Tsukiko woke up in an unfamiliar place. The night before had turned into a smeared mess in her mind, in which the later events turned into nothing but a jumble of colors and vague feelings. Slowly, her mind took in its surroundings.
She was sitting in a leather chair in the back of some office. It was in a chaotic state, with furniture strewn about. There was a desk in front of her, but there was nothing on it yet.
Slowly, Tsukiko stood up. The light filtering in through the frosted windows indicated it was morning. A ticking clock above a doorway indicated it was nine. She reached into her jacket and checked her phone, confirming it really was nine o'clock.
Quietly, she stepped toward the doorway, which led to a waiting room of some kind.
The walls inside were a deep shade of forest green, accented by dark bark brown wood grain. At the room's center were two leather couches facing one another, with a glass table between them. Just beyond them was a massive frosted window that filtered the outside sunlight into a gentle grey glow. In the middle of this façade was a door to the outside, flanked by two potted plants and a coat hook.
As Tsukiko took her surroundings in, the front door swung open. Her eyes caught the figure of a woman, holding a box and several bags in one arm and a drink tote in the other.
"Haruka?" Tsuki called out.
"Tsuki? What're you doing here?" Haruka dropped the box and tote on the table.
She kept walking toward a large receptionist desk at the far end of the room. The bags went onto the desk.
"Sorry." Tsuki apologized for some reason. "I just kinda... woke up here."
"Woke up?" Haruka cocked her head in confusion at first. "Actually, it was Aurelia, wasn't it?"
Tsuki shook her head. "Claudia. I think."
"That sounds about right." Haruka shrugged it off. "Well, uhh... Welcome to the Shimizu Detective Agency."
"Right." Tsuki bowed her head a little. "Seems like a nice place."
"Thanks." Haruka replied. "We must've spent a week or more just picking out colors..."
"You guys... doin' alright?" Tsuki felt embarrassed saying it.
Haruka left the pink box and drink tote on the glass table. "We'll be fine. We've been managing it all so far, right?"
"Where's Kaz?" Tsuki watched her sister approach.
"He'll be here in a bit." Haruka fell down onto one of the leather couches. "He's just... settling some things."
Tsuki sat down slowly. "Tired?"
Haru yawned. "I slept, but..."
"You don't look so hot." Tsuki felt a bit concerned for her sister.
"I kept waking up." Haruka admitted. "I go to bed late and I wake up early."
"That's not sleeping." Tsuki joked.
"Yeah, but I bet you're sleeping like a baby." Haruka whined. "Not a care in the world."
"I woke up in an office chair today." Tsuki countered.
"Yeah? I woke up on the floor today." Haruka tore into the pink box. "Donut?"
"...not yet." Tsukiko shook her head. "Didn't know you and Kaz were into that sort of thing."
"I was so tired I missed the mattress." Haru laughed weakly. "C'mon, we're not that bad."
"You sure?"
Haruka called her bluff. "What do you want me to tell you? That your wonderful sister makes love so passionately she passes out on the floor?"
"...no." Tsuki lowered her head, feeling like an idiot.
"Lily's probably headin' to the office right about now." Haruka bit down on a glazed donut. "Y'know, she's always talking about wanting to hang out with her big sis Tsuki."
"I... spent some time with her last night, actually." Tsuki smiled a little. "Hadn't been keeping up with her like I should."
"She told me." Haruka nodded. "She got home at like two, but we were still up by then. I gave her a glass of warm milk and sent her to bed right after."
"You've only had her for two years and you're already turning into a Mom." Tsuki joked.
"Nah. It's nothing like that" Haruka shook her head. "She's been working herself to the bone some days. I've gotta make sure she lets herself rest and relax sometimes."
Tsukiko felt something wrong within herself, but she couldn't articulate it. "...right."
"I've got the agency on my plate and now Sylvie. It fucking... sucks." Haruka stood up and sat down next to Tsukiko. "I'm still hanging on, barely."
"Sorry." Tsukiko lowered her head a bit. "I haven't been visiting like I should."
Haruka paused, and her eyes turned to Tsukiko's. "...why not?"
"...I lost track of time, y'know?" Tsuki said without thinking.
"Tsuki, you can't just say that." Haruka relaxed a bit. "I didn't let you punch me in the face just for you to show up every once in a while. I want you in my life."
"It's not that deep." Tsukiko lied.
"C'mon, I know you better than that." Haruka pressed on. "I need you here. What's wrong?"
"...I lost track of time." Tsuki frowned.
Haruka leaned against her sister. "I didn't mean to bring this up now, but... someone had to remind you."
The front door jiggled, then swung open. Kazuo took one look at Haruka, then to Tsukiko.
"Oh, hey, Tsuki." Kaz smiled at her a little. "What're you doin' here?"
"Just... dropping in." Tsuki raised a hand to wave. "We've been waiting for you. What took you so long?"
Kazuo said one word. "Traffic."
Tsuki smiled. "That's why I walk."
Quietly, he stepped forward, dropping some keys on the front table. He sat down next to the Second Knight, grabbing a coffee out of the drink tote.
Shimizu Kazuo wore a long, forest green coat. The coat's golden brass buttons sparkled in the subtle light. It was left wide open, showing the black dress shirt underneath, with a white continental tie around the neck.
His family revolver was kept in a brown leather holster at his side. His pants were a strange shade of black that was slightly green, and his shoes were a shiny leather black, polished like a mirror.
Kazuo countered. "You're gonna hurt yourself walking in those heels all the time."
"They're comfy." Tsukiko shook her head.. "Could walk in 'em for miles."
"I wish Aurelia would make me some shoes." Kazuo complained.
Tsuki fidgeted. "So, how's the agency doing?"
"It's good." Kaz nodded. "Shouldn't be much longer before we're able to start tackling cases."
"...anything you need me for?" Tsuki asked.
"It's... mostly paperwork." Kazuo tried to straighten out his messy hair. "It'd've been nice to have had another pair of hands when we were decorating the place, but..."
"S-sorry." Tsuki stuttered. "I'm not exactly sure how all this works."
"It's just licensing stuff, codes, that sort of thing." Haruka tried her best to explain. "You can still hang around and do chores, move some papers around, that sort of thing. If you want."
"Oh... okay." Tsuki crossed her arms.
"Are you alright?" Kaz asked.
"I'm fine." Tsuki gave him an odd look. "Why?"
"You're still acting kind of weird." Haruka was rather blunt.
"All this shit goes way over my head." Tsukiko admitted.
"It's okay." Haruka assured her. "It's mostly settled now. Just a week or two more..."
Tsukiko looked up to her sister. Haru had a slight smile on her face.
"It's a good thing you're here." Kazuo started.
"Oh?" Tsuki looked back at the private eye.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
"I could use another perspective." Kaz admitted, taking a sip from his coffee. "Been busting my ass on this Themis thing."
"...find anything?"
"Something doesn't fit." Kazuo's eyes narrowed. "It's bothering me."
"What would that be?" Haruka turned to him.
"Those police batons are standard issue for police officers. They're weighted, solid stainless steel." Kaz reached into his pocket and produced one. "It's collapsible too."
"Where can you get one?" Tsuki grabbed it.
"You can't." Kazuo said plainly.
"Ehh?"
"They're police issue. They're real tough, meant to be used in actual combat. You don't really get your hands on that kind of thing as a civilian." Kazuo leaned forward. "How'd they get their hands on them?"
Haruka shrugged. "Stolen?"
"Who would steal a police baton and not a police revolver?" Kazuo glanced down at the table. "That, and losing one baton? Maybe. Losing half a dozen or more?"
"Stealing a gun's a major offense, stealing a baton--" Tsukiko got cut off.
"Is still stealing a weapon. It's not much lighter of a charge." Kazuo put his hands together.
"Unless they're not stolen." Tsuki chimed in. "Surplus?"
"Defense contracts don't allow sale to private citizens." Kaz shot her down. "It only leaves a few possibilities."
"Tell us already." Haruka pleaded.
"Someone might have sold those to Themis." Kaz said. "That, or they managed to get them with government approval of some kind? Doubt it."
Tsukiko was taken aback. It was certainly a possibility, but an unlikely one. A particular dread settled into her.
"Your proof?" Haruka nudged him.
"The old Chief got replaced by someone named Ishikawa, right? He's from the Ministry of Justice. Why would he take such a low job?" Kazuo grabbed a donut and took a bite.
"Is the head of Tokyo Police really a low job?" Haruka asked. "It's one of the biggest cities in the world."
Kaz paused to finish chewing. "One's local, the other's national. It's a pretty major downgrade."
"What does this have to do with the baton?" Haruka asked.
"Arms dealing is no joke. I wouldn't be surprised if Ishikawa already knew about all this. If someone inside the force were to be--"
Tsukiko cut him off. "Well how do we find out for sure?"
"Ishikawa, or... the Chief." Haruka paused. "They'd know."
Tsuki felt a weight settle down on her shoulders. "You don't think... the Chief did it, right?"
Kazuo's leg stopped moving. "Hmm?"
"He's not the police chief anymore, right?" Tsuki started. "But why'd he resign?"
"Who said he resigned?" Kazuo narrowed his eyes.
Haruka turned slowly. "It can't be. That just wouldn't make sense. He'd be in jail, wouldn't he?"
"Not if it's a pending investigation." Kazuo held out his hand.
Tsuki gave the baton back. "Let's hope for the best."
The room went silent. A heaviness settled down around them. Clearly, their current situation was much more than they had anticipated. Yet, they all shouldered this weight with a simple shrug and sigh.
--
"Can you move that over a little bit?" Kazuo tried to focus his eyes on the exact location of a certain filing cabinet. "Just a little more to the left."
Tsuki sighed and lifted it up again. "My arms're getting sore."
"Right there." Kazuo pointed.
"Perfect." Haruka nodded.
Tsuki groaned. "Do you need anything that isn't lifting furniture?"
"That should be the last of it, alright? The rest of it's just paperwork." Kazuo nodded.
The office had been tidied up and finally, it looked like a proper, professional environment. At least, according to Kaz and Haruka. As hard as Tsukiko looked around, she didn't notice any difference.
She wasn't able to complain, though. After all, she owed them some sort of favor, even if it just ended up being an extended bout of moving furniture back and forth, and stacking documents in filing cabinets.
Deep down, Tsuki wondered if all the tedious work they'd assigned her was some sort of intentional payback for her extended absence. She'd probably get angry if this was the case, but she wasn't. The work did nothing to take her mind off of what was bothering her.
It didn't seem right for her to distrust the old Chief, but at the same time, it made sense. Her general disdain for the police made her think it was definitely true, but the old man had proven himself a good man time and time again. Her mind seemed to try to calculate everything at once, as if the suspense would quite literally kill her.
Tsukiko remembered what happened with Morgan and the Shakudos. She remembered all of the times the old man had protected her. She remembered the rainy day where she almost did something unspeakable. Just remembering the cold metal of the pipe in her hand and the freezing rain was enough to make her wince.
"You okay?" Haruka asked.
"Sorry, just... remembered something."
"Don't overthink it. You'll tire yourself out." Haruka laughed heartily, then weakly.
"I'm better at punching my way through things."
"Go out on a walk." Haruka suggested. "Whatever it is, you'll feel better with some fresh air."
"Alright." Tsuki sighed and started for the door.
"Hold up." Haruka stopped her sister and handed her quite a large sum of money. "Take this."
"What's this?" Tsukiko looked at the rather unclassy wad of bills.
"Your pay."
"Pay?"
"Just get yourself something nice, okay?" Haruka replied.
"Thanks." Tsukiko started for the door once more.
The area just outside of the Shimizu Agency, or rather what would become the Shimizu Agency, was wide open. Just across the street was a nice, green park. Something about it felt familiar, but Tsuki couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Either way, it seemed like a good spot for a nice walk. She had gotten used to long walks, thanks to the constant patrols she took around the city. Shizuka warned her that she shouldn't focus too much on a Knight's work, but it was the place she felt most comfortable in.
It was just about noon, judging from where the sun was. Almost miraculously, the park was empty, letting her enjoy it with no guilt or distractions. The air felt clean and clear, curling the edges of Tsukiko's mouth into a pleasant smile.
The grass was a verdant green, cut across by pale grey concrete. Young trees stood around, their weak branches being pushed around with a gentle, smooth wind.The sound of the city was still very much present, but the whispering of the quiet wind in Tsuki's ears reduced it to nothing but white noise.
Tsukiko felt almost obligated to reach down and unbutton her jacket a bit, opening it up for the cool air. She wanted to feel more of it against her skin. Haruka was wrong. She wasn't thinking at all. Her mind simply focused on the feeling of her heels hitting the concrete and her chest rising and falling with each breath.
Something bumped into her. In her moment of bliss, she had closed her eyes and walked forward without thinking. Luckily, she didn't stumble, but she quickly opened her eyes once more to make sure she hadn't hurt anyone.
A strange looking man stood before her. His hands were in his jean pockets. Oddly, he had a strange red piece of fabric tied loosely around his neck.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" A man's voice called out. "Careful!"
Tsuki sighed. "Sorry, wasn't looking."
"Sorry. You okay?" The man asked with an odd sense of concern.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Tsukiko turned to him.
"I'm Masahiro, you?"
"...Himura Tsukiko." she felt a bit uncomfortable giving her name out to him for some reason.
"Careful, Tsukiko. I nearly fell. Y'know, one wrong move, a bad fall or something, and bam, you're dead." His face seemed much too calm to be thinking of things like that seriously.
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. I'll be more careful." Tsuki bowed her head.
The man kept walking and Tsuki thought nothing of it. Her hand slid into one of her jacket pockets and she noticed something missing. Before she could completely turn around, she saw the man holding her red phone, dangling it before her.
"Forgetting something?"
"Alright, give it back before I beat your ass." Tsuki growled.
"You're really gonna threaten a stranger like that? Aren't Knights supposed to be noble?"
Tsuki scoffed. "Do you know what they used to do to thieves back then?"
"I can imagine." The man pulled the phone close to his chest.
"Just give it back." Tsuki shook her head.
"Only if you give me a fair fight."
"Don't waste my time." Tsukiko glared.
"It's your funeral." Masahiro tossed the phone toward her.
Tsukiko caught the phone. As she put it away, Masahiro lunged toward her and hit her in the jaw hard. The sudden force knocked her back, and another jab at the stomach knocked her down to the ground.
"Hey, what the hell?" Tsuki looked up at him.
"I told you, your funeral." Masahiro cracked his knuckles.
"You son of a bitch."
Tsukiko tried to get back onto her feet, but Masahiro launched his leg forward with a mighty kick. Tsuki desperately moved backward, eventually falling back down onto the ground to avoid his attack, the force of which sent Masahiro stumbling past her.
"C'mon, get up already, Knight."
He watched as Tsukiko slowly got back up onto her own two feet, her eyes watching his every move.
"If you beat me, I'll tell you whatever you wanna know about Themis, okay?" Masahiro smiled.
"Themis?" Tsuki repeated.
Masahiro immediately leapt forward, with a wild swing toward Tsuki's face. She was just barely able to move out of the way, Masahiro stumbling a few steps before getting his balance back. He laughed his mistake off, turning back to her slowly.
Tsukiko watched his movements carefully, his first attacks clearly meant to intimidate her. His approach was staggered and slow, and it wasn't until he'd closed the distance that he'd strike with speed unimaginable. This time, she blocked it with her forearm, before taking another strike to the stomach. Her hands instinctively went down, opening her up for another strike higher up.
Slipping through his attacks seemed to be easier than actually trying to keep at his pace. The Third Knight moved out of the way of his third attack, and once again, he nearly lost his balance. His movements and attacks were harsh and unbalanced. Still, the pain of his attacks still lingered in her stomach. Had he hit any harder, Tsukiko probably would've fallen down or worse.
Masahiro had been all smirks and smiles to start, but he was starting to crack. His face grew more serious and frustrated with each missed swing and mistake he made, which only made him move faster and swing harder.
Once again, Masahiro leapt forward. His movements were fast and fierce, desperately trying to finish her with one blow, but Tsuki'd caught on. When he took his swing, she moved to his side, kicking the back of his knee as she moved past her. He finally lost his balance when Tsukiko stomped on his leg, pinning him to the ground. Masahiro fell forward, but Tsukiko caught his arm, holding him up.
"Alright, alright, that's enough." Tsuki sighed.
With his free arm, Masahiro turned and jabbed her hard in the stomach with his elbow. Tsuki got the wind knocked out of her, letting go of his arm and backing away. The strange man got back to his feet, limping a bit. Like a wounded animal, he only seemed to get stronger.
They circled around one another, their injuries weighing on them and the sun beating down. Tsukiko's chest heaved as she tried her best to catch her breath, Masahiro limping a bit as he followed her gaze.
Tsukiko grinned at him, but he didn't grin back. He simply moved forward on his weak leg and started swinging again, faster than before.
The Knight stepped back, but Masahiro was unable to keep up, his fists unable to connect with his target. He tried to throw himself forward with a haymaker, but his swing fell short, ending up just before her face.
Tsuki's fist came up and hit him in the jaw, knocking his head back. Another hit him in the side of the head. He fell to the pavement, out cold. He twitched a little, before going completely limp.
Tsukiko tried to catch her breath. His attacks were unparalleled, but it was still nothing she couldn't handle. That was, until the pain really settled in. Carefully, she lifted Masahiro off the ground and started walking back to the Shimizu Agency.