Masahiro sat, tied down in a chair in the middle of the Shimizu Agency's lobby. A large red mark spread across his cheek. Haruka, Tsukiko and Kazuo sat around, waiting for him to wake up. None of them dared speak, but they did shoot some glances at Tsukiko from time to time.

"You sure you didn't kill him?" Haruka finally broke the silence.

"No, I didn't." Tsuki glared. "I held back."

"Held back from what, breaking his jaw?"

Kazuo sighed.

"What matters is he's here. Let's wait till he wakes up and we'll find out if this was all worth it." Tsukiko folded her arms.

Masahiro shuddered in his seat, then looked up at them. "Goddamn that hurt... Where the hell am I?"

"You said you were gonna tell me about Themis if I beat you." Tsuki stood up. "I won, so I want my reward now."

Masahiro looked around the room. "I know Haruka here, but who's this dude?"

"Doesn't matter who I am." Kaz responded.

"Not even gonna introduce yourself?" Masahiro asked.

"Nope." Kazuo simply shook his head and backed away a little.

Masahiro sighed. "Well, I'm beat, fair and square."

"Then start talking." Tsukiko demanded.

"Don't I get a break? I still can't even see straight." Masahiro complained.

"No, you don't. Start talking before I have to beat it out of you." Tsuki grit her teeth.

Kazuo put a hand on Tsukiko's shoulder. "Cool it. You remember what happened last time you lost your temper, right?"

Masahiro took a deep breath. "I'm the leader of Themis."

"So you're--"

"I can't take responsibility for their actions now." Masahiro shook his head. "Not entirely, at least."

"Why not?" Kazuo asked.

"It's complicated." Masahiro chuckled weakly. "You really didn't have to hit me that hard."

"You didn't have to pick a fight with me to begin with." Tsuki muttered.

"Hey, you're a Knight. I had to make sure all the stories were true." Masahiro seemed unusually optimistic. "Besides, beating a Knight one-on-one would make anyone a legend overnight."

"Well, now you know." Kazuo smirked. "Don't get on her bad side."

"So, what's going on with Themis?" Haruka put the conversation back on track.

Masahiro paused. "They... Hmm."

"Talk." Tsuki urged.

"Let's just say some... useful outsiders have come in and offered us some help." Masahiro finally gave them a straight answer. "But that means they call the shots sometimes."

"Who?" Kazuo asked.

"Real sketchy types." Masahiro answered. "I'm not giving names, I'm not a rat."

"What kind of sketchy?" Tsuki moved in closer.

"In this field, you're sketchy. Doesn't matter who you are." Masahiro shook his head. "No point in discriminating when the end goal's the same. Don't overthink it, they're way out of your league."

Kazuo took over. "What kind of work do you do?"

"Moving things, picking the right fights, nothing too deep." Masahiro shrugged.

"And what do you get in return?" Kazuo continued to question him.

"Depends." Masahiro kept his reply vague.

"Quit being vague." Tsukiko grew impatient.

"There's only so much I can say before the blade falls on my neck." Masahiro tried his best to shrug out of habit.

"Do you even know what you're getting yourself into?" Tsukiko looked him up and down.

"Of course I don't, but I know the risk." Masahiro looked toward the Knights. "Sometimes you've gotta deal with people you don't like to climb your way to the top."

"Are you really the leader of Themis?" Tsukiko asked with obvious skepticism. "Sounds like you've just been taking orders."

"They're not orders." Masahiro smirked. "Just things I should do if I want the carrot."

"So, handlers." Haruka said.

"Something like that." Masahiro shrugged. "Y'know, sometimes folks in high places need people like us."

"Was taking Sylvie an order?" Haruka took a deep breath. "Did they tell you to do it? What were you after?"

"It's out of my hands now." Masahiro completely dodged Haruka's question.

Haruka questioned through grit teeth. "Why'd you do it?"

"This isn't business, or revenge." Masahiro didn't answer directly, but Haruka began to understand. " Even with Sylvie gone, Flowers is still around. We got nothing out of it. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"...then who'd wanna hurt Sylvie?" Haruka muttered to herself.

"Don't overthink it." Masahiro tried to comfort her, in an odd way. "If someone wanted her gone, she'd be gone. This was just someone getting rid of a loose end for a while."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Haruka glared at him with cold eyes.

"You don't have to worry that someone's out to get her, I guess." Masahiro paused. "Bad things happen sometimes, just be glad she's alright."

Tsukiko only let out a long, drawn out sigh. "Well, what've we learned that we couldn't just guess?"

"You can't exactly force him to talk." Haruka tried to console her sister. "As much as you wish you could."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Any ideas?" Tsuki turned to Kaz.

"I've got a couple." Kazuo nodded. "But for now, I guess we should turn him over to Ishikawa."

"A cop?" Masahiro mocked.

Tsukiko turned to him with a false smile. "Unfortunately, we can't hold you here, since that'd be abduction, legally. He sure can though."

"You've only known him a day and you're already bending the knee for him?" Masahiro looked up at Haruka.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Aren't Knights supposed to be above everything? Noble?" Masahiro stared. "Are you all just some shitty cop's tool?"

"You're one to talk." Haruka muttered.

"Do you think you're better off than me?" Masahiro laughed back. "Haven't you got your own handler?"

"What do you mean?" Tsukiko narrowed her eyes.

"You think Ishikawa'll let you do whatever you want?" Masahiro made his attempts at manipulation obvious. "You're not better than me, you're just dumb enough to do it for free."

"You call him a handler, I call him a..." Haruka paused. "Useful outsider."

"You're an idiot." Masahiro narrowed his eyes.

"And you're a dumbass." Haruka laughed in his face.

"So where's Shizuka?" Masahiro shifted in his seat.

"Shizuka?" Tsukiko repeated.

"Y'know, the Christmas cake." Masahiro continued. "The First Knight."

Haruka let her guard down to laugh. "Pfft, Christmas cake?"

"Yeah, Shizuka." Masahiro looked around. "I see the Second and Third Knights, but not the First."

"She's not here." Tsukiko answered honestly.

"Shame." Masahiro slumped down a little. "Would've been awesome."

"Why?" Haruka asked.

"I'm a big fan." Masahiro smiled.

--

In just a few minutes after making a call, Ishikawa arrived with several police officers. They marched into the building, slowly, with an intimidating gait. Ishikawa towered over his officers, making it very clear who was in control.

"Is this the man you told me about?" Ishikawa turned to Kazuo.

"Yeah." Kazuo nodded.

"Thanks for the call. We'll have to settle this back at the station." Ishikawa stared at Masahiro. "Take him away."

One officer stood over Masahiro while the other untied him. When the ropes finally broke free, they grabbed him. His freedom lasted less than a second or two.

The Knights watched as this happened. Something about it felt strange, but Tsukiko didn't see any reason to react. Haruka thought nothing of it.

"Goddamnit." Masahiro took a good long look at Ishikawa's face. "Y'know, this is the first time I've seen you up close."

"I don't associate with criminals." Ishikawa glared.

"Who do you associate with then?"

"Get him out of here." Ishikawa motioned.

The officers began pushing and shoving Masahiro out of the building. He resisted at first, trying to push back, to no avail. When the officers reached for their batons, he went out the door without issue.

"Quick response, huh?" Haruka remarked.

"Yeah. My predecessor was criticized for his... slow handling of things." Ishikawa sighed.

Ishikawa tried to head for the door as soon as possible. He didn't seem to want to linger. The other officers exited before he did, leaving him alone for a moment. The group took this opportunity to call him back.

"Hey. Who is that guy, anyway?" Tsukiko sat back down on one of the couches.

Ishikawa stopped, then turned around. "He... was a member of the Themis gang. A very notable one, at that, right?"

"What makes him notable?" Haruka asked.

"You do know how these hierarchies work." Ishikawa looked away.

"Hey, people can be important for all sorts of reasons." Tsukiko countered.

Ishikawa stood in the room, as if expecting something more from them. His eyes wandered around the room, taking the whole scene in, his gaze lingering momentarily over the Knights. He looked at Kazuo, and Kazuo looked back at him, they acknowledged one another with a quiet, mutual understanding, and respect.

"Why... did you have him tied up?" Ishikawa looked down at the loose ropes.

"How else were we supposed to keep him?" Haruka scoffed at the odd question.

"Don't tell me you were trying to interrogate him, were you?" Ishikawa accused.

"No, we weren't." Haruka lied to his face.

"Then what were you doing?" Ishikawa continued.

"Talking." Kazuo answered.

"I know you're all very concerned about Themis, but that doesn't give you the authority to overstep your bounds." Ishikawa looked at Tsukiko as he said it.

"It was a pressing matter." Kazuo defended his actions. "I wouldn't interfere with official police business if it wasn't important."

"Whatever your hunch is, your involvement isn't needed, detective." Ishikawa said coldly. "This isn't some kind of game."

"I know it isn't." Kazuo countered.

Ishikawa looked Kazuo in the eye. "Something caught your interest, detective?"

"...why does Themis have standard, police-issue batons?" Kazuo asked without hesitation.

Ishikawa paused. "The Themis of the past was involved in arms dealing, right?"

"That was the past." Kazuo narrowed his eyes. "Who are they getting them from?"

"I don't know every aspect of the Themis case yet." Ishikawa's fingers tapped a little faster. "I haven't had the time to get entirely acquainted."

"You're a police chief. Shouldn't you know about missing shipments of armaments?" Kazuo cocked his head.

"Our business is our business." Ishikawa stood firm. "I understand your concern, but if it truly was a fault of our own, we would have solved it."

The new police chief seemed firmer than before, standing his ground, even under the weight of Kazuo's scrutiny.

"Where's Sylvie?" Haruka approached him.

"Sylvie Fontaine." Ishikawa said her name aloud.

"Yeah."

"Haru--" Kazuo tried to call out.

"I went to the hospital and she wasn't there. Where'd you take her?" Haruka asked again.

Ishikawa seemed caught off guard. "She's in police custody, recovering from her injuries."

"Why is she in custody? What did she do?" Haruka's expression soured.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss--"

"It's not about liberty, or what you're allowed to talk about, this is a personal discussion between us. You and me, tell me right now." Haruka demanded.

Ishikawa maintained his calm. "I told you I'd be working with you. I can't break protocol because of your whims."

"This isn't a whim! She's my friend!" Haruka raised her voice.

"Haruka." Kazuo cautioned her.

Ishikawa's fingers reached under his suit coat. "Miss Fontaine was attacked by a street gang, that's a connection to organized crime. We follow protocol not only to stop crime, but to protect those affected by it."

"Protocol my ass." Haruka hissed.

Ishikawa looked away. "I know how you feel, but--"

"All I need are some goddamn answers." Haruka's hand was balled up into a fist.

"I'm sorry." Ishikawa said in a solemn voice.

Haruka stood, alone, powerless, and angry. It was clear that she wasn't going to get the answers she wanted. Ishikawa stepped around her and went out the door without another word. Kazuo stood up and put an arm around her. Haru was about to shove him away when he whispered something to her. Whatever it was, it seemed to calm her.

"What's the fucking point, man?" Haruka held him tight. "We can't do shit, can we?"

Kazuo tried his best to comfort her, stroking her hair. "Try not to worry too much, alright?"

"I can't let this shit go." Haruka said.

"She'll be fine." Kazuo assured her. "They're cops, but they're not gonna hurt her."

"I hate sitting around and waiting."

"Then don't." Kazuo pulled away a little.

"What do you mean?" Haruka moved her leg a bit.

"C'mon, you've been cooped up inside all week. Tsuki's here." Kazuo pointed.

"Let's go and do some good old fashioned leg work." Tsukiko approached her sister. "Forget the office stuff for a while, let's go out, you and me."

"Really?" Haruka asked.

"Yeah."