"So, what happened?" Hotaru looked Tsuki in the eye, her glare making it feel like an interrogation.

Hotaru and Tsukiko were sitting in a far back corner booth back at the old American style diner she'd taken Fumi to so many times. There wasn't a window at their table, instead an oil painting poster for an old movie from the 50s depicted a man in a suit dancing with a woman in a tight red dress.

"Well, this kid came up asking for a fight. I wouldn't have done anything if he hadn't thrown the first punch." Tsuki resented having to explain herself again. "I just wish people didn't go around uploading stuff like that online all the time."

"You hit him pretty hard."

"How hard am I supposed to hit him?" Tsuki scoffed.

Hotaru scratched her head. "Well. It's not that important. That's outside your control, after all. It's the other thing I'm worried about."

Between the two of them was a sleek black laptop. Hotaru turned it around toward Tsuki. On its display was a website with a dark, simplistic design covered on thin, aliased text. At the top, was an image of an unconscious man and a gloved hand.

"What happened here?"

"He came at me with a knife. I tried knocking it out of his hand, but it was glued to his palm or something." Tsuki explained bluntly. "That's it."

"Glued?" Hotaru repeated.

"Yeah, like hot glue or something." Tsuki lowered her voice. "Damn near stabbed me."

"...and the picture?"

"It's what I could come up with." Tsuki stared.

"Well, there's a million eyes on this, probably the most action this site's gotten in years." Hotaru joked. "Tokyo Knights General. You're so famous you've got a fan site."

"If it was gonna end up that big a deal, maybe I should've sold the photo to the press." Tsuki shrugged.

"If it's attention you wanted, it's attention you got, but... what's it gonna do for you?" Hotaru looked her in the eye.

"Is this really what you called me for?" Tsuki hesitated. "...It's proof I'm still here, fighting."

"It's...." Hotaru started.

"I know it's dumb." Tsuki said. "But chasing them got me nowhere, and I can't be on the defensive forever. I needed to do something and this is what I did."

"...I still don't think you should stoop so low." Hotaru spoke softly. "Of course they know you're still around, everyone knows the Knights Himura these days."

Tsukiko sighed. "D'you want me to act all high and mighty, pretend they didn't try to hurt Fumi? Act like it doesn't even bother me?"

"Maybe." Hotaru turned her laptop back toward herself. "I just don't know about this. Have you talked to the others about it? Or Ishikawa?"

"There's no way he'd be willing to help." Tsukiko admitted.

"Why wouldn't he help you?" Hotaru's eyes narrowed a bit.

"...the last time I talked to him, he told me he wanted to make it so no one would have to rely on the Knights anymore." Tsuki explained. "Ever since then, I've avoided contacting him."

"Oh right, he said that on that TV interview, huh?" Hotaru cocked her head. "He said that to you in person too?"

"Yeah."

"Weird." Hotaru put her hand on her own cheek. "...unofficially, the Ministry of Justice tends to recommend a hands off approach when it comes to the Knights. It's... a gray area."

"So that's why they sent you instead of like... calling me or sending a letter?" Tsuki joked.

Hotaru laughed weakly. "Most of my job's just taking a beating so that the investigators get what they need, unofficially."

"...another gray area." Tsuki remarked.

"Yeah." Hotaru sounded displeased. "But I gotta keep doing it, or else I won't get my old job back."

Tsuki sighed. "The way you describe the Ministry makes 'em sound like the biggest pricks in the world."

Hotaru shook her head. "They're dedicated people with a painful job."

"What was your old job anyway?" Tsuki finally asked.

Hotaru smiled a little. "My time in Themis meant I was mostly kept here in Tokyo, watching the local gangs."

"How's that any different from what you're doing right now?"

"I had a team before." Hotaru frowned. "And a budget."

"So, who'd you investigate?" Tsuki pressed.

"Well, I was on the team that kept an eye on the Shakudos." Hotaru gave her the shortest answer she could. "The entire PSIA was involved there, mostly cuz of you."

"Me." Tsuki repeated.

"You threw us all for a loop. You left the police in the dust and you basically solved the whole thing yourself." Hotaru explained.

"I think you're overestimating me." Tsukiko argued.

"I'd know. I was there." Hotaru confirmed. "I was part of a team working on figuring out how Morgan was able to hold off the cops for so long, and forming a timeline of when the Damascenes split. They put me in charge after my mentor left to track down the First Knight."

"Why're you guys always so worried about Shizuka anyway?" Tsuki asked. "Haru and I are Knights too."

"She was an active Knight for nearly twenty years." Hotaru explained. "Do something that long, and you're gonna get a reputation. Especially with the stories I've heard about her."

"Right."

"...your sister isn't exactly the most approachable person in the world, either." Hotaru admitted. "For someone married to a private eye, she sure hates detectives."

"You really do know everything, huh?" Tsuki wasn't sure whether she should be upset or not.

"It's my job to know." Hotaru looked away. "It's not something I want to do, it's something I have to do."

"Everyone jokes about the government spying on them, but it's another thing to find out what they really know about you." Tsukiko frowned. "I'm used to people following me around, taking photos or writing up rumors for the message boards, but this is something else..."

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

They both went quiet as Hotaru tried to find her words.

"...just don't give my sister any trouble, y'hear?" Tsuki said bluntly.

Hotaru lowered her head out of respect. "I won't. Promise."

A waitress arrived at their booth, wearing an almost painfully stereotypical dress and apron and holding a pen and pad. "Are you two ready to order yet?"

"I'll take the burger special." Tsuki answered, then turned to Hotaru.

"Vanilla shake." Hotaru answered. "...and the club sandwich."

"That it?" She scribbled on the pad.

"Yeah."

The waitress disappeared with a nod, just as quickly as she'd appeared, letting them return to their conversation.

"...no wonder Shizuka's a shut-in these days." Tsuki muttered to herself. "You guys've been keeping an eye on her her whole damn life."

"We don't have a file on her, actually." Hotaru denied.

"Really?"

The diner's front door swung open, the sounds of a scuffle and shouting breaking through the city sound. Tsukiko jumped to her feet, Hotaru following her, as they heard a woman shouting as she tried to enter the restaurant.

"Back off!" The girl cried. "I'm not giving you a damn interview, so just leave me alone!"

Any idle chatter, or sounds of plates and utensils died with the poor girl's shout, the entire restaurant turning their heads to look at whatever the commotion was. It was as if everything around them had gone mute to focus on the poor lady in distress.

By the time the woman managed to shut the door on her pursuers, Tsukiko and Hotaru had reached her, both ready to pick a fight.

Tsuki'd recognized the girl the second she heard her voice. "Fumi, what's going on?"

She looked past Fumi, and for just a moment, through the glass door, she caught a glimpse of Asuka's familiar trenchcoat and black bob before they scurried off. The Knight simply let out a long sigh. Hotaru lunged forward to go through the door, but Tsuki stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"I was looking for you!" Fumi looked up at her.

"For me?" Tsuki recoiled.

Fumiko stared. "...yeah. You didn't visit the shop like you said you would."

"...I wanted to settle things first."

"And I'm supposed to sit around all day and look pretty?"

"You know it's not safe..." Tsuki paused. "C'mon, let's sit down."

Fumi and Hotaru were escorted by the Knight back to their booth, doing her best to ignore the stares of the other patrons and the staff behind the counter. Tsuki sat down at the far end, Fumi flopping down next to her. Hotaru sat down across from them, closing her laptop and turning to Fumiko.

Hotaru spoke first. "You alright?"

"Yeah, thanks." Fumi straightened herself out.

"Who were those two?" Hotaru asked.

Fumi let out a groan. "Journalists or something. They kept following me around, nagging me for an interview."

"D'you get that a lot?" Hotaru asked.

"One time's too much for me, but they still come knocking on my door every once in a while." Fumi straightened out her clothes. "They never get the hint, do they?"

"Err, sorry. Didn't mean to stir up any bad memories." Hotaru gave her a meek smile.

"I wouldn't call 'em bad memories." Fumi cocked her head. "Oh, uhh, you one of Tsuki's friends?"

"Yeah. Mori Hotaru."

"Ah. Hotaru." Fumi nodded. "Sorry, I'm still trying to catch my breath. I'm Nakano Fumiko, nice to meet you. You can just call me Fumi."

"Nakano..." Hotaru repeated.

"My girlfriend." Tsuki clarified.

Fumi leaned into Tsuki's shoulder. "Aww, you never call me that in front of strangers. You're always so shy."

Tsukiko turned a bit red. "Hey, c'mon. Don't rub it in."

"But she's not much of a stranger, is she?" Fumi said.

"Huh?"

Fumi looked at Hotaru. "You were that girl waiting for Tsuki in the alley the other day, right?"

Hotaru and Tsuki practically confirmed her suspicions when they caught each other's eyes for a second.

"...that's a hell of an outfit though." Fumi changed the subject. "D'you always wear your coat open like that?"

"It helps with the heat." Hotaru muttered quietly.

Fumi smirked. "Convenient excuse."

"Fumi." Tsuki nudged.

Hotaru hesitated. "I'm sorry if I made you worry about Tsuki earlier. I should've been... more forward, but meeting a Knight's always--"

Fumiko reassured her. "Nah, it's fine, I understand. A lot was going on and it probably wasn't a good time to meet. Haru wasn't in a good mood."

"Oh." Hotaru gave her a slight smile. "I guess it worked out in the end, huh?"

"You worry too much." Fumi smiled back. "If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't be talking to you right now. Just one look at you and I know you're legit. It's Tsuki we should be worrying about."

Hotaru adjusted her hat. "Take care of her for me, will you?"

"I'm trying my best." Fumi wrapped her arm around Tsuki's. "But she makes it so tough sometimes."

Tsuki protested. "Hey, that's my job. You shouldn't be out here anyway, it's not exactly safe."

Fumi's voice turned cold. "I just wanted lunch at my favorite place. Is that too much to ask?"

Tsuki lowered her head a little. "I could've delivered you some if you'd just asked..."

"You said yourself you weren't scared, so why do I have to be?" Fumi scolded her.

"...you're right. I'm sorry." Tsuki admitted.

"Sorry isn't gonna cut it this time, I wanna know you mean it." Fumi continued. "I keep telling you, if I was scared, I'd tell you. We've been together long enough, I know what I'm getting into. Even if you weren't a Knight, you've been picking fights your whole life. Stop acting like I'm some... damsel, I'm right here, right next to you."

"But what if you get hurt?"

"Then I get hurt. The same way Haru or Shizuka might get hurt. The same way Sylvie or Flowers might get hurt." Fumiko shook her head. "I'm not sitting around in some room while you're out here suffering on your own."

"Fumi--"

"Tsuki, look at yourself. For just a second, look at what you're doing." Fumi insisted.

Without her realizing, Tsuki's body had become tense and fatigued, and the pain of it all hit her at once like a tidal wave. Her legs were sore and shaking, her eyes were tired and her jaw was clenched.

Tsukiko's fingers had somehow become entwined with Fumiko's, squeezing her hand so tightly that it had begun to lose its color. Fumi raised her arm, and Tsuki finally pulled away, hiding her own hand in her lap like she'd misbehaved.

"Damnit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Tsuki looked away.

"Let me be here, with you." Fumi got a little closer. "I wanna be here, I wanna take care of you like you take care of me. If anything bad happens, you'll punch your way out, like usual. You're a Knight, not a delivery girl. That's beneath you."

Tsuki watched as Fumiko looked at her, expecting an answer, but she just couldn't open her mouth to speak.

"Sorry you had to see all that." Fumi turned to Hotaru, having lowered her head.

"No, it's fine." Hotaru gave her some sympathy. "Just one look at her and you can tell she's got a lot on her shoulders."

Tsuki finally let out her voice. "Yeah."

"Plus, it's kinda funny seeing that tough look on your face disappear when your girlfriend shows up." Hotaru smirked. "You'd think a Knight would have a heart of brass or something."

"Tsuki's only got a stiff face." Fumi added. "There's a lot going on under that hat, believe it or not."

"Fumi." Tsuki scolded her.

"She's your friend." Fumi countered. "You shouldn't keep things from your friends."

"I'll take Tsuki's side on this one." Hotaru defended her. "We might be friends, but you're her girlfriend. Of course you're gonna know more than I do."

"Then you tell her to keep me and the others in the loop!" Fumi hissed. "She keeps going off on her own and leaving us all in the dark."

"Tsuki?" Hotaru looked at her.

"Mm."

Hotaru nodded."You'd better listen to her."

Fumi grabbed Tsuki's hand. "I mean look at this! You never told me you wear gloves now!"

"Huh?" Tsuki pulled her hand back. "Is it that big a deal?"

"It's your uniform, Tsuki." Hotaru explained. "You've been wearing a white jacket, skirt and hat for years now. Now you have gloves. People are gonna notice."

"Especially when you post pictures of 'em online." Fumi continued. "Seriously, what were you thinking?"

Once again, the door at the far end of the diner opened and closed.

"...I had to do something."

"Shizuka's probably gonna chew you out as soon as you get back, you know she lurks on those kinds of sites."

"Well, she hasn't texted me about it yet."

"Y'know, I'm kinda surprised you visit that site, Tsuki." Hotaru remarked.

"Alright, alright, enough." Tsuki complained. "All I wanted to do was--"

"Tsuki?" A voice at the table's end spoke. "Hey, Tsuki."

Tsukiko turned and saw Sylvie, standing at the end of the table, bags under her eyes.