The Knights Himura

The crowd occupied the center of the park, once again gathered beneath Merlin. They looked up at her, watching her as if they were an army awaiting orders from their general. Merlin leapt down from the branch of a tree with a somersault, landing perfectly on her two black boots, taking a bow before the crowd.

There Merlin stood, surrounded by the crowd and Tsukiko's Shakudos. Merlin played with the megaphone in her hand but kept it low as she mulled over what she was going to say. She paced back and forth with an agonized look on her face. Her eyes glanced toward Tsuki, then toward the crowd again and again, making sure the audience was eating it all up

Finally, Merlin faced the protesters. "Is this woman a criminal? Is she a villain? Did she hurt you? Did she hurt any of you?"

"No!" The crowd shouted back.

"Yet Ishikawa stripped her of her freedom. He punished a woman who was pushed to the brink by a gang his own men failed to protect her from, a woman who'd only ever done... noble things in her life." Merlin's voice went serious. "Everyone here has a story to tell about her. Everyone knows this woman's name, even if we don't say it aloud."

The audience went quiet, some nodding along.

"Instead, she's taken the title thrust upon her and turned it into her own. This woman is his villain, she is the one fighting against him, the one resisting the same things you all resist, and even with all that on her shoulders, she still wants to protect you, all of you." Merlin proclaimed.

Tsukiko lowered her gaze, thankful that her mask hid her pained face.

"It was the police who hurt you. It was Ishikawa's men who beat you, assaulted you, and tried to trap you in the alleys!" Merlin continued. "It was Ishikawa himself who ordered the police to attack!"

The crowd erupted into noise. Merlin moved toward Tsukiko, and grabbed her wrist, dragging her up to the crowd. She raised her hand, pointing toward Tsukiko's mask.

"This? This is who his men would call Izanami? A woman who kills a thousand men? An innocent woman he has forced to wear a mask?" Merlin raised her voice. "Has Izanami not been the one fighting the crime he says he wants to end? Doesn't she deserve her true title? Is she not a Knight?"

"Yes!" The crowd shouted again.

Merlin raised the megaphone to speak again, but stopped herself. She turned to Tsukiko, then held it out toward her, offering her a chance to finally speak to the protesters. In Tsukiko's hands, the megaphone weighed as if it allowed her to speak to the city itself.

"No." Tsukiko spoke. "I'm not a Knight. This isn't what a Knight would have done."

Merlin watched her, as did the crowd.

"A Knight wouldn't hide. A Knight wouldn't... run away. A Knight wouldn't falter." Tsukiko paused. "A Knight would have protected you. None of this would have happened if I was a Knight. I'm no Knight. Not anymore."

The crowd kept silent.

"I will become..." Tsukiko hesitated. "I will become what Ishikawa... so desperately wanted me to become."

There was a mild murmuring.

"Ishikawa wanted to be the hero. He wanted to be the one who took all the credit, the one who defended the people of Japan from criminals and monsters. He wanted to defend you from me." The woman named Izanami continued. "So I vow to become that criminal, that monster. I will take the name he's given me for myself."

Tsukiko didn't know what kind of response to expect from the crowd. At first, she felt justified in what she said, but as it came out of her mouth, it felt more and more wrong. By the end of it, she felt sick. After a moment of quiet, Merlin pulled the megaphone back out of Tsukiko's hands.

"Say it again!" Shouts came from all around. "C'mon, boss!"

Tsukiko thought for a moment, then reached over to take the megaphone back. She put it up to her mouth, choosing her words before shouting back.

"This is my vow! I've already been through hell and back, I don't want to be afraid anymore!" Tsuki stopped to take a deep breath. "I don't care if I have to fight a thousand men, I'm not backing down!"

The crowd exploded once again, shouting and cheering and clapping, anything to show their approval. Merlin took the megaphone back again, putting it to her lips and calling out to the crowd once again, but her voice was completely and utterly overpowered.

As the sound died down, Merlin could finally be heard. "Onward, through the other end of the park! Our march won't end until they relent!"

Just as they were ordered, Merlin's army began to march through the park, spreading outward to the other streets. In the chaos of it all, Merlin dropped down, pulling Tsukiko away from the rest of the crowd. The Magicienne put her hands behind her back and led her away from the protesters with a large, comical stride, toward a secluded garden within the park's center, away from everyone else.

Tsuki blinked and found herself instantly taken to some far away place, from night to late afternoon, replacing street lights for a deep orange sunset. The sounds of Tokyo were snuffed out and swapped out for the quiet of nature.

Looking around, Tsuki saw rows and rows of church pews, tables, an altar and a piano at its side. Little glowing specks of dust floated past her, all lit by the orange light fluttering in from the outside through cracked and foggy glass pane windows. Her mind screamed at her that she knew the place, but she just couldn't remember from where.

Merlin stopped in the middle of the church, spinning around on her heel to greet her guest.

"Where are we?" Tsukiko went on alert.

"A safe place." Merlin smiled. "I wanted some privacy. Only your ears can hear what I'm going to say."

"Did you pull this off yourself, or did Aurelia set you up to this?" Tsukiko stared at her.

Merlin closed her eyes, still smiling. "Aurelia's a good friend of mine, yes."

Tsuki shook her head. "Could've warned me."

"Would you have come with me if I did?" Merlin asked. "Tsukiko?"

Tsukiko didn't answer.

Merlin put her hands behind her back, taking big marching steps closer toward Tsukiko. Her boots thumped hard on the rotted wood floor, even the light weight of her petite body making them creak with each movement.

"Or... should I call you Izanami?" Merlin stared for a good long while, expecting some kind of response.

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Tsukiko broke eye contact. "I didn't choose it."

Merlin kept looking at her, her face making it very clear that Tsukiko'd said the wrong thing.

"...Merlin isn't your real name." Tsukiko paused. "Then... I suppose to make ourselves equal, you can call me Izanami."

"Izanami..." Merlin repeated it slowly, savoring each syllable. "It's an ominous, terrifying name, a primordial monster meant to be defied and destroyed. Beyond that... he has given it no meaning."

"No meaning?"

"It's a fine name." Merlin waved her hand dismissively.

"Of course it has meaning." Izanami scoffed. "You said yourself, it's terrifying. Why else would he give me this damn name if it wasn't supposed to mean anything?"

"It doesn't have any real bearing on who you are." Merlin explained. "It's just... an epithet, a mean name he can use."

Izanami paused. "And a name I was dumb enough to make stick."

"Why?"

Merlin had an uncanny ability to bend the whole world around her. Even Tsukiko felt a bit of awe looking at her, the bird calls and sounds of the wind all going silent around them as the light hit Merlin's eyes, letting them sparkle like fine cut peridot jewels. At that moment, Tsuki finally remembered her outing with Lily in that church.

"Why?" Izanami laughed. "...I took your advice. I stopped holding back. I became a villain. It was my role in the story."

"My advice?" Merlin's eyes widened a little. "I never said anything like that. Everything you've done so far has been your own decision."

"Huh?"

"I guess it's too late to explain this now, but that wasn't what I intended when I told you to pretend." Merlin let out an uncharacteristically awkward laugh. "I wanted to help you understand that even if your dreams feel unreal, you should still have faith in them."

Izanami stood there, staring, not sure what to say back. Merlin started pacing around again, her head swaying with her steps, presumably knocking her brain around to let her find the perfect reply.

"You've always had some kind of... extraordinary role, some grand fate on your shoulders, even before you became the Third Knight." Merlin explained herself.

Izanami dreaded hearing what she thought Merlin would say.

"But this time, you're defiant. You took the burden and snatched it out of his hands." Merlin cocked her head slightly. "You didn't accept the name Izanami. You stole it for yourself. Izanami's first act is always defiant."

Izanami let out a sigh of relief. "At least I managed to rip back some control."

"Well, I figured that was your goal." Merlin's lips curled up slightly. "Though, I didn't expect you to take this path."

"Which?"

"Reforming the Shakudos." Merlin said bluntly. "...especially after what they did to your friends."

From the look on Merlin's face, she wasn't thrilled about Tsukiko's gambit. Even as she'd spoken the name, she squirmed a bit, eyes darting away.

"The Shakudos... Morgan's Shakudos were terrifying. They were horrible, destructive." Izanami admitted. "If Morgan had been a stronger leader, I don't know if I would've won."

"So you wanted to... tap into that terror?" Merlin interrogated her.

"That's half of it." Izanami nodded. "But deep down, I know I'll always be anchored to the Shakudos. I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for them."

"Is this some twisted way of paying respects?" Merlin asked. "...I guess I should trust your judgment."

Izanami lowered her head. "Trust me, I'm not a hundred percent sure myself. I'm out of my element. I'm scared. I'm stressed. Deep down, though... It feels good to let loose a little."

Merlin nodded.

"I don't have a plan, just... goals, places I want to end up." Izanami hesitated. "That's not what anyone wants to hear from me. I don't even know if I deserve to be called a villain. I'm nothing."

"You've carried yourself this far." Merlin comforted her. "Take it from me. Not every plan has to be realistic. That's why we call them dreams, sometimes. Stop being so serious. Let the miracles happen. There's extraordinary things in ordinary circumstances."

"So that's what you really meant by pretending..." Izanami muttered.

"If you look at the world how it is, just taking in what you see, then of course everything is scary and miserable." Merlin spoke earnestly. "But when you take a second to think about how you feel, everything that's in your mind, in your heart, you know the world isn't a cold place after all. Everything we do, everything we believe it, it's all... silly in some way. That silliness is the extraordinary. That's the value in everything."

"That sounds like something I'd hear coming out of Aurelia." Izanami smiled.

"It sounds crazy." Merlin smiled back. "But sometimes, you sometimes have to be crazy."

Merlin approached a piano sitting by the altar, running a single finger down all its ivory keys. The tone got higher and higher with each note as she stepped past it and toward a window. Izanami watched as Merlin dramatically dropped down onto one of the pews, spreading her body out the best she could. She offered Izanami a seat next to her, which she took.

Izanami sat down. "I didn't expect you to come around and rile up the crowd like that.

"It is a Magicienne Musketeer's job to protect ordinary people." Merlin explained. "Regardless of circumstances, I am still protecting them when I help them fight for what they truly want."

"Is that why you keep talking about the ordinary and the extraordinary?" Izanami asked.

"Everyone has something extraordinary within them, their dreams, their ambitions, their loves and their hates." Merlin paused. "I want to protect that. I want people to explore those sides of themselves without worry. I want to keep people safe so they have the opportunity to grow."

Izanami cocked her head a little. "I'm glad one of us is still fighting for the people."

"You've done so much more for them than I have." Merlin praised. "These people... You inspired them to seek power in the mundane, and in the normal. They're protecting what makes them extraordinary."

"Please, they're just mad about the curfew." Izanami handwaved the compliments away.

"Izanami." Merlin glared. "Deny it all you want, you know the truth. Like it or not, your actions make an impact. You've changed people's lives."

"...I just don't wanna hear it all the time." Izanami shook her head.

"You need to hear it." Merlin insisted. 'You need to know that you've helped people. You need to know that your friends would make the same sacrifices you make for them. You need to know what the world really thinks of you."

Izanami didn't really want to respond.

"Please, just... listen." Merlin pleaded. "You've done more for me than you'll ever know."

"Who are you?" Tsuki choked out.

"I'm the Magicienne Musketeer Merlin." She said with a flourish. "And that's all you need to know. You've helped plenty of people like me without learning their names. Just remember me as one of the ones who never got the chance to repay you."

"I didn't do it expecting to be repaid." Izanami looked at her.

"Stop it. Let yourself be proud. Be happy. Smile. Please." Merlin pleaded. "You don't have to beat yourself down and act humble."

Izanami sort of froze when Merlin spoke.

"Just be happy. That's all I really want."

Izanami took a deep breath, then nodded. "Okay. I'll do my best."

"Thank you."

Izanami lowered her head. "I'm so afraid of making mistakes right now. I don't want to do the same things Morgan did. I don't want to be some arrogant idiot taking risks just to make myself feel big."

"But you have to take risks." Merlin told her. "And you know that. That's why you decided to do all of this. That's why you have that mask."

"Of course I know that." Izanami sighed. "But one mistake might cost me my life."

"You might not realize it, but you've already won." Merlin said. "You won a long time ago."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't have to worry about making mistakes." Merlin sighed. "The protesters, your gang... The whole world is on your side. You were never alone."

"Then why do I feel like this?" Izanami asked. "What's this... pit in my stomach?"

Merlin blinked. "Fear."

Izanami's shoulders slumped. "Is that it?"

Merlin approached her, slowly wrapping her arms around Izanami. Izanami shuddered at her touch at first, but relented after a second.

"Please, be brave." Merlin spoke softly. "We haven't abandoned you. We're all still here, watching over you."

"Who are you--"

Merlin cut her off. "You know exactly who I'm talking about."

They both went silent, but Merlin just wouldn't let go.

"...you can read me like a book." Izanami choked out. "...deep down, I've been so angry at them. I've been so... lost without them."

Loud sounds from outside the church cut through the silence. Merlin pulled away and Izanami turned quickly, as someone started pounding on the church's doors before they burst wide open.