside.

Tsuki felt a hand grab her shoulder and tug gently, startling her. She turned and found a short little redheaded girl, about as strange as the place itself was. She wore a plain, black sleeveless dress and long white opera gloves that reached past her elbow, with a small black stewardess cap on her head.

Looking at her, Tsuki felt as though the girl had some strange, almost otherworldly quality to her, looking like nobody she'd ever seen before. Her little smile did nothing to soothe her concerns or doubts or curiosity. She just stood there, not speaking a word as the others surrounded her, not sure what to make of her.

"Uhhm. H-Hello?" Tsuki finally spoke with a stutter.

The redhead stood there and stared.

Tsuki scratched her head. "S-Sorry. We sort of barged in, and--"

"Hey, Claudia, you think they're here yet?" Fumiko's voice startled the group.

"Fumiko?" Tsuki nearly dropped Lily on the floor as she quickly turned around.

Fumi held up a hand. "Haruka texted me."

Tsuki turned back to her sister, who smiled back at her.

The redheaded girl, now known as Claudia, tugged on Tsukiko's sleeve and led her away from the group and toward a hallway with dozens of doors on both sides. She put her arm under Tsuki's and started leading her along, the hallway seeming to stretch on for an unnaturally long distance. Luckily, their destination was just a few doors away from the entrance, but Claudia's grip was still awfully tight.

Inside was a small room, with a bed, nightstand and chair. At the side by the door, there was a small bookshelf full of all kinds of colorful books. Claudia walked past Tsukiko and motioned for the bed, as though she were telling her to place Lily down onto it.

"Are you sure?" Tsukiko turned to the small redhead.

Claudia only nodded in response.

Tsukiko approached the bed and kneeled down to place Lily on the bed, being careful to straighten her out and lay her head on the pillow. Tsuki pulled the white blanket on the bed and pulled it over Lily, then grabbed her hand and cursed herself again, still feeling responsible for it all.

The little stewardess approached, tugging on Tsukiko's arm.

"What's up?" Tsuki blurted out.

Claudia pointed toward the doorway, and Tsuki understood, getting back onto her feet and stepping back out into the grand hallway. Once again, she guided Tsukiko through the weird hallway and back to the storage room. When she arrived, the lights were on, finally revealing for certain that the place was far larger on the inside than it was on the outside.

Tsuki started pacing around, looking all over, trying her best to just convince herself that her eyes were deceiving her, or that it was all some strange trick being played on her. Her head was high up in the clouds when she finally bumped into someone during her wandering. She found herself standing in front of a very tall blonde haired woman, well dressed but with a very dated style.

"Oh, you must be… I suppose I should call you Miss Himura for now?" The blonde woman smiled gently.

Tsukiko paused for a moment to notice the woman's bright red eyes, almost glowing in the light. They reminded her of her own eyes, but the woman's gaze felt twice as bright.

"Uhh…" Tsuki stared.

"Take a good look, this is a face you will not want to forget." The tall woman spoke.

The way the tall lady spoke was so strange, and the way she looked was unnerving, but Tsuki felt comfort in her voice and her actions. Tsukiko felt something akin to fear when she looked at her, but she didn't want to run away, no, she wanted to get closer to the woman. It felt like she was doing something dangerous, like she was willingly being sucked into a whirlpool, but the woman posed no threat to her. Even though she'd never seen her before, she felt she could trust the woman. There was a sense of painful familiarity, but not nostalgia or memory to back it. The more time she spent thinking about it, the stranger she felt.

"Hello?" The woman smiled.

"Oh, uhh, hello." Tsuki couldn't look away.

Tsuki'd never seen a woman wearing all white in that part of town, but there she stood, dress, corset, gloves and all, with a huge sun hat adorned with roses, feathers, and a ribbon. It reminded her of Lily's hat, but this one was far more ornate, with an oval shape and curl along the back of its brim. A big red jewel broach hung just below her neck.

Despite the woman's ornate and elaborate dress, she herself seemed to be disheveled. There were dark bags under her eyes, and her hair was messy and unkempt, with loose hairs and split ends that stuck out. Still, her smile never faded, giving her a somewhat endearing quality, even with how odd it seemed.

Tsuki figured that, if such a bizarre looking woman had been roaming the streets of Tokyo, she probably would've seen her already, but she hadn't even heard of her. Her appearance was both messy and clean at the same time, unevenly colored, but still pure white. She seemed distant, yet trustworthy, and the look in her eyes was tired but her demeanor was lively. She was scary, yet lovely. Her entire existence was an anomaly, a paradox standing in front of Tsukiko and looking her in the eye.

"Are you just going to stare at me, Miss Himura?" The blonde didn't bat an eye.

"Oh… Uhhm…" Tsuki stuttered.

"It is alright, you must be worried about Lilith's well being." The woman looked around the room. "Hello? Claudia?"

The redheaded stewardess was standing behind her.

The tall blonde turned around. "Oh, there you are. Could you prepare some tea for this Miss Himura and I? Let the others know that I will be speaking with her, yes?"

Claudia returned her smile, bowing, then exited through one of the doors, the blond following close behind. Tsukiko was confused for a moment, not sure if she was supposed to follow her. Eventually, her curiosity took hold and she grabbed the door's knob and turned it.

Beyond the door was a room filled with piles and piles of fabric rolls stacked on shelves and tables. Ribbons and frills sat tightly rolled on big wooden spools. Wooden mannequins lined the empty spaces between them wearing frilly little dresses, ribbons, and skirts. Unfinished garments hung on hooks and wooden poles in the corners. The whole place was an absolute mess.

"Over here, Miss." The strange blonde woman called out.

The blonde woman with the tired eyes was sitting at a countertop with fabrics spread around, all pushed aside so she could place down a dish with fresh tea in cups. Tsukiko approached slowly, unsure of what to expect.

"Is everything alright?" The woman laughed a little.

"Everything seems so… fast?" Tsukiko sat down on a small chair next to her.

"I understand." The strange woman took a sip.

"Are you Madame Jeanne?" Tsukiko looked up at the strange person.

"Mmm. That is just a local nickname. You may call me Aurelia." She looked down at Tsukiko with the warmth of a mother.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Aurelia?"

"Yes." Aurelia nodded.

"Where are you from?" Tsukiko whispered.

Aurelia sat for a moment, looking for an answer. "Nowhere in particular."

"No, I mean, where were you born? Where did you grow up?" Tsukiko took a sip of her tea. "American? French?"

"Does it really matter to you that much?" Aurelia's fingers played with some fabric.

"…Guess you've got a point." Tsuki stared down into the tea. "It's just… you don't sound like you're from here."

Aurelia took it as a compliment. "I was truly blessed to have such a strange name, I think."

"It's memorable, at least. Though… I'd say you stick out like a sore thumb." Tsukiko felt bad pointing this out. "...at least here in Tokyo."

"Well, I would hope so. I put a lot of effort into my fabrics." Aurelia put her hand on some rolls of cloth.

"My name's Tsukiko, by the way." She made sure to bow her head slightly out of respect.

"It is rare in this city to hear someone's first name, no?" Aurelia twirled around a spoon in her cup.

"It's a given name for a reason. It means something, y'know?" Tsukiko's voice rose a little with pride.

The tall blonde woman laid her hand on Tsukiko's. "I made an outfit that I think would look beautiful on you. Would you like to see?"

Tsukiko blinked, and when she opened her eyes again, Claudia was standing in front of her, holding out a huge canvas bag. Tsuki grabbed the bag out of her hands and inspected its contents. By the time she looked back up, the redhead was gone.

Tsuki looked around the room. "Where did she go?"

"Try it on, you will love it." Aurelia completely ignored the question.

"Uhmm, where do I change?" Tsukiko stood up slowly.

"Do you see that door over there, by the mannequin with the pink dress?" Aurelia pointed to one of the corners of the room.

Tsukiko pulled off the blue jacket and hat that she had worn during the raid and handed it to Aurelia.

"You know my sister, right? This is hers." Tsuki looked down.

Aurelia nodded. "Yes, I know her."

Tsukiko left Aurelia and entered the changing room.

--

When she exited the changing room, Fumiko was standing and waiting for her at the door. "…holy crap"

"Huh? Is something wrong? Does it look bad?" Tsuki blushed.

"…it's perfect." Fumi muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"It's perfect!" Fumiko cried.

Tsukiko stood there, all stiff, not knowing how to feel about the outfit. Judging by what Haruka had said earlier, it must have been a "Knights Himura" uniform, but it was far more elaborate than she'd expected. It came with a pure white double breasted jacket with two deep red stripes around the wrists on each sleeve and eight piano black buttons, eight in two columns of four, golden thread adorning the edges of the lapel.

Beneath the jacket was a deep red formal button up blouse with a black tie, leading down to a white pencil skirt with black pantyhose and a pair of black leather ankle boots. The boots themselves were just as elaborate as the jacket, with a thin heel, and made of a slick black leather with a bottom and sole painted the same deep shade of red that colored the jacket's sleeves. On her head sat a flat topped, flat billed hat just like Haruka's, with a golden band sparkling around the entire hat, with a gold button on each side.

With time, Tsukiko came to appreciate the way she looked, feeling almost like an entirely new woman. She admired herself in the mirror, taking a good look at herself for the first time in a while. Her hair was still straight cut and razor sharp, her bangs and ends cut flat and blunt, now reaching past her hips. Her eyes were now a brighter red, filled with determination.

"Oh those heels!" Fumiko went on and on. "And that hat!"

"Yeah, I like it too." Tsuki admitted.

Fumiko jumped forward and fell into Tsukiko's arms. She looked up at her Knight for a while, with a big dumb smile on her face, before she moved up to give her a quick kiss.

"Fumi…" Tsukiko complained.

"How can I help myself when you look so good?" Fumi teased.

"C'mon." Tsuki looked away.

"Always had a thing for those kinds of boots." Fumi laughed. "And that white skirt..."

"I don't think I've ever worn boots like these, but they fit me perfectly…" Tsukiko leaned side to side in her new shoes.

Fumiko let go of Tsuki and backed away. "Well, they're sexy. The whole outfit is great!"

"Stop it…" Tsukiko's face turned red.

"Yo, give me and Tsuki some privacy, will ya?" Haruka strolled into the room, her entire uniform together for the first time.

"Aww." Fumiko slumped over in disappointment, and walked to the door.

"C'mon, sit with, uhh, Jeanne… and I, Tsuki." Haruka motioned for Tsukiko to come over.

"I would prefer that you would call me Aurelia." Her face straightened, no smile this time.

Haruka scratched her head. "Can't you make up your mind?"

"I have already introduced myself to the third, your sister. She deserves honesty and transparency." Aurelia's smile returned.

Haruka chuckled. "So, anything the runt should know?"

"Yes." Aurelia turned to Tsukiko. "Any questions?"

Tsukiko shot up like a rocket. "Yeah, where the hell am I?"

Haruka rolled her eyes. "A shop."

"What kind?" Tsukiko instantly asked another question.

Aurelia paused before speaking. "Whatever kind of shop that I need it to be."

"Why's it so huge then?" Tsuki asked again.

"Why should I limit myself with a small environment? This is much more than just a shop." Aurelia spoke rather vaguely.

Tsukiko blurted out another question. "Then how'd you know my measurements?"

Aurelia pointed to Haru. "Your sister told me."

Haruka turned to Aurelia with a bewildered look.

"No way." Tsukiko prodded. "I don't think she came around with a tape measure while I was asleep, I'd know otherwise."

"All the clothes here are custom made for certain customers. Some are made before those customers ever arrive." Aurelia looked proud of herself. "Part of that work is finding measurements, of course."

"Okay… Then who are these frilly dresses for?" Tsuki placed her hand on a particularly strange looking garment.

"Another customer, obviously." Aurelia spoke to Tsukiko as if she was a fool.

"Oh, well, duh." Tsuki spoke to herself.

Still, all of Aurelia's answers raised more and more questions.

"Just make sure to leave through the door you came through." Aurelia noted.

"Why?" Tsuki asked, despite knowing she wouldn't get a good answer.

Haruka put her hands behind her head. "Cuz you'll never know where you might end up."

"What?" Tsuki turned to her sister.

"I have served quite a few people in my time here." Aurelia's smile was genuine.

"Just don't go through the wrong door, OK?" Haru didn't even stop to think about this strange statement.

"May I ask you a question, Tsukiko?" Aurelia looked straight at Tsukiko.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Are you truly planning to become the Third Knight Himura?" Aurelia's eyes pierced through her.

Tsuki put her hands together. "I just wanna be strong for Fumiko."

"Your aunt wanted the title to mean something. She passed it down to Haruka because she knew she did not fight for just herself. Knights fight to protect." Aurelia put her hands on the table.

"I'm not a superhero, y'know." Tsuki laughed a little.

"I am not asking you to be one. It is simply within your best interest to be a good, upstanding person." Aurelia took a sip from her tea again.

"Hmm. You mean like chivalry and honor?" Tsuki scratched her head.

"No, be willing to help those in need. You will benefit as well. Strength comes from experience and being able to adapt." Aurelia's answer made some sort of sense.

Haruka shoved herself into their conversation. "She's right y'know!"

Aurelia glared at her, making her shake in her boots, before taking another sip of her tea.

When she lowered the cup again, there was another smile. "I have a proposition for you, Tsukiko."

"What is it?"

"Claudia?" Aurelia looked behind Tsuki.

Tsuki turned around and the redhead was standing by one of the shop's countless doors. On the other side was daylight, but it should still have been nighttime in Tokyo.

"Whoa, what the hell? How did she get there so fast? How the hell is it already bright out?" Tsuki backed away.

Tsuki looked back at Aurelia, and then back at the door, and Claudia was gone. She looked back once more and Claudia was standing between Aurelia and Haruka with a sly grin on her face.

"Just go through the door, and you will know the rest." Aurelia pointed.

"Be careful!" Haruka fidgeted in her chair.

–

After stepping through the door, Tsukiko found herself in a small, seemingly empty plaza. The ground below her was paved in brick, not the asphalt she was used to, and across from her was a stone fountain with a few shops beyond it. Tsuki turned around and found a strange wooden door with a sign above it in a script she could barely decipher. Somehow, she could read the name "Aurelia", but not much else.

Tsuki took a few steps forward, toward the fountain, and listened to its burbling waters and chirping birds, nothing like the city she'd spent her whole life in. When she looked into the waters, she saw the reflection of a deep azure sky, with no tall buildings or skyscrapers. The air was crisp and cool, refreshing with each breath. Tsuki looked back up, and in the distance, saw the tops of trees, like it was the edge of a forest.

A commotion broke out behind her and Tsuki turned quickly to see whatever it was. Two men were hassling another man and a young girl at his side, maybe his daughter. She stood and watched as one of the two harassers pulled out a knife and stabbed him. As he fell to the ground, the two men ran off and the girl that was with him followed him to the ground as he grasped at his stomach, staining both their clothes with blood.

–

Then, everything went white and Tsukiko found herself in the shop again, sitting in a chair, with tea in front of her in a small cup.

"…and you will know the re-- Oh, you have returned." Aurelia looked disappointed.

"What the fuck, man?" Tsukiko looked around, shaking and scared, her chest heaving as she panicked.

Haruka sighed. "Never said it would be easy, Tsuki."

"They just fucking stabbed that guy!" Tsuki shouted at her sister

Haruka grabbed her by the collar. "You saw Kaz nearly shoot a guy! Now you're getting all scared about a stabbing? Get a grip!"

Tsuki reeled, before sitting up straight again. "But he just… They just stabbed him! And I…"

"Miss Himura, not everything is lost. Pass through the door again, and you will see." Aurelia closed her eyes and smiled.

Tsukiko looked at Aurelia, then down at her own hands. Nothing felt real. Everything had happened so fast that her brain couldn't comprehend any of it. When she looked back up, Claudia was standing next to the door again, with that same smug smile and her hand up, like she was motioning for Tsukiko to step through again.