The Knights Himura

Tsukiko's eyes fluttered open, something heavy laying on her chest. The sun's light had come pouring in through the window above the top bunk, ending up as one big glowing circle at the opposite end of the room, lighting up little specks of dust that danced around in the idle air. She looked down and saw Fumi's fluffy brown hair, watching her chest rise and fall with each quiet breath. Tsuki reached down and started twirling Fumi's hair between her fingers.

She leaned back, Tsuki taking that moment of peace to start thinking about things more clearly. Inevitably, her mind always wandered back to Fumiko. She'd thought about her a lot since the stabbing, but for once, it was without fear or anxiety or frustration. Once again, she could feel Fumi's warmth without feeling as though it was a fleeting feeling.

Tsuki waited a few more minutes before trying to get out of bed. "Get uuuuuuup, Fumi."

At Tsuki's command, Fumiko rolled off of her, and kept going. She would've rolled right off the edge, had she not stopped herself. She reached down to grab her clothes off the floor.

"Don't worry, I'm just goin' back to sit in a bed all day again anyway."

Tsuki tried to straighten her own hair. "Wouldn't want you to be late."

Fumi laughed a little. "I haven't seen you that messy in a while. You're always trying to look all prim and proper."

Tsuki replied. "People take you seriously when you dress well."

Fumiko searched around the room. "Aren't you afraid of intimidating people?"

"I've never intimidated you, have I?" Tsuki asked.

"You know me, I love a girl in uniform." Fumiko teased as she put her top back on.

Tsukiko looked down to inspect her own bandages, all of them left a bit messier than she'd last remembered, some of them still marked with blood.

"Last night hurt, y'know." Tsuki said, quietly.

"You weren't complaining then." Fumi finished dressing up. "If you didn't wanna hurt yourself, you should've just laid back and let me do all the work."

Fumi was the stronger one that morning. Just the night before, she'd been crying on Tsukiko's shoulder, but now she was teasing her with a big dumb smile on her face. Tsuki felt pathetic.

"Shut up." Tsuki turned red.

"I'll meet you downstairs." Fumi gathered her things and exited the room.

The bed frame creaked as Tsukiko rolled over and got up, still half naked. She lowered her head to avoid hitting the top bunk as she stumbled up, a groan escaping her throat as she stretched out her arms and legs. Tsuki could still smell Fumi's perfume, but she went beet red again when she realized it was coming from her own body.

A small wardrobe housed all of her clothes, each sliding drawer lined with dozens of perfectly ironed garments. It only took her a few seconds to throw together a sharp outfit of a white button up, black heels and navy blue pencil skirt, doing her best to make it look like the "uniform" Fumi liked so much.

Then, Tsuki took a brush and slowly straightened her hair, doing everything she could to quickly revive its deep black shine. She felt blessed to have hair that cooperated with her, even in the harshest of conditions. She reached over to a small wooden box on the nightstand and pulled out a small red ribbon, tying it into her hair. It appeared as a subtle, dainty little red twisted line on the side of her face.

With one last look in the mirror, she was finally satisfied and stepped down the stairs to see Fumiko waiting here with an excited look.

"Damn, you even put on pantyhose." Fumi looked her up and down.

"I've always got to look my best." Tsuki nodded in pride.

"You really don't know how good you look right now." Fumi continued to stare.

Tsuki could only take so many compliments. "C'mon, quit it."

"I'll keep my hands off you for now." Fumi gave her some relief.

Just as Fumi turned as though she was going to head for the door, a loud, booming knock startled the two of them. Tsukiko instinctively lunged before Fumi to defend her, then, when the knocks came again, slowly slinked toward the door. She hesitated when she heard a familiar sounding female voice shouting through it.

"Dad? Tsuki! Open up! It's me!" The voice shouted.

Tsukiko's heart sank as she reached for the door, opening it as slowly as she could get away with. On the other side of it stood a black haired girl, dressed in casual clothing, just a t-shirt and jean shorts. She had piercing red eyes, just like Tsukiko's, but the look on her face was completely different.

In the most blunt of descriptions, the girl was less refined than Tsukiko in almost every way. She had flowing black hair, a bit messy, unlike Tsukiko's long, blunt ended hair. The girl's big toothy smile didn't look at all like Tsuki's, her mouth full of razor sharp, saw-like teeth, all bared in a great, big, ear to ear smile.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

The woman leaned forward. "C'mon, open up for your big sis."

"Yeah, right." Tsuki scoffed as she slammed the door shut.

"Hey! What the hell?" The girl's mood soured instantly.

"Let her in, Tsuki. She's probably got a reason to be here, right?" Fumi approached the door and opened it.

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Even though there was some clear hostility and skepticism aimed against her, she still did her best to force herself in, either completely oblivious or just too stubborn to care about what'd just happened. She simply slinked past the both of them, pulled out a chair in the kitchen, and sat down before inviting them to join her. They both obliged her after a moment of shared pause.

Tsuki sat down. "Why are you here?"

"I heard what you've been up to." The girl said with a mocking look on her face. "Don't get yourself hurt tryin' to protect Fumi."

Tsuki sighed. "Haru, she was in danger."

The girl called Haru shook her head. "And you're covered in bandages."

"What's your point, Haruka?" Fumi interrupted.

Haruka crossed her arms. "Y'know, it's a whole gang. It's all over the news right now."

"How's that matter to us?" Fumi spoke coldly.

"I'm just giving you guys a warning!" Haruka turned to Fumiko.

"Don't need it." Tsuki scowled.

Haruka frowned. "Don't look at me like that, Tsuki, I'm your sister."

Tsuki slammed her hand on the table. "How am I supposed to look at you?"

"Well, if you keep looking like that, your face is gonna get stuck." Haruka chuckled.

"Is this a joke to you?" Tsukiko narrowed her eyes.

Haruka paused, giving her sister a strange look. "…the hell's your deal, Tsuki?"

"You're a real dumbass if you think you can walk in here like nothing's happened." Tsuki leaned back in her chair.

"I'm not the dumbass that's picking fights with hardened criminals." Haruka countered.

Tsuki nearly jumped out of her chair, but Fumiko caught her.

"Hey, hey!" Haruka backed away. "Don't do that!"

"What the fuck do you want, Haruka?" Tsuki shouted.

Haruka held her hands up. "I just need your help, okay?"

"If you're only back here for my help, you can leave." Tsuki glared.

"Tsuki, you can't--"

"Leave, Haru." Tsuki grit her teeth.

"You can't just kick me out cuz you're mad!" Haruka shouted.

"You already left once, so just do it again!" Tsuki stood up and leaned forward, shouting in her sister's face. "It was easy for you the first time, just walk out the door and fuck off!"

Haruka stood up too. "I never wanted to leave you behind, Tsuki! You should've come with me!"

"Like I was gonna leave with that bitch! You know what she did to Dad?" Tsuki's eyes began to water.

"It doesn't matter what she did to Dad, I miss you goddamnit!" Haruka choked out her words.

Tsuki wiped her face. "If you really cared about me, you would've stayed here."

"You think it was easy?"

"Yeah, easy enough for you to leave without a second thought." Tsuki began to grind her teeth. "When was the last time you talked to me? You showed up asking for help?"

Fumi stood up and tried to intervene. "Guys, guys, c'mon, calm down…"

"You didn't just leave me behind, what about Fumi?" Tsukiko doubled down on her efforts.

Haruka paused for a moment to catch her breath, then started shouting again. "I can't stay at home with a barely functioning drunk, Tsuki!"

"So you go with that goddamn bitch instead?" Tsukiko slammed her hand down on the table again.

"What choice did I have?" Tears ran down Haruka's face.

"Yeah, well--"

"Enough!" Fumi shouted. "Cut the bullshit, both of you. You're both here, right now. You either calm down, or one of you has to leave."

The two sisters went quiet, both of their faces cold and wet, stained with tears. Tsukiko had a fist at her side, but Haruka's head hung low.

Haruka stood up and began to walk toward the door.

"Don't." Tsuki stopped her.

Haruka turned around slowly, more tears running down.

Tsuki blinked and choked back her tears. "C'mon, sit down. Let's talk... for old time's sake, okay?"

Haruka stared for a moment, sniffling, before walking back toward the chair. "Yeah. Sorry."

Despite their best shared efforts, they couldn't even look at each other, it was just too painful. When one of them tried to speak, their words would get stuck in their throats and they'd choke on them, only able to let out a little whimper.

The first time they'd spoken to each other in… god knows Tsuki'd forgotten how long, and they were both bickering like children in front of an old friend. Tsuki didn't know if she could trust her sister, or truly reconnect, but she had to set aside her own pain and try.

"I'm sorry, Haru." Tsuki bowed her head. "You're my sister. I can't just stay mad at you forever."

"Forget it, okay? You don't need to apologize. There's no point in feeling guilty all the time." Haruka spoke softly.

"So, why'd you come here?" Fumi asked.

Haruka lowered her gaze. "Someone I know. Not really a friend, but… he joined that gang."

"And?" Tsuki blurted out.

Fumiko glared at her.

"I don't want him getting himself hurt. I want you to knock some sense into him." Haruka straightened up.

Tsukiko frowned. "Seriously? I could get hurt pretty bad, you said so yourself. What kinda favor's that?"

"Tsuki, trust me. I'll make it up to you." Haruka's lips curled up a little.

"...make it up to me?" Tsukiko asked.

"What do you mean?" Fumi approached Haru.

"Just trust me, okay?" Haruka looked at her sister.

"...you sure about this?" Tsuki asked again.

"Gimme a chance, alright?"

Tsuki gave herself a second to think, then gave her answer. "Alright, fine. I'll do it."

Haruka looked at Fumiko, then turned back to Tsukiko. "Thanks, Tsuki. I'm sorry for coming back like this, alright?"

"I'm gonna leave you two alone, okay?" Fumi spoke rather suddenly.

"Why?" Tsuki complained.

"I have to head back to the hospital, remember? I nearly forgot!" Fumi scratched her head.

"I can go with you." Tsukiko stood up.

"Nope. No way." Fumi shook her head. "I'll be fine, okay?"

Fumi turned and started walking toward the door.

Tsuki stood up and leaned in close to whisper to her. "Hey, are you sure about leaving me with her?"

Fumi turned slightly. "I thought you guys were gonna work things out."

"I know, it's just--"

Fumi pushed her back. "I've gotta go! Sit down, talk to her! She won't bite. I think."

Tsuki slowly fell back down into her chair.

"Cheer up, I'm still here." Haruka laughed.

Fumi was about to leave, grabbing the door knob, before stopping herself. She ran back to the table, grabbing Tsukiko and planting a big kiss on her cheek before finally running out the door.

"That's embarrassing." Tsuki hid her face.

"Why?" Haruka's face seemed serious again.

Tsuki went red. "It just is."

"She loves you, Tsuki. Be happy." Haru scolded her.

There was a short silence.

"How's Mom?" Tsukiko asked.

Haruka sighed. "What do you think?"

Tsuki scratched the back of her head. "I still don't know why you're still there…"

"I keep thinking that she'll come around eventually if I keep her pleased. Hasn't really worked out." Haruka carried a slight, defeated frown.

"I… I kept your bunk empty." Tsuki whispered.

Haruka hid her face. "So, you haven't replaced me?"

"Huh?"

Haruka sighed. "That's good."

"Are you alright?" Tsukiko asked.

Haruka stopped to think for a moment, then opened her mouth to say something. "...of course I am."

Tsuki saw through her sister's deception. "Haruka…"

"I'm good, Tsuki." Haruka closed her eyes. "What about you?"

"Well… to be honest, I feel really good." Tsuki scratched her head.

Haruka chuckled. "That's good. D'you wanna share why you feel so happy?"

Tsuki took a deep breath. "Well, I feel like things are working out for once. Fumi's been really supportive lately, and we're closer than we've ever been. Everything's good, except for the obvious part."

Haru still had a smirk. "That's a hell of a thing to say after somebody's been stabbed."

Tsuki lowered her eyes. "Yeah. Guess so."

"Well, she'd better be supportive. She's your girlfriend after all." Haruka rolled her eyes.

Tsukiko turned red. "Yeah."

Haruka shook her head in disapproval. "Are you seriously still embarrassed about that? No one cares."

"You know I don't like to make a big deal about that sort of thing…" Tsuki looked down at the table.

"I bet you two were doing weird stuff again last night." Haruka teased.

"Hey…" Tsuki spoke quietly.

Haruka bared her shark teeth in a wide smile again. "C'mon, what did you two do last night?"

Tsuki lowered her head. "That's private…"

Haruka leaned back in her chair. "I can see her lipstick on your neck, y'know."